Futurehome Smarthub Mandatory Subscription Fee: Difference between revisions
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The '''Futurehome Smarthub'''<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Futurehome |url=https://www.futurehome.io/en_no/ |access-date=2025-07-14}}</ref> was '''originally sold as a one-time purchase.''' '''Prior to 2025, Futurehome operated on a one-time hardware purchase model''', with app and cloud services included at no extra cost. | The '''Futurehome Smarthub'''<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Futurehome |url=https://www.futurehome.io/en_no/ |access-date=2025-07-14}}</ref> was '''originally sold as a one-time purchase.''' '''Prior to 2025, Futurehome operated on a one-time hardware purchase model''', with app and cloud services included at no extra cost. | ||
Futurehome AS was declared bankrupt on 20 May 2025. The platform and its services were acquired in a 50-50 split by Sikom Connect AS and the former Futurehome owners. The business was relaunched under a new entity: '''FHSD Connect AS.'''<ref name=":0" /> | Futurehome AS was declared bankrupt on 20 May 2025. The platform and its services were acquired in a 50-50 split by Sikom Connect AS and the former Futurehome owners. The business was relaunched under a new entity: '''FHSD Connect AS.'''<ref name=":0" /> A press release by Sikom Connect AS on the same day clearly depicted their expectation of making every futurehome user into a paying customer for FHSD Connect AS by counting the entire user base of Futurehome into their customer base: "''With the purchase of futurehome, Sikom expands their services to private housing with a combined customer base of more than 70 000 customers''"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schieflow |first=Torfinn |date=2025-05-20 |title=Strategisk viktig samarbeid |url=https://www.sikom.no/2025/05/20/strategisk-viktig-samarbeid/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=www.sikom.no}}</ref>(Translated from Norwegian) | ||
==June 2025 subscription rollout== | ==June 2025 subscription rollout== | ||
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These limitations were delivered via a firmware update to the hub's software, locking previously available features behind the paywall. One Futurehome software engineer, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the firmware was designed to enforce this lockout mechanism and compel users to subscribe. As of the changeover, the Futurehome system was reportedly installed in over '''38,000 Norwegian households''',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Futurehome Norge |trans-title=The updated figure of 38,000 is listed only on the Norwegian version of the site |url=https://www.futurehome.io/no/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |language=no}}</ref> all of which had to choose between paying the new fees or losing most "smart" functionality. | These limitations were delivered via a firmware update to the hub's software, locking previously available features behind the paywall. One Futurehome software engineer, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the firmware was designed to enforce this lockout mechanism and compel users to subscribe. As of the changeover, the Futurehome system was reportedly installed in over '''38,000 Norwegian households''',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Futurehome Norge |trans-title=The updated figure of 38,000 is listed only on the Norwegian version of the site |url=https://www.futurehome.io/no/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |language=no}}</ref> all of which had to choose between paying the new fees or losing most "smart" functionality. | ||
[[File:Image(1).png|thumb|Indexed search results from the forum about disabling automatic hub and app updates]] | |||
As part of the ownership transition, FHSD Connect also shut down the official Futurehome user forum, stating they were ''"consolidating support channels"'', further limiting access to help resources for users who don't subscribe.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Futurehome Forum |url=https://forum.futurehome.io |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250715103026/https://forum.futurehome.io/ |archive-date=2025-07-15 |access-date=2025-07-15}}</ref><gallery> | As part of the ownership transition, FHSD Connect also shut down the official Futurehome user forum, stating they were ''"consolidating support channels"'', further limiting access to help resources for users who don't subscribe.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Futurehome Forum |url=https://forum.futurehome.io |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250715103026/https://forum.futurehome.io/ |archive-date=2025-07-15 |access-date=2025-07-15}}</ref> The forum contained, among other things, discussions from previous years about how to disable automatic updates for the hub and app ([https://forum-old.futurehome.io/t/smarthub-and-app-update/6400 link to delisted forum thread])<gallery> | ||
</gallery><gallery> | |||
File:Futurehome Subscription App Info 1.PNG|Futurehome app home screen prompting the user to activate a subscription. | File:Futurehome Subscription App Info 1.PNG|Futurehome app home screen prompting the user to activate a subscription. | ||
File:Futurehome Subscription App Info 2.PNG|Subscription-activation screen showing annual-payment terms; one link opens the subscription FAQ, the other opens a [https://us1.zonka.co/1pBYm3?language=en_US feedback form] | File:Futurehome Subscription App Info 2.PNG|Subscription-activation screen showing annual-payment terms; one link opens the subscription FAQ, the other opens a [https://us1.zonka.co/1pBYm3?language=en_US feedback form] | ||
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Firmware isn't hacked: We've just created a new tool that the FH device ''happens'' to work with. :) | Firmware isn't hacked: We've just created a new tool that the FH device ''happens'' to work with. :) | ||
== Futurehome Debian "Wheezy" software repositories == | |||
The following are two of futurehome`s software repositories: | |||
* Cube-1v1-eu hub: http://archive.futurehome.no/prod-1v1 | |||
* Cube-2v0-eu hub: http://archive.futurehome.no/prod-2v0/ | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
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[[Category:Futurehome]] | [[Category:Futurehome]] | ||
[[Category:Smart home device obsolescence]] | [[Category:Smart home device obsolescence]] | ||
[[Category:Planned obsolescence through software updates]] | |||
[[Category:Forced subscription activation]] | [[Category:Forced subscription activation]] | ||
[[Category:Consumer rights]] | [[Category:Consumer rights]] | ||