Hisense TVs force owners to watch intrusive ads

Aurornis

The fact that the ads are rolled out to customers a long time after purchase to escape the return window is extra frustrating. The part about being able to e-mail an obscure support address with your device's ID to have ads turned off on your device suggests that they're trying to see how far they can push this without damaging their brand. Users who complain enough get solutions, everyone else has to deal with it.

baal80spam

I wonder who came up with this idea and thought: "This will surely bring customers!".

graypegg

I wonder if the australian customer support email address is related to Australia's surprisingly strict consumer rights laws. [0] They even offer a form that helps write the specific sort of complaint you should send [1] that presumably, may jump start the process in removing the ads if you had bought the TV under the impression it would continue to work as advertised originally. [0] https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/buying-products-and-servic... [1] https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/problem-with-a-product-or-...

moepstar

Having added Hisense to my shitlist of TV manufacturers a long time ago - did they ever make a model that haven’t had its power supply die after about 4 years? I don’t think so…

ChrisArchitect

[dupe] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47322966

halflife

Obligatory: never connect your tv to the internet, only use Apple TV for streaming

Jgrubb

I know nothing about hardware, but is there a world where an OpenWRT firmware for smart TVs is possible? Are there that many different chipsets and manufacturers?

cynicalsecurity

The article showed me an intrusive popup to subscribe to something several times. What an irony.

disillusioned

If you're going to be forced, Clockwork Orange-style, to endure unwanted ads on your TV, you might as well just get the whole thing for free, right? That's what Telly does: https://www.telly.com/ For me, it worth it to spend marginally more to not have to deal with _any_ of that, but I get the appeal.

k33n

The implicit contract when you buy from Hisense is that you'll see ads. They are obviously deploying more aggressive advertising strategies as their more tech-savvy customers break the implicit contract and get around ads entirely -- leaving the less tech-savvy customers holding the bag. That's all that's happening. Had zero customers done that, they wouldn't have had to go nuclear.

zedlasso

It's not just TV's. My banking app always spams every time it loads up to sign up for one of its subscriptions. The insanity needs to stop.

CrzyLngPwd

All they need next is a camera that watches you, and if you are not looking at the ad then the ad is paused. How amazing would that be!?

choward

I've never liked the idea of my display having an integrated computer. Especially one I don't control. This non-sense just furthers that. Displays last a long time. Eventually the computer will become outdated especially if companies can just remotely load viruses like this onto them. I just connect my computer to my TV and that's the only input I ever use. Full control. The "smart" part of "smart" TVs is idiotic.

krickelkrackel

That's quite 'Black Mirror': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifteen_Million_Merits

notorandit

Don't connect TVs to the internet as they are actually computers programmed to serve ads. Actually, don't buy TVs at all. Buy books.