Samsung has confirmed that a recent firmware update to select soundbars has resulted in them being bricked. Last week, we reported that many Samsung soundbar owners were dealing with defective units following an over-the-air update that was sent out by the company. After updating to software 1020, users could no longer operate their soundbars at all.
The issue spanned across multiple Samsung soundbars, but the company’s flagship HW-Q990D was the most affected. After updating, users reported bricked units with no access to the SmartThing app, and the soundbar would refuse to connect to the TV. It would be stuck on the “Hello” text.
The issue seemed to stem from the HW-Q800D and HW-S810D and the various 900 and 800 models on the market.
Samsung has confirmed that these bricked soundbars cannot be repaired remotely with a future update. The only way to fix the bricking is to manually repair them. Some users suspect Samsung will have to replace the logic board in the soundbar with an older, earlier firmware chip to solve the problem.
Thankfully, Samsung says it will be offering free repairs to owners affected by the issue. The company says customers should contact their closest Samsung repair division to start the repair process. This would mean users will have to manually take the product to the store. Some customers report only having to pay for shipping in order to send the device to Samsung.
I am not sure if anyone is affected by the issue in South Africa, but if you are, best contact Samsung South Africa to start the process.
