It may have been the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz who wanted a heart, but perhaps some of the folks at smart home device maker Nest Labs, Inc. may have magically discovered one as well with news that the company may offer compensation to those affected by its decision to brick Revolv smart home devices.

If you’ve missed the story so far Nest, a division of Alphabet, Inc. (the company formerly known as Google) announced Monday that it was terminating support for devices made by Revolv, Inc., a company acquired by Google in 2014.

Although shutting down support doesn’t sound too bad on paper, the shutdown included actually disabling every single Revolv at the same time, despite the fact they didn’t have to do so, and if external server access was required (be it without ongoing support) the cost would have been, as we pointed out when the news broke, less per month than Sergey Brin’s nightly dinner.

The Verge reports that Nest now says it’s working with customers to find a better solution and that, although it is unlikely to reverse the decision to brick the devices, it will consider providing compensation possibly up to $300, the amount the Revolv smart home devices originally retailed for.

“We’ve been working with the small number of Revolv customers on a case-by-case basis since we sent out the first customer notification in February to determine the best resolution, including compensation,” a company spokesperson is alleged to have said.

A separate message posted to Nest’s Twitter account confirm that some form of recompense may be on offer, with Nest writing “Revolv owners, we’re here to help. Please get in touch so we can find the best solution for your needs: help@revolv.com.”

Still pathetic

The only reason Nest may possibly be doing the right thing when it comes to Revolv users now is that they have been publicly shamed by media attention, most of it driven by a viral post on Medium by Arlo Gilbertmade who, among describing his situation and disappointment with the decision, made one very, very good point:

Google/Nest’s decision raises an interesting question. When software and hardware are intertwined, does a warranty mean you stop supporting the hardware or does it mean that the manufacturer can intentionally disable it without consequence? [Nest CEO] Tony Fadell seems to believe the latter. Tony believes he has the right to reach into your home and pull the plug on your Nest products.

Those affected by the decision may not be huge in number, but is it right for a company to fully pull the plug on a device you’ve paid for after the warranty has expired, and by doing so actually making the device stop working altogether?

Let’s hope for those affected that Nest does either pay compensation or brings back support, and in the meantime Alphabet really needs to start considering the ongoing viability of Nest Chief Executive Officer Tony Fadell.

Image credit: Revolv/ Nest