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xkcd #3109: Dehumidifier (imgs.xkcd.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by xkcdbot@lemmy.world to c/xkcd@lemmy.world

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Title text:

It's important for devices to have internet connectivity so the manufacturer can patch remote exploits.

Transcript:

[A store salesman, Hairy, is showing Cueball a dehumidifier, with a "SALE" label on it. Several other unidentified devices, possibly other dehumidifier models, are shown in the store as well.]

Salesman: This dehumidifier model features built-in WiFi for remote updates.
Cueball: Great! That will be really useful if they discover a new kind of water.

Source: https://xkcd.com/3109/

explainxkcd for #3109

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[-] pedz@lemmy.ca 15 points 2 weeks ago

Do they have a model with AI?

[-] Iron_Lynx@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

Shh shh shh, don't give them ideas.

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[-] originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com 13 points 2 weeks ago

welll........ devils advocate.. i could see the wifi being used so the device can be incorporated into the home automation system [climate control]. its not about dehumidifying, its solely about engaging the dehumidifying as needed.

[-] NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah, or the manufacturer bricks the device bcz they want to sell you a new one.

[-] Badabinski@kbin.earth 3 points 2 weeks ago

That's why projects like this are great: https://github.com/Hypfer/esp8266-midea-dehumidifier

My Midea Cube dehumidifier can never be bricked and will never send data outside of my home. It talks to Home Assistant via MQTT and nothing else.

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[-] blackbelt352@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

Dehumidifiers already do that. They're equipped with hygrometers that kick the machine on or off depending on the relative humidity. It's old tech and it's pretty reliable, wifi isn't really necessary for it.

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[-] jballs@sh.itjust.works 11 points 2 weeks ago

I got new appliances a couple weeks ago and they're all "smart". Turns out a smart microwave just sends you a phone notification when it's done. By default.

As someone with multiple people living in the house, I can confidently say this is the dumbest "smart" feature ever. Promptly disabled.

[-] JordanZ@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

My appliances are ‘smart’ but I didn’t bother actually connecting them to my WiFi. I guess preheating the oven remotely could be cool(?) but nah.

The stuff I do use…

The microwave above the stove can talk via Bluetooth(no app or phone involvement at all). Turn on a burner and you can set it to turn on the light and/or vent fan. Another nicety is being able to set the clock on the stove with the full keypad and it just syncs to the microwave.

[-] ApatheticCactus@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

The only smart thing I'd want an oven to do would be to turn itself off. That's it, really. Did I leave the oven on after I left the house? Easy fix. Otherwise everything else is pretty much useless.

[-] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 week ago

Remote preheating sounds like a terrible idea. What if you mistakenly left something in there?

[-] jballs@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago

My stove won't preheat, I guess because it's a safety issue. Apparently you can set a remote start capability ahead of time that gets reset if you open the over door. But I've never tried it, since that seems like a lot.

[-] veni_vedi_veni@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

Any appliance with IoT is a value-subtract.

They do it so in the future they can monetize you in perpetuity in some way

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[-] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 week ago

How long are people microwaving things to the point where that is useful??!

[-] rmuk@feddit.uk 2 points 2 weeks ago

Most people tend to stay in the same room (or a neighbouring room) when they're microwaving something. They could probably save on the cost of having a full-blown computer with wifi inside the microwave by just having the noisy thing from an alarm clock. But, ah, the fuck do I know?

[-] kadup@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

Some 90's microwaves actually used some chips to measure humidity and using a little reference table adjust how long certain foods need to cook for, for instance, popcorn can be popped perfectly without burning and almost without leftover kernels if you can measure how much water is being released. The same goes for cooking frozen meats, vegetables, and so on.

But what we get in modern ones instead are horrendous touchscreens, simple timers that never quite match the food they promise to work on, and Wi-Fi.

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

You gotta spend for the moisture sensors and other fancy shit that actually works. We moved into a place with one of those microwaves and we are dreading when it breaks (I think it's like 3k for a new one)

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[-] yucandu@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago

Meanwhile here I am installing ESP32C3's into everything in my house to automate everything.

I can turn on my floor heat, hallway light, or even open a vent from an app on my phone. And bonus, no shady manufacturers to spy on me. Just China.

[-] odious@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

that vent thing is surprisingly clever, thumbs up 👍

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[-] oyzmo@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago

But does it have AI?

[-] tempest@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 week ago

You joke but my dehumidifier has an automatic comfort mode of some sort.

I guarantee that next run will have that button with screen print AI something something above it instead.

[-] ClydapusGotwald@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago

I’ve looked into many WiFi dehumidifier’s and the one thing I wanted from it was to notify my phone if it’s full. None of them do that. All they do is let you change speed and stuff. Nothing that is important to me. I just want to know if I need to go to the basement and empty it or not.

[-] LilaOrchideen@feddit.org 5 points 2 weeks ago

I put mine on a zigbee plug into my home assistant (docker on nas), and created an automation to notify me when the power consumption drops below 1 W or so (lower than when it's only running the fan when the hunidity is near setpoint). All local, works so far.

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[-] alekwithak@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

I feel you, trying to find a smart gadget that is actually smart in 2025 and not just a data collector is nearly impossible. Learning to DIY a lot of these projects. Throw one of these or similar in there with a little control board set to email you if 0 changes to 1 or w/e

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[-] TeddE@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

Right? Like half of what I want from these things is when is the battery low? When is the outbox full? When is the feeder empty? And metrics to verify the device is generally operating safely.

Controlling the device? We've known how to do that for 50+ years. Help me maintain the device.

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[-] PieMePlenty@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago

If I can turn it on remotely, that's a good feature. I have solar, I want it to work when the sun is out and I'm producing excess energy.
Yes, I know I can use other peripherals to do this (sometimes) but its always nicer if its just built in so I don't need to waste carbon on other things.

The only thing I want when manufacturers add wifi to these things is to appeal to open source principles like allowing us to connect to it and communicate with it openly and not tie it down to some cloud service they run.

[-] nef@slrpnk.net 2 points 2 weeks ago

Why not plug a dumb dehumidifier into a Home Assistant controlled outlet?

[-] PieMePlenty@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

Yes, this is generally what can be done. Disadvantages include:

having to buy yet another device
knowing which dehumidifier will start working as soon as it gets electricity. The ones sold in my country are all no name brands with little information if they will work or not and few spec sheets.

[-] Simulation6@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 week ago

I bought a washer that has wifi connectivity. It want to texts me or something when the cycle is finished and doesn't even seem to have a 'play a loud beep when done' option. How does this make any sense at all?

[-] ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

My brother in christ, you bought the machine

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[-] NotJohnSmith@feddit.uk 2 points 2 weeks ago

I feel like I'd benefit from a smart dehumidifier.

I'm on a Time Of Use tariff where my electricity is very cheap at night. I'd like to be able to schedule for it to come on for those 5hrs in the winter to take the moisture out of my shed-office. It achieves nothing to put it on a smart meter as you have to physically press go on the dehumidifier

[-] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 weeks ago

Just use a smart timer with a dehumidifier that either doesn't have a switch, or has an analog one that can stay in the on position when power is off

[-] Shayeta@feddit.org 3 points 2 weeks ago

Unless you have an even dumber dehumidifier that starts working the moment you plug it in.

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[-] PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 week ago

I'm still trying to figure out my network settings so that I can have my IoT one one network while still being able to access my home assistant from the other network.

Unfortunately, my ISP is also my cable company, and I have to use their modem/router combo else the cable boxes won't accept the cable signal. I'm using my own wireless access point (which also doubles as a switch for the handful of Ethernet devices I have), and it can split off a separate SSID, but that's not really doing much.

[-] bulwark@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

I have a separate IoT network. It's basically just a guest wifi for IoT. Anything coming in on that network gets a VLAN tag and only previous & established connections can get out. Honestly, it's kinda a pain in the ass with homeassistant because I keep HA on the other network so I have to manually find devices. It might be easier to just block it at the ip level or blacklist outgoing ip ranges to Tuya or whatever.

[-] c10l@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

I have HA on a separate VLAN from IoT devices and have set up mDNS reflection so it can find them.

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this post was submitted on 30 Jun 2025

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