Note: Since this post was originally published, the GE FILTERGATE site has gone down. An archived version of the site shows an addendum/correction in which the author notes that “the fridge would, in fact, continue to work[,] just would roll over to a days-past mode” if a non-GE water filter was installed. In other words, the claim that the refrigerator would shut off the water tap was erroneous; the fridge would instead show an unremovable warning/annoyance, with an updating daily counter, until you installed an official GE filter (or, as suggested, glued the bypass filter’s chip sticker onto the sensor).
It’s my fault for not doing more to question a sensational story. The source post was documented with uncanny detail, and, sadly, the narrative of DRM water filters was believable (and, technically, still partly true). I apologize for having made GE’s fridges (technically Haier under GE’s brand) seem more owner-hostile than they are.
The rest of this post remains as it was, partly for posterity, partly because it wouldn’t make much sense to try and retro-fit it. I hope to learn from this one. ~ Kevin P.
You know what’s important? Water. Water is the base layer of Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs, because you can’t live long without it. Myself, I am a fan of water. Particularly the pure, clean, filtered, ice-cold variety.
But you know who doesn’t want you to have some water, unless you pay them $50 for one of their water filters? General Electric. What follows is a cautionary tale, one of hubris and capitalism, one we fear is becoming all too common.
“Have you ever p**** off a customer so much they bought a domain and stood up a website to s*** on your asinine and boneheaded business practices? GE just did.”
GE FILTERGATE
It starts when one GE fridge owner, late at night, was surprised to see a countdown timer on their fridge. They later realized their fridge was going to actually block the water tap and ice maker if they didn’t insert a new official GE filter. Said fridge owner became so enraged, they made this single-page web masterpiece: GE FILTERGATE.
You really need to read the whole (rather profane) thing. It has passages where pure distilled rage is laid out to bloom. It labels GE’s RFID-checking circuit board the “Integrated Führer Board (IFB).” It references Magnuson Moss and similar DRM debacles, like Keurig’s proprietary coffee cups. The fiasco so motivates the owner that they resort to using a Dremel and painter’s tape to bypass the lock.
GE FILTERGATE (it deserves to have its title kept all-caps) sparked interesting threads on Reddit and Hacker News. Some commenters mention the Right to Repair, and for good reason. It’s the same monopolist/paternalist thinking involved in not allowing you to swap your own home button or fix your own tractor. It’s a way of ensuring that the manufacturer, not the consumer, decides when it’s time to spend more money.
It is, as one highly up-voted Redditor puts it, “So much engineering just to (f***) the customer.”
It looks like this customer-hostile approach may be backfiring. Some of the top-rated posts indicate shifting purchasing preferences.
- “Thanks for the post, we are researching appliances and we will vote with our dollar. GE is on our black list” — Robepa2
- “When my friend bought his house he was lucky enough to have a refrigerator with the same ‘feature’. Luckily I was able to warn him right away so he could gather supplies for the bypass … Never again will I ever consider GE Appliances and I’m always sure to warn people.” — bronco21016
It’s notable that the process for asking the Copyright Office for exemptions to section 1201 of the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) is ramping up right now for the 2020/2021 cycle. Last time we pushed the Office, iFixit helped unlock exceptions for voice-powered AI assistants, new cellphone unlocking, and, notably, home appliances.
Perhaps we need to push this year for overcoming DRM measures that … block people from receiving water from their own home’s plumbing? You think you’ve seen everything, and then you see someone sawing open a filter to enable wireless authenticated drinking water.
50 Comments
He has since updated the page to say that it won’t actually block anything from working but just show a “days overdue” counter of shame.
Josh Wisenbaker - Reply
Website doesn’t seem to be active any longer.
Robert Kite -
So his whole premise was false. Unlike Keurig 2.0 that required the chip to run.
bill -
iFixit still sends the email on the 20th though with the sensational text even after knowing it was debunked and false:
I don’t blame the author too much, he seems sincere in his correction. But ifixit still sent out the bogus story in their email 8 days after the correction had been made and titled it as follows in the email and with that erroneous text quoted above. That is what makes me mad!
Welcome to DRM water: GE’s incredibly dumb money grab
benny -
I understand the article. I sent to 5 people and none of them really understood his method. It’s like an engineer writing the manual for something. Only engineers understand it. He’s posted random info with photo’s. He should explain EXACTLY what he’s doing. I looked at the filtergate page and it’s not informative enough for the common man to accomplish. Best thing is not to buy these fridges…
wpsturgeon - Reply
GEFILTERGATE>COM appears to be unresponsive.
Vince Shaff - Reply
http://web.archive.org/web/2020061505050...
michel -
As for Keurig, you can purchase one time a four pack of refillable/reusable cups that you can put you own choose of coffee in. Been using them for years and saving tons of $!!!
ACS - Reply
I use the original authentic Italian Mako espresso maker on the stove. So simple . Nothing to recycle except coffee grounds
Derek Hook - Reply
It’s their own fault that GE is blamed for this, however they sold this appliance business to Haier in 2016.
John Katos - Reply
FASCISM ON THE MARCH is what this amounts to. It’s being perpetrated everywhere by the KorporateKapitalistKabal whose sole purpose is the ENSLAVEMENT of the 99.9% in order to lpreserve their «God-given Right» to prey on everyone else. KONSUMERISM is UNSUSTAINABLE and morally bankrupt — there is PLENTY in the world for EVERYONE if it would be equitably shared. The source of the problems is simple: G-R-E-E-D.
freeman dryden - Reply
I have a GE Profile Performance with a Culligan water filter. When it got sufficiently loaded up to barely flow, I looked into a replacement.
Best price $35 !!, GE price $50 !!!. So, shut off feed, removed filter, a short talk with Mr Bandsaw, a large O-ring, a plate of polycarbonate, and a bypass is made. That was 5+ years ago. I filter water for the whole house - a spun cotton then a carbon for everywhere, but then another carbon for the kitchen.
Kevin Sargent - Reply
BEST Way to do it! Congrats on having the know-how and gray matter!
Mike Smith -
Yeah, it looks like the traffic ifixit is pushing to the site may have broken it :-)
npagazani - Reply
Why punish GE when the sole function of the timer is to let you know it’s time to change the filter. I have a similar timer on my ac to tell me to clean it. It’s for your benefit since the trapped particulate will eventually slow the delivery of water. This is another example of irrational people have become and they are looking to blame everyone else for their anger at life in general. No ones responsible for your anger but you.
robert - Reply
The whole article is bullshit. The guy who created the website apparently didn’t read the manual, and went to all that work for nothing. Sadly, ifixit doesn’t have the integrity to correct their article.
Hereinto -
I shopped and shopped and found fridge filters in a close out sale for $3 a piece. I bought enough to keep me in filters for 3 years. And Keurig coffee pods…well geepers… you can buy refillable cups and make your own. Are people THAT lazy???
geeamouse - Reply
So, why is ifixit continuing to post this trash talk when it’s not true. Apparently, all the device does is warn you to replace the filter, and does not shut off the water. The guy who created this website, and all the commotion, because he apparently could not read the manual. Worse, ifixit, by continuing this erroneous post is losing credibility and slandering the company for no reason.
Hereinto - Reply
iFixit (me, in this case) is updating the article, now that we’ve seen the original site’s addendum/note about the filter still working. It’s my fault that I didn’t verify the water blocking—I was taken in by the length the original author went to look up the patent, show off the hardware, and create a bypass RFID work-around, all before verifying that the water would actually stop working.
Still, that’s on me. I learned a lesson from this one. I apologize for having jumped in too enthusiastically, too soon.
Mind you, there is still a radio-scanning technology in a fridge that will bug you until you install official water filters. It’s only half Draconian!
Kevin Purdy -
Site is down, but luckily it's been archived already: http://web.archive.org/web/2020061505050...
michel - Reply
I hope GE sues the pants off this guy for libel and slander. So the filter DOES NOT, in fact, cut the water off but is instead is a simple counter for filter replacement. I hope GE gets his house and throws him out in the cold winter.
Lawrence Krupp - Reply
Is it really just GE’s greed behind this? Does this realy have nothing in to do with the ridiculous lawsuits making manufacturers responsible for what is relly just, ehm, lack of intelligence of some users? Anything related to health is a legal minefield and the manufacturers introduce ridiculous measures just to get their rear ends covered. I am very angry, but honestly, I cannot really blame them :-(
Petr Stejskal - Reply
If the circuit to detect the GE filter is in the refrigerator, why doesn’t someone open up the appliance, find the circuit, and see how to bypass that? Or make a cloned RFID chip and just glue it near the filter location, so any filter can work? My Kenmore refrigerator warns me when the filter is due for replacement, but I don’t take that into account since I hardly use water or ice through the door. I just go into the “options” and reset the counter as if I did change the filter, which can be any brand. Maybe this is what the GE refrigerator does, too.
raymondjram - Reply
GE is a company that could not care less for it’s domestic customers. I bought a combined fan oven and microwave from them 2015. The display for both microwave and oven had a digital clock. It soon became apparent that for every minute recorded on the oven’s clock, only 50 seconds was recorded on the microwave clock. After having been given the ‘it’s the voltage difference bullshit from GE (220V vs 240V) it turns out that the microwave clock chip only works with 60Hz whereas the oven clock chip is universal (50 or 60Hz). This means that microwave times are 10 seconds out every minute, When GE were confronted with this they said that their product was only intended for the US domestic market despite me having bought it from an agent in Bolivia. It would be a matter of changing one chip on the motherboard which could be replaced easily but GE didn’t want to know and would do nothing under warranty despite the appliance being unfit for purpose.
Rod Peel - Reply
I have three decades of experience with GE, both as a consumer and as a government employee, and can tell you that their number 1 goal is to make money. They do make some good products, but making money is the goal, and that is what they do. I had a fridge that I purchased in the US for shipment to France, which started to ice up. I thought that I could fix it, if I had a copy of the wiring diagram. I called the GE hotline and asked where I could find it. They said that they would sell it to me for $30. I said no thanks, and started to take the fridge apart. Once I opened up the door panel,- VOILA! - there was a wiring diagram taped to the inside of the door! They include it for the service man! but would not tell me this and would only sell it to me. I was able to quickly fix the problem with the purchase of a $20 timer module (broken gear train).
They build some ood stuff, but they do not want you to learn how they build it - you might learn something and decide to compete with them.
Ralph - Reply
Yep, file this one under - Gee, I shoulda read the manual.
Mike Smith - Reply
I’m amused but not surprised. I worked for GE many years ago at one of their divisions. I loved working on their equipment. It was well designed and documented and supported. But you would hear about sneaky tricks like this all too often.
Ray Brennan - Reply
Learned a long time ago not to buy GE products.
Harolyn - Reply
Dead link. I guess GE won in the end.
Jon Christensen - Reply
While the guy that put up the site may have been wrong about the water being cut off, there really is no reason to have the RFID tag. My fridge has the capability to tell me when I need to replace the filter and no RFID tag is needed. So it begs the question, WHY? Are they planning on locking out non-GE filters so that while the water will still work, the filter is by-passed? The person putting up the website should have learned more before making a fool of himself, but GE’s motives here may not be pure.
bluecobras09 - Reply
I guess I am late to the party…https://gefiltergate.com/…. does not seem to be working. It’s pretty sad if the whole thing was mostly made up. Oh well, time to move on…nothing to see here.
marte - Reply
Thought I’d share this article on FB, but it was prohibited. I am a little confused about the folks who are saying this is just a question of reading the manual. The issue here is that GE is putting an RFID lock for the filter —i.e., you can’t use a universal filter that would undoubtedly cost less. Same game almost all the printer companies play with ink cartridges. Not a fan of GE after they took over Lukin Industries in Texas (a competitor for GE) and just shut down the company. Took out the middle class of Lufkin at the knees.
Tired of companies trying to squeeze every dollar out of consumers. That twisted notion that they have a higher duty to make tons of money for investors over providing a good product at reasonable prices. If we Americans were all part of the same country, we would be working together. Instead of exploiting consumers and workers, everyone would be treated fairly.
beezecorp - Reply
GE quality is sure NOT what it used to be. I like their stoves and microwaves. However I have noticed how cheaply they are made. I had trouble with my microwave. Fortuneately it was under warranty. The door had to be replaced. It still doesn’t work right sometimes. I guess it’s time to move on. Consumer Reports let down on my last purchase. The recommended the GE. It looks good but the performance isn’t there.
phudson38 - Reply
don’t buy a refrigerator with a water filter then. first point., for one, am glad they constantly remind you that it needs to be changed, otherwise you would wind up ill. 2nd point: all GE refrigerators come with a bypass part that lets you still have water without being filtered. don’t have one? buy it online and then enjoy your pure, unfiltered, chlorine-tainted water. it’s your choice. could have saved a lot of time by not doing this ridiculous hack. last point: stupid capitalist lexus. keeps reminding me to change my oil and oil filter. i showed them. i bypassed all of it and will never have to buy oil again. hahahaha. i win. no, wait, i just ruined my car…
christopherwallace - Reply
June 6, 2016
After six months and $5.6 billion, the appliance division of General Electric officially belongs to Chinese manufacturer Haier, the companies said at a press conference Monday.
https://www.cnet.com/news/its-official-g...
earhere - Reply
Not sure GE fridges are available in Australia, but I will keep this in mind when I am tempted to buy ant=y GE product. My generally !#^&@@-off state comes mainly from dealing with the giant printer ink ripoff along the same lines. $29 printers and $80 for “genuine “ replacement cartridges.
Murray Pryor - Reply
The refrigerator doesn’t *block* the flow of water, but unless you replace the filter with an official GE filter every six months or so (cost: $50!) you will have to put up with an impossible to ignore counter of shame that tells you how many days it’s been since you didn’t change the filter. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s very annoying. (Functionally identical filters cost about $15, but they don’t have the RFID chip, so the fridge “thinks” you haven’t replaced the filter.)
michaeljhehir - Reply
Ah, youth - there is a thing called the Wayback Machine some of us older folks know about…
Here’s the original gefiltergate.com site: https://web.archive.org/web/202006110129...
Interesting read. Along with lots of other interesting stuff on the Wayback Machine.
jay6vee - Reply
Can't open the website as of now. My IP is from Indonesia, is there anything todo with that?
IMI Comp - Reply
https://web.archive.org/web/202006110129...
jim - Reply
I’m a retired appliance repairman. I was trained by GE while in the military and worked for GE factory service and then for Sears. 50 years total. The green / red light is timed just like my air cleaner and furnace thermostat. Engineers figure out approx. how much time before filters needs to be replaced and remind you with the red light. You can reset these things and keep right on going if you want. In the case of the fridge not dispensing anymore is not because it’s somehow shut off by the fridge but because it’s full of residue and clogged and needs to be replaced. Water can be different from one area to another or you might have a whole house filter in witch case you don’t need a filter at all. i do believe the filters are way overpriced but if you shop around you can find a better price than buying factory direct. If you have a good whole house filter the fridge filter can be bypassed easy enough in most cases. Hope this helps.
gil1430 - Reply
Did a bit of research and 8 years retired and looks like I’m outdated. GE did add a RFID to force the user to buy their filters. (The GE website claims the RFID system is designed to help “prevent leaks,” and is quick to note that users receive a bypass plug (which you may have thrown away but can pay $25 to replace) that graciously lets users consume unfiltered water. The company did not respond to inquiries asking why any of these restrictions are necessary.) I don’t believe the prevent leak crap but as I said in previous post, if you have a whole house filter, find that bypass plug or buy one and be done with it.
gil1430 - Reply
I have a Westinghouse fridge with the water in the door and it doesn’t lock you out when the filter needs replacing, but it starts to beep or the light starts to flash at the small console where you control the water/ice management inside the fridge; but that is easily fixed by disconnecting the power for a few minutes, that resets the chip and your all set for awhile. I change my filter when the water starts to slow down coming out of the fridge door and I have only done it once and that was anter 13 months. I didn’t get my filters off Westinghouse, I got them off this bloke on eBay, he was selling them cheap, so I bought a few of them; they were cheap as in price, not cheap in quality
Bear Man - Reply
Some of the comments defending GE are astonishingly ridiculous. A quick (20 second max) Google search will reveal that using 3rd party filters actually does disable the water dispenser/ice maker on (at least some if not all - I didn’t look for a list) RWPFE equipped models. See this example of a different person’s claims; it’s one of probably many. (Dunno, don’t care. Do your own research if you need more proof.)
If GE REALLY cared about keeping consumers safe, they wouldn’t include an RFID embedded bypass to let you drink unfiltered water. Or, they wouldn’t sell their proprietary filters at an extremely inflated price. This is most definitely a case of money-grubbing at its finest.
However, I do agree that ifixit should update their article to reflect the retraction made before the site went down, which can be found on the WayBack Machine. The internet never forgives and never forgets.
Matt Harris - Reply
Wonderful. Get people spooled up about GE and don’t even show a link on how to bypass GE’s lock. The article is more about blasting GE than helping consumers.
bill roberts - Reply
Samsung may practice similar tactics. Have one their refrigerators in a home that is rarely used and the filter change icon comes on. Seems it is timer based rather than usage or flow rate based. Also the Samsung OEM filters have a much higher flow rate than any of the aftermarket filters. Not sure how they pulled that one off.
I am not a huge Samsung fan. Lots of features and lower cost but it costs you in the end. Cell phone, dishwasher and two refrigerators all with serious issues within a a few years of ownership. And Consumer Reports dropped them from their reviews due to poor quality.
refd123 - Reply
I have a GE fridge & it's true. It doesn't shut the water off but after about 90 days it starts slowly reducing the amount of water coming out of the dispenser (& also going into the ice maker, so the ice cubes slowly get smaller) & then starts the timer that you're past due on changing the filter. The manual says that the filter will remind u to change it after a certain amount of water has gone through it, so we stopped using the water dispenser & only use the ice maker but it still started counting down at about 90 days so that's not true - they want u to buy a new filter every 90 days that yes cost about 50 bucks each!! I understand his rage, it's completely ridiculous, not only the high price of the filters, but that it isn't true that it measures the amount of water that it’s filtering, it's just on some kind of clock. I fully wanted to return my fridge but by the time I realized it was going to be an issue, I was outside of the return time frame. I've been trying to figure out how to disable it ever since.
kim3098 - Reply
What did you expect from a Thomas Edison company? One of the biggest crooks in history (right behind Apple, Amazon & Google).
John Grzeskowiak - Reply
The email sent by iFixit on June 20th focusing on the sensational title:
Welcome to DRM water: GE’s incredibly dumb money grab
With subtext:
“They really thought they'd get away with it. GE, that is, demanding you buy their $50 filters, or they shut off your water tap. Luckily, one person got mad, and made a great website, appropriately titled ‘GE FILTERGATE.’ “
The story was released on the 12th and had since been debunked - GE does not shut off the tap!
But iFixit still sends the email out on June 20th with the above sensational text.
iFixit is fake news
benny - Reply
The hack is good...... but weak technical details. What RFID spec is being used? Which chip is on the RFID sticker. I will bring and RFID and NFC reader with me the next time I go over to a friend's house that has one of these. It may be much simpler to buy a cheap sticker and program it than is it is to Dremel and tape. If it is NFC instead your phone may be able to do it.
Michael Sandler - Reply