Modern Smart Fridges: Can You Fix One at Home?

[@snapchipper]

The question is no longer “is your fridge running”, it’s “what is your fridge running”

[@DVincentW]

"well you better go catch THEM!"

[@tenslider6722]

ios or android

[@jardeshna]

Better be running Doom or Crysis fr

[@MrHack4never]

Eventually, the question will be "why is your fridge running away?"

[@jardeshna]

@@MrHack4never "You probably wanna go catch it"

[@YOEL_44]

So weird to see smart fridges being the common ones. I work installing home appliances and I can guarantee that in Europe this is not the norm at all, we just have fridges.

[@iamdmc]

europe is poor that's why

[@bottomtext5872]

@@iamdmc Wow. That's so hilariously wrong.

[@darthrex354]

I live in a very upscale community in the US and I don't think I've ever seen a smart fridge in a home. Generally speaking in a multimillion dollar apartment or home you see an expensive brand like Viking. Maybe with an icemaker and a waterspout. actually I don't think I know anybody with a smart appliance.

[@Progan666]

@@iamdmc america would be poor too without all those billionaires and the money they hold hostage. where does that leave you?

[@ChristOurKing]

I'm an appliance repair technician and I can tell you that smart fridges are not the common ones in the US either

[@Minusroot8]

I just need my fridge to keep stuff cold. How smart does it need to be??

[@onirem4973]

Smart enough to let you know whats inside before you open it so that it doesnt lose the cold (i want one)

[@metallurgico]

@@onirem4973 you shall already know what's inside because it belongs to you

[@ppSnow]

@@metallurgico sure, in my case I don't need to open to see nothing

[@MrGamelover23]

I can see some smart features being used for energy saving. That would be nifty.

[@Progan666]

@@onirem4973 i suppose you could take a picture of your fridge whenever you open it and take advantage of that feature for free?

[@PeterdaPanda]

A regular non-smart refrigerator is fine for most people, especially when they’re way easier to get fixed and does what they’re supposed to do which is keeping your food cold.

[@ChristOurKing]

It depends on how "smart" is defined. Nearly all refrigerators use control boards and do "smart stuff" (like adaptive defrost, or variable speed compressors). Very very few refrigerators are electromechanical nowadays

[@ChristOurKing]

I'm an appliance repair technician. By today's standards, refrigerators don't even last 6 years without needing repairs. They can definitely last 15 years, but they'll need repairs. Those LG's are the worst. They all need a new compressor and some within a year or two. Can you believe they've been having the SAME issue for over 10 years now and even the newly designed compressors are having the SAME issue?! These companies truly don't care. Even the ones we used to recommend are getting substantially worse.

[@silenux7419]

What do you think about whirlpools? Still a great brand?

[@ChristOurKing]

@@silenux7419 Whirlpool is one of those brands we used to recommend but are now bad quality, or average at best. Even their "simple" side-by-side refrigerators are now designed with parts that have always been known to be less reliable.

[@silenux7419]

@@ChristOurKing uff. So whats the good stuff that is still reasonably priced?

[@ChristOurKing]

@@silenux7419 There's no good general answer to that question tbh. I think it depends on the type of appliance someone is looking for and then the model. For example, GE makes some French door refrigerators that have less issues than most other brands. However, when it comes to washers, dishwashers, etc, GE is one of the worst brands. Also, LG makes great laundry appliances, but their dishwashers and refrigerators are not reliable at all.

[@silenux7419]

@@ChristOurKing Thanks for the insight.

[@yogibear2k220]

I am so glad I have a fridge that does nothing but refrigerate stuff. £60 for 2! 7th hand, but work well. Not even a freezer compartment to go wrong.

[@riaz8783]

Ah smart fridges. Where manufacturers add $50 worth of components and charge you $500 for it.

[@tylerwatt12]

I have an LG refrigerator like this. It's diagnostic feature is pretty cool. I remember some old appliances from the 90s did this too. But you would put it up to a landline phone.

[@SeagullAustralis]

I prefer fridges to not have an ice maker. They just take up a lot of room. If I want ice, I’ll just pull some out of the ice tray.

[@jr01theweeb]

What's the point of a smart fridge? What on a fridge would benefit on controlling remotely? Any additional functions like Apps are unnecessary and would be easier to do with a phone.

[@jr01theweeb]

Smart Fridges just looks more like a vulnerability for home networks.

[@tylerwatt12]

The ones without screens at least, you can remotely activate the turbo ice feature, if for example you are going to have a party, but you're away from home and can't physically press the button. I'm sure it also has diagnostics and temperature control too.

[@markjohnson7887]

@@tylerwatt12 Or.. you can plan ahead and make extra ice and put it in a largish container in the freezer. You know, like people did for decades before this crap was added to fridges.

[@dariocte]

I have a 5-year-old Daewoo refrigerator of this size and it stopped working and no one knows how to fix it. And since they cannot take it to the workshop because of its size, I have abandoned it and there is no solution

[@lyimoej7198]

What about the drip tray? Is it removable?

[@Default78334]

You might want to cover the evap fan as well. If your fridge starts making weird grinding noises and starts freezing things in the back, that's probably what's wrong, and it's a fairly inexpensive, though possibly tedious repair depending on the model.

[@平和-v1z]

Very well-made! Always interesting to watch, keep it up!

[@MaxHarden]

A box with coils and a compressor shouldn't be hard anyway

[@dwaim]

I have this fridge. Any idea which one of these areas has the Wi-Fi module ¿ -Thanks

[@EpicATrain]

She's really pretty

[@a4andrei]

I hope people realize that you don't need an app for everything... This fridge might become obsolete once the software does.

[@MrHack4never]

>becoming a denial of service zombie I don't know if that's a joke on the (often terrible) security of smart appliances, or about companies killing servers to sell new products, but that's a great roast

[@lgrilec4675]

What fridge is this? It looks interesting to thinker with

[@brainiac9579]

15 years? Without repair(s) or with? My experience, with GE and Whirlpool from around 10 years ago is that you need to recap the mainboard if you want to keep it more than 5-8 years. I've done at least 20 mainboard repairs, since they've been discontinued (the mainboard, that is).

[@Artista_Frustrado]

yeah.. i still don't see the appeal of IoT home appliances, Security maybe, Light Sensors is a stretch, but my fridge only needs to make food cold, it doesn't need a proprietary app

[@rayoflight62]

My Hisense is no longer pumping water in the ice box after a home move. The fridge keeps making cold water, but no ice. There is a little plastic tubing in the left door, which should drop water in the ice maker at timed intervals, but it does not...

[@Darthcat1204]

Y’all’s fridges have motherboards??? 💀💀💀

[@kaeptnkrunch9212]

Interesting, I never see a 'Smart' Fridge here in Germany. Maybe because we don't need this Door-by-Door Fridges

[@volvo245glt]

And I thought my new fridge was advanced and over engineered with its electronic thermostat, temperature display and even a fan inside to circulate the air.

[@Mladjasmilic]

Hi, a bit off topic. I have 6 years old TV that was very cheap, even when new. Motherboard is for replacing. Producer here in Serbia has a spare, it costs 30$, but they do not want to sell me one. Service fee is 35$, but new TV was 120$. I am good DIY. How can I convince them to sell me just motherboard?

[@denesk2794]

Appliance repair today: It is the motherboard. (ALWAYS) motherboard: $400 labour: $100 new appliance: $550 Realistically, I just would like appliances that are well documented and running on ESP32, or a Raspberry..... then just use common, documented sensors on a common, shared circuit board... that plug is for : temp sensors that plug is for: water flow (type Xyz) that plug is for: relay 1 So instead of some cryptic blinking cr@p code, you could actually connect to it. And it would tell you: sensor 1 failed, sensor 1 is a thermistor of XYZ. Check connection and/or replace sensor with commonly available item. Nop ... +1 proprietary motherboard based solution for which the board will cost more than the actual appliance.

[@denesk2794]

BTW that fridge in the video WILL FAIL on tropical climate within 2 years. No seals around circuit boards, so unless you live in a climate controlled, sealed apartment, that thing is done very fast. Common appliance issues: bugs, ants moving next to nice warm cozy circuits. Humidity growing mold around circuits. Then finally ands/mold/humidity frying those circuits. Even membrane keys would just ... die here.

[@denesk2794]

And that "modem moment". An esp32 is $10. Buy industrial quantities, and $2. Comes with WIFI, and doesn't need an app, just a web browser over wifi. WHO makes these decisions / designs in the 21st century? I don't think anyone with true repair in mind... just buy that $500 board. And in 5 years you probably won't be able to source it. Yes I am darn pessimistic. I probably filled half a landfill with dead dishwashers and washing machines, and even a full industrial gas stove that could not be repaired. Yes. It had a "motherboard" that controlled valves and sparker :( and in 3 months at the dealership they couldn't figure it out so just refunded it.

[@triadwarfare]

There are plenty of non-smart fridges... they're usually single or top and bottom doors. It's also inverters.

[@kice]

I hate that "things" are not becoming smart, just becoming slaves of the corporate overlord. If I want to buy something that only have "smart" features, then I will make sure I can hack it using either using my own software or hardware. People need to keep in mind that, "smart" means a finite state machine, which does not work outside the state they designed for.

[@jasond2333]

Me and my dad fixed our ol d fridge and it was relatively easy

[@sagilahav5196]

Yess!!! Right 2 Repair everything!!!!!!!!

[@iamdmc]

f&&k smart fridges be a cool box that can be repaired with off the shelf parts

[@ropro9817]

Lol, IoT appliances... the solution to a problem that doesn't exist. 😆 Or rather, is it a problem for which a future solution doesn't exist? (bricked hardware) 🤣

[@joshuaupham5993]

They only last 3 to five years, good luck with parts after that.

[@309electronics5]

Almost every part has some sort of chip, even the sensors this is soo "overengineerd" for what it does plus why does a fridge have to be smart? Iot and stuff is great but realy? A fridge?

[@markjohnson7887]

A magnetic sensor with a circuit board for the light? ROFL The old mechanical switch worked perfectly find and NEVER failed..

[@finnjacobs]

Somehow I read the text in the thumbnail as "Easy to smoke a smartfridge?" And I thought they were making brisket, so I am actually disappointed to see no brisket

[@sahjadshekh]

And than missing some screws

[@motogpwin]

LG..best avoided..though I am very much tempted by their OLED TV lineup, I won't go anywhere near this brand based on my past experiences.

[@OriginalFinnish22]

It's all wants not needs.

[@CMBurns1000]

It’s funny how she look like a 80s Paleontologist 😅

[@talonrichardson160]

If you also don't want a smart TV, buy a monitor instead. They come in many resolutions, refresh rates and sizes. Why buy a smart TV if you already have something like an Xbox or computer. I wouldn't want one of these TVs because they wouldn't last as long. Remote bricking via a software update anyone?

[@umutkurtoglu9952]

Is your aim to shoot an informational video or to advertise product?

[@MathGeekQ]

woo hooo!!!

[@es3731]

First

[@paft]

Goober

[@s13shaka]

It’s good they showed the woman what to do before shooting the video.

[@NihonKaikan]

Only 15 years? Jeesus. I’ve had my fridge and washer in Japan for 20 years with zero issues. Why waste money on a “smart” fridge¿