Rogers cable TV customers are complaining about a software update for their NextBox 2.0 and 3.0 set top boxes.

The oddly spelled Navigatr was introduced last month to subscribers just outside Toronto (Oshawa, Ajax, Newmarket, Mississauga, Brampton and Milton). It automatically appeared on their screens.

Some people felt the new TV guide was worse than the one it replaced. They complained it used a small type size they could not see and they could not enlarge.

Others found it hard to record and watch TV shows at a later date. An unlucky few had all their programs erased from their personal video recorders.

“Going to a digital cable system with a PVR and a very complex remote control was traumatic enough – without being subjected to irresponsible software updates that removed many hours of stored movies and programs,” said Edward Sadok. “There is no way to retrieve that information.”

After I forwarded his complaint to Rogers, Sadok negotiated a three-month credit to his cable fees. He had already started to review TV packages from Bell.

Norm Ullock also lost all his previously recorded programs. He also found he couldn’t turn off the parental controls and had to enter a personal identification number (PIN) every few hours.

He waited longer than usual on hold when he called technical support, leading him to think he wasn’t alone in trying to master the new system.

“Rogers messed up big on the design of this guide,” he said. “It is not user-friendly and it is impossible to read unless you are five feet from the TV. I have perfect vision.”

There are many online complaints at Rogers’ community forums and sites such as Digital Home.

There’s also a #Navigatr hashtag on Twitter with few kind words. Ron Collings calls it a horrible product and asks Rogers to bring back the old interface. Shannon Hickey says he’s considering moving to Bell TV for the first time if this is the new Rogers PVR experience.

As a result of the problems, Rogers has delayed rolling out Navigatr to other cities, including Toronto, Ottawa, London and Barrie. Fixed dates for introduction have been scrapped.

In a question and answer segment, Rogers asks: “Can I change the font size or background colour?” The candid reply: “Options to change your font and background aren’t available right now, but we’re always working hard to try and improve your TV experience.”

Why did some customers lose the precious programming they hoped to keep?

Spokesman Aaron Lazarus said the Navigatr upgrade didn’t lead to programs being erased. It was human error in using – or navigating – the new system.

“For a small percentage of people, items were deleted from their PVR. We can’t get the shows back. That should not have happened and we apologize,” he said.

Rogers is working hard to revamp the guide before launching it across Ontario. One planned change is to increase the size of the font, Lazarus said.

Some customers told me the changes had degraded their TV viewing and recording experience.

“The old navigation system worked just fine. The Rogers website does not have a user guide for Navigatr,” said John Brock. “The only resource guide available is a couple of two-minute videos that explain nothing.”

The new system “provides little or no benefit that I can see, but has a lot of serious problems,” said James Knott. “For example, there is no longer a list of recorded shows in one place. You have to go to each show and see how many episodes there are. You cannot just scan the list to see what you want to watch.”

Rob Brewer said the guide did not fit his TV screen and cut off the writing around the edges. He spoke to five people in technical support, waiting 30 minutes on hold each time, without getting his issue resolved.

I also heard complaints about Rogers’ new billing system launched in June, designed to make the monthly charges easier to understand. Some people said it was harder to see bills online, download bills in portable document format (PDF) or print bills they downloaded.

Rogers also has an Android app, called Home Edition, which allows customers to program their PVRs from a tablet. Some people said the app had stopped working with updates to the Android 5 operating system in recent months and Rogers hadn’t produced a new version.

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I’m sorry to see the company stumble in introducing improvements. Over the years, Rogers boosted its market share by adopting cutting-edge technology ahead of its competitors.

The current problems should reinforce the need to do more testing before launching upgrades. If that doesn’t happen, Rogers will struggle to keep loyal customers on board.