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AEG combi microwave unusable after update: device thinks it is a steam oven

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11–20 of 233 posts

Re: AEG combi microwave unusable after update: device thinks it is a steam oven

#12
Any kind of Internet connectivity on an appliance is a strong anti-feature for me. I can't think of a single reason I would want it, and it seems like it would either be a privacy invasion or a source of headaches.

Unfortunately I think for the average customer this is a "blue crystals" feature, something they don't really need and probably don't use much but that makes the device feel new and cool. Mass market product development is governed by what the bulk of the market does, so we will probably see more "put a chip in it" trash.

The solution is unfortunately to go up market and pay more for luxury or commercial grade stuff. On the plus side it tends to last a lot longer, so if you factor in life span it may cost about the same.

Re: AEG combi microwave unusable after update: device thinks it is a steam oven

#13

> "An employee manually entered a wrong number somewhere, causing an incorrect update. As a result, all combi microwaves of this type no longer work in the Benelux," says a spokesperson for the umbrella company Electrolux. All????? They didn't roll out the release gradually? Holy hell.

>They didn't roll out the release gradually? Holy hell.

Have you looked at dev wages for appliances? That explains everything in short. Everything has to be done for the cheapest price in the shortest amount of time. Fractions of cents are cut in every directions when possible. So when you're operating dev teams on shoe string budgets under constant crunch, there's no talent nor resources for sane management, dev and testing practices. Kind of like the game dev industry, but worse.

And the sad part is, there are really great devs stuck in that shitty industry, as it takes a lot of skill to write code so efficient it fits in undersized ROM or write firmware that can replace HW components.

Source: former embedded dev

Re: AEG combi microwave unusable after update: device thinks it is a steam oven

#14
post #8
post #5

I wonder how many €0.01 per unit they saved by not having enough storage to keep the old firmware version while they loaded the new one?

The update process finished successfully, very likely no one thought a downgrade would be needed in such a case. I wonder why they can't just roll out another, maybe that would also hit the legit steamovens

The update killed the Wi-Fi on the device too

>The ovens can no longer connect to Wi-Fi due to the wrong software update, so a new update cannot be performed.

>The problem must therefore be solved on location, the spokesperson confirms.

Re: AEG combi microwave unusable after update: device thinks it is a steam oven

#15
post #3

Why in the world would one connect a microwave to the Internet in the first point?! (I guess that's the way they received the wrong update...)

i could see having something in there ready to go, and waiting until the meat hits a certain temperature to turn it on. If the microwave and the thermometer can both make it to the same service that could be automated. Since so few people run on premiss home automation that would require internet access. It is way easier to connect to a phone if the device and app just know to connect to a spot on the internet. port forwarding and whatnot are a pain for some people. That said I suppose the real reason is the company is collecting marketing data.

Re: AEG combi microwave unusable after update: device thinks it is a steam oven

#17
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The update process finished successfully, very likely no one thought a downgrade would be needed in such a case. I wonder why they can't just roll out another, maybe that would also hit the legit steamovens

The update killed the Wi-Fi on the device too >The ovens can no longer connect to Wi-Fi due to the wrong software update, so a new update cannot be performed. >The problem must therefore be solved on location, the spokesperson confirms.

The steam ovens probably use a different WiFi chipset. What a colossal mess up.

Re: AEG combi microwave unusable after update: device thinks it is a steam oven

#18

I refuse to own an oven that is internet connected. If my oven has enough of a computer to have a firmware that can be updated remotely, it is too dangerous to own.

This time it bricked. Next time it could just as easily turn on high and not shut off until the power is removed.

EDIT for disbelievers: The software update meant for an oven successfully installed on a microwave, and bricked the microwave because it was writing instructions to the wrong addresses. Why believe the software would never accidentally write to the 'heating element relay' bit in an oven?

Re: AEG combi microwave unusable after update: device thinks it is a steam oven

#19
post #9
post #5

I wonder how many €0.01 per unit they saved by not having enough storage to keep the old firmware version while they loaded the new one?

Imagine how much they could have saved by not requiring any firmware at all in the design.

Custom ROMs? What is this, 1990?

Re: AEG combi microwave unusable after update: device thinks it is a steam oven

#20

> "An employee manually entered a wrong number somewhere, causing an incorrect update. As a result, all combi microwaves of this type no longer work in the Benelux," says a spokesperson for the umbrella company Electrolux. All????? They didn't roll out the release gradually? Holy hell.

Well, not all. Sounds like Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg were the beta-testers :)
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