No sound after firmware upgrade

Thanks for the response, HDTech. After some googling, apparently there is a version 1020 firmware for the TV, but I can't find it on the Samsung website. Would it be possible to get that?

I tried the reset, but that didn't solve the issue. I'd rather not send the device for service if it can be fixed with a simple software update; will save me time and shipping costs.

Ronsardinho,

In some cases, newer units are released with different firmware. Unfortunately, I don't have various firmware updates available - I only have what is available on the website.

--HDTech

Cerutio,

Sorry to hear that you're having this issue also.

Have you guys checked to see if, after the firmware update, the speakers were set to "External" or "TV Speakers" in the audio menu?

I'll be looking further into this. In the meantime, the best thing to do would be to call 800-SAMSUNG to see about having the units serviced.

--HDTech

This problem needs to be announced more, and I am livid.
I purchased several Televisions for Christmas, and set them up. I Flashed the firmware just like the others (Im a tech support rep so no I didn't do it wrong), and the sound is now gone.

Tech Support from Samsung was horrible. I spoke to a level 2 tech, and they said there was nothing they could do, and insinuated that it was my fault for flashing the tv to begin with. She told me that you should only flash your firmware and update it, when there is an issue with your tv that needs fixing. I argued that that was absurd, and she insisted that if you upgrade you firmware with one that is designed to fix certain problems, you will be causing yourself many problems like .. shutting off and on, monitor going black, sound going out, if you didn't have a problem to begin with.

She told me that there was no way to re-flash the unit, and that once firmware was updated, that the tv had to be serviced. And that would take some time.

I called again, and guess what .. I got the same exact response.
Asking if this was a common issue, and a known issue she said no.

I told her about other having this problem and asked if there was a way to downgrade the firmware, and I was told you simply cannot re-flash again. Guess what. Yes you can.

Upon first attempt, No. The system error will tell you that you cannot update your fw to the same version. Upon trying it 3 times in a row, the 3rd time it allowed a re-flash.

If we can somehow get the old firmware files, I think it would be problem fixed.
And even if for some reason the tv wont accept a downgrade, someone could edit a firmware file pretty quickly (10 mins) to make the system think it a new version.

If this problem is not resolved by tomorrow, I will never buy another Samsung Product again.

And yes. Checking the speaker source was the very first thing I did.
The firmware is buggy, and is not universal across the board with all lcds. It should be pulled from the download section to save other consumers a headache.

I was told that I would receive a call back from the manager of tech support in an hour or less.
Its been a full day with no calls, and its now 5 mins to noon.

I am returning the Samsung LCDs today, as well as having my company cancel their account with Samsung.
Thats a $50,000.00 loss for their company, and yet another bad story on the net to boost LG, or Panasonic's sales. Its unfortunate, because the television "looks" good. Its designed well, and is pretty, but that just goes to show that when a product is not supported well, and a company has horrible customer support, they ultimately lose.

Good job CS & QC.

Going to purchase Sony like I have in the past. Never any problems with units from there.

Add me to the list of folks who upgraded firmware and now don?t have sound. I was also blamed for using Samsung?s firmware update. I flashed the 1012.3 firmware update (dated 11/3/09) for my PN58B650. After verifying the speaker settings, I did a system reset (via holding the ?Exit? button and unplugged afterward for five minutes). I saw Jordan310 kept trying to have the flash update and was successful on the third attempt but no such luck for me.

Third operator I spoke to will have a local contractor contact me for service work on my dime (since I was silly enough to update the firmware).

Ridiculous.

If you pay to have your TV serviced on your own dime for upgrading your firmware that they offer on their website with no mention of why not to use it, and actually breaking your tv,you will have allowed Samsung to continue their horrible support.

I am so happy, I ended up with an LG. Looks just as good if not better for the same price and the support is great.

I am very disappointed with Samsung, and their terrible support, and help with this issue.
I hope more people sincerely protest this.

The way I got the firmware to flash after 3 attempts was to hold down the red middle button on the remote, directly after hitting retry with the flash. I did it a couple of times actually. I think I found a service trick but in any case, this is ridiculous.

I would have loved to get an LG except I've had plenty of problems with their monitors which have burnt out after only 3 weeks of use.

Would you mind posting your step by step 'hack' for flashing the firmware? I'm not sure what 'middle' red button you are referring to on the remote. I have 2 red buttons on my remote - the power button and colour buttons on the bottom for channel lists.

Hey, not sure if its a hack, but i held the center button, sorry not the red one, the big round one with the tv shaped icon with an arrow going into it down.

I cant reproduce it, as I was just trying anything and now am loving my LG, but I can tell you that it did work. It asked me if I was sure? that I wanted to reflash after the 3rd time, and i did.

Im surprised that no Samsung Tech knows about this. ?

I fell into the same trap and will be taking the TV in on Monday to the service center, they are able to repair it, but hes gonna try and do it under warranty if not it means a new motherboard and a couple $$$ less in my pocket.

Jordan310,

I know that holding down the EXIT button on the remote for 12-15 seconds should bring up a reset prompt, but it will restore the currently stored firmware, not the previous one.

--HDTech

Hello HDTech,

I did check the output, and it was set to TV. I ended up shelling out the money and sending my TV for service. Still waiting for an update on the repair status.

A suggestion, if you don't mind. When I called Samsung tech support and explained the issue to them, I got scolded for doing a firmware update when nothing was wrong with the TV. Now, I've downloaded updates for dozens of products before, and while I've run into buggy ones, never have I been blamed by tech support for updating the firmware. If the updates are only meant to fix very specific problems and are dangerous to run otherwise, please don't call them "Firmware Updates", place them in a general Downloads section, then blame the customer for applying it. Your audience (us tech-savvy people) will assume they're safe to run and we'll update our TVs to the latest version (as we're used to doing for all our hardware/software). Instead, I'd suggest posting them in a special "Hot fixes" section or something with a big red disclaimer saying "UPGRADE IS ONLY FOR TVs WITH ISSUE XXX. RUNNING THIS ON A WORKING TV CAN BREAK IT."

Thanks.

This is exactly why I say NO several times a day when my TV asks for permission to update.

I got the same issues, no audio; firmware 1016, so what should I do?

Samsung says you should call a tech to service your TV.
One thing you can do is buy a Sony, or LG. =P

I did that and the TV is gonna be serviced on Monday, the guy is gonna try and do it within bounds of the warranty, but it is pretty lame how Samsung has three month old firmware on there for the world to download and it messes up peoples TV's I figure they would release a new revision, but none the less the tech is gonna repair it on Monday. Unless I find a way to get the sound back.

He said he will try within warranty, if not will cost me a few hundred to replace the mainboard and whatnot.

I received a service call from a Samsung appointed technician yesterday. He replaced the ?main board? of my television. Prior to the replacement, I was not receiving sound on some channels (it appears to be HD channels). I had no issues with other inputs (blu-ray or avi player). After the board was replaced, I did not receive any sound or picture from ANY source.

His initial response is that it must be the satellite box. Huh? I went from no sound through the satellite box on some channels to no picture or sound with any input? After pressing, he conceded that it *might* be a bad board. Apparently these boards are used on multiple tvs so it might not have the correct firmware update. Ohs nos. That is what got me in this predicament. A second possibility is that the board was just doa. It is troubling that I am getting a refurbed board that might have been sitting for months, might or might not have the correct firmware and might be non-functional to replace a brand new board that was jacked up after a firmware update. After some back and forth, it was decided that a new-old board would be ordered again. My original board was added back except now sound was gone from ALL channels through my HDMI connection. We connected via Component to get back to where I was before the service call began and will try again when a replacement board arrives.

One more quick note on the firmware. When I pull up my product (PN58B65 on the Samsung website, there is a Downloads section. Under Downloads are a Manuals, Software and Firmware tab. When selecting Firmware, there is a ?Do you need more help with Firmware?? link. Clicking on the link brings up a FAQ about firmware box with zero information. It is completely blank.

The file itself (version 1012.3) lists that it will correct several glitches. In addition, under item ?2b? it adds a menu on Media Play (specifically the ?Repeat? menu). If firmware should only be upgraded when there is a problem, how are extra features added? Interesting that under ?2c? ?This Firmware will correct the following phenomenons some units may experience? one of the ?phenomenons? is ?Intermittent No Sound on 1080p when connecting with some Unit through HDMI.? Unfortunately, this update seems to have caused just this issue.

An interesting aside, when the technician called Samsung for a question while at my house, he said the Samsung tech was rude and this was not uncommon from Samsung techs. Specifically he said the Samsung tech assumed all the reps were ignorant and all the problems were on the consumer?s end, not with the Samsung product.

Here?s hoping Service Visit #2 goes better than Service Visit #1.

Most likely a board swap, I just hope they use the same boards on mine but I shouldn't have too much to worry about, I will ask them to test it there before I bring it back home on Thursday or Friday. (The place is half hour away from me for where I gotta take it)

I also updated to firmware 1016 thinking it was the obvious thing to do. I don't have sound anymore either. I called tech service and talked to some lady who didn't seem to have much of a clue. She said when I updated that I voided my warranty. What kind of company puts a firmware update on their website with zero disclaimers? She suggested taking it back to where i bought it and I guess that's the only thing I can do since samsung is unwilling to help me out. I'm sure a simple firmware upgrade to revert to the previous version would work.

I will be getting mine back Tuesday or Wednesday, from the sounds of it they replaced the board on mine, even they couldn't believe a firmware could do that, so I may get mine under warranty , from the what I gathered the tech is gonna try to.

Has anyone tried upgrading to firmware 1012.3? It's for the 6 series. Anyone have an idea as to what i might do?

For that sort of thing you have to be careful with using a different firmware for a board that it isn't designed for, as it could brick the TV

I don't understand why you just can't upgrade to 1020 firmware.

Wow I'm surprised by the ammount of users experiencing problems with firmware updates, I have 3 different Samsung products (Syncmaster 997DF CRT monitor, t509 cell phone, & new LN40B550 HDTV) all of which have worked great. I was also curious to updgrade firmware, on the download page it doesn't give any changelog or information as to what has been corrected or changed in this firmware, for one I think thats a mistake on the MFGR end by not showing the end users what was necessity to release this new firmware...regardless, I upgraded...and thank God have not received any problems, sound is working fine, picture seems to be the same, everything working as it should. I however would not recommend upgrading firmware solely based on the previous users who have faced errors upon upgrading, stick with the old phrase..."If it ain't broken...DON'T FIX IT!"

Samsung needs to release a changelog with their firmwares...simple as that.

-Random IT

No.. thats not it.
Samsung s support is horrible and rude.

On top of that, they can be sued.

I read every disclaimer there is in theirs sites, as well as in their manuals.
It almost encourages you to upgrade to new firmware. There is NO mention of firmware breaking your devices.

This is just corporate spin, and avoidance.
Look at this. Most people haven't tried to upgrade no doubt because they just plug in and play, but those who wanted a better experience got screwed. No support? Wow. Im starting a class action for anyone else who wants in, unless Samsung makes amends, apologizes, and corrects their current procedures of implementation, documentation, and support.

jordanmzuniga@gmail.com