We’ve all rolled our eyes and selected “Postpone” when prompted to download and install software updates. They almost always pop up at an inopportune time. Users of a Samsung refrigerator in South Korea got an update pushed out that did far worse than cause a slight annoyance. It didn’t break a smart feature or the ice maker. Instead, it stopped the refrigerators from keeping food cold, which, last time I checked, is the primary function any refrigerator should have.
Oops
In this case, a test build accidentally got pushed to Bespoke AI 4-Door refrigerators. Once the build was pushed out, the display, touch controls, and cooling system all failed…right before the major South Korean holiday of Chuseok. Chuseok is considered the Korean Thanksgiving Day, and, like Thanksgiving in the United States, is centered around big family meals.
Samsung was able to suspend the updates, but damage was already done and spoiled food had to be thrown out. Making matters worse, the fix isn’t as easy as turning it off and back on again. A technician needs to make an in-house visit to fix affected refrigerators.
Too Much Tech
What stands out the most to me is “Why do refrigerators need to be getting updates in the first place?” Your refrigerator should have a compressor and thermostat. Just keep my food cold, and I’m a happy customer.
When our washer broke a few months ago, we replaced it with a Speed Queen that was recommended because it’s not smart. It has dials instead of a touch screen, and there’s no need to connect it to a network to receive updates. It just washes clothes. The fewer additional add-ons, the fewer things there are to break.
Fewer Updates, Fewer Breaks
I’m not anti-smart home and have plenty of devices connected to my network. We have Wyze Cams in the woods and a Blu-Rams cam to watch the dog and cats when we’re out of the house. And I can understand the comfort of adjusting the thermostat from your phone in your warm bed to avoid getting up in the middle of the night. But I prefer “dumb by design” instead. I’m against features being jammed into technology that are more fluff than function. Every additional “feature” is one more point of failure that can prevent an appliance like a refrigerator or washer from doing the basic job it was originally designed to do.
Thanks for reading!
