They Fixed It: changes nobody asked for

2025

Cracker Barrel

Cracker Barrel logo

Before: A man in overalls, known as Uncle Herschel, leaning on a barrel. In use since 1977.
The fix: Dropped the man and the barrel, leaving just the words 'Cracker Barrel' on a gold background.
Then: Complaints started within hours of the August 19 rollout, and the company lost nearly $100 million in market value. In September it also scrapped the restaurant remodels it had been testing.

Took it back

Old logo back on August 26, 2025, one week later.

Your call

2024

Sonos

Sonos app redesign

Before: A Sonos app that worked, alarms and sleep timers included.
The fix: Shipped a rebuilt app in May 2024 without alarms, sleep timers, queue editing and some accessibility features.
Then: Some older systems became nearly unusable. Sonos said the fix would cost $20 million to $30 million, and CEO Patrick Spence stepped down in January 2025.

Half took it back

The old app never came back. The missing features trickled back over months.

Your call

2023

Deere & Company

John Deere repair lock

Before: Tractors that owners and independent shops could repair themselves.
The fix: Made many repairs need Service ADVISOR, software only dealers get in full. A 2023 pledge with the Farm Bureau promised more access.
Then: In return, the Farm Bureau agreed not to push repair laws. The FTC sued anyway in January 2025, joined by five states. Deere paid $99 million to settle a farmers' class action, then in July 2026 agreed to give owners the dealers' repair tools.

Half took it back

Dealer-grade repair tools for owners, under FTC watch for 10 years.

Your call

2023

Unity Technologies

Unity Runtime Fee

Before: Unity's game engine, priced by subscription seat, with no charge per install.
The fix: Announced a Runtime Fee charging developers per install once a game passed revenue and install thresholds.
Then: Developers revolted and the stock dropped. Unity rolled back parts of it within weeks, and in September 2024 new CEO Matt Bromberg cancelled it outright.

Took it back

Back to seat pricing, with Pro up 8% and Enterprise up 25%.

Your call

2021

Tesla

Tesla yoke steering

Before: Tesla Model S and Model X with a round steering wheel.
The fix: Made a rectangular, open-topped 'yoke' the standard steering wheel.
Then: In 2023 Tesla started selling a $700 round-wheel retrofit for yoke owners. It reportedly sold out in about a week.

Half took it back

A round wheel became available again in 2023, as an option and a retrofit.

Your call

2021

Microsoft

Windows 11 taskbar

Before: A Windows taskbar you could put on any edge of the screen, as far back as Windows 95.
The fix: Windows 11 locked the taskbar to the bottom of the screen.
Then: Users asked for it back for five years. The September 2026 Patch Tuesday update added top, left and right positions, rolling out gradually and set in Settings, not by dragging.

Took it back

Movable again from September 2026, minus drag-and-drop.

Your call

2020

Volkswagen and others

Touchscreen car controls

Before: Car dashboards with real knobs and buttons for heat, volume and hazards.
The fix: Moved heating, volume and other basics onto touchscreens and touch-sensitive sliders.
Then: VW's design chief Andreas Mindt said they would 'never, ever make this mistake again.' From 2026, Euro NCAP wants physical controls for horn, indicators, hazards, wipers and SOS to give five stars.

Half took it back

Buttons are coming back model by model, starting with VW's ID.2all.

Your call

2018

Speed Queen

Speed Queen top-loader

Before: Speed Queen top-loaders with a plain agitator and mechanical controls.
The fix: Redesigned the line to meet federal efficiency rules, with an 'agi-tub' that moves tub and agitator together for a gentler wash.
Then: Consumer Reports gave the $1,000-plus TR7 a 31 out of 100, the worst of the 100-plus washers it had tested. Speed Queen reworked it and brought the old transmission-driven design back as the TC5.

Half took it back

Both designs are sold now.

Your call

2018

Reddit redesign

Before: Reddit: dense lists of text links, plain and a little ugly, mostly unchanged since 2005.
The fix: Rolled out a redesign with card views, infinite scroll and a more modern look.
Then: People who hated it kept using old.reddit.com, and it stayed open for eight years. In July 2026 Reddit started requiring a login to use it, citing scrapers.

Half took it back

Old Reddit still exists, now for logged-in users only.

Your call

2018

Snap

Snapchat redesign

Before: Snapchat, with friends' Stories and celebrity posts in the same place.
The fix: Split the app so friends went on one side and brands, publishers and celebrities on the other.
Then: More than 1.2 million people signed a petition to undo it. Kylie Jenner tweeted that she had stopped opening the app, and Snap lost about $1.3 billion in market value.

Half took it back

Snap added tabs to make Stories easier to find but kept the split.

Your call

2017

Stanley Black & Decker

Craftsman lifetime warranty

Before: Craftsman hand tools, swapped at any Sears if they ever failed to give 'complete satisfaction.'
The fix: Stanley Black & Decker bought the brand from Sears for about $900 million and moved it into Lowe's and other stores.
Then: The lifetime warranty survived, no receipt needed, but now covers tools that 'fail to perform.' With most Sears stores closed, a swap depends on which retailer stocks the tool, and counters vary.

Half took it back

Still lifetime. Getting it honored depends on the store.

Your call

2016

HP

HP printer ink lockout

Before: HP OfficeJet printers that took cheaper third-party ink cartridges without complaint.
The fix: A firmware update, set to switch on September 13, 2016, made printers reject cartridges without HP chips.
Then: Printers started calling perfectly good cartridges damaged. HP admitted no fault, but paid $1.5 million to settle a US class action and up to $1.35 million to settle in Europe.

Kept it.

HP printers were still blocking non-HP chips in 2023.

Your call

2016

Kraft Heinz

Kraft Mac & Cheese recipe

Before: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, colored orange with artificial dyes.
The fix: Swapped the artificial dyes and preservatives for paprika, annatto and turmeric, and told nobody.
Then: Kraft waited until about 50 million boxes had sold before announcing the change in March 2016. The ad campaign was built on the fact that nobody noticed.

Kept it.

The new recipe stayed.

Your call

2016

Meta (Instagram)

Instagram algorithmic feed

Before: Instagram showed posts from people you follow, newest first.
The fix: Switched the main feed to an algorithm that ranks posts instead of listing them by time.
Then: In March 2022 Instagram added Following and Favorites feeds in chronological order. The ranked Home feed stayed the default.

Half took it back

Chronological feed is back, one tap away, never the default.

Your call

2016

Mondelez

Toblerone gaps

Before: Toblerone: a bar of evenly spaced chocolate triangles.
The fix: In the UK, removed two peaks and widened the gaps, making bars about 10% lighter for the same price.
Then: British shoppers noticed immediately. Mondelez later admitted the new shape had not been 'a perfect long-term answer.'

Took it back

Original shape back in 2018, in a bigger 200g bar.

Your call

2016

Apple

MacBook Pro 2016

Before: MacBook Pro with MagSafe, HDMI, an SD card slot and ordinary keys.
The fix: Went all USB-C, added the thin butterfly keyboard, and replaced the function keys with a Touch Bar.
Then: Butterfly keys could be knocked out by a speck of dust. Apple paid $50 million to settle a class action in 2022. The 2021 MacBook Pro brought back MagSafe, HDMI, the SD slot and function keys.

Took it back

The 2021 models undid nearly all of it.

Your call

2016

Apple

iPhone headphone jack

Before: iPhones with a standard 3.5mm headphone jack.
The fix: Dropped the jack from the iPhone 7. Phil Schiller said it came down to one word: courage.
Then: Apple announced $159 AirPods at the same event. No iPhone since the 7 has had a headphone jack.

Kept it.

Still gone, ten years later.

Your call

2015

Philips Lighting

Philips Hue bulb lockout

Before: A Hue bridge that ran any ZigBee Light Link bulb, including cheaper ones from GE and Cree.
The fix: A December 2015 bridge update cut off bulbs Philips had not certified, citing 'interoperability issues.'
Then: Owners with other brands' bulbs found them locked out. Within days Philips called the move 'a mistake,' said some people had been using uncertified lights without any issue, and promised an update to let them back in.

Took it back

Other brands allowed back in, plus a 'Friends of Hue' sticker program.

Your call

2014

Keurig Green Mountain

Keurig 2.0 pod lock

Before: Keurig brewers that took any pod that fit, store brands included, plus a refillable My K-Cup filter.
The fix: Keurig 2.0 read a code on each lid and refused pods without it. The refillable My K-Cup was discontinued.
Then: Brewer and accessory sales fell 23% from a year earlier. In May 2015 CEO Brian Kelley told analysts, 'Quite honestly, we were wrong,' and the stock dropped 10%.

Half took it back

My K-Cup came back for 2.0 brewers. The lid reader stayed.

Your call

2013

Microsoft

Xbox One always-online DRM

Before: Xbox 360: put in a disc, play the game, lend it or sell it when you're done.
The fix: Said the Xbox One would need an online check-in every 24 hours and would restrict used and shared games.
Then: At E3, Sony said the PS4 had no such rules and got a long standing ovation. On June 19, 2013, before the console even launched, Microsoft dropped both policies.

Took it back

Reversed about five months before launch.

Your call

2012

Microsoft

Windows 8 Start menu

Before: A Start button and Start menu in the corner of the screen, where they had been since Windows 95.
The fix: Windows 8 removed both and sent people to a full-screen grid of tiles instead.
Then: Windows 8.1 put a Start button back in 2013, but it still opened the tile screen. A real Start menu did not return until Windows 10 in 2015.

Took it back

Start menu back in Windows 10, three years later.

Your call

2011

Netflix

Qwikster

Before: Netflix: DVDs by mail and streaming, one account, one website.
The fix: Split the plans with a price hike, then said DVDs would move to a separate site called Qwikster.
Then: Netflix lost 800,000 US subscribers that quarter. Reed Hastings killed Qwikster on October 10, 2011, about three weeks after announcing it.

Took it back

Qwikster never launched. The price increase stayed.

Your call

2010

Frito-Lay

SunChips compostable bag

Before: SunChips in an ordinary plastic chip bag.
The fix: Moved to a 100% compostable bag made from a corn-based plastic.
Then: The bag crinkled at up to 95 decibels. Sales fell about 11%, and a Facebook group called 'Sorry But I Can't Hear You Over This SunChip Bag' took off.

Half took it back

Kept it for Original flavor only; a quieter compostable bag came in 2011.

Your call

2010

Digg

Digg v4

Before: Digg: users submitted links and voted them up to the front page.
The fix: Launched Digg v4 on August 25, 2010, a rebuilt site that shipped buggy and changed how stories reached the front page.
Then: Users left en masse for Reddit. In July 2012 Digg sold for about $500,000. BusinessWeek had valued it at $200 million in 2006.

Kept it.

Never rolled back.

Your call

2010

Gap

Gap logo

Before: GAP in white letters on a navy blue box, in use for about 20 years.
The fix: Went to 'Gap' in black Helvetica with a small blue square.
Then: The new logo went up October 6, 2010, and the internet hated it on sight. Gap said it had learned 'just how much energy there is around our brand.'

Took it back

Blue box back on October 12, 2010, six days later.

Your call

2009

US EPA and gas can makers

Gas can vents

Before: A plastic gas can with a spout and a little vent cap, so the gas poured instead of glugging.
The fix: EPA rules made cans spill-proof and self-closing. Self-closing vents were allowed, but most makers dropped vents entirely.
Then: Sixteen years of slow, glugging pours followed. In July 2025 the EPA wrote to can makers encouraging self-closing vents, and said confusion over its own rules was why the vents had disappeared.

Half took it back

Vents were legal the whole time. Now the EPA is asking makers to use them.

Your call

2009

PepsiCo (Tropicana)

Tropicana carton

Before: A juice carton with an orange on it and a straw stuck in the orange.
The fix: The agency Arnell swapped the orange for a close-up of a plain glass of juice.
Then: Shoppers could not find their juice. Unit sales fell 20% between January 1 and February 22, 2009, while Florida's Natural and Minute Maid posted double-digit gains.

Took it back

The orange and straw were back within about two months.

Your call

1998

Corning, then World Kitchen

Pyrex glass

Before: Pyrex bakeware made of borosilicate, the glass used for lab beakers.
The fix: Corning sold its housewares arm in 1998. From then on, US Pyrex was all tempered soda-lime glass, phased in since the 1950s.
Then: Borosilicate takes about three times the thermal shock. Consumer Reports confirmed the gap in 2011, in tests it admitted went against the instructions. Pyrex sold in Europe stayed borosilicate.

Kept it.

Still soda-lime in the US.

Your call

1985

Coca-Cola

New Coke

Before: Coca-Cola, same formula since the 1880s, give or take.
The fix: Swapped the recipe for a sweeter one after it won nearly 200,000 taste tests.
Then: Calls to the consumer hotline went from 400 a day to 1,500. A group called Old Cola Drinkers of America claimed 100,000 members. When the old formula came back, Coke took 31,600 calls in two days.

Took it back

Original back on shelves 79 days later as Coca-Cola Classic.

Your call

They Fixed It

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