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FreeMDU: Open-source Miele appliance diagnostic tools
- Aurornis 11mo agoThis is a great project. The blog post explaining how they reverse engineered everything is a good read, too: https://medusalix.github.io/posts/miele-interface/ https://medusalix.github.io/posts/miele-interface/
- jiehong 11mo agoGreat reverse engineering documentation, with colors and nice diagrams !
- whitehexagon 11mo agoA really great read. Although, I now feel like I 'need' a logic analyzer, looks fun! And I'm looking forward to the firmware analysis mentioned at the end.
- SequoiaHope 11mo agoThe good and bad news is that a USB logic analyzer is very cheap. ;)
- senectus1 11mo agothis is the sort of thing that makes me want to buy Miele. and I'm just starting to think about buying a dishwahser as well.
- qingcharles 11mo agoSweet mother of god. The sheer number of different skills marshalled to reverse engineer that little board is inhuman. Huge respect to the guy for all that work and the patience he had to constantly push through every failure.
- NoiseBert69 11mo agoTime for some overclocking... 10k RPM. Stellar Work!
- lifestyleguru 11mo agoTune the washing machine chip for aggressive popcorn effect on deceleration, vroooom!
- exasperaited 11mo agoEhh, you were going to knock out those terrible worktops anyway. It's really saved you a lot of labour.
- dtgriscom 11mo agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vROdVsU_K80 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vROdVsU_K80
- userbinator 11mo agoI guessed rightly what that would be before clicking on it.
- wiz21c 11mo agowhat we miss is a universal control computer to control those washing machines. It is very often that part that breaks and that is "so expensive that you'd better replace the whole machine".
- wiz21c 11mo agoah... https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-universal-washing-machine-board.html https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-universal-washing-mac...
- Aurornis 11mo agoI’ve been having good luck buying pieces of part-outs on eBay for old appliances. Someone will take a machine apart and list all of the pieces individually. It’s a fraction of the price of a new one. It’s a used part so it’s a gamble, but they can be so cheap I just buy two and have a spare.
- kjs3 11mo agoIf you live in a reasonably large metro area (at least in the US), there is an ecosystem of used appliance places that will often sell you parts from parted out machines. I've saved silly amounts of money this way. Dunno is that's 'better' than eBay, but you can at least inspect the part for obvious defect.
- cbm-vic-20 11mo agoI fixed a malfunctioning refrigerator by replacing the control board, which happened to be a PIC16-based device used by many brands. This design is as close to "universal" as you can get, and this generic board was around 20% the price of the official replacement part. https://www.ebay.com/itm/152763501102 https://www.ebay.com/itm/152763501102
- userbinator 11mo agoThat's because many different brands are actually made by Whirlpool. They're like the GM of the appliance industry.
- amelius 11mo agoWait, so with a strong enough IR led, someone could disrupt washing machines in their entire neighborhood?
- Aurornis 11mo agoIf everyone had a Miele washing machine and put it on their front porch facing the street, maybe. Did you know that with a strong enough LED pointed through a window into the living room they could also disrupt TVs by changing the channel or even turning them off remotely!
- fainpul 11mo agoTV-B-Gone https://www.tvbgone.com/ https://www.tvbgone.com/
- amelius 11mo agoYes but I suppose it is more fun to shrink someone's socks than to turn off their TV.
- JoshTriplett 11mo agoWith a strong enough LED pointed through a window, you could also disrupt TVs by melting them.
- IshKebab 11mo agoNo, obviously not.
- kotaKat 11mo agoFun fact: Speed Queen also uses IrDA as a communications method on many commercial washing machines for programming and diagnostics. They used to use a PalmPilot (and a WinMo) app. Nowadays it can be done with a PC with a weird NFC-based interface they’ve built with a wand you hold in front of the control panel in a specific location. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thnxm821yco https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thnxm821yco
- alias_neo 11mo agoI'm both pleased and disappointed. I love reverse engineering efforts, and like to partake myself from time to time, so I'm very happy to see this; but, for a fraction of an infra-red-wave period I thought Miele had decided to be cool and open source some diagnostic tools for everyone to benefit. If I'm not mistaken, they were the first (and only?) to open source 3d models for vacuum cleaner accessories.
- schrijver 11mo agoI know HN loves Miele, but they are very Apple like when it comes to repair — they don’t make their parts available to the public and since a few years neither to independent repair shops. In contrast I had a great experience repairing a Smeg stove and buying all the necessary parts directly from them, so it’s not like it’s impossible.
- traceroute66 11mo ago> they are very Apple like when it comes to repair — they don’t make their parts available to the public False on both counts. Both Apple and Miele offer Self Service Repair. Specifically in the case of Miele (since its the subject of this thread), you can buy spares directly from Miele. They openly show exploded parts diagrams on their website, and if you can't find it, you can call their parts sales number.
- nerdsniper 11mo agoYeah but also for an upright vacuum I bought they stopped selling parts less than one year after I bought it. They couldn’t even tell me the basic dimensions of the vacuum belt I needed. For a vacuum that was less than a year old. The instant they stop selling a model, all the documentation is thoroughly whisked away and inaccessible to customers or anyone a customer can reach. And they never gave me that kind of documentation so it’s not even something I “should have” saved myself.
- dns_snek 11mo ago> Specifically in the case of Miele (since its the subject of this thread), you can buy spares directly from Miele. With the caveat that the prices are ridiculously high to encourage you to just buy a new one. My brand new Miele C3 vacuum cost 300 EUR and I just checked the official spare parts store you mentioned. Replacement handle is 90 EUR (not including the telescopic pipe, that's another 80 EUR, or hose, that's another 40 EUR), cable reel is 100 EUR, new motor is also 100 EUR, top plastic cover (which can't cost more than 5 EUR manufactured and delivered) costs 50 EUR, and so on.
- any1 11mo agoThis reminds me of my own troubles with my AEG washing machine. Probably, the most important lesson (for someone who wants to fix their washing machine ASAP) that I learned from that was that there are non-userserviceable error codes and you need to perform an undocumented procedure on your machine to get those codes. I wrote about it in more detail here: https://andri.yngvason.is/repairing-the-washing-machine.html https://andri.yngvason.is/repairing-the-washing-machine.html I would have loved to have an open source diagnostics dongle for my AEG. Maybe next time I'll try and make one. :)
- mavamaarten 11mo agoAfter having used their repair service for over 10 times for my dishwasher during its warranty period and having broken off its front handle (well, the entire front panel really) after 2 more years, I'm never buying an AEG device ever again. I opened it up and fixed it myself, and oh my god, the whole thing just screamed cost cutting. They literally used the power button of a different model or machine, and then just mounted a different power button on top that presses the underlying one. And of course the load bearing thing that holds the front panel and display onto the door frame is a just two tiny bolts in the corners. Great idea to have the entire thing flex constantly in one place. Absolute junk.
- deleted 11mo ago[deleted]
- LordHeini 11mo agoOr as my mom used to say: AEG auspacken, einschalten, geht nicht. Which translates to: unpack, switch on, doesnt work. She owned a couple of AEG devices and all broke immediately except the oven. AEG ovens and stove tops seem to be mostly OK for whatever reason.
- Glawen 11mo agoIt's crazy how long those reputation can last. AEG made good product 30-40 years ago, like everyone else as is was standard to build quality gear.
- WesolyKubeczek 11mo agoAh, Miele. When after some time the water pump on my 2014 Miele dishwasher gave up the ghost, I had a look at their parts catalogue. I had mixed feelings. On one hand, they still produce parts for things they sold in 2008, maybe even earlier, I was looking for a pump. Very repair-friendly, very anti-ewaste. Kudos. On the other hand, for the price they have of that pump and labor, I could buy a perfectly serviceable new midrange Bosch thing. Which I, after a short inner struggle, did. After all, the pump may have been the tip of an iceberg of more costly repairs. It's a real Apple or Porsche of home appliances — it costs a lot when you buy it, and then it keeps costing you later. But maybe this knowledge is going to be handy with the Miele fridge I still have...
- Glawen 11mo agoSome people love the fact that they have old appliances still running fine. I have my grandma Siemens fridge, 30 years old, still running fine. On one hand, a more efficient fridge would cost less money on the long run, but on the other hand i'm afraid to buy a lemon. So I'm patiently waiting for my Siemens to die
- WesolyKubeczek 11mo agoThis is the thing, the day they stop working you wonder if you should repair them for X money or byy a new one for X / 1.5 money. Guess which wins in both time and money.
- georgefrowny 11mo ago> repair them for X money Plus (X / 1.5) * (1 - S), where S is probability of successful repair. Plus the repair cost of the next thing to go if many parts are reaching the end of the design life (= warranty * 1.1)
- JoshTriplett 11mo agoPlus the cost of your time either repairing it yourself or finding someone to repair it.
- dang 11mo agoRelated (but no comments yet): Reverse Engineering the Miele Diagnostic Interface - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45953572 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45953572
- NaOH 11mo agoAlso: Reverse Engineering the Miele Diagnostic Interface - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44593975 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44593975 - July 2025 (4 comments)
- supportengineer 11mo agoI need a new dishwasher. I am considering a German-made Miele. I’ve read so many horror stories. I don’t think I could consider any other brand.
- oldpersonintx2 11mo ago[dead]
- tadfisher 11mo agoMiele, Bosch, and Speed Queen do the old-school engineering based on failure analysis and have basically the same reliability as the super-simple machines from the 70s and 80s, so 20 years is a common lifespan with outliers in the 30- and 40-year range. If you adjust for inflation, you find that the super-simple machines from the 70s and 80s cost basically the same as machines from these more expensive brands, so if you care about filling landfills with broken appliances, you should probably consider purchasing them and supporting the business model. No one would make cost-engineered stuff that fails just outside the warranty if people didn't buy it.
- supportengineer 11mo agoSpeed Queen is the ONLY washer dryer brand I would consider. I currently have a Kenmore set from 2001. Works great.
- smiley1437 11mo agoAlliance Laundry which makes Speed Queen recently IPOed: https://ir.alliancelaundry.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/134/alliance-laundry-announces-closing-of-initial-public-offering-and-full-exercise-of-underwriters-option-to-purchase-additional-shares https://ir.alliancelaundry.com/news-events/press-releases/de... Once a company goes public they tend to focus more on earnings per quarter, causing decision making to be more short-term. Not great when, as a consumer, you hope to get a product that will last 20+ years.
- 11mo ago
- tony-john12 11mo ago[flagged]
- skhameneh 11mo agoMiele... Expensive, works great (when it does), but absolute shit customer service in the US. One of my largest local retailers cut back on Miele in general, they had a high return rate. Miele makes a number of great products, but their customer service is so so so so so bad. Stuff like this is great to see.
- Godisone48 11mo ago[flagged]