DSTV Expora 2 Remote Record feature broken

[jpbarnard2019]

My DSTV Explore 2 Remote Record feature has broken. Previous time I used the feature, about 2 months ago, it still worked. Last week, after switching from ADSL to fibre (and from an ADSL modem/router to a fibre modem + separate router), the service has become troubled. I can confirm with certainty that the switch over is not the cause, because I have tested the feature with both ISPs and both routers (new router and old ADSL modem/router).

Symptoms:

When one attempts to schedule a recording of a DSTV program via one's DSTV Now app on a cell phone, the response is Service Error. However, the Explora 2 Connection Checker returns OK status for Remote Record feature. All connection items return OK status. To add confusion, upon inspection of the recording schedule on the decoder, the remote scheduled recording occasionally appears in the schedule, but not consistently so. A similar thing happens when one attempts to schedule a program via guide.dstv.com.

Configuration:

Fibre service by SADV is served by their fibre modem. Routing into my home network is done by Afrihost's D-Link DIR825AC G1 WiFi router (firmware 3.0.6). The router connects via LAN cable from its WAN port to the fibre modem's LAN 1.

I have assigned a static IP to the decoder, which connects via WiFi 2.4GHz to the router. In order to get OK status on all features from Explore 2 Connection Checker, I forward the port used by the decoder to the external IP of Multinet. I have retrieved the external IP and port by inspecting the current WiFi client table via the router's management console.

My cell phone is a BlackBerry DTEK50 running Android 6. As mentioned, the DSTV Now Remote Record did work before my switch over to fibre. So, it is unlikely to be the phone.

Some things I have tried in vain:

• Logged out of DSTV Now, rebooted cell phone. Logged in to DSTV Now app.
• Rebooted router after configuration change.
• Rebooted Explora 2.
• Contacted DSTV via Twitter.
• Found and forwarded the port range 9000 to 55555 for the remote IP that the decoder uses (197.80.203.24:55555). Here I have tried as alternative to forward the port for the entire segment 197.80.203.0/24, but to no avail. The IP and port can be found at the DSTV client session in the D-Link admin console under Statistics/[Clients and Session].
• Disabled the Firewall DoS Protection

Resolution:
The issue remains frustratingly unresolved. Are there special settings for the D-Link DIR825AC G1 that fixes this issue? Why does the request/response exchange function up to the final confirmation message, which haplessly fails.

 

[Obviously]

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread but I’m new to the DSTV app and want to confirm if the remote recording feature has been permanently removed by DSTV and if so, why? I found the following still active old YouTube link on the DSTV channel, which seems to suggest the feature is still operational however?

I just had a most frustrating experience with a DSTV live chat agent, who contradicted herself by saying that the feature was no longer offered but that I could still try following the YouTube steps. She then abruptly ended the chat before I could question her rationale…

Another question - is the DSTV TV Guide available on their Samsung Smart TV app, or is that something only offered on the cellphone & tablet apps?

 

[Obviously]

In addition to the above questions, the DSTV website states that one can stream Box Office movies directly off their website https://www.dstv.com/en-za/news/416...eleases-in-your-own-home-with-dstv-box-office and it does indeed seem so - well the option seems to be there but the titles do not populate (see below screenshot from cellphone). Has this facility been quietly removed perhaps? Apologies for what may seem to be silly questions on my part, which have perhaps long been addressed - it’s just that I’ve never had reason to use these online app services from DSTV in the past.