General Electric Wi-Fi Oven Bricked (Locked) by Mandatory Update

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Some GE Wi-Fi ovens became unusable when a full-screen firmware prompt appeared, forcing owners to pick “Install Now” or “Install Tonight.” Until one option was chosen, neither the oven’s controls nor the SmartHQ app could start or configure the appliance. Videos and screenshots show the lockout leaving the oven inoperable without accepting the update.

Background

General Electric (GE) produces a range of Wi-Fi–enabled ovens under its Profile and Café brands, managed through the company’s SmartHQ app. These appliances allow remote monitoring, temperature presets, and over-the-air firmware updates intended to improve performance or add features. GE markets them as “smart ovens,” highlighting software upgrades as part of their value.

Incident - Oven Bricked (Locked) by Mandatory Update

Users discovered:

• The oven’s physical controls are disabled while the update dialog was shown.
• There was no “Skip,” “Remind me later,” or “Use without updating” option.
• Attempting to start the oven from the companion SmartHQ mobile app also failed: the app required accepting the update before remote control would work.
• As long as the update was pending, the appliance could not be turned on or configured.

Impact:

• The oven was effectively bricked until the user agreed to install firmware.

Consumer concerns

• Lack of an offline fallback undermines the basic purpose of the product.
• Update is presented as unavoidable.
• Despite this is an essential, a food preparing appliance, it is practically unusable unless updated.

Evidence

• User-submitted screenshots of the update dialo

Undismissable update prompt