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Anonymous User
Not applicable

Sky TV's environment policy vs White Now Box bricked

In common with many people I have a white Now box - it was once in the front room and it has migrated upstairs to the bedroom, along with the 720p tv that also used to be in the front room.

 

I don't use it that often, and obviously haven't been able to use it at all since October 2020 when Now / Sky bricked it. I was reminded of this last night when I tried to use it. There is nothing wrong with the hardware, and I understand that the software cannot be supported forever, but it was working until it was killed off deliberately. I would have been quite happy with a message saying 'this device is no longer supported and there will be no further updates. As content providers update their services, they may no longer work with this device, and this is beyond the control of NowTV' or words to the effect - to just turn it off was unnecessary.

 

I wonder if someone from Now would be good enough to explain how this corresponds to Sky's environmental policy which states

 

"We believe better business creates a better world. That’s why we push ourselves to achieve the highest standards of sustainability and responsibility"

 

You've bricked an otherwise functional device. How is that "the highest standard of sustainability and responsibility"? Or is the policy just words that sound nice?

13 REPLIES 13
RoyB
Legend

@redchiz1 

 

Well, I went through my boxes of old tech (rather proving my wife’s point that I am a hoarder), mining the strata through old Now Sticks, the black NowTV box, my Sky hub, and just when I was about to give up, in box five finally, a white NowTV box, in museum condition with its transparent plastic wrapping not even peeled off, and with its power supply and remote, though no HDMI cable.

 

Smaller than I remembered, like a schoolteacher met in later life, but otherwise much as expected.

 

A quick check on the NowTV-supplied batteries in the remote showed that, amazingly, they were still in pristine condition and giving 1.54 volts, which is more than some of today’s batteries can manage.

 

So I plugged it into a TV from 2012, and fired it up. Had to teach it the current WiFi, but after that, I got a series of icons for the Roku Store, BBC iPlayer, Demand 5, Tune In, some media app called Play-something, and Sky News.

 

I could access the Roku Store, start the iPlayer but it just went black, start Demand 5 but it said it couldn’t access the server, Tune In worked fine and I could listen to internet radio stations, had nothing to use Play-whatever with, and Sky News started OK, but again just went black.

 

This was on software version 4.something, from the last time I used it.

 

Updating it, it went to 9.something, and now all I get is a start screen apologising for the box no longer working, and not letting me past to get at the apps any more.

 

So yes, it would still play some of the apps, possibly even let me have more (the Roku Store offered me Prime Video, though I didn’t try to download it), but the latest software release, or wherever that takes me to, cuts me off from all that.

 

I did try a reset, and that gets you to a more modern dialogue than 4.x offered, to set up networking, scroll through interminable and non-skippable T&Cs, and so on, but the end result is still the “Sorry, but,,,,” screen.

 

So the white box is still a partially workable app platform, but now with a start screen that doesn’t let you access any of them. A bit 🐕‍🦺 in the manger 💩, but there you go…

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.
redchiz1
Champion 2

@RoyB Above and beyond, interesting to know, with many thanks for your efforts. How your long-suffering missus puts up with you I'll never know!  😄

RoyB
Legend

@redchiz1 

 

Like a Now Pass on renewal date, it’s too late for her to switch 😛

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.
redchiz1
Champion 2

😂😂😂.