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You know that some devices essentially "require" network connectivity for initial setup? E.g. https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5/tv/smart-tv-set-up-without-in

You know that some devices essentially "require" network connectivity for initial setup? E.g. https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5/tv/smart-tv-set-up-without-internet-or-smart-phone/td-p/2331626 https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5/tv/smart-tv-set-up-witho...

rapsey 5y ago
So give it a network connection for initial setup then take it away?
- squiffsquiff 5y ago
  So you'll still have all the adverts, they just don't update?
  - flatiron 5y ago
    I had to do that. My Samsung couldn’t leave “demo mode” or whatever without going online first and would restart itself every hour. I just let it register and blocked it from coming out my router. It stays quiet like that. I believe removing the wifi showed some nag when booting that I had to deal with. Real scummy stuff.
  - bee_rider 5y ago
    Annoying, but at least it isn't feeding your information in to the weird ad-driven panopticon (we'll leave that to the content providers!)
  - rbanffy 5y ago
    > they just don't update? That's a cursed scenario...
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - mindslight 5y ago
    Buy it from a place with free returns. Then if it insists on showing cached ads after the network is pulled (or any other undesirable behavior), just return it. This won't help you find a better model, but it will save you from needing to research these obscure details in too much depth. . o O ( I wonder if some hostile antifeatures go away if you buy a TV in the US but then activate it from an EU IP address ).
  - danudey 5y ago
    Run it through pihole to block the ad networks? Or just whitelist hostnames/addresses one by one until the setup works. Not exactly a user-friendly option, but an option nonetheless.
  - gmadsen 5y ago
    dns block it at the router
khedoros1 5y ago
Yeah...mine shows a nag about not accepting the online agreements, connecting the TV to the network, etc. Hasn't stopped me from using it as a display for the inputs I was using on my previous non-smart TV.
- jjoonathan 5y ago
  Ew.
jitix 5y ago
Yeah I was afraid my new TV would do that. I was planning to return it if it did because I had bad experience with Vizio and TCL smart TVs breaking updates before (I'm an Apple TV user). I can confirm that Roku firmware works great without the internet and doesn't nag. I just turn it on and switch to my Apple TV.
squarefoot 5y ago
Not just that. Broadband connection for things will become so cheap in the future that it could become essentially free one day so it can be subsidized by the businesses depending on it. 5G aside, It is believable that in a few years most home broadband routers, even tightly closed ones, could open a channel anyway using a fraction of the bandwidth for exclusive use by devices so that only closed source drivers will be able to instruct WiFi chips to see and use it. The catch being that there won't be any means of preventing the TV or other devices from going online, short of opening them and removing physically the network hardware. I believe we badly need alternative (Open Source, auditable, trustworthy) operating systems for smart TVs too. Next will be cars, fridges, etc. Pretty much everything.
johnklos 5y ago
The statement, "just don't connect it to the network" still stands. If something requires a connection, return it. It's clearly anti-consumer and will do nefarious things (which we already know Samsung does).
- nerdponx 5y ago
  And then you won't have a TV, and Samsung will keep making these abusive TVs without giving one single fuck about your return.

rapsey 5y ago

So give it a network connection for initial setup then take it away?

squiffsquiff 5y ago
So you'll still have all the adverts, they just don't update?
- flatiron 5y ago
  I had to do that. My Samsung couldn’t leave “demo mode” or whatever without going online first and would restart itself every hour. I just let it register and blocked it from coming out my router. It stays quiet like that. I believe removing the wifi showed some nag when booting that I had to deal with. Real scummy stuff.
- bee_rider 5y ago
  Annoying, but at least it isn't feeding your information in to the weird ad-driven panopticon (we'll leave that to the content providers!)
- rbanffy 5y ago
  > they just don't update? That's a cursed scenario...
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- mindslight 5y ago
  Buy it from a place with free returns. Then if it insists on showing cached ads after the network is pulled (or any other undesirable behavior), just return it. This won't help you find a better model, but it will save you from needing to research these obscure details in too much depth. . o O ( I wonder if some hostile antifeatures go away if you buy a TV in the US but then activate it from an EU IP address ).
- danudey 5y ago
  Run it through pihole to block the ad networks? Or just whitelist hostnames/addresses one by one until the setup works. Not exactly a user-friendly option, but an option nonetheless.
- gmadsen 5y ago
  dns block it at the router

khedoros1 5y ago

Yeah...mine shows a nag about not accepting the online agreements, connecting the TV to the network, etc. Hasn't stopped me from using it as a display for the inputs I was using on my previous non-smart TV.

jjoonathan 5y ago
Ew.

jitix 5y ago

Yeah I was afraid my new TV would do that. I was planning to return it if it did because I had bad experience with Vizio and TCL smart TVs breaking updates before (I'm an Apple TV user). I can confirm that Roku firmware works great without the internet and doesn't nag. I just turn it on and switch to my Apple TV.

squarefoot 5y ago

Not just that. Broadband connection for things will become so cheap in the future that it could become essentially free one day so it can be subsidized by the businesses depending on it. 5G aside, It is believable that in a few years most home broadband routers, even tightly closed ones, could open a channel anyway using a fraction of the bandwidth for exclusive use by devices so that only closed source drivers will be able to instruct WiFi chips to see and use it. The catch being that there won't be any means of preventing the TV or other devices from going online, short of opening them and removing physically the network hardware. I believe we badly need alternative (Open Source, auditable, trustworthy) operating systems for smart TVs too. Next will be cars, fridges, etc. Pretty much everything.

johnklos 5y ago

The statement, "just don't connect it to the network" still stands. If something requires a connection, return it. It's clearly anti-consumer and will do nefarious things (which we already know Samsung does).

nerdponx 5y ago
And then you won't have a TV, and Samsung will keep making these abusive TVs without giving one single fuck about your return.