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posted by Fnord666 on Sunday August 13 2017, @02:56AM   Printer-friendly
from the when-bad-ideas-go-wrong dept.

According to The Register a firmware update mistake has managed to brick hundreds of internet-connected door locks:

The upshot is you can't use the builtin keypad on the devices to unlock the door. Lockstate's smart locks are popular among Airbnb hosts as it allows them to give guests an entry code to get into properties without having to share physical keys. Lockstate is even a partner with Airbnb.

Earlier this week, though, new software was automatically sent out to folks' $469 Lockstate 6000i locks – one of the upstart's top residential smart locks – which left the keypad entirely useless. The crashed locks – which connect to your home Wi-Fi for remote control and monitoring as well as firmware updates – are now going to be out of action for at least a week.

[...] The physical key on the lock should still work, but that's going to be cold comfort for a lot of Airbnb users, who prefer to keep the physical keys to themselves and set an access code for each lodger that stops by.


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by lx on Sunday August 13 2017, @06:10AM (1 child)

    by lx (1915) on Sunday August 13 2017, @06:10AM (#553132)

    Mechanical locks are being made relatively cheaply with an uptime of decades and no need for power or internet access.

    It's the IT people who suck. Other engineering disciplines take reliability more seriously.

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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by TheRaven on Sunday August 13 2017, @03:06PM

    by TheRaven (270) on Sunday August 13 2017, @03:06PM (#553273) Journal

    Mechanical locks are being made relatively cheaply with an uptime of decades and no need for power or internet access.

    And most of them are vulnerable to known attacks. If you want a physical lock that gets an update shipped to you as soon as cheap off-the-shelf lockpicks can open it, then you're going to end up spending a lot more money.

    --
    sudo mod me up