Computers & internet

AWS Outage Sparks Smart Bed Malfunctions

Published OCT 22 2025

Story

Above: A bed inside the Samsung HomeLab showroom in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 15, 2019. Image credit: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Facts

Amazon Web Services experienced a major outage on Monday that began at approximately 3:11 a.m. ET, originating from a Domain Name System resolution issue in one of AWS's primary data centers in Virginia and affecting over 1,000 web-based products.
Breitbart
PCMAG
New York Post
Eight Sleep smart bed users experienced malfunctions during the AWS outage, with some beds stuck in upright positions and others locked at temperatures as high as 110°F (43°C), leaving customers unable to adjust settings manually.
404 Media
Ars Technica
The Economic Times
Eight Sleep CEO Matteo Franceschetti apologized for the disrupted sleep experience and announced that all customer issues were resolved by 10 p.m. ET on Monday, with the company working to implement outage-proofing measures.
Verge
PCMAG
The company's Pod mattress systems range from $2,449 to $5,049 and require internet connectivity for temperature and elevation controls, with customers also paying monthly Autopilot subscription fees starting at $17 per month.
404 Media
Ars Technica
Eight Sleep began rolling out a new offline mode on Tuesday that allows users to control basic functions through Bluetooth connectivity when cloud services are unavailable, addressing long-standing customer complaints about internet dependency.
The Register
Verge
The AWS outage affected numerous major services, including Snapchat, Signal, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Reddit, and banking services for Lloyds and Halifax, with full service restoration completed by 3:01 p.m. ET.
Breitbart
PCMAG
LiveNOW from FOX
The Wall Street Journal

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The Spin

Techno-skeptic narrative

The AWS outage exposes the dangerous reality of tech companies controlling basic life functions like sleep. Smart beds trapping users in 110-degree heat shows how corporate greed prioritizes cloud dependency over safety, forcing customers to pay monthly subscriptions for beds that become useless bricks during outages.

The Register

404 Media

Techno-optimist narrative

Smart appliances revolutionize daily life by providing unprecedented convenience and efficiency through cloud connectivity. These innovative devices offer remote control and continuous updates, freeing up valuable time for families. While internet issues can happen, companies like Amazon swiftly identify and fix the issue, returning things back to normal.