Samsung Televisions Dirty Little Secret

[Judge]

Geez. Had I known this three years ago I would have never bought one.

I spent Friday night to Sunday afternoon trying to fix a glitch in my widescreen Samsung "Smart" TV. When it started to reboot any time I hit any button on my remote. Thought at first I just needed to change the remote controller's batteries. Nope, that wasn't it. Then I checked all the obvious connections including power cords. Nope...they were all snug.

Went online to learn more and was horrified to read that this is an old issue. One which evolved into a class action lawsuit where Samsung eventually settled. But I wasn't a plaintiff to that civil action. I suppose everyone else after the fact is just SOL. Samsung never seemed to definitively explain what the problem was, let alone how to fix it. They simply lost as a defendant and compensated their plaintiff customers.

Worse, I discovered there are multiple explanations as to what might be causing their tvs to go into a recursive loop and come on and go off constantly. The original lawsuit seemed to revolve around defective capacitors on the motherboard. Other explanations involved failed components on the power supply board. Still others blamed it on firmware updates or the network adapter. And many claimed you could fix this glitch by simply restoring the system to the original factory default settings.

After exhausting so many possibilities, I finally decided to open up the tv to inspect the components on the power supply and motherboard. While I didn't go as far as measuring their voltage with my Volt/Ohms meter, I could see that none of them appeared to be damaged in any way.

My last recourse seemed to be to search for the connector from the motherboard to the network adapter and disconnect it, to see if the problem resided there. I eventually found it (different model tvs have very different network connections) and carefully unplugged it.

After putting it all back together I turned it on, and observed how long it had been on without rebooting itself. A half hour passed. Then an hour. I hit the remote buttons....nothing happened. I continued watching Sunday afternoon, just to see the reboot come back as it did so many times when I thought I had fixed it. The problem never came back. Bingo! It has something to do with the network adapter. Maybe a firmware update. But in the process, by unplugging that one connection I turned my "Smart TV" into a dumb one. I don't normally even use the smart capabilities, and for the timed being don't want to mess with it again.

Though I'm wondering if I were to reconnect the network adapter, if whatever software recursion might have been happening, would no longer be in resident memory? I also read that some people claimed that when the system reboots, there's a series of characters on the remote to punch that will clear any issues relative to a firmware update gone bad. I suppose my curiosity will eventually catch up with me to experiment again in the future. Just not today!

At least in the meantime I have my tv back, with a very good quality picture, despite all the grief over "smart" capabilities. But geez....to observe how a major manufacturer just turns their back on their paying customers disgusts me.

Samsung. Their exploding battery and phones, exploding washing machines and tvs that have a mind of their own. -Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware)

 

[The Penguin]

I find fair amount of manufactures having issues including Apple with the iPhone 6 touch disease, not responding when a person trying to use the touch screen.

I'm not sure what these companies quality control process? What I do know, we have devices these days doing too many tasks which is higher risk of failure. Like during a time, a cell phone was meant making phone calls only. Later we add texting, then music, then apps, etc. Now it more harder to troubleshooting issues as there too many functions for the device. That what I find is one flaw of multi function devices.

 

[Judge]

I find fair amount of manufactures having issues including Apple with the iPhone 6 touch disease, not responding when a person trying to use the touch screen.

Good points, William.

It's unnerving to see this trend among the biggest names in technology. That rather fix a problem, let the litigation drag out and eventually settle, rather than actually fix something that malfunctions.

That's more a case of "quality avoidance" than "quality control".

But yeah, I can crunch numbers too...and understand why they do as $uch.

 

[Mr Allen]

I blame the fanboys, no really I do.

They're so desperate for Apple and Samsung's latest gear, they won't wait for the companies to fix any and all bugs in their hardware before release otherwise they start flooding forums bitching about delayed releases.

 

[Judge]

I blame the fanboys, no really I do.

They're so desperate for Apple and Samsung's latest gear, they won't wait for the companies to fix any and all bugs in their hardware before release otherwise they start flooding forums bitching about delayed releases.

I worked in entertainment software for a brand name everyone knows. Even in the late 90s they knowingly released buggy software games prematurely. But not so much because of the fans. Because of the shareholders.

When it comes to stock issues and prices...these mega-corporations are swimming in money. Where they pacify shareholders with continuing claims of quarterly success and dividends- even if it isn't there. As for the customers, screw 'em. They'll buy the product raw and hope and wait for the patches/fixes.

https://www.google.com/search?q=samsung+stock+price&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

 

[The Penguin]

It's unnerving to see this trend among the biggest names in technology. That rather fix a problem, let the litigation drag out and eventually settle, rather than actually fix something that malfunctions.

Same with my job and software I'm supporting. It took five months for me to prove and them to accept I'm right their software haves a bug. At the end, they want me to tolerate the crash instead of fixing the issue. I shared this with my boss and he informed head office. I know some point this will be fixed but I hate when developers don't want to fix an issue.

 

[Judge]

In the corporate environment, perfection or optimization isn't cost efficient.

Too bad, in growing up as a Baby Boomer there used to be some products which lived up to their brand name. But now everything is supposed to have a short shelf life by design, which surely impacts the equation to refrain from perfection.

If it doesn't work, wait for version 2.0. Or 3.0. Whatever.

 

[The Penguin]

In the corporate environment, perfection or optimization isn't cost efficient.

Too bad, in growing up as a Baby Boomer, there used to be some products which lived up to their brand name.

If only I was born during those times.

 

[zurb]

Had a similar issue with a Samsung Galaxy phone constantly rebooting. Found someone on the internet with the same issue who wrote that every second firmware release causes it. This seems to match the general patten I see, though I always suspected connectivity also had an impact.

 

[Judge]

Had a similar issue with a Samsung Galaxy phone constantly rebooting. Found someone on the internet with the same issue who wrote that every second firmware release causes it. This seems to match the general patten I see, though I always suspected connectivity also had an impact.

I found it frustrating not to have originally been aware that my tv defaults to auto upgrades of firmware. I should have been aware of it, but wasn't. So yes, I also considered whether or not I may have shut off my Internet connection in the middle of a firmware download I wasn't aware of. But I suppose now it's just a matter of whether this recursion was ended so I can reinstall the latest firmware upgrade without incident.

Still, you'd think if this is the culprit that Samsung would have no problem warning users of not breaking their connection during any firmware upgrade. Ugh.

Supposedly my last "successful" firmware upgrade was version 2220.

 

[Mia]

Literally amazing that you could and did somewhat 'problem solve' your television, they have become so complex, that blowing off the dust and checking the connections is mainly what I would do, all the while asking myself if it's hardware or software that's the issue.

It's something that few people would attempt. Many would have thrown up their hands and made their way to the seller and either had it replaced or purchase a new one. The planned obsolesence of the manufacturers and the marketplace make me quite sad.

As I grew up in an era that had people replacing tubes in televisions as a usual occurrence. There was never a sunday night that didn't see my father fiddling with the back of the television, or giving it a smack to get a better picture. A local fellow got his 'television repair certificate' from the back of a matchbook and everyone was impressed. He had lots of work after that

 

[toothless]

wow judge,your just like my aspie dad;he can fix anything [yet struggles to make basic conversation outside his small script],thats a great skill to have at least your not paying ridiculous amounts of money to get someone out to fix it.

does the fact you took the network bit out mean you now dont have internet access on the smart sections of the tv?
btw,youve probably heard of it but incase you havent;i recommend getting a firestick and installing kodi [and then exodus] or-hook up your laptop via a HDMI cable to the tv and install kodi and exodus on it,best thing ever in my opinion,i have it installed on my laptop and hooked up via HDMI.

 

[Judge]

Literally amazing that you could and did somewhat 'problem solve' your television, they have become so complex, that blowing off the dust and checking the connections is mainly what I would do, all the while asking myself if it's hardware or software that's the issue.

It's something that few people would attempt. Many would have thrown up their hands and made their way to the seller and either had it replaced or purchase a new one. The planned obsolesce of the manufacturers and the marketplace make me quite sad.

As I grew up in an era that had people replacing tubes in televisions as a usual occurrence. There was never a sunday night that didn't see my father fiddling with the back of the television, or giving it a smack to get a better picture. A local fellow got his 'television repair certificate' from the back of a matchbook and everyone was impressed. He had lots of work after that

LOL. Thanks. I laugh only because in earlier times I was just as arrogant, yet determined to try to fix a VCR as well, which had thousands of parts or more in comparison.

But you know, when I foolishly popped open my tv, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it resembled much more a small personal computer than an old CRT. I've been building my own PCs since the late 80s, so there wasn't too much of this tv that intimidated me. Still, it took some work to locate the network adapter as it was arranged and appeared quite differently from all the Youtube videos I saw. But yes, it's still important for everyone reading this thread to understand the serious risks of electrocution in opening up a tv set....even solid state ones without tubes.

Don't get me wrong though. I didn't spend all my time trying to fix this damn thing. I was also very busy plotting "plan b". To reluctantly purchase a new tv.
Which forced me to take a crash course in 4K television technology, and why it wouldn't likely benefit me at the moment. And I really didn't want to have to pay for a new tv, especially during the holidays with all the usual expenses.

 

[Judge]

wow judge,your just like my aspie dad;he can fix anything [yet struggles to make basic conversation outside his small script],thats a great skill to have at least your not paying ridiculous amounts of money to get someone out to fix it.

does the fact you took the network bit out mean you now dont have internet access on the smart sections of the tv?
btw,youve probably heard of it but incase you havent;i recommend getting a firestick and installing kodi [and then exodus] or-hook up your laptop via a HDMI cable to the tv and install kodi and exodus on it,best thing ever in my opinion,i have it installed on my laptop and hooked up via HDMI.

Thanks, though I think I was ultimately lucky in being able to find, let alone disconnect the network adapter!

Yeah, pretty much all the "smart" functions get terminated when you disconnect the network adapter. Yeah, I've pondered on the possibilities of being able to bypass the internal network adapter just to access a third-party adapter. Though I have no idea if internal apps and other functions dependent on a network connection would work under those circumstances.

I do have plenty of HDMI and USB ports to consider...though more likely at a later date I'll simply try one other alleged "fix" that might stop the recursion and set up for a proper firmware download.

 

[The Penguin]

Which forced me to take a crash course in 4K television technology, and why it wouldn't likely benefit me at the moment.

That interesting. When 1080P was new, I got the TV too soon when there was not much content. 4 to 5 years after my purchase is when a fair amount of content existed. As for streaming 4K content, not enough people have the bandwidth to support this service. Not sure when people will?

 

[Judge]

That interesting. When 1080P was new, I got the TV too soon when there was not much content. 4 to 5 years after my purchase is when a fair amount of content existed. As for streaming 4K content, not enough people have the bandwidth to support this service. Not sure when people will?

That was another thing I had to really dig at online to get just a rough idea of.

Some were saying three to four years. I know Microsoft is pitching 4K source through their XBox...and there are a few expensive 4K movies on disk out.

But then I figure it took my own cable provider at least nine years to go from 720p to 1080p. I don't see them switching over to 4K unless they plan on increasing the cost to consumers. Though I fear quite soon, the tv manufacturers will phase out native 1080p tv sets altogether.

In a nutshell I'm guessing I'll be dead by the time 4K goes mainstream.

Despite the pain in the ass this tv became, I still love most of its performance and functionality. Especially all the "bells and whistles" related to the tv alone. But would I buy another Samsung product now? Doubtful.

 

[toothless]

Thanks, though I think I was ultimately lucky in being able to find, let alone disconnect the network adapter!

Yeah, pretty much all the "smart" functions get terminated when you disconnect the network adapter. Yeah, I've pondered on the possibilities of being able to bypass the internal network adapter just to access a third-party adapter. Though I have no idea if internal apps and other functions dependent on a network connection would work under those circumstances.

I do have plenty of HDMI and USB ports to consider...though more likely at a later date I'll simply try one other alleged "fix" that might stop the recursion and set up for a proper firmware download.

that sucks judge,you paid for a smart TV and your not getting it, has it gone over the warantee? can you not argue your money back as its samsungs fault?

 

[Judge]

that sucks judge,you paid for a smart TV and your not getting it, has it gone over the warantee? can you not argue your money back as its samsungs fault?

This happened more than two years beyond the warranty. But in reading from what others posted in other websites, when Samsung serviced their tvs under warranty they simply replaced the motherboard and/or the power supply board, and the problem persisted. Money back? Good luck with that, considering they already settled a class action lawsuit a few years ago. Leaving people like me out in the cold.

Worse to read about one guy on Youtube who must have spent around $500 replacing his motherboard and power supply board to no avail. Whatever it is, it involves the network adapter in whole or in part, hardware and/or software too.

Personally everything I've observed and experienced leaves me thinking this may be purely a software issue relative to a firmware download. So if there becomes another download available beyond ver. 2220 I just might take a shot at it again.

 

[Mia]

Think we might be both arrogant or curious instead, I also attempted a fix of my original VCR It was a nightmare, with five heads for a perfect freeze frame, whatever I did beyond checking connections and looking for connector breaks it worked. Taking it apart and putting it back together fixed the problem. Whatever it was.

Found it funny that you wrote about this today, as I had just taken apart my car's remote starter as it wasn't working and my spouse had a meltdown Likely because he'd broken the last two, and the dealership charges a great deal an hour to repair them. The remote still isn't working to start the car, but I've fixed it before, more of a programming issue maybe.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

Sorry, you did what? You fixed something? Don't you know you're supposed to go out and buy a new one!? It's the 21st century, guy! Get with the times!

Sarcasm out of the way, it is terrible how these companies deal with defective products. I had a stereo system that was handed down from my parents about 5 years ago, it's been in use for about 14. These days it's unheard of to get hardware that lasts that long, if it doesn't exploded in seven months time it'll won't be future-proof for the next 3 years. The only reason why I replaced that system was that the amp would get dangerously hot if the volume was too loud and that I wanted something a little more functional. I'm hoping that Denon is just as good now as it was back then.

I had a Samsung storage device in my phone die on me last month. Last time I buy them from Samsung. I also wouldn't buy Sony any more save for maybe the PlayStations, even then there's not a lot of reason to buy one when you've got a beast of a PC.