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

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

#161

Post by ajford »

fatnoah wrote: post #30
DiabloD3 wrote: post #16

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.

I'm starting a kitchen upgrade, and the number of "connected" kitchen appliances is astonishing. I don't need my faucet to have Alexa, I don't want to read news on my refrigerator, and I don't want an app for my oven. I'm not aware of any companies keeping servers running for a product that matches the life expectancy of a kitchen appliance, nor do I want an AWS outage to keep me from making nachos.

Agreed. The only one I want "connected" is my washer/dryer, and for that I only want the damn thing to be able to remind me it's done!

Things like that is where I wish local-only home automation had become more prevalent. Imagine if your washer or dishwasher could send a "completion reminder" to your home assistant to push to you. No need for a dozen different apps and C&C servers, just a local MQTT or SNMP like message to the on-prem hub or listener.

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

#162

Post by ravedave5 »

DiabloD3 wrote: post #16

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.

I found an oven that had all the features I wanted... and internet. After verifying it did not require internet I bought it and it will never be connected. Who connects something that could burn your house down to the internet?!

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

#163

Post by Terry_Roll »

Had a Hotpoint friege freezer where the door handle broke due to the vacuum seal being too strong, engineer came out, replaced the door because you couldnt just replace the handle and then he plugged it into a device on the pretense of checking the electrical safety. Fast forward a few weeks the compressor would not start.

Hotpoint is part owned by Us company Whirlpool and Chinese company Haier.

Its my belief the fridge freezer firmware was updated using the mains cable much like thernet powerline adapters work. I still have the fridge freezer so will be tearing it down and inspecting the electrical components to prove this in good time.

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

#164

Post by mauvehaus »

ajford wrote: post #160
rootusrootus wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eh, I think you're being uncharitable. My 80 year old mother could definitely figure out how to hold down a button while turning the thing off and on. We've been living with some version of that reality for decades.

I wonder if that percentage of tech-savvy "elderly" is going up over time. I know I remember hearing that about anything computer related 20 years ago, but many of the people in the upper age ranges now lived with computers for a majority of their life. My grandma is not tech savvy, but can follow directions pretty well. My spouse's grandma is tech savvy to a certain level and manages her own computer and photo libra…

25 years ago, we were all bitching about having to program our parents' VCR for them. In 25 more years we'll be asking a teenager how to get TikTok beamed directly into our brains like they're doing.

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

#165

Post by zepearl »

apexalpha wrote: post #124
wubbert wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A better question is, why do microwave ovens now need internet connections and software updates?

I mean I can think of a few options: - Pre heat oven remotely - Check on the food remotely - Have (and update) settings for specific food? I mean it's not the worst thing to connect online.

I would never ever dare to preheat remotely (and having an open Internet connection that has the potential to allow that would be a nightmare for me).

My current owen actually forces me to at least open once the hatch before allowing it to be switched on (I guess that it's to force me to check if anything was previously left inside).

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

#166

Post by aeyes »

jaywalk wrote: post #74
Nextgrid wrote: post #52

Why is there no user-facing firmware update/recovery feature, so that at least tech-savvy users can resolve the issue themselves? Or a reset feature that reverts to the factory firmware located on a separate, read-only chip? Ah yes, it's to prevent people downgrading or running "unauthorized" firmware when they inevitably start adding user-hostile "features".

It's probably more about cost savings than anything else. Why add a USB port and the associated functionality required to do manual updates when it's got a fantastic remote update capability?

As a consumer I want a button which I can press for 10 seconds to reset the device to how it came out of the box. That should include any firmware updates because remote bricking happens all the time.

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

#167

Post by chokma »

PinguTS wrote: post #53
TonyTrapp wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think already in the 80s AEG's inofficial slogan was "Ausgepackt - Eingeschaltet - Geht nicht" (unwrapped, turned on, didn't work).

Ausschalten – Einschalten – Geht (aka: have tried switching it off and on again)

Auspacken, Einschalten, Garantiefall

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

#168

Post by criddell »

apexalpha wrote: post #124
wubbert wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A better question is, why do microwave ovens now need internet connections and software updates?

I mean I can think of a few options: - Pre heat oven remotely - Check on the food remotely - Have (and update) settings for specific food? I mean it's not the worst thing to connect online.

Also voice controls, although these days you should be able to do that on the device.

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

#169

Post by ahartmetz »

denton-scratch wrote: post #120
gpvos wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I only recently became aware that their home appliances branch had been acquired by Electrolux somewhere in the 1990s. Brand awareness can be slow. AEG used to be a high quality brand for things like washing machines.

I know; that's why I bought an AEG dishwasher. I replaced it with a Bosch, which still seems to be a decent brand. I've since downsized my home, and the dishwasher is now me. Love has ruined my body, Washing has ruined my hands. ~ Country Joe

Bosch is not a public company, probably helps against short-term thinking.

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

#170

Post by criddell »

denton-scratch wrote: post #56

Electrolux are a horrible company. They seem to have borged a whole load of other brands, which all have now descended to Electrolux's abysmal standards. - They don't support their own products; the warranty is served by a third-party - Their products are built to a price-point, and fail just after the warranty is up - Spare parts are expensive - They apparently have neither an email address or phone number The water…

My family had an Electrolux vacuum cleaner through the 1970's and 80's and that thing was a tank.
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