Issues with Sony HAP-Z1ES- Vtuner Non-Functional


Since Sept. 5th my Sony has had no Vtuner service. I have contacted Sony and Vtuner and have not received any reassurance when, or worse, if it will ever be remedied.

Wondering if anyone else is having the issue and if you have possibly gotten a better answer from anyone.

Below is my review I posted on Sony's site and their response as my hope in posting it there was I might get a better answer but still seems pretty iffy.

jcaudio
From: California
Would be great if Vtuner ever worked
September 12, 2014
While there are many things I love about my unit I need to comment on a couple items of concern.
Their packaging for a high end product is definitely not. They still use the cheap styrofoam that if dropped in shipping (which is not that uncommon) disintegrates. My unit arrived with outside of box not looking bad but inside was total mayhem.
Needed to order another.
Worse though is my Vtuner has worked maybe 50% of the time I have owned it with a complete outage from September 5th until today which is September 12 with no fix in sight. When I called Sony they first tried to tell me it was a problem Vtuner was having. When I told him my Marantz receiver in bedroom was playing Vtuner as we were on the phone he backed off and said that Sony was aware of the problem and had something to do with their server not connecting properly with Vtuner but would be fixed shortly.
That was a week ago now!
Considering one of the main reasons I purchased the unit was to stream classical radio stations this was a huge letdown.
Lastly on the negative side is customer support was anything but helpful when I tried to get help with transferring a DSD file off the Blue Coast Music site . Cookie, from BCM was a 1000 times more helpful than Sony.
On the positive.
Unit is beautiful and well built. The screen is very crisp and overall ease of use is easy and very intuitive.
Other than the DSD transfer, the other files from my Mac transferred flawlessly. I recommend connecting your internet via cable rather than wirelessly as it transfers more quickly.

Response from Sony
Claudia, Sony Support
September 16, 2014
Thank you for your feedback . I'll forward this to the proper department for future reference.

As of September 5, 2014 the vTuner service on Sony connected consumer electronic products is currently unavailable due to service provider related issues.

You may be receiving a message stating "This service is currently unavailable" related to this condition. Sony is working with vTuner to correct this condition however we currently have no ETA.

Once again thank you for your feedback!
128x128jcaudio
Yep, glad it is back up and running. I just wish sony would play it straight with its customers. It is possible the issue involved lawyers, which would explain everything.
Sony Customer service is terrible. Given that my HAP is under warranty, I would expect a better response from SONY rather than the Internet. Well, not true! Had to stay on hold for hours and re forwarded to a specialist, only to be told today that the problem is endemic and they have no clue when it will be resolved. Dumbest customer service ever.
I have left negative feedback on most major sites that sell the HAP-Z1ES
Amazon, Crutchfield, B&H and if course Sony's own on line store
Hopefully all users sharing our frustration will do the same.
I agree. Even though I like the sound and ease of use I am returning mine.
Flat out does not do what it is advertised to do. The radio function is huge for me as I like to get exposed to new music.
I will never buy a Sony again and I encourage anyone thinking of buying one to reconsider.
They are the most secretive, blatantly lying company I have ever experienced
I, too, have been without vTuner operation since around 6 September and I, too, have been jerked around, bs'd and seemingly flat out lied to by Sony Customer Support, which is should be renamed the Sony Obstructions, Deceptions, Smoke & Mirrors Department. We all paid a lot of money for our HAP-Z1ES music players. Too bad they don't give us a key component and selling point of the player: the vTuner internet radio!!!

I think Sony should be the subject of a class action lawsuit.
Its conduct here has been and continues to be fraudulent, deceptive and legally actionable.

T.W. Davidson
Apparently Sony is giving the same garbage to everyone in the World. If you Google this you will find multiple complaints form Sony users in the UK as and other countries. It is clear Sony has been less than truthful having numerous people resetting their devices, Accusing uses of having defective internet connections and more.
Additionally, the outage occurred same day world wide.

Very clearly a Sony issue as I have numerous other devices from other manufacturers working well with Vtuner.

Sony has chosen the path of blaming their customers, Vtuner, anybody but themselves.

They are making in my opinion the fatal blunder of not being transparent with their customers. I could live with it out if I wasn't feeling like I was being lied to.