IKCEST

By Lindsey Bever

June 20

How many lamp owners does it take to change a high-tech lightbulb?

Actually, it may be more complicated than you’d think — and make you miss the good old days when all you had to do was screw it in.

But rest assured that the people at General Electric have put together an instructional video to show you how to troubleshoot the C by GE lightbulbs, and all that’s required is knowing how to count.

First, according to the narrator, turn off the lightbulb for five seconds.

Then turn it on for eight seconds.

Then turn it off for two seconds.

On for eight more seconds. Off for two more seconds. On for eight seconds. Off for two seconds. On for eight seconds. Off for two seconds. On for eight seconds. (Gasp!) Off for two more seconds.

Now turn it on, and it should work.

If not, maybe you missed a second or two somewhere. It’s unclear how much of an effect that would have, but GE does recommend counting using the “Mississippi” method — one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi and so on.

At this point, you may be reaching a breaking point. If so, try a simple breathing exercise: Breathe in for four seconds. Hold your breath for four seconds. Exhale for four seconds.

The C by GE smart bulbs are Bluetooth-enabled, allowing users to set a schedule for their lights and control them with their voices, among other things. GE Lighting posted the tutorial on YouTube this year to show users how to troubleshoot by returning to factory settings.

But the three-minute video appears to have gained widespread attention this week after it was shared on Reddit and Twitter. It has since drawn hundreds of comments from people both mocking GE for its long-winded instructions as well as applauding it for its unintended comedy.

This (real) video from GE on how to reset their "C" light bulbs is the most incredible how-to video you'll ever see.

They want to see how far they can push their customers before they snap. https://t.co/gbXOc543fy
— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) June 20, 2019

“This video made me forget about my soulless existence and feel alive for 8 seconds, then dead for 2 seconds, then alive for 8 seconds, then dead for 2 seconds, then,” one person commented on YouTube.

“I’m seriously hoping this is a parody,” one person tweeted. “Because, if it’s not, the GE smart bulb team should be charged with violating the Geneva Convention. This is torture.”

Another wrote: “I almost want to buy this lightbulb to see whether these instructions are real.”

[Think you missed the boat on smart home technology? Here’s how to get started inexpensively.]

Asked whether the video was intended to be comical, Mary Ann Milo, a spokeswoman for GE Lighting, said only that the company created it to help consumers reset the C by GE bulbs.

“We are aware that the current reset process for our smart bulbs is not ideal. We are working on simpler methods to reset products. We appreciate our consumers’ patience in the meantime,” Milo said in a statement Thursday to The Washington Post.

The tutorial also provides instructions for resetting a version of the lightbulb equipped with older software.

The process is slightly different for this one: Turn off the bulb for five seconds. On for eight seconds. Off for two seconds. On for two seconds. Off for two seconds. On for two seconds. Off for two seconds. On for two seconds. Off for two seconds. Turn on for eight seconds. Off for two seconds. On for eight seconds. Off for two seconds. And then turn it on one more time.

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