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Anonymous User
Not applicable

Setup sticking

Hi. I have just received a new Now stick. I can't get on to stage 6 in the set up process.  I have tried to do a reset and a factory reset with no luck.  The wi fi signal is good and we went through the update process. I now have a purple screen with Now on it and icons that sequence in rotation. I have also powered the stick down with no luck. I always come back to the same point. The remote is not working at this stage. Any pointers?

Thanks

 

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Anonymous User
Not applicable

You dont need to access these hidden menus to get the stick working, i only used it as a tool to formulate a prognosis.

 

I am guessing that they do know of the limitations of the stick given the first line responses they advise. All products are subject to its environment, and agree the limited instructions offered to the customer is pretty poor. My guess is that the first line are working from a script of known issues and steps which would resolve majority of cases but it may be the case they are not aware technically the underlying cause. 

 

I myself maybe barking up the wrong tree and my opinion of what is happening maybe completely inaccurate, but feel my prognosis given the information i have at my disposal is justified and offers more to the users who are struggling still then the support are offering.

I cant blame them to be fair as in a perfect environment during testing they probably achieved 99% success rate but thats where product testing falls flat on its face. Unfortunately their customer's systems aren't perfect. the limitations of technology is the cause of their grief and they will require to identify each problem on an individual basis.

I work in IT so have a certain level of background understanding of the process they are looking to achieve and the hurdles faced when trying to deploy it to Joe Public so i have a certain advantage but for those who are left it is only as good as the support offered. 

 

I can also understand why they would not want access to the hidden menus becoming public knowledge although the steps are out there in the public domain, which is why i havent disclosed the method to access it as you are likely to cause more harm then good. Like i said access to these menus are not essential as they offer diagnostic data tailored to the environment you are in.

 

If you havent already moved to another provider and if you still have fight left in you try and try again or I would force an escalation which would most probably work better in your favour. This is the least you deserve as a paying customer. 

 

View solution in original post

17 REPLIES 17
Tony-D
NOW Team Member
NOW Team Member


@Anonymous User wrote:

Hi. I have just received a new Now stick. I can't get on to stage 6 in the set up process.  I have tried to do a reset and a factory reset with no luck.  The wi fi signal is good and we went through the update process. I now have a purple screen with Now on it and icons that sequence in rotation. I have also powered the stick down with no luck. I always come back to the same point. The remote is not working at this stage. Any pointers?

Thanks

 


What method for powering the Stick are you using @Anonymous User ? USB Via the TV or using the included wall socket adapter? Thanks

Anonymous User
Not applicable
Hi. Power is via the wall socket and supplied adaptor and cable.
Anonymous User
Not applicable

Managed to get the factory reset working. Had to hold the reset button for about 12 seconds. Have gone through the same process as before two more times now. Software updated but can't get to setup 6.

schnapps
Legend 5
Legend 5

Hi @Anonymous User

 

i don't own a smart stick myself, but was wondering what is setup 6?

 

looking at this help article linked below step 6 talks about accepting the T&C's (not sure if its the same thing).

 

https://help.nowtv.com/article/set-up-your-now-tv-smart-stick     

 

 

 

Anonymous User
Not applicable

Hi. Yes. It accepting the T&C's. I can't get on to this to accept in order to proceed. So stuck in limbo but going through the various help pages. I have 3/4 bars of wi fi signal so that should be ok. I'm a bit reluctant to start moving the telly around the house. Remote doesn't work when in limbo like this. If I can't resolve then I will need to return it tomorrow. It shouldn't be rocket science to set it up but is becoming irritating.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

Ok. New day. Same problem. Have moved the TV to  about 4 metres from the hub. Definitely no signal issues but can't get stick to factory reset. That's it for now. Back in the box and return for hopefully a replacement. Fingers crossed next one will work. Not a good start.

Thanks.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

@Anonymous User

I had a very frustrating night last night diagnosing the symptoms which are exact to yours in your initial post whilst setting up my New Now TV Stick. Good news is i managed to finally resolve the issue without making any modification to my home network configuration and hope my steps will help resolve your problem. 

 

The Now TV stick has some hidden diagnostic menus which when accessed identified possible causes to the failings of the installation. in my situation The Now TV Stick would get started, connect to Wifi, apply an update, restart then hang on the NOW TV splash with the rotating pulsating picture replacing the 'O'. A soft reset of the device would start the process again. 

 

Warning. Changes made within these menus may cause further instability and/or permanent damage to the device. Please do not access these menus if you are not willing to accept responsibilty for bricking your device by accessing these menu. The chances are you will invalidate any warranty you have with SKY/NowTV if you do choose to proceed.

I am NOT a NowTV employee or approved Sky support technician or anyway afiliated with Sky.  If you are uncomfortable with any of these steps then you will need to seek advice from NowTV support. All steps are carried out at your own risk.

 

Using the diagnostic menus i managed to understand the possible reasons why the stick was malfunctioning after an update. I found there were a high number of error packets averaging about 80-90% of the total packets being received on the now tv stick and the wifi would appear to reboot the chip every so often (most probably due to the high packet error rate). I can be speculative, but it is difficult to determine whether this is a fault of my router or Now TV stick. 

Further Diagnostics were taken setting the Now TV stick on 3 different routers with similar symptoms presenting on all 3 and running diagnostics on all my wirelessly connected devices including my Xbox, TV, Laptop and Tablet which resulted in a significant difference in error packets being received.

 

There are countless environmental reasons for a high percentage error packets and everyones network will be different. Misconfiguration can play a huge part when coming to applying updates so dont assume your device is faulty.

 

So what can we do. Unfortunately not alot. My theory (and it is likely to be different for everyone but i reckon it is the same unlying cause) is the high error packets will cause corruption with the downloaded update resulting in the worse case scenario a Bricked unit or if you are lucky cause something like a checksum failure which will prevent the update from applying (which is what i was probably experiencing).

 

As the integrity of the update download is the most important part and is also the part we have no control of, the best we can do is to ensure we can minimise the risk of corruption and this means if it fails try and try again. It took me at least 17 attempts to get past the hanging Now TV screen and complete initial setup.

 

The steps I took are as follows so lets start from scratch

  1. First It may be worth restarting your router to minimise the chances that your router is transmitting errors
  2. make sure the Now TV stick has a good wireless signal as this will be significant to the percentage of error packets received. Within the same room is ideal during the upgrade at least as thickness, density, material of a physical obstruction eg wall, kitchen appliances etc can be contributing factors
  3. (optional) Other considerations is the Wifi Channel you and your neighbours are on. i never had to change my wifi channel but in an area where you are able to see alot of peoples wifi networks, it increases the possibility of interference which can lead to again high error packets. Now TV suggest being on any channel between 1 and 11. to minimise the risk you would need to set your router channel furthest apart or at least 2 channels apart from your neighbours. There are apps out there for your phone which can detail this info. 
  4. plug your NOW TV stick in to the mains adapter provided - Mains will offer better power stability then the TV USB port. Once the update is complete you could switch to the TV USB
  5. Hold the reset button for 12 seconds and release which will perform a factory reset. The LED on the stick will start to flash
  6. Pair your remote by removing the battery cover and holding the button down. green light will indicate the pair process with confirmation on screen
  7. Go through the startup process.
  8. If Fails GO back to step 1

I hope this helps people as it is evident by the number of forum thread with similar complaints

Anonymous User
Not applicable

Thanks for the explanation. Sounds feasible especially since you finally got your stick to work.  If your solution is the case then there is a fundamental flaw with the stick not covered by the limited instructions not to mention the hardware and software. The other issue is the possibile breaching of the warranty by fiddling with these hidden menus. Can't say I am comfortable with this. I will have another try to install whilst waiting for the return address.  I salute your perseverance.

Cheers.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

You dont need to access these hidden menus to get the stick working, i only used it as a tool to formulate a prognosis.

 

I am guessing that they do know of the limitations of the stick given the first line responses they advise. All products are subject to its environment, and agree the limited instructions offered to the customer is pretty poor. My guess is that the first line are working from a script of known issues and steps which would resolve majority of cases but it may be the case they are not aware technically the underlying cause. 

 

I myself maybe barking up the wrong tree and my opinion of what is happening maybe completely inaccurate, but feel my prognosis given the information i have at my disposal is justified and offers more to the users who are struggling still then the support are offering.

I cant blame them to be fair as in a perfect environment during testing they probably achieved 99% success rate but thats where product testing falls flat on its face. Unfortunately their customer's systems aren't perfect. the limitations of technology is the cause of their grief and they will require to identify each problem on an individual basis.

I work in IT so have a certain level of background understanding of the process they are looking to achieve and the hurdles faced when trying to deploy it to Joe Public so i have a certain advantage but for those who are left it is only as good as the support offered. 

 

I can also understand why they would not want access to the hidden menus becoming public knowledge although the steps are out there in the public domain, which is why i havent disclosed the method to access it as you are likely to cause more harm then good. Like i said access to these menus are not essential as they offer diagnostic data tailored to the environment you are in.

 

If you havent already moved to another provider and if you still have fight left in you try and try again or I would force an escalation which would most probably work better in your favour. This is the least you deserve as a paying customer.