Ongoing Software Issues driving me to a Psychosis and return of my products

Hello Comrades

Recently I returned my moment for a refund, after 18 months of nothing but trouble. Only for a a couple of months did it work properly displaying correct artist tiles and album artwork. This was after installing the beta software and having assistance from Denmark with Twonky and QNAP Then in the last month, the beat software vanished from my unit and was replaced by a general software release. I asked to have the beta software back, only to be told I never had it in the first place!!! (which was not correct).

I purchased the Moment to replace a beosound 5 that had become almost useless due to software issues. I bought the Beosound 5 to replace a Beocentre 2 which had software issues which rendered it frustratingly unreliable.

There is a theme here.

In the last few days my whole system will no longer play Tunein, Deezer or my own NAS collection without constantly cutting in and out. The technician who installed the WI FI system around our house has the ability to monitor my connection at all times remotely and has verified (as have I) that my internet connection is stable.

My system is rendered completely useless at present. I'm assuming this is another software issue, probably with the B&O App.

Every weekend I seem to spend time removing products, resetting products, adding products back to the app, isolating products- all to just try and listen to some music. When it works it's beautiful, but rarely does it work trouble free for more than a week or two and we have a new software issue on one of the products in the network. I've had three beosound 1s in 18 months due to ongoing software or hardware issues.

My technician tells me I'm not alone and that he spends seven days a week trying to resolve such issues.

I honestly believe the software issues will ruin this company. I could never actually recommend the brand to anyone- standalone speakers perhaps but nothing else that requires software. The multi room system doesn't work, yet years ago via ML it worked perfectly.

Where to from here? I've raised these issues with the CEO a few times.. Beocare replied stating they were sorry I was having problems. I persisted and Lyle Clark and Petros had a teleconference with me. Ongoing software problems continued and they got bored and told me I was not following the process to seek assistance.

I assume other people are having difficulties with the present App?

After a couple of hundred thousand dollars of purchases, I'm giving up, it has me defeated.. a little like the stores in Australia... gone.....

David

 

 

 

 

David, so sorry you’ve had this disheartening experience.

It would particularly annoy me if someone said to me “you’re not following the process to resolve issues” when there clearly should not be repetitive, significant issues like this in the first place. They should take resolution out of your hands entirely and return a fully working product to you.

Have they no shame?

Lawrence

No,they have no shame.

Its always the fault of the client....

All they care about is new colors!

So sorry to hear of your experiences.

There are people at Bang & Olufsen who really do care. 100%. However, those who do are woefully stretched and don't have enough hours in the day, or just don't have the proper support network to solve these issues.  Even the Dealers hit brick walls with having problems solved by B&O - and that must be incredibly frustrating, too. I feel for them.

Being a 'Premium' company means 'Premium' products and 'Premium' service. Does it not?  That's why you charge a Premium for the product, unless I'm being stupid.

All B&O seem to be doing at the moment is charging 'Premium' prices and riding the name. They must be laughing at board meetings when they see the amount of people who still stand by the brand and keep spending....

However, as the allure of the brand fades - and people talk (online, and in person), then review, and people read these, the brand will just become one of those minnows with an interesting history you see being wheeled out on the eBay 'Daily Deals' page at 70% off in the future.

So sad.

David Coyne:

- 18 months of nothing but trouble.
- installing the beta software
- assistance from Denmark
- Twonky
- QNAP
- beat software
- general software
- Tunein
- Deezer
- NAS
- WI FI system
- monitor my connection remotely
- internet connection
- B&O App.
- removing products, resetting products, adding products, isolating products
- network
- a couple of hundred thousand dollars
- CEO, Lyle Clark and Petros

- all to just try and listen to some music.

Oh my...
Not owning any of the newer things, I surely feel I am missing out on a lot of fun.
I put a record on and press play.

Martin

Well said as always Lee. It's depressing that management wants to have all the benefits of being a "premium" brand without providing any of the service or benefits of same. But hey, new colors are coming!

I feel for the OP and his problems, for what he's spent that's a very big kick in the teeth from B&O. The most "modern" component I use other than a Beolit 15 for carry around music was a Playmaker, which while I managed to get it to work originally had gotten so balky, even and maybe especially after a s/w update, that I finally said to hell with it and got an Auralic Aries Mini, which works flawlessly.

One thing, it appears that B&O either has no clue about the concept of regression testing of s/w or they just ignore it.

All these problems, along with the overall decline of the brand’s premium status, are solely attributable to upper management decisions during the early 2000’s period.

Period.

Hi David,

Comrades is exactly correct because it does seem at times like we are in a battle to have functioning equipment.  More so with the people that invested in systems like the Moment and the Encore.  They might be stable for a lot of people now but not for you and some others too.

Was it a battle to actually get a refund?  When i had my encore it took me over 40 interactions just to get my money back.  They tried the technician, the software updates but it kept failing to the point where i was like , no, i just want my money back.  For me, when i purchased the encore it was a celebratory present for me getting a promotion.  I wanted it to be a good experience.  

We are consistently told B&O is a small company, they are not a big corporation - which should mean they have your back when things go wrong. Giving up out of boredom is not right especially when you have invested so much time and your hard earned money in to your setup.  I did like reading that they started to help you though and involved in a tele conference - that's something i didn't think would happen.  Being a small company, this is a great way to hear about your products, and C'mon.. not following the correct process is a cop out and would have made me so furious.  After all you follow the correct process (which you dont even know about) and what... it goes back to those direct people / teams?  

As you kindly posted on my thread about my Avant, I am also not sure if my issues were due to the app.  I don't think it is, however, i was using the app to start the avant which i never do and then tried to play home media and then share that experience and the speakers went haywire.  Not sure if that fried something in the Avant or not - being electronics you can never really tell.  Hopefully it's an easy fix, but it doesn't bide well with me that after 3 years and 11 months that the picture goes on a TV.

I don't think your system has anything to do with wifi to be honest.  There are simple and complex set ups, and mine has worked flawlessly and it iuses from the nbn telstra gateway max to the telstra wifi extender (mesh) and ethernet too.  In my setup:

- BV Avant (ethernet) with BL 18 (WISA), BL19 (WISA) and BL3 (WISA)

- A9, BS1, A6 (wifi)

- BV14 (ethernet), BS Essence Mk2

- Another OLED TV, 2 cable boxes, 3 Apple TVs, 2 gaming consoles, 6 ipads

... what im getting at here is that even my setup is a rung above a simple setup... going in to a little complex , things should work. 

It's never pleasant to have to remove products, resetting them and adding them back just to play music. 

Have you tried deleting the app and just use chrome cast? ie in your deezer or spotify app, just use that and cast? I know it's not a better solution but just as a suggestion

What i found when i started using the BeoApp in the first time is that when i am signed in on that to my services, such as deezer it should sign in to deezer on all.  But, sometimes it may be good to check the configuration page to see if you're signed in there too.

Have you tried the BeoTool app ?  Does it return a green on all product statuses?  Today i checked and i have a red product comms with the BS1 and A9 which i have never had.

Take a look at your services, i would be interested to hear if they are signed in locally or they are just confused with the app.  

And i do agree with you, software issues will ruin the company.  I have recommended my colleagues to purchase B&O and i didn't receive positive feedback after their purchases.  Friends tell me i'm mad after my experience with the encore, but i had faith ... a long wait after i was defeated and that's when i purchased my current stuff.  If that goes, i daresay I wouldn't return for a second bite of the cherry.  

BTW, the first store has re-opened at Bondi Junction last weekend i hear.  It's on the website as a store now.  And no comms about it...