They Fixed It: changes nobody asked for

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

They Fixed It

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