16-bit video/imaging still often requires less RAM, less GPU cooling, and if there’s no demand for 3D rendering nor texture-mapping, it’s a creeping bloatware issue directly correlated to hardware, firmware, CUDA, chip design, etc. The GE light bulb laughed. Decades worth of light bulb jokes are going to need rewritten. A reason for getting these bulbs is the flexibility of changing the brightness and color. For some reason, GE decided not to install a physical reset button – you know, one of those tiny holes that you have to stick a pin or paperclip into. July 11, 2019 3:19 PM. July 11, 2019 10:18 AM, Another minute of my life I’ll never get back…, Josh O • Convert firmware to bytes using file.io stream. How many security engineers does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Theo • Doug • July 11, 2019 9:27 AM, While the device is paired, send a command over the link – easy. MarkH • An odd choice, perhaps. What if it doesn't? To turn off your light, use the wall switch. Well, sorry, it's the law. They allow for "smarter lighting in every way," says GE: put them on a schedule; change the ambiance in real time; control them with your voice while, um, carrying your dog. July 11, 2019 12:57 PM, “Have you tried turning it off and on again?”, CallMeLateForSupper • In the interests of enhancing the intellectualism and hopeful+objectivity of these discussion+like text+based interactions, perhaps some of the following linked groups could be useful for us for enhancing our own (and their) {“signal-to-noise ratio”}: This post is not at all meant to disturb nor detract from the contextual interactions here. I think it is not a convenient method, but a secure method, and hopefully not needed very often. Bulb will flash on and off 3 times if it has been successfully reset. Great, using the main power switch i can reset them all at once. Tags: firmware, humor, Internet of Things, Posted on July 11, 2019 at 6:24 AM • July 12, 2019 1:19 PM. Something has gone horribly wrong in your life. July 11, 2019 10:44 PM. But you better hope you're on version 2.8 or higher because the other reset process is even worse. Another example: not everyone can even perceive greater than 16-bit colour spaces and colour gamuts. Turn on the light and wait 3 seconds. Tim#3 • But there is another explanation. No one has ever beheld, or touched, a “light bulb” … we know only our culturally programmed interpretations of certain impressions, whether internally or externally originated, which we have been programmed by social dogma to brute-force into the pigeonhole of “light bulb,” a purely arbitrary classification invented ex nihilo by privileged white males. 32-bit and greater is certainly not always required and this has been proven both biologically in case studies as well as in focus groups and in the marketplace and in creative fields of experties. So GE has added a fourth cycle. And then, just to be really, really, sure, a fifth cycle. July 11, 2019 2:32 PM. What on Earth the GE engineers thought they were doing when they created this insane reset process we will likely never find out. July 13, 2019 9:39 AM, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rube_Goldberg, John • To activate the reset function, this process needs to be repeated for at least 8 times. June 20, 2019. To reset your C by GE smart bulb you have to turn it on and off multiple times in sequence. Even with simple counter-based sequences you could probably get people to do this not only 8 times faster, but give them the experience that they did something more than spend most of their time waiting around watching the seconds tick by. ... GE Lighting. How to Reset C by GE Smart Bulb? Common ER • The comments on the video are hilarious. So easy to do. Does that mean that the bulb is now a service? Opening the bulb and connecting two pins is a safety problem. This will factory reset the device. This reset process is used for a majority of C by GE bulbs. Video Being an early adopter can be a frustrating experience as kinks are ironed out, bugs are squashed, and interfaces are improved. OMG! Bulb Reset Sequence: R Goldberg • July 11, 2019 2:13 PM. [See Milton Friedman’s comments about creating jobs by breaking windows, or building highways with shovels instead of power equipment in order to create jobs: “why not give them spoons?”], Thunderbird • Coyne Tibbets • Even for a device that would be inherently limited by a 0.5 baud rate, you’re looking at 60% signal loss/inefficiency here. But that “code” (even if interpreted as Morse as @Etienne did) is stupidly based on extended delays. I’ve spent most of my day thinking about the video going around describing the absurd, 12-part process that’s required to reset GE C-Life smart bulbs. Perfect example of tech for techs sake, GeeSmart • Instead, it programmed the devices to factory reset after being turning on and off in a specific pattern. Since accessorization and modular expansion are not at all an issue for digital devices in this era in terms of availability… It’s somewhat foolish to keep conformity pushing everyone towards the most expensive purchases of gear that might not at all match their needs. And then, just to make it even more maddening, the engineer in charge of this obsessive video decided to add even more unnecessary precision. GE accidentally makes the case for not owning smart GE bulbs. However, there is simply no excuse for what General Electric (GE) has done to users of its smart light bulbs. Engineer power outages in above sequence to reset everyone’s smart light bulbs. Pair a C by GE Smart Switch with our Smart Bulbs, Light Strips, or Smart Plug for convenient control of your whole room from one source. I’ve been so strongly tempted to reprogram it just a bit, stick a light-bulb socket on it, and sell it to places like Lowe’s or Home Depot as a ‘Light Bulb Reprogrammer’. Adding a button is increased cost. For actual security, you could even set up a challenge-response mechanism to prevent random or automated activation. Smart Bulbs. Coincidentally, some of the same techniques might be helpful for situations of translation or transliteration or transcoding. Replace “chagne lightbulb” to “reset lightbulb” and multiply number of contenders by 3. Douglas Adams could not have invented a finer example of corporate torture. July 11, 2019 8:48 AM, parabarbarian • As for audio, it’s already been several years since many motherboard manufacturers actually jumped on board with 24-bit 48 kHz (or 96 kHz) full duplex linear PCM audio. Turn on for 8 seconds; 2. Opening the bulb and connecting two pins is a safety problem. Just think of how much additional commerce technology insecurity creates! I have a lot of different brands of smart bulb, and I appreciate the GE procedure. I could hardly stop. July 12, 2019 10:53 AM. Recommended. July 11, 2019 8:15 AM, David Rudling • Without these cookies we cannot provide you with the service that you expect. Pretty sure you can just telnet into it and it tells you right there on the login screen. It’s like these companies go out of their way to hire dumb people to create these “smart” devices. July 11, 2019 6:50 PM. You wouldn’t get this from any other guy, I just wanna tell you how to do it I’m wondering why I would need a smart bulb. July 12, 2019 4:21 AM, If you go around your house resetting several one evening, a neighbour may think it is a morse code message, Alan • These GE Link brand LED light bulbs have a built-in factory reset step. The underlying problem is essentially: how can a user “escape” a normal input channel in a way that is unlikely to be triggered in normal operation or accidentally (such as by a child screwing around). Since Latin and other etymological (word history) languages aren’t as prevelant, it makes sense to me (and perhaps others) to encourage carefully+crafted alternative spellings to accommodate clearer communications and to further reduce miscommunications. I suppose — trying to think of a reasonable reason for this bizarre sequence stealing at least a minute from anyone who needs to reset such a bulb — that the five cycles of eight seconds on and two seconds off will reduce the chances of a spurious reset in normal use. They perform functions like preventing the same ad from continuously reappearing, ensuring that ads are properly displayed for advertisers, and in some cases selecting advertisements that are based on your interests. Just send an SMS with "ge_post_2.8" or "ge_pre_2.7" to reset the connected GE smart bulb. July 11, 2019 8:41 PM, “There has to be a small watchdog circuit that might be a tiny microcontroller, or some kind of shift register with timers. simpleton • IMPORTANT: Make sure to turn power on and off at the wall switch and not within the app. I put (non-smart) LED light bulbs in my desk and reading lamps because they run cool, don’t bake head or face like incandescents do. If your C by GE smart light bulbs become unresponsive and you are unable to get them reconnected, you may need to reset them. Having trouble with your C by GE bulbs? Not nine seconds. And then at the end of the sequence, turn it on one last time. (Or I set the digital time four minutes forward, and rely only on the needles). GE's instructional video for their 'C' light bulb is peak smart technology ridiculousness. Ive even had bulbs reset being unscrewed while the power is on, because they flickered. Which is exactly the current solution: Users toggling in a code using the only input available? July 11, 2019 12:28 PM, “Do you know what version of the firmware you’re running ?”. At the Power Switch. How critical are those times? Egg. Deploying a …, In the cloud era, enterprises are searching for the best cloud strategy to increase agility, decrease costs, and foster greater innovation. Petre Peter • July 11, 2019 10:49 AM. Would it also work with let say: 7.8, 2.1, 8.3, 1.9, etc sec? An odd choice, perhaps. July 11, 2019 8:27 AM, @Bilateralrope: “Do you know what version of the firmware you’re running ?”, There must be a switch on/off sequence that makes the bulb output the firmware version by flickering using the Morse code…, Sed Contra • We have two reset processes that are based on the firmware your bulbs are on. Terrorists May Use Google Earth, But Fear Is No Reason to Ban It. But the video is adamant: eight seconds on, two seconds off. Today, “smart” usually indicates not-smart. See you on the other side, friend. And you may want to prepare yourself a stiff drink before hitting play. This seems to me to completely be missing the point of reducing both energy demands, reducing depreciation of tools and manufactured goods, reducing bloatware and feature creep, preventing the overzealous use of bandwidth, and even down to ergonomic issues such as. By Stan Horaczek. And in between each on cycle, you turn it off. Stuck at the office? Apologies to the toaster in the original meme. July 11, 2019 9:09 PM. This could simply be software (in ROM or on a part of the flash that’s not touched when upgrading), whereas a switch would appear on the BOM. Thanks! It comes with the territory. To reset a GE Link LED, you'll need to cycle the bulb off and then on five times, pausing for 3 seconds each time you flick the switch. July 11, 2019 8:10 AM, Garyh • Heath Robinson • I increasingly know how they feel, even though I’m technically inclined. A mere chimera — a socially constructed fiction — inherently devoid of significance beyond what may be imputed to it by inadequately interrogated cultural prejudice. Warfare is worse than expensive; warfare always risks the entire destruction of this entire planet; that’s almost unanimoulsy understood by both science and legacy militaries. Take control of all the smart light bulbs in the city. July 12, 2019 11:03 AM. Here's an overview of our use of cookies, similar technologies and Repeat turning the light off and on (approximately 5 times) until the bulb flashes once. It is literally being linked to right now on comedy websites after going viral this week. Eight seconds. To cleanse the palate, via Josh Jordan, the best piece of unintentional comedy I’ve seen since the legendary Robert Kelly office invasion.. And no, we didn't get that wrong, the second reset process actually has SIX rather than five on/off cycles. These cookies collect information in aggregate form to help us understand how our websites are being used. I am a public-interest technologist, working at the intersection of security, technology, and people. It was a good time. It is just about feasible that someone could do that by mistake. It’s usually through a menu that you can access or a dedicated button you press. But presumably, after driving dozens of customers completely mad on the phone, they decided they had no choice but to create a painfully clear record of their compulsive obsessive process. ... video from GE on how to reset their "C" light bulbs is the most incredible how-to video you'll ever see. July 14, 2019 4:59 AM, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Heath_Robinson, Drive-By Idealogue • July 13, 2019 1:53 AM. Even a UI/UX novice knows that making someone wait for one unnecessary second is a design failure. Continuously try to pair with any device in reach? You guys are all including publically-accessibly lightswitches in your threat model and training your people to watch for this reset sequence, right? 73 Comments, Jose Sardinas • Just like the version number of the hardware, Chris • Personally, I think Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Select Start is more intuitive and user-friendly. Reset by physical access: I guess my answer to your question of “can you come up with a better way to reset a smart bulb” is “mu.”, Impossibly Stupid • I laughed. Comedy genius. Doing a factory reset on any electronic product shouldn’t be that difficult. What then is a light bulb? (The Aardvark and Bernie Sanders sound the same, ain’t it?). A: None. What if you left it off for too long? THE VIDEO DOESN'T TELL YOU! Some have experimented with moving …, This research paper will explore the new platform and assess its strengths and weaknesses compared to the growing cadre of potential competitors. Replace with non-GE non-smart light bulb. Attach a light sensor between your bulb and the socket it plugs into. Aside: Some intentional alternative spellings are perhaps useful, when designed to prevent misinterpretation. And it ain't pretty. This is not a tightly engineered device; it's a light bulb. It appears to be an improvement on the previous revision. February 12, 2020 12:49 PM. If the paired device fails – when should it start to try to pair again? Then turn off the light and wait 3 seconds. To avoid security issues with the bulb, they can be run on an isolated WiFi network with no internet connectivity. Creating a step-by-step video illuminating GE GE, -0.46% customers on how to do a factory reset on their C by GE bulbs probably seemed like a bright idea at the time. If you need to reset the software in your GE smart light bulb — firmware version 2.8 or later — just follow these easy instructions: Start with your bulb off for at least 5 seconds. Get your smart lights in line with a manual reset - YouTube Brilliant! Lynn Grant • Here’s the video from GE. No less than five times. • • • •