"There will be no further firmware updates released for the unit in the future" - That's all, folks!

WD Legacy Products WD TV Live Streaming
1

Concerning the completely unusable latest FW for the WD Live device:

From the horse’s mouth, guys, I’m sorry to say:

"The back office also stated that there will be no further firmware updates released for the unit in the future.
If the media player keeps showing issues while having the latest version firmware installed, then I would indeed advise to rollback the firmware to the previous version if it runs correctly on the unit."

From an email I received a couple of days ago.

This is shockingly poor.

Step 1) release media device

Step 2) render device completely unusable with buggy FW
Step 3) go completely silent and wait for angry customers to find their own “solution”

Step 4) leave customers high and dry with no announcement, no apology and no fix

You just lost a customer.

2

alexyork wrote:

From the horse’s mouth, guys, I’m sorry to say…

Please cite your source. 

3

How long have you had the device?

4

Don’t come back with that lame kind of response Bill_S. Western Digital killed this player with the last Firmware release and just walked away leaving customers hanging.Not everyone has the tech know how to do the rollback on a player that

asks to be updated everytime its turned on.Mp4 is a very common format that does not function properly among other  all the other bugs and issues.

This pattern of poor service is consistant throughout this forum on all products sold by Western Digital that require any type of programing skill. Eg: The newly released Mycloud firmware is a mess

I didn’t expect an update and have moved on from WD products but you attiitude is poor and needed comment

Remember the days when people were proud of the products they sold and service was important ?

5

I’m sorry, I was simply looking to help the above user, not cause problems. Depending on how long he had it, I was going to make recommendations.

As for the last firmware killing the device, it didn’t.  Granted, like many others, I had to roll back; but, I still use mine every day, and I’ve had it for almost 4 years.  That includes playing video files and watching Netflix, as well as Hulu Plus, everyday. Any of our tech support agents should be able to help him roll back if he’d like to.  That’s why they are there.

[edit]

As for being technical, I think you have a point.  Most people buy things not realizing that they may need to “set it up.”  As much as we’ve tried to make things plug and play, you just can’t.  Some things are just going to require some basic knowledge.  

1 Like
6

Jpowel wrote:

[the player] asks to be updated everytime its turned on.

You do know you can turn that off, right?

7

In the previous FW version, when I try to slideshow and browse my family photos, everytime I stop the slideshow, the browser list does _not_ remember the last photo i’ve seen.

In last FW version it works well, the browser list remembers the last photo seen, but the unit keeps crashing.

Please tell me what other FW version this works, so I can rollback to it.

Thanks in advance.

8

Mr-Wolf wrote:Please tell me what other FW version this works, so I can rollback to it.

 

here’s a link to all the Rollback Firmware … Happy testing :smiley:

http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5860/~/how-to-roll-back-the-firmware-on-a-wd-tv-live-hub-media-center,-wd-tv-live

9

None of them works, only the last version…but the last version crashes after some hours idle.

I still need some help from WD.

10

Tony, my source for this was:

[[DELETED]]
Western Digital Service and Support

In an email.

To the other person who asked, I’ve had this device for over a year now. I originally bought a WD Play, which was faulty, WD replaced it under warranty with this WD Live and here I am a year down the line.

Saying that the latest FW didn’t break the Live is just wrong. It’s not usable on the latest FW, it really is that simple. Not for more than a short while, unless you’re willing to reboot the **bleep** thing every couple of hours.

Rolling back to an old FW is not an acceptable solution. WD dumping customers with no promise of a fix for their own **bleep**-up is also not acceptable.

11

I sincerely agree with the last response.

 

It has been over a year since the last firmware update for the WDTV Live.

 

What happened? Did all your software guys left the planet? Or did they quit and

go over to Amazon?

Why does’nt WD support their products?

 

 

12

I was told a few months ago that the memory leak problem was a known problem and that a fix was being worked on.  It was suggested to me that I roll back my firmware and wait for the update.

This was from a WD support email.  

If this ends up not being true then I will be looking for full refunds for all 3 of my boxes without exception.

 "Thank you for your understanding. We will be sure to keep you update. You will be advised you as soon as the firmware is released.

 

 

WD strives to exceed customer’s expectations. If you feel that your expectations have not been met and would like to escalate your case to the next level of support, please click here"

 

Sincerely,
xxxxxxx
Western Digital Service and Support
http://support.wdc.com

13

O so just leave it broken.

Is that SERVICE.

Well WD tell everybody who bought and buys this product that they should roll back to a previous firmware or don’t update :flushed:

I know which brand i am not going to advise to my friends and family.

14

speedup wrote:

I know which brand i am not going to advise to my friends and family.

which brand is that ?

15

It’s the memory leak brand LOL

16

Another who will no longer suggest this line. I’ve had nothing but major problems. Constant “memory is low” messages, the screen turns pink when starting up, and lately it stopped playing mkvs (that it had previously played) saying they were a non-supported format.

I tried resetting the box, and left it on the original firmware. Sadly I’m still having as many errors as before, though I’m able to watch those files again.

What a sham…

17

Disgrace from WD - how can you knowingly leave a bugged firmware in this state. A new firmware needs releasing ASAP

18

I might add that rolling back is not a satisfactory response. WD should host the rolled back stable firmware so that it can be done through the device. My computer no longer works and I cannot afford a new one so I don’t have the facility to create a USB. My two devices clearly suffer the memory leak whilst idle problem necessitating a power cycle anywhere from 1 day to several days - they freeze and stop responding

19

Hi,

the first post in the thread talks about wd live tv, which from my understanding is a different product which is in the legacy section in the forum, so makes sense no more updates.

post 12 says they heard a few months ago that a fix is being worked on.  Was this for the live streaming?  As that isnt in the legacy section yet.

the most frustrating thing about this is WD doesnt provide a clear answer on it, which ive lamanted on in previokus posts.  Basically a simple update and clarification would be all thats needed.  Or move the smp to the legacy part of the forum so we all know where we stand.

reagards

miles

20

That’s absolutely shameful.

For years, Western Digital had provided firmware updates on a regular base, once a month or every two months. It may have been my number one reason for picking the device and recommending it to others. There was some great support. If I noticed a bug or an incompatiblity, I had good reasons to think it would be fixed shortly.

Then, around the second half of 2014, all of a sudden, WD stops updates, for the G3 WD TV Live, then for the more recent WD TV Media Player (the new version without Netflix), which is stuck on 1.02.17 since December. But the August 2014 2.02.32 release is one of the buggiest versions they have ever released for the WD TV Live, and it looks like it will be the final one.

It’s obvious that WD has changed its support policy, and most likely made adjustments by firing most of the firmware crew to save on costs, given the lack of new versions, and this semi-official e-mail reply. “Old” WD would have fixed most of the 2.02 issues within a few weeks. Instead, we’re stuck with this garbage firmware for good.

My WD TV Live player has hardware issues now, which I don’t mind, because I think it’s given me great value for its price for nearly four years. Had WD shown more concern for their current users, I would have picked another one immediately. But it looks like they stopped all development, even removed features from the more recent hardware version, and my opinion is that the WD TV range is getting EOLed, maybe still sold in stores, but without any real investment from the company. It doesn’t even have improved WiFi (while even cheap devices are getting 802.11ac now). It’s getting harder to justify to pay $100 for the same device (without a few functions) as four years ago, especially without the perspective of continued support from the company.

And let’s not even talk about H.265 or 4K, as I don’t think WD will develop some new hardware taking advantage of that. They threw in the towel, and we’re left covered with the sweat.