A smarthub, a pet tracker and a gym equipment

tech

A smarthub, a pet tracker and a gym equipment, what do they have in common? They just saw their “owners” being shafted. Three different reports from Ars Technica.

Futurehome smart hub owners must pay new $117 subscription or lose access :

Smart home device maker Futurehome is forcing its customers’ hands by suddenly requiring a subscription for basic functionality of its products.

So if the reason is because it cost to provide the service and now they need to ask for money then they sold the device at loss, and this probably run afoul of anti-trust laws. Not sure what can apply in this case in Norway.

Acquisition sends thousands of Whistle pet trackers to IoT graveyard:

Whistle pet trackers are headed to the Internet of Things (IoT) graveyard. After releasing its first product in 2013, the Seattle-based Whistle has just been acquired by a competitor that has decided to brick all of Whistle’s smart GPS and activity monitors.

They will replace the device if you have a subscription, but if you don’t then once again, you get shafted. The new owner is based in Austria. I wonder what kind of things the EU can do.

But surely a lot of e-waste is being created.

Echelon kills smart home gym equipment offline capabilities with update:

A firmware update has killed key functionality for Echelon smart home gym equipment that isn’t connected to the Internet.

Nobody saw that coming. It seems to be a rule. If a device is connected to the Internet, chances it will be taken away from you.

Also:

As explained in a Tuesday blog post by Roberto Viola, who develops the “QZ (qdomyos-zwift)” app that connects Echelon machines to third-party fitness platforms, like Peloton, Strava, and Apple HealthKit, the firmware update forces Echelon machines to connect to Echelon’s servers in order to work properly.

You don’t own it.

This a recuring theme where vendors of “smart” devices change the terms of the purchase, running afoul of consumer rights, creating e-waste, etc. I think by now every company should have the trust in them eroded.

Previously: Chamberlain blocks smart garage door openers, Another bricked device, e-waste sneakers