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Serious question, is smart home stuff actually worth the hassle? | Unfiltered Tech Rants - Free To Speak

Serious question, is smart home stuff actually worth the hassle?

I was talking to my buddy Mike last night, he's an electrician, and he told me he's ripped out three smart thermostat systems this month because they kept losing connection to the cloud. It hit me different because I was about to drop $250 on a whole smart lighting setup for my living room. Has anyone else had one of those conversations that made you rethink spending money on tech that might just break in a year?

3 comments

3 Comments

wade2502mo ago

Wait, three thermostats in one month? That's nuts. I can't believe people are actually paying to have those things ripped out. I mean, I get that cloud stuff can be flaky, but three in a month from one guy? That's a pretty strong signal that maybe the whole "smart home" thing isn't as plug-and-play as the YouTube ads make it look. My cousin's Nest has been solid for two years, but he also lives in the middle of nowhere with a fiber connection, so your mileage may vary big time.

jana8812mo ago

Three thermostats in a month sounds like a sample size of one, @wade250. Your cousin's Nest working fine in the boonies with fiber doesn't really prove anything either. Maybe that installer just had a run of bad luck with the same model. I had a smart thermostat for four years and the biggest issue was my wife changing the temperature from the phone while I was standing right next to it. People love to blame the cloud but half the time it's the wiring or the wifi being overloaded with kids streaming and gaming.

ivan7742mo ago

Three thermostats in one month makes me wonder if that electrician is just dealing with a specific brand that's trash. @jana881 you're right that wifi congestion is a real issue, but maybe the real problem is people buying the cheapest smart stuff on Amazon. What brand was failing on him exactly?