What happened to Centriq
Centriq was a free app that acted as a smart owner's manual for your house. You scanned an appliance's nameplate, and it pulled up the manual, how-to videos, maintenance reminders, and recall alerts for that exact model. For a decade it was one of the easiest ways to keep track of what was installed in a home.
After a retirement notice in late 2025, Centriq shut down on January 31, 2026. The app was removed from the App Store and user accounts were deleted. No detailed public explanation followed. If you exported your data before the deadline, you still have it. If you did not, the records are gone, but the information they held is still on your appliances and on manufacturers' websites, and you can rebuild it.
First: do you have an export?
Check your email and downloads folder for a file from around the shutdown notice. If you find one, you have the fastest path back: Homer added a Centriq import tool in December 2025, and Dib released a free Centriq import tool as well. Import the file into whichever app suits you, then spot-check a few appliances to confirm the model numbers came through correctly.
If you have no export, the next section rebuilds the same records from scratch.
Rebuild your appliance records in an afternoon
Centriq's value came from four things: knowing exactly which model you own, having its manual, knowing its maintenance schedule, and hearing about recalls. You can recreate all four with a phone and a couple of hours.
1. Photograph every nameplate
Every major appliance has a nameplate or rating label with the brand, model number, and serial number. Walk the house room by room and photograph each label in full. Common locations:
- Refrigerator: inside the fresh-food compartment on a side wall, or behind the kick plate at the bottom.
- Dishwasher: on the edge of the door or the tub frame, visible when the door is open.
- Range and wall oven: inside the door frame or behind the storage drawer.
- Washer and dryer: inside the door or lid, or on the back panel.
- Furnace, air handler, and heat pump: inside or beside the access panel; for outdoor units, on the side of the cabinet.
- Water heater: on the side of the tank, near the controls.
- Microwave, disposal, and water softener: inside the door frame, on the underside, or on the back of the unit.
Also photograph the serial number, since manufacturers often encode the manufacture date in it, which tells you how old each appliance is.
2. Download the manuals
Search each manufacturer's support site for the model number. Most offer the owner's manual, installation guide, and parts list as free PDFs. Save them to a single cloud folder named for the appliance and model, so you are not dependent on any one app to find them again.
3. Rebuild the maintenance schedule
The care section of each manual lists what the manufacturer recommends: filter changes, coil cleaning, descaling, flushing, and so on. Turn each one into a recurring reminder in whatever tool you use. If you want a head start, our home maintenance schedule template lays out the common tasks by season.
4. Set up recall alerts
Recall notices usually reach owners through product registration, so register each appliance on its manufacturer's website using the model and serial numbers you photographed. You can also search the Consumer Product Safety Commission's recall list at cpsc.gov, and look up vehicles by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. If you would rather have this done for you, some apps now monitor these databases automatically.
5. Keep a copy outside the app
The lesson from Centriq is that records held only inside one app can disappear. Whatever you choose next, keep the nameplate photos, manuals, and receipts in a folder you control, and export your data from the app on a schedule.
While you are walking the house anyway
Rebuilding Centriq's records means visiting every room with your phone. That walk is the best chance you will get to capture the rest of what an insurance adjuster would ask for after a fire or a break-in, at almost no extra effort:
- A slow video of each room. Open closets, cabinets, and drawers as you go. A two-minute video per room is a surprisingly complete record of contents.
- Electronics serial numbers. TVs, computers, game consoles, and cameras are the items most often stolen, and serial numbers help with both police reports and claims.
- Valuables up close. Jewelry, art, instruments, and collections, with any appraisals or receipts. Many policies cap theft of jewelry at a low amount unless items are scheduled.
- Finishes and upgrades. Flooring, countertops, cabinetry, and fixtures, which affect what it costs to rebuild. Save paint colors while you are at it.
- The garage and basement. Tools, bikes, and seasonal gear are easy to forget and expensive to replace all at once.
Store all of it alongside the nameplate photos and manuals, outside the house. Our home inventory template gives you a room-by-room structure if you want a checklist to work from.
A one-afternoon checklist
- Search your email for a Centriq export file; if you find one, import it into Homer or Dib.
- Photograph the nameplate of every major appliance and system.
- Download each owner's manual into a cloud folder named by appliance and model.
- Copy the maintenance tasks from each manual into recurring reminders.
- Register each appliance with its manufacturer for recall notices.
- Record a short video of every room, including closets and storage.
- Choose an app for the long term, and put an export on your calendar every six months.
Which app to move to
There is no single replacement, because people used Centriq for different things. Match the app to the job: