Welcome to EE TV

[SRB]

The BT TV content used to load, showing what you could watch if you were a subscriber, perhaps that was a hangover from my former subscription, but it definitely listed what was available if you wanted to subscribe. I always assumed that was advertising "what you are missing". Given the box is slightly slower with the EE branded version of the S/W than when it reverts to YouView (usually for 24 hours after an update) would it not be better if the box, knowing you are not a subscriber, just left the box with the YouView interface? 

[DarrenDev]

It needs at least the basic TV service enabled on the line for the app to be able to launch - it needs this to identify itself on our servers, to know which products to display.
You had a legacy "lite" TV subscription until April 14th 2023. After that date, the app would have failed to launch for you.
This is why, when diagnosing customer issues, I first ask them to launch the BT / EE Player - it's the most reliable way of checking whether the line has a subscription.

The box doesn't know you're not a subscriber until you try to watch/launch something, and it's a very expensive (i.e. time consuming) check to look for a subscription so it's not going to do it without user intervention. Also if it reverted to default YouView software then when you added a subscription, it wouldn't know which provider to check for an active one.

2 other points:
1. It shouldn't revert to YouView after an update. This should only ever happen if it's connected to a non BT line.
2. There shouldn't be any reason why EE branding would slow it down?

[Brucemeister5]

@SRB  Perhaps you are confusing the EE TV app with channel 330. As far as I am aware the EE TV app will only work if you have a subscription. We have 2 boxes but only 1 subscription, and it only works on our primary box, whereas channel 330 will work on both regardless.

[SRB]

No, have all unavailable channels hidden, it's the EE menu and app on the home page I'm talking about. Just strikes me as odd, if the box knows you aren't a subscriber why it bothers to present the EE overlay at all.  Then again, it's always listed all available channels too, so I guess that's just what it is designed to do. 

[SRB]

@DarrenDev Thanks Darren, it does resort to vanilla YouView after an update, then goes back to the branded version overnight the next night. Has done since as long as I can remember.  Will also do it if you reset the box, it will wait until the next night before it "updates" to the branded version - though you can just force it by manually looking for updates. It's an older Plusnet supplied Humax 2120 and the main menu is (was) noticeably slower with the EE (BTTV) s/w - always just thought this was down to the extra tiles loading for EE TV and Sport.  

[stereohaven]

All YouView boxes pick up an ISP configuration based on the broadband line they are connected to, regardless of how or where they were purchased.

Connect a box to a BT/EE line, you get their branding, apps and updates. Connect a box to a non BT/EE line and you get standard branding and updates.

I still have my silver YouView retail box somewhere that was on the original trials, it came fully YouView blue branded in the UI and stayed that way while Sky was my ISP.

When I moved to BT as an ISP it picked up their config and changed the look and feel of the box to BT spec. This was often a complaint for retail customers, but is a moot point these days.

[Midnight_Voice]

A YouView box has three ‘skins’, BT, TalkTalk, and Retail. These are chosen between by the box according as your ISP is BT, TalkTalk, or anybody else. Though I’m not sure what you see if your ISP is PlusNet…

In principle, the rebranding to EE could have largely been accomplished by BT downloading a replacement EE skin.

There might have been more, in an actual software release, but due to YouView’s infuriating habit of showing Last Checked, but not Last Updated, it’s very hard to tell 😢

[SRB]

@Midnight_Voice  Plusnet boxes reverted to YouView once the TV service stopped.

[zulu17]

If you connect  your Youview  line to  BT or EE broadband you will get the EETV branding and the EE TV App in the designated  slot.  This is down  to the preordained right for the PSB Youview partners to have their players listed first and the ISP partners having their app in the next slot. Unfortunately the current  rules/ agreement only gives order  priority to one App each so the where the PSB or the ISP have more than one app so the ordering  of the rest is determined  by reviews  which take place every  1 to 2 years. That is why discovery +  and Apple TV+ apps are ordered towards the end of the list as they were not considered in the last review.

[RussK]

Hi @DarrenDev 

Are the personalised offers to migrate just for TV or will they include Broadband (I have both).

MyBT is not offering me anything for BB(“sorry we can’t show you any offers at the moment …..), but is showing an offer for EE TV.