Tell us about your smart home failures

TOPICS:

The rush is on to turn your home into a smart home. It’s easier than ever to add smart outlets, smart locks, and voice control to any home no matter the age. Still, a lot of people are afraid that it will be a massive failure or a security risk. That really isn’t true.

Don’t worry if the power goes out

Most smart home upgrades rely on power to work. If the power goes out, your smart outlets aren’t going to work, but then again they wouldn’t have worked anyway. When the power comes back on they should work the same as they did before. If they are “stateful” devices, in other words if they know if they are on or off, they may need to be reset to the position they were in. In other words, if the lights were on when the power went out, they might not come on automatically when power is restored, but it’s a simple matter of turning them on again.

I’ve heard people who are worried that their smart locks won’t work if the power goes out. That isn’t necessarily true. A lot of smart locks work using a battery so they are going to work no matter what. Those that do rely on house power will stop working but there is generally some sort of backup plan. You can generally use a normal key if you want. (Yeah I know that sounds archaic.) If the power goes out on a battery-operated key you might lose connectivity, but that’s because your internet goes down not because there is a problem with the lock.

Speaking of internet

There’s always the concern that the internet will go down and that your smart home will turn into a prison. This really isn’t true. If you have internet-connected appliances, losing internet will just turn them back to “regular old” appliances. You won’t be able to see what’s in the refrigerator when you’re at the store, but whatever’s in there is going to stay cold until the internet comes back up.

Depending on the device, there may be some sort of nag screen until the internet comes up. I know that’s a bit of a problem for some people who really don’t want their devices nagging them at all. Friends, I hear you.

“I’m sorry Dave…”

Look, I’m sure at some point you’re going to hear about some smart home rising up against the homeowners. It’s almost guaranteed to happen in some way. However, we’re a long long way away from that. There may be smart home devices that malfunction here and there but that’s not evidence of a robot uprising. That’s just evidence of something broken. You don’t think the robots are coming to get you when a light bulb burns out. This is the same thing.

Tell us about your smart home experiences

Real, honest information is always the best way to dispel some of these smart home myths. If you’ve “smartened” your home, tell us below in the comments section about a time that your smart home didn’t work for you. Or, tell us about how the power or internet went out and it still worked for you. It will help the newcomers feel more comfortable with the idea of upgrading their homes!

Of course, if you’re looking for the best smart home accessories you can find them by shopping at Solid Signal.

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.