An increasing number of Nexus Player owners are reporting an issue which has effectively rendered their devices useless. While there has always been a number of instances where devices become inoperable for some reason, the difference here is the frequency of users who are now reporting the same (or very similar) issues within a small space of time. With multiple threads on this having been started, in multiple different forums, and all alluding to the same end result – a defunct Nexus Player.
The influx of reports seem to have started in July although new ones are being added on a regular basis with more users having seen the issue surface in recent days. It currently remains unclear what is causing the issue, but if affected, devices seem to become stuck on the boot animation – “Google” or “Android” logo screen. In some case, the stuck animation is only a temporary thing before it is replaced with an error message informing the system has encountered some form of a fatal flaw. In all instances the Nexus Player becomes unresponsive and unusable.
While these issues can sometimes occur following a major update, that does not seem to be the case here. More worryingly, there is no obvious fix for the issue at present. Some users have reported a factory reset has helped, while others say it doesn’t. Likewise, some of those who initially saw an improvement with a factory reset note that after a short period of time (typically a few days) the original issue resurfaced again. Others have tried flashing a recent system image with mixed results once more. While others have opted for a major OS downgrade to try and overcome the issue. Again, while this works in the interim, some users note the system eventually auto-downloads an update bringing it back up to date, and in doing so, returning to a ‘looped’ state. Therefore, it currently remains unclear if there is a surefire way at the moment to fix the issue. Adding to that, it also remains unclear how responsive Google is likely to be with addressing the issue or providing an update fix – if one is even possible — considering the Nexus Player has already been confirmed as a device that has exited its update support cycle. Those interested in keeping up to date on this issue can take their pick from a number of threads through the link below.
Nexus Player (Reddit)