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How to Set Up a Smart Garage

How often have you asked yourself, “did I close the garage door?” With a smart garage, you won’t have to wonder. That’s just one of the many reasons to bring smart home technology into your garage, too….

Are Smart Homes Worth the Investment?

Converting to a smart home might seem expensive and complicated at first, but do the benefits outweigh the cost and hassle? Let’s check out why setting up a smart home is a good investment of your time and money….

How to Install a Video Doorbell

A video doorbell is the best smarthome gadgets you can own. But, if you’ve never installed any doorbell before, the actual installation can feel a little daunting. It’s a pretty easy installation process—we’ll walk you thro…

How to Install a Smart Lock

When you’re setting up a new smarthome, one of the easiest gadgets you can add to your arsenal is a smart lock. It’s not much harder than changing a standard lock on your home. Here’s what to do.

Wi-Fi vs. ZigBee and Z-Wave: Which Is Better?

For most of the modern smarthome era, ZigBee and Z-Wave have been the dominant communication protocols. But now, Wi-Fi is a strong contender, and more Wi-Fi smart gadgets arrive every day. So, which should you use? The answe…

How to Set Up a Smarthome Without the Cloud

The easiest smarthome tech uses the cloud to do the heavy lifting. But that means you give up your privacy. And if the company shuts down, so does your smarthome. Here’s how to bypass the cloud in your smarthome setup….

Six Common Smarthome Mistakes Beginners Make

Smarthomes are becoming more common with each passing year, and smart devices are finally accessible enough for the average person. But creating your smarthome isn’t something you should go into without planning. Without fore…

How to Set Up a Child’s Smart Bedroom

You may have set up your own smart bedroom, but what about your children? Kids have different needs, so you’ll want to take a different approach. With the right devices, you can give them a smart bedroom that benefits everybo…

How to Make Nearly Any Dumb Appliance Smart

Smart appliances offer voice control, smartphone apps, and powerful automations. But why spend hundreds of dollars on the latest models? With some inexpensive smart plugs, you can give your dumb devices the same features for …

Netflix’s Parental Controls Are Terrible

Netflix has a parental control problem. You can create “Kids” profiles, but kids can easily escape them. You can set a PIN to block content, but Netflix still bombards kids with mature trailers. Netflix’s parental controls ne…

How to Protect Your Smarthome from Attack

Every new device you introduce into your smarthome is another device that can be attacked. You can secure your smarthome with simple steps like locking down your router and taking proper care of the gadgets in your smarthome….

How to Factory Reset a Router

A factory reset wipes your router’s custom settings and returns it to a like-new state. This is an important step when troubleshooting some network problems. Factory-resetting is relatively easy, but every router is a bit dif…

How to Make Your Google Home Quieter at Night

The night has come; you’re winding down. “Hey Google, turn off all the lights” you whisper, and then regret sets in as your Google Home yells confirmation, waking everyone up. Here’s how to make Google speak quietly at night….

How to Make Your Garage Door Smart

Have you ever left your home or gone to bed only to wonder if you closed the garage door? Turning around or getting out of bed isn’t fun. If you make your garage door smart, you can close it from anywhere! Here’s how….

What’s New in Chrome 76, Available Now

Chrome 76 hits the stable channel today, July 30. This latest release brings some serious changes to the web. Flash is now disabled by default, and websites won’t be able to detect whether you’re using incognito mode….
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