Nest recalls 440,000 units, says ads will not be on their thermostats
Despite Google suggesting smart thermostats could have ads in the future, Google-owned Nest CEO Tony Fadell has come out to nip the fears in the bud — Nest thermostats will NOT be infused with ads. It’s unfortunate that Fadell had to come out and assuage fears of those who let their imagination get the best of them, but it’s hard not to think about the worst when it comes to statements like the one Google made to the SEC.
We imagine Google would definitely put ads everywhere if they could get away with it, though potential backlash and the effects of negative public opinion would likely deter them from ever going too far. Fadell saw fit to remind everyone that although Nest is a Google-owned entity, they are completely and independently controlled by their own internal management team — just as they were before the big acquisition.
It hasn’t been a very pleasant week for Nest thus far, as the company had to recall 440,000 Nest units due to a software feature that has been deemed potentially harmful in the event of emergencies. It was the “Nest Wave” feature, which allowed users to wave their hands to silence a fire or carbon monoxide alarm instead of having to physically interact with it.
Nest’s fear (which is really the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s fear) is that the feature could potentially silence or delay an alarm unintentionally. Nest says they’ve had no reports of damages caused by the feature just yet, but they want to take preventative measures to make sure nothing happens in the future. As such, they are urging existing Nest owners to connect their alarms via WiFi and download the latest update that will disable the Nest Wave feature.
We’re not sure how long it will take this feature to come back, or if it will ever return. But it’s better to be more safe than sorry, so if you have one of these alarms then be sure to grab that update as soon as possible.
[via re/code]