Chapter 5: Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting is how you determine what part of a complex system (like a home entertainment system) is at fault when the system isn’t working how you think it should. When you troubleshoot a system, you diagnose a problem by examining and eliminating possible causes until there’s only one left. Troubleshooting is easiest when you start with the most obvious, most common, and most likely cause, and work from there.
Diagnosing your own problems can save you time and
•spend on the phone with a customer service representative
•do without your Axcess because it’s “in the shop”
Here are some basic steps to good troubleshooting:
1.Verify the exact conditions when the problem occurs.
This is the most important step in troubleshooting. Whether you fix it yourself or have to describe it to a technician, you are much more likely to solve the problem if you know the exact circumstances surrounding it. For example, if you don’t hear anything through the speakers, it’s useful to know if it only happens when you are listening to MP3 files. Knowing that means the speakers themselves aren’t part of the problem. The more you know about when a problem occurs, the more likely it is that you or the technician can solve it.
2.Check each part of the signal’s path from source (such as Axcess) to speaker.
You may also want to test the assumptions you made in step 1: maybe you haven’t listened to Internet Radio in a
3.Go over all device connections slowly and methodically.
Wrong or loose connections are the most likely cause of the most com- mon home entertainment problem: no sound. Use How to Connect and Set Up Your Axcess Remote Portal to
4.Cables (especially old ones) go bad more frequently than devices do. Always suspect the cable before its device. For one thing, it’s easier to test: simply swap the cable with one connected to a device you know is
How to Use and Enjoy Your Axcess Remote Portal | 21 |
