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Samsung Blu-ray Players Are Stuck in a Reboot Loop and Nobody Knows Why

Samsung has yet to comment, but an automatic firmware update is suspected.

 & Matthew Humphries Former Senior Editor

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If you own a Samsung Blu-ray player, there's a chance it may no longer work and instead is now stuck in a constant loop of trying to reboot itself.

As Engadget reports, over the past few days an increasing number of people who own Samsung Blu-ray players are reporting they no longer work. Instead, the players are trapped in an endless loop of attempting to reboot with no clear explanation as to why or what caused the behavior. The video below demonstrates what's happening:

The problem doesn't seem to be confined to any one territory or player model, and the suspicion points to an automatic firmware update being released and bricking the players. For now, Samsung has yet to comment publicly, however, a comment on Engadget by Joe explains, "Well, it happened to me. I contacted Samsung, and they said they know about the issue, don't have a workaround, and don't know when they will have a fix, which I assume means never." The Samsung community thread currently had 448 replies, and so far there's no solution only reports that Samsung is "working to find a solution."

Samsung exited the Blu-ray player market last year, so it has very little incentive to spend much time or money on fixing the hardware, especially as a lot of players will now be out of warranty. However, if the problem has been caused by a firmware update then surely Samsung is at fault and needs to fix the problem they caused?

Further Reading

Blu-ray Player Reviews

About Our Expert

Matthew Humphries

Matthew Humphries

Former Senior Editor

My Experience

I started working at PCMag in November 2016, covering all areas of technology and video game news. Before that I spent nearly 15 years working at Geek.com as a writer and editor. I also spent the first six years after leaving university as a professional game designer working with Disney, Games Workshop, 20th Century Fox, and Vivendi.

I hold two degrees: a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and a Master's degree in Games Development. My first book, Make Your Own Pixel Art, is available from all good book shops.

My Areas of Expertise

  • PC components and system building
  • Raspberry Pi
  • Software development
  • Storage technology
  • Video games and gaming hardware

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