• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Editorial Jailbreaking American Tractors with Ukrainian Firmware

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
47,300 (7.52/day)
Location
Hyderabad, India
System Name RBMK-1000
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory 2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s) Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s) BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s) ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard Gamdias Hermes E2
Software Windows 11 Pro
Tractors are some of the most beloved and benign pieces of automotive technology, and some of the very first applications of the internal combustion engine, after cars. Tinkering with the classic free-breathing (natural aspiration) engines of old tractors is something arguably every mechanical engineer has ever done. Over the ages however, tractors and other farm equipment have gotten increasingly complex. The engines became smaller (and hence more fuel-efficient), and technologies such as turbochargers and electronic fuel injection shored power and torque back up to the levels of larger free-breathing engines. Running the engine is now handled by a small embedded computer called the ECU (engine control unit). Likewise, running the various ancillaries on farming equipment such as harvesters have been governed by electronics. The more there's electronics, the less there is that a spanner can fix, and that has become a big problem in America.

Some popular farm equipment manufacturers such as John Deere have taken greed cleverly disguised as "quality assurance" to the same levels as the Apple iPhone. On the iPhone, you can't just install third-party software that hasn't been vetted by Apple and distributed through the App Store. Free software activists have criticized this for stiffing innovation, because Apple's software doesn't give users unrestricted access to the hardware that they've paid for. John Deere and some of its competitors are in the same league. They've outfitted their tractors and farm equipment with electronics that make it practically impossible to perform "unauthorized" repair. If your crop is up for harvest and your harvester is throwing a fit, you have no option but to take it back to a John Deere service center, or other repair shops "authorized" by the company. If you've replaced a part yourself, a guy with a laptop has to come over to your farm, and "activate" that part. American farmers aren't taking kindly to this, and help is coming from the most unlikely of places.



Back in October 2016, John Deere made its customers sign a license agreement to purchase their equipment, which forbids unauthorized repair or modification; and prevents farmers from suing the company for "crop loss, lost profits, loss of goodwill, loss of use of equipment … arising from the performance or non-performance of any aspect of the software (driving the equipment)." This presents an existential threat to farmers, as their livelihoods are at the mercy of receiving product service from only one source (manufacturer and its licensed shops), and prevents them from fixing the equipment on their own, should they go down at an inopportune time.

Here's what's wrong. John Deere wants to control the supply of spare parts for its products. Each time you replace a major part (eg: the transmission case), the part change has to be updated onto the ECU. The ECU is connected all major components of the tractor, and stores a table with their electronic serial numbers. When a part is replaced, its serial number has to be registered with the ECU, so it can validate that a genuine John Deere part has been installed. Trouble is, this validation costs some serious dime - John Deere charges $230, plus $130/hr for an "authorized mechanic" to drive into your farm and validate the part by plugging in the ECU to a laptop with the validation software.



Activists are pushing state-level legislation in the US state of Nebraska, that invalidates John Deere's agreements, and grants farmers the "right to repair" their equipment. In the meantime, farmers are taking to the Internet, for a Ukrainian custom firmware available on certain Eastern European invite-only, paid online forums. Farmers can flash the ECU and other electronics of their farm-equipment with this custom firmware, which effectively jail-breaks them, making them easier to repair. This has sprung up an entire industry of ECU modding equipment and unauthorized software, which isn't free, but is a must-have for any farmer. The key-generator that spits out part-validation keys goes for $99, firmware PayLoad (PLD) file encryptor/decryptor, which gets through John Deere's encryption, goes for $499, and cables that plug your tractor to a PC, for about $80. They may seem expensive and perhaps even predatory, but for farmers who intend to run their tractors for over a decade, it's a windfall in long-term savings.

This brings back the classical debate about whether you truly own the hardware of a $1000 iPhone, and if not, why not. When farmers pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for their farm equipment, shouldn't they completely own it, and use/repair it as they please? Or has purchasing a tractor become purchasing a service rather than a product? Tell us in the comments below.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 
Joined
Jan 5, 2006
Messages
18,584 (2.68/day)
System Name AlderLake
Processor Intel i7 12700K P-Cores @ 5Ghz
Motherboard Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master
Cooling Noctua NH-U12A 2 fans + Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme + 5 case fans
Memory 32GB DDR5 Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 6000MT/s CL36
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 980 Pro 1TB + 970 Evo 500GB + 850 Pro 512GB + 860 Evo 1TB x2
Display(s) 23.8" Dell S2417DG 165Hz G-Sync 1440p
Case Be quiet! Silent Base 600 - Window
Audio Device(s) Panasonic SA-PMX94 / Realtek onboard + B&O speaker system / Harman Kardon Go + Play / Logitech G533
Power Supply Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 750W
Mouse Logitech MX Anywhere 2 Laser wireless
Keyboard RAPOO E9270P Black 5GHz wireless
Software Windows 11
Benchmark Scores Cinebench R23 (Single Core) 1936 @ stock Cinebench R23 (Multi Core) 23006 @ stock
Joined
Apr 19, 2012
Messages
12,062 (2.60/day)
Location
Gypsyland, UK
System Name HP Omen 17
Processor i7 7700HQ
Memory 16GB 2400Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s) GTX 1060
Storage Samsung SM961 256GB + HGST 1TB
Display(s) 1080p IPS G-SYNC 75Hz
Audio Device(s) Bang & Olufsen
Power Supply 230W
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD+
Software Win 10 Pro
This reminds me of a supplier of one of our large batches of PCs. Their warranty dictates that we are not allowed to diagnose and repair a machine, it must be sent back to base for them to do (this could take up to 30 days). PSU blows up, we go to the PC, switch out the PSU, resolve the problem, then put the broken PSU back in, call their RMA service and specifically tell them the PSU is broken (but uh we don't know how we came to that conclusion), and then we get our PC back with a replacement PSU in a quarter of the time. I miss the days when we could literally ask for a PSU, they'd sent it next day, we'd replace it and send the old one back and be charged if we're wrong. Machine down for 30 days vs machine down for 1 day. This only really benefits one person, and it's not the person it should be - me.
 
Joined
Feb 18, 2006
Messages
5,147 (0.75/day)
Location
AZ
System Name Thought I'd be done with this by now
Processor i7 11700k 8/16
Motherboard MSI Z590 Pro Wifi
Cooling Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4, 9x aigo AR12
Memory 32GB GSkill TridentZ Neo DDR4-4000 CL18-22-22-42
Video Card(s) MSI Ventus 2x Geforce RTX 3070
Storage 1TB MX300 M.2 OS + Games, + cloud mostly
Display(s) Samsung 40" 4k (TV)
Case Lian Li PC-011 Dynamic EVO Black
Audio Device(s) onboard HD -> Yamaha 5.1
Power Supply EVGA 850 GQ
Mouse Logitech wireless
Keyboard same
VR HMD nah
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores no one cares anymore lols
When farmers pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for their farm equipment

ftfy
 
Joined
Jan 5, 2006
Messages
18,584 (2.68/day)
System Name AlderLake
Processor Intel i7 12700K P-Cores @ 5Ghz
Motherboard Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master
Cooling Noctua NH-U12A 2 fans + Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme + 5 case fans
Memory 32GB DDR5 Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 6000MT/s CL36
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 980 Pro 1TB + 970 Evo 500GB + 850 Pro 512GB + 860 Evo 1TB x2
Display(s) 23.8" Dell S2417DG 165Hz G-Sync 1440p
Case Be quiet! Silent Base 600 - Window
Audio Device(s) Panasonic SA-PMX94 / Realtek onboard + B&O speaker system / Harman Kardon Go + Play / Logitech G533
Power Supply Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 750W
Mouse Logitech MX Anywhere 2 Laser wireless
Keyboard RAPOO E9270P Black 5GHz wireless
Software Windows 11
Benchmark Scores Cinebench R23 (Single Core) 1936 @ stock Cinebench R23 (Multi Core) 23006 @ stock
If I owned such tractor I'd do the same!
My dad had 2 cars of him letting modify the ECU which increased HP, wonder if they do this tweaking as well.
 
Joined
Sep 15, 2007
Messages
3,946 (0.63/day)
Location
Police/Nanny State of America
Processor OCed 5800X3D
Motherboard Asucks C6H
Cooling Air
Memory 32GB
Video Card(s) OCed 6800XT
Storage NVMees
Display(s) 32" Dull curved 1440
Case Freebie glass idk
Audio Device(s) Sennheiser
Power Supply Don't even remember
Oh, look, more "legal" extortion and it absolutely is a predatory practice.

Looks like all of our decades old (all the way to the 70s) tractors will continue to stay in service. Also, newer john deere's are POS and they can't even repair them properly.
 
Last edited:

TheMailMan78

Big Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2007
Messages
22,599 (3.52/day)
Location
'Merica. The Great SOUTH!
System Name TheMailbox 5.0 / The Mailbox 4.5
Processor RYZEN 1700X / Intel i7 2600k @ 4.2GHz
Motherboard Fatal1ty X370 Gaming K4 / Gigabyte Z77X-UP5 TH Intel LGA 1155
Cooling MasterLiquid PRO 280 / Scythe Katana 4
Memory ADATA RGB 16GB DDR4 2666 16-16-16-39 / G.SKILL Sniper Series 16GB DDR3 1866: 9-9-9-24
Video Card(s) MSI 1080 "Duke" with 8Gb of RAM. Boost Clock 1847 MHz / ASUS 780ti
Storage 256Gb M4 SSD / 128Gb Agelity 4 SSD , 500Gb WD (7200)
Display(s) LG 29" Class 21:9 UltraWide® IPS LED Monitor 2560 x 1080 / Dell 27"
Case Cooler Master MASTERBOX 5t / Cooler Master 922 HAF
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC1220 Audio Codec / SupremeFX X-Fi with Bose Companion 2 speakers.
Power Supply Seasonic FOCUS Plus Series SSR-750PX 750W Platinum / SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold
Mouse SteelSeries Sensei (RAW) / Logitech G5
Keyboard Razer BlackWidow / Logitech (Unknown)
Software Windows 10 Pro (64-bit)
Benchmark Scores Benching is for bitches.
No replacement for displacement.
 
Joined
Dec 18, 2012
Messages
393 (0.09/day)
Processor Ryzen 7 5800x @ 4,85Ghz
Motherboard AORUS MASTER X570
Cooling Costume External Water Loop 1080 Rad
Memory Patriot Viper Steel DDR4-3600 16GB @3800 mhz cl16
Video Card(s) RTX 3090 Water
Storage Raid0 4 x Sasmsung 850 EVo, 980 1TB M.2
Display(s) ASUS Swift
Case Open test bench
Power Supply Be quiet! 850 P10
Mouse G703
Keyboard Old USB Dell Keyboard x2
VR HMD Rift S
Software Windows 11
For a moment i thought it was 1st April.
 
Joined
Nov 15, 2005
Messages
1,011 (0.14/day)
Processor 2500K @ 4.5GHz 1.28V
Motherboard ASUS P8P67 Deluxe
Cooling Corsair A70
Memory 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair Vengeance 1600 9-9-9-24 1T
Video Card(s) eVGA GTX 470
Storage Crucial m4 128GB + Seagate RAID 1 (1TB x 2)
Display(s) Dell 22" 1680x1050 nothing special
Case Antec 300
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply PC Power & Cooling 750W
Software Windows 7 64bit Pro
Awesome! Don't tell me what I can and can't do with my OWN property (I live in a township and don't have the restrictions as those within the city limits.... yet. Different scenario I know but also the same.)
 
Joined
Mar 23, 2012
Messages
777 (0.17/day)
Location
Norway
System Name Games/internet/usage
Processor I7 5820k 4.2 Ghz
Motherboard ASUS X99-A2
Cooling custom water loop for cpu and gpu
Memory 16GiB Crucial Ballistix Sport 2666 MHz
Video Card(s) Radeon Rx 6800 XT
Storage Samsung XP941 500 GB + 1 TB SSD
Display(s) Dell 3008WFP
Case Caselabs Magnum M8
Audio Device(s) Shiit Modi 2 Uber -> Matrix m-stage -> HD650
Power Supply beQuiet dark power pro 1200W
Mouse Logitech MX518
Keyboard Corsair K95 RGB
Software Win 10 Pro
Interesting that the law in the US allows this kind of operation.

That clause directly infringes on the consumer rights here in Europe, and at least in Norway the EULA comes after the local laws, meaning that something like the HumancentiPad or other less extreme cases gets culled.
 

HTC

Joined
Apr 1, 2008
Messages
4,664 (0.76/day)
Location
Portugal
System Name HTC's System
Processor Ryzen 5 5800X3D
Motherboard Asrock Taichi X370
Cooling NH-C14, with the AM4 mounting kit
Memory G.Skill Kit 16GB DDR4 F4 - 3200 C16D - 16 GTZB
Video Card(s) Sapphire Pulse 6600 8 GB
Storage 1 Samsung NVMe 960 EVO 250 GB + 1 3.5" Seagate IronWolf Pro 6TB 7200RPM 256MB SATA III
Display(s) LG 27UD58
Case Fractal Design Define R6 USB-C
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Corsair TX 850M 80+ Gold
Mouse Razer Deathadder Elite
Software Ubuntu 20.04.6 LTS
Meanwhile, them farmers should show John Deere company the respect they deserve by doing further tractor / farm equipment purchases from their direct competition.
 
Joined
Feb 18, 2006
Messages
5,147 (0.75/day)
Location
AZ
System Name Thought I'd be done with this by now
Processor i7 11700k 8/16
Motherboard MSI Z590 Pro Wifi
Cooling Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4, 9x aigo AR12
Memory 32GB GSkill TridentZ Neo DDR4-4000 CL18-22-22-42
Video Card(s) MSI Ventus 2x Geforce RTX 3070
Storage 1TB MX300 M.2 OS + Games, + cloud mostly
Display(s) Samsung 40" 4k (TV)
Case Lian Li PC-011 Dynamic EVO Black
Audio Device(s) onboard HD -> Yamaha 5.1
Power Supply EVGA 850 GQ
Mouse Logitech wireless
Keyboard same
VR HMD nah
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores no one cares anymore lols
Interesting that the law in the US allows this kind of operation.

That clause directly infringes on the consumer rights here in Europe, and at least in Norway the EULA comes after the local laws, meaning that something like the HumancentiPad or other less extreme cases gets culled.
you kidding this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to predatory practices.

if someones proprietary corn cross-pollinates with your regular corn field, you must now pay them and only use their corn from that point on or grow no corn at all.

you want that 1200$ riverbed? it's going to cost 10,000$ in licensing to make it work. ANNUALLY

tell me that isn't bait and switch?

used car? blue book 2000$, major component replacement cost? 5000$

poor? have trouble paying? we'll make your payments 2x what you can afford because you're poor...

rich? we'll make your payments 1/4 of what the poor guy pays every month.

everything here is setup that way.

'Merica F Yeah!
 

dorsetknob

"YOUR RMA REQUEST IS CON-REFUSED"
Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Messages
9,107 (1.26/day)
Location
Dorset where else eh? >>> Thats ENGLAND<<<
This brings back the classical debate about whether you truly own the hardware of a $1000 iPhone, and if not, why not. When farmers pay tens of thousands of dollars for their farm equipment, shouldn't they completely own it, and use/repair it as they please? Or has purchasing a tractor become purchasing a service rather than a product? Tell us in the comments below.

John Deere Sale'sman to Farmer Customer

"Of Course Its Based on Windows 10 software so its ultra Reliable and always up to Date and as such will require an always on Internet Connection"

what you don't have Broadband Internet here let me hook you up with comcast/AT&T Contract for $200 a month(Special price for farmers )
your need it as the Vehicle needs to be online to use our software before you can use it to work.
 
Joined
Jul 14, 2016
Messages
66 (0.02/day)
Processor 3900X
Motherboard ROG Strix X570-E Gaming
Cooling Noctua D15
Memory 32GB GeIL EVO X 3600
Video Card(s) RTX3080 EVGA FTW 3
Storage 1.6TH Fuze drive + 970EVO M2 + 3 7200 RPM HDD
Display(s) VP2770-LED, BDM4350UC, S2716DGR, AW3418DW
Case Vector RS
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V377 + PolK RSi Surround
Power Supply Fractal 860 Ion +
Mouse Corsair M56
Keyboard G710+

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
Messages
42,632 (6.68/day)
Location
Republic of Texas (True Patriot)
System Name PCGOD
Processor AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory 16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s) NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s) Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software Windows 7 Pro 64
Next thing their great big tractors will say not for commercial use...
 
Joined
Sep 6, 2013
Messages
3,392 (0.82/day)
Location
Athens, Greece
System Name 3 desktop systems: Gaming / Internet / HTPC
Processor Ryzen 5 7600 / Ryzen 5 4600G / Ryzen 5 5500
Motherboard X670E Gaming Plus WiFi / MSI X470 Gaming Plus Max (1) / MSI X470 Gaming Plus Max (2)
Cooling Aigo ICE 400SE / Segotep T4 / Νoctua U12S
Memory Kingston FURY Beast 32GB DDR5 6000 / 16GB JUHOR / 32GB G.Skill RIPJAWS 3600 + Aegis 3200
Video Card(s) ASRock RX 6600 + GT 710 (PhysX) / Vega 7 integrated / Radeon RX 580
Storage NVMes, ONLY NVMes / NVMes, SATA Storage / NVMe, SATA, external storage
Display(s) Philips 43PUS8857/12 UHD TV (120Hz, HDR, FreeSync Premium) / 19'' HP monitor + BlitzWolf BW-V5
Case Sharkoon Rebel 12 / CoolerMaster Elite 361 / Xigmatek Midguard
Audio Device(s) onboard
Power Supply Chieftec 850W / Silver Power 400W / Sharkoon 650W
Mouse CoolerMaster Devastator III Plus / CoolerMaster Devastator / Logitech
Keyboard CoolerMaster Devastator III Plus / CoolerMaster Devastator / Logitech
Software Windows 10 / Windows 10&Windows 11 / Windows 10
The problem with those practices, is that they eventually pass the Atlantic and come to Europe.
 

dorsetknob

"YOUR RMA REQUEST IS CON-REFUSED"
Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Messages
9,107 (1.26/day)
Location
Dorset where else eh? >>> Thats ENGLAND<<<
The problem with those practices, is that they eventually pass the Atlantic and come to Europe.

Europeans will in that case buy Russian tankstractors and have whats left of the EU start legal Challanges
and in the meantime America loses Sales and much more
 
Joined
Dec 28, 2012
Messages
3,956 (0.90/day)
System Name Skunkworks 3.0
Processor 5800x3d
Motherboard x570 unify
Cooling Noctua NH-U12A
Memory 32GB 3600 mhz
Video Card(s) asrock 6800xt challenger D
Storage Sabarent rocket 4.0 2TB, MX 500 2TB
Display(s) Asus 1440p144 27"
Case Old arse cooler master 932
Power Supply Corsair 1200w platinum
Mouse *squeak*
Keyboard Some old office thing
Software Manjaro
International Harvester doesnt do this, and I think it isnt a surprise that I've seen more and more red IH tractors, and fewer and fewer green deere tractors every time I go into the rural back-lands to visit my parents.
 

HTC

Joined
Apr 1, 2008
Messages
4,664 (0.76/day)
Location
Portugal
System Name HTC's System
Processor Ryzen 5 5800X3D
Motherboard Asrock Taichi X370
Cooling NH-C14, with the AM4 mounting kit
Memory G.Skill Kit 16GB DDR4 F4 - 3200 C16D - 16 GTZB
Video Card(s) Sapphire Pulse 6600 8 GB
Storage 1 Samsung NVMe 960 EVO 250 GB + 1 3.5" Seagate IronWolf Pro 6TB 7200RPM 256MB SATA III
Display(s) LG 27UD58
Case Fractal Design Define R6 USB-C
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Corsair TX 850M 80+ Gold
Mouse Razer Deathadder Elite
Software Ubuntu 20.04.6 LTS
Europeans will in that case buy Russian tankstractors and have whats left of the EU start legal Challanges
and in the meantime America loses Sales and much more

Farmers don't have to buy them from other countries, so long as whatever company they end up choosing doesn't have these kind of practices.
 
Joined
Apr 15, 2009
Messages
1,035 (0.18/day)
Processor Ryzen 9 5900X
Motherboard Gigabyte X570 Aorus Master
Cooling ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 360 A-RGB
Memory 32 GB Ballistix Elite DDR4-3600 CL16
Video Card(s) XFX 6800 XT Speedster Merc 319 Black
Storage Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1TB
Display(s) LG 27GL850B x 2 / ASUS MG278Q
Case be quiet! Silent Base 802
Audio Device(s) Sound Blaster AE-7 / Sennheiser HD 660S
Power Supply Seasonic Vertex PX-1200
Software Windows 11 Pro 64
What's the best stable overclock and voltage for a 2017 John Deer? :D
 
Joined
Apr 1, 2014
Messages
503 (0.13/day)
System Name Personal Rig
Processor Intel i5 3570K
Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V
Cooling Noctua NH-U12P Push/Pull
Memory 8GB 1600Mhz Vengeance
Video Card(s) Intel HD4000
Storage Seagate 1TB & 180GB Intel 330
Display(s) AOC I2360P
Case Enermax Vostok
Audio Device(s) Onboard realtek
Power Supply Corsair TX650
Mouse Microsoft OEM 2.0
Keyboard Logitech Internet Pro White
Software Legal ;)
Benchmark Scores Very big

Easy Rhino

Linux Advocate
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2006
Messages
15,600 (2.36/day)
Location
Mid-Atlantic
System Name Desktop
Processor i5 13600KF
Motherboard AsRock B760M Steel Legend Wifi
Cooling Noctua NH-U9S
Memory 4x 16 Gb Gskill S5 DDR5 @6000
Video Card(s) Gigabyte Gaming OC 6750 XT 12GB
Storage WD_BLACK 4TB SN850x
Display(s) Gigabye M32U
Case Corsair Carbide 400C
Audio Device(s) On Board
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 650 P2
Mouse MX Master 3s
Keyboard Logitech G915 Wireless Clicky
Software The Matrix
Wow, a company protecting its brand and its business model. This is going to happen more and more. Get used to it.
 
Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Messages
1,052 (0.15/day)
Location
Ards
System Name Jezebelle
Processor i5 4690K
Motherboard MSI Z97M-G43
Cooling Noctua NH-U12
Memory 2x8GB Ballistix Sport
Video Card(s) GTX 1070 Ti
Storage Sandisk Ultra II 480GB, Sammy 1TB F3
Display(s) BenQ Xl2411Z
Case Fractal Define Mini
Audio Device(s) Onboard Realtek 7.1 HD, does the job!
Power Supply Enermax Infiniti 720W
Keyboard Logitech G15
Software Winblows 10 Pro
Joined
Nov 4, 2005
Messages
12,014 (1.72/day)
System Name Compy 386
Processor 7800X3D
Motherboard Asus
Cooling Air for now.....
Memory 64 GB DDR5 6400Mhz
Video Card(s) 7900XTX 310 Merc
Storage Samsung 990 2TB, 2 SP 2TB SSDs, 24TB Enterprise drives
Display(s) 55" Samsung 4K HDR
Audio Device(s) ATI HDMI
Mouse Logitech MX518
Keyboard Razer
Software A lot.
Benchmark Scores Its fast. Enough.
I load firmware on AG and Industrial machines for a living, primarily the GPS system. If you change a transmission case you don't have to refresh anything, but to swap a transmission controller you need to load firmware, heat the transmission to correct operating temperatures, and perform a calibration. So a tech is required, and there is liability in loading the wrong firmware, incorrectly performing a transmission calibration that may damage hard components if clutch fill/response time is wrong.

The same applies to many things as Deere and many other companies are building CAN BUS universal control modules that fit many applications so they can capitalise on economy of scale.

I'm not condoning their actions, and I think a customer should be able to fuck it up if they want, but they should lose their warranty.
 
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
8,219 (2.16/day)
Location
SE Michigan
System Name Dumbass
Processor AMD Ryzen 7800X3D
Motherboard ASUS TUF gaming B650
Cooling Artic Liquid Freezer 2 - 420mm
Memory G.Skill Sniper 32gb DDR5 6000
Video Card(s) GreenTeam 4070 ti super 16gb
Storage Samsung EVO 500gb & 1Tb, 2tb HDD, 500gb WD Black
Display(s) 1x Nixeus NX_EDG27, 2x Dell S2440L (16:9)
Case Phanteks Enthoo Primo w/8 140mm SP Fans
Audio Device(s) onboard (realtek?) - SPKRS:Logitech Z623 200w 2.1
Power Supply Corsair HX1000i
Mouse Steeseries Esports Wireless
Keyboard Corsair K100
Software windows 10 H
Benchmark Scores https://i.imgur.com/aoz3vWY.jpg?2
I load firmware on AG and Industrial machines for a living, primarily the GPS system. If you change a transmission case you don't have to refresh anything, but to swap a transmission controller you need to load firmware, heat the transmission to correct operating temperatures, and perform a calibration. So a tech is required, and there is liability in loading the wrong firmware, incorrectly performing a transmission calibration that may damage hard components if clutch fill/response time is wrong.

The same applies to many things as Deere and many other companies are building CAN BUS universal control modules that fit many applications so they can capitalise on economy of scale.

I'm not condoning their actions, and I think a customer should be able to fuck it up if they want, but they should lose their warranty.
I worked for JD decades ago, they were out to milk the customer back then in he 80s, they havent changed since. Normal business practice was if a shop got a bad rep for any number of dirty greedy tricks including double billing, they closed up that shop and moved elsewhere, a few counties or states.

I also know JD is not the first to do this kind of thing, a few Truck manufacturers tried this and failed. Some even partnered with Cummins and Detroit Diesel to put hooks into the engine ECMs that forced repairs only at authorized dealers, because Cummins want direct access, thru dialup to a trucks ECM, in an attempt to even bypass authorized dealers from making computer repairs and "adjustments". The failure of this plan was that even us techs could not adequately diagnose engines and Alison automatics. Know that JD found a way to make that work like this you have to give them props for being bigger a****oles than Cummins.
 
Top