IoT gadget maker AcuRite shares reasoning for killing customers’ favorite app
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lol. This is why I use Davis stuff. It costs a lot, never gets feature updates, and is a static platform.
It just works whether it’s 122f or -19f, which is exactly what you want from a PWS. Never fails to connect.
WeatherLink is feature poor but it is reliable.
It just works whether it’s 122f or -19f, which is exactly what you want from a PWS. Never fails to connect.
WeatherLink is feature poor but it is reliable.
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Admittedly I just scanned the article but it sure sounds like pure enshittification to me.
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I only have a little bit of smart home tech, I’m not all in. But I dabble.
Thermostat, doorbell camera, door sensors, garage door control, stuff like that.
None of it talks to any server but mine. It’s the only rational way to function.
I’m happy to buy your hardware if you support standards so I can stick it into Home Assistant or HomeKit, but I’m not paying you rent or sharing my data with you.
Thermostat, doorbell camera, door sensors, garage door control, stuff like that.
None of it talks to any server but mine. It’s the only rational way to function.
I’m happy to buy your hardware if you support standards so I can stick it into Home Assistant or HomeKit, but I’m not paying you rent or sharing my data with you.
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I don't understand these "we can't manage our technical debt so it's your problem" explanations presented as though the customers should understand or care.
Your ability to execute is a you problem; and while, in principle, it's probably better to be breaking things because you are too lazy to upgrade them rather than because you have no taste and genuinely think you are improving the situation, it doesn't really matter from the customer perspective.
Your ability to execute is a you problem; and while, in principle, it's probably better to be breaking things because you are too lazy to upgrade them rather than because you have no taste and genuinely think you are improving the situation, it doesn't really matter from the customer perspective.
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Chamberlain (garage doors) still takes the cake for the largest shaft to IoT users. I’m still salty about losing my home bridge connection to HomeKit getting whacked.
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My Acurite 5-1 weather station, a dedicated rain meter, and fridge thermometers all work well using a $30 radio dongle and https://github.com/merbanan/rtl_433. You can link that up to any third party system you want, with home assistant being pretty common. Hopefully they keep with open protocols on the end devices in the future.
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Apparently this new stuff is built on the abysmal cancer that is the Tuya cloud, the lowest common denominator Chinese IOT vendor specializing in hardware lock in and recurring revenues .
Sounds like definitely the business model and security posture I want for my connected devices …
Screw this noise.. get home assistant and never look back
Sounds like definitely the business model and security posture I want for my connected devices …
Screw this noise.. get home assistant and never look back
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While it might not be trendy, I don't IoT much of anything.
The printer and NAS are about it. I'm not sure they even count.
I DO have a remote control center. Several of them, actually. But they're radio devices, not network, and you need the controller (placed in permanently easy to get to places) to turn things on. Typically a fan, or lights in hard to reach places.
WAY back when IoT started, I looked, and didn't like. I always thought it had too many points of failure to do something relatively simple for far more money than it took doing it the old fashioned way. Which was walking up to a switch and turning it on.
I could understand a remote control to turn on something in a hard to reach place, but connecting that to a network... Why overcomplicate it?
"Convenience"?
In doing some of that math, the set-up and maintenance and cost, it's faster and cheaper to just walk up to the switch and flick it. Yeah, no futuristic Star Trek Gee Wizardly stuff going on, but you eat a bit healthier when you're actually doing the physical parts of turning on something and spending your money of healthier food than you are on toys that are obsoleted by the companies making them whenever they decide to improve their profit margins in the unholy name of "growth".
YMMV, but I don't consider that at all convenient.
I'm far from being a Luddite, but I think this picture explains it the best:
The printer and NAS are about it. I'm not sure they even count.
I DO have a remote control center. Several of them, actually. But they're radio devices, not network, and you need the controller (placed in permanently easy to get to places) to turn things on. Typically a fan, or lights in hard to reach places.
WAY back when IoT started, I looked, and didn't like. I always thought it had too many points of failure to do something relatively simple for far more money than it took doing it the old fashioned way. Which was walking up to a switch and turning it on.
I could understand a remote control to turn on something in a hard to reach place, but connecting that to a network... Why overcomplicate it?
"Convenience"?
In doing some of that math, the set-up and maintenance and cost, it's faster and cheaper to just walk up to the switch and flick it. Yeah, no futuristic Star Trek Gee Wizardly stuff going on, but you eat a bit healthier when you're actually doing the physical parts of turning on something and spending your money of healthier food than you are on toys that are obsoleted by the companies making them whenever they decide to improve their profit margins in the unholy name of "growth".
YMMV, but I don't consider that at all convenient.
I'm far from being a Luddite, but I think this picture explains it the best:
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Scone Muncher
Ars Centurion
"Here's a new app with fewer features than the old one!
…
Why are you booing?"
Please shed a tear for this poor executive, forced to explain a decision he surely had no hand in.
…
Why are you booing?"
Please shed a tear for this poor executive, forced to explain a decision he surely had no hand in.
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I guess you're also a fan of people not owning deaktops/laptops or consoles anymore and advocate for internet connected thin clients.
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It is a lot of why the whole tech industry is so hated by everyone else. All the constant blame shifting and gas lighting is just incredible.
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It certainly isn't easy (and isn't generally less expensive), but if you don't want to be the product (or pwned), Aurich is right.
Maybe AI can help less technical people, we'll see where it goes
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I am going to have to don my flame retardant suit but here goes.
When I look for "smart devices" for my home I tend to favor devices that do not control from another app or do not need anything beyond a bluetooth connection to interoperate with other devices. But that severely limits what you can use.
the problem is, unless you want to cater to a small group of individuals who know how to set up their networks properly, you are going to need a cloud based system to support an app talking to a networked device. This is true even if the 2 are on the same network. And this is especially true if you want the app to securely work from anywhere on the internet even when not on the same network as the device. And its even more true if you want customers to be able to move between mobile devices or access historical data from multiple mobile devices easily and seamlessly.
And of course you will have to keep all these apps and possibly the device itself updated so that they continue to function in the presence of changes to their OSes and the networks around them. And then you may need to introduce new apps for any new OSes or OS versions that come around in the future.
This puts a company on 3 or more never ending treadmills to support the devices they sell. And its hard to predict up front what the costs of those treadmills will be.
I have personally been on these treadmills both on the app side and the cloud side (public and on-prem to boot).
And so, I see this all the time. A company has good intentions up front, or wants to get market share and then kicks the can into the future for figuring out how to sustain the business.
Once the market gets saturated and the sales numbers go down the party is over. The developers will leave when the interesting feature work has been done but you still need staff to deal with the accruing tech debt that affects all modern networked technological devices.
Granted the need to keep revenues growing will likely kick in before the tech debt gets really bad and super expensive, but even if a company were to resist trying to keep the growth going eventually there will come a time where they need more revenue just to keep the lights on.
So, its either charge a subscription fee or figure out how to sell ads on your stuff.
To me the subscriptions are better, because as soon as you monetize a platform with ads you now have 2 classes of customers you have to cater to and their interests do not align.
When I look for "smart devices" for my home I tend to favor devices that do not control from another app or do not need anything beyond a bluetooth connection to interoperate with other devices. But that severely limits what you can use.
the problem is, unless you want to cater to a small group of individuals who know how to set up their networks properly, you are going to need a cloud based system to support an app talking to a networked device. This is true even if the 2 are on the same network. And this is especially true if you want the app to securely work from anywhere on the internet even when not on the same network as the device. And its even more true if you want customers to be able to move between mobile devices or access historical data from multiple mobile devices easily and seamlessly.
And of course you will have to keep all these apps and possibly the device itself updated so that they continue to function in the presence of changes to their OSes and the networks around them. And then you may need to introduce new apps for any new OSes or OS versions that come around in the future.
This puts a company on 3 or more never ending treadmills to support the devices they sell. And its hard to predict up front what the costs of those treadmills will be.
I have personally been on these treadmills both on the app side and the cloud side (public and on-prem to boot).
And so, I see this all the time. A company has good intentions up front, or wants to get market share and then kicks the can into the future for figuring out how to sustain the business.
Once the market gets saturated and the sales numbers go down the party is over. The developers will leave when the interesting feature work has been done but you still need staff to deal with the accruing tech debt that affects all modern networked technological devices.
Granted the need to keep revenues growing will likely kick in before the tech debt gets really bad and super expensive, but even if a company were to resist trying to keep the growth going eventually there will come a time where they need more revenue just to keep the lights on.
So, its either charge a subscription fee or figure out how to sell ads on your stuff.
To me the subscriptions are better, because as soon as you monetize a platform with ads you now have 2 classes of customers you have to cater to and their interests do not align.
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Maybe set up HomeAssistant or whatever on a cheaper mini-PC, and make sure you have remote access? Then it can sit in some corner, and you dust it out whenever you visit.
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After the last article, I decided to move on from my Acurite Iris (5in1). It's still working, but on its last legs. I won't be getting another Acurite. ECOWITT Wittboy seems like a good system so that's probably the direction I'll go.
I don't even use My Acurite, but I'm not going to support what Acurite is doing. If you have an Acurite 5in1, there's a good chance you can use RTL433 (I use the Home Assistant addon) to replace My Acurite and keep everything local. No internet connection need and no subscriptions.
I don't even use My Acurite, but I'm not going to support what Acurite is doing. If you have an Acurite 5in1, there's a good chance you can use RTL433 (I use the Home Assistant addon) to replace My Acurite and keep everything local. No internet connection need and no subscriptions.
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Clearly they didn't learn the lesson that Sonos so clearly provided to the industry, and furthermore didn't understand that Sonos's poor messaging is what made a bad situation worse.
Look, I've been in IT for 40 years and understand technology changes, and sometimes you have to do a rewrite or perform major work on a platform when the underlying dependencies change. But -- isn't that what AI is supposed to be good at? Helping modernize and rewrite code? There are a half-dozen articles on Ars about that every month.
Or are they just too lazy and outsourced everything to the cheapest one-time contractor?
Look, I've been in IT for 40 years and understand technology changes, and sometimes you have to do a rewrite or perform major work on a platform when the underlying dependencies change. But -- isn't that what AI is supposed to be good at? Helping modernize and rewrite code? There are a half-dozen articles on Ars about that every month.
Or are they just too lazy and outsourced everything to the cheapest one-time contractor?
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Home assistant for the win, here.
On the one hand, it's incredibly complex, unnecessarily difficult, and frustratingly hard, on the other, it's completely under my control. So yeah, unless we can get some form of data portability standards going into effect here, there's simple and someone else's, or there's complex and mine.
On the one hand, it's incredibly complex, unnecessarily difficult, and frustratingly hard, on the other, it's completely under my control. So yeah, unless we can get some form of data portability standards going into effect here, there's simple and someone else's, or there's complex and mine.
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Never buy a device which can't be fully integrated into a 100% locally administered setup, or you're gonna have a bad time.
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I use the RatGDO opener hardware and software now. Works well-ish, no ads.
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I have a non-acurite weather station and after reading these articles, I am not a fan of how they treat their customers. Lol asking for patience and money as they take away existing functionality - no thanks. Looks like i'll remain a non acurite customer for the foreseeable future
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To be completely fair, we don't actually know that AcuRite is the reason the old platform is obsolete. For all we know AcuRite could have contracted out the old platform, or some important subsystem of it, and the developer might not be around anymore. Or they might have just lost the source code (Sega did this with the Mega Drive Sonic the Hedgehog games, and given how important that franchise is to Sega, you'd have thought they'd look after the source!).
Now, I do think it is more likely that AcuRite just doesn't want to maintain their old platform because it doesn't support some new revenue stream for them, but I can certainly think of reasons where AcuRite might be obliged to discontinue the old platform.
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If “have a home server, that can be as basic as an Apple TV, or an old computer, or a Raspberry Pi, or numerous off the shelf solutions” is too much then I suggest avoiding smart home stuff.
The truth is even for people who know wtf they’re doing it’s often messy and a pain in the ass. If that kind of lift is too much just skip it.
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Do you want to explain to her why the thing you got her is suddenly no longer working like it used to and you can’t fix it?
Tha answer to that is the answer to your question.
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XSportSeeker
Ars Scholae Palatinae
"We want more money from you" 101 PR speech. Congrats, you hit all marks!
I like how he boasts about his company doing the bare minimum for costumers who paid a ton for their products, how he justifies not being able to maintain a service running all the while they put a ton of money into building an entire new system that not only offers less, but requires recurring payment and likely collects far more data than most costumers would want to give, and how he keeps trying to hit all the tech hype buzzwords of the day on every answer - with perhaps a notable exception of AI.
But hey, it's not like people didn't pay for that. I just wonder how many more cases like this one will need to show up until people finally get what they are really trading for the oh so marvelous convenience that IoT, cloud connected crap, mobile connected crap and whatnot supposedly brings...
I like how he boasts about his company doing the bare minimum for costumers who paid a ton for their products, how he justifies not being able to maintain a service running all the while they put a ton of money into building an entire new system that not only offers less, but requires recurring payment and likely collects far more data than most costumers would want to give, and how he keeps trying to hit all the tech hype buzzwords of the day on every answer - with perhaps a notable exception of AI.
But hey, it's not like people didn't pay for that. I just wonder how many more cases like this one will need to show up until people finally get what they are really trading for the oh so marvelous convenience that IoT, cloud connected crap, mobile connected crap and whatnot supposedly brings...
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All of my IoT gear talks to either HomeAssistant or via a local HomeKit Bridge. If it needs cloud connectivity, it's not going on my network.
However, this whole botched update really feels familiar. So many companies (including ones I've worked for) go through the following process:
However, this whole botched update really feels familiar. So many companies (including ones I've worked for) go through the following process:
- Our old system has some serious limitations and technical debt, so we'll need to devote a few months of development effort to fixing those problems.
- These changes will require a major overhaul of a critical component. We may as well replace it wholesale with a shiny new one. That will take a little longer, and cost more, but it's an investment in the future.
- The new component we're looking at has loads of fancy features our old design won't use. That's a wasted opportunity. Why don't we do a total refresh of the application and its UI while we're at it?
- We hired some consultants to re-design the application, but the design can't really be implemented with our current frameworks. We're going to have to rebuild everything from the ground up.
- We're under pressure to deliver this redesign quickly, because the issues that kicked off this whole process aren't going away. It doesn't matter if the new design isn't feature-complete, we need to get it out the door.
- Nobody likes the refreshed application, but the issues with the old one keep mounting up, and we're devoting significant effort to just keep it running. We need to get people off the old, creaking version.
- Damn, the users are furious. If only we'd just spent a few months fixing the actual problems, rather than embarking on this re-design debacle. But it's too late now.
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Dear AcuRite--I don't give a flying F bout smart home integration, or pairing, or any of it. I merely want my PWS to log data--and any app, or web portal, to display that data that is collected.
Sincerely, PWS users everywhere
Sincerely, PWS users everywhere
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YetAnotherAnonymousAppellation
Ars Praefectus
Short term solution -- someone exports the existing APK and uploads it to every "free software" site on the planet. At a minimum it will take AcuRite ages to track down all the sites and get the software deleted. Everyone who wants it meanwhile can download and "sideload" it until updated Android versions refuse to run it (another of my pet peeves.)
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This. Also anything “smart” in my home must be able to connect via homeassistant. I have lots of sensors, blinds, thermostat, lights, garage door opener with ratgdo, all either works with Bluetooth or zigbee. We just had a 3 day internet outage, everything ran without issue and could still manipulate switches, thermostat without internet. Only issue was without internet if we were outside the house, we couldn’t access homeassistant but that could be remedied with my travel router hotspot with cellular backup if push comes to shove.
If it wasn't for homeassistant, I’d still be using non-smart devices. I do stay away from “hacky” homeassistant devices and stick to brands that have proven to have real homeassistant support.
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The app almost certainly talks to cloud services to get updates from the device, rather than directly connecting to the device over a local connection (most cloud-connected IoT devices work this way).
Once the old app is discontinued, those cloud services will be turned off, so having the app on your device won't be particularly useful.
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There is an ESPHome device and code that taps into their garage door opener and exposes it locally. Works great with HASS and even has more feature that the dumb Chamberlain app didn't have
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If you don't control the whole stack, you don't own the product. You are always just one firmware "update" away from being locked out of your property.
How long do you want your tech to work? I have z-wave stuff that is 15 years old and barring power outages will last many more years.
That makes a server cost effective at preserving your investment. You can buy a pi and set things up by hand or a pre-configured Homeseer Hometroller ($160), Hubitat d8 ($156) or HomeAssistant Green ($199). Or even an Appletv for $130.
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