AppleSince1976

macgui said:

AI said:
The solution, fortunately, was fairly simple -- I'd just hit the power switch on the Smart Power Strip, wait for ten seconds, and then turn it back on. Of course, my power strip is in one of the most inconveniently located places in my apartment -- under my tiny desk, on a shelf designed to reduce cord-clutter. 

I feel your pain. But- you could but the Voco on a smart switch that's Siri aware and turn it on and off remotely! LOL Obviously it's better that the Voco work like it should. The ersatz workaround occurred to me after seeing somebody power cycle their router  in the attic with Google and a smartswitch.

"AppleSince1976" Replying in this "Quote" section because I seem to be "trapped" here:

Here's a concept: Build a stable product!

As an embedded designer for over 3 decades, with industrial control products that run for years without restarting, I submit there is absolutely no reason to give a "pass" to an embedded product that you employ with the understanding that "You might have to cycle its power if it becomes unresponsive." None at all.

Speaking of Routers, one of the things that even Apple-Haters admitted about Apple's Routers was that they ran for months and years without rebooting, which is apparently an exception in Router-Land. That is how it should be.

There are all sorts of "self-checking" Watchdog systems that have been built into Microcontrollers and SoCs for literally decades. If such a Watchdog system causes a Reset internally, Initialization software can return the device to proper operation, with no user intervention, and if properly written, often without the User even knowing anything happened.

But obviously, this is yet another half-baked product with firmware written by dollar-a-day contractors.

Vote with your wallets. Avoid feces like this for your own sanity.