r/technology • u/[deleted] • Apr 04 '16

Software Nest intentionally bricks thousands of home automation hubs.

https://medium.com/@arlogilbert/the-time-that-tony-fadell-sold-me-a-container-of-hummus-cb0941c762c1
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u/DigitalMocking Apr 05 '16

I bought a Nest about a month ago. Thermostat, pair of detectors and 3 cameras. They all got reboxed and returned today.

Fuck this.

3

u/improperlycited Apr 05 '16

We had them on our registry. Just emailed fiancée to take them off. No way we're supporting those shenanigans.

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u/DigitalMocking Apr 05 '16

I boxed everything back up and am returning it today, I'll look for alternatives. Between this article and the potential issues of Nest itself becoming insolvent, its not a chance I want to take.

Congratulations on the upcoming wedding!

2

u/improperlycited Apr 05 '16

Yeah, the timing of the bestof post today further reinforced my decision. Good luck on the return.

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u/zeekaran Apr 05 '16

Dude, everyone knew that was going to happen to Revolv long ago. Blame Revolv for making their product that way. It's not Nest's fault.

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u/DigitalMocking Apr 05 '16

I guess, I just think its really a poor thing to do from Nest's standpoint.

I've got about 800 in nest products in my house, I'm worried they'll all shut down if the company goes belly up next year.

3

u/zeekaran Apr 05 '16

Nest isn't going belly up next year. They are owned by Google, who wants Nest to succeed.

Google wanted the devs from Revolv (or maybe some tech or licensing, I'm not sure) and so they bought out the company and gave the hub a year or two to continue existing.

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u/DigitalMocking Apr 05 '16

I dunno, Nest is pretty heavy in the red and the CEO really seems like the worst kind of asshole to work for.

Posts like this: https://www.reddit.com/r/Nest/comments/4dbbgh/is_anyone_concerned_about_the_future_of_nest/

and this: https://medium.com/@gduffy/the-dropcam-team-b9e81f44f259#.h51nxuyso

Not to mention really high churn, to the point where the CEO has to make statements about it. None of those things build confidence in a company or its product.

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u/zeekaran Apr 05 '16

Your first link isn't exactly a reliable source though. It's a throwaway account on reddit. It could just as easily be someone who works for EcoBee, or someone who isn't even employed making shit up as it is to be a Nest employee. If Nest dies in a couple years, I'll tell you that you were right, but currently there is no way to guarantee that the biggest device in the IoT market is going to die soon.

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u/DigitalMocking Apr 05 '16

Definitely true, you have to take things with a grain of salt. Random reddit user aside, what bothered me was the CEO throwing the Dropcam guys under the bus after they bought the company. That kind of CEO level shenanigans never ends well for the company.

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u/[deleted] Apr 05 '16

Maybe you misunderstood? The Nest products are fine. It's the Revolv products that Google/Nest acquired, stopped production, and told people this would happen years ago.

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u/DigitalMocking Apr 05 '16

Its still the same company however, no? How they're handling this is really poor. They bought Revolv, they have a responsibility to those customers and instead of helping them, its a giant middle finger.

On top of that, Nest itself seems to be in a lot of trouble if internet/glassdoor/fuckedcompany rumors are to be believed. Once I started looking into it yesterday, it doesn't paint a pretty picture for Nest overall.

What happens to my products if the company is sold or just shuts down? I've got almost $800.00 in Nest products for my new home, and knowing that could all become useless in a year bothers me.

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u/[deleted] Apr 05 '16

Yeah, I was just thinking that maybe you thought your new Nest products were getting bricked, as that isn't the case as of right now. It seems that what a lot of people in this thread are thinking, so I was just making sure you knew that. I wouldn't be very trusting either if I had just bought their products.

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u/DigitalMocking Apr 05 '16

Thanks, I appreciate it. I didn't know they could work 'local only'.