Let me know if you owned a netgear product that might have also been deactivated in this way.
So, I finally hooked my Netgear EVA2000 multimedia internet device up to the internet after having owned it for a couple of years and the day after I hooked it up, it crapped itself. Evidently they phone home when they are connected to the Internet, and it got some sort of message from home to crap itself.
I searched on the Internet and a lot of people have had this same problem with no resolution from Netgear. So I decided to give Netgear support a shot. Wish me luck.
Online technical submission: view case
Case #: [redacted]
Problem: Functionality
Cause: ReadyNAS - Streaming Media
Status: Open
Notes:
10/31/2012 3:08:00 PM
I have had [ my netgear eva2000 ] hooked to my tv for about 2 years now and it has worked flawlessly to play movies off a hard drive and to play movies from a media server through the internet without any issues.
I finally got an internet connection and hooked the device to the internet so I could get access to the other functions. The day after it had access to the internet it updated the firmware without asking me and all the functions on the device no longer works. The main menu comes up as: My Collection Movies on Demand Internet video Settings And only settings works, clicking on the others just moves the cursor down to settings. There used to be a youtube option and it is now gone. Settings works fine, but having a little box hooked to my TV that _only_ allows me to change its settings is sort of useless.
A soft reset and a hard reset does nothing to resolve the issue. [evidently they call it a soft restore and a full restore]
The only way I can get to my local media server now is to goto Settings->Eject USB disk, wait a few seconds, plug the drive back in, wait a minute or two, hit OK to browse the disk when that finally comes up. This window goes away quickly, so I am forced to stand there like an idiot for a couple of minutes waiting for this screen, or I have to start the process all over again. I am finally sitting at the screen where I can select my hard drive, if I press back at this point I can get access to the menu that my collections should take me to.
To sum it all up, it appears that connecting to the internet allowed my box to phone home looking for an update and it was ordered into this mode by your company. Needless to say, I am upset that you deliberately broke a perfectly functional unit, with what I can only assume is a desire to sell me a newer product. If you cannot fix my eva2000 back to a working state, or provide me with a working replacement unit, I will never purchase any product from your company again. I will instruct all my friends and family to not buy your products. On every internet forum that discusses your products I will tell my story about how it appears that you deliberately crippled my device at end of life in order to force me to purchase a newer product. Good day.
10/31/2012 8:23:00 PM
From Expert ID: [redacted]
Case ID: [redacted]
Dear Mr.Rogers,
Thank you for choosing NETGEAR. My name is Rajesh, and I will be your support expert today.
I understand that you are experiencing a problem with EVA2000. We apologize for this inconvenience. Because we are doing this online, it might require a few email exchanges to resolve the issue. Rest assured that we will do our best to resolve your case quickly.
Use this option to restore factory defaults.
1. Select Restore Factory Defaults on the Settings screen.
2. You can select one of the following:
a. Soft Restore – Resets the factory defaults, removes your user account, but preserves all
downloaded movies (both purchased and rented).
b. Full Restore – Resets the factory defaults, removes your user account, and all
downloaded movies (both purchased and rented).
Warning: Because the Full Restore removes your user account and BOTH rented and purchased movies, NETGEAR recommends that you use the Soft Restore option for most purposes.
3. Click the Select ok button to confirm your selection.
DE Live returns you to the Settings screen.
Followed by the following procedure please hard reset by holding the power button for 8 seconds
Please contact us again if you require further assistance.
Please do visit http://support.netgear.com for any technical queries regarding NETGEAR products.
A notice will automatically be sent to your email address when we have responded to your inquiry. Please DO NOT REPLY to that email. Instead, to add additional information to your case, click No to the question "Was your problem resolved with the information provided by the NETGEAR representative above?"
If you click YES, your case will be closed and a separate email containing a survey link will be sent so you can share with us your customer support experience.
Thanks again for choosing NETGEAR. Have a great day!
Sincerely,
Rajesh.
Technical Support
NETGEAR, Inc.
http://my.netgear.com
***NOTE: Your case will autoclose after 7 days of inactivity.***
Did you know that NETGEAR provides support for all your home networking devices and PCs? We can provide a one-stop solution - no need to call multiple vendors* for support. If you would like to learn more about the NETGEAR GearHead services, go to http://kbserver.netgear.com/kb_web_files/gearhead/home.html.
31 Oct 2012 06:51pm
I replied that I tried the above and it did not fix my problem, asked about a firmware update, and was given this response:
Your request has now been sent to a support representative
So there is still hope. Just in case I am looking at making a little xbmc box to hook to my TV, With just a handful of plugins it would be far more capable than the little netgear device. I really liked how convenient and low powered that little device was though, so it it still disappointing that
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Got a reply back after a few hours, they admit it is a defective product.
My name is Rajesh, and I am following up on your Support case.
After reviewing the information you provided, I have a better understanding of your issue and believe I can resolve this for you. Please follow the steps below:
Regarding your concern since this product is the end life product we will not be getting updates anymore and we are sorry to inform you that the product is defective so We apologize for this inconvenience caused.
Sorry to inform you that the product is out of hardware warranty, hence it is not possible for us to replace the product. Please find the warranty information below.
Hardware: Dec 22, 2011 (-314)
Software: Mar 22, 2011 (-589)
Power Supply: Dec 22, 2011 (-314)
Accessories: Dec 22, 2011 (-314)
We apologize for the inconvenience caused.
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I am accusing them of placing a backdoor into a computer system that allowed them to remotely deactivate the machine once it hit end of life.
Let me know if you owned a netgear product that might have also been deactivated in this way.
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Day 3, still just being politely told to piss up a rope. They are not letting me talk to any manager or tier II support, despite numerous requests from me.
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