How Not to Design an Error Message
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The voice shouts out: “Detector error, please see manual.” Just once, then a few hours later. And when I did see the manual, I discovered that it means "Alarm has reached its End of Life".
No, really. That's how my fire alarm told me that it's at its end of life. By telling me to read the manual. Why it doesn't say "device has reached end of life?" That would be direct and to the point. But no. When you press the button, it says "please see manual." Now, this was a 2009 device, so maybe, just maybe, there was a COGS issue in how much storage was needed.
But sheesh. Warning messages should be actionable, explanatory and tested. At least it was loud and annoying.