In the early morning of Tuesday, Oct. 21, AWS faced a major outage. This situation extended beyond simply not being able to make purchases on Amazon or Woot; the outage influenced a significant part of the internet. Globally, services like WhatsApp, Snapchat, Venmo, Slack, various banks, airlines, shipping networks, and trading platforms such as Robinhood experienced disruptions.

Some individuals were so severely impacted by the AWS outage that it interrupted their sleep. The Eight Sleep Pod system, which is fully dependent on a WiFi connection and utilizes Amazon’s cloud infrastructure, was among those affected. When AWS failed, the Eight Sleep Pods lost their connectivity.

I am in the process of evaluating the Eight Sleep Pod 5 for Mashable, the newest iteration of the Eight Sleep system. While my detailed review isn’t finished yet, I experienced a restless night due to the outage. Although it wasn’t as uncomfortable as sleeping on an airport floor, it was still uneasy, and it took several hours to reconnect my bed once AWS was back online.

The Eight Sleep Pod is a costly smart bed featuring multiple components. It comprises a cover that fits over the mattress, containing narrow water channels linked to the Pod’s Hub, which serves as the system’s control center. The Hub interfaces with the Eight Sleep Pod app, permitting users to configure temperature settings, schedules, and alarms.

If users incorporate the Eight Sleep Pod Blanket into their setup, the Hub can manage it as well. The Blanket operates similarly to the Cover, with water channels that adjust the temperature to the user’s liking. Additionally, the Eight Sleep Pod employs AI to automatically modify temperature settings throughout the night to ensure optimal sleep.

Users invest significantly in the Eight Sleep Pod system. The present model, the Eight Sleep Pod 5 with Hub and Cover, is priced at $3,348 for a queen-size. Including the blanket increases the total to $4,348. For those aiming to enhance their sleep experience even more, Eight Sleep provides an adjustable base featuring a built-in speaker, vibration alarm, and snoring mitigation. With the base, the overall cost rises to $6,398.

Every component of the Eight Sleep Pod necessitates a WiFi connection, so when AWS crashed, the Sleep Pod failed as well. Temperature regulation halted, the base’s elevation and vibration features ceased to function, alarms were inactive, and the app only showed an error message.

Some users encountered challenging situations. Personally, I prefer a cold room with a heated bed, so I utilize the Eight Sleep Pod’s Cover and Blanket to remain warm without perspiring. On Oct. 21, at around 1 a.m. PT, I woke up to find my bed cold since the water in the cover and blanket had stopped being heated, while my room temperature was approximately 55 degrees Fahrenheit. The water had adjusted to the room’s ambient temperature.

I attempted to resolve the issue using the app, which wouldn’t load, and quickly realized I was lying flat rather than in my usual elevated position. It took about an hour for me to figure out that my bed had gone offline due to the AWS outage. I discovered this by reinstalling X on my phone and checking the EightSleepApp account that had posted information about the outage. This news was not available on the brand’s primary X account, EightSleepPod.

I dressed in warmer clothing and added more blankets, eventually allowing my body heat to warm the water chambers enough for me to get back to sleep.

Not all users had the same luck and shared online that they felt too cold or were sweating from an overheated bed. Some reported their bases being stuck in an elevated position. With the app malfunctioning, there was no means to adjust temperature or elevation. Additionally, individuals shared experiences of missing their alarms as the alarm function was rendered inactive.

Eight Sleep has recognized that the bed’s reliance on WiFi and AWS is problematic. The CEO of the brand, Matteo Franceschetti, unveiled Backup Mode on Oct. 22 through his X account. This updated feature enables users to manage the Pod’s temperature and elevation when the WiFi or cloud network is down. The features may vary depending on the nature of the outage, but the core issue of temperature control could be addressed with this enhancement. Eight Sleep states that the rollout is “gradual,” without providing a timeline for when all users will have access to this new Bluetooth functionality.

This upgrade is reassuring news for Eight Sleep Pod users who are concerned about the Pod’s capabilities during future outages, particularly with the approaching stormy winter season that may disrupt WiFi routers unless a portable power source is employed.

In summary, this week has illuminated the extent of AWS’s influence and its capacity to disturb our sleep.