Post #1166317

2026-04-07 22:14 UTC

My fridge stopped working correctly, only the freezer part would actually cool. I called the local service company. Tech came when I wasn’t home, told my partner “compressor’s broken, though shit” , took 60€ and left. My combination washer dryer has stopped drying. From what I gather it seems like a compressor gas leak, guess what? Too expensive to fix, so I would have to throw away several tens of kilos of machine just because of a fart’s worth of gas. I have a Neato robot vacuum which I’ve kept clean and repaired for years, only for fucking Vorwerk, may they go bankrupt tomorrow, to shut down its servers, so now it’s dumb as a rock and next to useless. It’s not your mother’s fault for assuming a malfunctioning appliance must be replaced.

Replies (3)

@dan@upvote.au 2026-04-07 22:50

to shut down its servers, so now it’s dumb as a rock and next to useless. I hate this so much. There’s no reason a robot vacuum should require internet access to function. Companies only do it for tighter control of their products, to track your usage, to have the ability to paywall features, and to have the ability to disable it so you have to buy a new one.

Open ##1166316
@Pman@lemmy.org 2026-04-07 22:33

The enshittification of everything will eventually lead to some small companies making good quality long lasting appliances I hope, they will make a good name for themselves and have easily repairable parts, but since we live in the real world whirlpool or GE will buy them keep the branding and make it more “intelligent” and easily breakable by adding computer parts that aren’t needed and plastic parts that will fail and not be able to be repaired or replaced.

Open ##1205329
@caseyweederman@lemmy.ca 2026-04-08 00:59

That's very much the plot to Cory Doctorow's short story Unauthorized Bread. The toaster company turned off the servers and some people got real tech savvy real quick.

Open ##1206769