They did hear the pings on multiple occasions so it is down there, just a matter of patient searching.
They did warn it would take many months, most likely to find it. Sound underwater does funny things depending on a whole host of factors.
I'm pretty much in agreements with experts on this that it will be found, that is the majority opinion.
The important facts are, the pings are not from whales or man made equipment and it is the ping from the device at the right frequency. It was detected and recorded on multiple occasions. The location of the pings also coincided with the final signal to the satellite where communication ended with an incomplete exchange.
It still isn't 100% certain, finding it but I think close to it, just a matter of time and money to find it and they seem committed to finding it.
I hope so.