SYDNEY: Foxtel admits thousands of its newly released $150 iQ3 video recording devices that are currently in homes across Australia will need software updates to operate properly.
A Foxtel spokesman confirmed to Fairfax Media that “fewer than two thousand” of the iQ3 boxes currently deployed would need upgrading to address some of the major issues customers have been experiencing.
A further 200,000 iQ3 devices in Foxtel warehouses will also need to be upgraded before they are sold and deployed, a Foxtel spokesman confirmed.
It comes as Mike Ivanchenko, director of product at Foxtel, admitted to media and marketing website Mumbrella that there had been “teething problems” with the device due to problems with its processes.
It followed Fairfax Media revealing on Wednesday that a slew of bugs were affecting the set top boxes launched Monday last week, bugs of which have caused a great deal of frustration for users.
Issues range from the device randomly resetting itself to the wrong content being shown on the wrong channel.
“We had teething problems for the first few days where they weren’t properly being activated so that some features weren’t turned on or a good number were left on old software,” Mr Ivanchenko told Mumbrella.
“That resulted in those customers getting a less than satisfactory experience and they were rightfully vocal.”
Mr Ivanchenko acknowledged the issues would mean that thousands of iQ3 devices currently deployed would need software upgrades to fix the issues.
It was unclear how long it would take to upgrade all affected boxes or whether the upgrade process would be automated.
“We have a process of upgrading them, but the short answer is yes they all need to upgraded,” Mr Ivanchenko told Mumbrella. “This is standard for any of our box deployments.”
But he said the upgrades would not be up to customers to install themselves.
“… It’s up to us and it was actually our processes that broke down,” he said.
Mr Ivanchenko also reportedly disputed claims customers were returning their iQ3 devices.
But some customers in contact with Fairfax said they had begun the process of returning their device.
“I have requested Foxtel to take back both boxes and they agreed without any hesitation, confirming my belief that this launch was a total screw-up!” one customer said.
Mr Ivanchenko also disputed claims by customers that the device was rushed out in time to line up with Netflix’s Australian launch.
“To hit it straight on the head categorically we would reject the notion that we have rushed this out,” he said.
But a Foxtel customer who wished to remain anonymous said that on March 12, just 11 days before the public launch, they were contacted to see if they would like to test the device to iron out any bugs.
“You … agree to provide feedback to Foxtel on any technical or other issues experienced during the preview,” the invitation said, noting that its contents were “not authorised for distribution or public posting”.
It was not clear whether all issues consumers had would be addressed in the latest update, as Foxtel’s Q&A section on its website about the device still states that a number of issues remain unaddressed.
Another section of its website created Wednesday afternoon states that the company had noticed that some Foxtel iQ3s “snuck through” its system without the latest software.
“This could be causing you some technical issues,” it states.
