New Kenmore washer/dryers come equipped with voodoo science: when they have a service issue, you can dial the service number, press some buttons on the machine and then hold the phone up to the washer/dryer and it will transmit troubleshooting data directly through the phone to the company. “Over time, this technology will solve every problem. That’s our goal,” said a Kenmore product engineer.

Just to make things more fun, Sears put this ghost in the machine technology in the washer/dryers without telling shoppers that that was what they were buying. They’ll be finding out this week via letter.

These are the washers and dryers on the market that have Kenmore Connect:

Washers: 40272, 40311/8, 40441/8, 40512/8, 41022/8/9, 42192/8/9 and 29272/8
Dryers: 9/80872, 9/80311/8, 9/80441/8, 9/80512/8, 9/81022/8/9, 9/82192/8/9 and 7/69272/8

Maybe next Sears can tackle inventing technology that makes repairman show up on time.

Got a repair problem? Let your washer or dryer phone it in [Consumer Reports Home & Garden Blog]

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