So *That's* Why McDonald’s Ice Cream Machines Are Always Broken
McDonald's sign + soft serve ice cream cone
Without fail, on a warm day, I get a craving for a small French fry and an ice cream cone from McDonald's. And with predictability, a drive-thru fast food worker says, “Sorry our ice cream machine is down right now.”
But I'm not the only one who's run into this situation. It's a broad enough problem that the U.S. government has gotten involved in an attempt to help us get our soft serve when we want it. Here's what you need to know.
Related: What Are McDonald's Breakfast Hours In 2024?
Why Are McDonald's Ice Cream Machines Always Broken?
Apparently, when the McDonald’s ice cream machine needs service, there’s only one authorized service provider, and that’s an Illinois-based equipment business called Taylor Company. The government is trying to legally change the repair process to allow third parties to be on the service list, so people like me can dip their French fries into their soft serve more often.
Related: All of McDonald's Dipping Sauces, Ranked Worst to First
What is the Government Doing About McDonald's Broken Ice Cream Machines?
In 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a joint comment asking the U.S. Copyright Office to make changes to Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Currently, this act protects copyright holders and prohibits people from getting around copyright protection, like locks or passwords. Right now, it’s limited to movies, video games, books and computer software.
The filing is asking the U.S. Copyright Office to change the law to allow industrial and commercial equipment, like soft serve machines, to be repaired by those without copyright protection. Their hope is that this revision equals speedier repairs, lower repair costs and increased competition. For now, only Taylor can repair their own machine. Anyone else who is attempting to fix it has no legal right.
The Taylor Company manufactures various commercial grill equipment and cold drink machines. According to their service page, they have a “vast distributor network…that means prompt, personal service is always right around the corner.”
Related: The Best Ice Cream Flavors Ranked
How Long Does it Take to Fix a McDonald's Ice Cream Machine?
Prompt is pretty subjective here because the federal complaint says that it can take 90 days for an authorized technician to visit the downed location. The comment goes on to state that a “soft serve equipment breakdown can lead to $625 per day loss of sales, that there are long wait times for authorizer repairs and that a licensed repair technician charges over $300 per fifteen minutes.”
How to Find Out if the Ice Cream Machine at Your McDonald's Is Broken
In October 2020, a software engineer named Rashiq Zahid ran into roadblocks while trying to order a McDonald’s sundae. Instead of just going to Dairy Queen, he launched the website called Mcbroken, which gives real-time updates on which McDonald’s ice cream machines are working—or not. There’s even a handy US map to find the location nearest to you.
How’d he do it? In a 2020 tweet, he notes that he “reverse-engineered McDonald’s internal API and I’m currently placing an order worth $18,752 every minute at every McDonald’s in the United States to figure out which locations have a broken ice cream machine.” Until the law changes, there’s no guarantee that your local McDonald’s can satisfy your sweet tooth, but at least Zahid's site can help save you a little frustration.
