Activating my Xfinity Cisco RNG 100 Cable Box

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As someone with enough tech savvy to run an iOS development company, you'd think installing an Xfinity cable box wouldn't be an issue for me, right?

Well, after 2 days of pain, frustration and brainstorming, I finally was able to activate my own cable box without needing to pay the extra $60 to have someone come out to my house to show me how to plug in a coaxial cable.

And, in an effort to save you, the intrepid Googler, some time and energy, I figured I could provide a quick tip for getting your box to work as well.

Here's the problem I was facing: I plugged the box in, hooked in the cables and powered it up. What would happen is the following sequence:

  • The data light would hold solid for a few seconds
  • The remote light would hold solid for a few secounds
  • The power light would hold solid for a few seconds
  • The power light would then blink off and on, roughly 14 times
  • The power light would then shut off, with apparently no action being taken by the box

Because the physical coaxial cable that runs into our living room is simply awful[1. The cable goes out the window from the basement and through the window in our living room. Yes, the windows are both shut. Yes, the cable looks like a flattened pancake. No, I don't understand why our landlord doesn't just drill a hole through the ceiling and run the cable through that.], I tried plugging the box directly into the line that connects to our cable drop. This resulted in a similar sequence of events.

Frustrated, I started smashing buttons on the remote control provided by Xfinity. I ended up getting into the diagnostic/settings menu, which showed that I wasn't getting any connection to the cable company.

Before giving up and dropping TV from Xfinity, I decided to see what would happen if I utilized the ethernet port provided on the back.

And what do you know? It worked!

So, if you're having problems receiving a signal to your Cisco RNG 100, try running an ethernet cable between your box and your router. After 2 minutes of waiting, the box showed the "Not Authorized" message and I was on my way.

Now, I can finally enjoy standard definition cable on my 46" Sony XBR6[2. Yeah, I should probably upgrade my box to HD. But since I'm probably not going to be watching much cable, and my girlfriend doesn't care, I think I'd be happer with the $10/m]. Horray!

Update (12/18/12): I've noticed that if you disconnect the power to this box and plug it back in, it takes a very long time to boot. It makes no sense to me why Cisco couldn't implement some sort of "loading" screen during boot, but regardless: if your box appears unresponsive, you really should give it a good 10 minutes before freaking out and punching a hole in your drywall.

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