Clarification needed on how firmware updates are delivered and installed.

[Mooly01]

This probably sounds a daft question... and in fact I asked similar back in December:

 https://community.sony.co.uk/t5/android-tv/firmware-update-delivery-question/m-p/2271264#M14683

however the behaviour of my own TV makes me wonder what is going on.

There is a new (15th March 2017) firmware update for the KD43XD8305 that is showing as available on the support section for this model.

  http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/product/KD-43XD8305/#SoftwareAndDownloads

I have internet connectivity set up, I have accepted the Sony privacy agreement, and have now manually scanned for 'new updates'. After a few seconds I get a message saying that all is up to date.

The firmware version displays as PKG6.0614.0004EVA. The new version is supposed to be V6.1004

I should say that up to this point I have had Auto Updating turned off (my choice). Even with that set to on, and forcing a manual scan, I still get the same result. I am up to date.

So the next question has to be.....

Are these updates really delivered via the internet or are they delivered 'over air' ? which would explain not being able to receive it at will.

[Mooly01]

Thanks for the USB info Jonnie. That's always an option for sure. At the moment I'm just puzzled why an update is available and a manual check does not find it.  

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Hi there

I have received clarfication on how the updates work for Android based TVs.  However Sony use the term 'Stacks' :

Basically, what we do is release in stacks to not overload server-capacities.  Whilst doing that, we of course monitor closely the market to see how things go.

Whilst it’s not un-true the 1^st stack will always be smaller compared to the ones following, it is the main reason for not releasing to all TV’s in one go.

Stacks contain varying amount of serial numbers, however other criteria can be applied, it all depends on what is being released and if other priorities such as area should be considered.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

[Mooly01]

Thanks @Anonymous that goes a long way to explaining how the process operates.

I suppose you could also extrapolate from that and say that for someone like myself that has auto updating turned OFF and yet tries a manual scan, then its plasuible that if my TV's serial number hasn't yet 'come up' then it will be as if no update exists. Perhaps when the roll out period ends then a manual scan would find the update. Thats just pure guesswork of course but it might explain things so far.

Ta very much  

[Anonymous]

Thats exactly how it works when manually scanning for an update.  If your TVs serial number is not in the released stacks, then the tv will not find an update.  But of course, you can always download to USB via the support site and update that way.

You're welcome

[Mooly01]

Thanks. I'll probably hmmm.... wait.... and see if any problems are reported before attempting this one. There is another thread (currently a few down from this one) where someone mentions losing one channel of audio via HDMi, and that it possibly occured after applying this update.

I think we can say this one is resolved.  

[speedyrite]

In view of the recent "issues" that some Samsung 2017 TVs have had with a bad update (see below), how strong is the case for turning off software auto-update on my 2017 Sony Android TV as a precaution against any such thing happening with a future Sony software update rollout? What's the general opinion, either for or against this action?

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/aug/24/samsung-tv-buyers-furious-after-software-update-l...

[Mooly01]

Well......

Given the nature of firmware updates and the fact that any mishaps and disasters seem to be unrecoverable (unlike a PC where you can undo/uninstall/reinstall/reinstall from backup etc) I personally have become a lot more wary.

I still haven't updated my Android TV to the latest spec, mainly because for my use the update adds nothing of value that I can see.

My advice is that given the problems that can and do arise, a careful and wary owner would be best to at least defer any update until you were sure that there were no mass reports of major issues.