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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

#281
post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft removed support for Skype on TV, not Samsung. Most apps get removed because the people writing them don't want to support them anymore. The Samsung framework from 2013 was always trouble and it doesn't support many current W3C features that you'd want as a developer. Most people I know are drawing the line at supporting 2014 or 2016 Samsung devices. Could Samsung update their devices to ensure they still su…

I hate this idea that software "rots" all by itself when it's just left on a device and is impossible to keep working. I would at the very, very least expect my device to work exactly as it did on day one, for the next 50 years, assuming I don't change the software. It's bits on a flash drive! It doesn't rot, outside some freak cosmic ray from space flipping a bit. If you're saying the software stops working because…

Certificates expire.

Re: Samsung Q990D unresponsive after 1020 firmware update

#282
post #99
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a similar experience with my high-end Samsung TV from 2013. The TV itself still works perfectly so I'm not replacing it soon (still 1080p, not 4K, but...), but over time, Samsung has steadily removed key features with each update. When I first bought it, it supported Skype video calls (and now the integrated webcam can't be used at all), IPTV streaming, and various third-party apps — all of which are now gone.…

LGs, while still smart TVs, are relatively competent at being dumb TVs. Your only other options these days (sans rescuing a dumb TV from e-waste) are commercial panels and projectors.

If you just use an HDMI input and attach some streaming box to it, Samsung TVs work just fine. Just never touch the remote and only interact with the source and everything works.

Re: Samsung Q990D unresponsive after 1020 firmware update

#283

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.

Your second condition practically guarantees proliferation of exploitable IoT devices.

Re: Samsung Q990D unresponsive after 1020 firmware update

#285
post #192
post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe a new codec? New streaming app support? New wireless protocol? CEC bugfix?

Yes, all of those are in the realm of possibilities, but has it ever been the norm? In my experience, products like this are only get updates when the company finds a way to extract more money: - add more ads - add more ads that pretend not to be ads - to remove functionality, so it won't cannibalize sales of more expensive product

It’s the norm because people rather buy one single product that does it all.

The alternative to an all-in-one sound bar is having regular 5.1 speakers, a nice receiver, a nice streaming box, and maybe a dumber TV and you will have absolutely the best setup but it’s a lot of putting pieces together, more space usage, and either money (if you want it right away) or a lot of waiting (if you want to get it used).

Re: Samsung Q990D unresponsive after 1020 firmware update

#286

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…

> A failsafe firmware reset back to factory state.

Or perhaps to the very first released firmware version. This way they don't have to support updating from any version to the latest, just from the first one.

Re: Samsung Q990D unresponsive after 1020 firmware update

#287

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…

> A failsafe firmware reset back to factory state. This doesn't work if your threat model includes denying rollbacks to prevent exploiting bugs in old firmware. I'd love to be able to roll-back firmware on some of my devices to allow me to "jailbreak" them using old firmware. In some cases your newer firmware may be blowing e-fuses that prevent old firmware from functioning. See the Nintendo Switch, for an example. T…

Yes it does work… with an A/B update system.

Android systems can do this today. After an orderly shutdown of new software, then it can mark the new stuff as good and not allow older software to boot.

Re: Samsung Q990D unresponsive after 1020 firmware update

#288
post #39

My Samsung TV got more and more unusable with every update. Over the years, saved apps, like Youtube, started to disappear every time it woke up. Then it would default to their Samsung TV app, rather than your last app. Samsung TV app happened to be on the Baywatch channel every time my young children started the stupid thing. Finally, after it took 2 minutes to load the youtube app, I factory-reset the device, disco…

This describes essentially all Samsung products: really cool for the first few months then progressively accelerating slide straight into the trash.

I'm never buying any Samsung products again if I can avoid it. A forced update bricked my damn phone when it forcibly restarted while I was showing something to a client.

Samsung doesn't give a shit. They'll trash the device you paid for and tell you to suck it up and buy a new one.

Re: Samsung Q990D unresponsive after 1020 firmware update

#289
post #197

I got a good deal for an S90C + Q990C combo. It was 50% off off their regular price which was already quite a bit cheaper than the comparable LG/Sony counterparts. After 1 year, I am 100% sure that I will never again buy a Samsung product, no matter how cheap it is. Just look at the first sticky here: https://www.avsforum.com/threads/2023-samsung-4k-s95c-s90c-s...

My Q990C requires factory reset about once a week. It's maddening.

Re: Samsung Q990D unresponsive after 1020 firmware update

#290
post #255
post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Customers will gladly use an outdated browser or OS with known exploits to access their most sensitive information. Automated updates are necessary evil. Even a smart speaker with a vulnerability could end up as part of a botnet.

I think this is completely rational given a realistic threat model. As a customer, I've had my browser hacked exactly never, but examples of feature downgrades from vendors abound. Vendors are a much more serious attack vector than a random hacker.

I would assume your browser automatically applies security updates in the case of 0day exploits, no?

Like I said, automatic updates are an evil. But the general populace will absolutely defer every security update until the end of time so long as they don't have to spend five minutes waiting to get to their desktop.

Obviously vendors enshitify their products via firmware updates and potentially brick devices or introduce new vulnerabilities but, it's ludicrous to pretend that the general populace are good stewards of their internet connected devices or that they ever will be. They simply do not care, they never will, and its up to the rest of us to design products for the lowest common denominator if we want protect end users and have a safer internet.

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