As you all know, I have bought a Samsung UN55ES6500 here in the US,
I was an avid plasma user back in the Philippines, I chose this mainly because
I was quite impressed with its color rendition, images are quite sharp and very vivid, not to mention
the fact that the aesthetics are really beautiful. I bought my unit last June 2012,...
I got it setup, got it online, and soon, I was browsing the web using my LED,
was quite happy with its features, I was not aware that these units needed to be upgraded
once a new firmware is released. And being a Smart TV, it would advise you that a new
firmware is released. So I took the plunge, well actually, I have no choice but to update it coz it keeps popping up,... The first few months of updates went smoothly, and somehow, even improved
the performance of the TV, it improved the speed of the images, it became much fluid...
A few days ago, I think that was Nov. 5, the TV informed me that a new firmware is available, so like before, I chose to upgrade it,... Now comes the problem,...
My TV started having flickering issues, at first maybe its the HDMI cables, good thing I have a couple of reserve cables here, replaced it, still flickering,.. So I decided to remove all the gadgets connected on the TV, and install it to a different TV just to isolate the problem. But somehow, there was no flickering on the other TV, by then I already have an inkling on what's wrong, but still in denial,
coz the ODD thing about updating the firmware to the newer version, is that you won't be able to revert back to the old firmware. (more on that later)
I did interchange all my HDMI connections to see if maybe a certain port is faulty, but somehow, all ports are flickering, therefore I concluded the flickering issue was caused by the last firmware update.
I was so disappointed, so the first thing that came to my mind was to call the Tech Support of Samsung, I told them the whole story, but as you well know, consumer service reps would be able to answer you to a certain extent, to sum it up, the CSR just informed me that someone would be sent here at home to check up on my TV,... I had no choice but to set an appointment, coz I know its beyond my control now...
After calling Samsung, I decided to call BEST BUY, the shop where I bought my TV, they too were of limited help, but somehow, they were much faster to render help, they were able to send out The GEEK SQUAD to my place, The GEEK SQUAD is the troubleshooting group of the Best Buy store,
mind you, its not free, they charge up to $150 a visit just to check up on you, but this time, they did not charge me, coz my unit was still under the factory warranty.
Yesterday, Nov. 8, was the set appointment date of the GEEK SQUAD, a tech guy arrived, but even before he touched my TV, I already told him EVERYTHING he needs to know. The guy complimented me of being a TECH SAVVY, he said that I made his job a lot easier, made a few calls to the office, to know
whether there have been other reports of the same problem, but somehow, there was none yet.
So the supervisor on the other end of the line told us that the only solution to this sort of problem was to obtain a new MAIN BOARD from Samsung and replace the MAIN BOARD on my unit, I felt so dejected,
I have never in my life been a fan of surgery on my gadgets, but, that leaves me with no choice,
for as long as I am not paying anything, they did assured me that in case it get fixed, there will be no charges, and if it the TV won't get fixed, or if the problem persists even after a few months after installing the new part, they would coordinate with Samsung to have my TV replaced. So either way, I am in a win-win scenario. So I agreed on their terms, the part would be sent out to my place, and once it arrives, all I have to do is contact them to have it installed.
Nov. 9, after I dropped off my queen to her work, I was still feeling very disappointed, knowing that a brand new TV would be operated on and have her heart replaced. So, I decided to sent out a couple of emails to Samsung, that includes the CEO, and to the tech department. Telling them of my predicament, and how stressful is this for me, told them that one thing I value here in the US is their consumer protection, etc etc...
After a few MINUTES, I received a phone call, its from a TV repair group of Samsung, informing me that the only solution for now is to (really) replace the main board, coz that is where the firmware is installed, and they would be visiting me next week, I told them OK, it seems, I have no choice....
After an hour, another call came, its from the technical group of Samsung, the guy's name was Raphael, he told me that the CEO called them up, and asked if they can render assistance to my problem. He told me to turn on the TV, he told me to check on the remote management, so that he can access my TV on his end. He also informed me that they had started receiving complaints of the same sort after the update on the firmware. He started tinkering though a bunch of hidden menus and told me that the latest firmware installed had a small app included in it, the SYNC PLUS app, which by default is selected, he simply unchecked it, and told me to check if the symptom is still there,
and like MAGIC, it was gone,..! I was so happy, I told the guy, man, you saved my TV from an unwanted operation, he agreed with me that the problem was software based, and not hardware based. I also asked the guy, would it be advisable still to update my TV if in case a new firmware is released. He said yes, there may be glitches once in a while, but we are always on hand to find the solution to what is causing the glitch. I gave my highest appreciation to his service.
Now my TV is working just fine,...
I gave my appreciation to Samsung for their services, they did acted well to my problem...
Seems I'll be sticking to Samsung again to my next target the 80" LED,....
Oh about that reverting back to the old firmware, Raphael told me that Samsung decided to take that off the TV's feature because of some NAUGHTY CONSUMER that keeps changing their firmware,
some of them ending up being bricked, its as if the TV is like an iPhone that can be jailbroken,
so in order to avoid all those technical malfunction, Samsung decided to let their tech guys do any reverting or updating on their firmwares,...
