All4 not working on Now TV box

bigpat

I moved home a few months ago and the previous owner left a Now TV box behind. I don't subscribe to anything* or have an account, but I use the apps for BBC iPlayer, Netflix, All4 and a few others. Everything was fine until 2 days ago. Now when I launch the All4 app, it shows the logo and then briefly shows the left-hand menu. But it fails to load the rest of the screen and after a second or two it exits, back to the Now home screen.

Things I've checked/tried so far:

• Netflix, BBC and others are all fine, so it doesn't seem to be a problem with my internet connection.
• I can watch All4 on my laptop, so the service itself is up and running.
• I clicked Options > Check for updates and it told me the app was up to date.
• I removed the app (after reading a tip elsewhere) the added it from the app store again and signed in fresh. But it's still doing the same thing. It partially loads, and then closes.

Any ideas what else I can try?  I don't have a good aerial signal here so I watch everything through the Now TV box. 

*I mean I don't subscribe to Now TV. I do pay for a Netflix account.

Neil_Jones

Which Now TV box is it?  The white one?  The black one?  The smart one (which you can get Freeview on as well)?  The stick?

bigpat

Neil_Jones said:

Which Now TV box is it?  The white one?  The black one?  The smart one (which you can get Freeview on as well)?  The stick?

Er... good question. It's a small black box about the size of a wallet, I'd say, but twice as thick (twice as thick as mine anyway!!)  It's not a stick and i don't think you can get Freeview on it. Nearly all the home screen icons/apps are for Sky Atlantic, Sky Movies etc, none of which I have.

Neil_Jones

Somewhere in the settings (probably an "About" page) will be a model number.

It's probably the second black box, which will usually have model number 4200SK or 4201UK.

bigpat

Thanks. I'll take a look in the morning and get back to you.

shiraz99

Have you tried resetting the Now box or if there's a setting somewhere where you can delete the cache try that too.

J_B

We have a Hisense TV we bought about 4/5 years ago

When we used it last weekend it gave some message about All4 no longer doing something - I didn't fully investigate as it wasn't really clear. Currently working on the 'ain't broke, don't fix' option.

bigpat

Neil_Jones said:

Somewhere in the settings (probably an "About" page) will be a model number.

It's probably the second black box, which will usually have model number 4200SK or 4201UK.

Found it.  It's 4201SK.

I can't find any option to clear the cache as shiraz99 suggested. I found "Software update" which says it was last updated on 19th June and last checked yesterday (not sure if that happened because I deleted/reinstalled the All4 app, or whether it happens every day anyway.)

I found a Factory reset option too, to "..reset everything to original factory settings and remove all accounts."  I won't do that yet in case people have other ideas, but might try it later. But the fact that I reinstalled the All4 app yesterday doesn't convince me that a factory reset would do much good.

pendragon_arther

I have had problems with All4 but I think it's more to do with their lack of transmissin bandwidth for certain areas.

bigpat

I wondered about that too, but it loads up no problem on my laptop.

I did a bit more digging and the model number suggests that the Now box is a specific version for Sky. So maybe they've stopped supporting All4 or something. Anyway, I might treat myself to a smart TV soon and bin the Now box!

J_B

Or perhaps get a Firestick that you can load all the apps on - cheaper than a new TV!

Currently £50 but often on offer for less