iFixit Wants To Hack McDonald’s Ice Cream Machines

iFixit has now also intervened in the dispute over constantly defective ice cream machines at the fast food chain Mcdonald’s. With the help of the US Congress, the repair professionals now want to create the opportunity to repair the devices quickly and easily.

iFixit is fighting against windmills

McDonald’s ice cream machines are so notorious for breaking down frequently that it has become a meme.

In recent years, this has also had other strange effects – a company that specializes in hacking ice cream machines demanded $900 million in damages from the fast food chain and also employed the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). about the machines and their poor maintainability .

Now there’s a small glimmer of hope in the ongoing issue, as iFixit has not only conducted a teardown of the McDonald’s machines but also petitioned the government to make the parts people need to fix them The Verge reports.

As seen in a video posted on YouTube, iFixit purchased the same ice cream maker model used by McDonald’s and spent hours getting it to work. The machine spewed out numerous error codes that, according to iFixit, are “nonsensical, counterintuitive and seemingly arbitrary, even if you’ve spent hours reading the manual.”

Although the ice cream maker consists of “easily replaceable parts” such as B. three circuit boards, a motor, a belt, and a heat exchanger, it can only be repaired by its manufacturer due to an agreement with McDonald’s. This is justified, among other things, by copyright law.

iFixit and the non-profit organization Public Knowledge have now applied for an exemption for ice cream machines. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened, iFixit has done it (and won) before for Xboxes, Tractors, and smartphones.

Why ice cream machines are so interesting?

But even if iFixit receives the exemption, that doesn’t mean that it will then be allowed to sell suitable tools. Therefore, the US Congress is now also being contacted.

iFixit is calling on Congress to reintroduce the Freedom to Repair Act, a law that would make bypassing software blocks and other measures to repair a product legal. This in turn would be just as interesting for many other areas.