QE32LS03TBKXXU - 32" Frame - Airplay 2

[Stevemid88]

Hi everyone,

Bought a brand new 2020 Frame 32" on Saturday, as referenced above.

Having spent a few hours channeling through the wall and aligning the wall mounts, I am really frustrated that the Airplay is now supposedly not available.

I have spoken to Samsung Support on 2x occassions this afternoon, and on both occassions I have been told the TV does not support Airplay 2!

If this is correct, why are Samsung marketing the TV as supporting Airplay 2? I specifically purchased this due to A) how thin the TV was and B) Airplay 2 compatability.

Webpage that states the TV is Airplay 2 compatible:

https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00082643/

Can anyone provide any help?

Thanks

[Vodder]

Been playing more and the UX isn't getting any better - put it in portrait mode and there is nothing as simple as wanting to view "only" portrait mode images - not landscape ones that sit there with masses of blank space top and bottom 😞

Doesn't appear to have a motion sensor either even though its referenced. The 49" in the kitchen comes on when you walk in the room. The 32" you have to turn the thing on which defeats the purpose... Not leaving it on 24/7 just because.

Someone please tell me I'm being an ***** and missing something?

[Vodder]

interesting; i d i o t gets * out. Seems excessive 😕

[ElliottLP]

In case anyone speaks to a customer support rep for Samsung, here's another example of Samsung's product web site stating that the 32" Frame should have Airplay2 and the Apple TV app:

https://www.samsung.com/ie/lifestyle-tvs/the-frame/qled-technology/

Under Mobile Mirrroring there is the footnote, *AirPlay 2 functionality is available on all 2020 and later Samsung smart TV.

On the 1 July I contacted Samsung support via online chat and spent an hour explaining the lack of Airplay2 and AppleTV app with the assistant. She seemed confident that it should be there guiding me through the generic checks/tasks until she eventually remote controlled onto my TV. She did a full reset and the TV went through the setup up to the point where I had to enter my username/password for the new Samsung Account. A quick check after the completed factory reset and I confirmed with her that the AppleTV still wasn't there. Eventually she took my mobile number and left me with this:

Samsung UK Support 5e28285084ec30034d4b1a66

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 15:07:50 UTC

I understand, rest assured that we will escalate this. Thank you for your understanding.

It's coming up to 2 weeks and haven't heard anything but I'll chase them sometime this week and post any updates. If Samsung can just confirm if the Apple functionality is genuinely coming in an future software update then that would do me.

[PaulHX]

You see that in itself is really poor customer service.  Taking you through menus and checks when they could have easily checked Known Issues for the model number and linked the ticket for you to save your precious time and sanity.

Now they've left you hanging in the same way myself and others have.

Today I tried a new tactic - Twitter. Support was on to me in seconds, with very public reassurances that they will help me.

As soon as we get into the details in the DM (not public) radio silence.  Have chased and nothing.

Conclusion:

Telephone, email, webchat, forum moderators and now social media = same dire service.

[Darry]

---

@PaulHX wrote:

You see that in itself is really poor customer service.  Taking you through menus and checks when they could have easily checked Known Issues for the model number and linked the ticket for you to save your precious time and sanity.

Now they've left you hanging in the same way myself and others have.

Today I tried a new tactic - Twitter. Support was on to me in seconds, with very public reassurances that they will help me.

As soon as we get into the details in the DM (not public) radio silence.  Have chased and nothing.

Conclusion:

Telephone, email, webchat, forum moderators and now social media = same dire service.

---

Hi PaulHX, I've just posted to twitter also... based on your message I will refuse to DM, and just add to the conversation about each failure to fix the issue.

[Darry]

PS. GOOGLE ASSISTANT Advertised on all sites as coming in an update in June... so that's non-existant also.

[Stevemid88]

It seems like Samsung had to meet a Product Launch deadline, which means the software has been deemed "OK for now". 

Hopefully there is a fix in the works, but the lack of communication, whether by Twitter, by the Support Telephone line, formally on the website or so on, is truly disappointing.

Its probably because the staff we can communicate with simply dont know.

[PaulHX]

Update.

Having been led down the garden path by telephone support over 3 long calls spanning a month and still waiting for a call back within 24 hours that was several days ago, I moved on to raising it with Samsung UK Twitter, who were publicly falling over themselves to help me until they moved the dialogue into direct messaging where after I confirmed my name, address, ticket number etc. they have now completely  ignored me for almost 48 hours, despite me chasing every couple of hours.

So yesterday I reached out to John Lewis, whose Tech Support were really helpful and completely understood the problem with misrepresenting the features of the product.  Over the course of 2 hours, they spoke to various departments in Samsung and got absolutely nowhere. 

So they too now have a ticket open, have asked me to be patient whilst they refer to their management team for further instruction. 

Samsung has been truly appalling in this matter.  It seems nobody is accountable which suggests a very poor corporate culture.

I'm not dropping this. The required resolution is a panel that provides both AirPlay 2 and Apple TV. Whether it's firmware on this unit or a the nearest matching compatible device, which is the 43" unit.

[TF2020]

I got the same problem over here... in Europe. 

Just purchased the 32 inch Frame. I actually was aware that the 32 model does NOT have the thin cable and no motion sensor. If you dig deep into the details it is actually specified. 

BUT: The promotion for this product clearly states the Airplay functionality. 

I am shocked and appalled that Samsung just invents features that are not there, ships the product without these features and nobody at Samsung support is even aware of it. How is that possible?!? 

I have to admit, that I will hold on to the TV even if Airplay is never enabled, but I feel cheated and disgusted. 

[Darry]

---

@ElliottLP wrote:

In case anyone speaks to a customer support rep for Samsung, here's another example of Samsung's product web site stating that the 32" Frame should have Airplay2 and the Apple TV app:

https://www.samsung.com/ie/lifestyle-tvs/the-frame/qled-technology/

Under Mobile Mirrroring there is the footnote, *AirPlay 2 functionality is available on all 2020 and later Samsung smart TV.

On the 1 July I contacted Samsung support via online chat and spent an hour explaining the lack of Airplay2 and AppleTV app with the assistant. She seemed confident that it should be there guiding me through the generic checks/tasks until she eventually remote controlled onto my TV. She did a full reset and the TV went through the setup up to the point where I had to enter my username/password for the new Samsung Account. A quick check after the completed factory reset and I confirmed with her that the AppleTV still wasn't there. Eventually she took my mobile number and left me with this:

Samsung UK Support 5e28285084ec30034d4b1a66

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 15:07:50 UTC

I understand, rest assured that we will escalate this. Thank you for your understanding.

It's coming up to 2 weeks and haven't heard anything but I'll chase them sometime this week and post any updates. If Samsung can just confirm if the Apple functionality is genuinely coming in an future software update then that would do me.

---

SAMSUNG chat did exactly the above to me, accept they insisted the TV was faulty and got me to take it back to John lewis for a replacement.... and assurred me the replacement would have airplay and appletv.... It didn't. I've had 3 chats since then and they promised to call back on 2 occasions... I've not had one call back... I've been waiting since 3 June!

[PaulHX]

Unreal. If they're not able to update this unit with the promised features, they should just say so and arrange for closest available replacement to be issued that does.

[mcdan]

Just to add a bit more to the fire on this, I ordered the 32" after being impressed with the 43" 2019 model. I was careful to check that it also supported AirPlay, which people have  pointed out it claims to.

Although just looking as I type this it says:
"Mirror content from your smartphone or tablet via SmartThings, or pair with your Apple devices to project via AirPlay 2.*

*Feature may not yet be available at time of purchase of this product. Some smart TV apps may not support Vertical Mode."

I have both TVs connected to the same Wifi networks and my phone always seems the 43" but never the 32". I know it's connected correctly as I can use the YouTube app to "mirror" things but this doesn't use AirPlay. I can see the TV in the Smart Things app, etc. etc. Yes, I have the latest Firmware version that came out a few weeks ago, 1301.5.

This is pretty awful from Samsung, IIUC Airplay requires a chip bought/licensed from Apple to function. So either the chip is in there and it can be enabled with a firmware or it's not and it will simply never work.

For what it's worth I'm in the US.

[Stevemid88]

I find the lack of the Android Cast another frustration. If Airplay was in place, I probably wouldnt have noticed about the Andorid cast missing feature...

Another issue I find is screen flickering. Every day or two, the screen provides a flickering across the whole of the screen. Its as if it doesnt know which brightness setting to apply, so contantly changes every 0.2 second or so, leading to a flickering effect. If I move to protrait mode then back to the App I was using, it usually solves it. One or two occassions have required a full turn off/turn on to reset the TV.

[Stevemid88]

Also, interesting to see UK, Europe and US all noticing defects - so when Samsung Support told me that the US webpage was for the US Market only, it would appear that it too was factually incorrect.

[ElliottLP]

Yep I've had that flickering once last week when it was put it into portrait mode. Went away when switched App/TV mode but returned when back in standby. Also took an on/off flick from the mains to make it permanently go away. Will see if it happens again...but its not just you! (As if the Airplay2 problem wasn't bad enough.)

[Vodder]

Ha, fun this isn't it... I too have had the flicking once whilst in the settings for Art Mode, switching to TV and back again resolved it.

Regarding there being "no motion sensor", I have the PDF of the product guide for the 32" Frame and it clearly states the motion sensor as a feature! 😞 This to me if even more annoying than Airplay as Art Mode was the specific reason I bought this.

If there was a timer or something so you could set it to be on at certain times that would be a semi fix. Still wastes energy though.

Probably overkill to have a "TV" purely to display Art but it's the subscription to Art Mode across the other devices that is key and I don't believe other manufacturers (Lenovo have an "art display") have access to it.

If I get really nit picky, my "flagship" 2018 QLED doesn't appear to be able to connect to my Art Mode subscription either... its the little things that build brand loyalty...

[PaulHX]

Hey, the * is interesting covering of their position in the US.

Did the latest firmware update deliver Apple TV app and/or Google Assistant or are these still missing?

[mcdan]

Yes the * certainly seems like a CYA position, although it may mean that the chip is indeed in the box which is good news.

I don't have an apple TV but I can check if I can find the app when I search, not sure how to look for the Google Assistant, I disable all voice features so don't know my way around the settings on either TV but happy to look for you.

[PaulHX]

Great, thanks. The Apple TV is just another app, so it’ll be in the App Store.

Interested to see what new functionality the 1301.5 delivered for you guys.

[TF2020]

Just an app is not doing it justice. 

if you are an avid Apple TV user then this little app makes quite expensive hardware (The Apple TV) absolute. 

So having this app is a 200 Euro saving to me. 

I am quite angry for being cheated by Samsung because this was my main buying criteria.  

[PaulHX]

Absolutely. Buying a TV involves research and you choose the device based on features.

In this case I wanted something with AirPlay 2, Apple TV, Netflix, Prime and a slim profile.

Had I known the first two features were missing, I would have gone for something else.

And to think I cut a channel in the wall for that thick grey cable that they didn’t tell us about too!