GE might let you hook your dumb fridge up to your smart home

Currently a lot of people - one might even guess most people - are stuck with plain old dumb fridges that can't even connect to their smart home systems.

GE will begin to remedy that with a test program that will see it sending 20,000 Wi-Fi modules to connect customers' existing refrigerators to their Wink smart home networks, reports GigaOM.

Wink, you may know, is a smart home system that lets users dim their GE Link light bulbs and more.

The modules GE plans to send out will let owners of ethernet-equipped fridges built after 2009 connect them to the Wink networks in their homes.

The companies reportedly have some ideas as to what these fridges might then be capable of, including notifying users if the door is ajar or the ice maker is full, keeping track of grocery lists, and telling family members what's OK or not OK to eat in the fridge.

This is only a test program, but it sounds like it could lead to a wider rollout in the future, depending on users' feedback.

Michael Rougeau

Michael Rougeau is a former freelance news writer for TechRadar. Studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Northeastern University, Michael has bylines at Kotaku, 1UP, G4, Complex Magazine, Digital Trends, GamesRadar, GameSpot, IFC, Animal New York, @Gamer, Inside the Magic, Comic Book Resources, Zap2It, TabTimes, GameZone, Cheat Code Central, Gameshark, Gameranx, The Industry, Debonair Mag, Kombo, and others.

Micheal also spent time as the Games Editor for Playboy.com, and was the managing editor at GameSpot before becoming an Animal Care Manager for Wags and Walks.

Latest in Smart Home
Ring Battery Video Doorbell Pro on blue background with white text reading 'TechRadar best price'
One of Ring's best video doorbells crashes to its lowest-ever price at Amazon
Philips Hue lights being dimmed
Got Philips Hue lights? A free app update delivers these 3 improvements
Tado Smart Thermostat
Tado thermostat owners are hot and bothered after marketing study raises possibility of subscription fee
Alexa Plus Up Close
I wasn’t a fan of the new Echo Show 15 and 21, but Alexa+ has changed my mind
Panos Panay at the Amazon Devices Feb. 26 Event
Alexa+ – Here’s how to sign up for early access
Amazon Echo
Alexa Plus needs a flagship smart speaker – here are 5 things I'd like to see in the next Echo
Latest in News
An Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 resting on an RTX 5090 on a gray crafting mat.
Corsair tells us only one of its prebuilt PCs with an RTX 5000 GPU has suffered from chip-level fault, suggesting it’s as rare as Nvidia claimed
Fujfilm GFX 50R
First Fujifilm GFX100RF images leaked in build-up to expected reveal – here’s what they tell us about the unique premium compact camera
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 in blue
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 could have a Motorola Razr-style full-sized cover screen – and I think it’s about time
Spotify logo on a mobile device
Had Spotify problems recently? It's clamped down on Premium APK 'modded' apps – here's what's happening
An AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT made by Sapphire on a table with its retail packaging
Last-minute AMD RX 9070 XT stock rumors are making me hopeful for a much better launch than Nvidia’s RTX 5000 GPUs – with just one snag
eSIM
Global eSIM shipment volume surpasses half a billion units as demand keeps on growing