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posted by Fnord666 on Friday February 22 2019, @02:55PM   Printer-friendly
from the just-reboot-it dept.

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Have you tried taking it off and putting it back on again?

"My left shoe won't even reboot": Faulty app bricks Nike smart sneakers

Nike users are experiencing some technical difficulties in the wild world of connected footwear. Nike's $350 "Adapt BB" sneakers are the latest in the company's line of self-lacing shoes, and they come with the "Nike Adapt" app for Android and iOS. The app pairs with the shoes and lets you adjust the tightness of the laces, customize the lights (yeah, there are lights), and see, uh, how much battery life your shoes have left. The only problem: Nike's Android app doesn't work.

Android users report that their new kicks aren't paring with the app properly, and some customers report failed firmware updates for the shoes, which render them unable to pair with the app at all. Nike's app on Google Play has been flooded with 1-star reviews in response to the faulty update.

One user writes, "The first software update for the shoe threw an error while updating, bricking the right shoe." Another says, "App will only sync with left shoe and then fails every time. Also, app says left shoe is already connected to another device whenever I try to reinstall and start over."

"My left shoe won't even reboot." writes another. One user offers a possible solution, saying, "You need to do a manual reset of both shoes per the instructions."


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  • (Score: 2) by looorg on Friday February 22 2019, @03:40PM (10 children)

    by looorg (578) on Friday February 22 2019, @03:40PM (#805080)

    $350 for pair of sneakers? Some people clearly have to much money. Self-lacing shoes, how lazy do you have to be to not be able to tie and lace your own shoes? If you can't do it do you even have enough dexterity to stand up right and walk? But then it apparently doesn't even work properly all the time so that might not even be an issue. Are these sneakers even made for walking or are they something you keep in your trophy closet / sneaker collection / of bling-bling?

    Could the issue be that you are constantly putting pressure and weight on the "computer", and also that the shoe probably bends and flexes a fair bit as you walk. It's not exactly boots that are made for walking.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 22 2019, @03:49PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 22 2019, @03:49PM (#805087)
  • (Score: 1, Disagree) by TechieRefugee on Friday February 22 2019, @04:24PM

    by TechieRefugee (5665) on Friday February 22 2019, @04:24PM (#805113)

    I mean, let's be honest, velcro is the superior strapping technology for shoes anyways.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Freeman on Friday February 22 2019, @04:30PM (3 children)

    by Freeman (732) on Friday February 22 2019, @04:30PM (#805115) Journal

    I could see them being useful to handicapped people as well as people with more money than sense.

    --
    Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Thexalon on Friday February 22 2019, @05:53PM (2 children)

      by Thexalon (636) on Friday February 22 2019, @05:53PM (#805186)

      people with more money than sense

      That right there is every marketer's ideal audience, whether you're talking about herbal supplements that don't even contain the active ingredient, kitchen gadgets that take longer to find and set up than it would take for you to just use a knife or other simple tool, phone apps that do nothing useful, security devices that protect you against non-threats like wild American tigers, or Internet-connected crock-pots.

      --
      The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 23 2019, @04:04PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 23 2019, @04:04PM (#805603)

        Hey now -- placebo is a powerful thing. You can't bottle up pills of placebo--unless the consumer is ignorant of how the product works, like the entire homoepathy market. Those people right there are why gwenneth paltrow is a genius--she's rich due to being able to exploit the gullibility of young women that haven't the time or inclination to read up on anything other than anti-vaccination fears.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 23 2019, @06:48PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 23 2019, @06:48PM (#805695)

        That right there is every marketer's ideal audience

        I just wish those fucking retards got the hint that while my household has a lot of money, out sense is much much more pletiful and they quit wasting everyone's time.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 22 2019, @05:37PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 22 2019, @05:37PM (#805174)

    Actually these are "Built for Basketball" (Nike link in TFS). Wonder if it was Nike or Google script kiddies that went to update the app and bricked the left shoe. Nike is "...aware of the issue and are actively working on a solution." Any one want a job cleaning up apps for Nike?
    Another big hit for Nike was the injury to Duke basketball star Zion Williamson when his ,,,Wait for it...Left shoe blew up early in a big game. Doesn't look like it was one of the IoT connected "Nike Adapt" shoes. Haven't looked to see if Nike's stock price has fallen yet today, but I'll bet there was much concern in the legal and marketing departments at Nike.
    Of course it could have been an "alt wrong" app developer just trying to get rid of the " lefties". /s

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 22 2019, @06:30PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 22 2019, @06:30PM (#805208)

    > Some people clearly have to much money.

    While you, sir, appear to be so poor as to not afford the extra "o" to spell "too"...

  • (Score: 2) by wisnoskij on Friday February 22 2019, @06:55PM (1 child)

    by wisnoskij (5149) <reversethis-{moc ... ksonsiwnohtanoj}> on Friday February 22 2019, @06:55PM (#805237)

    That is about what new nikes sell for anyway though, and 10% the cost of resold nike. So the they are not really charging much if anything for all the tech that goes into these shoes.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 23 2019, @03:15AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 23 2019, @03:15AM (#805454)

      No, new Nikes start at ~$100 (unless you're getting the basic solid-color non-line-brand, those are ~$50), and the more expensive ones might cost this much. There's definitely an extra charge for the technology.