bradg60
October 27, 2015, 1:38am
13
So I THINK I HAVE found the answer to the recent freezing issues others have been discussing (at least to my problems with no guarantees that it will fix yours).
A few things to first know…
I’m very confident the freezing issues most (if not all) are reporting are firmware related.
The answer is (as others have recommended in various community threads) downgrading the firmware.
By me doing #2 , my freezing problems have disappeared.
BUT keep in mind this might not solve every problem for everyone.
So what’s the best procedure? Don’t follow any instructions but those from JoeySmyth in this thread (IMO)…
https://community.wdc.com/t/2-02-32-firmware-no-longer-allows-content/83987
…or from the cut & paste of the same below (with a few notes from me in BOLD)…
small flashdrive (2,4,8 GB) formatted FAT32 … completely empty
download rollback firmware: http://download.wdc.com/wdtv/wdtvlivegen3_rollback_2.01.86.zip
extract all four files onto the root of the flashdrive ie. No Folders
so you should only have these on the flashdrive
wdtvlivegen3.bi2
wdtvlivegen3.bin
wdtvlivegen3.fff
wdtvlivegen3.ver
Before inserting the flashdrive … check the detect New Firmware setting is “On” (THIS IS OFF ON MANY BOXES AND IS ESSENTIAL IT’S ON TO DOWNGRADE THE FIRMWARE.)
Setup > System > Auto Detect New Firmware > On
Power off the WDTV (Press and hold Standby button for 5 seconds … switch off at the mains power)
“Safely Remove” the flashdrive from your PC/Mac and insert it into the front or rear USB input on the WDTV
Power On the WDTV
New Firmware should now be detected “New Firmware” notification will appear in the Home Menu. Press OK.
(it will say 4.01.86… don’t worry, ignore it) … press OK to proceed)
wait until finished (it can take several minutes … it should not take longer than 10-15 min)
(NOTE: 40 MINUTES OF BLACK SCREEN AFTER INSTALLING THE FIRMWARE, MY BOX DID NOT RE-START AUTOMATICALLY. I FINALLY TOOK A CHANCE, PULLED THE POWER, AND RE-STARTED. SUCCESS! WITH A QUIICK SETUP CHECK, I FOUND THE 2.01.86 FIRMWARE HAD INSTALLED SUCCESSFULLY. THE SAME MIGHT HAPPEN TO YOU SO TRY WHAT I DID WITH HOPEFULLY GOOD RESULTS.)
It’s also recommended after a Firmware Rollback (or upgrade) to do a Factory Reset
Setup > System > Device Reset > Reset All Settings Back to Factory Default
11.when finished (optional) disable the New Firmware notification
Setup > System > Auto Detect New Firmware > Off
So there you go. Good luck, but all I know is that it worked for me.