WD TV Live Hub Boot Failure – Auto Shut Down Power Button Problem

WD TV Live Hub Loading ScreenAs mentioned in THIS post, I bought a WD TV Live Hub unit a month ago, and I have been fairly happy with it so far. The premise/purpose of the unit is good, it is well featured in hardware, but the firmware/operating system is not as good as it could be, given the potential of the units hardware capabilities. I have found it to be slow, kinda clunky, and a bit frustrating when it comes to finding media quickly, as I have a large collection. The current version at time of writing is 2.07.17. Since purchasing the machine I have tried several versions of the firmware, and have settled/rolled back (using WD’s own rollback instructions and previous OS builds on the WD Firmware Rollback Page) to version 2.04.13, which in my opinion, and the WD Community opinion, seems to be the best offering so far.

Last week however, my 3 week old unit simply refused to boot. It didn’t work. I would press the power button on the remote and see the screen above, and then the unit would just turn itself off. I tried the using the power button on the unit, and it yielded the same result, automatic shut down after the loading screen. I was quiet enraged. My wife gathered up the units box, dug the receipt out, and was set to drive me back to the store to exchange the unit, when I proceeded to do what any grumpy male geek with a failing piece of technology would do – I took to it with a screwdriver, pried it open and voided the warranty!

I did learn a lot about this unit during this process though, and will share it with you now – and as always, I am sharing MY experience! Should you CHOOSE to try to replicate my experience with your device, and FAIL, it is completely your own fault, and I take no responsibility what so ever!

After Googling the symptoms, it appears that this is a VERY common problem with this unit, and the folks at WD refuse to acknowledge it as an issue. However, there is a VERY simple fix, but it does involve opening the unit. Inside the box is the main PCB (Printed Circuit Board), and there is a smaller PCB for the POWER button connected to the main PCB with a few wires. This seems odd for the power button to be on a different board, but it is a gift from god that it has been designed this way. It seems that something on the smaller power PCB, or perhaps the power button itself shorts/fails, hence as soon as you start the unit, the switch thinks its been pressed and it turns the unit off.

Unhappy Western Digital Customer

The cure, simply disconnect the smaller power button PCB. YES, you read correctly, just disconnect it! There is a power button on the remote you can use to switch the unit on and off anyways. The ironic part of this is that I actually found it harder to open the unit than disconnect the power button PCB. My first instinct was to crank on the thick chunky bit of plastic with the scallop shapes, but I soon learned that this was just an aesthetic, the actual lid is the thin piece above the groove in the aesthetic scallop bit.WD TV Live Hope Top Plate

To open the case, take your preferred case opening screwdriver and insert it between the thick bit and the thinner top panel at the back of the unit above the composite (yellow) video output.

Case Opening PointOnce you have made a gap you will see the fastening tabs that hold the lid on, and its just a matter of forcing the top upwards and gently pushing the fastening tabs towards the inside of the case. Below shows you the different types of tabs you will need to defeat to lift the lid.

Fastening tabsOnce you have the lid off, its a simple matter off locating the power button PCB, and the wires that join it to the main PCB. The power button PCB wires mount to the main PCB underneath, but the white terminal is easily visible, and requires little effort to disconnect. I just flicked it of with the screwdriver I used to open the case.

Power Button Wires and Main PCB

Power Button PCB Wires removedOnce the wire is disconnected, you can re-fit the top panel, plug the box in again, and watch your unit boot back into that familiar home screen!

wdtv home screen

Now, if you want to win a prize (Charlie Sheen’s Tiger Blood), look closely at the photo’s in this article and be the first to comment with the reason why everybody who reads these articles should take extra special note of my disclaimers, and why Australian Geek Guys die younger than American Geeks!

12 thoughts on “WD TV Live Hub Boot Failure – Auto Shut Down Power Button Problem

  1. yoyoblog says:

    Thanks, you just saved me from a lot of trouble 🙂

  2. Me says:

    Fantastic, It works, You save me

  3. Oscar says:

    I am soooooooooo happy you posted this on the net and I am soooooo disapointed with WD producing hardware with this defect. Having to disconnect the powerbutton cable….who would have thought of that. Well, you did and I’m very grateful.

  4. Iwan says:

    Hi,
    Thank you very very much, you are the best!!!!!!!

    Cheers,

    Iwan

  5. adam says:

    great stuff dood. had this thing since christmas. the first unit i got rattled before i opened the box so i returned it. after visiting 3 different stores i finally managed to get a replacement. much to my disgust, it started shuttin down after the first use. its been sittin there collecting dust until i found this page and now shes all good. thanks again but a little tip – use a guitar pick to pop the lid off, saves damaging the case. peace

  6. Zin says:

    Thanks mate, this post has been a godsend and for any doubters out there.. disconnecting the power cable works.

    My Hub packed it in yesterday, I bought my unit about a year ago… updated the firmware numerous times… the last update being version 3.03.13 dated 29 feb 2012…. and it just packs it in for no apparent reason… go figure

  7. Wes Foster says:

    It appears you managed to rip the scalloped bit of plastic off. As the image showing where the case splits appears to only be of the scalloped plastic and the lid.

    looks to be a definite oops moment..

    FWIW..

    These are prone to HDD failures.. Although it’s not always the HDD that fails. Just the controller. Mine is 1 year and 1 month old. Yep. 1 month out of warranty. It shat itself thismorning. I’ve since checked my warranty, bitched on the WD forums, then removed the HDD… It works seamlessly in a usb docking station. Even connected to the WD TV Live Hub via USB… The hub runs without a hdd installed, however, it bitches when you first kick it in the guts again, alerts you to that fact, then goes about its merry business…

    thank god for rom based OS…

  8. d4v1d says:

    *WHEW!* Thank you so much… we’re headed on a LONG road trip tomorrow, box was working yesterday, go to put some more movies on it and got the loading screen of death. This took care of it and will make our trip MUCH better.

  9. Rogier says:

    Never thought this would be the problem! Thanks for your solution, it works perfectly! Saved me buying a new mediaplayer.

  10. Richard says:

    In answer to your bonus question about Aussie Geeks…You might have unplugged it….power adaptor was still plugged in with the cover off! 🙂

    Sincerely,

    A Canadian Geek.

  11. webmaster says:

    After 4130 views, we have a winner for the mystery question! Well Done Richard! Yes, the unit was plugged in and turned on whilst it was in pieces, as you can see by the cooling fan spinning in the second photo from the bottom of the article.

  12. Richard says:

    Lol. Indeed. That is ’cause I read all the way to the bottom! What’s the prize? Kidding.

    I solved my WD TV Loading….. but never finishing problem today too – opened the case (your instructions) and just popped out the hard drive…(no wires to cut-just slides out) and away she went. Hard drive is dead but at least Netflix and usb are working! Thx again.

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