Thermostats are easy to change out. So this isn’t a huge deal. But I don’t love the idea that tech isn’t built to be self-hosted or maintained in any meaningful way. If you’re not shipping an open source version of your software when you close up, you’re an asshole.
Yeah, self hosting isn’t for most lay people if it’s just a GitHub repo. But GitHub repos quickly become adopted by nerds like me who build tooling around it that eventually let lay people self host software with the click of a button.
Yeah, self hosting isn’t for most lay people if it’s just a GitHub repo…
If ecobee put their backend code on GitHub, I bet it would be self hostable with docker within a week.
It is also nice that these just degrade to regular thermostats. It isn’t like they are completely stopping working. It would be nice if you could swap out the API, or they keep the API running longer (how much work can maintaining it be?). But this sounds like a pretty graceful degradation.
It would be nice to have these speak some common Zigbee protocol or similar. But this isn’t the worst behaviour I have seen from companies.
This is pretty much what happened with HomeAssistant. Tying all the integrations together in one platform.
It’s now at the stage of “copy these files to a pi/buy this box we make”
The overall aim is to integrate most open things, and find ways to work with/around more closed off products.
Are you aware of a decent number of mainstream products that didn’t go full asshole? I agree with you absolutely, but I feel like the majority of connected products pull this same shit.
Yeah the majority do it and I think it’s bad.
16 years? That’s like 8 separate Google project lifetimes.
That’s 591 Mooches haha
They just killed my nest cameras, but the thermostat is still supported. I was planning on replacing it with an ecobee this year just because API access is kind of a pain but this is giving me some second thoughts.
16 years old? That thermostat has sure had a run, must have been designed pretty well to last this long without some electronic failure.
Assuming it’s cloud connected, anyone aware whether it got updates for the newer versions of TLS and root certificates? As an example I’m aware quite a lot of android and similar devices from that era have expired certificates now, and outdated/vulnerable SSL libraries…
Edit: Edit example
For a thermostat that’s built into a house, 16 years doesn’t seem long enough, tbh. A ‘dumb’ thermostat can easily be in use for 30+ years before anyone would even consider replacing it.
But yeah, as you said, if it’s connected to the internet you have to worry about software patches, certificates, etc.
Yeah, the old dumb ones in my house have been there for 50 years.
Yeah the thermostat that was in my home until ~2010 was added in the 20s lol. 16 years isn’t long at all.
16 years old? That thermostat has sure had a run
I have game consoles that are more than twice that old and still play reliably. Apple really skewed our idea of lifespans for electronics, didn’t they? It’s a thermostat, they should be designed to install and forget for the next half-century. It’s a core part of a house, like the plumbing and breaker box.
Didn’t the pace of change influence our perception more than anything else?
Don’t old computers on old operating systems work as well as they did when support was dropped? Much like your example of consoles?
The rate of software gobbling up newly available resources seems to a big reason people feel the need to move on. But I think that is starting to flatten out as the pace of processor improvements slows.
The bloat on the web is a huge burden on older devices too. Especially for your average person.
The bloat on the web and in native software (and in non-native software that is just another copy of Chrome posing as native software) comes from our newly available resources allowing for “lazy” development practices that prioritize cross platform development and other factors over writing efficient native software for each platform.
There are a lot of factors involved in the rate of device turnover. I don’t think any one factor is consistently forcing people to upgrade hardware. It’s a collective situation.
I use my desktop computers, for work, for nearly 10 years past their introduction date before replacing them. (Three more to go for my current machine). For my gaming computer, I swap a major part every 5-6 years.
And to reiterate, I think this rate of change is slowing down. At least for raw processing power and how long it is relevant. The rate of change over the course of personal computing has been massive. And it’s just starting to slow down.
Ah yes. Apple, the company with the longest support windows for secure patches of any phone/tablet manufacturer, are definitely the ones skewing our ideas on the lifespan of electronics.
Why is it so common for Apple users to replace their devices every 1-2 years then? Theres a reason it’s a meme. Regardless of what Apple does with old hardware, they promote this mentality of always needing the next new shiny thing. They’re the pioneers of that.
I’m still on a rooted Samsung from 2017. I know several people who went through 3 iPhones in that time.
I don’t think that’s really an Apple exclusive thing, and I don’t think Apple was the company that conditioned us to it. I think that the cellular carriers conditioned us to that upgrade frequency model based on how they used to subsidize phones.
I just replaced my 6 year old iPhone because I accidentally slammed my car door on it after it slid out of my pocket. I like bent the frame of the thing, if I had been seconds faster or slower the phone would have been fine. I had just replaced the battery on it, and was planning on keeping it for another year or two at least. Most people I know with iPhones upgrade more frequently than that, but not every 1-2 years, maybe like every 3-5. Every person I know who upgrades a phone every two years does so because they trade in and refinance a new phone at their cellular providers store, and those people are probably closer to a 50/50 split between iPhone and Samsung users.
The company is offering affected users a 30 percent discount on a new Ecobee thermostat, valid for up to 15 thermostats.
…
While I very strongly agree with your message, I have to say that this is one of the least fitting usernames I’ve ever seen.
The company should be giving away new ones, but that’s none of my business [Kermit meme]
Why do we allow this? Companies that contribute to operate should be severely penalized if they don’t A)) continue to support legacy products B)) offer FULL replacement if servers/apps shutdown or C)) open source EVERYTHING is they are going to try to kill a device.
As per the Ecobee notice this only impacts the two original models and they still function as regular thermostats still, they are just not providing any of the smart / cloud features anymore.
Newer units support local homekit control, which can also be paired with open systems like Home Assistant for full local control for automation.
AA much hate this might be getting, they’re offering discounts on a new product, and 16 years is a hell of a lifetime. Imagine having to support software written in c99 maybe even c89, with some homebrew UI full of bugs.
It’s a thermostat.
I’m coming from a field where supporting software written in the 70s is the norm.
Your argument is horribly short-sighted and wasteful.
Only 16 years old is extremely recent software that ought to be easily maintained in any sane world.
I understand you may be from a field where supporting software from the 70s is required, however someone is probably paying big bucks for that software as well. Replacing the software you work on might cost millions, replacing a thermostat costs 300 usd.
I would love to live in a world where software support lasts 70 years. But consumers don’t look at software support, so it’s not budgeted in the price, and thus doesn’t happen in the consumer space. Getting 16 years in a consumer device is long.
In the field you’re working, stability, longevity, and robustenes is probably a requirement, not a nice to have.
I’m in my house right now with a perfectly working thermostat that’s 70 years old.
And given the mechanism of action it will continue working in another 70 years.
16 years for hardware used inside of homes is a ridiculously, absurdly, short lifetime. Even for a vehicle that would be pushing the edge of “too short”.
That said 16-year-old software is not that old. If it’s built using sane language choices it should actually be functioning and modern today.
The article says that offline functions will continue to work. So they’ll just become regular thermostats.
That is true, but my smart TV and smart scale both got something like 5 years of updates. Who buys a new scale every 5 years? My parents still have a scale from the 90s that works fine.
Wtf is a smart scale?
and 16 years is a hell of a lifetime
Think about it like this: Even if the average home nowadays had only about 10 such devices (I am quite sure the average home has a lot more), that are needed for kitchen appliances, heating, warm water, window shutters, solar panels, etc to function - that means on average about once a year one of the essential functions in the house stops working unless you replace a part. Not because it’s broken, but because “SW support is discontinued”. Seriously, I want to smash everyones faces for those “early adopters” who think smart homes are great, and of course the companies who put software in every little component.
Honestly this makes me feel that not adopting IOT is still a good idea. Yep I am probably leaving some efficiency on the table, but I get more reliability in exchange.
Spelling
Every one of my IT colleagues over about 35 is an absolute luddite. No IoT, no smart appliances, and a hardened firewall for everything that needs access. Location tracking and biometrics disabled on our phones, no cloud services, etc.
Shocker…it’s not.
I was told I needed to sell ecobee and nest when I worked in HVAC. I refused because of this and sold everyone white Rodgers because they can’t/won’t just shut down the thermostat screwing the end user. I saw this bullshit from day one.
Yeah I have always felt the simple programmable thermostat is all I need. I do like the full week versions, but it seems like the 5-2 models are more readily available if you are just looking in the store.
Edit ~~Oh I just realized I forgot a not in my first post ~~ never mind I can’t read
IOT can work without any cloud service. I have some things automated at home and everything works locally. To control it remotely I use a VPN.
Yeah I know that is a thing I might even be able to figure it out, but I am a bit of Luddite. By choice though, I have an okay understanding of tech but I don’t see the advantage in many cases. I much prefer the reliability and simplicity of legacy tech. Also I am much more likely to be able to fix it myself if needed.
Before sears took a shit, I had to fix my mom’s range. It was built some time in the 90s. The manual has a trouble shooting guide. I was able to call the sears help line and buy just the part I need and get it mailed to me. Everything was designed to be fixed and there was legacy company support.
Even with an IOT LAN. Repair of the hardware and often the firmware is not possible. You just have to buy a whole new expensive smart thing. I don’t like that.
There are options. Some IOT things are even DIY with open specifications and open firmware, so you can build and repair them yourself. And a lot of times it’s the cheapest option, way way way cheaper than the usual IOT stuff, as most electronics used for IOT are dirt cheap.
I haven’t really started on top of the open movement. Other than to bitch about John Deere. I love their tractors, fucking hate their proprietary software and their nefarious data collection.
Well that is not entirely true. The bitching about JD is true, but I have tried to stay informed on right to repair. But I don’t seek out an open solution to things I don’t need. I am all for GNU/GPL and have been using Linux for 20ish year.
I assume a lot of this open IOT is Arduino based everything I have read about Arduino I like, I just can be bothered to learn how to use and program it.
I have learned that I prefer not have to much tech, I have only had a smartphone for 4 years. I got one mostly because it became near impossible to navigate life with out one. Is seem like everyone wants to do things though apps now.
I will never understand the appeal for cloud based home automation.
All the spying aside, 16 years and your thermostat is no longer supported sounds ok until you think about how if you replace everything with cloud based equivalents you are always going to be having to replace things going out of service. I think its funny that you pay more for a device that lasts for lot less (How many thermostats have people seen fail?). I guess the companies are happy?
The appeal is remote and centralized management, easier programming and more features. If that’s not worth it to you to replace your thermostat every 16 years, then nobody is forcing you to get one.
But being able to change the temp from my phone from anywhere is worth it to me, as well as including it with other automations for all my connected devices. The appeal is honestly not hard to see, even if it’s not worth it for you personally.
You know (I hope) that that functionality does not require a cloud based service right? You are describing features for things I was playing around with 20 years ago, what you need is a program or app, not a live service. The appeal of controlling your things from your phone is not new.
No it doesn’t require it but it can make it easier. Especially for people that don’t have a robust and centralized way of controlling their smart devices, or only have 1-2 of them. I think the appeal is still obvious.
The article (which nobody here bothered to open) says they’ll still function as “dumb” thermostats, so actually it’s less of a big deal.
This is why I’m all in for non-“smart crap”, I don’t even have inductive heating stove top because they never have basic knobs.
Long clicking on [3] then + + + + + + to boil your f eggs? No thanks.
That is a horrible argument.
Just get a non shit induction stove
Yeah I guess I’ll consider it one day when they will be cheap enough, but now even the stupid-UI ones are fairly expensive and the knob ones quite expensive (thanks for all induction knob pists btw 😁).
Long clicking on [3] then + + + + + + to boil your f eggs?
A lot of them have a terrible UI. But that’s far from all of them. Enough have sliders. Sometimes one with a pan detection. Sometimes a slider per area.
It’s just on and then hold b for boost now. It automatically detects which slot you have placed your pan on and selects that for you. But I get your point…
Induction is great 👍
I just bought one of these! First press on, then wait a second for the pan to be detected, then select the burner to turn on, then + which sets it to 5/10, then press + 5 more times for full power! The one with knobs was like double price…but hey the pan heats up quick while you are cursing at it.
If it detects the pan, why do you need to tell it which burner to use?
It will light up an indicator for each pan detected, so if 2 pans are on the stove you still need to activate the one you want. Assuming you don’t want both on.
Maybe you have a pot you leave aside to cooldown.
I just bought one of these!
There weren’t any better options?
Did you try e.g. long pressing buttons, pressing -, or anything?
I had the +/- buttons ages ago (cheap alternative when renting). Never again.
Then one small drop of water (what is water doing in the kitchen??) touches the touch-surface and all goes beep beep beep while your pasta water slowly cools down…
I got the Frigidaire professional 36” induction and it does have knobs 😎
they made it online and dont want to bother actually supporting it…
so we replacing thermostats every decade and a half now?
That’s why I have KNX.
A link to the official notice: https://support.ecobee.com/s/articles/Connectivity-and-Support-for-Legacy-Products
(It was the first link in the article, good job The Verge)
Our smart thermostat has never been all that useful to me. The main thing is I don’t have to walk over to it to change the temp. But that convenience isn’t really worth the $150 I paid for it.
