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Samsung Q990D unresponsive after 1020 firmware update

us.community.samsung.com

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Re: Samsung Q990D unresponsive after 1020 firmware update

#171

Post by ethan_smith »

tomstokes wrote: post #18

Two important features I insist on for products I develop: 1. Staged rollout of firmware updates. It’s common practice for apps and software but for some reason it’s less common with firmware. Rolling out to 1% (or less, depending on scale) of devices and waiting a day is cheap insurance. Side note: Build a good relationship with customer service people so you hear about these things immediately. 2. A failsafe firmwa…

I completely agree with both points and would add a third: design for offline use first (maybe treat every OTA update as - this might be the final version this device ever receives). Products should work perfectly fine without an internet connection, heck that's how they worked until 5-7 years ago. Core features should never depend on cloud services, and updates should be opt-in, not forced.

Offline first approach respects user autonomy and creates a natural safety net against bad updates. Plus, it means your product keeps working even when servers change or get shut down years later or a nuclear war happens. Sure, connectivity has benefits, but a speaker's main job is playing sound, not phoning home. Building offline-first also forces better engineering decisions about longevity and graceful degradation.

It's so hard to find any offline-first apps/devices nowawdays, which is sad to see in a world of algorithms and AI.

This whole situation reminds me of this: https://programmerhumor.io/linux-memes/thats-the-attitude-sa...

Re: Samsung Q990D unresponsive after 1020 firmware update

#172

Post by johnklos »

caminante wrote: post #75

HN title is editorialized. I assume "bricked" is a lot worse, i.e., permanent. Comments show that there might be resolutions and potential for firmware patch. [0] Bad updates happen. [0] https://us.community.samsung.com/t5/Home-Theater/Samsung-Q99...

"bricked" usually means bricked for most people - those of us with EPROM programmers wouldn't count.

They did this with their Blu-Ray players about five years ago:

https://www.theregister.com/2020/07/18/samsung_bluray_mass_d...

Each device had to be shipped to a repair center because they needed to directly re-flash the flash storage. The issue with the Blu-Ray players was that an update caused it to get in to a state where it would boot loop before it even got to a point that anything could be done, manually or otherwise.

What we don't know yet with this issue is whether the devices are booting enough to apply another firmware update. It may be possible to do this, fixing this issue. If that's the case "bricked" would be technically incorrect, but for now, it's not a wholly inaccurate term.

Re: Samsung Q990D unresponsive after 1020 firmware update

#173

Post by bigbacaloa »

ethbr1 wrote: post #38
marcodiego wrote: post #22

Should be codified by law: - If a firmware can be updated, it must keep a minimum ROM feature so it can be recovered. - No device should be updated without the *owner* explicit intention to do so. - Full docs must be released if the vendor stops supporting it.

> No device should be updated without the *owner* explicit intention to do so. That point has practical issues, because most consumer electronic customers are technically dumb. Consequently, you end up with a long-tail of deployed device firmware versions, which makes support a nightmare (fix this external integration that broke... across 20 different versions). I'd phrase it more in terms of: - Every device must inc…

[dead]

Re: Samsung Q990D unresponsive after 1020 firmware update

#175

Post by nickthegreek »

jms703 wrote: post #131
maayank wrote: post #67

I’m currently away from home but can deny list domains on the dns level. Anyone knows the domain this update is using? Blocked samsung.com

To prevent automatic firmware updates, ads, and any other spying I'm not aware of, I block these in DNS: *.samsungcloudsolution.com *.samsungosp.com *.samsungqbe.com *.samsungcloud.tv *.samsungads.com The first one gets the most hits. I also don't connect my Samsung displays to Wifi anymore. Unless I notice a problem that I have to search to fix. Then if there's a firmware update that fixes the issues, I'll do it. Ne…

My samsung was so noisy that I went to forget the wifi network... but it couldnt. So I ended up blocking its mac at the router. Prior to that it was always the #1 blocked device on my pihole.

Re: Samsung Q990D unresponsive after 1020 firmware update

#176

Post by tremon »

mmanfrin wrote: post #36
marcodiego wrote: post #22

Should be codified by law: - If a firmware can be updated, it must keep a minimum ROM feature so it can be recovered. - No device should be updated without the *owner* explicit intention to do so. - Full docs must be released if the vendor stops supporting it.

> - No device should be updated without the owner explicit intention to do so. Ahh! But you are just leasing the software!! Samsung is technically the owner!!

  - if the manufacturer retains some form of ownership after "sale", it is obligated to provide free repairs/replacements for the duration of the contract

Re: Samsung Q990D unresponsive after 1020 firmware update

#177

Post by Lanolderen »

thiagobbt wrote: post #169
Lanolderen wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Use the speakers as a microphone! WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY!

They usually already have mics to do automatic EQ calibration

Didn't know that, thanks. Then speakers are actually a pretty big data source. I bet most people don't assume their speakers can be listening. I wonder if you can get internet connection over bluetooth aux or what'd be the best way to get someone to let you send data home on a speaker.

Re: Samsung Q990D unresponsive after 1020 firmware update

#178

Post by bregma »

I recently replaced all my kitchen appliances with matching mid-scale Samsung-branded ones. The first thing I did after powering them on for the first time was disable the WiFi. For this reason.

Also, it's entirely unclear to me why I need WiFi or a remote server for my dishwasher or refrigerator in the first place. What possible value-add is there?

Re: Samsung Q990D unresponsive after 1020 firmware update

#179

Post by nickthegreek »

jimt1234 wrote: post #73
barbazoo wrote: post #30

Samsung should merge with Sonos, they are all doing a really great job :)

I loved my Sonos soundbar. It sounded amazing. But it required me to use their terrible app. That's why I got rid of it (the app was REALLY bad!) - luckily, before they started bricking customers' devices.

I have my sonos integrated nicely inside Home Assistant and can control all core and most extra features nicely without using the app.

Re: Samsung Q990D unresponsive after 1020 firmware update

#180

Post by mmmlinux »

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #6

If the damage is actually as bad as it sounds, Samsung is probably talking with their lawyers and is being instructed to maintain radio silence so as to better prepare for the class-action lawsuit.

Luckily for them no one can listen to their radios now.
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