If I'm going to be away from home for more than two weeks, I take some smart gear with me. Most of them are plugged into the wall. But as smart technology becomes more ingrained into the very fabric of our homes, from smart doors and windows to garage door openers and light fixtures, those products are less likely to move with us. Instead, smart blinds and hard-wired smart speakers remain, leaving new owners with a need to understand how to operate products whose controls are not wall switches and whose systems have app and automation dependencies set up. there is. Please run. This premise was explored in his Verge article, which posits the concept of smart home “ghosts” – smart devices that seem to haunt their new owners by behaving on their own without any logic. This is an interesting modern product and I'm sure it will continue to grow, but there are some easy ways we can become Ghostbusters.
Document automation and devices
I already advocate keeping a home diary. A home diary has a place to record paint colors, wallpaper names, appliance names and models, and maintenance records. This will make it much easier the next time you need to get a replacement part, fix a chip in your wall, or prove your property to an insurance agent. That journal should include records of your smart home, including what devices are wired in your home, their manufacturers and app names. Quickly note which devices have automations attached and whether they are in native apps or voice assistants. If the house is sold, the diary remains in the house and the new owner is given an actual guidebook for the property.
If you think that's an exaggeration, think about all the people who have bought a home and inherited an unstable sprinkler system with no documentation or guidance, or an HVAC system that is malfunctioning in some way. Sure, this kind of diary is helpful to you, but it also feels like a responsibility we have to the house itself.
Ask questions about smart devices during the sales process
Asking about sprinkler systems and HVAC is part of the sales process. Next, you need to add smart devices to the mix. Will the owner give up the device? If so, which device will be controlled and how?
Additionally, don't assume that the old owner hasn't been in touch. Once you purchase a home, ask your agent to thank you and, if possible, maintain communication with the previous owner. They have put a lot of love into this house (unless it was Flip, and I doubt Flip left the smart device) and will be sure the new caretaker will know how to use everything. You may be investing in making it so.
Replace your smart device
If you're stuck with old smart devices and can't quite figure out why certain lights turn on and off at noon, or why all your locks become deadbolts, all you need to do is replace them. Totally problematic. For certain types of devices, such as garage door openers, you may want to hire a professional to look into the problem, but it may not be worth it. This is your home now and you can change it as you like. Spending a lot of time frustrated by aspects of your new home that you don't understand is not the way to spend your first year in your new home.
In most cases, a new router will resolve the issue.
The reality of smart devices is that they usually require Wi-Fi unless they are on a special local network. As people move, modems and routers move as well, so most smart devices go offline if they can no longer connect to their programmed Wi-Fi network. In fact, that may be the problem you're experiencing when an abandoned device becomes inoperable. You must hard reset your device to register with the app on your device and allow access to the new Wi-Fi network.