Smart devices seem good until you buy them and realize each needs a separate app to function and monitor. In my case, I have a few security cameras from one brand, and I intend to add a few Wi-Fi ...

Home Assistant is a dizzyingly powerful smart home platform, thanks in no small part to its vast array of integrations. But the vanilla installation is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s a vibrant ...

Have you ever felt like your smart home setup is more chaotic than convenient? With countless devices, apps, and cloud services vying for your attention, managing it all can feel overwhelming. Enter ...

I recently described how a recent flurry of smart home failures made me turn to Home Assistant, the increasingly polished DIY smart home platform that you can host yourself without relying on the ...

Buy enough tech and you can’t escape the siren call of a smart home. Amazon practically throws Echo Dots at you. Google will sneak a Nest Mini in the box with almost anything you buy in its store.

I’ve been buying and tinkering with smart home devices for years. As a result, my home network resembles a kind of Model UN of devices, bridges, protocols, assistants, and apps. I try to broker ...

As someone who grew up with a dial-up internet connection, I get anxious at the thought of any always-online product or service. My smart home is no different — I rely on it to automatically cool the ...

Home Assistant has just taken the covers off of its latest device: the Connect ZBT-2, which is a big USB dongle that will give your smart home a high-performance Zigbee or Thread connection. It’s the ...