KD-55XE8505BAE behaving weirdly, is this cause to return it to seller for inspection?

[christofferkrook]

I purchased my very own first real TV 8th of september last year. Previously i'd been handed down the familys TV after they've upgraded the living room or something but since i'd moved, i figured i'd need something proper.

I landed on the KD-55XE8505BAE, it had everything i asked for, it had smart TV functions, seller promised a quick UI, built in chromecast and all of the nice modern neccessities.

The seller promised a few things that i don't feel i've gotten. The major thing i was promised was a quick TV with a smooth and nice UI. Now i think that what i've got is nothing of the sort, but i've never had a smart tv before so i don't know. For example, pressing volume down always takes like 4-5 seconds before the volume slider actually shows and does something. Switching to and from netflix can easily be up to 10 seconds. Once the "home" smart TV UI is loaded, that runs smoothly, but as soon as i enter an app, it is super slow.

Now the latest error that made me consider bringing it back for a warranty check is that the TV will not connect via ethernet cable anymore. Only wifi, and the wifi connection is just gone sometimes when i boot up the TV and i have to reconnect it. But the ethernet won't connect! The wire is connected as it should, and it worked for the first few couple of months, but since then it's not worked for me. It simply won't connect and it says something about static IPs and stuff. I am no network processor so i don't know all about IPs and stuff, but i do have a rigid enough technical background to try and troubleshoot it myself, but with no luck.

The major things i've done is that i've tried to find some static IP in my router to give it, i've done a factory reset, i've made the TV "forget" the existing wifi connections and i've tried to connect with wifi turned OFF.

Should i bring this tv back to the seller for an inspection or is there something else i can do? Also, is the UI supposed to be so slow or is it something wrong? I sort off feel like i've been played as the seller made me get this one that was 2x as expensive because this promised a quicker UI and a better experience.

[Kuschelmonschter]

To be honest, those sellers usually don't have a clue about what they are selling. While Sony does have decent panel and video processing capabilities, usability and performance is pretty bad. Even the reviewer mafia can't hide that fact anymore...

rtings.com:

... runs Sony's version of the Android TV interface, which isn't as easy to use as some other smart platforms... The TV's main interface is unfortunately quite crowded, and often has moments of lag and choppy animations.

FlatpanelsHD:

However, the Android part of the TV still runs on the same Mediatek 5891 SoC that was introduced in 2016 and it can hardly be characterized as potent. The Android interface always feels a little laggy and slow

Forbes / John Archer:

Aside from the Android 7 platform being a bit less buggy than previous iterations, it’s disappointing how many of the issues I had when I wrote that initial Android TV review still exist. Including the fact that the system still runs more sluggishly than rival smart platforms, and seems to slow down the TV's main operating menus a bit too.

I need to spare a (harsh) word for the 55A8F’s operating system. For as well as persisting with essentially the same horribly laid out and ‘squishy’ remote control Sony has bizarrely persevered with for generations now, the 55A8F also continues Sony’s relationship with Android TV. Right down to the same overbearing menus, confusing navigation paths, and lack of customization options. Worst of all, having to power Android TV causes both the 55A8F’s smart and basic control menus to run painfully sluggishly at times.

TechRadar:

The Android TV system supports built-in Chromecasting, and recently had support for Google’s Voice Assistant software added. 

This still can’t save Android TV from being a typically frustrating smart TV experience, though. For starters, its full-screen menus look cluttered and confusing, and only support minimal amounts of customisation. It also erroneously seems to think in its layout that people will be more interested in playing often third-rate games on their TV than streaming video. And it’s horribly prone to needing regular and often pretty sizeable software updates. 

It runs sluggishly  and the processing power required to run it means the TV’s main operating menus can also react rather slowly to your remote control commands.

[dutchice]

Hi christofferkrook,

Welcome to the Sony Community. Solving network issues can often be tricky as the culprit can be a large variety of reasons. In general the steps that you have taken seem all to be the right steps. 

The most common network detection issues on the TV itself can be easily resolved by restarting the Android operating system on the TV. You can find instructions on how to properly power cycle your TV (soft reset) on this article.

If that doesn’t help then turn OFF the built-in Wi-Fi radio and also turn OFF Direct Wi-Fi. Try first by not assigning a static IP to the TV on your router. Then simply go through the Network Connection Wizard of the TV. The wizard will ask you if the TV is connected wired or wirelessly. Simply let it acquire its own IP and let us know what is the result it gives you at the end.

I’m not sure how familiar you are with the options the router offers you, but in most cases you can increase the lease time for your connected devices manually. Try to set the lease time at least to 7 days or even perhaps just 30 days. This works much better than forcing IPs for devices on the router.

As a last resort, to exclude the Ethernet cable from being the cause of trouble here. Try placing your router close enough to the TV to be able to use a different very short Ethernet cable; then run the network wizard again to see if you can setup a connection successfully.

NIC or Network Interface Card failures on these TV’s are extremely rare. That is why I doubt if the trouble lies with the TV’s NIC.

Cheers,

Dutchice