Dish kills Slingbox and sets 2022 shutdown date

Sling Media, a subsidiary of Dish Network, said Slingbox is shutting down and discontinuing its products beginning today.

The company said it will continue to support existing users who remain under warranty and that Slingbox products will continue to work for another two years. In November 2022, Slingbox servers will be taken offline and the devices will no longer function.

“Until then, most Slingbox models will continue to work normally, but the number of supported devices for viewing will steadily decrease as versions of the SlingPlayer apps become outdated and/or lose compatibility,” the company wrote in an announcement.

The company said the SlingPlayer app is still available for browsers, iPhone, iPad, Android smartphones (free version), Amazon Fire TV, Amazon tablets, MacOS, Windows and Chromecast. However, the SlingPlayer apps for Android tablets (free), Android smartphones (paid), Roku and Windows Phone have been discontinued.

RELATED: Sling Media reportedly halts production of the once-revolutionary Slingbox

Even though some paid versions of the SlingPlayer apps are no longer available in app stores, Sling Media said that for users who already have a paid app installed, it may continue to function for a limited time. The company said no refunds will be issued for any paid app purchases.

The Slingbox, which has been on the market for more than 10 years, was a revolutionary streaming device that allowed users to watch content from their TVs on their mobile devices while away from home.

When the Slingbox M2 was released in 2015, the major update was that users would no longer have to pay to download the mobile app for each device. But in return, users had to put up with ads, Sling Media’s solution for making up the difference.

"Our customers have been asking us to eliminate the cost of downloading the app for every mobile device that they own," the company said. "The Slingbox M2 bundle addresses this request by providing a no-compromise entertainment experience across a variety of touch points, allowing users to view what they're paying for at home from anywhere in the world—and on their own terms."