Are they all unreliable?

Thack

New Member
I'm on my second T1000 (the first one kept locking up).

My friends are on their third and it has just failed. One went totally dead (like an internal fuse had blown), the other two both suffered lockups when left on for a few hours.

That's an appalling reliability record (admittedly on a very small sample size). All of the machines in question were Grade A manager specials. It suggests that the testing regime for such machines here in the UK is severely lacking.

Has anyone else experienced reliability problems?
 
Lock-ups and un-downloaded updates. I had to do a system reset once. That wipes the HDD.
 
If my experience is anything to go by, then the answer to the OP is 'Yes'. My BT-Badged T1000 continued to suffer the occasional failed recording, usually on BBC3, and then after 6 months, just got stuck in a 'Nearly There' loop which no amount of resetting via the Maintenance screen would clear. I took it back to Currys where it came from and they changed it for a T2110, the current BT offering. So far so good, but still getting the odd recording failed, again on BBC 3. Meanwhile, my Humax HDR Fox T2 bats on regardless.
 
Thanks, guys. My friends have confirmed that their third one has definitely failed: it locks up (picture and sound working, but unresponsive to the remote or the front button) a few hours after being switched on.

I'm hoping I'll be able to chat with the service manager at Humax, with a view to convincing him there is some kind of systematic problem here.

All of these machines were 'manager specials', which I believe are customer returns which are tested, polished and sent out again. It suggests there is something wrong with the test regime.
 
How can you test that they are working? These are sporadic problems. Anyway, Humax don't produce the software, do they?
 
This is unlikely to be a software problem, because it happens a lot on some machines and never on others (the great majority). As the software is the same on all machines, this suggests the cause is either a hardware fault on that particular machine, or something in the environment the software sees specific to a particular user (i.e. a specific, but unusual, pattern of usage). Bearing in mind that - in my case - the problem disappeared when I got a new machine, it strongly suggests there is a hardware problem which shows up on some machines.

There are two things I would look at if I wanted to test for such sporadic problems. Firstly, I would leave the boxes on test for a lot longer, as the lock-up faults seem to happen when the box has been switched on for a long time. Secondly, I would keep a record of reported faults for each box (by serial number), such that if a box comes back more than once with the same reported fault it would be subjected to a much more detailed investigation.

I don't know how Humax manage their stock of "manager specials", but they are all customer returns which are cleaned up, repaired if obviously faulty, the software upgraded, and sent out again. It may be that the testing regime for these boxes is quite brief, and doesn't include a long period of just sitting there switched on. And as I say, I don't know whether Humax keep a record of reported faults, or "reason for return", against each serial number.
 
Thack, a software fault can be as easy as the user pressing two buttons in succession too quickly. I have had a box lock up on pressing Guide followed by Down too quickly after it started up.

I don't discount hardware failure but it could easily be software too. Twice, a Youview box locked up on starting, coincidental with a software update, which, in each case, I installed immediately after a hard restart. It could be coincidence, of course.
 
@Mike0001: Yes, we are in agreement, as you can see when I said that a software fault can be triggered by something in its operating environment (such as unusually rapid keypresses).

The fact that these lockups occur without any user interaction (just leave it switched on), and the fact that replacing a box that kept freezing immediately got rid of the problem - whilst my usage habits remained unchanged - means I am comfortable in my position: this pattern "strongly suggests" a hardware fault, just as I said earlier.

So, it could be a software problem, but I believe this is vanishingly unlikely based upon the available evidence. Note: not impossible, of course, but unlikely.
 
Yes, it does appear like that.

I have had no problems with my T2110 yet, but then I barely use it. Or rather, it appeared to be fine at first, but would not run any catchup services until I had rebooted it. Nothing on-screen indicated I should do that. All the players just froze even though there was an internet connection.

As for user interaction, that is difficult to assess when it isn't just the user that interacts with the box: your router, the update servers, your mobile, the TV signal, etc. How you test these I have no idea.

I agree that in your case, and that of your friend, it does sound like hardware, though.
 
During the 4-5 days I have had a Humax Youview receiver it has had the following bugs, sometimes singly sometimes in various combinations :-
1) Failed to get out of "boot up stage", just kept repeating pages.
2) Spontaneously powered down, powered up etc.
3) Spontaneously changes channels.
4) Spontaneously reduces volume, eventually to zero!
5) Freezes using Youview facility, (only once however)

This receiver is full of bugs, which is a shame as the Youview facility is brilliant.
I purchased this receiver after my previous Freeview Fox HDR T2 progressively deteriorated to just showing a green screen using the HDMI
connection, just outside the two year warranty. Evidently an HDCP handshake issue.

I very much doubt I shall be purchasing any further Humax products. Any internet search throws up a multitude of purchasers with problems.
It looks like a case of Panasonic here I come!
 
IR interference had occurred to me also. Humax recommend in their installation instructions a minimum of 10cm from any other apparatus. I have more than
complied with this. Incidentally there is a "quick" installation sticker with diagrams on top of the receiver . Stage 1- connect aerial. Stage 2 - connect HDMI cable.
Stage 3 - make ethernet connection. Stage 4 - plug in and switch on, with a diagram indicating the switch on the back of the receiver. Trouble is of course there is no
switch on the back of this receiver. No mention of the separate power supply! Sloppy Humax ! Sloppy.
 
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I had a software update the other day. The box didn't fetch it. I had to fetch it manually, from the menu. This isn't the first time. (2xxx box)
 
Against my better judgement I obtained a replacement DTR T2000 from John Lewis. Plugged in, exactly the same problems, changing channels, changing volume etc.
Read in another thread somebody had same problems with another Humax, cured wth a mains interference suppression unit. I had one so plugged in using the unit. Appeared
to cure it. Switched on today , back to square one! Shall I go for a third ? Do John Lewis have a bad batch? I have changed the position of the receiver to different positions
in the room to eliminate IR interference. No difference. Incidentally if I press the record button while it is cycling through the channels it continues to record that channel
although the picture I am watching continues to change. The recording is perfectly stable. Problems seem to gradually disappear as the box warms up.
A neighbour who is into car boot sales says he sees lots of them for sale. On the strength of that he wouldn't touch one with a bargepole!
 
Have you manually downloaded any software updates and done a cold start afterwards? (Pull the power cable.)

My Freetime box is far more stable.
 
Receiver went berserk this morning, changing channels every 1-2 seconds, volume up down etc. Not possible to manually download software on youview receivers. All done
automatically via a permanent internet connection. Did a factory reset + cold start as suggested by Mike001 (many thanks). So far seems OK, not keeping anything crossed however!
 
DTR T2000 worked fine yesterday after the cold start advocated by Mike0001. This AM back to rapid channel changes. Back in the box and back to J Lewis.
Presumably a straightforward refund since JL no longer selling Humax (very understandable if my experience is anything to go by!).
 
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