WARNING: Do not gift, recycle or sell your NOW TV device

[chai]

The sign out of your account option on the NOW TV device appears to work as it always used to, the device thereafter requesting a NOW TV username/password. So you would think that the device was logged out of your account, however currently if you then turn the device off and on again, the device logs back into your original account!

Therefore do not gift, recycle or sell your NOW TV device, as the recipients of the boxes can use your NOW TV streams,  purchase NOW TV passes, and from a piracy perspective can see what you have been watching.

This issue has the potential to cause a lot of trouble for NOW TV customers, but I have no idea how this issue can be communicated to the development team.

I have tested this issue multiple times on a couple of NOW TV Smart sticks, but I guess it will also apply to the various NOW TV boxes.

[Mark_Weinreb]

@chai It’s always recommended that you perform a factory reset on any device that contains account information. Did you do this? A factory reset will return the device to its virgin state, without any knowledge of your account or wifi details.

[chai]

In the past, signing out of a NOW TV device scrubbed the NOW TV account details from the device, as it should.

I wanted to gift the stick to my neighbours, as a non-subscription catch-up device for their increasingly dumb "smart" TV. If the stick is factory reset, it will not work unless linked to a NOW TV account.

[ukbobboy]

@chai 

Chai

If you want to gift a fully functioning NOW stick or box to a neighbour,  unless you take certain precautions, then you'll have to accept whatever consequences befall you thereafter.

Your choice.

UK Bob

[starman73]

... as a non-subscription catch-up device for their increasingly dumb "smart" TV. If the stick is factory reset, it will not work unless linked to a NOW TV account.

Is that right?  I guess they could get a free trial and cancel it immediately.  That would get around that restriction.

[chai]

@Mark_Weinreb  @ukbobboy 

The sign out option used to work correctly in older firmware (I'm guessing that this issue was introduced during the NOW rebranding). It's especially troubling because it looks like it functions but doesn't, which may explain why the developers did not spot the issue in the first place.

And a factory reset effectively bricks the device, making it fit only for recycling (which is ridiculous in this day and age).

[gavs82008]

@chai 

Setting the box back to factory settings won’t “brick” the device.

As stated up thread it will put the box back to its original state when you first got it. 
All the updates will still take place as soon as it’s connected to internet. 

This is the best way to “log out” of NOW permanently because it will delete your login details from the box.

You will then have to sign back into all the apps and download any if they aren’t standard as part of the build. 

[Saint1976]

Ask yourself this - would you gift, recycle or sell a laptop, pc or mobile device without doing a factory reset?

If the answer is no, then there's no reason why you wouldn't do the same with a streaming device! Especially one that has such basic security as a Now device!