[HN Gopher] Jeff Geerling won't connect his dishwasher to your s...
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       Jeff Geerling won't connect his dishwasher to your stupid cloud
       [video]
        
       Author : nikodunk
       Score  : 43 points
       Date   : 2025-04-06 18:16 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.youtube.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.youtube.com)
        
       | gnabgib wrote:
       | Discussion (1006 points, 13 days ago, 661 comments)
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43463200
        
       | slavik81 wrote:
       | This was almost my experience when my dishwasher died last year.
       | When looking for reviews and advice, everyone recommended Bosch.
       | However, when I saw it had WiFi, I baulked. After a lot of
       | humming and hawwing, I decided against the Bosch 500 solely
       | because I didn't want a dishwasher with WiFi. The saleslady
       | thought I was crazy.
       | 
       | Instead, I got an equivalently priced KitchenAid KDFM404KPS1 and
       | am quite happy with it, with only minor quibbles. One of the
       | wheels on the bottom rack is attached to a movable row of prongs,
       | and if you push the row too hard in the wrong direction, you can
       | knock the wheel off. You can just pop the wheel back on, but it's
       | an occasional mild annoyance. Aside from that, I have no
       | complaints.
        
         | marcusb wrote:
         | For whatever it's worth, I have a previous-generation Bosch 500
         | (no wifi.) I generally like it a lot, but it has similar minor
         | annoyances (the top tray will come off its guide rail on one
         | side, but that won't be obvious until the tray doesn't slide
         | all the way back in.)
         | 
         | In other words, I don't think Bosch is any better in the "minor
         | quibble" department.
        
       | FloatArtifact wrote:
       | You know, my GE oven won't do the air frying mode without Wi-Fi.
        
         | mdaniel wrote:
         | I would deeply love an FTC complaint for false advertising if
         | the box claims it has air frying but attempting to use it in
         | your cabin in the woods doesn't
         | 
         |  _ed: err, I guess under a different FTC, I guess_
        
       | FloatArtifact wrote:
       | Your appliances are your next smart TV.
        
       | wildrhythms wrote:
       | What scares me is if these appliances will connect to any open
       | network in order to phone home without the user's consent.
        
         | FirmwareBurner wrote:
         | When was the last time you saw any open networks in residential
         | homes? All wifi access points use WPA2 and passwords out of the
         | box in the last 10+ years.
         | 
         | There might be one from some random hotel lobby nearby or
         | neighbor with a Windows Vista PC, but that's the exception
         | nowadays, not the rule.
        
           | fuzzy2 wrote:
           | Just now, because Vodafone is running Wi-Fi hotspots on their
           | customers' routers. (It's opt-out.)
           | 
           | An appliance wouldn't be able to use that, of course.
        
           | rpgwaiter wrote:
           | I know it's not common but I've kept a client-isolated open
           | wifi hotspot on my property for a long time. You never know
           | when someone might be in the neighborhood and need a
           | connection!
           | 
           | So far, a single client has connected in 4 years and I can't
           | remember if that was me or not.
        
             | frizlab wrote:
             | I used to do that but now I have put a password on my guest
             | wifi with a QR code for easy typing (which I still have not
             | printed; I should do that one of these days).
        
           | cptskippy wrote:
           | They won't even have to be open. ISPs like Comcast have been
           | offering the ability to connect to Comcast hotspots that are
           | just running on consumer's routers.
           | 
           | How long before they offer that as a service to 3rd parties
           | like Bosch or LG?
        
         | twiceaday wrote:
         | There is money in them doing this nasty nonsense. The cost of
         | something like a cellular connection will only keep dropping.
         | Therefore, it is just a matter of time before such devices can
         | connect to the internet without any way for the user to prevent
         | them. Nobody is going to Faraday cage their house.
        
         | Wontron wrote:
         | Eventually the cost of a 5G module and data plan will be low
         | enough that these appliances won't need any help to phone home.
        
           | dzhiurgis wrote:
           | And you won't be able to do anything.
           | 
           | That's why regulating some base standards and labelling is
           | essential.
        
           | tylerflick wrote:
           | Then I will finally be able to use the full power of aluminum
           | foil rolls from Costco.
        
           | jsheard wrote:
           | You don't even need 5G when things like Amazon Sidewalk
           | exist: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Sidewalk
           | 
           | Echo devices serve as internet-to-sidewalk bridges by default
           | so it's pretty extensive, Amazon claims >90% of the US
           | population is covered.
        
             | badgersnake wrote:
             | If you have an echo, you're probably not too worried about
             | this.
        
               | jsheard wrote:
               | It doesn't have to be your Echo, a Sidewalk client can
               | get low-bandwidth internet access through _any_ Echo that
               | it can reach over LoRa, which goes pretty far.
        
         | theshrike79 wrote:
         | There was an anecdotal story on Reddit about a Samsung TV that
         | did this.
         | 
         | The poster disabled WiFi on the TV and didn't add it to their
         | own network. The TV kept complaining and re-enabling the
         | wireless interface and eventually latched on to a neighbour's
         | unsecured guest hotspot...
        
         | IvyMike wrote:
         | Just put your dishwasher in airplane mode...
        
       | api wrote:
       | Only regulation can fix this, because for the company it's
       | nothing but upside. They can double-dip by selling data, gather
       | data on their users, etc. There is no downside. There are nowhere
       | near enough knowledgeable people who will balk at this stuff, and
       | even if there are it won't matter if/when _everyone_ does it.
       | 
       | All economic incentives encourage maximum invasion of user
       | privacy. That's almost universally true in my experience.
        
       | paulddraper wrote:
       | "I can't wash the dishes because the Internet is out"
        
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       (page generated 2025-04-06 23:02 UTC)