Freeview Play problem (Toshiba 40ll3a63db).

Drahcir

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My old mum's banged up in room in a nursing home. I can't get in. She is extremely disabled, so I have a system whereby I can remotely control her Toshiba 24/32/40/43 LL/WL/WD3A Series smart TV via a Broadlink device. TV is the only entertainment she has, so it's important for her. A TV ariel and power is connected, but the wireless connection is unconfigured.

So she or someone else has probably pressed something on the original remote (the TV was disconnected too yesterday, as part of a furniture move), which is normally kept out of the way, and the b- thing's got stuck in "Freeview Play" I think, some sort of app or UI that runs alongside "ordinary" freeview.

How on earth do I get the thing out of it? If operating instructions are useful:https://doc-14-04-docs.googleuserco...3614553&hash=u1nn79p3of0ae50o43u1u1mdb8cpu79q, but I can't see how to exit Freeview Play and just get back to "ordinary Freeview".

I control the TV from my mobile device, which has a subset of functions available, compared to the original remote. I can't normally see the TV screen, 'cos the tablet I use to video call her points at her, not the TV. A helpful person yesterday did point the tablet at the TV[1], so I was able to see the Freeview logo, references to More4, ITV hub, Netflix (?), My5, etc, but not how to exit the app. Me muvver won't be able to assist in any useful way, unfortunately. Neither will the carers who are technologically challenged.

ANy help will be very much appreciated.

[1] I might be able to get them to do this again.
 
You would normally expect the 'Exit' or 'Back' buttons to get you out of the Freeview Play menu and back to being able to view the Freeview channels as normal.

Surely a carer is capable of pressing the 'Exit' button on the remote if you aren't able to do that remotely ?
 
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How are you able to control the TV if it's not connected to the internet, out of interest ?
 
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Hi, I tried pressing "Exit" and "Back" and "Menu" (a blue monopoly house button), but that just took me back to the Freeview Play listing. To change the channels, I was having to press (on my mobile device's Broadlink app remote) "More -> EPG ->Ch.No -> OK -> OK", which in view of the vagaries of the Broadlink app and the 'net was very unlikely to be successful (some keystrokes might be missed, which would leave the TV showing something other than a programme).

Mum's dexterity is very poor (and left hand only), combined with approximately zero short-term memory, so the original Toshiba remote should have been hidden away, leaving her with two universal remotes configured to switch on/off, channel number, sound up and down and that's all. I suspect she was given the Toshiba remote, and pressed all sorts of things, unknowing, and that "did something".

After several hours today of looking at the TV screen from a video call on the tablet and trying things on my device's remote control app, a "domestic" helper came in, who herself had a "smart" TV, and was allowed by management to take the time to fiddle. I talked and made suggestions, she made suggestions (about the TV!), and eventually a menu was got up at the bottom of the screen, and a factory reset was done, after which a retune and channel list edit seems to have restored normality, thank God. I do wonder what was pressed to get that, though, I don't want to have to do all that again.

So it's back to normal. Whenever access is again possible (it has not been since before March, 2020, which makes things extremely difficult in various ways) I will have to have a play. Any suggestions about getting that menu would though be most welcome. I have a PDF of the instruction manual, but that just says "Press menu" (that's 5, the blue "Monopoly" house), which did nothing but show a RHS menu for sound and picture adjustment. Bizarre.
 
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How are you able to control the TV if it's not connected to the internet, out of interest ?
Hi, the setup is:

1) A BT router in the room.
2) Wireless connection from router to an Android tablet running a bespoke system including auto-answer video calling ("VSee", a video conferencing app).
3) A Broadlink RM mini universal IR "black bean" remote (which I bought for about £13!) powered from the router's USB socket.
4) The corresponding Broadlink app on my mobile device.

So I press a button on my UI, my device pings whatever to my router, which sends it to her router, which sends WiFi to the Broadlink device, which squirts out IR to signal the TV.

There are various problems.

a) To set up the initial connection at install time, I have to be in the same network as the Broadlink device.
b) To get my UI to learn new commands, I have to have access to the Toshiba remote.
c) Sometimes button pushes on my UI don't make it to the TV, which can be difficult if I want to change to (say) Ch. 82; the result might be Ch8, Ch2 or (most often (82). The more correct sequential presses required, the worse the problem.

d) Sometimes people leave stuff in front of the TV's base, obstructing the IR signal.
e) Sometimes people leave stuff in front of the Black Bean, obstructing the IR signal.
f) Sometimes someone unplugs the router, and I have to phone to get it fixed.
g) Sometimes, someone unplugs the black bean from the router, and I have to phone to get it fixed.
h) Sometimes, someone physically switches off the TV or even unplugs it, and I have to phone.

i) The TV channels at the "care home" come from some system which alters the channel numbers, so I have to screenshot the TV every time it's retunes (ARGH! That's now! Rather, tomorrow) to match the ones on the Freeview TV guide I look at on my PC of mobile device.

j) The carers keep turning the sound down to 0. Resolving this by pressing "Volume Up" 63 times is tedious.
k) Sometimes my mum unwittingly turns the sound down to 0, by holding the "simplified" remote. Resolving this by pressing "Volume Up" 63 times is tedious.

l) Sometimes either Mum or a carer switches the channel to one that isn't broadcasting, or stops broadcasting, and Mum's just left looking at (e.g.) "Channel XYZ will resume broadcasting at NN:NN".

No-one normally seems to have either the time or inclination nor the sense to fix these things, so I call the place on average 1+ times a day (hundreds or maybe 1,000+ times so far, no-one learns and staff communication is awful).

Anyway, sorry for the rant. The system helps her enormously, despite the disadvantages.

It's good that this forum exists to give help and chat about stuff. I have used it before, a long time ago (I have had to re-register, because I have no idea what my previous account was, it was a long time ago, and I am not trying to break rules by using multiple accounts!)
 
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Surely a carer is capable of pressing the 'Exit' button on the remote if you aren't able to do that remotely ?
Don't get me started. Oh. Too late. You'll like this! I was told that "Of course it's OK, it's plugged in!

I hope a bit of light relief is OK.
 

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@RichardY Wow, that sounds like a really tough and frustrating situation but it looks like you're going 'above and beyond' in your efforts to help you mum which is really nice to see :)

One thing I don't understand is why you're not able to visit ? Visiting a care home (taking the obvious precautions) is not currently against the rules. The fact that you're having to go to these lengths and resort to this complicated set-up because a carer can't turn a TV on in the morning and off again at night is appalling - presumably it's costing a lot of money for you mum to be there.

I have smart TVs made by both Panasonic and LG and the 'Exit' and 'Back' buttons on each will exit the Freeview Play interface. It's possible that pressing the Menu button again (the same button that brought up your menu in the first place) might also exit the menu so if that doesn't work, that would suggest to me that it's not the right menu/button to be selecting. Does the original remote not have a Freeview Play button ?
 
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They had an outbreak, so visiting was stopped. Yes, it's a lot of money. £4,200pcm and the carers can't turn off a TV, turn it on, change the channel, face a computer tablet in the right direction, or various other things... BUT anyway:

The original remote has a Freeview Play button. I thought pressing it again would exit Freeview Play, but apparently not.

What I would really like is a "return to standard configuration" facility; e.g. "Change to BBC1, set volume to 63. However, that does not seem available, unfortunately.

Edit: Manual: Download User Manual 40LL3A63DB Toshiba LED TV

Pic of remote attached. When in Freeview Play mode, pressing the blue Monopoly house does not seem to get a menu up.
 

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Press the source button, select DTV then the main menu will be selectable.
 
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