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When buying fridge, washing machine, oven etc, when I moved, I told the sales person, I like quality, am not price sensitive, but any device that requires an ap
by canpan 4mo ago
When buying fridge, washing machine, oven etc, when I moved, I told the sales person, I like quality, am not price sensitive, but any device that requires an app or has a camera/mic built in is out of question. Some didn't know how to handle that, being used to sell it as a "good thing".
- 2Gkashmiri 4mo agoI have an HP wifi printer, 5820 I think. I haven't signed in to HP, haven't connected the printer to cloud. Same for anything else. I don't see the whole "oh you need firmware update to improve the product". 90% of the time it just works. So what happens if the fridge isn't given internet access ? Or washing machine?
- elorant 4mo agoNothing, they just work as intended. I bought a Fujitsu A/C that supposedly required registering through some app. Never connected it, and I removed the wifi kit at installation. Works like a charm no problem whatsoever.
- bzzzt 4mo ago> I haven't signed in to HP, haven't connected the printer to cloud. HP fixed a remote exploit a few years back. Theoretically someone could use your local wifi printer to install a persistent backdoor on your network. In practice HP uses updates to patch leaks in their cartridge protection (the most complicated tech in the printers). And accidentally sometimes bricks printers...
- bityard 4mo agoCompanies are beginning to gate previously existing features behind the requirement to connect their devices to the cloud and/or install an app on your phone. Dishwashers, refrigerators, even (and perhaps especially) cars. "Just don't connect it to the Internet," is sadly less viable option as time goes on.
- GolfPopper 4mo ago>"Just don't connect it to the Internet," is sadly less viable option as time goes on. I feel compelled to quibble with your word choice here. Not connecting appliances to the Internet remains a viable option. It is simply one that is increasingly not common or not readily available.
- subscribed 4mo agoI'm confused. This is what they said? "less viable option as time goes on" is pretty much "remains a viable option, increasingly not common" ?
- GolfPopper 4mo agoThis may just be me being idiosyncratic with vocabulary. To me, "less viable" implies there some outside factor or internal failure preventing it from working. But non-internet appliances will continue to work just fine, if you can get one. I.e. it's a viable choice, just one with less and less availability.
- subscribed 4mo agoThat's interesting, thanks!
- Terr_ 4mo agoXFinity (Comcast) recently sent my parents a new router, and AFAICT there was no way to configure it from a LAN computer. It required a damn proprietary phone app, which I assume was bouncing commands through the internet.
- fuzzfactor 4mo agoThis has been a problem for a while, Xfinity has the high-speed fiber but the only routers they supply were emerging apptrash for a while, then recently got even worse with none or almost none of the features accessible without a phone any more. Your best option is to purchase your own cable modem/router and quit renting that garbage hardware from Comcast. Or kick them to the curb and go cableless using Verizon with a router that's worth paying for.
- GolfPopper 4mo agoI'm not familiar with Comcast's specific hardware, but it also possible that the router is always broadcasting a hidden SSID, or is using Bluetooth for setup and configuration. Both of which are also potentially problematic.
- functionmouse 4mo agodon't rent your router
- Terr_ 4mo agoI was assured many times that it wasn't being charged to them as a recurring cost. They've been having connection hiccups and blaming the old independent router/modem even though I suspect the problem is somewhere further on.
- Scaled 4mo agoSame but in my parents case it was even worse -- there is a web portal but it's locked unless you use the app to unlock it. Tried contacting support and they could do nothing. Completely arbitrary requirement. Ended up buying a replacement on Amazon.
- microtonal 4mo agofridge, washing machine, oven etc, [...] Some didn't know how to handle that I am surprised, all the European brands like Miele, Siemens, Bosch, etc. household appliances work fine without an app. Most that we have now do have an option to connect to WiFi, we never connected them and they all work fine with good old buttons like it's 1985.
- MrGilbert 4mo agoThere is a dishwasher from Bosch, that misses some features if you are not using the App - cost-cutting measures. Jeff Geerling made a video about that: https://youtu.be/5M_hmwBBPnc https://youtu.be/5M_hmwBBPnc
- microtonal 4mo agoSad. I will check the next time before buying a Bosch product. Though my main point is, that it is not hard to find products that work fine without an app. E.g. I just checked the Bosch site and could find many models that support delayed start, etc. with on-device buttons. In fact, the one that I picked somewhat randomly, the primary feature the app adds is that you can start the dishwasher remotely, which is the only feature I'd expect to need an app for. (I completely believe that some of these manufacturers will also have models where they save on on-device buttons/displays by requiring an app.)
- hedora 4mo agoIt's hard to figure out if a device will work to spec offline. For instance, our home HVAC shipped with blatant firmware bugs that eat blower fans, lock up compressors, etc, but take a few years to do it and access to the hidden service menu to diagnose. Eventually, I broke down and put it online to get the firmware update (after a $500-1000 fix "in warranty"). (It's a Bryant.)
- rolandog 4mo agoAh, so the directors and managers that shipped unfinished games in the gaming industry found jobs in the HVAC industry?
- devsda 4mo ago> I like quality, am not price sensitive but any device that requires an app or has a camera/mic built in is out of question You probably meant "I want no frills product because of its simplicity, not because its cheap" but when that feedback reaches a PM, they'll only hear "I will pay more to not have a camera or a mic".
- kimos 4mo agoThis is not correct, for me at least. I want a very good washing machine with frills, but it want it to wash well and quietly without needing to be configured from my phone over wifi.
- exe34 4mo agoI paid £50 more for a washing machine without wifi/app.
- sublinear 4mo agoThe home appliance market is a scam fractal. It goes deeper than just ewaste. Nobody wants to admit it, but they are more home decor and geewhiz BS than practical appliance for several decades now. You'll be perfectly fine buying cheap barebones models if you are repair savvy. Choosing colors and materials like black or white and stainless steel is "boring", but only if the surrounding space is already ugly. I've had the same no name amazon special washer and dryer for almost 15 years now. Reviews were 3/5 stars at the time. People complained about belts slipping and hinges breaking. I just fixed them with parts on ebay. They still look and run like new.
- ErroneousBosh 4mo agoI said that about cars on here and got called all kinds of an idiot for not wanting electrically-operated door handles, an always-on phone connection, and screens bigger than the telly in my living room.