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LG washing machine sending 3.7GB of data a day

tomshardware.com

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Re: LG washing machine sending 3.7GB of data a day

#21

Post by boringuser2 »

globular-toast wrote: post #14
boringuser2 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uhhh, alright. Anyhow, many devices require network access for useful functionality. That network is ideally zigbee. (It's also possible for Bluetooth to make up for some of the lost featureset for non-realtime applications, so I'd favor Bluetooth smart devices over wifi smart devices.)

Yes, Zigbee is the way to go. But the point is there shouldn't be any internet involved. Using the internet protocol on wifi is the stupidest way to do this kind of stuff and leads to dumb crap like your washing machine phoning home.

I mean, it's obviously a pretty good product in terms of effortlessly providing networking to a device in a way that an average home user can manage. Everyone has wifi.

That being said, a better architected device would probably just use Bluetooth and your smartphone as a controller. I don't think many average home users could tell the difference.

Re: LG washing machine sending 3.7GB of data a day

#22

Post by dotancohen »

amelius wrote: post #16

Well it's still better than a Chinese robotic vacuum cleaner with a bunch of cameras doing it.

iRobot, the robotic vacuum cleaner company that leaked photos of people on the toilet as viewed from the vacuum cleaners' cameras, is an American company. If I'm not mistaken they grew out of MIT.

Re: LG washing machine sending 3.7GB of data a day

#23

Post by sroussey »

mft_ wrote: post #17
hamandcheese wrote: post #6

I'm not opposed to smart homes, I love being able to turn my lights on and off from across the room. But I don't know if I understand the use case for a networked washing machine.

I'm totally with you, except a notification that it's finished would actually be really helpful. It's apparently possible to track a washing machine's progress with a smart switch that monitors power draw; I've got one lying around so might try to implement that soon, to complement my hacky RPi-Ring-doorbell-announcer :)

My Miele washer and dryer send me notifications when done.

Re: LG washing machine sending 3.7GB of data a day

#24

Post by boringuser2 »

jrockway wrote: post #20
boringuser2 wrote: post #3

A couple of notes: 1. If you must have an IoT device, favor zigbee. 2. Put your IoT devices on a segmented network that you've throttled. IoT devices neither need nor deserve privileged network access. 3. Probably don't use a consumer grade router if you know how to monitor network traffic. 4. That all being said, it feels unlikely that an IoT device would be exposed on a properly configured router to anything beyond…

I disagree with some of these points: 1. Z-wave is better, but Wifi can be fine in the right environment. Like, my weather station uses Wifi because it sends a few bytes of data to a server once a minute. No need for an additional protocol going on that interferes with everything else on 2.4GHz anyway. I also use Wifi for a sensor I put in my box that stores 3D printer filament to measure its humidity, so I know when…

3. I don't think you're understanding what the contentions about consumer grade routers are.

Make no mistake: consumer grade routers are a massive security risk, and continue to be to this day.

They have no incentive to respond to and mitigate CVEs.

They frequently have hardwired credentials.

They don't have robust networking tools.

They are common targets for hacks for these reasons.

Regarding throughput, yes, 10gb is quite a bit. It'd probably be somewhat troublesome to get a home router with those kinds of physical ports (though CPU throughput would be trivial, see Intel's latest offerings. The n100 range can saturate any reasonable connection, including IPS, which you don't have).

It's just not necessary, though. I am a power user, software engineer, hosting ~50 docker containers, many with custom code on 300mbps. No slowdown. No saturation.

Furthermore, a cheap enterprise AP from eBay, even on wifi 5, is vastly superior to your Verizon AP.

I'm not a networking professional. I installed OpnSense and connected a ruckus AP. Done.

1. If you had a decent AP, zigbee interference wouldn't be an issue, wink emoji.

Re: LG washing machine sending 3.7GB of data a day

#25

Post by dzhiurgis »

mft_ wrote: post #17
hamandcheese wrote: post #6

I'm not opposed to smart homes, I love being able to turn my lights on and off from across the room. But I don't know if I understand the use case for a networked washing machine.

I'm totally with you, except a notification that it's finished would actually be really helpful. It's apparently possible to track a washing machine's progress with a smart switch that monitors power draw; I've got one lying around so might try to implement that soon, to complement my hacky RPi-Ring-doorbell-announcer :)

   Siri set a timer for *looks at washer screen* minutes
That's it. But tbh wish my smart speakers would learn all the appliance chimes instead.

Re: LG washing machine sending 3.7GB of data a day

#26

Post by dzhiurgis »

nomel wrote: post #11
hamandcheese wrote: post #6

I'm not opposed to smart homes, I love being able to turn my lights on and off from across the room. But I don't know if I understand the use case for a networked washing machine.

I get significantly cheaper electricity at night ($0.12 vs > $0.50/kwh, stupid California). Being able to schedule saves money, not that WiFi is necessarily required.

Did you check how much power your washer uses? Mine uses 0.4 kwh so you'd be saving 15.2 cents per load. Not really worth the hassle IMO.

Re: LG washing machine sending 3.7GB of data a day

#28

Post by Eisenstein »

nomel wrote: post #11
hamandcheese wrote: post #6

I'm not opposed to smart homes, I love being able to turn my lights on and off from across the room. But I don't know if I understand the use case for a networked washing machine.

I get significantly cheaper electricity at night ($0.12 vs > $0.50/kwh, stupid California). Being able to schedule saves money, not that WiFi is necessarily required.

How much electricity is your washing machine using?

Re: LG washing machine sending 3.7GB of data a day

#29

Post by Towaway69 »

amelius wrote: post #16

Well it's still better than a Chinese robotic vacuum cleaner with a bunch of cameras doing it.

China is cheaper than making it in the USA with an onboard NSA chip. The assumption that China is spying on us is based ... I dunno but why buy it if you are worried?

Re: LG washing machine sending 3.7GB of data a day

#30

Post by XorNot »

hamandcheese wrote: post #6

I'm not opposed to smart homes, I love being able to turn my lights on and off from across the room. But I don't know if I understand the use case for a networked washing machine.

I have a smart plug on my washing machine and dryer which I use to try and identify when the cycles have finished.

It doesn't work great, I'd much prefer a direct API to send a notification when the machine says it's actually finished.

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