Milwaukee battery drm: Difference between revisions
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==Incident== | ==Incident== | ||
In August 2024, an independent YouTube investigation demonstrated that Milwaukee M18 batteries store hundreds of bytes of hidden diagnostic data. These logs include counts of over-current events, over-temperature events, cell voltage imbalances with millivolt precision, low-voltage cutoffs, & total discharge statistics. The data can be accessed through undocumented serial commands but is not disclosed in user manuals.<ref>{{ | In August 2024, an independent YouTube investigation demonstrated that Milwaukee M18 batteries store hundreds of bytes of hidden diagnostic data. These logs include counts of over-current events, over-temperature events, cell voltage imbalances with millivolt precision, low-voltage cutoffs, & total discharge statistics. The data can be accessed through undocumented serial commands but is not disclosed in user manuals.<ref name="TSYT">{{Cite web |date=2025-09-13|author=Tool Scientist|title=Full M18 diagnostics revealed |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHj0-Gzvbeo |url-status=live |website=YouTube}}</ref> | ||
Community reverse-engineering reports published on Hackaday also documented communication traces between batteries & chargers, confirming that undocumented registers store diagnostic histories not available through consumer interfaces.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hackaday.com/2023/09/15/reverse-engineering-the-milwaukee-m18-redlink-protocol/ |title=Reverse Engineering the Milwaukee M18 REDLINK Protocol |website=Hackaday |date=2023-09-15 |access-date=2025-09-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104104402/https://hackaday.com/2023/09/15/reverse-engineering-the-milwaukee-m18-redlink-protocol/ |archive-date=2024-01-04}}</ref> | Community reverse-engineering reports published on Hackaday also documented communication traces between batteries & chargers, confirming that undocumented registers store diagnostic histories not available through consumer interfaces.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hackaday.com/2023/09/15/reverse-engineering-the-milwaukee-m18-redlink-protocol/ |title=Reverse Engineering the Milwaukee M18 REDLINK Protocol |website=Hackaday |date=2023-09-15 |access-date=2025-09-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104104402/https://hackaday.com/2023/09/15/reverse-engineering-the-milwaukee-m18-redlink-protocol/ |archive-date=2024-01-04}}</ref> | ||
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==Consumer impact== | ==Consumer impact== | ||
Consumers have expressed concern that undisclosed logging could void warranties for circumstances outside of their control, such as environmental heat exposure. Community projects have since published open-source tools that allow end users to read diagnostic registers from Milwaukee batteries, giving them access to the same information the manufacturer uses internally.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://github.com/m18battery/diagnostics |title=Milwaukee M18 Battery Diagnostics Project |website=GitHub |date=2024-08-20 |access-date=2025-09-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240718105511/https://github.com/m18battery/diagnostics |archive-date=2024-07-18}}</ref> The "M18 HD12" battery series from Milwaukee currently has a 2.1/5 stars score from 522 reviews [https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Batteries-and-Chargers/M18-Batteries-and-Chargers/48-11-1812 on their own website], and the "M12 XC6" battery has a 1.7/5 stars score from 321 reviews [https://www.milwaukeetool.com/products/48-11-2460 on their own website] and the company's [https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.milwaukeetool.com Trustpilot reviews] currently sit at 1.6/5 stars for their entire product line and after-sales service, with many consumer complaints that warranty claims on Milwaukee batteries have been denied, even though their batteries were still within the warranty period. Presumably, Milwaukee is downloading the usage logs from consumer's batteries and looking for any possible data-set to deny a warranty claim, since the usage logs track over 60 different statistics, such as total lifetime discharge, low voltage events, total charge count, total charge time, time on charger whilst full, overcurrent events, short-circuit events, days since last charge, overheat events, etc.<ref | Consumers have expressed concern that undisclosed logging could void warranties for circumstances outside of their control, such as environmental heat exposure. Community projects have since published open-source tools that allow end users to read diagnostic registers from Milwaukee batteries, giving them access to the same information the manufacturer uses internally.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://github.com/m18battery/diagnostics |title=Milwaukee M18 Battery Diagnostics Project |website=GitHub |date=2024-08-20 |access-date=2025-09-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240718105511/https://github.com/m18battery/diagnostics |archive-date=2024-07-18}}</ref> The "M18 HD12" battery series from Milwaukee currently has a 2.1/5 stars score from 522 reviews [https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Batteries-and-Chargers/M18-Batteries-and-Chargers/48-11-1812 on their own website], and the "M12 XC6" battery has a 1.7/5 stars score from 321 reviews [https://www.milwaukeetool.com/products/48-11-2460 on their own website] and the company's [https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.milwaukeetool.com Trustpilot reviews] currently sit at 1.6/5 stars for their entire product line and after-sales service, with many consumer complaints that warranty claims on Milwaukee batteries have been denied, even though their batteries were still within the warranty period. Presumably, Milwaukee is downloading the usage logs from consumer's batteries and looking for any possible data-set to deny a warranty claim, since the usage logs track over 60 different statistics, such as total lifetime discharge, low voltage events, total charge count, total charge time, time on charger whilst full, overcurrent events, short-circuit events, days since last charge, overheat events, etc.<ref name="TSYT" /> | ||
==Industry comparison== | ==Industry comparison== | ||
The use of embedded diagnostic counters is not unique to Milwaukee. Reports indicate that competing brands such as Makita have implemented similar protocols in their lithium-ion batteries.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hackaday.com/2024/01/22/makita-battery-protocol-reversed/ |title=Makita Battery Protocol Reversed |website=Hackaday |date=2024-01-22 |access-date=2025-09-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240712104842/https://hackaday.com/2024/01/22/makita-battery-protocol-reversed/ |archive-date=2024-07-12}}</ref> Ryobi (which is owned by Techtronic Industries, which is the same parent company that owns Milwaukee) also uses the same embedded diagnostics in their batteries.<ref>{{Cite web | | The use of embedded diagnostic counters is not unique to Milwaukee. Reports indicate that competing brands such as Makita have implemented similar protocols in their lithium-ion batteries.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hackaday.com/2024/01/22/makita-battery-protocol-reversed/ |title=Makita Battery Protocol Reversed |website=Hackaday |date=2024-01-22 |access-date=2025-09-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240712104842/https://hackaday.com/2024/01/22/makita-battery-protocol-reversed/ |archive-date=2024-07-12}}</ref> Ryobi (which is owned by Techtronic Industries, which is the same parent company that owns Milwaukee) also uses the same embedded diagnostics in their batteries.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Badar's Workshop |date=2025-08-25|title=Ryobi Doesn't Want You To Know |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ_lyDyzEHY |url-status=live |access-date=2025-09-15|website=YouTube}}</ref> | ||
==Company response== | ==Company response== | ||
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*2017 – Milwaukee issues safety warning for M18 High Demand 9.0 battery in consultation with the CPSC.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.milwaukeetool.com/News/Safety-Notices/Expanded-Warning-On-The-M18-HIGH-DEMAND-9-0-Battery |title=Expanded Warning on the M18 High Demand 9.0 Battery |website=Milwaukee Tool |date=2017-08-25 |access-date=2025-09-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240701104632/https://www.milwaukeetool.com/News/Safety-Notices/Expanded-Warning-On-The-M18-HIGH-DEMAND-9-0-Battery |archive-date=2024-07-01}}</ref> | *2017 – Milwaukee issues safety warning for M18 High Demand 9.0 battery in consultation with the CPSC.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.milwaukeetool.com/News/Safety-Notices/Expanded-Warning-On-The-M18-HIGH-DEMAND-9-0-Battery |title=Expanded Warning on the M18 High Demand 9.0 Battery |website=Milwaukee Tool |date=2017-08-25 |access-date=2025-09-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240701104632/https://www.milwaukeetool.com/News/Safety-Notices/Expanded-Warning-On-The-M18-HIGH-DEMAND-9-0-Battery |archive-date=2024-07-01}}</ref> | ||
*2023 – Hackaday reports on community reverse-engineering of Milwaukee REDLINK protocol.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hackaday.com/2023/09/15/reverse-engineering-the-milwaukee-m18-redlink-protocol/ |title=Reverse Engineering the Milwaukee M18 REDLINK Protocol |website=Hackaday |date=2023-09-15 |access-date=2025-09-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104104402/https://hackaday.com/2023/09/15/reverse-engineering-the-milwaukee-m18-redlink-protocol/ |archive-date=2024-01-04}}</ref> | *2023 – Hackaday reports on community reverse-engineering of Milwaukee REDLINK protocol.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hackaday.com/2023/09/15/reverse-engineering-the-milwaukee-m18-redlink-protocol/ |title=Reverse Engineering the Milwaukee M18 REDLINK Protocol |website=Hackaday |date=2023-09-15 |access-date=2025-09-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104104402/https://hackaday.com/2023/09/15/reverse-engineering-the-milwaukee-m18-redlink-protocol/ |archive-date=2024-01-04}}</ref> | ||
*2024 – YouTube researcher publicly demonstrates hidden diagnostic registers in Milwaukee M18 batteries.<ref | *2024 – YouTube researcher publicly demonstrates hidden diagnostic registers in Milwaukee M18 batteries.<ref name="TSYT" /> | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||