back to article AMAZEBALLS: Buy a doomed Apple TV, get a replacement free

Apple has admitted its third-generation Apple TV box is dicky and has offered to replace faulty units. The fruity firm confessed that "small numbers" of the units suffered from dodgy Wi-Fi connections. Although the set-top box has a wired Ethernet port, the flaw is crippling for fanbois who are allergic to trailing cables and …

COMMENTS

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  1. cyke1

    normal apple

    More then 2 years old, S.O.L.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: normal apple

      Maybe the customers are holding it wrong?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: normal apple

        Oh do please piss off with this tired old joke. You haven't even got the quotation right.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: normal apple

          Oh do please p!ss off with your righteous indignation. The more fanbois get annoyed by that joke the funnier and truthier it gets :-)

          1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

            Re: normal apple

            Nah. It's just dull now.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          FIXED

          Oh do please piss off with your tired old joke of a phone. You haven't even joined the right century!

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: normal apple

      So that's why it doesn't like connecting, I thought it was my fault!

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I concur, I admit it I bought one, it connects to the WI-fi signal but struggles to connect with any devices. I have to switch off the WI-fi, in the menu then switch on again before I can connect an external device to it. It is like a petulant child and keeps dropping the signal.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        ?

        Petulant children keep dropping signal?

    4. Steve Todd
      Stop

      Re: normal apple

      Since the 3rd gen Apple TV was released in March 2012 you'd be SOL trying to find one that was more than 2 years old.

    5. Lusty

      Re: normal apple

      You mean normal EU regulations for a 2 year warranty?

  2. Evil Auditor Silver badge
    Trollface

    How stupid?

    "After establishing you're not totally stupid..."

    ...but still stupid enough to having bought Apple TV.

    SCNR

  3. Inventor of the Marmite Laser Silver badge

    I always thought

    If you were of the opinion that content on a smart TV is useful, you are probably too stupid to use one anyway.

    1. Matt Devney
      Stop

      Re: I always thought

      Are you stating that an internet connected TV is useless? That there is nothing online from any provider that could benefit from being shown on a TV instead of a computer? I'm not sure I follow your argument there, as iPlayer, ITV Player, 4OD and Youtube are all handy on my TV. Are you one of those "I have a PC in my lounge that's all I need" people or is it somerthing else?

      Disclaimer - I don't have an Apple TV so if your comment is about that specific device and it truly is a pile of rubbish, I understand. But you didn't state it in your post so I don't know :-)

    2. Joseph Lord
      Linux

      Re: I always thought

      I agree with Matt. While I have no great wish for a particularly smart TV the ability to access iPlayer and Lovefilm is of significant value to me as is the ability to play over UPNP/DLNA recorded programmes from my MythTV device in another room (with the TV's video decoder and picture processing which result in significantly better picture than the direct video output from the server.

      Penguin icon for embedded Linux on the TV not just on the MythTV server.

  4. LaeMing
    Trollface

    TV?

    Do people still use those this century?

    1. Steve Renouf
      FAIL

      Re: TV?

      Yes. Because the 50" TV is too big for my desk and there isn't enough room in my study for the whole family to sit around to watch a movie! Duh!

  5. Wheaty73

    They did this with Time Capsules as well

    I got my 2G Time Capsule replaced well out of warranty when the disk died. They replaced a G1 Blackbook of mine with a G3 after unsuccessfully trying to cure a logic board issue as well. Contrary to nerdbelief Apple do have an excellent repair/replacement policy (in my opinion). When they recognise an issue they do replace things (or provide a case/bumper in the infamous Antenna problem)

    @cyke1 - well yes, since if you have a 2yr old AppleTV it is a Gen2 not Gen3, so what is your issue with that?

  6. Gordon Pryra

    Not actually a bad bit of kit

    I hate Apple and their expensive hardware.

    That said, this bit of kit is great for anyone without a Smart TV. Small and fast, giving access to Net flicks. Just don't use the pay per view stuff from the apple store unless you like being ripped off.

    But, how the hell can a bit of kit that is so dependent on WI-FI not have PERFECT WI-FI?

    Or is it just a few bad apples spoiling the barrel?

    1. Evil Auditor Silver badge

      Re: Not actually a bad bit of kit

      But, how the hell can a bit of kit that is so dependent on WI-FI not have PERFECT WI-FI?

      Don't know. But talking about Apple, how the hell can a device that's supposed to be a mobile phone be so bad on radio reception and voice quality?

  7. Dan 55 Silver badge
    Trollface

    An Apple product with wi-fi problems

    How strange.

  8. TeeCee Gold badge
    WTF?

    Extra, extra!

    Company replaces faulty product within legally obligated 2 year warranty period!

    Pictures at 11.....

    1. sabroni Silver badge
      Happy

      Re: Extra, extra!

      I think it's more: "Extra! Extra! Perfect device manufacturer releases imperfect device"

      1. craigj
        Coat

        Re: Extra, extra!

        I think it's more: "Extra! Extra! Perfect device manufacturer releases imperfect device"

        I didn't realise foxconn were held in such high regard

  9. jeremyjh
    Pint

    Have one, works fine. Famous last words...

    I have one of these 3rd-gen Apple TVs. Sold the 2nd-gen one for a massive premium to jailbreak fanatics. Had no problems with it.

    It's useful for what it's useful for. I like Apple kit, so it wins for me because I have other Apple kit with which it is well integrated.

    That said, I'm not a total obsessive, and it shares the TV stand with a Samsung smart telly, a PS3 and a VM TiVo. Between all of these things, enough usually works that I can watch what I want.

  10. Phil W

    Pairs of letters

    "which contain one of the following pair of letters in the serial number"

    "J1, J2, J3, J4, J5, J6, J7, J8, J9."

    I'm pretty sure that the numbers 1-9 are numbers not letters.

    However perhaps I'm being realllllllly stupid?

    1. Mephistro
      Headmaster

      Re: Pairs of letters

      <--You forgot the icon. Please allow me to add it for you. :-0)

  11. Andy Watt
    Stop

    Non story disguised as ad-magnet?

    C'mon, the text in this is a bit Daily Mail, isn't it? I'd echo others who have said that this is a total non-story, and you've got florid language here dedicated to spitting the usual crowd-pleasing anti-apple bile to get people displaying those ads.

    Apple replaces units which don't work shocker! Register driver by ad presentation revenue!

    <yawn>

    1. sabroni Silver badge

      Re: Non story disguised as ad-magnet?

      Yeah, and they just use it to drive idiots to post comments, again upping the ad revenue.

      Do they think we're stupid?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

      1. Mephistro
        Joke

        Re: Non story disguised as ad-magnet?

        "Do they think we're stupid?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"

        Emmm... see here...

        1. sabroni Silver badge

          Re: Non story disguised as ad-magnet?

          Your post isn't funny so doesn't need a joke icon. My satire was bleeding obvious so I didn't add one either.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Interesting. In the UK this would count as manufacturers defect with a 6 year liability.

  13. david 63

    I'm still unsure...

    ...what it can do that my retired pc running kubuntu connected to my telly can't do.

    1. Frankee Llonnygog

      Re: I'm still unsure...

      Display a well-designed user-interface?

      1. Frankee Llonnygog

        Re: I'm still unsure...

        Don't just vote me down - argue! I'll be the first to admit that Linux user interfaces are flexible, configurable,etc, etc. But well designed? There's a long way to go.

        1. Rukario

          Re: I'm still unsure...

          Ok Frankee... I was wondering what the OP meant, because I have a Kubuntu PC connected to the VGA port of my TV screen. It streams online video from Youtube, Netflix, etc, it streams video from my file server, I can't think of anything else I'd want it to do. I could probably add an ATSC tuner to it but to get what? American TV from across the border? No thanks.

          Oh yeah, the "well-designed" interface. I find KDE better designed than Gnome, Windows XP, 7, 8 (of course), and definitely better designed than the darling of design, OSX. (But this is me. YMMV.)

      2. david 63

        Re: I'm still unsure...

        Posted Wednesday 17th April 2013 13:03 GMT Frankee Llonnygog

        No downvotes here but I guess it is horses for courses. I can kick off any of the applications I need with at most 2 clicks from my wireless mouse.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I'm still unsure...

      Run silent?

  14. Marty McFly Silver badge

    Avoid the Apple TV 3...

    ...only because it isn't jailbroken yet. My jailbroken Apple TV 2, despite having a lower resolution, has much more functionality than my blessed Apple TV 3.

    1. Dr Patrick J R Harkin

      Re: Avoid the Apple TV 3...

      If it ain't jail-broken, don't jail-fix it.

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