Must be bitcoin laundering.
I think you win the internet for today. You could also be right.
Unironically an innovative way to drive the heating element
You got a genuine laugh out of me. Amazing.
LG: We are proud to introduce our groundbreaking next generation technology - washing machine based cloud services for businesses
Never seen a washing machine take someone to the cleaners before.
A tech-savvy San Francisco resident has sparked conversation online after he shared a perplexing discovery about his LG washing machine’s seemingly voracious appetite for data on X (formerly Twitter).
In a post with more than 7 million views, Johnie Lee shared a screenshot of his machine’s data usage, which showed around 3.6GB of daily data usage. For context, 3GB of data is the rough equivalent of streaming high-definition video for an hour on a device.
Results found that smart washing machines are collecting a significant amount of user data, including personal information such as date of birth, location, and even access to photos.
There is no evidence that the data is being sold to third parties, but the prolonged lifespan of washing machines has begun to raise questions about long-term data tracking.
There is no evidence that the data is being sold to third parties
Oh well, that’s all good then. /s
So close.
What I was referencing in inaccuracy of the router is the attribution of 622 bytes to Apple iMessage.
still not everything.
There was gigabytes of data being uploaded from the IP address of the >washer. I have segregated this device to its own network and logging data >usage.
I have yet to hear from LG on how to reset/update the firmware or how to >fix the rogue washing machine.
Before: runs on watts
Now: runs on gigabytes
I factory reset my LG TV and refused to give it the WiFi password when they said they were going to use AI to analyze what people were watching on the TV to know best what ads to show us. Fuck that.
The TV is excellent as a dumb TV. Don’t need internet access.
My washing machine has wifi, but I have never even been slightly interested in enabling it. I set up a monitor to notify when done by monitoring the power consumption of the breaker. Once it drops back down to zero after a couple of minutes, it triggers a notification. I don’t know what else I could ever need.
Some machines are now hiding specific features inside apps. At least that’s the case for some dishwashers.
🫠
My washer and dryer both do that.
They still wash and dry, though. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT
Welp, clothes are done.
What is this devil technology?
Remote start is what I want personally. Timers get 90% of the way there, but if you want to run your machine when power is cheap, needs a bit more granularity. Also, end notification is one thing, but getting a “remaining time” status is also useful for the particularly lazy among us :)
Ah, my power isn’t cheaper at certain times, so I didn’t think of that. I wonder if you could control and monitor all of it with an ESP32.
Probably could, but thats messy and out of reach for most of the general public. I’d consider myself capable, and I still haven’t done it despite wanting to.
I’d settle for appliances providing a standardised port for control/monitoring, that you can plug in your own ESP32 controller. Harder to sell to the general public.
Rheeme Econet devices do this. They have an app to control them, but there’s also a diagnostic port that exposes everything in the app and a lot more. There’s an esp32 project that connects to the port and brings all of that into Home Assistant, no app or wifi needed.
Thats awesome, will keep that in mind for the next upgrade.
While we are shouting out cool projects, for Mitsubishi electric aircon: https://github.com/echavet/MitsubishiCN105ESPHome
There is also one for daiken, but I haven’t directly tried it.
I’ve thought about soldering one to some of the indicator leds and the start button, but that would require a lot of disassembly that I couldn’t bother with yet.
Why did you give it network access, you dumb cu-. Actually, never mind that: Why didn’t you just buy a washing machine? You know, a machine that washes things.
Bought a new dishwasher for my parents a couple of months ago and every single available model (at the store) had wifi/app connectivity. I could turn it off but there’s no “simple” devices available. Some of them require the app to set the machine up or at least make it harder to do without it. I mean a washing machine needs to be emptied relatively quick after it finishes washing so I at least see some use to a notification but a dishwasher? Fuck that.
Why would it need to be emptied quick?
I usually set mine to work overnight (when power’s cheaper) and take it out in the morning. Makes air drying outside more convenient as well, since it maximizes solar availability.
Not to mention, my machine is chugging along perfectly fine. 26 years and counting.
If you leave clothes sitting in a washing machine for more than a few hours they will start to mildew and smell terrible. Then you end up having to rewash everything. Or smell like mildew I guess, if thats your thing
Fair point.
Using laundry disinfectant and the self-cleaning program on the machine does help, however. If it gets so bad that it does get mildewy, I rewash on the quick cycle and do a thorough clean of the machine itself.
People say this but I’ve yet to have that happen. Have had to leave it overnight sometimes, no issue.
In which f*ssil country is power cheaper at night!?
Aren’t spot price electricity contracts available in the US (I assume)?
The utterly terrible country of France. Y’know, the one with the most checks notes nuclear plants.
In the UK it’s known as Economy 7.
Depends on network load, power is cheapish for me right now but much better than peak. During the day around 11am onwards energy is dirt cheap, and sometimes (rarely) dips into the negatives.
Provider offers wholesale rates plus a flat fee. There are some protections in place to shield consumers from massive bills when the rate jumps to $$/KWh
Fair point, but OTOH we need people like that as whistleblowers.
I once listened to a 3h podcast about analyzing Amazon’s collected user data (they have to send it to you on request). One could argue that the author shouldn’t use Amazon so much, duh. But it was super important, revealing stuff and made big waves.
My grandma used to say the shit you own ends up p0ning you.
My grandma told me to buy NVDA and I was like “yeah right grandma”
Git gud kid
My grandma used to say no cap fam, bussin fr ong.
Yeah, my grandma was a big fan of the Fight Club too…
Who buys a washing machine with WiFi?
It can actually be a little hard to find models from major brands without wifi. That said, there is no reason that you have to give it access to your router. I worry that they’ll start saying that a wifi connection is mandatory at some point, though.
I bought a new washing machine a year ago, I really had no troubles to find a “dumb” one
Any tips for finding a ‘dumb’ tv? One that switches on from power off in seconds, instead of a two minute loading screen?
Saw someone a few years ago recommending shopping for “commercial displays” apparently they are more expensive, but they exist. Try that out in your preferred google machine.
Lol. That might have been me. Else I’ll keep my plasma until something else comes along.
Huh, what brand? Having a smart one didn’t bother me so long as it didn’t require a connection, so maybe I didn’t look THAT hard.
It’s a Bosch WAN282H3 I bought for 440€, it’s a really nice device so far.
Edit: What I had problems with was finding a washing machine that only has physical buttons, I couldn’t find one.
Thanks! I’ve been frustrated by my LG and won’t buy one again. I’ve disassembled it twice to clean out mold. I think I’ll try Bosch next time. I love my Bosch dishwasher.
You are going to get mold in any washing machine especially if you leave the door closed.
I’ve gotten in the habit of wiping away the moisture on the door and gasket with my clothes after a wash cycle is complete.
I worry that they’ll start saying that a wifi connection is mandatory at some point, though.
Yep. However, never will it be phrased like that. Not mandatory, some things just won’t work without it 🤷
Mafia talk.
Mmm. It’s going to be a bit of an uphill battle for manufacturers, though - not everyone has wifi signal in their laundry, that’s not a part of the house that you usually hang around in.
You’re right, but I’m sure they’ll find a way. If not next year then in ten years. Always an evaluation of customers lost vs. income gained.
Some devices cannot be properly configured without a working network connection nowadays.
The washing machines I use are controlled with an app, but that’s because they’re in the basement of my building and that’s how we all pay to use them. I have to say, it’s much better than scrounging for quarters, although those still work if the app is down. Our previous company’s app would tell how many washers were available, so you’d know if it was worth lugging your laundry downstairs. The one we have now doesn’t even have reliable “all finished” notifications. But it’s simple to set an ordinary timer on my phone.
Convenience is how they’ll get you. Combined with landlord greed in this case.
Oir dishwasher has wifi, apparently for customising programmes, its like ai, if they can add pointless features to the list marketing hopes they sell more
I recently did a kitchen remodel, and I decided I wanted one of those cabinet microwaves, so I got one, and I found out that it has functions that are locked behind a Wi-Fi connection.
This fucking thing was $1400 brand new for a fucking microwave.
Of course, I didn’t pay that, I bought it second-hand, brand-spanking new, at my local restore, but it was still $600, and it’s fucking ridiculous.
There’s literally nothing that I need from a microwave that needs to be done through my phone or on the internet.
Needless to say, it will never be paired to the internet, but the fact that manufacturers shove this stupid shit into our appliances is fucking stupid.
Nearly everyone now? About every f-ing thing with a cable (and sometimes without) comes with wifi to call home nowadays. There are toothbrushes with app-support!
Finding a reasonably modern appliance without apps and network is getting harder by the day. Sometimes you can leave the wifi unconfigured, but then you often miss a lot of functionality. Sometimes even core functionality.
Like I said in another comment, I had no problem finding a decent machine a year ago. My basement where it’s located doesn’t even have a signal.
I also never heard about tooth brushed with apps, I know it is an extreme example made by you, but I doubt there comes a point where you can’t buy normal tooth brushed anymore.
I know enshittification is hitting hard these times, but there are still enough alternatives if you look out for them. Screens and internet in fridges and stuff like that I only know from Lemmy, never have seen that in the real world. I an based in the EU, but I think (hope) it’s similar in the US.
I also never heard about tooth brushed with apps, I know it is an extreme example made by you
You know what, this is not made up! That toothbrush measures movement and pressure and stuff and tells you on-screen where your cleaning is lacking and how to fix it. Yes, it is crazy, but it exists.
As far as I remember this was debunked and came down to faulty measuring? cabling? Nothing nefarious anyways
The fact that it was connected and downloading anything was the fault.
What was the actual amount? Importantly, was it more than 0?
Importantly, was it more than 0?
Exactly. doG, I dread the time when even used goods won’t be available without IoT BS.
No argument there 😁
Nah, people jumped on that, but it was them misunderstanding a misattributing of some imessage stuff. The washer was still dealing with shitloads of bandwidth.
I would pay extra if I could still buy a washing machine with no electronics in it. They maytag of my youth lasted 3 decades without repair or maintenance (tho it was loud as fuck at the end) I especially can’t imagine feeling the need to make a washing machine internet connected.
My maytag is still running after 20+, but like you said its kinda noisy
Probably just needs the suspension replaced.
You can already but you won’t because it’s 3-4x the price. Speed Queen is one of them. Your comment is just performative.
This is a 600USD washing machine with a 20 year warranty.
E:.world won’t let me upload images, so just imagine there is a picture of a Samsung with a 20 year warranty I saw in Shenzhen.
Those warranties are parts only, not labor, and only on some specific component of the machine. It’s never a full 20 year parts and labor warranty, and certainly not a replacement warranty.
Samsung, LG, and even Maytag (Whirlpool) do this in the US also. They have their big “10 Year Warranty!” labels on the fronts of their machines, but if you peer at it with a magnifying glass it will reveal that it says parts only on the motor right below it.
Obviously this is basically worthless unless you have the wherewithal to replace that motor (or compressor!) yourself. But it lets them legally slap a big 10 on it, in the hopes the consumer will get a warm and fuzzy feeling on it and not notice the provisos until it’s too late.
What’s to even track that could use that much data? Audio alone seems like it would be less data.
Yeah, that seems like a bug. Even if it was streaming every sensor datapoint it had, it probably wouldn’t be that much.
Or an update failing and re-trying over and over? Just a guess.
why THE FUCK does a washisng machine need wifi??
Recorded audio, sent back to the corporate office to be transcribed and sold to 3rd parties.
This is reddit levels of reposting. This article is 19 months old.
"There is no evidence that the data is being sold to third parties . . . "
Don’t be naive. Of course it is.
