{"id":343629,"date":"2020-04-18T13:29:37","date_gmt":"2020-04-18T11:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=343629"},"modified":"2020-04-18T13:30:48","modified_gmt":"2020-04-18T11:30:48","slug":"cell-c-blackbox-flash-it-or-throw-it-in-the-bin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/hardware\/343629-cell-c-blackbox-flash-it-or-throw-it-in-the-bin.html","title":{"rendered":"Cell C BlackBOX – Flash it or throw it in the bin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cell C’s set-top-box for its now-defunct Black streaming service is currently unusable, according to feedback from a former subscriber.<\/p>\n

The operator announced<\/strong><\/a> it was discontinuing its streaming service at the end of 2019.<\/p>\n

In addition to the Black streaming service, Cell C launched a set-top-box which it called the blackBOX.<\/p>\n

The box was sold for R1,499 and allowed the streaming of Black’s linear channels and video content.<\/p>\n

Following Cell C shutting down Black, an owner of one of these boxes contacted MyBroadband to found out if he could get the media player to continue working.<\/p>\n

The issue<\/h3>\n

The blackBOX runs on Android 4.4.2, but came loaded with Cell C’s own skin on top, said the user.<\/p>\n

He told MyBroadband that since Black was discontinued, the player’s interface was unable to load any content.<\/p>\n

Hoping that an over-the-air (OTA) update would be available which would “open” the box’s software, he attempted to perform a firmware update.<\/p>\n

“It wouldn\u2019t allow a network connection in that firmware menu though, so that didn\u2019t work,” he explained.<\/p>\n

Attempting to reset the box did not work either.<\/p>\n

The manufacturer<\/h3>\n

The blackBOX was built by an Israeli-based company called Comigo, and has the model number CMG-SBOF9C.<\/p>\n

MyBroadband could not find a website for the media player, or software updates for the device.<\/p>\n

However, the blackBOX employs an Amlogic S805-B Quad Core processor, a chip which is used in a number of other media players.<\/p>\n

Therefore, a user may be able to flash firmware which is used in the boxes that feature the same processor.<\/p>\n

Cell C’s response<\/h3>\n

We approached Cell C to find out if the operator would be able to provide further support in this regard.<\/p>\n

Cell C told MyBroadband that owners may, at their own cost and discretion, load Android onto the blackBOX – but offered no official explanation on how to do this.<\/p>\n

“Android is an open OS and as such from a legal perspective there should not be any issues in this regard.”<\/span><\/p>\n

“If customers have no need for the box, similar to any other electronics\/mobile device, they may dispose of it using the e-waste guide published.”<\/p>\n

Images of Cell C’s blackBOX, and its included remote, are below.<\/p>\n

\"blackBOX<\/a><\/p>\n

\"blackBOX<\/a><\/p>\n

\"blackBOX<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Now read: Cell C is losing customers, but that is part of its plan<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cell C’s set-top-box for its now-defunct Black streaming service is currently unusable, according to feedback from a former subscriber.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341042,"featured_media":237674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[63725,47302,355,35],"class_list":["post-343629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hardware","tag-android-box","tag-blackbox","tag-cell-c","tag-headline"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343629"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341042"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343629"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":348463,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343629\/revisions\/348463"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}