The unbearable fussiness of the smart home

Post by d0gsg0w00f » Thu, Nov 25, 2021, 12:59 AM UTC

ninkendo wrote: post #9

I did my whole house in Lutron’s smart switches (close to 50 of them), and I think it’s good? It’s been about 2 years now and I really haven’t had any issues. The switches aren’t Wi-Fi connected, because Wi-Fi would be an awful choice for 50 devices that you only communicate with a few times a day. They use their own wireless frequency and communicate in a really simple/reliable way to the bridge, which is wired to m…

Post by WalterBright » Thu, Nov 25, 2021, 1:02 AM UTC

theshrike79 wrote: post #231

at_a_remove wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know those "strip of LEDs on a gooseneck" plant lights? Even these, low-end as they are, have similar issues. They have buttons instead of physical switches. If the power goes out, I have to remember what sequence of button-presses gets me a twelve-hour timer. And you can't even set it to "always on" and control with a mechanical timer. Maddening.

This is why engineers invented the screwdriver and soldering iron :) It's not hard to just wire shit directly and use an external plug to control the light.

Post by dkarl » Thu, Nov 25, 2021, 1:11 AM UTC

jiveturkey wrote: post #251

dkarl wrote: post #238

I have a Homepod (short story, I needed a new speaker for the kitchen, and I was shopping for security camera at the same time) and it has been much more annoying than the simple bluetooth speaker that it replaced. The other day I was hearing strange sounds from it, rustling and crackling and murmuring, and I couldn't transfer the podcast on my phone to the Homepod like I normally do. I was convinced that either some…

do you mean homepod or homepod mini? yes it is infuriating how it has a mind of its own. if you just want to use it like a bluetooth then disconnect it from your icloud account. it will still work as an airplay target. what you (and i initially) failed to understand about it is that it is a streamer device (limited to apple music). not simply a wireless speaker.

Post by ridiculous_fish » Thu, Nov 25, 2021, 1:23 AM UTC

Filligree wrote: post #202

pkulak wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love my smart home stuff. My lights turn on in the morning, change color temperature at sunset, and turn off at night. Thermostats set to the right temperature/mode at night and in the morning depending on the forecast for the day. My garden is watered, but not if it's going to rain. When I turn on my TV, the lights turn off and the blinds close. Everything shuts down and locks when the family leaves, resumes when…

What hardware do you use? And how were you able to get hold of something that doesn't talk to the cloud? There's nothing like that in the shops here.

Post by 1-more » Thu, Nov 25, 2021, 2:20 AM UTC

everdrive wrote: post #7

h2odragon wrote: post #2

In that same time period, my "plant light" timer, a $15 mechanical item of a design unmodified since the 1970s, has worked flawlessly, requiring attention only when the clocks change or my schedule does. It has not informed Google, Amazon, or anyone else about its job or anything else in my home. It has generated no royalties nor invoked any support or ongoing maintenance costs. It has never needed a software upgrade…

I've got the same old-fashioned mechanical timer. I actually attached it to one of those "box fan filters" that people talk about here from time to time. (So I can filter on a schedule) It works perfectly, and I've never had any issues with it. I'm thoroughly convinced that if I tried to replace it with a "smart" device I'd have no shortage of issues. I like your thinking regarding the lack of reliability with these…