Vodafone TV retirement plan: September 2022

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Ultimate Geek
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#2888585 18-Mar-2022 23:10

jen1001:

sansom:

Hi guys, we have been listening and I have been talking with the team about the points you've raised around the VodafoneTV buy back and refunds.

Thanks Hamish, that was really helpful.

I was with Sky and only switched to VF TV with my Fibre deal when Sky and VF cut ties with each other and got offered Sky Entertainment + Basic packages with a $10 discount so stuck with VF. VF TV was sent for free as part of the package

I got the email regarding the refund and was wondering if that would really apply in my case; I assume it was a mass email sent out to everyone who'd registered/activated their box.

Hi @jen1001,

I'm pretty sure that we've only been emailing those who are eligible. But if you DM me your account details I can check and confirm for you.

Hamish

sansom

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#2888586 18-Mar-2022 23:22

GSVNoFixedAbode:

SteveC: I'm far more annoyed about the waste of resources in recycling all these boxes (not to mention ones that will inevitably end up buried in landfills regardless of the lack of common sense in that action). Climate change is real, now, and the ICT industry contributes an enormous amount to it.
Sadly Sagemcom (manufacturers) won't allow that. (Quote @Samson in an earlier post to this thread.) Like most in our industry, they value their IP ahead of the environment.

Steve

I'm in this camp rather than upset over refunds (or lack thereof). The waste of resources, and creation of so much e-waste is far more important than the now-dated IP of the manufacturer. It would probably be cheaper for Vodafone to cover any per-device cost of licencing and offer a method of re-flashing than to pay out on partial refunds. THe H/W is solid. Get some new firmware to run OpenSource software and I suspect may would be happy.

We agree it would be awesome if we could allow the boxes to be re-used. However, as I've stated before and even though we knew this to be the case, we've re-checked with the Manufacturer and they confirmed is can't be re-flashed. It is for technical reasons relating to how the security keys on the box are protected that the box can't be rooted.

Hamish

Apsattv

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#2888587 18-Mar-2022 23:24

What stops you from adding a new app, pretty much an html5 interface that simulates a linear tv experience i'm sure freeview would have no issues with vodafone using their streams.

Its Freeview that is gonna lose out of the vodafone tv shutdown.

Heck sell the whole LOT to them for $1

sansom

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#2888589 18-Mar-2022 23:41

DjShadow:

Stu: Taking into consideration the environmental impact, I think the responsible outcome would be for Sagemcom to come to the party with a solution for the units to continue to be used as, say, an Android TV streaming box. I'm sure they could do it, but for whatever reason (possibly financial) they're choosing not to. Vodafone's hands are probably tied here. Sagemcom need to do the right thing for current owners and, more importantly, the environment.

VF have included VFTV in their e-waste program for old mobiles. I did actually request a courier bag for this but it never showed up.

Hi @DjShadow,

I'm sorry the bag didn't show up. I suggest you re-submit your request as this normally is a very fast and reliable service. I used this myself (using my partner's name) a couple of weeks ago. I added a note saying I needed two bags in the one order (for a couple of old modems) and they both turned up the very next day. I popped the modems into the bag, informed the courier and he stopped by on his run the next day and picked them up.

Hamish

jen1001

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#2888696 19-Mar-2022 11:37

Thanks Hamish, I’ve just messaged you :)

MW12345

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#2888814 19-Mar-2022 18:15

sansom:

Hi guys, we have been listening and I have been talking with the team about the points you've raised around the VodafoneTV buy back and refunds. <snip>

The problem with what you are saying above is that you (and I mean Vodafone here not you yourself Hamish) consider 4 years as the expected life of the product. Ignoring the fact that's a pretty low expectation of life span for consumer electronics, that means you expect it to be fully (not partially, 100% fully) functional for up to 4 years. And FYI you can't have a variable 'up to' expected lifespan, its a minimum, and in the absence of providing a minimum, the lifespan will herein (and when liaising with Consumer Protection / MBIE etc) be considered 4-years as the minimum. Terminating a produce in that life span should result in compensation equivalent to replacement cost, or full refund if replacement is not possible.

You are contradicting that lifespan however by not providing full replacement or refund compensation, except where activated in the '6 month' bracket. There is no lesser function from the product after that period, so how does a reduced replacement cost work? That's definitely not what I would consider aligned with any definition of fair. It was a zero subscription fee service so there should be no effectual backdated subscription cost deduced from the full replacement or refund compensation. If you are in fact considering the fair lifespan of the product to be in the 6-month bracket (i.e. from 1 June 2021 to 30 September 2022 - which is 16 months maximum), that is an unacceptably low bar, which I cannot possibly see being considered acceptable from a legal perspective.

If compared to a broken/faulty (not at fault of consumer) product example, the consumer guarantees act requires the manufacturer to repair or replace the product if within a reasonable life span for that product. The manufacturer can't then state that if you have had the product for half its expected lifespan that they will only half fix the product. Imagine a fridge freezer develops a fault, and the manufacturer states they will only repair either the fridge part or the freezer part because you've had the product for 3 years of a 7 year expected product lifespan.

In the scenario we are in, Vodafone has given no options for accepting or declining the refund and no course of action for how to lay a complaint specific to the TV box shutdown, so I would imagine that the act of receiving a refund does not constitute acceptance of the refund offered (granted they may add a disclaimer to this effect when you are asked to provide bank account details). I would like to think we can still fully pursue a full refund even after a partial refund is received.

And beyond the clearly unfair approach to consumer compensation, the lack of consideration with regards to environmental impact is poor (yes I know Vodafone is offering e-waste recycling for the tv box but no doubt many will still end up in the trash). Hamish, perhaps you could request an internal evaluation into the carbon footprint produced during manufacture and binning/recycling the tv box, and develop a program to offset this - perhaps tree planting. Not going to hold my breath on that though.

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quickymart

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#2888823 19-Mar-2022 18:47

I don't own a Vodafone TV box and never will, but is there a clause somewhere in the contract you sign that says the service can be terminated at any time?

Reason I ask is this thread (in some ways) reminds me of this one, that was basically the OP repeating his demands over and over and over: https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumId=114&topicId=210231

Rickles

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#2888827 19-Mar-2022 19:12

>I don't own a Vodafone TV box and never will, but is there a clause somewhere in the contract you sign that says the service can be terminated at any time?<

One cannot 'contract out' of statutory requirements.

IceFragmatic

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#2888830 19-Mar-2022 19:33

MW12345 First post...and very well articulated.

Thank you

quickymart

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#2888848 19-Mar-2022 23:37

Rickles:

>I don't own a Vodafone TV box and never will, but is there a clause somewhere in the contract you sign that says the service can be terminated at any time?<

One cannot 'contract out' of statutory requirements.

For sure, but I was asking if this device had such a clause. From memory (in the Tivo thread) that device did.

wazzageek

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#2889340 20-Mar-2022 22:20

FWIW - The vodafone tv remote can be paired with an android, windows or linux based PC.

Generally, the buttons that do NOT work are the record, switch input (TV box pic button at the bottom of the remote), the channel buttons, Menu, exit and the mic input button.

Peculiarities I've found:

Android:

- Power locks the screen

- Back works as "back"

- The coloured buttons don't appear to do anything.

Windows:

- Red = F5, Green = F6, Yellow = F7, Blue = F8

- Power doesn't work.

- Left / Right / Up / Down don't seem to work ...

Linux:

- Remote doesn't auto reconnect through a reboot

- Power button triggers power off mode for the PC

- Red = F5, Green = F6, Yellow = F7, Blue = F8

So - if you want a remote for a PC / Android box, these could be something to hang on to.

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mattwnz

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#2889345 20-Mar-2022 22:48

quickymart:

Rickles:

>I don't own a Vodafone TV box and never will, but is there a clause somewhere in the contract you sign that says the service can be terminated at any time?<

One cannot 'contract out' of statutory requirements.

For sure, but I was asking if this device had such a clause. From memory (in the Tivo thread) that device did.

The tivo would continue to work afterwards as solely a freeview viewer, and some recording functionality. But many people got them chipped so it could continue to be used as normal. I don't think any of this is possible with the VF box.

ukoda

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#2889347 20-Mar-2022 23:03

wazzageek:

FWIW - The vodafone tv remote can be paired with an android, windows or linux based PC.

Sounds good as the remotes are well designed and implemented. I assume it is just a normal Bluetooth pairing process? Is there an unpairing process needed first from the VTV box and if so what is the process to unpair?

michaelmurfy

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#2889348 20-Mar-2022 23:35

sansom:

We agree it would be awesome if we could allow the boxes to be re-used. However, as I've stated before and even though we knew this to be the case, we've re-checked with the Manufacturer and they confirmed is can't be re-flashed. It is for technical reasons relating to how the security keys on the box are protected that the box can't be rooted.

To be honest this is a piss poor excuse. What "security keys" are left to protect once a box is rooted when the service they're linked to is closed down? They also won't be re-using security keys across multiple devices given the SOC they use can run both Linux and Android. I also remember early on when a box was reset using the button at the back it'll convert to a very basic Linux based operating system with no Vodafone customization (I believe that got patched rather quickly). Converting boxes to Android (even a plain vanilla Android build) is the best option here even if it was a manual firmware process using the USB port.

I don't care about the refunds personally (however this is nice), I care about the boxes out there being sent to landfill. It is irresponsible for Vodafone or Sagemcom to let this happen given a software unlock is possible but politics are in the way currently.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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mattwnz

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#2891787 25-Mar-2022 03:29

I have two vodafone TVs, but noticed only one of them is listed in my account. Not sure if I used a different email address to setup the other one, but tired my other email addresses and none get the password reminder. Is there a way to deactivate it and then assign it to my account. I have tried resetting it but it doesn't need reactivating after that occurs.

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