NordicTrack owners are not giving up on the fight.
He wanted to watch cloud security. Howard, a construction industry worker on sabbatical, spent $4,000 on a NordicTrack X32i treadmill, lured in by its 32-inch HD screen and the opportunity to exercise body and mind. He was going to spend his time away from work exercising and watching videos on learning platforms. His treadmill had something else in mind.
NordicTrack doesn't let you watch videos from other apps or external sources, despite having a huge display strapped to it, and it pushes people to subscribe to exercise software operated by iFit, its parent company. NordicTrack owners weren't drawn to the hardware by i Fit's videos The fitness machines were easy to hack.
To get into his X32i, Howard had to tap the screen 10 times, wait seven seconds, then tap 10 more times. Howard could be put into the underlying operating system. Howard could sideload apps and use a built-in browser to access anything and everything online, thanks to the privilege mode. Howard says it wasn't complicated. He installed a third-party browser that allowed him to save passwords and watch his cloud security videos.
Privilege mode isn't advertised as a customer feature, but it isn't a secret. Multiple unofficial guides tell people how to get into their machines, and iFit's support pages explain how to access it. Howard bought the X32i because he could use God mode. The good times didn't last long.
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Since October, NordicTrack has been updating all of its exercise equipment to block access to privilege mode. The move has angered customers who are fighting back and finding ways to circumvent the update and watch what they want while they work out.
Howard says he got exactly what he paid for, even though he already owned a treadmill without a screen and was a subscriber to the iFit software. They're trying to take away features that are important to me. I'm not comfortable with that.
The owner of NordicTrack said that the treadmill is one of the most expensive purchases he has ever made, and that he was angry when the update stopped him and his partner from watching football highlights. He says that you pushed an update to stop him from doing this. This beautiful screen is here and it is frustrating.
They are not alone in their complaints. Several threads and posts have appeared online about NordicTrack and iFit locking down privilege mode. Many customers argue that they should be able to do what they like with their machines, and that being able to watch their favorite shows means they are more likely to work out. Some people value the ability to cast iFit's exercise videos onto a bigger screen, while others want to use their treadmills for calls. Many people complain that the one to block privilege mode was forced upon them.
The block on privilege mode was automatically installed by NordicTrack and iFit because they believe it enhances security and safety while using fitness equipment that has multiple moving parts. The company's products have never been marketed as being able to access other apps. There is no way of knowing what kind of changes or errors a consumer could introduce into the software, and there is no way of knowing what issues accessing privilege mode might cause. To maintain security, safety, and machine function, we have restricted access to privilege mode. Privilege mode was never designed as a consumer-facing function. It was designed to allow the company's customer service team to remotely access the products to "troubleshoot, update, reset, or repair our software."
