Smart device makers that fail to disclose how long they will support their products with software updates may be violating the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned this week.
The FTC issued its statement after examining 184 smart products across 64 product categories, including sound bars, video doorbells, breast pumps, smartphones, home appliances and garage door opener controllers. Of the devices surveyed, the majority (or 163 to be precise) “did not disclose the support duration or end date of the connected device” on their product page, according to the FTC's report. [PDF]. In contrast, 11.4 percent of devices surveyed shared a duration or end date for software support on their product page.
Elusive information
In addition to the fact that manufacturers often fail to commit to software support for any length of time, it seems that even when they do share this information, it is elusive.
For example, the FTC reported that some manufacturers made software support dates available, but not on the product's web page. Instead, this information is sometimes hidden in specifications, support, FAQ pages, or footnotes.
The FTC report added:
… some used ambiguous language that implied only the level of support provided, including for example phrases such as “lifetime technical support,” “as long as your device is fully operational,” and “continuous software updates.” In particular, staff had difficulty finding the device's release date on the product pages…
Sometimes the FTC found glaring inconsistencies. For example, a device's product page stated that the device had “lifetime support,” but the search result pointing to the manufacturer's support page indicated that while other updates may still be active, the security updates for the device were in 2021 stopped. ” according to the FTC.
Those who rely on Google's AI summaries may also be misled. In one case, AI Overviews pointed out a smart gadget that received “software support and updates for 3 to 6 months.” But through the link AI Overviews provided, the FTC found that the three- to six-month figure Google collected was actually for the device's battery life. The next day, AI Overviews said it could not determine the duration of software support or updates for the gadget, the FTC noted.
