The more smarthome products you pile onto your house, the more complicated it gets to integrate all of them together and seamlessly control them. If you’re in this situation, here are the best ways you can control all of your smarthome devices.
The Best Ways to Control All Your Smarthome Devices from One Place
The more smarthome products you pile onto your house, the more complicated it gets to integrate all of them together and seamlessly control them. If you’re in this situation, here are the best ways you can control all of your smarthome devices.
Controlling your smart thermostat remotely from your phone is cool and all, but don’t forget that you can also make it even easier on yourself and control it with your voice using Alexa. Here’s how to set it up.
The Ring Doorbell works like any other doorbell, but has a video camera built in that can alert you to motion and button presses. While it’s a pretty basic device for the most part, there are definitely some features and tricks that you might not have known about.
Ecobee sells two different smart thermostats, both of which offer different features at different prices. If you’re in the market for a smart thermostat and have narrowed it down to Ecobee, here are some things you should know about the Ecobee4 and the Ecobee3 Lite before you make an official purchase.
It only seems like yesterday when Apple first announced the Apple Watch, but we’re now on the third generation (officially named Apple Watch Series 3). The big question, though, is whether or not you should upgrade your current Apple Watch to the latest and greatest.
The fourth-generation Apple TV was a big step up from previous generations, but now that 4K is becoming more popular, Apple is joining the party with its new Apple TV 4K. However, should you upgrade your current fourth-gen Apple TV to the new one?
When it comes to smart thermostats, there’s a handful to choose from, but the big three that stand out are the Nest, Ecobee4, and Honeywell Lyric Round. We’ve tried out all three to see which one has the upper edge, and where their features differ.
Nest has unveiled it’s latest addition to its smart thermostat lineup, known as the Nest Thermostat E. The original Nest Thermostat is still available and will continue to sell alongside the new model, but what does the Nest Thermostat E bring to the table? Here’s what you need to know.
iOS includes several useful tools for displaying how much battery life your iPhone has left, as well as which apps are consuming the most of your battery. However, none of these tools actually tell you anything about your battery’s long-term health, which is just as important.
There are many Dungeon and Dragons purists who—even in the digital age—still rely on using old-fashioned tools from earlier decades. However, there are now a ton of digital resources that can enhance D&D greatly, both for players and dungeon masters alike.
The Echo Dot is a great device, but Anker’s Eufy Genie ($35) aims to dethrone it with the same Alexa-based system and a $15 cheaper price tag (even more when it’s on sale). But is it worth saving a few bucks to get a third-party Echo device in the first place?
Under normal circumstances, the Kwikset Kevo relies on your phone in order to know whether it should unlock your door. However, if you’d rather use a dedicated key fob for that (or as a backup when you forget your phone), here’s how to set up the Kwikset Kevo Fob to give your phone a break.
As if there weren’t already enough ways to control all of your smarthome devices, text messaging could be the most convenient method for some users. Here’s how to make it work using IFTTT and some hashtags.
While the Nest Thermostat may be the coolest smart thermostat on the block, the Ecobee line of smart thermostats have all sorts of neat features that the Nest Thermostat lacks. However, are you actually taking advantage of them all? Here’s how to get the most out of your Ecobee smart thermostat.
Re-keying locks can sometimes be a pain, since you usually need to get a locksmith to do it for you. However, with Kwikset’s SmartKey technology, you can re-key a lock in under a minute. Here’s how to do it.
The Kwikset Kevo mostly relies on your smartphone for locking and unlocking, but what if your phone died or you just forgot to bring it with you when you left the house? You’re not completely out of luck, and with a couple of preventive measures, you can rest easy knowing that you can still unlock your door even if your phone is unable to help.
The Kwikset Kevo doesn’t directly connect to the internet, so controlling it remotely isn’t possible unless you get the Kevo Plus add-on service ($99). It comes with an internet gateway in order to connect the lock to the internet for remote access, but is it worth getting?
Firmware updates are annoying, but they’re essential to a properly working (and secure) device. The Wink Hub is no exception, but if you’d rather not have to deal with updating the hub every time new firmware comes out, you can actually enable automatic updates.
You might think that smart locks are a security disaster just waiting to happen. After all, why would you trust an internet-connected device with the security of your house and everything in it? But consider this: locks are pretty insecure in general.
If you ever forget to lock your door on the way out, The Kwikset Kevo can make your life easy by doing it automatically whenever you leave the house. Here’s how to enable it.
If you’ve decided to get a wired security camera system instead of a Wi-Fi camera, the setup is a bit more involved, but you’ll end up with a better system in the end. Here’s how to install wired security cameras.
The Kwikset Kevo allows you to lock and unlock your door without the need for actual keys. However, what if you want others to have access to your house, especially family members? Here’s how to give “eKeys” to other household members, as well as guests.
Traditional door locks work just fine, but if you want to add some smarts to the security of your home, a smart lock is a good way to go. Here’s how to install and set up the Kwikset Kevo smart lock.
The Nest Cam is one of the most popular Wi-Fi cams on the market thanks to its ease of use. If you’re a recent owner or just someone who’s curious about what the device can truly do, here’s how to get the most of your Nest Cam.
Recently, Google introduced a new feature in Google Drive that makes it easier to quickly access recently-opened or recently-edited files by displaying them at the top of the Google Drive page. However, if you want to disable this feature, you can do so easily.
