Repair and consumer groups asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to make tech companies disclose how long connected devices will receive software support. The request was advocacy, not a new legal requirement. In a later staff study, the FTC found that 161 of 184 connected-product webpages it reviewed—about 88.6%—did not state how long software updates would be provided or give an end-of-support date.
What the groups asked the FTC to do
On September 5, 2024, a coalition of 17 consumer, repair, accessibility and technology organizations—including Consumer Reports, U.S. PIRG, iFixit, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Software Freedom Conservancy and Repair Café—sent FTC officials a letter asking for clear guidance on what it called “software tethering.” The coalition wanted consumers to know how long a device would be supported and what would happen when its software, app or connected service changed or ended. Consumer Reports’ announcement and the coalition’s letter describe five broad proposals.
- Disclose a guaranteed minimum support period.
- Preserve a device’s core functions when internet access or software updates end.
- Provide tools to reuse or repurpose products after official support ends.
- Protect third-party interoperability and modification.
- Encourage longer-lasting design and educate consumers about support and end-of-life expectations.
The letter asked the agency to act; it did not itself create an obligation for manufacturers. The FTC later published a staff study and discussed existing legal theories, but the agency materials cited here do not establish a finalized, nationwide rule requiring every connected device to carry a minimum-support label.
What “minimum support time” would tell a buyer
The coalition’s proposed disclosure is a floor—a minimum period a buyer could rely on—not a prediction of when a device will physically fail. The letter calls for companies to account for the updates, engineering and connected infrastructure needed to keep products working. A single date, however, can obscure important differences unless a company says what is covered.
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- Security support: How long the manufacturer expects to provide security patches.
- Software and feature support: Whether updates needed for normal operation or compatibility will continue, and whether new features may stop earlier.
- Cloud and account support: How long required servers, APIs, accounts or subscription infrastructure will remain available.
- Functional end date: Whether advertised core functions may stop working after a specified date or service shutdown.
- Warranty: A separate promise concerning remedies for certain defects; it does not necessarily promise ongoing software or cloud service.
- Physical lifespan: How long hardware may last in use, which is not the same as its software-support period.
For example, a product might receive security patches while losing cloud scheduling, or remain operational after its updates stop while becoming more exposed to security risks. “Lifetime support” is not a useful minimum unless “lifetime” is defined. A clear commitment should identify the type of support and the date it ends.
How software tethering can limit ownership
The coalition uses “software tethering” for a device whose functions depend on software or infrastructure controlled by its manufacturer or another provider. That dependency can involve a smartphone app, online account, cloud server, third-party API, paid subscription, firmware pairing or remote authorization. The buyer may own the physical product while the ability to use it still depends on a service the buyer cannot control.
Examples raised in coverage of the coalition’s request include an e-bike that needs a company server to start, an oven that relies on an app for a primary function, a thermostat that loses basic control when its cloud platform closes, and a smart bassinet whose features become subscription-gated. Ars Technica’s report discusses these examples. They illustrate possible consumer problems; they do not, by themselves, establish that a particular product or practice violates the law.
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Software dependence can matter to household finances as well as convenience. If a buyer cannot see how long smart features will last, it is difficult to compare a connected model’s price with a simpler alternative, estimate its useful value, or judge whether a subscription is worth paying. A repair may restore a battery or circuit board without restoring access to a discontinued server, proprietary app or manufacturer-controlled authorization system.
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On November 26, 2024, FTC staff published a review of support disclosures for 184 selected connected products. The staff examined manufacturers’ product webpages and conducted basic internet searches. The agency’s announcement and report give the findings.
| Measure | FTC staff finding |
|---|---|
| Products reviewed | 184 selected connected products |
| Product webpages without a support duration or end date | 161 of 184, approximately 88.6% |
| Product webpages with that information | 21 of 184, approximately 11.4% |
| Products for which basic internet searches found support information | 60 |
| Products for which those searches did not uncover support information | 124 |
The FTC staff also noted that support details could be outside the product page, in FAQs or other support materials, and that some companies used phrases such as “lifetime technical support” or “continuous software updates” without a clear minimum duration. The study covered a selected sample, not every connected product sold in the United States. It measured whether information could be found, not when each device would stop working. A missing disclosure alone does not prove an unlawful practice.
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What the FTC study says about the law—and what it does not
FTC staff discussed how nondisclosure could raise legal concerns in particular circumstances. Under the FTC Act, a missing support date could matter if a manufacturer’s express or implied marketing claims leave consumers with a misleading impression about how long a product will be usable. The facts and the overall impression of the claims matter; staff did not declare that every product without a date violates the law.
The staff report also said that, for consumer products sold with written warranties costing more than $15, failure to disclose software-support duration before sale may raise issues under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. That is staff’s conditional analysis, not a blanket legal holding that all manufacturers must publish a support date.
Guidance, enforcement and rulemaking are different. Guidance explains how the agency views practices under existing law; enforcement applies the law to particular facts; rulemaking can establish broader prospective requirements if the agency has authority and follows required procedures. The coalition’s request sought clearer guidance and policy action. The later staff study documented a disclosure problem, but did not adopt all five proposals or impose a universal label.
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What a useful support label would need to say
A date is most useful when buyers can tell exactly what it promises. A meaningful disclosure could distinguish security patches from feature updates, specify whether cloud services are included, and say when the clock starts—such as purchase, product launch or last manufacture. It should also identify regional or edition limits, refurbished-product coverage, subscription dependencies and how the company will notify owners before support ends.
The following is an illustrative format, not an official FTC label or current legal requirement:
Minimum software-support commitment: Security updates through June 30, 2031. Core heating function works without internet access. Cloud scheduling and remote control require an active service. Manufacturer may extend support beyond this date.
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Even this example leaves questions a real disclosure would need to answer: whether the date applies worldwide, whether a used buyer receives the same commitment, and what happens if the manufacturer cannot keep operating its servers. A label can make a promise visible, but cannot by itself guarantee a company’s future financial ability to honor it.
Why core functions should survive service shutdowns
The coalition asked that essential functions remain available if internet access fails or software updates stop. Its letter gives examples such as an e-bike starting without a server connection, an oven still heating food, and a thermostat still controlling HVAC equipment. What counts as “core” depends on the product: local recording may be central to a camera while cloud backup is optional; local unlocking may be central to a door lock while remote sharing is not.
For a medical monitor, local measurement and access to historical records may be essential; for a printer, printing over a local connection may be the basic function while cloud printing is an added feature. The policy challenge is to prevent companies from labeling nearly every useful capability a cloud service, while recognizing that some devices need network access for safety, security or regulated functions.
Trade-offs a policy would have to address
- Cost and complexity: Longer support can require engineering, testing, security work, hosting and customer service. Products may become more expensive, and manufacturers may depend on app stores, cellular networks or cloud providers they do not control.
- Security, safety and intellectual property: Third-party modification or access to discontinued products can raise concerns about vulnerabilities, safety, trade secrets and copyrighted code. The coalition’s interoperability proposal therefore involves implementation questions, not a simple technical fix. A legal analysis of the proposals discusses some of those issues.
- Business failure: A support commitment is of limited practical value if a company goes bankrupt or a critical service provider shuts down. Planning for local operation, unlocking or repurposing could reduce dependence, but a disclosure alone cannot keep a server online.
- Subscriptions and changing features: A device can still receive updates yet lose features behind a new fee. Support duration and the right to use a feature without a recurring subscription are different questions.
- Accessibility and secondhand use: A device may keep its headline function but lose accessibility features, or have little support time remaining when resold. Buyers of used and refurbished products need dates tied to the individual model and clear rules about whether the commitment follows the device.
What to check before buying a connected device
Until support information is easy to compare, buyers can reduce uncertainty by checking the product page, warranty materials and manufacturer support pages before paying. Ask the seller or manufacturer when an answer is unclear.
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- Find the security-update end date and whether it is measured from launch, purchase or another point.
- Check whether feature updates, app compatibility and cloud services have separate end dates.
- Identify which functions require internet, an account, an app or a subscription, and whether the essential function works locally.
- Look for repair manuals, replacement parts, battery replacement options and any pairing or authorization requirements.
- Check whether you can export your data and whether the manufacturer provides an end-of-life, unlock or repurposing path.
- For a used or refurbished unit, ask how much support time remains and whether the original commitment applies to subsequent owners.
For broader FTC materials on connected products, see the agency’s Internet of Things topic page.
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