T+A has become yet another victim of the increasingly controversial vTuner service. However, users of the brand have nothing to worry about!
Since January of this year, vTuner has been experiencing significant disruptions, making the service unavailable for many manufacturers and users. Following NAIM’s recent move, another affected brand—T+A—has decided to transition both new and older devices to a different aggregator. The newly released update, developed in partnership with airable GmbH and Audivo GmbH, is completely free and applies to devices dating back as far as 2007.
Ongoing Issues
This situation reignites the debate surrounding aggregators. vTuner has a long history of “unusual behavior” and consistently receives poor feedback from users. Unexpected subscription fees, price increases, service outages, and general instability have caused mounting frustration over the years. Previously, we reported on similar issues when Sangean and Frontier Silicon—one of the leading providers of (web)radio modules used by many brands—became early casualties of vTuner’s practices.
As for what exactly has been happening with vTuner since January, that remains unclear. The company’s website is still online at the time of writing, but it appears that this may truly be the end of the road. In any case, it seems highly likely that major brands will now avoid the service altogether, making vTuner’s long-term viability—if it does remain operational—highly uncertain.
T+A’s swift response is commendable, much like the earlier actions taken by NAIM, Sangean, and Frontier Silicon.