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10:12 am
August 9, 2010
Over the last month or two there seems to be many complaints regarding the SlingPlayer Solo and it freezing, get stuck on optimizing, dropping the network connection, etc.
There can be several things that can cause this from poor router conditions, week or bad power supplies, high latency issues and more. As an example in this topic thread, Slingbox Pro-HD Freezes ("Optimizing") while Streaming, alone there are over 900 views and 56 posts about different things to test and try. Some things have worked others not.
There are over 3,000 views and hundreds of posts about it on the answers.slingbox.com…
6:23 pm
April 19, 2010
I moved this to a new post so it wouldn't get too caught up with the Solo Capacitor problem.
Great idea and pics.
It cost you the same as ordering one from Sling Media but at least you could get it today instead of waiting for delivery.
Using your info I guess someone could easily find a cheaper power supply. You could also cut the adapter off of the old Sling power supply and splice it to a new one.
11:27 am
Luckily a moderated post on answers.sling.com was emailed to me prior to being "censored" and it brought me here. I also have this problem with my Sling Solo, it's well out of warranty and I only paid $80 for it used off Craigslist a year ago. So I've nothing to lose. I opened the unit and definitely see that 2 of the capacitors are bulging. So I'll be replacing them with the help of a 'solder-knowledgeable friend' or tv repair guy.
Thanks so much for this information. Class-action lawsuits rarely do anything but make lawyers rich, but this is certainly a candidate for a class-action.
1:47 pm
Finally got around to cracking open my SOLO today and sure enough, there were 2 bad capacitors. Quick run to RadioShack just as badmax did, picked up 2 new capacitors, installed them and so far no more issue. I've been using it for about 2 hours now without a hitch.
1:47 pm
Thanks so very much for this helpful information. I spent all day yesterday trying all the same stuff you guys tried – hard reset the SlingBox, change inputs, only have one input plugged in instead of three, remove all the Windows patches I installed last week, reboot everything on my home network, all of no use.
Strange thing is, I only have the problem on my laptop. I can get my iPhone to play the slingplayer app for a whole show with no stops. But, both the web-based and the Windows SlingPlayer app freeze up after only a few minutes, whether I'm on my home network or on the road. I even flashed my laptop back to an image I took a month ago when I had no problems, and the problem still persists. Everything else on my home network works just fine, so I think I have to point the finger at the SlingBox itself, even though it plays fine on my iPhone 3GS with iOS 4 installed. Maybe the amount of conversion necessary for ah iPhone isn't as great as a laptop? I dunno.
Anyway, I'm going to take my SlingBox apart tonight and see about the capacitors. I have a Radio Shack with six capacitors for me if I need them. I'll let you all know what I find.
5:00 pm
You guys are ROCK STARS!!! One of the three caps was bulged. I replaced the two that were identical and left the third one. Laptop's been happily Slinging for over 20 minutes now. Gotta love it.
5:33 pm
April 19, 2010
Great! Glad you got it fixed.
I bet we are getting close to 100 people who have replaced their Slingbox Solo Capacitors.
6:03 pm
Another success here…. picked up two caps at RS and replaced them on the SlingSolo, works fine now. thanks for the informative post and pics.
Cost me $3 in parts and my time to replace the caps. Cost SlingMedia a customer for life…
I refuse to do any repeat business with a company the will not support it's customers.
Smart guys here diagnosed the problem and provided a fix. Looks to me like any of us that have applied the fix have solved the problem. Sling is handed the solution on a plate and they jerk customers around with $30 support fees and double talk and deleting posts on their forum. sorry, I don't do business with these kind of Companies.
Wake up sling and offer free repairs to users past the warranty period. it'll be cheaper for you in the long run and you may actually retain a few customers.
9:12 am
Forgot to mention the price. It cost me $11 to fix mine, but since my old soldering gun was all rusty and stuff, I bought a complete new soldering kit on sale at Radio Shack for $6.50 as part of the deal, and I also bought the third capacitor for $1.49 that I didn't put in because only one person here replaced all three, but most folks just replaced the two 16V ones with 35V ones and had good results. Way better than paying lots and lots of $$ to Sling for their non-support, and getting a refurbished unit whose capacitors will be the same as the ones that went bad.
Other folks have commented on how much better their Slingbox works now. I concur. Mine is much clearer, less distortion, smoother to scroll up and down the DirecTV lists, just better all around. If I ever decide to get the HD version instead of the SOLO, I'll know what to do.
2:06 pm
October 19, 2010
I just replaced the failing caps on my SlingSolo and fixed the problem reported here. thanks to those that have diagnosed this and provided a working solution to users out of warranty.
I posted this simple info on the sling Answers Forum and was asked if I called for support. I replied no, why bother, I willnot pay a $3 support fee to argue with slingMeda support. I did 10 mins of research online, spent $3 on parts and did 30 mins of work to replace the caps, problem solved. Why bother to contact Sling and get the run around.
… and of course this reply was deleted and I was banned from the forums. Way to go sling, nice way to enstill trust with your customers. I did not post anything false and was not offensive in my post, but the mod just deleted my post banned me. What a joke. I am so done doing business with sling.
2:10 pm
October 19, 2010
Count me in for a class action suit. I don't even care if all the money goes to the lawyers…. as long as Sling has to pay for a long expensive lawsuit, I'm for it.
4:43 pm
April 19, 2010
Glad you go it fixed. Far as a Class Action Lawsuit I have no idea if this is even a case for one.
Anything we can do on the site to help you guys, we would be glad to do so.
7:57 am
Add me to the list. Have been having problems with the Solo for about a year and a half. Have changed ISP, Antivirus and Firewall, played with settings but it still kept freezing.
Have replaced the capacitors and it works perfectly, have just streamed for 3hrs with no problems. For info I couldn't actually see anything wrong with the old capacitors when I took the box apart but replaced them anyway. I've also bought a separate stand for the Slingbox which will hopefully keep it cooler.
Thanks for the help, I can't believe Sling are still sticking their heads in the sand, it's seriously damaging their reputation.
3:50 pm
Thank you! My Sling Solo capacitors looked just like your pics, replaced them and it's working perfectly. Maybe even better than before like several others have noticed. I was such a huge Sling fan up until this. I have an original Slingbox that is still running well. I decided to expand and got a Solo than started having problems less than a year into it. I almost trashed it since I couldn't find any help on their forums. Thanks again for this post.
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