Hot day, missing remote: Rs 50,000 cr man, Sridhar Vembu, shares 'smart fan' problems. Netizen’s hilarious 3-step fix wins the internet

Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu recently took to X to vent about a surprisingly relatable struggle — turning on a fan. In a humorous post, he described how “smart” technology made something as simple as staying cool on a hot day unnecessarily complicated. His post quickly went viral, prompting a flood of reactions. But one netizen’s tongue-in-cheek 3-step solution, complete with a God’s photo, stole the show — and the internet’s laughter.

Sridhar Vembu, a man of Rs 50,000 crore recently shared a lighthearted complaint about the "smart" fans installed in his office’s new block. These fans, which are operated via remote control, also require a wall switch to be turned on first. However, once the switch is on, users still need to locate the remote, which often vanishes under what he amusingly referred to as "engineer desk debris" (EDD). On hot days, this multi-step process to simply turn on a fan has become unexpectedly frustrating for Vembu, leading him to sarcastically reflect on whether this is truly technological progress.

Internet reacts

Several users chimed in with humorous and practical suggestions in response to Sridhar Vembu’s post. One laid out a three-step hack involving mounting the remote on the wall, chaining it so it can’t be moved, and placing a photo of a deity nearby as a cheeky reminder that “God is watching.”


Another user called remote-controlled fans pointless, joking that things could get worse if users are asked to operate them via an app. Some proposed smarter alternatives, like motion-sensor fans that switch on when someone enters a room and off when they leave. Others imagined a future where even fans would need to be AI-enabled to solve basic usability issues. Many agreed that in a public setting, the best solution might be to simply fix the remote to the wall permanently.