Ice Cap WiFi Controller “Registration”

[BeanAnimal]

That’s exactly what bmw did with heated seats and other things on their cars.. every car comes equipped with them but you have a monthly or yearly fee to pay or subscribe too, to use those features which I think is bs!

I don't like the idea of "pay to turn on" features. But that is far better than "Was free unitl we changed our policy, now pay to KEEP IT".

 

[n2585722]

You are missing the point. You can’t use it without their permission and intervention. They could for whatever reason deny your request, ignore it or change their policy and force you to “pay” to transfer it for example. Your device functionality is at their whim. They could also force current users to start paying or lose full access or function. Do you “own” it in the sense of having freedoms to use or it as you wish or transfer it to somebody else at your wish? No.

I have had Hydros since November 2020 and have not had to pay for anything other than the purchase price of the controllers so far. Also so far anytime the original owner has forgot to remove a controller from their account as far as I know CoralVue has released it to the new owner. They do contact the original owner before they do it in most cases I think. I guess you are right that they could do some of the things you said but so far that has not happened. The cloud is on the Amazon servers. I am not sure how much that cost them to do but they may have already been using it for their own usage. The main reason for doing it this way is it allows you to access it from anywhere you have internet without the end user having to setup a lot things such as a DDNS account with someone to do that themselves. There are quit a few that would not be able to do those thing own their own but are able to register the new controllers within the Hydros app and the rest is taken care of for them but yes that means in this case you are dependent on the cloud service. Another advantage of the cloud is if the controllers do not do their regular check in the cloud will send you an alert that communication is down between the cloud and the controllers. So you are aware of the issue and can check into it.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I have had Hydros since November 2020 and have not had to pay for anything other than the purchase price of the controllers so far. Also so far anytime the original owner has forgot to remove a controller from their account as far as I know CoralVue has released it to the new owner

It is not about what they currently do, it is a matter of principle and possible ramifications at their whim.

The cloud is on the Amazon servers. I am not sure how much that cost them to do but they may have already been using it for their own usage.

More than you care to imagine and the more customers, the larger the AWS bill. It is a CONSTANT suck on revenue only offset by new sales and RMR on consumables. Thus, many of us already seeing the handwriting on the wall that these products are only good as long as the provider wants to pay for hosting or have enough customers willing to pay for it ti make it worth their while to keep up.

The main reason for doing it this way is it allows you to access it from anywhere you have internet without the end user having to setup a lot things such as a DDNS account with someone to do that themselves.

I have owned an IT firm for ~20 years, build and manage hosted platform tools for a living and have been an analog and digital electronics hobbyist for 3+ decades I prefer autonomously controllable devices. We can split hairs about still needing a local "app" or software, etc. but buying hardware that is not usable WITHOUT an internet connection is, to me, silly.

 

[Kodock]

You are missing the point. You can’t use it without their permission and intervention. They could for whatever reason deny your request, ignore it or change their policy and force you to “pay” to transfer it for example. Your device functionality is at their whim. They could also force current users to start paying or lose full access or function. Do you “own” it in the sense of having freedoms to use or it as you wish or transfer it to somebody else at your wish? No.

Comparable to modern video games. No more disks, all downloads onto storage, online access required or new updates to play, even if it’s the default story mode. You’re paying non transferable “access” you use a product. They could hold your access hostage and implement new fees to continue. Like digital movies on Amazon and other platforms. They are working to eliminate reselling used tangible items so that they make more money.

To your point the system opens the door for transfer fees or subscriptions to the cloud service for access. If I can’t access something like a pump that supports my tanks well being, I could be a hostage to their whim. Corner the market, set the price strategy.

I don’t think it’s a malicious future intent on CoralVue to implement it, but it doesn’t make sense to me to have this on a mechanical aquarium pump. Should be able to factory reset and load any new profile to the device.

I’m more concerned with how Coralvue can access the unit connected to my wifi and update it’s firmware. I’m not privy to data malware on wifi connected devices, but it’s a question I ask myself often. Regardless, they opened it and updated it. The pump is flowing, so another battle for another day for me.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Yep… but the battle is a losing one whenever it does come. It was actually lost long ago when we began allowing this behavior.