Years later than you might have expected, given my line of work, I’ve finally hit the dubious milestone of owning a major appliance with its own Internet Protocol address and mobile app–the Bosch dishwasher we procured as part of an overdue and immensely-appreciated kitchen renovation.
I didn’t pick this 300-series SHE53C85N model because of that connected-home possibility. (I try not to use “smart” as an adjective when describing non-computer devices that can now be monitored and commanded over the Internet, because that’s giving a compliment that may not be earned.) I bought this dishwasher because Wirecutter recommended it, and I know the attention to detail practiced by the staff at my client.
But having flipped through the dishwasher’s manual and seen a note that some dishwashing cycles were only available through Bosch’s Home Connect app, I had to see if this corner of the connected-home future would live up to the glitzy presentations I see at trade shows like CES and IFA.
After installing the Home Connect on my Android phone, the app greeted me with a picture of a woman (note to Bosch: guys do dishes too) surrounded by appliance icons and this headline: “Infinite possibilities. Take full control of your home appliances.” But before I could take control of anything, the app first had me create a “SingleKey ID” account (skimming the privacy policy revealed that Bosch could use IP-derived location data to adjust appliances to match local water hardness), secured by default only with a password (the SingleKey site let me add two-factor authentication but only via text messaging, an underdone security UX that needs to go back in the oven).
Pairing the dishwasher with my phone took three tries, either because I didn’t wait long enough after turning the dishwasher on to press the “Remote start”/WiFi button or because I didn’t press the WiFi button long enough, or because the setup was just finicky. But then it worked, rewarding me with a “Congratulations!” screen.
My WiFi router’s app promptly notified me of the new device’s appearance on our home network, then disappointed me by not including a dishwasher icon among its lengthy list of connected-home devices that I could apply to the new device’s listing in that Synology app.
The Home Connect app’s onboarding sequence then had me select a default rinse-aid setting, decline or accept an Extra Dry default, set the volume for the dishwasher’s beeps, name the dishwasher (because it was late, I opted for “Dishwasher”), and choose what sort of remote control I’d allow.
The default for that last item was “Manual remote start,” where you have to press the dishwasher’s Remote start button before it will take commands from the app; I opted for “Monitoring,” then was confused to see no option in the app to select any of these app-only wash cycles.
Switching back to “Manual remote start” revealed that I can set custom cycles by selecting what I’m going to put in the dishwasher, how dirty those items are, and what my priorities are between cleanliness, efficiency, dryness, sanitization, silence and speed, then save that as a customized cycle. The last page of that setup interface reports the cycle’s estimated water temperature, time, and energy and water inputs, which for the app-only Eco cycle would be 113° F, an hour and 20 minutes, four gallons of water and .65 kilowatt hours.
I can’t lie: Getting that level of usage detail does appeal to my nerdy side. I can also see myself setting a custom cycle optimized for quiet when we have guests over, then adding another the next time I need to sanitize several dozen empty beer bottles for a future batch of homebrewed beer. So although this makes me feel a little dirty in a way that no connected dishwasher can make clean, I suppose I’ll keep this app around for a bit longer.
https://robpegoraro.com/2024/03/16/hype-cycle-meets-rinse-cycle-does-my-dishwasher-really-need-a-mobile-app/
#Bosch #BoschSHE53C85N #connectedHome #dishWashCycle #dishwasher #HomeConnect #SingleKeyID #smartHome #Wirecutter
