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Why is washing machine connected to internet?

driscoll42 3y ago
It would be mildly useful to get alerts when a load is done. I know I've forgotten about laundry in the washer for a while that I wouldn't have minded a notification on my phone that it was done. Or if some maintenance needed to be done, a reminder. Or one could schedule usage during certain hours to minimize energy usage. But these are not super important use cases.
- tremon 3y ago
  What would you do with such an alert if you received it while not at home?
  - LeafItAlone 3y ago
    You don’t have to be away from home for that to be useful. Even just in another room where you can’t hear it and are otherwise preoccupied. Or you can call your children and ask them to switch it over.
    - JohnFen 3y ago
      If you don't need the notifications when you aren't home, then there's no reason why it needs to talk to the internet. You could still get the notifications just using a local LAN connection.
      - LeafItAlone 3y ago
        It could, but for wider use and more capability, Internet would be the default choice. Also, I live on a small property compared to those in my area (a few acres), and my WiFi doesn’t cover most of it. So a LAN notification wouldn’t work when I am out gardening.
        JohnFen 3y ago
        But a timer would. That's what I use for this sort of thing, personally. The amount of time it takes for a wash cycle is predictable.
        LeafItAlone 3y ago
        > The amount of time it takes for a wash cycle is predictable. Not on my machine. It’s generally +/- 15 minutes for a given cycle, but it does more or less based on load size, which it somehow determines on its own. Sounds like this isn’t a feature you would like, but I hope how you can see it is certainly helpful to others.
        JohnFen 3y ago
        Oh, I certainly see its utility. It's the cost/benefit ratio that I question -- it seems very unfavorable. But everyone has their own cost/benefit computation. Mine is no more or less legitimate than anyone else's.
  - askvictor 3y ago
    Depending on where I am I might go back home and put out the washing
- Symbiote 3y ago
  My washing machine beeps when the load is complete; I think it continues to beep every few minutes for half an hour or more. There's a simple delay-start button too. Since it's necessary to be at the machine to load or unload clothes, I think the only possibly gain from a network would be rescheduling a delayed start earlier/later/not-at-all.
Johnie 3y ago
I kid you not, LG Washer's have DLCs (Downloadable Laundry Cycles). It adds no value. https://twitter.com/Johnie/status/1744795720480411927 https://twitter.com/Johnie/status/1744795720480411927 I had basically hooked up the washer to wifi when we first got it and forgot about it. The thing is, the washer doesn't let you disconnect the wifi after it's configured. It only allows you to switch to a different wifi and only if that wifi has internet.
- graftak 3y ago
  Hook it up to the guest network (it prevents snooping your network) an then change the guest network password to withhold access.
- MandieD 3y ago
  Block its MAC address on your WiFi router - as long as it doesn’t keep changing its MAC address.
  - em-bee 3y ago
    in that case you can use a whitelist and block all unknown MACs
- em-bee 3y ago
  so when the internet is down, you can't wash? that should not be allowed.

It would be mildly useful to get alerts when a load is done. I know I've forgotten about laundry in the washer for a while that I wouldn't have minded a notification on my phone that it was done. Or if some maintenance needed to be done, a reminder. Or one could schedule usage during certain hours to minimize energy usage. But these are not super important use cases.

tremon 3y ago
What would you do with such an alert if you received it while not at home?
- LeafItAlone 3y ago
  You don’t have to be away from home for that to be useful. Even just in another room where you can’t hear it and are otherwise preoccupied. Or you can call your children and ask them to switch it over.
  - JohnFen 3y ago
    If you don't need the notifications when you aren't home, then there's no reason why it needs to talk to the internet. You could still get the notifications just using a local LAN connection.
    - LeafItAlone 3y ago
      It could, but for wider use and more capability, Internet would be the default choice. Also, I live on a small property compared to those in my area (a few acres), and my WiFi doesn’t cover most of it. So a LAN notification wouldn’t work when I am out gardening.
      - JohnFen 3y ago
        But a timer would. That's what I use for this sort of thing, personally. The amount of time it takes for a wash cycle is predictable.
        LeafItAlone 3y ago
        > The amount of time it takes for a wash cycle is predictable. Not on my machine. It’s generally +/- 15 minutes for a given cycle, but it does more or less based on load size, which it somehow determines on its own. Sounds like this isn’t a feature you would like, but I hope how you can see it is certainly helpful to others.
        JohnFen 3y ago
        Oh, I certainly see its utility. It's the cost/benefit ratio that I question -- it seems very unfavorable. But everyone has their own cost/benefit computation. Mine is no more or less legitimate than anyone else's.
- askvictor 3y ago
  Depending on where I am I might go back home and put out the washing
Symbiote 3y ago
My washing machine beeps when the load is complete; I think it continues to beep every few minutes for half an hour or more. There's a simple delay-start button too. Since it's necessary to be at the machine to load or unload clothes, I think the only possibly gain from a network would be rescheduling a delayed start earlier/later/not-at-all.

Johnie 3y ago

I kid you not, LG Washer's have DLCs (Downloadable Laundry Cycles). It adds no value. https://twitter.com/Johnie/status/1744795720480411927 https://twitter.com/Johnie/status/1744795720480411927 I had basically hooked up the washer to wifi when we first got it and forgot about it. The thing is, the washer doesn't let you disconnect the wifi after it's configured. It only allows you to switch to a different wifi and only if that wifi has internet.

graftak 3y ago
Hook it up to the guest network (it prevents snooping your network) an then change the guest network password to withhold access.
MandieD 3y ago
Block its MAC address on your WiFi router - as long as it doesn’t keep changing its MAC address.
- em-bee 3y ago
  in that case you can use a whitelist and block all unknown MACs
em-bee 3y ago
so when the internet is down, you can't wash? that should not be allowed.