Some Samsung smart fridges stopped working on Tuesday due to a firmware update.
Korean outlets were the first to report the problems, which affect Samsung’s Bespoke AI line of fridges. Star News Korea, per a Google-provided translation, said that most of the affected devices were four-door fridges from 2024 or later.
…a smart fridge should be smart enough to still act like a fridge when its confused
If an automated update bricks my fridge, warranty or not, you owe me a new fridge
If that is a problem, them maybe you shouldn’t have required OTA updates as a requirement for a fridge.
The problem would be solved by not buying a fridge that needs a goddamn firmware to operate. Just buy a regular, standard fridge. the kind we’ve used for 70+ years. All that smart shit doesnt make your food colder, or last longer, all it is, is cheap slop garbage shoved into a device to turn a 200 dollar device into a 2200 dollar device at little extra cost to the maker.
Suck. It. Jin-Yang.
Oh man, maybe people should stop buying these. I bet they totally won’t though.
And that’s why the last time I went and bought appliances, I had to ask/look up if the item I was looking at required an app or firmware updates.
It was not exactly an ideal experience.
“Does this appliance have networking, require an app, or have a firmware update feature?” should not be a question required before the purchase of virtually anything, let alone something for the kitchen.
Unless you’re an influencer or deranged, in which case: carry on. I’m not going to kink shame you.
Don’t connect your fridge to the internet. Just don’t.
I agree, we don’t need smart fridges, we need dumb fridges
Right? Just because a networked version exists, doesn’t make it a good idea.
Skill issue. Put it on an IoT vlan or subnet and keep it off the internet. Tunnel in and reap any benefits without internet exposure. Only thing that needs to stay updated is the tunnel and it’s host. Headscale is nice
But how else am I going to get on that sweet sweet subscription service for keeping my food cold?
Don’t buy appliances with network capability at all.
The usefulness of a smart fridge always seemed dubious to me, but why the hell is the refrigeration part managed by the smart part? It’s literally just a pump.
If the fridge operation depends on a simple thermostat and compressor, then it’s more reliable and can be repaired with lamp wire and a soldering iron if it does break. Samsung would rather have a system depending on a control board they build for $3 and sell you for $600 when it breaks.
Yup. We used to have a fridge built in the early 80s (possibly late 70s) that lasted until 2015. Ugly ass harvest gold color and everything. Ran it continuously. Had to have it repaired maybe twice in all that time. We moved out and left it behind; for all I know it’s still going (though probably not because it was truly an eyesore).
The point is that a well built refrigerator can last decades, same as other major appliances like washing machines and dryers. No computerization necessary at all. Our fridge was not the most energy efficient by the end, obviously, but apart from that . . . why not build them to last?
Greed. Just overwhelming, all-consuming corporate greed.
They change the firmware and connectors every year or two to make sure no one can build a universal replacement
Electrical controls are cheapers
Like not controls as in the “colder” knobs, but what senses and maintains the temp. When/if that turns off, the fridge can’t tell what temp it is. It could be zero or 100, shutting off ruins the food, but not turning off would permanently break the fridge.
One of the few silver linings to data centers is it may change the math and we’ll start to see old school 1950s “dumb” appliances again just because the components for a smart fridge are now more expensive.
Our prices won’t go down, but at least it’ll be a dumb fridge that gets replaced in 40 years instead of the new ones that barely last a decade.
Because how else will they enshittify it?
Don’t buy a smart fridge, simple as.
Sadly I can see a future where the non-smart option will no longer be available. Or very limited in choice for the consumer.
It’s already the case with TVs. The next logical step is to make it so it will refuse to work unless you connect it to the internet to “activate” it or even worse have it connect to the cellular network to be always on-line whether the owner of the device is aware of it or not. The vast majority of the consumers are still completely ignorant about this and buy this crap.
Fortunately appliances seem to still offer plenty of “non smart” options for now. But who knows what it will be in 10 years?
At some point it will be impossible to buy one that isn’t.
This is why we shouldn’t buy them now. If they don’t sell well, they will follow a similar fate of 3D TVs.
I’ve got a Samsung fridge. Don’t be me.
To use the buttons inside the fridge (for temp control, etc), you have to push the “unlock keys” button for 3 seconds. This isn’t a nuclear missile launcher, it’s a fridge. Idiots.
To clean the bottom shelves, you have to uninstall them… this is an absurdly difficult task. I had to look up how to do so online. It’s infuriating. It’s a shelf.
The ice maker has one vulnerability; ice. If the fridge temperature is too cold (under 38f) the ice machine doesn’t work.
Fortunately, I didn’t connect it to network. I hate it.
As long as they can play Doom, all good
no food sounds pretty doomy to me
A fridge shouldn’t require firmware.
I’m guessing none of these idiots will learn their lesson either. The next appliance they buy will still have network connectivity and useless spyware.
