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Motorola effectively bricked its entire line of WiFi routers without explanation

mashable.com

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

#141

Post by warumdarum »

microtonal wrote: post #79
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

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…

But bosch is not a regular company, its a foundation.. what incentives could they hsve to make a fire and forget product?

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

#142

Post by Marsymars »

jeffbee wrote: post #105
swiftcoder wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you walk into a BestBuy and purchase a new one today, it arrives pre-bricked. That seems to meet the definition just fine

That's not what bricked means. Bricked is a one-way trip to permanent non-function. For example, overwriting the firmware with firmware that can't boot and also can't update again. The events in the article are a simple, transient backend malfunction.

It doesn’t seem like anyone knows whether or not it is, in fact, transient.

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

#143

Post by HelloNurse »

dotancohen wrote: post #50
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.

To whom? How many people who have bought these things ever heard of OpenWRT? How many of those are capable of installing it? Have you ever considered upgrading your refrigerator? Washing machine? Kettle? A router is a transparent appliance to most people.

Buying a router, as opposed to connecting whatever your Internet provider gives you, is a very high technical bar.

You need to know why you want to spend money, which implies evaluating features, needs and possibilities, virtually guaranteeing that the user learns that OS or firmware updates and OpenWRT exist and are important.

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

#144

Post by sidewndr46 »

Reason077 wrote: post #10
criticalfault wrote: post #2

there is an explanation: Motorola is extremely bad at software. opinion based on their support system, correspondence and android updates,

These WiFi products and the associated app aren’t actually from Motorola. As mentioned in the article, they are products of Premier LogiTech, LLC, who have licensed the Motorola brand name.

Functionally, what does it matter? Motorola allowed them to put their name on it.

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

#146

Post by Tanoc »

ssl-3 wrote: post #17
userbinator wrote: post #14

I haven't been in the market for a WiFi router for a long time so I thought all the consumer stuff still used a web server for config. Enterprise stuff is either the same or has a serial port. In any case, it doesn't make sense to require a separate app that they also have to spend resources maintaining when their users will already have a browser they can use, so I suspect the only reason is the app collects usage i…

Regular consumers increasingly use apps to do stuff instead of web browsers. They seem to prefer it this way. And at least for connected devices at home, a dedicated app can have lower friction for initial setup for the "I'm not a computer person" crowd than other alternatives do. (I know, I know. It's terrible. It even feels something like betrayal sometimes. But that's how it be, anyway -- and you and I are powerle…

They don't "prefer" anything. They just take what's given to them because they don't know that there are other methods. Companies purposely keep them uninformed to reduce hassle when dealing with customers and to make them more likely to follow the route that the company prefers.

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

#147

Post by JackGreyhat »

saratogacx wrote: post #119
bombcar wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If these apps were entirely local nobody'd care. The insistence they go through a server is why they suck

So many things rely on date bound certificates now that local doesn't assure continued operation, see the recent Mac Office 2019 stories. I feel like there are so many of these ticking time bombs that expired cert based software failures are going to become a much more common issue.

Valid concern, yet a potentially solved problem. For code signing at least. Chexk out Time Stamping.

More info: https://sslinsights.com/code-signing-time-stamping/

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

#148

Post by [deleted] »

yonatan8070 wrote: post #42
WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #31

the Motorola MotoSync+ app is required to set up all new compatible WiFi routers released by Motorola AFAIK, more Motorola routers are installed by cable ISPs than anywhere else. Many or most have WiFi. I can't imagine cable installers are futzing with a phone app.

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…

[deleted]

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

#149

Post by zrm »

ssl-3 wrote: post #120
zrm wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You made the claim that companies require apps because it has lower friction for ordinary users. That claim is in error. The implication that there is nothing anyone can do to improve the existing state of affairs is also incorrect.

> You made the claim that companies require apps because it has lower friction for ordinary users. I did not. > That claim is in error. My motivation to further discuss a hallucination is insignificant.

> I did not.

This is the exact quote:

> And at least for connected devices at home, a dedicated app can have lower friction for initial setup for the "I'm not a computer person" crowd than other alternatives do.

What good does it do you to dispute that you implied it as a justification for the status quo when your error is contained in the part you're not disputing?

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

#150

Post by ssl-3 »

zrm wrote: post #149
ssl-3 wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You made the claim that companies require apps because it has lower friction for ordinary users. I did not. > That claim is in error. My motivation to further discuss a hallucination is insignificant.

> I did not. This is the exact quote: > And at least for connected devices at home, a dedicated app can have lower friction for initial setup for the "I'm not a computer person" crowd than other alternatives do. What good does it do you to dispute that you implied it as a justification for the status quo when your error is contained in the part you're not disputing?

I meant precisely what I wrote, and not a single word more nor less.

> implied

Any implied meanings are your own creations, not mine.

I assure you that if I had meant something different than what I wrote, then I would have written something different instead.

I'm not shy.

Be well.

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