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Anonymous User
Not applicable

When is a NOW Stick Defunct?

Hi I wonder if anybody can enlighten me, I watch NOW via a Dongle purchased within the last 12 months..It has worked as expected without any problems as far as I can tell delivering programmes from the likes of All4, My 5, BBC iPlayer and Itv hub....

Today (4/11/21) I tried to switch the device on and was presented with a screen advising that I had no Internet connection and was requested to do an assortment of button pushing exercises, including switching  the Router on an off reinstalling the Dongle and repeatedly entering the  WiFi Code each and every time I did this the same effect  would happen, that there was no Internet connection, albeit that the screen had advised  that the connection was Good....

Contact with the NOW Help Desk offered no helpful assistance....

Later that same evening I again  tried to reinstall the system but this time I could get no further than the NOW initial screen.

Am I to assume that perhaps the Dongle has for some unknown reason 'corrupted' (literally overnight) Interestingly when the remote is used lights on the Dongle respond.

If the Dongle has had it's day so to speak I again assume that repair is a No No...How can it be confirmed that the Dongle is Defunct apart from the fact that it appears to be not working...Do these devices actually close down without any warning???  Questions Questions..

 

Any information or guidance will be appreciated...

 

2 REPLIES 2
gavs82008
Legend 5
Legend 5

@Anonymous User 

Similar issue in this thread.

https://community.nowtv.com/t5/NOW-Stick/Stick-can-no-longer-see-any-wifi/m-p/568344#M7835

FYI that I do not work for NOW, just a NOW customer trying to help
RoyB
Legend

@Anonymous User 

 

Any electronic device can fail at any time. The failure may be permanent (hardware) or a temporary glitch. In the case of Now Sticks, there is a reset button on the side; a short press soft reboots the stick, which clears many such issues, or a long press ( >15 seconds) hard reboots it, which clears most others.

 

Now Stick, unlike Replicants, do not have a preprogrammed lifetime, though.

 

A Now Stick that is nor working completely may well respond by flashing its light to acknowledge remote commands, but it may be powerless to action them. It does at least show, though, that the Stick is receiving power and not burnt out.

 

But try the two resets, see if that fixes things.

 

Anecdotally, my wife and I woke up this morning, turned our iPads on, and hers had no WiFi while mine said it did have, but couldn’t connect anywhere. The same issue, but generational differences in the iPads. I power cycled our BT router, and all was apparently well again.

 

This happens from time to time, every few months. Nothing to look for, nothing to find, shrug your shoulders and reboot, off you go again.

 

Until later on, when I found I couldn’t make landline calls, as the VOIP Adaptor had come unpaired from the router. So I re-paired it, and all was well with the landline again.

 

This hadn’t happened before. But probably hit when the router was hit, whatever hit it - mains spike? Brownout? Again, shrug your shoulders, off you go again.

 

Now Sticks are no different, really, except they are a bit flakier than the router.

Set a Payment PIN on your account so that no-one but you can buy memberships on it. Check your bank accounts monthly for any other unexpected payments to Now. That way you can at least nip them in the bud, while you and Now figure out whose fault they are.