14 DAY TRIAL // The world has more or less left the exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7 saga behind, but every once in a while, the South Korean firm does its magic and gets something so wrong that customers start badmouthing them all over the Internet.
This is what’s happening right now, as Samsung has shipped a botched firmware update to a number of smart TVs, bricking them to the point that only an engineer can restore full functionality.
As frustrating as it may sound, it appears that Samsung’s bad firmware update is aimed at the company’s latest models, including (but not limited to) UE50MU6100K, UE49MU7070 and MU6409.
This means that whoever buys one of these models and connects it to the Internet for the very first time is offered an update that could brick down the device – Samsung hasn’t said a single thing about this blunder, so it’s not clear at this point if the update has already been pulled or not.
In other words, if you buy a new Samsung smart TV and you’re offered an update right out of the box, you better not install it for a few more days until more information surfaces.
TVs can no longer change channels or turn on
At this point, customers complaining on the company’s forums claim that in most of the cases, the TVs running the latest firmware update can’t either change the channel or start at all, with devices freezing with a black screen after displaying the Samsung splash screen.
Since the South Korean firm has remained tight-lipped on anything regarding these issues, it’s hard to tell where the problem resides and what to do if your TV is bricked.
Someone on the forums said that Samsung is already working on a fix, but applying it requires installation by a Samsung engineer. This means that you might have to either bring your TV to a service center or have someone working for the company pay you a visit, though depending on the number of botched models, this could take insanely long.
We’re still waiting for more information from the South Korean firm and we’ll update the article as soon as some clarification is offered.
UPDATE: Samsung has issued a statement, explaining that the number of impacted TVs is actually quite small and the company is already working with affected customers to address the problem.
"Samsung is aware of a small number of TVs in the UK (fewer than 200) affected by a firmware update to 2017 MU Series TVs on 17 August. Once this issue was identified the update was switched off and we are now working with each customer to resolve the issue. Any customers affected are encouraged to get in touch with Samsung directly by calling 0330 726 7864. We would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused to our customers."