I think these consumer-hostile devices and brands need to be named and shamed and ideally, some kind of consumer movement to boycott them. Unfortunately, too many people either don't care or believe that they want that functionality.
I was actually shocked by how user friendly the whole experience is. It never prevented me from doing anything "not recommended", it'll warn me, sure. But then go right back to accepting my imput.
So there is a health danger, perhaps? Not sure how likely.
(Some municipalities use a lot of UV, and less chlorine and other chemicals to kill bacteria. And people on wells generally have no chlorine. In such cases, there is nothing to slow standing water bacterial growth.)
So I suspect they are concerned about liability.
Just like the cliché about (safety) regulations are written in blood, I assume all these "commonsense" measures are because someone pulled a stupid, got people hurt, and then won a lawsuit.
Then, per the settlement/judgement, mfg has to add another baby bumper.
"WARNING: This plastic bag is not a toy. Do not sufficate yourself!"
Okay, now I won't. Thanks for the head's up.
When it comes to actual safety issues, it's better that things not work when unsafe.
Not too long ago there was a story on HN about hospital patients getting sick from bacterial growth in ice machines.
And water filters are breeding grounds for bacteria. That's actually the main reason for replacing your Brita filter every 3 months, not its filtering efficacy.
You think electrical devices should have DRM that detects if you opened them, and bricks the device until you bring it to an "authorized" repair shop? Because if that's not what you had in mind, then we are in charge of managing electrocution. Banning sale of dangerously defective devices (what you were probably alluding to) is completely different to devices disobeying their owner.
Having said that, I'm not sure why a filter is needed. Is your tap water not already filtered enough?
It is kinda sad how much effort went into this "functionality", how much it increases the cost of the device, but selling replacement heads is their primary business. Maybe the brushes would be more expensive without the NFC reader and timers.
The recommendation generally is to replace your tooth brush semi-annually, which this basically reminds you to do.
But every time I swap brush heads after it reminds me, you can feel how much more effective the stiffer bristles are.
It's not like razor blades where it becomes really obvious from tugging that they need to be replaced. Brushes just slowly get softer and, if you're like me, you just don't notice.
Every time I turn it off, the Philips Sonicare plays a loud series of beeps, near my head, at times of day when I'm just waking up or about to sleep, for a toothbrush head that is well within its lifespan.
The only supported way to stop the beeping is to throw out the current toothbrush head, and pay Philips more money for a replacement that isn't needed yet.
OK, that is annoying. Mine doesn't do that. I only got the annoying beeps a few times around the time the timer expired. Ever since only the different color light.
Are you sure? On mine, the manual shows how to turn off the "Brush head replacement reminder": https://www.documents.philips.com/assets/20201024/46fe48eae7... (p.16-17). Might your model have a similar feature?
In any case, the user manual that helpfully ships with every genuine Sonicare, and is also easily accessible online, succinctly describes the steps to disable the beeping:
1. Put the handle on the plugged-in charger. 2. Press and hold the power on/off button while the handle remains on the charger. 3. Keep the power on/off button pressed until you hear a series of two short beeps (after 4-5 seconds). 4. Release the power on/off button.
But, as an actual Sonicare owner: when it beeps for replacement, the head is truly overdue for that. In fact, I synced the replacement schedule of my manual toothbrush (which sees an equivalent duty cycle in my case), and every time I look at both brushes, I have to admit: yup, those need replacement!
You discuss this as if it was one static unchanging thing, when it is likely at least 10-20 different things.
Is it likely that either is the case? Probably not. If anything, they would make a new firmware as part of a product launch.
I mean, the whole device is basically a speaker. It can beep if it wants to.
There are many brand names on there, but hey, I am doing fine.
I don't see how they could easily change the password, except for perhaps using a custom tag that would only allow incrementing the values with the existing password (which would negate the point of changing the password). Otherwise it would lock existing brushes out of saving the time too. This, combined with how 99% of the users won't be tevh-savvy enough to know how to write to the tag, means there's probably not gonna be any change until they come up with a new incompatible type of brushes.