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Samsung accidentally freezes its smart fridges with a software update

Samsung accidentally freezes its smart fridges with a software update

Markoff

Comments (228)

  • diskzero
    We ended up with a Samsung fridge in our new home. It has no external display or any other indication that it is a "smart" fridge. I only found out when a friend visited who has a Samsung phone and the phone offered to connect to the fridge. We spent the next 30 minutes removing panels from the fridge and found the wifi/bluetooth antenna on a small board under the top-right hinge cover. The board was disconnected and the fridge continues to operate normally.I am now eyeing my dishwasher very suspiciously.
  • phkahler
    Reminds me of when Nest thermostats stopped turning on the furnace without an internet connection. If your product fails at its primary job because of some other priority its junk. A thermostat can be as simple as a coiled spring with a mercury switch - no software. Same here, what stupid functionality was so important they failed to ensure the fridge would fridge?IoT is not for me.
  • abroszka33
    I'm starting to hate all smart devices. I love my dumb devices that need no updates, internet or subscription. They just work.
  • heisenbit
    Likely not just rotten food but also spoilt medicine. Content of my fridge is a lot more expensive than the fridge.
  • thesuitonym
    The R in IoT stands for reliability.
  • oldsklgdfth
    Smart devices have missed the bit. There's no good reason for an appliance manufacturer to seek out selling data/ad revenue. Other than you can.In general home assistant, with exception of apple, have zero or negative margins on the hardware. But the model is to recoup it from ads. It's a model. It works better with software. Ex. Youtube is free, but there are ads. Youtube with no ads, would probably be prohibitive to most or just no be built.Appliances make money. Fridges make money, the same way cars make money. Trying to add the ad model revenue stream into hardware is a square peg.The results is trash hardware. Like ads in your Jeep car. It is unfortunate that see this direction. I would gladly quit my job and just build fridges that last forever. Might become a side project.
  • childofhedgehog
    My 1984 HotPoint fridge with water and ice still works just fine other than occasional defrost leaks underneath. I pray I never have to replace it, but I have seen a few vintage ones like mine in perfect condition for sale. Adding more technology has not made these things last any longer, but it does add some convenience I suppose. I would prefer a 40+ year lifespan over a potential to brick the device during a test…
  • teravor
    there will come a time when compromised smart fridges will cause mass casualties (food poisoning). it's beyond stupid to allow a smart fridge in your home.whether because someone just wants chaos or a clever scheme to manipulate stock prices of food distributors.a smart fridge knows when it's opened, which will let an attack algorithm to reliably determine the sleep schedule of the household. just a few hours night over night is enough to compromise your food leaving no trace.
  • invader
    Did Gilfoyle hack Jian Yang's smart fridge again?
  • erkt
    Fridge owners should start taking them to small claims court. This seems like a financial liability that these appliance manufactures may not have anticipated. Would be a shame if it became a trend for hackers to brick smart appliances in mass?
  • Danox
    Once a product is sold, you are dead to me. Go away. That’s the Samsung philosophy. Note that it’s also the philosophy in most parts of the world outside the West. Once transaction is done, that’s it. go away.
  • pfdietz
    The Internet of Things I Won't Buy.
  • tapanjk
    I chuckled at the title.
  • harhargange
    In India where people buy the devices with lowest possible cost, i have never seen a smart washing machine so far and rarely a smart fridge. The cost of the smart module doesn’t offset the cost of spying yet i guess.
  • Surac
    To me they saied i should send it in. By mail
  • fhn
    I'm just surprised they didn't freeze it with an ad on screen
  • stevetron
    How to turn a refrigerator into a brick.
  • methyl
    Better to freeze a fridge than to cook it
  • ginko
    I have yet to understand what the value proposition of an internet-connected refrigerator is.
  • anon
    undefined
  • pelagicAustral
    Not as bad a putting a mime in the fridge screen, I suppose...
  • dmpk2k
    An official update hard (and permanently) bricked my S8 phone back when it was still the flagship. Samsung refused to fix or replace it because I had moved overseas meanwhile.While "technically" valid, this never happened with iPhones despite frequent travels.Don't buy Samsung consumer devices.
  • haunter
    Honestly I just loathe korean tech. I still don't get what makes korean brands _extra_ shitty. Like these dark patterns are all over the world but somehow korean brands crank it up to one more level.
  • glouwbug
    From fridge to freezer
  • paulbjensen
  • ekjhgkejhgk
    Smart fridges dumb clients.
  • armanj
    it's a freezer lgtm
  • zkmon
    Imagine this happening to cars on the road. So much for the connected world paradigm.Any "centralization" is against humanity and nature.
  • robertlagrant
    "My fridge has frozen - how do I defrost it?"
  • sandworm101
    The fridge compressor answers to software? Idiocy. It need be nothing more than a relay attached to a thermocouple. I can see having a smart screen to deliver aps/ads and to collect data on people in the home, but why on earth would that need to actually manipulate temperatures?
  • sparrowidle
    [dead]
  • bsoqk
    I hate news websites so much. Everything has to be a fucking joke.
  • tiku
    Suck it JinYang.