When Support Ends

Find out what runs on the maker's servers

Before buying, separate what the robot does by itself from what needs the maker's online services. Speech recognition, conversation, new content, photo sharing, app control and software updates often rely on the cloud, while movement, simple reactions and touch responses may run on the robot itself. Ask the maker for a plain list of features that keep working with no internet connection and no account. Then test it during the return period by switching off your router for an afternoon. If the robot becomes little more than an ornament, you are buying a service as much as a device, and its working life depends on that service continuing.

Few makers say how long updates last

Support periods are rarely published. In November 2024 the US Federal Trade Commission said its staff had examined 184 smart products and that nearly 89% of them failed to disclose on their websites how long they would receive software updates. Internet searches turned up no support information for 124 of the devices. The FTC added that failing to tell buyers how long updates will last may violate the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, and could breach the FTC Act if makers imply how long a product is usable. Ask for the support period in writing before you buy, and keep the reply with your receipt in case the question comes up later.

Subscriptions and what they really buy

Some companions need a monthly or yearly plan for their best features, so read exactly what the fee covers. Find out which functions stop if you cancel, whether the price can rise during the term, and whether the plan transfers if you sell or pass on the robot. A lifetime plan usually means the lifetime of the service, not of the owner, so it ends if the company closes or drops the product. Check how you can download photos, messages and recordings, and in what format, because those files may matter to your family long after the robot stops talking. Set a reminder to review the plan each year rather than letting it renew unread.

Planning for the end of service

Robots can outlast their purpose. In a 2025 study in Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 18 families had kept a tabletop reading robot four years after it was introduced, although their children had outgrown its lessons, and many came to treat it as a keepsake or a member of the household. The researchers urged makers to support offline use and to plan graceful end-of-life arrangements rather than abrupt shutdowns. As an owner, prepare too: export what you want to keep, then delete the account and perform a factory reset before passing the robot on. If a child or an older relative is attached to it, explain changes before features disappear, and recycle its battery properly at the end.

Sources and further reading

• Smart products surveyed fail to provide consumers with information on how long companies will provide software updates — US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
  FTC staff findings on 184 smart products and how few disclosed how long they would get software updates.
• The robot that stayed: understanding how children and families engage with a retired social robot — Frontiers in Robotics and AI.
  Follow-up with families who kept a reading robot for years, with advice to makers on offline use and end of life.

Common questions

What happens to my data if a companion robot company closes?

That depends on the maker's terms and local law, and customer data can pass to a buyer if the business is sold. Download what you want to keep, delete recordings and the account while the service still works, and ask in writing for your remaining data to be erased.

Should I buy a second-hand companion robot?

Check the support period first, since an older model may be near the end of its updates. Ask the seller to remove their account and reset the robot in front of you, confirm you can register it in your own name, and include any subscription you will need in the price you are willing to pay.