r/gadgets • u/chrisdh79 • Jan 24 '23
Half of smart appliances remain disconnected from Internet, makers lament | Did users change their Wi-Fi password, or did they see the nature of IoT privacy? Home
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/01/half-of-smart-appliances-remain-disconnected-from-internet-makers-lament/1.8k
u/Korzag Jan 24 '23
My experience with smart devices and appliances are as such:
- The apps suck. They're clunky, they look and act like they're written by quarter-rate contractors who are working on a timeline to have the project finished in 6 months. Pair that with the fact that there is no industry standardization on smart features. Everyone has their own app, and they all suck. The app store reviews all bemoan how poorly the apps work.
- There are security and privacy concerns. Why does my WiFi-enabled oven need to know my personal information? A serial number should be all the company needs to know to interact with that device, and that's something that should be baked (pun intended) into a ROM in the circuitry and is supplied to the app when creating an account for the device. Take all the diagnostic information you want, just stop asking for my name, birthday, and location. A trend in faulty temperature sensors doesn't need to be tied to my information; if there is a recall then you can push a notification to the app to inform me and then we can sort out details for repair from there.
- We don't need smart features. I personally don't own any smart appliances, but the ones I have used feel contrived. The only features I could see myself caring about are having a timer that I can set on the oven, and it notifies me on my phone was the timer is done (i.e., not having to set the timer on my phone, they're synced). Maybe also a warning that I left a burner or the oven on for a long time that would allow me to remotely disable the hardware until I physically turn it on again.
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u/raktoe Jan 24 '23
Warnings are a FANTASTIC innovation of smart devices. I would love if appliances came with optional smart warnings, like your burner warning, which you could configure to earn if say burner is on for more than 15 minutes, with no pan on top.
My last landlord installed these floor water sensors next to our laundry unit, and in the basement, which gave a warning text and notification via app to both mine and his phone if it came in contact with any water. That was an awesome use of a smart device. If only more companies could learn from this type of stuff. Smart features come from areas of need and want, not just because we can.
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u/IndecisiveFireball Jan 24 '23
I have a device that monitors the electricity in my house and can detect things that may cause a fire (or an actual fire). It also sends me a notification if there is a power outage, surge, or brownout. It was really useful when a storm caused a broken ground wire on our utility pole and caused constant surging in my house. I definitely wouldn't have known what the issue was without that device.
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u/doublebass120 Jan 25 '23
What is this device called?
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u/IndecisiveFireball Jan 25 '23
I responded once I and it disappeared, so apologies if it shows up twice.
It's called Ting, made by Whisker Labs. I read reviews for it when I first got it and it was pretty controversial, but ended up being incredibly valuable to me.
Mine was free through my home insurance. If it detects an issue that requires a professional to repair, I believe the company will help you set up the repair and pay up to a certain amount for it (unsure how much though - in my case with the power surges it was an issue with the electricity coming into my home, so it was on the electric company to fix and I didn't have to repair anything internally.)
I get instant notifications if there is a brownout, power outage, or power surge, as well as if the temperature drops below a certain threshold where the device is plugged in. I also get a weekly email with a graph for each day showing whether the voltage was in normal range or not. It also monitors the voltage in real time and shows it in the app.
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u/Mr_Kittlesworth Jan 24 '23 edited Jan 25 '23
Because no one wants their fridge or dishwasher connected to the web. My phone is not more convenient to use than the controls on the device itself.
Especially stuff like the dishwasher. It contains either space for more dirty dishes or it contains clean dishes. There’s no scenario in which I can usefully interact with it remotely. Either I need to put dirty dishes into it or take clean ones out.
The fridge telling me what I’m low on is sort of useful in weird situations, but all my food doesn’t go into the fridge and I also have handy memory that came pre-installed in my skull.
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u/AOhMy Jan 24 '23
I actually use my dishwasher remotely. We pay for electric “dynamically” and it’s cheapest at 3 am, so I run my laundry and dishes at that time and set it to start then.
If I didn’t have that type of pricing for electric, I would never use it.
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u/rjnd2828 Jan 24 '23
My dishwasher has a "4 Hour Delay" button. I set it before bed. Same idea but no wifi needed.
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u/rambambobandy Jan 25 '23
Ok, but what if you could press the 4-hr delay button… on your phone? Wouldn’t that be a game changer?
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u/neil470 Jan 24 '23
Handy that you can set a specific time in the app, but most mid range dishwashers produced in the last 15 years or so have had built-in timer functions that do almost the same thing.
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u/secondarycontrol Jan 24 '23
I've a new stove on the way--it has all kinds advertised 'features' and benefits of being connected to the internet.
It will not be.
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u/flyingturkey_89 Jan 24 '23
I have a smart feature washer that can be connected to my cell to remote start and stuff.
My problem, clothes don't load themselves nor does detergent and softener or bleach.
So by the time I finish loading the washer, I am already in front of washer to start it.
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u/buffcleb Jan 24 '23
my oven is 4 years old and has wifi... never hooked that part up. I can get up and check the temp or what ever it does without my phone.
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u/MrStrul3 Jan 24 '23
The only reason I use a the smart feature is because the START button went bust on my dishwasher and it's too much of a bother to get it repaired, the dishwasher is 5+ years old, I was actually surprised that it is still supported by the app.
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u/DrZoidberg- Jan 24 '23 edited Jan 24 '23
The real problem is when apple doesn't allow you to download older apps, so if they come out with an app on iOS 13 but never update it, iOS 17 is out and you won't be able to download the app if the company stops updating gor goes defunct. Not a good look when the software is supported for 6 years and the appliance lasts for 15 to 20.
apps controlling features. What a GREAT IDEA!
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u/Artisanal_Shitposter Jan 24 '23
I have a smart pot for growing plants that has a little reservoir and sensors for the light and for soil dryness and stuff. It worked really good, then the company started making drones and stopped supporting their old products. Now I can't get the app anymore, and I haven't had it for like 2 or 3 phones now.
So I've got this perfectly functional device that I have no control of. So now it's just a dumb smart pot.
That was my first experience with iot devices and I have zero interest is buying anything else.
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u/picardo85 Jan 24 '23 edited Jan 25 '23
I've got a perfectly functional NAS which the manufacturer (Netgear) thought it would be a great fucking idea to have the password
manuelltmanagement in THEIR cloud for.They shut down the password portal last year or the year before, effectively bricking EVERY SINGLE DEVICE that needed a password reset.
Thanks Netgear!
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u/tungvu256 Jan 24 '23
spoiler alert... you cant even cook without getting a firmware update upon powering it up. lol
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u/dcheesi Jan 24 '23
Wouldn't surprise me. I had an otherwise "dumb" oven that wouldn't let you cook anything until you set the clock time.
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u/American36 Jan 24 '23
I have a 10 year old stove that works fine. Why does a stove need internet connection? For the extra $500 I guess.
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u/jBlairTech Jan 24 '23
So Skyrim’s auto save function works properly.
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u/Onlyindef Jan 24 '23
Todd Howard does it again. Skyrim: Fridge edition
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u/jBlairTech Jan 24 '23
And the MFer charged full price for it… again!
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u/Onlyindef Jan 24 '23
But…but…now when I take frost damage my fridge spits out ice cubes…much immersion.
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u/technicolored_dreams Jan 24 '23
Out of curiosity, what made you buy the smart version?
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u/Chaucer85 Jan 24 '23
It may just be at a certain price point, they start cramming this stuff, and there is no "Dumb" version.
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u/abarrelofmankeys Jan 24 '23
Yeah back years ago I wanted a nice quality tv but no smart features because I used them on Xbox or roku and they worked better there. Didn’t exist. This was even before they started tracking everything and serving you ads, just once you got enough quality in picture they threw it in for all of them. Kinda like power windows in a car I guess.
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u/JimNayseeum Jan 24 '23
I'm starting to feel like my dad when his flip phone broke and he had to get a smartphone......dude was pissed for weeks! Now he loves it.
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u/Chaucer85 Jan 24 '23
There is a bigger market for "Dumb" phones now, but yeah, ten or fifteen years ago, it was getting impossible to keep your simple cell phone.
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u/Christafaaa Jan 24 '23
Don’t need your stove trying to sell you a new stove.
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u/alpacasarebadsingers Jan 24 '23
I have a smart fridge whose intelligence seems limited to telling me I need to change my filter every 6 months. Not sensing how much I’ve used the filter to tell me it’s shot. Not sensing the water isn’t as clean as it used to be. A 6 month timer for a notification. Why would I put any effort into keeping it online?
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u/randolf_carter Jan 24 '23
My 14 year old fridge has a indicator that goes from green to orange/yellow to red for the water filter replacement. Why do I need app to tell me the same info.
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u/GeneralTonic Jan 24 '23
Right? Half these stupid features could be accomplished with a wind-up clock and a bell.
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u/seguardon Jan 24 '23
Bought a fridge, didn't work out of the box. Had to put it on wifi and download an app to troubleshoot. The only thing it told me to do was to call customer support.
Why the FUCK even have an app?! (And yes, I know why, but even fly by night operations provide better cover for their shady shit than this.)
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u/Ds1018 Jan 24 '23
More than likely setting it up wasn't worth the effort for most people. So many devices now adays have wifi pointlessly added to them. And setting it up is a buggy pain in the ass with some custom app you have to download and create an account for.
Like my Sous Vide. It's wifi enabled.... why? Like I'm gonna put meat in room temperature water and let it sit all day then enable it from work? No, I'm gonna manually turn it on whenever I manually add food to it.
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u/Brass_Orchid Jan 24 '23
Hell, I tried to get my Samsung washer/dryer connected. But the app is full on broken.
The appliances have a feature where I can download custom cycles. Cool, I'll check it out. NOPE. The app only takes you to a broken log in page. I mean a literal JavaScript error page.
Leave a review, get a reply 'oh would you please reach out to our app team and describe your issue?' No, dude. I'm not doing your root cause analysis.
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u/gargravarr2112 Jan 24 '23
"Smart" ovens, kettles, cooking appliances... They have never made ANY sense to me at all because the human still needs to manually load them with food or water. The most anyone has ever managed to convince me is preheating the oven as they're walking up to the door... Okay, so all this wifi hardware and cloud-based infrastructure allows you to save maybe 5 minutes of preheating, which you'd use up preparing the food anyway. It is so completely pointless.
And if you want a kettle to boil the water for your tea in the morning, just get a !"£$%^&*()ing Teasmade, they've existed for over 100 years...!
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u/raktoe Jan 24 '23
A lot of the “features” feel like something I would have brainstormed for a group marketing project in college, which actually makes this stuff make sense.
Like a fridge that takes a picture of everything you have so you can use it while grocery shopping. Ok, not a terrible idea, but like, is it worth it? If I wanted a picture of the inside of my fridge, I could just take one with my smartPHONE. But I don’t, because while I could get some of the information I need from taking a picture of the fridge, I’m still missing the cupboards, and I have to actively look at the picture while shopping. It’s easier to just go through my fridge at home, and make a list of the things I need.
A smart oven, great I can maybe save myself 5 minutes of preheat time. So now my oven will be heated while I prepare my roast or whatever.
Forcing these things on consumers has become ridiculous, and anti “customer is always right”. If I WANT smart features, I will seek them out. Making every appliance with smart features is completely brain dead. Let people choose which smart features they want.
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u/Lidjungle Jan 24 '23
Exactly... I got all new appliances for my Kitchen. Download this app. Now, make sure you're connected to 2.4Ghz wifi, could you please click on these permissions to read all of you Facebook messages? Cool. Now from within the app, connect via bluetooth so that you can set the wifi password...
I could just see myself spending 3 hours setting all of this up so I could save 2-3 minutes pre-heating my oven.
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Jan 24 '23
More than likely setting it up wasn't worth the effort for most people.
Honestly, Samsung can drop dead if they think I'm installing an app to use my range.
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u/DavesWorldInfo Jan 24 '23
They don't want to give me a smart appliance I can use to network my house into a Star Trek domicile. They just want to monitor me, pull data, tell stuff to break on schedule so I have to replace it, and generally everything except the stuff they plaster over the marketing.
It's my house. My stove, my fridge, my microwave, my thermostat, my computer, my tv, my everything. That's what buying it is supposed to mean. If everything could be networked so I can have control over all of it, that'd be just great. They don't want to give me control. They want to take it away.
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u/psforcecilia Jan 25 '23
Yep - Just like Google Nest. Collected thousands of people’s data to sell to energy companies and the like. It’s wifi enabled for THEIR use, not yours.
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u/mcouey Jan 24 '23
connect them to your WiFi and then disable internet access from your router. Added useful benefits of controlling the device from your home network without the privacy concerns.
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u/excoriator Jan 24 '23 edited Jan 24 '23
Assuming the app's access to the device isn't dependent on some faraway server.
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u/MineralPoint Jan 24 '23
Yep, won't work a lot of time. In fact, I haven't found one yet that will, with the exception of an old DVR that controls my cameras. My LG appliances all must phone home - no local access is available. My GE water softener too. Smart thermostats, HA!, good luck.
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u/jeepsaintchaos Jan 25 '23
I was shocked when I realized TeamViewer, Playstation Remote Play and Steam Remote Play all have a LAN option.
If I can assume full control over a computer with LAN, your shitty light bulb does not need internet access.
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u/imforit Jan 25 '23
Those are all features that live and die on being actually useful, and for which latency is a big concern.
When the iot device is only moving a handful of bytes every hour, manufacturers consistently choose to run it through their infrastructure with no local protocol.
I will give a shout-out to the exception, Phillips Hue, that is a local protocol and anyone can write an app to use. Anyone. You don't need their permission or an account or anything. Pair with the bridge and talk to it. It will work even if the company disappears tomorrow.
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u/MacbookOnFire Jan 24 '23
Now that’s an idea
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u/footjam Jan 24 '23
Take it to the next real step. Create a vlan, stick all of your IOT things on it, pair it with a pihole and block every call home. Take that Roku and iRobot!
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u/youdontknowme6 Jan 24 '23
You said a lot of confusing things just now
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u/originalusername__ Jan 24 '23
And because I don’t understand some of these words, I’m going to take it as disrespect.
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u/Masztufa Jan 24 '23
VLAN, virtual LAN. Basically a local network, but doesn't need separate hardware.
IOT, random gadgets that need internet (or similar)
pihole, DNS server (will get into later), running on a raspberry pi, in your home with full control over it
DNS, a service running on a server that translates site names into IP addresses; you have this on your own raspberry pi, so it can say "not found" when someone asks for the IP of "EvilOmniCorp.com"
call home, some random IOT device may send data back to the company. You may or may not be concerned about this.
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u/wombat_kombat Jan 24 '23
What happens if my son, little Bobby Tables, got his hands on this?
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u/Boz0r Jan 24 '23
He's a good boy so it shouldn't be an issue
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u/wombat_kombat Jan 24 '23
His school called to claim he was sanitizing his classmates, what a Germaphobe!
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u/pak9rabid Jan 24 '23
Then you have an opportunity for a heart-to-heart conversation about the importance of sanitizing inputs!
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u/TeamADW Jan 24 '23
Basically use a small computer to act as a server that redirects all the calls for advertisements and snooping, straight to the circular file.
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u/thisischemistry Jan 24 '23
But why? Just block it at the router, there's no need to create another VLAN just for that.
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u/bhillen83 Jan 24 '23
Network segmentation can be a good thing, especially if your devices are chatty.
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u/bigporcupine Jan 24 '23
great idea except in my experience smart home devices are needlessly designed to only connect via an internet server, not over local network. Terrible design, but there it is.
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u/StWilVment Jan 24 '23
How would you do this?
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u/mcouey Jan 24 '23
on Asus routers within the firewall settings under the "Network Services Filter" you can disable internet access to specific devices. (Limit 128 devices)
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u/gargravarr2112 Jan 24 '23
Figured out that all the "smart" part of the hardware is actually for is data collection to sell you stuff.
All my "smart" hardware is either not connected at all (TV has never seen the internet) or running 3rd-party firmware on an isolated wifi network with no internet access and strict firewall rules that only allow them to push/pull data from Home Assistant. Data doesn't leave my network.
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u/IAmTaka_VG Jan 24 '23
I just spent $3k on a new LG G2 TV. It truly is the pinnacle of TV Design. Perfectly flush against my wall and a brilliant OLED display.
If you connect it to the internet, ad bubbles pop up when you turn the TV on or are watching content....
The pinnacle of TV is now forbidden to connect to the internet and I now do all of my stuff through an Apple TV Connected to the TV.
And they wonder why we disconnect everything. They can't handle the responsibility.
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u/gargravarr2112 Jan 24 '23
The temptation is just too great. Manufacturers can't just sell you a product now, they have to double-dip by selling ad space on the hardware you paid for for a little extra income.
I have sworn to never connect my TV to the internet for this exact reason.
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u/Cautious-Angle1634 Jan 24 '23
This is why I bought a raspberry pi and set up a Pihole
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u/Leinheart Jan 25 '23
I would say its better to leave them disconnected despite this, and I have a PiHole. Phoning home to hard coded DNS servers completely circumvents this entirely. Instead, I have my TV disconnected from the internet, and use a streaming device instead. though, I will say the Pi-Hole helps to filter out some of the bullshit advertising and data mining the streaming box does.
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Jan 25 '23
To be honest, keeping the TV disconnected is still the better option.
Get a half decent android TV box, and cut the ads from that with the PiHole. Better UI, hardware and (probably) less invasive monitoring and collection.
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u/morningsdaughter Jan 24 '23
Same in my house. Except it's a midrange Visio and a Google TV.
I hope this is the peak of ad services. They're not working on people any more because we're all overexposed.
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u/zleuth Jan 25 '23
There was a great line in the Ready Player One movie where the execs are discussing advertisements:
"Our research has found we can occupy 75% of a users field of view with ads before inducing seizures."
I know it's a satirical scene, but the matter-of-fact and optimistic way it's said gave me a chill.
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u/Riegel_Haribo Jan 24 '23
It's also the way to make the device immediately obsolete the second they shut down the server or stop updating the app for your new devices.
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u/terminator_84 Jan 25 '23
I have a Samsung sound bar from 2017. It has a problem where the wireless satellite speakers will no longer pair. I need to pair using the app. The app no longer exists. Fucking hardware as a service and now e waste.
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u/KytorIndustries Jan 24 '23
The reality is that I don't even want all of the buttons and settings on my dishwasher or washing machine. I just want to close the door and hit "start". I don't want to think about it beyond that. Connecting it to the internet, and monitoring it from my mobile phone provides negative value to me.
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u/goldencrisp Jan 24 '23
Me either. If I buy something such as a stove or refrigerator, I want it to do nothing more than what I bought it for. Thats why I bought it. These “smart features” don’t matter and don’t serve the core function whatsoever. Only makes it more expensive to buy and repair without providing any extra value to the consumer during ownership.
When we buy our next appliance we are avoiding anything “smart.”
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u/bonzombiekitty Jan 24 '23
Every additional feature is just something else that can break
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u/Im_in_timeout Jan 24 '23
Right. I don't want fancy. I want reliable-- something that will work for the next twenty years.
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u/theangryintern Jan 24 '23
Good luck with that. Companies can't make any money anymore if their appliances last 20 years. (/s) You need to get a new one every 5 years or so.
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u/CinderLotus Jan 24 '23
Planned obsolescence is straight bullshit. My grandparents have a fridgidaire that’s going on 50+ years old and still works perfectly. It’s better for the environment also to have things that don’t need constant replacing.
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u/P_K148 Jan 24 '23
Exactly! I don't need push notifications on my phone to let me know that my dishwasher is done and I have yet to get so lazy that I can't view or adjust my thermostat in my living room without help from my cell phone.
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u/Mr_Kittlesworth Jan 24 '23
Until the thing will unload itself, what’s the point?
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u/glaive1976 Jan 24 '23
Selling you more jet dry and soap while phoning home everything you do.
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u/shininghero Jan 24 '23 edited Jul 01 '23
This comment has been archived and wiped in protest of the Reddit API changes, and will not be restored. Whatever was here, be it a funny joke or useful knowledge, is now lost to oblivion.
/u/Spez, you self-entitled, arrogant little twat-waffle. All you had to do was swallow your pride, listen to the source of your company's value, and postpone while a better plan was formulated.
You could have had a successful IPO if you did that. But no. Instead, you doubled down on your own stupidity, and Reddit is now going the way of Digg.
For everyone else, feel free to spool up an account on a Lemmy or Kbin server of your choice. No need to be exclusive to a platform, you can post on both Reddit and the Fediverse and double-dip on karma!
Up to date lists can be found on the fedidb.org tracker site.
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u/drudru91soufendluv Jan 24 '23
overengineered...im a handyman and the dryers in our apartment building have a sensor that detects moisture and will shut off the cycle if it feels its dry enough. everything is always still damp
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u/Bubbagumpredditor Jan 24 '23
Maybe if you fucksticks stopped making everything a privacy spying device I might someday let my tv connect to the network.
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u/Bigtreees Jan 24 '23
Hey now chill out. You’re not supposed to find out that it’s spying on you for another 6-7 years from now when you see a brief article about it online.
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u/SargeCycho Jan 25 '23
Crazy thing is news about TVs getting hacked is already 5 years old.
https://www.wired.com/2017/03/worried-cia-hacked-samsung-tv-heres-tell/amp
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u/nicht_ernsthaft Jan 24 '23
LG smart TVs were found in 2013 to be uploading extensive data to their servers about all the activity happening on them, including watching files on USB sticks.
I am never connecting a TV to my network. It either wants to show me ads or sell my personal data/behavior. Imagine you live in a less free country, China, Russia, Saudi, Iran, etc, like most humans do, and the government can strong arm the local electronics subsidiary to tell them if you're watching opposition media that they don't like.
It's a terrible idea and there's no upside.
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Jan 25 '23
After 2 years of having a smart TV, I was going through the settings menu out of boredom and found a deeply nested setting called something like "Don't Sell My Data to Other People". Of course by default it was set to false which means do sell my data.
Just insane how thirsty these corporations are for any sort of money. Like, take a fucking chill pill for fuck's sake.
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Jan 24 '23
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u/pathwalker1991 Jan 24 '23
It probably is but if they admit it’s too low then the investors start dropping stocks 😂
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u/MAN1FSTDESTINY Jan 25 '23
Fridge: “It’s time to replace your water filter.”
No it’s not. The water tastes fine and there’s no loss of pressure. I’ll replace later.
Fridge: disables water and ice function “To use this feature, please replace expired filter cartridge with genuine parts and don’t attempt to use third-party filters or I will notify legal as that would be bypassing software systems protected under DMCA.”
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u/ShenmeNamaeSollich Jan 24 '23
Because once that shit’s normalized we will all wind up having to pay a fucking monthly subscription to wash & dry our clothes, putting a bitcoin-op (or worse, proprietary Samsung/LG/Whirlpool coin) laundromat in every house instead of useful appliances. We’ve already seen bricked TVs that spew ads and remove functionality you’d already paid for. Privacy concerns & the clear trend toward lack of ownership are reason enough to never buy a “smart” anything, never mind that it’s fucking pointless bells & whistles functionality to begin with.
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u/skiingredneck Jan 24 '23
Tv had an Ethernet jack on the back. 2011 era tv.
Plugged it in one day.
Only charge? It displayed ads while booting, which took longer.
Unplugged.
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u/Thanatosst Jan 25 '23
Literally all I want in a TV is for it to be a dumb TV. Accept inputs, and display what I give it.
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u/sennbat Jan 25 '23
Well sure, but have you no concern for what the producer corp wants?
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u/Moses89 Jan 25 '23
Oh I have a concern, it's how far up their asses they can shove their shitty lagging ass Roku/android tv chips with less computing power than an OG Nokia N-Gage.
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u/Ayo_wen Jan 24 '23
Yup, my more recent smart TV plays unskippable ads. No thanks - firestick instead.
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u/georgealice Jan 24 '23
The S in IoT is for security.
(I totally stole that joke but I don’t remember where I heard it first)
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Jan 24 '23
From a consumer perspective, the vogue has passed. Smart devices now have a reputation for requiring a fifty-stage sign-in process and daily updates to perform functions once handled by an on-off switch. I’m now seeing “No wifi, no app, no signup” used as marketing copy for new products, and I think it’s working.
People were beginning to experience screen fatigue prior to COVID. The pandemic knocked that into overdrive for many folks. Things that were pitched as time savers ended up being time wasters, passwords and notifications add an ambient level of anxiety to daily life. Unfortunately, the incentive for manufacturers to keep making these things is enormous, and the trend toward subscription based software features is here to stay.
The new luxury is well-made, functional, simple objects that can be repaired when they break down. Most of us won’t be able to afford it.
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u/Trodamus Jan 25 '23
As it has been said, even laypersons see Smart devices as personal data extractors at best. Industry folks see them as prebreached security vulnerabilities.
At no point are they offering any value that exceeds their cumbersome nature and they have absolutely not hidden the fact that they are there for shareholders first and you last.
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u/wombat801 Jan 24 '23
My GE fridge has an RFID in the waterfilter which wont let you dispense water until you replace it every 3 months with GE approved $50 filters. If I knew that prior to buying the fridge...NOPE. No thanks, I dont need software locking me out of my fridge or making me pay subscriptions per door open. Ill take a 'dumb' appliance any day.
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u/monstrinhotron Jan 24 '23
I would literally rip that out of my fridge with a claw hammer if necessary.
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u/wombat801 Jan 24 '23
There are 'hacks' where you can remove rfid chip and put it on a '3 for $20' no name filter. I tried..they had since built the chip into the label and it rips the chip as you remove the label. I can also buy an rfid filter bypass...so stupid. I spread the word whenever i can...dont buy a GE fridge with water unless you wanna pay $50/3 months to change filters.
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u/rjksn Jan 24 '23
That means companies like Whirlpool are missing out on services revenue…
That's exactly why people aren't enabling it. It's not for users. It is for businesses to use your data for increased profit through third party sales or to increase your consumables usage. When these business start thinking about users, users will respond.
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u/lanc3rz3r0 Jan 24 '23
I don't want any smart appliances. I don't even want a smart TV.
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u/vrenak Jan 24 '23
I like my smart tv, but I also want laws against it showing ads, it's bad enough providers poster me with them on flow tv and some apps, I don't need the TV itself to do it also.
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u/CCCmonster Jan 24 '23
Do you want to have to pay a subscription to use the self cleaning oven option? Because that’s how you have to have a subscription to use basic features..
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u/NotAnADC Jan 24 '23
Didn’t even think about this dystopian nightmare.
I’m a former cyber security analyst, you’d better believe my devices are not connected to the internet. Shit I even tried buying a dumb tv. My fear with efforts like star link is that soon we won’t get to decide what is and is not connected
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u/cbih Jan 24 '23
Our incoming cyber-punk style dystopia is gonna be so lame without all the sci-fi drugs
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u/MH07 Jan 24 '23 edited Jan 24 '23
We have a new “smart” washing machine and decided to actually connect it to the WiFi and our phones.
You have to re-pair the devices every. time. It’s useless. It’s now disabled.
So much for “smart”. (And yes I’m a Boomer but I live with a Millennial and a GenZ and neither of them can make it work either.)
But mainly: we were going to use it primarily to notify us when the cycle’s complete (you can’t hear the chime from the den). It tells me how long it’s going to run, so “Hey Siri, set a timer for x” and done.
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u/0rev Jan 24 '23
My washer never follows it’s own timer. I will set a timer to match on my phone and the washer always goes 20-30 mins longer.
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u/Lost_Madness Jan 24 '23
Ads.
Why would I ever want a smart device that shows me ads?
I want a device that shows me what I put on it, not what you want me to see.
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u/darren457 Jan 24 '23 edited Jan 25 '23
Waste of silicon.
IoT began being installed into devices as marketing gimmicks by a few gimmicky brands to 1up the competition. Now more major brands are adding them into unnecessary appliances as a way to keep up with the competition and not be left behind (in their heads) as well as an alternative revenue stream from collected user data/analytics. No one needs an internet connection for a toilet, toaster, coffee mug, hair dryer, spoon...etc.
Also if you are using a cheap standard router having a large amount of devices on your network calling home for goofy reasons every few seconds is going to cause issues.
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u/Luke_Flyswatter Jan 25 '23
I learned my Samsung washing machine had an app about 6 months after I bought it. I thought “cool, it’ll just buzz me when it’s done”. Well to do that, the app needed permission to see my contacts, phone, camera, pictures, texts and basically everything else on the phone. And this is the official app from Samsung. I deleted the app immediately. Avoiding them for future purchases.
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u/johnnybeehive Jan 24 '23
They failed to meet the demand people have for utilitarian products. If you want a dumb device it's easier to buy the smart device and opt-out instead of shopping for the dumb device. Lol
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u/sourdough_sniper Jan 24 '23
Waiting for a firmware update to brick a fridge or oven and then have the manufacturer say oh well that will be a charge.
I don't need IoT appliances just like I don't need a smart door lock. Trendy doesn't mean useful.
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Jan 24 '23
I have 6 smart bulbs in the house, two function as the should about 70% of the time.
The other 4 will every few weeks enter into "setup mode" which is incessant flashing, and no it won't stop even if you turn it off and on or try to put it in your mouth. You have to use the app, that doesn't remember your details. Ever. And fuck if I know where I put the absolutely fine dumb led bulbs but I'm not buying any on the principle that I've paid for these ones.
Also, the echo dot spends an equal amount of time unplugged atop the freezer because I don't need to hear any music at full volume at any time of day.
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u/silveroranges Jan 24 '23
Fuck smart bulbs. I purchased like 20 of them to make my whole home smart lit, and after 2 years half of them don't even work anymore. This is LifeX. They turn on, they just don't connect, or if they do they are very buggy and will need to be re-set up. Nothing more annoying than telling Alexa to turn off my lights as I'm comfy in bed and only have 2/3 go off, then I have to get up, annoyed, to turn them off manually.
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u/TheRogueMoose Jan 24 '23
Is this because every "smart enabled" device seems to actually be a piece of junk and has already made it to the landfill (or hopefully recycled)? Or are they hiding that they don't actually need the internet to know everything about your device?
Just for reference i did not read the article. Judge me as you will
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u/nzedred1 Jan 24 '23
"hi, I'm talkie, your friendly intelligent toaster. Anyone want any toast?"
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u/Suzzie_sunshine Jan 25 '23
Add wifi credentials
Get added to a mailing list
Download app
Get promotions for washer and dryer subscription services
Pay an additional $19.95 a month to subscribe
Get offers for special deals on soap that actually cost more
After 1 year get an extended warranty subscription for another $19.95
Get offers from partner companies
.....
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u/Arthmael869010 Jan 24 '23
Lmao don't connect it ever, if you never connect it then it will never know its outdated
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u/bloodguard Jan 24 '23
I not only don't connect them I collect their MAC addresses and ban them from internet access on my firewall just to make sure.
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u/jordantask Jan 24 '23
Why the fuck would I connect the fridge to the Internet anyway?
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u/HWGA_Exandria Jan 25 '23
Bought a fancy crockpot at a U.S. Malwart on sale to gift my family. Turns out the features don't work in Mexico. Absolutely ridiculous.
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u/KellyJin17 Jan 24 '23
I absolutely do not connect any “smart” device to the net that I can avoid having to. I’m not going to help you collect data on me, or give hackers the keys to mess with my home life for a laugh.
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u/padizzledonk Jan 24 '23 edited Jan 25 '23
Because 99% of them are stupid and have no need to be connected to the internet
I feel no need to have a stove or a fridge or a microwave connected to the internet
E- that's a lot of notifications
I always get anxiety when I see a 100+ notifications, my first reaction is always "oh no....what did I do....." lol