RockBottomHomeowner Baffled After Washing Machine Uses 3.6GB of Internet Data a Day
Humanity is lost!
Who buys a washing machine with WiFi?
It can actually be a little hard to find models from major brands without wifi. That said, there is no reason that you have to give it access to your router. I worry that they’ll start saying that a wifi connection is mandatory at some point, though.
I bought a new washing machine a year ago, I really had no troubles to find a “dumb” one
Huh, what brand? Having a smart one didn’t bother me so long as it didn’t require a connection, so maybe I didn’t look THAT hard.
It’s a Bosch WAN282H3 I bought for 440€, it’s a really nice device so far.
Thanks! I’ve been frustrated by my LG and won’t buy one again. I’ve disassembled it twice to clean out mold. I think I’ll try Bosh next time. I love my Bosh dishwasher.
You are going to get mold in any washing machine especially if you leave the door closed.
We always leave the door open. The amount of mold has gotten awful at times and I even live in a pretty arid climate. I never had this issue with top loaders.
From what I’ve whitnessed, front loaders seem more susceptible to mold/ mildew growth than top loaders. How often do you use the tub clean function with washing machine cleaner? I know LG recommends every 30 washes.
I’ve gotten in the habit of wiping away the moisture on the door and gasket with my clothes after a wash cycle is complete.
Any tips for finding a ‘dumb’ tv? One that switches on from power off in seconds, instead of a two minute loading screen?
Saw someone a few years ago recommending shopping for “commercial displays” apparently they are cheaper, but they exist. Try that out in your preferred google machine.
Lol. That might have been me. Else I’ll keep my plasma until something else comes along.
Sceptre still makes dumb tvs, as far as I know. I’ve heard quality is hit or miss. Mine works fine after 7 years, but others have said colors don’t hold and similar.
A_norny_mousseI worry that they’ll start saying that a wifi connection is mandatory at some point, though.
Yep. However, never will it be phrased like that. Not mandatory, some things just won’t work without it 🤷
Mafia talk.
Mmm. It’s going to be a bit of an uphill battle for manufacturers, though - not everyone has wifi signal in their laundry, that’s not a part of the house that you usually hang around in.
You’re right, but I’m sure they’ll find a way. If not next year then in ten years. Always an evaluation of customers lost vs. more money earned.
Some devices cannot be properly configured without a working network connection nowadays.
The washing machines I use are controlled with an app, because they’re in the basement of my building and that’s how we all pay to use them. it’s a shitty app though; the previous one would tell how many washers were available, so you’d know if it was worth lugging your laundry downstairs. The one we have now doesn’t even have reliable “all finished” notifications. But it’s simple to set an ordinary timer on my phone.
Convenience is how they’ll get you. Combined with landlord greed in this case.
Oir dishwasher has wifi, apparently for customising programmes, its like ai, if they can add pointless features to the list marketing hopes they sell more
bizarrolandI recently did a kitchen remodel, and I decided I wanted one of those cabinet microwaves, so I got one, and I found out that it has functions that are locked behind a Wi-Fi connection.
This fucking thing was $1400 brand new for a fucking microwave.
Of course, I didn’t pay that, I bought it second-hand, brand-spanking new, at my local restore, but it was still $600, and it’s fucking ridiculous.
There’s literally nothing that I need from a microwave that needs to be done through my phone or on the internet.
Needless to say, it will never be paired to the internet, but the fact that manufacturers shove this stupid shit into our appliances is fucking stupid.
Nearly everyone now? About every f-ing thing with a cable (and sometimes without) comes with wifi to call home nowadays. There are toothbrushes with app-support!
Finding a reasonably modern appliance without apps and network is getting harder by the day. Sometimes you can leave the wifi unconfigured, but then you often miss a lot of functionality. Sometimes even core functionality.
Like I said in another comment, I had no problem finding a decent machine a year ago. My basement where it’s located doesn’t even have a signal.
I also never heard about tooth brushed with apps, I know it is an extreme example made by you, but I doubt there comes a point where you can’t buy normal tooth brushed anymore.
I know enshittification is hitting hard these times, but there are still enough alternatives if you look out for them. Screens and internet in fridges and stuff like that I only know from Lemmy, never have seen that in the real world. I an based in the EU, but I think (hope) it’s similar in the US.
I also never heard about tooth brushed with apps, I know it is an extreme example made by you
You know what, this is not made up! That toothbrush measures movement and pressure and stuff and tells you on-screen where your cleaning is lacking and how to fix it. Yes, it is crazy, but it exists.
No worries, I believe you in that case! Just saying it’s an extreme example ;)
You’d be surprised how hard it is to buy one without.
This year we had to replace our dishwasher and range. For both we bought basic models and both have wifi for whatever reason.
For the dishwasher (bosch) I am actually missing out on some features which they hid behind the wifi and app… we just got the range (LG) yesterday so I still do not know what the use of the wifi is… but in either case I am not using it
The real question is who sells a washing machine without wifi anymore?
Before: runs on watts
Now: runs on gigabytes
OpenStarsI really hope that people get the reference here or this gonna sound mean… then again this is Lemmy, a nerd crowd if I ever found one.:-P
Eyy, back to the future
xxce2AAbWhy did you give it network access, you dumb cu-. Actually, never mind that: Why didn’t you just buy a washing machine? You know, a machine that washes things.
Bought a new dishwasher for my parents a couple of months ago and every single available model (at the store) had wifi/app connectivity. I could turn it off but there’s no “simple” devices available. Some of them require the app to set the machine up or at least make it harder to do without it.
I mean a washing machine needs to be emptied relatively quick after it finishes washing so I at least see some use to a notification but a dishwasher? Fuck that.
Why would it need to be emptied quick?
I usually set mine to work overnight (when power’s cheaper) and take it out in the morning. Makes air drying outside more convenient as well, since it maximizes solar availability.
Not to mention, my machine is chugging along perfectly fine. 26 years and counting.
ToastedRavioliIf you leave clothes sitting in a washing machine for more than a couple of hours they will start to mildew and smell terrible. Then you end up having to rewash everything
Fair point.
Using laundry disinfectant and the self-cleaning program on the machine does help, however. If it gets so bad that it does get mildewy, I rewash on the quick cycle and do a thorough clean of the machine itself.
People say this but I’ve yet to have that happen. Have had to leave it overnight sometimes, no issue.
In which f*ssil country is power cheaper at night!?
Aren’t spot price electricity contracts available in the US (I assume)?
In the UK it’s known as Economy 7.
The utterly terrible country of France. Y’know, the one with the most checks notes nuclear plants.
Depends on network load, power is cheapish for me right now but much better than peak. During the day around 11am onwards energy is dirt cheap, and sometimes (rarely) dips into the negatives.
Provider offers wholesale rates plus a flat fee. There are some protections in place to shield consumers from massive bills when the rate jumps to $$/KWh
I know in the american south it is, because cooling usage stabilizes. I think the most expensive times of the day is mid afternoon, when people get back from work and the cooling usage rises.
Literally anywhere it doesn’t snow.
Fair point, but OTOH we need people like that as whistleblowers.
I once listened to a 3h podcast about analyzing Amazon’s collected user data (they have to send it to you on request). One could argue that the author shouldn’t use Amazon so much, duh. But it was super important, revealing stuff and made big waves.
pelespiritA tech-savvy San Francisco resident has sparked conversation online after he shared a perplexing discovery about his LG washing machine’s seemingly voracious appetite for data on X (formerly Twitter).
In a post with more than 7 million views, Johnie Lee shared a screenshot of his machine’s data usage, which showed around 3.6GB of daily data usage. For context, 3GB of data is the rough equivalent of streaming high-definition video for an hour on a device.
Results found that smart washing machines are collecting a significant amount of user data, including personal information such as date of birth, location, and even access to photos.
There is no evidence that the data is being sold to third parties, but the prolonged lifespan of washing machines has begun to raise questions about long-term data tracking.
There is no evidence that the data is being sold to third parties
Oh well, that’s all good then. ^/s^
InfrapinkSo close.
What I was referencing in inaccuracy of the router is the attribution of 622 bytes to Apple iMessage.
Lem Jukesstill not everything.
There was gigabytes of data being uploaded from the IP address of the >washer. I have segregated this device to its own network and logging data >usage.
I have yet to hear from LG on how to reset/update the firmware or how to >fix the rogue washing machine.
Misunderstanding aside, thanks for the link!
ddittyYeah I was like this article again? From more than a year ago when it was just a network issue? I agree that appliances should be dumb without network connectivity, but continuing to share this is just misinformation at this point
RedjardNothing mentioned in this thread was wrong. The misidentification is unrelated to the 3.6GiB.
As this post has been incorrectly reported: Just to clarify the data usage is correctly attributed to the IP address used by the LG Washing Machine. I am monitoring the data usage more closely.
What I was referencing in inaccuracy of the router is the attribution of 622 bytes to Apple iMessage. The rogue process is likely using the same port (5223) as iMessage and ASUS router is wrongly attributing it to that.
RomkslrquszAnd in yet another followup post, he clarified that is nit actually the case
As this post has been incorrectly reported: Just to clarify the data usage is correctly attributed to the IP address used by the LG Washing Machine. I am monitoring the data usage more closely. What I was referencing in inaccuracy of the router is the attribution of 622 bytes to Apple iMessage. The rogue process is likely using the same port (5223) as iMessage and ASUS router is wrongly attributing it to that. There was gigabytes of data being uploaded from the IP address of the washer. I have segregated this device to its own network and logging data usage.
All I did was scroll down / read further in the link you shared, btw
What’s to even track that could use that much data? Audio alone seems like it would be less data.
renegadesporkYeah, that seems like a bug. Even if it was streaming every sensor datapoint it had, it probably wouldn’t be that much.
Never seen a washing machine take someone to the cleaners before.
AmbiguousPropsMy washing machine has wifi, but I have never even been slightly interested in enabling it. I set up a monitor to notify when done by monitoring the power consumption of the breaker. Once it drops back down to zero after a couple of minutes, it triggers a notification. I don’t know what else I could ever need.
Some machines are now hiding specific features inside apps. At least that’s the case for some dishwashers.