Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Motorola effectively bricked its entire line of WiFi routers without explanation

mashable.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

131–140 of 153 posts

Re: Motorola effectively bricked its entire line of WiFi routers without explanation

#131

Post by yonatan8070 »

WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #125
yonatan8070 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You'd be surprised, at work we recently had a contractor install a new office network (growing startup upgrading from the home grade units we had before), they recommended HP Aruba Instant On, and the guy did all the setup on his phone with their app. Now that it's my network to manage, I have to say that while it's a huge upgrade from the TP-Link Deco units we had before, the cloud management just makes it worse. Th…

You may be more right (and me more wrong) than you know. Another comment said their parent's ISP-provided router requires a phone to config. ref: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48425611#48432024

This is also the case for the TP-Link Decos we were using, you can only configure and manage them from the app, no local web UI in sight*

And it's not like a mobile app unlocked some new features that couldn't be implemented in a browser. The app is slow, sluggish, and basic things like adding a DHCP reservation took multiple tries to succeed, each taking an agonizingly long time of watching a spinner.

If you contrast this with my home MikroTik, the UI is less "your grandma could configure it" simple, but it's fast, available over local web, SSH, desktop app, mobile app, and I think also an API, and has every feature I can think of from basic bridging to complex routing and firewalling.

* there was a very basic web UI that I recall had like 1 or 2 settings, don't remember which exactly.

Re: Motorola effectively bricked its entire line of WiFi routers without explanation

#132

Post by expedition32 »

MrGilbert wrote: post #75
microtonal wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

fridge, washing machine, oven etc, [...] Some didn't know how to handle that I am surprised, all the European brands like Miele, Siemens, Bosch, etc. household appliances work fine without an app. Most that we have now do have an option to connect to WiFi, we never connected them and they all work fine with good old buttons like it's 1985.

There is a dishwasher from Bosch, that misses some features if you are not using the App - cost-cutting measures. Jeff Geerling made a video about that: https://youtu.be/5M_hmwBBPnc

Dishwashers have been a solved problem for years. Maybe I am weird but at this point I prefer them to have LESS options and just clean the dishes lol. But capitalism needs to keep inventing things to sell.

Re: Motorola effectively bricked its entire line of WiFi routers without explanation

#133

Post by brewdad »

expedition32 wrote: post #132
MrGilbert wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a dishwasher from Bosch, that misses some features if you are not using the App - cost-cutting measures. Jeff Geerling made a video about that: https://youtu.be/5M_hmwBBPnc

Dishwashers have been a solved problem for years. Maybe I am weird but at this point I prefer them to have LESS options and just clean the dishes lol. But capitalism needs to keep inventing things to sell.

I have a Bosch dishwasher that predates the app days. The only setting I use on it is the Extra Dry setting, so that actually requires a button press prior to pressing Start. Otherwise, it's pretty much always on Auto mode.

There are at least a dozen combos I have never used.

Re: Motorola effectively bricked its entire line of WiFi routers without explanation

#134

Post by brewdad »

punchmesan wrote: post #113
Natfan wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

because apps can't use their own protocol:// and use QR codes within their native apps? sorry but this comment doesn't seem to make sense

The point he's making is that a QR-based flow that doesn't require downloading and installing an app, and instead uses the already-installed web browser, is even lower friction and can be used by ordinary folks just as well, if not better, thanks to having fewer friction points. Requiring an installed proprietary app to manage a physical device that would otherwise be manageable via a web interface is not a net impro…

I've had more QR codes direct me to my device's app store than I have to a web site lately.

Re: Motorola effectively bricked its entire line of WiFi routers without explanation

#135

Post by sieabahlpark »

stego-tech wrote: post #90
zootboy wrote: post #6

And this is why "mandatory app to configure" is an instant dealbreaker for me for any piece of hardware. Don't buy crap like this. Force companies to be better.

This is quite literally one of my two grievances against Ubiquiti at the moment: its intense requirement for mobile apps for initial setup. Stop mandating apps that will eventually break or cease being supported. Give us an OOBE that can be run independent of some mobile app.

[dead]

Re: Motorola effectively bricked its entire line of WiFi routers without explanation

#136

Post by jeffbee »

zmgsabst wrote: post #44
jeffbee wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cloud command and control is obviously a better user experience, and it is much more secure.

There is no way in which opening external control is more secure than local-only control. What is this FUD?

I would say the list of ways that cloud relays are superior to local interfaces is pretty long. I don't want a router that will ever accept a connection of any kind, under any circumstances. I definitely do not want a router with a web app and authorization/authentication data that can be tampered with by drive-by attacks in my web browser.

Re: Motorola effectively bricked its entire line of WiFi routers without explanation

#137

Post by rolandog »

hedora wrote: post #124
microtonal wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sad. I will check the next time before buying a Bosch product. Though my main point is, that it is not hard to find products that work fine without an app. E.g. I just checked the Bosch site and could find many models that support delayed start, etc. with on-device buttons. In fact, the one that I picked somewhat randomly, the primary feature the app adds is that you can start the dishwasher remotely, which is the on…

It's hard to figure out if a device will work to spec offline. For instance, our home HVAC shipped with blatant firmware bugs that eat blower fans, lock up compressors, etc, but take a few years to do it and access to the hidden service menu to diagnose. Eventually, I broke down and put it online to get the firmware update (after a $500-1000 fix "in warranty"). (It's a Bryant.)

Ah, so the directors and managers that shipped unfinished games in the gaming industry found jobs in the HVAC industry?

Re: Motorola effectively bricked its entire line of WiFi routers without explanation

#138

Post by LargoLasskhyfv »

microtonal wrote: post #74
binaryturtle wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it's a "router" and you can't install a OpenWRT on it, then it's an absolute no-brainer to not to buy it.

For most non-technical people this is irrelevant. Even if the router supported OpenWRT, they wouldn't know how to install it, let alone how to configure it. Luckily, many (but certainly not all) continental West-European ISPs allow you to lease a Fritz!Box or you can buy one in a store and hook it up [1]. Perfect router/modem for consumers (not too complicated), can be configured through a web interface, and the hard…

While the Fritz!Boxen do indeed work for dummies, they are rather noisy, with no option to stop that noise.

Jun 08 00:23:10 zalgor kernel: [UFW BLOCK] IN=enp0s31f6 OUT= MAC=01:02:03:04:05:06:07:08:09:10:11:12:13:14 SRC=192.168.178.1 DST=224.0.0.1 LEN=36 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=1 ID=53621 DF PROTO=2 ... from my German residence right now.

Just the last one, out of gazillions. It's a proprietary protocol for finding their other proprietary stuff in the LAN for home automation, meshing (also proprietary).

It's also almost useless for more complex internal setups.

Rather logspammy if you ask me.

One doesn't have that with other, more technical options. There is also less and less need for the "DSL- (or cable-) modem part, since fibre tends to be plain old ethernet.

Also the ownership of AVM recently changed. I fully excpect ensuing enshittification.

Re: Motorola effectively bricked its entire line of WiFi routers without explanation

#139

Post by JellyBeanThief »

hulitu wrote: post #98
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #58

Is there really no jurisdiction in which this is illegal?

I wish people would read EULAs and TOS's.

Relevant Discworld:

The imp gave a nervous cough.

“Good for you!” it said. “You have wisely purchased the Dis-organizer Mk II, the latest in biothaumaturgic design, with a host of useful features and no resemblance whatsoever to the Mk I, which you may have inadvertently destroyed by stamping on it heavily!” it said, adding, “This device is provided without warranty of any kind as to reliability, accuracy, existence or otherwise or fitness for any particular purpose and Bioalchemic Products specifically does not warrant, guarantee, imply or make any representations as to its merchantability for any particular purpose and furthermore shall have no liability for or responsibility to you or any other person, entity or deity with respect of any loss or damage whatsoever caused by this device or object or by any attempts to destroy it by hammering it against a wall or dropping it into a deep well or any other means whatsoever and moreover asserts that you indicate your acceptance of this agreement or any other agreement that may be substituted at any time by coming within five miles of the product or observing it through large telescopes or by any other means because you are such an easily cowed moron who will happily accept arrogant and unilateral conditions on a piece of highly priced garbage that you would not dream of accepting on a bag of dog biscuits and is used solely at your own risk.”

The imp took a deep breath. “May I introduce to you the rest of my wide range of interesting and amusing sounds, Insert Name Here?”

Re: Motorola effectively bricked its entire line of WiFi routers without explanation

#140

Post by Marsymars »

____tom____ wrote: post #60
lucaspiller wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reolink has always been like that, but at least they aren't a random no-name brand that could disappear at any minute.

Neither is Motorola. And yet ... The company doesn't have to go away, the app just has to have issues. At least with web apps, you aren't depending on the manufacturer investing in nearly continuous upgrades to work in the rapidly changing phone environment A web UI will continue to work for decades. And app will likely not last a year without updates.

> Neither is Motorola. And yet ...

They basically are. They just license their name out now, it’s like buying a Kodak router.

(That’s actually relatively common with various tech-adjacent companies, e.g. off the top of my head both Energizer and Philips license out their brand to third parties for random crap, even though they make actual products themselves too.)

Post reply on HN