this post was submitted on 04 Oct 2025

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Why do my LG smart fridge and my GE washer and dryer all have DNS servers? And is there a way I can control them without the manufacturer's miserable apps? (lemmy.radio)

submitted 14 hours ago by early_riser@lemmy.radio to c/homeassistant@lemmy.world

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First thing I do when I get a smart appliance is scan it with nmap. This has revealed some interesting Easter eggs, like my Davis instruments air quality sensors having a local REST API.

Doing the usual scan against my GE washer and dryer shows that port 53 is listening. What could that be for? Is there a way I can at least query their status locally or something?

When I got the washer and dryer I was excited about the smart home features because getting an alert when my laundry is done or starting the washer remotely so the clothes are done when I get home are genuinely useful features. However, last time I checked the app none of that was available, so I just have these Trojan horses in my home spying on me with no benefit in exchange. Their app wanted my freaking mailing address when I signed up for their mandatory account, so the features mentioned above are the least they could offer in exchange for my digital soul. But I digress.

My fridge is in a similar situation. It commits the additional cardinal sin of ONLY being controllable via the app, with no on-board temp or filter status indicators whatsoever.

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[–] spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 24 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

Upon installation LG's app helpfully informed me that to be notified that my LG refrigerator temperature is high or my washer's cycle is complete I am expected to inform a Korean company of my exact location at all times. The reason LG gives for this bullshit is "analytics". There is no way in hell.

I disconnected my LG appliances from wifi, deleted their spyware from my phone and duplicated the functions with Home Assistant. A couple of inexpensive sensors and a power monitoring plug provide almost all same functions without getting Korea (or the Internet) involved at all. Surprisingly this setup is much more reliable than LG's spyware too.

[–] decended_being@midwest.social 3 points 5 hours ago (2 children)

Which sensors did you use? I like how the oven can display how many minutes left, same with the laundry stuff.

[–] spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 4 points 4 hours ago

For the washer a smart plug with power monitoring. The current draw goes to almost zero when the cycle's finished. A Zigbee vibration sensor for the dryer and temperature sensor for the fridge. All in they were less than $20.

[–] sramder@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

That’s called a CCD ;-)

[–] decended_being@midwest.social 2 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

Learned something today, thanks! CCD is the type of screen that's likely on these types of devices.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge-coupled_device

[–] MangoPenguin@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 6 hours ago

Maybe for mDNS so the app can discover the appliance.

[–] echo@lemmy.tf 5 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

If you want your fridge to tell you its temp, just slap your own temp sensor in it. Put a mic by your laundry machine to detect the buzzer and alert you. DIY all the things, don't give these "smart" appliance companies money to spy on you.

[–] okamiueru@lemmy.world 7 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

Laundry machine can be monitored reliably with a smart socket.

Here is a blueprint for HomeAssistant that has been working well: https://community.home-assistant.io/t/detect-and-monitor-the-state-of-an-appliance-based-on-its-power-consumption-v2-1-1-updated/421670

[–] KyuubiNoKitsune@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

The only issue I see is that getting most sensors to work in the fridge/freezer is difficult for 2 reasons, the cold fucks with the batteries and the metal body of the fridge fucks with the signal.

[–] sramder@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago

I just used zigbee and put a repeater right next to the fridge. The big ass coin cells in the sonoff temp sensors are lasting around 6 months. Would probably be longer but I have the sensor with a screen in there.

Obviously YMMV if you have a SubZero or something, but in my jankey LG it works fine.

[–] Aussiemandeus@aussie.zone 3 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

Simple, just drill a hole into the fridge and use a probe from outside.

/s just in case

[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 1 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Home brewers are looking at you very oddly right now.

[–] southernbrewer@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Yep my beer fridge is exactly this :)

Home brewers just set the fridge thermostat as cold as it goes and set the temp externally by turning the power off when it's cold enough.

Not sure i'd drill a hole into my nice-looking kitchen fridge though. Probably rather than connect it to WiFi, but... I don't currently see a need to connect it to wifi anyway?

[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 1 points 17 minutes ago* (last edited 15 minutes ago)

We use a kegerator so the probes just run through the pre-drilled hole for the gas. But really the cables are so thin a standard door seal would close over them

I can see where a temp would be useful to detect failure , but a power draw monitor would do the same

[–] KyuubiNoKitsune@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

It is a legit strategy.

Or just use thin enamelled copper wire connected to the sensor and tape it down where the door closes, no drilling required.

[–] Aussiemandeus@aussie.zone 2 points 6 hours ago

Yeah I've got a multimeter that could do it, but you would need to be careful drilling through to not hit any of the cooling jackets

[–] fubarx@lemmy.world 11 points 10 hours ago

Most appliances connect using a cheap microprocessor like an ESP-32 which provides both WiFi and BLE.

If there's a DNS server running, it's usually for mDNS/ZeroConf service discovery. Usually so it can easily get provisioned via a smart speaker or hub.

More details here: https://circuitlabs.net/dns-server-and-dns-sd-implementation/

[–] the_q@lemmy.zip 10 points 10 hours ago (14 children)

No one needs "smart" appliances. I know it's fun to get a message telling you your water filter needs replacing, but come on...

[–] deathbird@mander.xyz 1 points 17 minutes ago

Listen man I want smart everything. I want a fridge that tells me if I left the door open and when I last replaced the filter and if the OJ is out and then automatically asks if it should add more OJ to the grocery list.

And this can all be accomplished with modern technology without sending my data to an outside entity. It should be, even if it isn't. So much of the sci-fi future we used to dream of can be a reality today, we just have to mold it into being.

[–] nucleative@lemmy.world 0 points 29 minutes ago

In that vein of thinking, nobody needs appliances.

However we are in the home assistant group so I think people are interested in linking things in their house together and controlling them centrally (if "central" does not mean the manufacturer) in an effort to make them smarter.

[–] spitfire@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago

I have 2 automations for my washing machine, which start when I put it in remote start mode:

When the dryer is running it waits until the dryer’s remaining time is less than washing machine’s program ETA
If the dryer is not running it waits until I’m returning power to the grid before starting the cycle

[–] ThunderQueen@lemmy.world 11 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

The fact people trust these devices to not push a replacemnt before it is actually necessary in the name of profit baffles me.

[–] deathbird@mander.xyz 1 points 29 minutes ago

Dumb filters already push for replacements early.

[–] frank@sopuli.xyz 2 points 8 hours ago

It would be a pleasant surprise if that's the worst thing the device did

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[–] Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org 38 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (18 children)

First thing I do when I get a smart appliance is scan it with nmap.

A wonderful habit. I will try to copy it from you :)

About your main question, I can only guess that it's for the initial setup of these appliances. Initially, they know nothing about your Wifi situation. So maybe they open up their own Wifi and connect their app so that you can enter some info. Afterwards, maybe some services continue to run there...

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[–] IphtashuFitz@lemmy.world 23 points 14 hours ago

You mention it’s listening on port 53, but have you actually tried DNS queries to see how it responds? Will it resolve www.google.com or <reverse_ip>.in-address.arpa?

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