Smart home device maker Futurehome is forcing its customers’ hands by suddenly requiring a subscription for basic functionality of its products.
Launched in 2016, Futurehome’s Smarthub is marketed as a central hub for controlling Internet-connected devices in smart homes. For years, the Norwegian company sold its products, which also include smart thermostats, smart lighting, and smart fire and carbon monoxide alarms, for a one-time fee that included access to its companion app and cloud platform for control and automation. As of June 26, though, those core features require a 1,188 NOK (about $116.56) annual subscription fee, turning the smart home devices into dumb ones if users don’t pay up.
“You lose access to controlling devices, configuring; automations, modes, shortcuts, and energy services,” a company FAQ page says.
You also can’t get support from Futurehome without a subscription. “Most” paid features are inaccessible without a subscription, too, the FAQ from Futurehome, which claims to be in 38,000 households, says.
After June 26, customers had four weeks to continue using their devices as normal without a subscription. That grace period recently ended, and users now need a subscription for their smart devices to work properly.
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The indebted company promised customers that the subscription fee would allow it to provide customers “better functionality, more security, and higher value in the solution you have already invested in,” reported Elektro247, a Norwegian news site covering the electrical industry, according to a Google-provided translation.
The problem is that customers expected a certain level of service and functionality when they bought Futurehome devices. And as of press time, Futurehome’s product pages don’t make the newfound subscription requirements apparent. Futurehome’s recent bankruptcy is also a reminder of the company’s instability, making further investments questionable.
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Futurehome has fought efforts to crack its firmware, with CEO Øyvind Fries telling Norwegian consumer tech website Tek.no, per a Google translation, “It is regrettable that we now have to spend time and resources strengthening the security of a popular service rather than further developing functionality for the benefit of our customers.”
Futurehome’s move has become a common strategy among Internet of Things companies, including smart home hub maker Wink. These companies are still struggling to build sustainable businesses that work long-term without killing features or upcharging customers.
Source: Futurehome smart hub owners must pay new $117 subscription or lose access – Ars Technica
And you see this happening a lot with all kinds of companies. The thing is, these products are supposed to work without contacting a central server – the company selling you this is not supposed to be seeing or handling your data at all. They don’t need to, as it’s all in your home and the functionalities don’t require huge compute power.
Fortunately, the Futurehome Home Assistant add-on (on Github) is a complete drop-in replacement for the official Futurehome app, with support for all device types compatible with the Futurehome hub. See the FAQ for more details. – which means you can operate the stuff you bought without the subscription
Robin Edgar
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