Another day and another major glitch is hampering some pretty popular hardware – in this case, it’s Samsung’s flagship 2024 HW-Q990D soundbar that’s being afflicted.
It’s a pretty terrible bug too, with multiple reports suggesting that it outright bricks the device, rendering it unusable for anyone who’s unfortunate enough to have caught it.
The cause appears to be a faulty firmware update, which is transforming Samsung soundbars globally into useless rectangular bits of plastic.
Samsung soundbar owners who have not yet had their sound wiped out are being advised to switch off the automatic updates via the menu, just in case it tries to download the failed firmware. The Verge reports that while it’s mostly HW-Q990D soundbar owners who are reporting the problem, there have been a few cases of bricked Samsung HW-Q800D and HW-S801D units, albeit in much smaller numbers. That could well be because Samsung normally brings new features to its flagship devices first.
Samsung has admitted there’s an issue, and in a statement it said it’s “investigating the cause” and taking “immediate action” to resolve the problem. We’re not sure how it can be taking any immediate steps if it’s still investigating, but it’s reassuring at least to know it’s on the case. What’s less reassuring is the proposed fix Samsung has in mind.
The faulty firmware is supposed to be version 1020.7, and for some reason it basically kills them stone dead. The user can switch it on, at least, but as soon as the power comes on it just freezes and nothing works even when trying to adjust things using the Samsung SmartThings application. On Samsung’s support pages, there’s a bumper 38-page thread that was first started five days ago, which suggests that there’s no easy fix for the issue.
In one post deep into that thread, on page 31, a Samsung U.K. moderator notes that “we have received feedback from our AV product specialists that this issue is a result of an OTN (Over The Network) software update... the OTN is now suspended, and customers that have updated via USB are not affected."
The moderator adds that “it will be necessary to arrange an engineer’s inspection and repair in order to get this resolved”. Customers are being asked to contact Samsung’s support staff directly to organise this.
Because there’s been no official statement, it’s likely Samsung is still trying to work out a way to resolve the buggy soundbars via an over-the-air update. But if it does have to repair them all manually, it’s likely going to request that customers bring their soundbars or send them to a physical repair shop, which will likely be one major hassle for everyone concerned. So we’re quietly hoping Samsung does indeed find a simpler solution.
But even if it does manage to ship out an over-the-air fix, it already looks bad for Samsung, given that customers have been without audio for five days already with no end in sight. Those customers will have every right to be pissed because this is no cheap and cheerful soundbar from a no-name brand. Rather, it’s supposed to be one of the most premium audio devices money can buy, carrying a hefty £1,699 price tag when it launched last year.
As we saw with Sonos and its horror app update last year, such problems can do serious damage to a brand’s reputation if they aren’t fixed quickly, and Samsung is already running late.
If you are considering splashing out to buy a premium, Samsung-branded soundbar, the company has just given you another reason to hold off for a few while, until this year’s hopefully bug-free flagship model, the Samsung Q990D, hits the stores in a few weeks’ time.
