Does your box whirr?

[dialing_wand]

Just trying to find out if my box is defective or not. I posted something like this at the end of another thread but thought it might best be put in its own thread.

It whirrs constantly. Put it to sleep, two hours later... still whirring. Either the fan is too small (oops - passive cooling!), or it's defective. I just want to find out which is the case. If it's defective, I'll just exchange it for a new one.

Had to actually power it off to get it to stop.

Can be heard throughout my very quiet living/home theatre room.

Anyone else?

(Before you say it... yes, I may be very sensitive to certain noises. But, in my defence, home theatre equipment should be silent unless designed to re-produce content audio.)

[judgeschambers]

Mine is barely audible.

[Cheddoleum]

When the living room is silent, like if I'm reading, it's very noticeable -- right on the edge of being too annoying to put up with. By comparison I've had a Mac mini in that same spot and I never heard it without walking right over to it and cocking my ear at it. Thankfully this is more of a whirr than a whine or I'd throw it out the window. As it is it's tolerable.

But it would be nice if in some future firmware update the fan would stop when it's in low-power suspend mode. Since I can't hear it at all if there's any audio playing, then suspending it when not in use would eliminate any problem. As it is I'm probably going to have to put it in a cabinet, even though I like the look of it. Good thing the remote is RF.

[dialing_wand]

But it would be nice if in some future firmware update the fan would stop when it's in low-power suspend mode. Since I can't hear it at all if there's any audio playing, then suspending it when not in use would eliminate any problem. As it is I'm probably going to have to put it in a cabinet, even though I like the look of it. Good thing the remote is RF.

I think you sum up my own qualms with the noise better than my first post. I agree, in "sleep" mode it should be silent (aka "not speaking until spoken to").

I can hear mine over normal content but then I spend a lot of time at work doing critical listening so that predisposes me to thinking I can hear something that I actually can't.

I don't have a cabinet sadly, our furniture is all open. I guess if I was a real home theater buff, like my posts purport me to be, I'd have closed cabinets for my av equipment.

I might still exchange the box to see if it's not mildly defective.

[xavier32178]

judgeschambers....can you hear it when you are close to it?

[darcilicious]

I can only hear mine if it's about three, maybe only two inches from my ear.

But I've been to a lot of rock concerts in my day ;)

(On the other hand, I can almost always hear my HTPC in the same room).

[davidsalazar]

I can hear it, a bit disappointed it's so loud. I'm coming from a popcorn hour with no fan. But the fact is, I can also hear my Cable Box and TV :) So eliminating the boxee noise wouldn't make it completely quiet for me.

[xavier32178]

I can hear it about 5 feet away more so when I am right near it....I am guessing this is normal then right?

[gizmotoy]

But it would be nice if in some future firmware update the fan would stop when it's in low-power suspend mode. Since I can't hear it at all if there's any audio playing, then suspending it when not in use would eliminate any problem. As it is I'm probably going to have to put it in a cabinet, even though I like the look of it. Good thing the remote is RF.

There isn't a low power suspend mode, so that's part of the problem. The Box consumes the same amount of power fully on and in "standby," with the only difference between the two being standby turns off video output.

Since it's running at full power, it needs its fan running.

[gulagosphere]

barely audible?

It's the only audible object in an otherwise silent room.

It would have been a good idea to design a user replaceable fan so as not to hide behind warranty voiding. :cool:

[dialing_wand]

There isn't a low power suspend mode, so that's part of the problem. The Box consumes the same amount of power fully on and in "standby," with the only difference between the two being standby turns off video output.

For me (and just for now), I'm satisfied that it can be turned off completely. From the comments here I'm presuming my own Box isn't defective. I do find it the only source of noise in a silent room as well, but then I don't have a cable box, just rabbit ears. Yes, seriously.

A software update that actually does "sleep" it would be nice.

And a second to that user replaceable fan!

[ademko]

Yeah, I'm annoyed that "sleep" doesn't really put this the boxee to sleep. I'd like to have it in sleep mode most of the time, and it would be silly to run the fans so much.

[rpmiles]

woke me out of a dead sleep today and I'm not happy

[dialing_wand]

Yeah, I'm annoyed that "sleep" doesn't really put this the boxee to sleep. I'd like to have it in sleep mode most of the time, and it would be silly to run the fans so much.

At the very least, like a laptop, I can't imagine any of processors (how ever many are in there) are running full-tilt all the time.

When I first plugged it, surprised, I thought/hoped it would simply lower the fan rpm when not in use.

[dialing_wand]

A couple of days later and it's still loud enough to be annoying. I am going to try a new box.

[dennismadison]

I honestly forgot there was fan in it. Mine is sitting next to my PVR/DVR which has it's own hard drive spinning away, but I can't hear a thing coming from the BB.

[FirstGear]

When the living room is silent, like if I'm reading, it's very noticeable -- right on the edge of being too annoying to put up with. By comparison I've had a Mac mini in that same spot and I never heard it without walking right over to it and cocking my ear at it. Thankfully this is more of a whirr than a whine or I'd throw it out the window. As it is it's tolerable.

But it would be nice if in some future firmware update the fan would stop when it's in low-power suspend mode. Since I can't hear it at all if there's any audio playing, then suspending it when not in use would eliminate any problem. As it is I'm probably going to have to put it in a cabinet, even though I like the look of it. Good thing the remote is RF.

this is my experience as well.

[schmedigans]

I have 4 & 8 yr. old boys... I can't hear a thing. :D

[dude051]

I call it my little boxee tank. Can anyone else just confirm that this is the same sound they are hearing? I don't mind a whooshing sound from pushing air, I hear it enough from my desktop, but the whirring noise is actually getting to me...

Posted a video of the sound, checking if its just me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMCUQHWZBRM

[dialing_wand]

I call it my little boxee tank. Can anyone else just confirm that this is the same sound they are hearing? I don't mind a whooshing sound from pushing air, I hear it enough from my desktop, but the whirring noise is actually getting to me...

Posted a video of the sound, checking if its just me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMCUQHWZBRM

That's the sound!

[didatofik]

I call it my little boxee tank. Can anyone else just confirm that this is the same sound they are hearing? I don't mind a whooshing sound from pushing air, I hear it enough from my desktop, but the whirring noise is actually getting to me...

Posted a video of the sound, checking if its just me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMCUQHWZBRM

Thanks for posting that.

That's an awful sound.

[gmd024]

Everyone's actual hearing ability - and - perseption/reaction to sound is different

But apparently there are some BBox fans that do seem more noticeable than others

I have to turn off everything in the room and be within 2 feet of the BBox before I can hear it - but maybe that's the 'rock concert affect' darcilicious mentioned ;)

[richy240]

Yeah, I can hear mine from across the room. So can my wife. Very disappointing.

[CrashX]

Maybe people should post what their cpu temperature and fan speed as well by going to http://boxee-ip:8080

[dialing_wand]

Maybe people should post what their cpu temperature and fan speed as well by going to http://boxee-ip:8080

Not a bad idea. Time to re-enable the web server I guess.

[zerodefect]

I find the noise from the Boxee Box to be quite loud. I can hear it from across the room, even when content is playing (albeit at a low volume). While this is not a make it or break it issue it seems to me that the box should be silent when it is in sleep mode.

Hardware Model: DSM-380
Boxee Version: 1.0.1.16126
CPU Temperature: 48 C
Fan Speed: 50%

[dialing_wand]

I find the noise from the Boxee Box to be quite loud. I can hear it from across the room, even when content is playing (albeit at a low volume). While this is not a make it or break it issue it seems to me that the box should be silent when it is in sleep mode.

Hardware Model: DSM-380
Boxee Version: 1.0.1.16126
CPU Temperature: 48 C
Fan Speed: 50%

While I believe home theatre boxes should be silent at all time (note: game consoles don't count!) the "silent while sleeping" issue should go without question.

As someone noted in the thread early on, it's apparently because "sleep/suspend" actually just cuts the video out, and doesn't change the actual power state of the box. An odd choice.

[kompakt]

Can hear it from across the room, but not while content is playing. Not too concerned, as (assuming it doesn't get returned for other concerns) it will live in an AV cupboard in another room from the TV.

[ScottAllyn]

Maybe people should post what their cpu temperature and fan speed as well by going to http://boxee-ip:8080

I'm curious to see some other fan speeds and cpu temps, too. Someone posted that their CPU temp was 26C in another thread - that's half my temp! Here's my current standby temp and fan speed ('been in standby overnight):

CPU Temperature: 48 C
Fan Speed: 50%

The room temperature is 23C (~73F). I've seen the Box's cpu temp get up to 53C during operation.

My Box sits on top of the TV stand, A little over 1' up from the ground and about 1' away from the wall. When the entertainment system is off, I can hear the fan from the couch, which is 10 - 11' away. It's annoying enough that I turn it off when reading or recording the guitar (my mics can pick it up).

[fellcross]

Has anyone successfully opened this thing up? I would not have a problem buying a really nice silent CPU fan to replace the one inside this, I don't care about the warranty, I just want it fixed. I have my Boxee in my bedroom and I can't stand the noise it makes when the room is quiet. I don't want to have to turn this thing off every night. I would rather pay $20 and replace the fan.

I found this link, but it's actually not right. I can't find any screws under the pad. They must have changed the box since this teardown was posted.

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Boxee-Box-Teardown/4109/1

[extrafuzzyllama]

my fan speed is also 50%
is that the default speed? i see almost all posts with this info having 50% fan speed as well

[dialing_wand]

I had my Box off for some time while I re-wired it (ethernet) since the wireless performance was quite poor.

Within 10 minutes of having it on (not playing any video):
CPU Temperature: 57 C
Fan Speed: 50%

[redlon]

If you press your hand to the side of the box, does the whirring stop? When I do this, the whirring stops and I just hear the fan.

Based on the responses in the this thread, seems like this whirring is intermittent. Thinking of returning and exchanging my box.

[dialing_wand]

Avner just addressed this (very moment.)

I think there may be some defective units. The other possibility is that D-Link cheaped out and supplied a lower spec fan.

I'm going to exchange the unit just to see what happens.

[vp-boxee]

So, if you believe Avner opinion and this thread means 50% of the boxes are defective?????

Next to other issues this box has, the only missing was the noisy fan. I am expecting the so called "designers" to offer a solution, at least to try to clean up them mess.

Questions I have :
Is there a way to software disable the fan? Otherwise, how to open the box and cut the wires?
Probably I will have to drill some holes in it as well to count for the missing fan.

I know the "warranty" story, but it shouldn't apply. The other options is to send the box back and get a refund.
Thanks,

[extrafuzzyllama]

yep just tried i press very lightly barely just placed my hand on the sd card slot side of the box and you just hear the fan and not that other whir noise

is this same for everyone or did dlink just poorly build the boxes?

[dialing_wand]

yep just tried i press very lightly barely just placed my hand on the sd card slot side of the box and you just hear the fan and not that other whir noise

is this same for everyone or did dlink just poorly build the boxes?

Same here! Light touch, whirr gone, fan whoosh acceptable.

Remove touch... whirr back.

Red Green would just get out the duct tape for this one.

Who wants to sacrifice their warranty for a Boxee Box disassembly video/fix?

[extrafuzzyllama]

i think all boxees have this issue just some people arent bothered by it or find it abnormal
dlink build quality sucks

[redlon]

I'm going to roll the dice and exchange my box. Hopefully I'll get one that doesn't whirr. It's worth a try.

[extrafuzzyllama]

let us know on ur second unit redlon once u have it to see if its worth exchanging mine

[dialing_wand]

i think all boxees have this issue just some people arent bothered by it or find it abnormal
dlink build quality sucks

So true. Last year we had two D-Link "business class" bridges fail, AND a D-Link unmanaged gigabit switch fail as well.

ProCurve all the way now.

[extrafuzzyllama]

yep i also got a procurve lifetime warranty is great

anyone else try placing their hand on sdcard slot side of box and notice noise change?

[redlon]

let us know on ur second unit redlon once u have it to see if its worth exchanging mine

I'll let you know...shipping my current unit back today.

[dialing_wand]

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Boxee-Box-Teardown/4109/1

It doesn't look like physically modding the box would be too hard.

[Entity]

yep i also got a procurve lifetime warranty is great

anyone else try placing their hand on sdcard slot side of box and notice noise change?

Will try this later when I get the chance.

There's a noise, but it's not annoying or anything for me. Not sure if it's what others have. I'll see if there's any difference when touching it.

[cazool]

I have two BB's.

One has a slightly louder fan than the other. I tested both side by side to make sure I wasn't crazy.

Got both from Futureshop and the serial numbers are about a hundred boxes apart serial number wise.

The silent one sounds like blowing air when I put my head near it.
The louder one is more of a slight grinding sound that I can hear a couple feet away.

So.... Im going to try my luck and replace the louder one.

[dialing_wand]

So.... Im going to try my luck and replace the louder one.

Let us know!

[ianrice]

fan is driving me crazy.
The boxee box is to replace an older media drive I've had for 2 years - that had a 500G harddrive in it and was silent compared to the boxee!!

[spitmonkey]

Mine is barely audible.

mine too. Whisper quiet.:)

[redlon]

Just received my replacement BB, and honestly there isn't much difference in the noise. It may be slightly quieter and "whirr" a little less, however the noise of the new BB is still noticeable.

[matejay]

Mine has an audible whirr sound which can be silenced by covering up the SD slot. I don't mind this when playing back something abut when in standby, the fans should turn off let's say after 30 seconds or just slow down to something like 5%... what's te point of running it if the Box doesn't process anything. C'mon Boxee guys, add this to the top of your to-do list...

1) A "proper" standby mode, no Boxee whirring away in a silent room at night, please.

[ScottAllyn]

[...]but when in standby, the fans should turn off let's say after 30 seconds or just slow down to something like 5%... what's te point of running it if the Box doesn't process anything.

They'd need to do more than simply cut the fan speed. The CPU stays quite toasty when the unit is in sleep/standby mode. Mine never goes below 48C with the fan at 50% and an ambient temperature of 21C - I'd hate to see the CPU temp if that fan spun down to 5%. :D

[Heavy Fuel]

It seems odd that the CPU doesn't slow down when in standby. All CPU's allow slower clocking nowadays. Even my 6 year old laptop throttles back to 25 MHz when it's not busy to save heat and power.

HF

[darcilicious]

I thought of this thread last night when I woke to a loud fan noise (Boxee Box is in the bedroom and I'm a fairly light sleeper). Since I can't really hear the Boxee Box fan from across the room I was worried that it was getting ready for take-off or something :p Turns out it was the attached USB drive which does have a habit of revving up its very noisy fan when the ambient temp gets up there... so that's got to go soon :p

[dialing_wand]

They'd need to do more than simply cut the fan speed. The CPU stays quite toasty when the unit is in sleep/standby mode. Mine never goes below 48C with the fan at 50% and an ambient temperature of 21C - I'd hate to see the CPU temp if that fan spun down to 5%. :D

My CPU stays at a solid 59 degrees Centigrade. Our living room ambient temperature is a constant 20 degrees.

[byron.hh]

Mine is audible if I put my head 2 inches apart from box. However, from where I usually watch the content, I can not hear anything at all.

[Entity]

My temperature readings:

I don't keep my BB on so..
Room temperature: 23C
BB startup: 28C
Idle + Playback: 42C - 44C
Sleep: 37C - 38C

At the moment, the BB goes no higher than 44C.

[bobend]

Bought a boxee box yesterday.
Was very disappointed with the fan noise.
Got a full refund today.

I'll wait for the next hardware revision, or look for alternative product. Loved the software.

[FunkPnut]

My box is silent and I can only hear it initially when next to the unit turning it on.

On average I sit 8 feet away since its in my AV rack.

IME, compared to my PS3, Xbox 360, or last HTPC, the Boxee Box is quietest by a large margin and am very happy.

[a931048]

I can hear the fan sound from 8 ft away. The only electronics in the room is a TV and the boxee box. The sound dampens when I press on the side of the box with the sd card slot. The sound is driving me crazy. I will probably return it and try another one to see if the fan sound is less.

[7bigjohn]

Me too. This was the main reason I spent $200 in the first place. I would have to shut down my PC in our bedroom beacuse of the sound the fans would keep my wife up. It sounds like there's something like a wire grating on the fan. I might take it apart or I might return it. I've been waiting for this box for quite a while and am very disapointed with the new interface as well. The Boxee team has lost my trust. They didn't even release or show the new interface before everyone purchased the box. I think they knew it would be unpopular.

[denox]

I don't hear it and I don't care if I do.
My computer and kids (3&5) are always louder than BB :p.

[Cybrow]

I can't hear the fan at all unless I'm right next to it. I don't have the best hearing though, used to be in a crappy rock band.

Hardware Model: DSM-380
Boxee Version: 1.0.1.16126
Room Temp: 16 C
CPU Temp Start up: 34 C
After 4 hours on and running vids, music, fooling around,
CPU Temperature: 39 C
Fan Speed: 50%

[jscpop]

mine doesn't make much noise at all. I am pretty happy with it overall.

[jscpop]

Mine has an audible whirr sound which can be silenced by covering up the SD slot. I don't mind this when playing back something abut when in standby, the fans should turn off let's say after 30 seconds or just slow down to something like 5%... what's te point of running it if the Box doesn't process anything. C'mon Boxee guys, add this to the top of your to-do list...


I think this would more properly be directed at the Dlink guys since they are the ones who built the box not Boxee.

[matejay]

I think this would more properly be directed at the Dlink guys since they are the ones who built the box not Boxee.
Well yeah, D-Link indeed built the Box... but Boxee has the software running on it and telling it what and how to do it and I believe a better standby mode is i the power of the Boxee platform programmers. Don't think D-Link could do much with it at this point.

[extrafuzzyllama]

Well yeah, D-Link indeed built the Box... but Boxee has the software running on it and telling it what and how to do it and I believe a better standby mode is i the power of the Boxee platform programmers. Don't think D-Link could do much with it at this point.

he is talking about the whirr noise which is a hardware issue not software

so yeh dlink should be the ones told about this issue since

[Dubpawn]

The fan is louder than I thought, but I can live with it as I can't hear it whilst it's playing something, but I do hope it can be quieter or at least shut up whilst it's sleeping.

[vp-boxee]

So, How I disable the damn fan ??

[jahamala]

I can hear the fan sound from 8 ft away. The only electronics in the room is a TV and the boxee box. The sound dampens when I press on the side of the box with the sd card slot. The sound is driving me crazy. I will probably return it and try another one to see if the fan sound is less.

Same here. Let me know if you have any luck. For now I'm going to try to figure out how to stop the vibration around the SD card area.

[caisebas]

Same here. Let me know if you have any luck. For now I'm going to try to figure out how to stop the vibration around the SD card area.

Let us know. I have the same problem on two Boxee Boxes.

[pinion]

I lied. I can't hear the fan. I thought I did last night but then i realized it was the baby's bouncer seat making the vibration noise while she was sleeping.

[madusmacus]

Jut got my boxee box
It makes a loud noise unless i lightly press on the SD card side of it
Then its quiet

Needs a DIY fix posted :(

[xmcnuggetx]

insert a card in the slot

[madusmacus]

insert a card in the slot

i did try that but no go :¬(
needs the tinyest of pressure dead center of the panel to stop the rattle whir

might take it apart in a few days and fix it - shame about warentee though

[dickieburbank]

Also seems to oscillate whilst whirring...

[knorki]

This is the sound of my Boxee Box:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YDUzpdN-VI

I bought this device in germany and it was delivered today. I hate the noise. It sounds like a very cheap small fan in a low cost pc which is 5 yrs old (and a lot of dust and dirt on it).

Is this the same noise you're experiencing?

Temperature is 59°C in idle

[Ein]

59C is a bit high, mine is only 40C. The thermo paste might not be in good contact with the cpu and heat sink.

[gmd024]

Mine is 65C at idle -- but I've seen where safe core temps for other Atom's is 'Much' higher that this, if the support tool is actually measuring 'core' temps

The safe range for the Atom CE4100 SoC seems to be a well guarded secret - I can't seem to pry it out of anywhere in the cloud :cool:

Even at the 65C temp mentioned, the BBox is only "Slightly" warm to the touch -- compared to a couple other Media Boxes I use to fry my morning breakfast on :eek: :p

[bunhead]

47 degrees and fan at 50%. I have never seen any other numbers on the support tool page, I was starting to think that these values were static :p

[knorki]

I think the fan speed is constant. The temperature starts at 30°C and increases after that to 50-59°C.

[dialing_wand]

I think the fan speed is constant. The temperature starts at 30°C and increases after that to 50-59°C.

Mine sits at a constant 57-61C. The fan has become even more annoying at times - it would be nice if you could hold down a key on the remote and force the box off without having turn on the tv to navigate through the menus.

[SierraX]

Today i got my Boxee Box from Amazon Germany and first thing i realized was the "whirring" fan :(

After trying a while with pushing and hearing where the noise comes from i think i got the problem... its definitely the fan!!!

i you put your ear on the sd slot while gently pushing the sd side of the box you can hear the fan making exact this voice that is so annoying... if you stop pushing the chassis the noise gets boosted by it and your can hear it everywhere in the room (if loudness is muted).

now i am thinking of
... trying another box as amazon makes no problem swapping things
... put somehow a little bit of pressure on the chassis or turn it on the sd side which stops the noise too
... openening the box and swaping the fan on my own... cant be that difficult :)

[gmd024]

Here's one solution that was demonstrated...http://forums.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=23288

Sorry, a little humor never hurts in anxiuos moments

I'm fortunate to have received two BBoxes that are virtually silent -- if the noise is that noticeable, I think I'd consider having it replaced -as opposed to opening the Box and swapping out the fan -- this could jepardize your warranty, if it was needed sometime in the future for a major issue occurance

[SierraX]

Actually i thought of something similar to the picture from your link :)

Although your right, doing some repair on its own isnt probably the best way on a new piece of hardware... think im going to swap my box hoping to get a silent one.

[matejay]

Solution demonstrated here... quick and easy and foremost... cheap!

http://forums.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=23288

Btw I have the same whirring problem and as my place is pretty quiet I can really hear the BBox when nothing is playing :(

[lokiboard]

I didn't vote because mine hums. It doesn't whir. Now I need to figure out how to program a tune.:cool:

[Madrob]

Well, i preordered mine and thought the fan noise is normal.
But since i read here, that some versions of the box are completely silent, i'm a bit disappointed.

Average Fan Speed 50% - 45~48°C (idle mode)

[jonstatt]

The fan is annoying me I have to say.

If it was just a smooth whoosh it would be fine. But the fact that it has an additional sound to it means it is much more intrusive.

I have now seen 3 of them, and they all sounded exactly the same. In the UK there is only revision A1 of the hardware. I don't know if this was cured with A2 which some people now have.

However I think i can see an easy fix for this. I noticed at certain fan speeds the additional "tone" is not anywhere near as obvious. I am wondering if the fan was running a fraction faster whether the problem becomes less of an issue. Unfortunately there is no easy way to try this, but I notice as the fan speeds up and down, the effect changes.

[aaronwt]

Well, i preordered mine and thought the fan noise is normal.
But since i read here, that some versions of the box are completely silent, i'm a bit disappointed.

Average Fan Speed 50% - 45~48°C (idle mode)

The only box I've seen that was completely silent had a defective fan so the fan wasn't spinning.

[Juo]

Its definitely a vibration issue as placing any weight resting against the side with the SD card slot fixes the problem for me.

Hardware Model: DSM-380
Boxee Version: 1.0.2.16619
CPU Temperature: 60 C
Fan Speed: 50%

I cant be bothered to send mine back I just need to find a more elegant object to rest beside the Boxee Box than a USB thumb drive.

Loud / Annoying
http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/7452/img20110114132907.th.jpg (http://img64.imageshack.us/i/img20110114132907.jpg/)

Quite / Tranquil
http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/4385/img20110114132900.th.jpg (http://img705.imageshack.us/i/img20110114132900.jpg/)

Maybe I should just rest the remote against the box when im not viewing content :P

EDIT: Found an SD card and that works just as well, great.

[3rdeyepro]

Unfortunately none of these tricks work for me. It keeps making a buzzing/vibrating noise. It didn't do that when I first got it.

[matejay]

I'm thinking about something like a thick black rubber band as the one in the link below...

http://206.210.94.83/product/image/additional/BBTP12_additional_v2.jpg

Have to measure the Boxee Box first, then find a suitable rubber band and I'll post the result some time next week... fingers crossed!!! :)

[dirq]

Seems to be coming from the SD Card Reader. If I hold that down the buzzing decreases.

Standby mode that turned the fan off would be nice. Or at least cycle the fan or something.

Anyone take the box apart and fix this yet?

[dirq]

Did you find a suitable fan? I'm willing to replace mine as well.

[boxeeboxed]

Hey guys,

my boxee also was very loud and hot (55°C in Idle, 65°C on Load). I changed the thermal-pad between heatsink and cpu and used Arctic MX-2 instead. Also i changed the fan into an Noiseblocker XM2 an also stuffed some foamed plastic in it to absorb some of the electronic noise which is not emitted by the fan.
Now the CPU only gets 36°C in idle, 60°C on load and the box is still noticeabe but much quiter.

:D

[Jesseblue]

how about getting some of those rubber foaming typically used for windows/doors...of course use the black one and put it on the edges of the bottom of the unit

[Tom B]

Mine has a quiet whirr. If there's any sound in the room, say from the TV or air conditioning, I don't hear it. The room would have to be totally quiet or I would have to be very close to hear it. So, not a problem for me.

[tryptase]

I've managed to wedge an SD card in the slot, which has greatly reduced the box noise. It's a shame I would have to void the warranty in order to employ a more elegant solution.

[kevev]

If we can get root access to the latest firmware there may be a way to `echo` the desired speed to the proper /sys/* location.


The fan is annoying me I have to say.

If it was just a smooth whoosh it would be fine. But the fact that it has an additional sound to it means it is much more intrusive.

I have now seen 3 of them, and they all sounded exactly the same. In the UK there is only revision A1 of the hardware. I don't know if this was cured with A2 which some people now have.

However I think i can see an easy fix for this. I noticed at certain fan speeds the additional "tone" is not anywhere near as obvious. I am wondering if the fan was running a fraction faster whether the problem becomes less of an issue. Unfortunately there is no easy way to try this, but I notice as the fan speeds up and down, the effect changes.

[Blair123]

My solution was to install an SD card in the slot and very gently insert a folded piece of paper in the SD slot. The box is quiet now. When I looked into the SD slot it appears the BB has an inner and outer chassis. I think the vibration of the fan causes the inner and outer chassis to magnify the resonance of the fan in the chassis.

[MajorTom1]

My solution was to install an SD card in the slot and very gently insert a folded piece of paper in the SD slot. The box is quiet now. When I looked into the SD slot it appears the BB has an inner and outer chassis. I think the vibration of the fan causes the inner and outer chassis to magnify the resonance of the fan in the chassis.

I will try your suggestion today...
If i tightly hold the box with a finger on the SD-slot side and the opposing side i am able to silence the box completly. So i guess it is a mechanical problem, kind of vibrations from the fan amped by the case.

[bamakore]

well my new boxee box died today:(:( cant get it to power up at all.....not sure what happen to it...have any other of you all have the power cord go bad on you?? purchaced the box on march 31,2011

[M1ster_Happy]

If you were in Australia then theres a whole thread of dead power adapters ... http://forums.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=22800

It's highly possible ...

:)

[gmd024]

well my new boxee box died today:(:( cant get it to power up at all.....not sure what happen to it...have any other of you all have the power cord go bad on you?? purchaced the box on march 31,2011

If your new Boxee Box is still within the return period where you purchased it you might want to exchange it - if not, contact D-Link for and RMA under warranty

[Fenrisulven]

Well... Im off to return it for the second time. Now i soon give up. I'll try the third one and if that whirr's to im going for an Apple Tv 2 or a fullblown HTPC.

Disappointed at boxee for crappy design fault. :mad:

[Fenrisulven]

Ok. Third one. Exactly the same whirr sound. Even louder this time.

Changed it to a fourth one! Now its back to a little less noisy... :(

[tmoney]

Put Boxee on its side--SD slot facing down. It helps to do this on a smooth surface. This took mine from whirring to nearly silent. So far no thermal issues.

[Darren Schulte]

I put my ear right on the box and hear nothing, I think it does not work like anything else with the box :rolleyes:

[MajorTom1]

My solution was to install an SD card in the slot and very gently insert a folded piece of paper in the SD slot. The box is quiet now. When I looked into the SD slot it appears the BB has an inner and outer chassis. I think the vibration of the fan causes the inner and outer chassis to magnify the resonance of the fan in the chassis.

I did what you suggested... Used an old SD card and insert a thin piece of cardboard parallel to the SD card... And guess what, my boxee is quiet as hell...

;-) thanks for the tip.

[dapowah]

The Problem isn`t the SD Slot - it is the hole or maybe the size of this housing side.

The vibration of the fan brings the housing side with the SD slot hole in resonance. This makes the humming sound. If you press in the middle of the housing side, you will hear nor more humming, but only the hissing sound of the fan.

A Solution will be a pressure from inside to the housing side with the SD card hole (maybe ESD Foam from your motherboard ?). Maybe a little weight, glued to the side from the inside may help, too...

With this solution you don`t need to spend money for a new fan and you are able to use your SD slot.

Kind regards,

dapowah

[domaz]

Here is my experience with the Boxee Box.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPygnbMHWDQ
(you have to turn your volume up alot coz if the background noise. sry)

Just not good enough. Maybe im going to experiment with some clue.

[emzet]

Solution that worked for me: hide the box somewhere, put it ouf of sight, behind tv table or so. The noise level then reduced to an acceptable humming (which maybe was from the tv itself).

Direct line-of-sight is not necessary as the remote is radio operated (and it's also quite powerful).

It's a pity to put such nice piece of hardware away from sight, but ... in the end, its looks are not the reason why I bought it.

--
Martin

[knownothing]

Hello! My box does whirr. I opened it at replaced it with a silent fan, but this DOES NOT silent the whirr. The whirr is actually created by an other component (probably some kind of transistor). The whirr does stop though when the fan is disconnected.

I think the whirr could stop if the fan speed would be increased to 100%.

I have a similar issue with my iMac. When I decrease the brightness of the screen I get a whirr sound on my iMac. If brightness is set to 100% the whirr stops.

Any chance to change the fan speed?

[seekified]

I can hear the fan - if I'm sitting on the floor next to the Box. If I'm on the couch three metres away, I can't.

[adiatric]

It's simple.
Put the boxee with sdcard slot upper.
On bottom put a 2cm from a notes post card.
On upper side put pice of tape and again 2-3 cm of notes post card upper.
If you touch the green base of boxee you will see that part it's warm or hot.
Now you will not hear sound from boxee. :)
Enjoy.

[vincentc314]

I was getting really annoyed with the noise. One of the main reasons I stopped using my htpc is the fan noise. I was at the point where I stopped using the boxee box altogether as well and was just using my Roku. So this is what I did:

1. Took apart the box
2. Removed the fan completely (apparently some say that it is technically not the fan that makes the noise, but the thing the fan connect to - either way removing the fan stops the noise)

Allegedly, without the fan the box could overheat (although others say it doesn't), anyway, I just put the parts back in except for the bottom cover, so basically the bottom side is just exposed to the air to allow for airflow. The temperature never gets over 55 degrees even with no fan. And the exposed portion is hidden from view because it is on the bottom and back sides.

Now it is totally silent and remains cool. Pretty silly I had to do all that, but it is better than the loud annoying noise.

[vtxrider]

I have a 1st gen Box and can't hear it, but it is in the media center. But even with the door open I can't hear it.

[Fenrisulven]

It's simple.
Put the boxee with sdcard slot upper.
On bottom put a 2cm from a notes post card.
On upper side put pice of tape and again 2-3 cm of notes post card upper.
If you touch the green base of boxee you will see that part it's warm or hot.
Now you will not hear sound from boxee. :)
Enjoy.

Really confusing post...

First put the box upsidedown with the SDcard slot pointing upwards?

Then slide 2cm of postcards under the box?

Then tape over the SDcard slot and put 2-3cm of a postcard over the tape?

Then you should tought the green base for whatever reason

And suddenly the box is quiet?

Didn't get that...

2-3cm of postcards is like 5-10 postcards stacked on top of each othen then?

[marcel]

if you are having loud whirring sounds then please contact me at marcel@boxee.tv

[ktd]

When no media is playing I can hear the fan and pretty loud. I thinking of opening the BB and do some kind of replacement or trying to disconnect the fan and see if that works.
I don't see any reason to have the fan spinning when the BB is in standby mode. Scanning can't make the CPU that hot and why no temp control?

[Ronald]

Really confusing post...


2-3cm of postcards is like 5-10 postcards stacked on top of each othen then?
I think that 'adiatric' probably has problems with the English language, and may even have run his post through google-translate or some similar service. And then you can't take every word of the result literally.

He most likely didn't intend to mention 'postcards' at all, but the words that came out as "notes post card" probably made more sense in his own language.

I think he may simply be referring to strips of paper or maybe cardboard, using some below the box to disrupt any vibration resonance with the surface it stands on (adjustable by moving the strips around) and taping another over the SD card slot , as being the major passage for sounds from inside the box.

However, the latter could have bad effects on the cooling efficiency, in case that opening plays a role in the air-flow control. (But I'm not sure if it does.)

Best regards: Ronald

[jicon]

My Panasonic 52" Plasma TV has a fan in it, which is more pronounced than the Boxee Box. I only realize the noise from either once I power the TV off.

[StevenR]

I hear the fan on mine. During the day I don't really notice it, but I sometimes found it quite noticeable at night if the box is on - this can be very subjective though, my hearing is fairly sensitive to very high or low pitched sounds (I often hear a noticeable hum coming from mains adapters / power supplies).

I turn the box off at night now, as I have an external drive connected to the box (actually an internal SATA drive in a USB SATA dock) and the fan it that is several times louder than that in the box.

[schreinereiner]

I can definitely hear noise on all three of my boxes. As mentioned before though it's not the fan that is causing the issue for the most part but resonance of Boxee Box casing. When I apply light pressure to the sides of the panels with my fingers the noise almost completely disappears and I can only hear a VERY light hum from the actual fan. This is true for all three of my boxes. Poor design/testing on D-Link's side.

I've thought of trying to figure out how to apply either tension or pressure to the sides of the box permanently but have not yet thought of anything that wouldn't end up looking completely hideous.

[tronbrain]

I've thought of trying to figure out how to apply either tension or pressure to the sides of the box permanently but have not yet thought of anything that wouldn't end up looking completely hideous.
The best thing I could think to suggest is to use a thin sheet of low-density foam, and see if you could stuff it between the case plastic and edge of the motherboard/SD card connector, to damp the resonating. It might be a bit tricky. It would be ideal if you could open up the box to do it, but that's a major effort.

One could also try some putty or clay.

Try McMaster-Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com/#foam-sheets/=g4zx8f) for ordering foam sheet products, or pick some up from your local hardware store.

[sprawl]

I can hear the fan and it's intolerable. Granted it's not as noisy as a buddy's Xbox 360 but from 5 feet away it's annoying even when watching regular TV shows. I guess, disconnecting the fan would cause overheat and kill the box? My WDTV gets pretty warm on 1080p playback but it has no fan.

[xnowimcoolx]

compared to the xbox 360 the boxee box is silent, the 360 sounds like a jet taking off!!

seriously: when i had an xbox i had to turn the volume up on the tv when the fan started! no joke. how that p.o.s. gaming system has stayed popular is beyond me (it was noisy, i went through 4 during warranty, awful video format support, awful netflix playback and awful wireless N adapter).

[aaronwt]

compared to the xbox 360 the boxee box is silent, the 360 sounds like a jet taking off!!

seriously: when i had an xbox i had to turn the volume up on the tv when the fan started! no joke. how that p.o.s. gaming system has stayed popular is beyond me (it was noisy, i went through 4 during warranty, awful video format support, awful netflix playback and awful wireless N adapter).

That was the old xbox360. The new slim version is nowhere near as loud as the one from 2005. Although I never had video problems, Netflix problems, or wireless N problems with the four original Xbox360s I had. I have three slim Xbox 360s now, and they have built in wireless, still no video problems, and Netflix is superb on it. With the wireless, the experience is identical to using the wired connection. At least that has always been the case with all the 360s I have owned.

[dsouza]

compared to the xbox 360 the boxee box is silent, the 360 sounds like a jet taking off!!

seriously: when i had an xbox i had to turn the volume up on the tv when the fan started! no joke. how that p.o.s. gaming system has stayed popular is beyond me (it was noisy, i went through 4 during warranty, awful video format support, awful netflix playback and awful wireless N adapter).

Compared to my PS3 and to my vacuum cleaner my BoxeeBox is also silent! ;)

Now seriously: every comparison is relative. I have two TVix N1, which are fanless and therefore are completely silent. If you have a very silent room, then I believe that BoxeeBox noise is very easy to notice.