Fetch TV Gen 3 Extended Service Levy

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Fetch TV is requiring some owners of Mini Gen 3 & Mighty Gen 3 boxes to pay a $29.99 levy, subscribe, or buy a new box to keep using them. The Australian internet protocol television provider applies the levy to boxes first activated between five & ten years ago that are not used with an active, eligible Fetch subscription. An owner who cancels instead is left with a box that Fetch says will stop working and cannot be reactivated in the future by you or anyone else.

Permanent deactivation after cancellation or failed payments

Owners who take none of the options may cancel the Fetch service in the self-service portal on the Fetch website on or before October 31, 2026. The frequently asked questions (FAQ) section on the levy page describes the result:

Once you cancel your service, your Gen 3 device will lose all functionality and any recordings, and cannot be reactivated in the future by you or anyone else. Gen 3 devices should not be re-sold as they will not be re-activated by Fetch once cancelled.

Fetch's levy page says a Gen 3 box whose service is cancelled will lose all functionality and any recordings, cannot be reactivated in the future by you or anyone else, and should not be re-sold.

The tech news & advice site CyberShack reported that Fetch confirmed the rule & told the outlet it had long been a policy to stop deprecated hardware being resold to unsuspecting buyers.

Failed levy payments

The notice section of Fetch's levy page says that after four failed payment attempts the account is suspended & the owner cannot use the Fetch service on any device linked to it. An FAQ entry on the same page says a failed payment suspends the service immediately, & a Mighty Gen 3 owner loses access to making or viewing recordings while the account is suspended. As of September 27, 2026, the same FAQ described four failed payments this way:

If payment fails 4 times: Your account will be suspended, and your Gen 3 device will be permanently deactivated and cannot be used again by anyone. If you use a Mighty Gen 3, you will permanently lose all recordings and they will not be recoverable once your account is suspended.

Fetch's levy page says that if a payment fails four times, the account is suspended and the Gen 3 box is permanently deactivated and cannot be used again by anyone.

An archived copy of the page from September 19, 2026 began that answer with Your account will be permanently terminated. Fetch's Retail Terms of Use state that after standard retry attempts, the account is suspended & the device loses all connectivity and functionality until the payment is cleared.

The September 27 version of the levy page asks pensioners, concession card holders & customers in financial difficulty to contact Fetch's customer support team.

Extended Service Levy options and deadline

Fetch's notice tells Gen 3 owners that their box is now the oldest generation of access device still operating & sets out three ways to keep the Fetch service: pay the Extended Service Levy, upgrade to a new Fetch box, or add a Fetch subscription.

Charge on November 1, 2026 for owners who take no action

Owners who choose none of the options, do not cancel by October 31, 2026 & keep using the Fetch service on a Gen 3 box will have the $29.99 levy charged to their account on November 1, 2026. Owners who already use a Gen 4 or Gen 5 box on a Multiroom setup & no longer need the Gen 3 box are told to remove it from their account before October 31, 2026 to avoid the charge.

Fetch's levy page says Gen 3 owners who neither choose an option nor cancel on or before October 31, 2026 but continue to use the Fetch service with a Gen 3 box will be charged the $29.99 Extended Service Levy on November 1, 2026.

One-time levy of $29.99

Fetch describes the levy as a one-time, non-recurring charge of $29.99 per household that keeps Gen 3 boxes working with the Fetch service for at least one more year, to at least October 31, 2027, without an upgrade or a monthly subscription. Affected customers are to receive an email from Fetch at least 30 days before the levy is applied to their account. An owner charged the levy on or after November 1, 2026 who then upgrades or activates an eligible subscription within 30 days of the charge will receive an account credit for the remaining months of the 12-month levy.

New boxes with Fetch Access

All new Fetch boxes come bundled with a Fetch Access subscription at $4.99 per month, & Fetch says an owner who buys a new box with Fetch Access will not be charged the levy. Fetch's store has offered Gen 3 owners upgrade discounts since September 14, 2026, in a promotion scheduled to run until October 31, 2026; the Mini Gen 5 offer is $50 off plus $29.94 of account credit, which Fetch equates to six months of Fetch Access. The store page's FAQ describes what happens to a new box without that subscription:

While you own the hardware, an active Fetch Access subscription is required to access the Fetch Service including the User Interface, Smart TV Guide, security updates and all content delivery. If you cancel your Fetch Access subscription, the device will lose all functionality and unfortunately you will lose all the content you have previously purchased (eg: movies, TV shows) and any recordings (on your Mighty).

Fetch's Retail Terms of Use apply the monthly Fetch Access fee to any new box activated on or after September 4, 2026, even if you are an existing customer with an established account.

Subscriptions that exempt an owner

Customers with an active Fetch Access, Movie Box, Fetch Multiroom or Content Pack subscription as of October 31, 2026 will not pay the levy. Subscriptions to third-party apps such as Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+ & Hayu do not count, even when Fetch bills them. An owner who cancels an exempting subscription during the levy period without taking up another, & keeps using the Gen 3 box, will be notified & charged the levy in the next billing cycle.

Customers who get Fetch through an internet service provider (ISP) such as Optus or Aussie Broadband will not be charged the levy, even if they use a Mini Gen 3 or Mighty Gen 3. The Retail Terms of Use limit the levy to the Fetch Retail Legacy customer base & exclude accounts imported directly from an ISP partner.

Streaming app removals

Netflix, Paramount+, SBS On Demand & Hayu will no longer be supported on the Mini Gen 3, & Paramount+ will no longer be supported on the Mighty Gen 3, according to Fetch's notice. Paying the levy will not stop a Gen 3 box from losing access to the 3rd party streaming apps, & the notice says only an upgrade to a Mini Gen 5, Mighty Gen 4 or Mighty Gen 4 Pro keeps all streaming apps. The notice places the removals Over the next 3 months, while an FAQ entry on the same page says the apps will stop being compatible progressively over the next 12 months as the device firmware is too old.

Hayu is marked unavailable on the Mini Gen 3 on Fetch's comparison page, with a ceasing date of August 31, 2026, & SBS On Demand is marked unavailable on that box with no date. The same page schedules Netflix to stop on the Mini Gen 3 on November 26, 2026 & Paramount+ to stop on both Gen 3 boxes on December 9, 2026.

CyberShack reported that Fetch attributes the removals to app providers, citing chipset performance & security requirements the boxes can no longer meet. Fetch's terms separately state that certain IP (internet protocol) signals would not be available on the Gen 3 Mini from the end of February 2026 because they could not be supported.

Fetch's terms in 2017 and 2021 compared with 2026

Topic	Fetch's pages in 2017 and 2021	Fetch's pages in 2026
Cost of using a box	In February 2017, the Mighty & Mini listed at $399 & $149, with a $1 one off activation fee & no ongoing cost for the Starter Pack	Gen 3 owners who choose none of the options & keep using the box will be charged a one-time $29.99 levy on November 1, 2026
Ongoing subscriptions	On April 8, 2021: You're not locked into any ongoing content subscriptions	All new Fetch boxes come bundled with a Fetch Access subscription at $4.99 per month; a new box whose Fetch Access subscription is cancelled will lose all functionality
Cancelling	On February 18, 2017, the account terms: If you cancel the Fetch TV Starter Pack, your Fetch TV Box will not function.	A cancelled Gen 3 box will lose all functionality & any recordings, & Fetch will not reactivate it for anyone

Fetch's compare page, as archived on February 18, 2017, listed the Mighty at $399 and the Mini at $149, each with a $1 one off activation fee and no ongoing cost for the Starter Pack.

Retail Terms of Use effective September 15, 2026

Fetch's Retail Terms of Use, effective September 15, 2026, include the levy under the abbreviation ESL. The terms also address an owner who takes out a Content Pack & cancels it soon after:

If you subscribe to a monthly Content Pack but cancel that pack within a short timeframe, Fetch reserves the right to retroactively apply and charge the $29.99 ESL to your account upon the lapse of your subscription.

The same terms state that Fetch recommends upgrading your box every 3 to 5 years. They also reserve Fetch's right to cease to support older box models altogether if technical demands shift, such as when it can no longer support the latest apps or the digital rights management (DRM) that content providers require. The terms' summary of box ownership reads:

You will own the set-top-box outright once you purchase it, but you must maintain a subscription to use it.

Fetch's Retail Terms of Use tell buyers they will own the set-top-box outright but must maintain a subscription to use it.

Background

In a July 14, 2022 release, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) described Fetch TV as a wholesale supplier to broadband retailers such as Optus, iiNet & Aussie Broadband, which typically offered it as an add-on, & said Fetch also distributed directly through electronics retailers including JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman & The Good Guys. In the same release, the ACCC said it would not oppose the acquisition of 51.4 percent of Media Innovations Holdings Pty Ltd (Fetch TV) by Telstra. Telstra announced on August 2, 2022 that it had completed the purchase of that 51.4 percent controlling interest & said Fetch would continue to operate as a standalone business with Telstra as majority shareholder.

Mighty Gen 3 and Mini Gen 3 boxes

Stephen Fenech, editor of Tech Guide, reported on July 1, 2016 that Fetch had announced new Mighty & Mini boxes, with the Mighty a hybrid personal video recorder (PVR) carrying a 1TB hard drive & four tuners. The Mini had its own free-to-air tuner but could not record; it could stream recordings from a Mighty in another room over a wireless link. Fetch's May 2, 2022 announcement of the Mighty Gen 4 called that box an upgrade to the very popular Mighty Gen 3 PVR & said the prior versions of the Mighty and Mini were introduced in 2016.

Fetch's levy notice names the affected boxes as the Mini Gen 3 (H626T) & Mighty Gen 3 (M616T). The notice says a Gen 3 box needs an active account & an internet connection for features including the TV guide, search, recording, free-to-air TV over the internet, the Movie and TV Store, integrated apps & account services.

Original sale terms

Tech Guide reported that the boxes would go on sale through Harvey Norman & JB Hi-Fi the following week, & through Optus, iiNet, Primus & Dodo as an add-on to an internet package. Fetch's getting-started FAQ page, as captured on February 18, 2017, described the cost of a box bought from a retailer:

There is a one off $1 activation fee for the Starter Pack, plus additional monthly subscription fees depending on which other channel packs you choose to add.

Monthly Fetch Access subscription from December 2025

Fetch announced on December 1, 2025 that a $3.99 monthly Fetch Access subscription would apply to all new retail customers activated from that day, with an introductory promotion waiving the fee until January 31, 2026. Trevor Long, editor of EFTM, reported on December 2, 2025 that the change does not apply to existing customers & wrote that it's very clear this new approach is for new customers only.

Fetch's stated reasons

Fetch's levy page says that Providing the Fetch Service involves significant ongoing operational costs. Its Retail Terms of Use describe the levy's purpose:

The ESL is a one-off fee covering a 12-month period that helps offset the rising operational costs of maintaining legacy infrastructure, security updates, network compliance, and technical support for older devices.

The levy page's FAQ gives Fetch's account of what the original purchase price covered:

When you originally purchased your Fetch Mini Gen 3 or Mighty Gen 3 (between 5 years and 10 years ago), the price covered the hardware device itself with the technology of the day in its firmware, along with the Fetch services and apps available at that time.

CyberShack reported that Fetch says most affected customers use boxes between eight & ten years old, & that according to Fetch's viewing data free-to-air TV & YouTube account for two-thirds of watch time on Gen 3 boxes, with other third-party apps combined at about 10 percent. CyberShack also reported that Fetch described an eight-to-ten-year lifespan as already exceeding standard expectations for the category, & said customers will not be charged a second time in October 2027 or afterwards. Beyond the guaranteed year, Fetch told the outlet it will try to continue support while it remains feasible but could not speculate on how long that might be.

Media coverage

Scott Hunt of CyberShack reported the levy on September 24, 2026, & the outlet's commentary said the levy mainly applies to owners who do not pay an ongoing subscription, making the move feel like a push towards recurring payments.

Trevor Long of EFTM defended the levy in a September 25, 2026 post, calling the one-time fee a GREAT option and really good of them to offer & writing that Fetch could have just disabled the box full stop. Long wrote that EFTM understands Gen 3 boxes account for a disproportionate number of Fetch's support tickets, & that the team at Fetch told him they do not want to shut down the Gen 3 product. He reported that some online complainants say the box is a simple PVR that should not need any connectivity, & that for some the levy seems like another case of planned obsolescence.

See also

• Right to own
• Planned obsolescence
• Subscription service
• Self-destructive design
• Wink
• Spotify Car Thing