[Nexus Player Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] growsonwalls:
I posted recently that I unplugged my 3 working Nexus Players to prevent them from being damaged by this virus-like killer update.

Google is 100% responsible for pushing out software updates for their play store services and your apps.

They should figure out what STUPID update is incompatible with this buggy Oreo version and make available a fix that you can download and boot into your soft-bricked NPs. (with LED light on).

In their alleged wisdom, Google allowed this buggy Oreo version to replace a perfectly stable Nougat version and then abruptly ended supporting the Nexus Player which is now crippled for life with this crap.

What has been taking place since late July/early August is a brutal massacre of the Nexus Player.

They sold you a product which their support helped improve and then destroy with a precision-guided update missile.

Ideally, these no-longer supported NPs should be running on Nougat 7.1.2 (N2G48C, Aug 2017) with system updates permanently disabled so that it won't install Oreo.

Being proactive, I juggled my wifi off and on for each of my NPs to install Nougat 7.12..

Following several threads where I learned how to unlock, root, downgrade and disable further updates, I can proudly say that my 3 NPs are happily running and streaming as usual. (Oct 3).

They are locked and loaded and not ready to be thrown away like some of you have done with yours.

Just to be clear, I never let them be exposed to this August 2018 Google update that you let happen because you either didn't unplug your NP in time or didn't previously disable system updates, so it's not like what worked for me could have allowed you to overcome this deadly bootloop issue after the damage had already been done to the internal code.

The internal code is the holy lifeblood of the Nexus Player and controls the lighting system.

If your Nexus Player no longer lights up when plugged in, then it is hard-bricked and stone cold dead.

Google did that to your NP and is still allowing this killer update to exist and destroy NPs.

If anyone still has a Nexus Player with the flawed 'Oreo' installed, unplug it now or disconnect it from your wifi before it's too late and learn how to downgrade back to Nougat 7.12 N2G48C.

You can easily disable system updates while the wifi is off and then reconnect it.

Use 'My Android Tools' and disable 'SystemUpdateService' inside 'Google Play Services'.

Disabling 'SystemUpdateService' means that you don't need to rename Otacerts.zip and means that you don't need to get involved with complicated messy scripts.

Permanently blocking system updates is so quickly effective and easy this way.

Not sure why a lot of you who are able to escape the bootloop hell and install v7.12 don't simply block system updates instead of allowing 8.0 Oreo to continually reinstall and expect different results.

As a result, you discovered that after unplugging and replugging your NP, "it was dead, Jim".

Folks the current undiagnosed Oreo killer update is a real nasty badass serial killer, it hunts down Nexus Players and executes them with ease.

Would you keep your doors unlocked if you hear reports of a serial killer nearby? (if yes, you're nuts!)

Protect your NP if it isn't too late and prevent this killer from getting inside.

If the LED light is off and your computer doesn't beep when connecting the OTG cable, it's too late and your NP is now a flatlined corpse.

Until recently, a search on eBay for new Nexus Players found listings for $15 and up.

Buy 2 or more as backup.

Unlock them, root them, install Nougat 7.12, block system updates, relock them and then enjoy the best streaming Android TV box that you know and love for a long time.