alt Hacker NewsA bit off-topic, but kind of relevant. I firmly believe that if installing custom firmware voids the warranty of a device, installing official updates should extend the warranty.
I'm tired of sloppy updates or change of behavior that mess with how I use MY device.
At this point, I'm convinced Google is doing this on purpose. My Google TV has become slow since the Gemini update, which I wasn't asked if I wanted it. My pixel battery life gets worse with every update, etc.
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Google seems to have "directives from high" where they shoehorn the latest fad into all their existing devices, regardless of whether it works or not, on a tight schedule. Gemini is the latest one.
I had Google WiFi points that worked fine, and then there was a directive to merge them into Google Home. They didn't show up correctly in the Home app for a year or so.
IANAL but I'm pretty sure the authors of software are liable for damages to property their software might cause. Regardless of whether that is the case, legislation should be enacted to ensure this and make complaints/remuneration standard and easy to extract without the costs of taking a huge company to court.
I’ve had that problem with Roku, Google, and Vizio updates too, over the years.
At this point I’m comfortable saying that on device “Smart TV” software is a crime against humanity, full stop.
Google bricked all of the old fitbit scales with a firmware that glitches out and drains the battery. There were tons of reports at the time, but the devices were out of warranty so they didn’t fix it.
I lost my google mesh network to a firmware update, ofc I didn't even ask for it to be updated, they just shipped an update that bricked the devices. Just got an "out of warranty" response after they gave me the normal suggestions of trying to reboot, etc.
> installing official updates should extend the warranty.
That sounds like a big incentive to never ship updates.