We told you it was a dog 8 days ago, now customers of the Foxtel IQ3 box are barking mad at the extent of the problems found in the new set top box.
Two years late and launched in an effort to take on Netflix the iQ3 box which Foxtel are stinging customers $150 to install despite it being a simple case of switching a box over.
Now Internet forums are awash with hundreds of complaints with some customers calling Foxtel decision to launch the box up against Netflix “appallingly stupid”.
A Foxtel spokesman claimed to Fairfax Media that “fewer than two thousand” of the iQ3 boxes currently deployed would need upgrading to address some of the major issues customers have been experiencing.
A further 200,000 iQ3 devices in Foxtel warehouses will also need to be upgraded before they are sold and deployed, a Foxtel spokesman confirmed.
Prior to the box being launched ChannelNews was told it was a lemon for the simple reason that Foxtel which is 50% owned by Telstra and 50% by News Corporation wanted to deliver a new box at the cheapest price and that meant using the “cheapest components” said insiders.
According to forums the iQ3 is riddled with software and hardware problems.
Now an Indian based Company is desperately trying to find a solution to Foxtel’s problems.
There is even speculation that Telstra could delay their roll out of their iQ3 box with call centre staff refusing to take orders for installs.
Several customers have are returned the bug ridden iQ3 describing it as “unusable”.
Some of the bugs are listed below.
. The iQ3 randomly resets itself – in some cases several times daily
. Recordings of shows disappear
. The wrong content is shown on the wrong channel
. The remote stops working intermittently
. A “no signal” message is sometimes shown on certain channels even when there is signal
. The device lags when navigating between menus
. Recordings of shows cannot be deleted
. Channels sometimes randomly switch
. Audio is not able to be delivered to a TV using HDMI from the iQ3
. The Foxtel logo on the device randomly flashes, which becomes annoying in dark rooms
. Recordings don’t play back from where they’ve been left off
. There’s no way to see whether you’ve already watched a piece of content
. Content is set to expire when it shouldn’t
Fairfax Media was today reporting on the issue.
“Still shaking my head at the appalling stupidity of Foxtel [for] rushing this box out without proper testing,” wrote one customer on Foxtel’s support forums. “Netflix must have been the driver.”
Says another: “This is pretty poor form by Foxtel; we are basically paying for the privilege of BETA testing this box. Foxtel we are not happy and want these issues fixed . You think we are angry or rabid now? Wait until Game of Thrones starts and we record it in SD and we can’t watch it because iQ3 has errord on us.”
Fairfax said ‘Given the iQ3 was first announced in 2013 and scheduled for release in the final quarter of 2014 but was delayed, this seems to give some weight to the theory the device’s launch date of a day before Netflix’s local launch was no mistake, given it could’ve launched any other week but the week Netflix launched locally’.
Foxtel staff have openly admitted in support forums that there are numerous problems plaguing the device.
“As with any new product there have been a small number of procedural issues with some of the units at launch,” a Foxtel spokesman said.
A “Q&A” page created Saturday, has already attracted over 1200 page views.
As well as venting their concerns on Foxtel’s own support forum, customers are also using broadband forum Whirlpool to air their grievances.
Meanwhile, Murray Allan, Foxtel’s head of product management and user experience, who is responsible for working on the company’s product developments, including iQ3, states on LinkedIN that his “focus is always to create easy to use, enjoyable user experiences for our customers”.
Fairfax said For many iQ3 customers, this easy to use experience Mr Allan speaks of remains to be seen.
