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Why do my LG smart fridge and my GE washer and dryer all have DNS servers? And is there a way I can control them without the manufacturer's miserable apps? (lemmy.radio)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/homeassistant@lemmy.world
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[–] 73 points 1 year ago (21 children)

Or the old fashion way, don't BUY them.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    i have to wonder if people even research the things they buy or if they just walk into the store with 2000€ and say "give me a washing machine", and never see the machine until the crew comes home to install it.

    It's an expensive piece of machinery that is going to be a core part of your home for like 10 years, check the manual and online reviews to make sure it doesn't have a major flaw you'd be unhappy with, please.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    Yea, I don't understand sales either. I drive into the BIG city and pass a new car lot that has a sign on the sidewalk that says "Ford truck month".

    I want to know WHO is driving down the street and SEES that sign then thinks to themselves "OH, I forgot to buy a truck this month"?

    The sign was there for half a year.

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  • [–] 14 points 1 year ago (13 children)

    The trouble is, you don't know how bad the shit is until after you get it home, unless you do a large amount of research beforehand.

    Frankly, at this point I think the better tactic is to buy the smart appliances and then return them as "not fit for purpose," even though that takes even more effort, because it punishes the manufacturer in a way that merely not buying the thing in the first place does not.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

    Read the device manuals online. It usually tells you what you need to know

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago

    They are doing their absolute best to make that impossible too.

    With Bosch, who is normally a very good appliance manufacturer, you have to register your product with them to even be able to download the stripped down user manual.

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  • [+] -6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    It doesn't take much effort to take an appliance model number and Google it to see the features list. People are just stupid and don't bother to spend even 5 minutes researching their large purchases.

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  • [–] 19 points 1 year ago

    The information on whether it runs its own DNS isn't on the "features list." Or information about what microcontroller it's running and whether it's possible to flash with third-party firmware. Hell, even information on compatibility with Home Assistant itself usually isn't on it! Features lists never include the sorts of information people like us care about in a smart appliance.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago

    @echo @grue Features list rarely include much of the important information. Trying to find the information I sought on recent appliance purchases was difficult at best. PDFs of manuals didnt have the information. Information that used to be readily available, is no longer.

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  • [+] -10 points 1 year ago (6 children)

    is checking the thing's fucking spec sheet intensive research? do you get AI summaries of your own shopping list?

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  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    Show me where the spec sheet for a typical smart appliance tells me if it has a good integration with Home Assistant, whether I can flash it with ESPHome, etc.

    Usually spec sheets only talk about a bunch of proprietary bullshit I don't give a fuck about (or actively don't want).

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Show me where the spec sheet for a typical smart appliance tells me if it has a good integration with Home Assistant, whether I can flash it with ESPHome, etc.

    People who use and develop integrations for Home Assistant.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Are those on the manufacturer's spec sheet? 'Cause that's what the comment I was replying to was talking about.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago*

    No, they often aren't. Any that are, are not going to be permanent, either (see what Chamberlain did with their garage openers).

    My personal take: unless it can function as a "smart" device without a constant connection to the internet, a company-provided HA integration is kinda useless.

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