Awesome Tips Rating 30 Smart Home Devices, BEST and WORST!
I’m showing you everything in my smart home, and rating it rapid-fire from 1 to 10. Let’s find my favorites… and LEAST favorites.
I’m showing you everything in my smart home, and rating it rapid-fire from 1 to 10. Let’s find my favorites… and LEAST favorites.
LINKS (affiliate)
Schlage Encode Plus:
Unifi G4 video doorbell:
RATGDO garage door:
Weather station:
Lutron smart dimmers:
Inovelli Red:
Rachio 3rd gen:
Ecobee Premium:
BOND bridge for fans:
Frame TV:
Apple TV 4K:
Tesla solar:
Echo Show 15:
Fingerprint locks:
A lot of other links for my smart home here:
My shirts:
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0:00 Intro
0:23 Smart lock
0:49 Video doorbell
1:26 Security cameras
1:37 Smart garage
1:54 Weather station
2:15 Lutron dimmers
2:30 Kasa dimmers
3:03 Lutron motion lights
3:20 Inovelli Red
4:04 Smart bulbs
4:24 Smart light strips
4:40 Echo
5:04 HomePods
5:35 Google Nest Display
5:46 Rachio
6:05 Smart thermostat
6:28 BOND bridge
6:47 Dashboard
7:14 Frame TV
7:29 Apple TV
7:52 Ring alarm
8:11 Motion sensors
8:29 Contact sensor
8:49 Vibration sensors
9:08 Robot vacuum
9:16 Smart outlets
9:31 Server rack
9:44 Smart buttons
10:00 Smart shades
10:24 Tesla solar
10:55 Echo Show 15
11:05 Fingerprint locks
11:18 NFC tags
11:30 Hub
12:02 1/10 😬
———
MUSIC
Digifunk by DivKid
Ending song is The End by EVA.
Deals for Days. Big home savings are happening now.
Let's hear it: what device is a 10/10 in your smart home?👇
I’m surprised you still hosting it on a raspberry pi
Debugging home assistant 😂. She got us there
Gotta say, for the devices we have in common I think you’re pretty much spot on. The only one I’ve consistently had poor experience with is Bond. We use it strictly for fans. Always been a pain to setup, if it even works with the fan. For me, solid 4 out of 10. Oh, and since you’re keeping score, I think Mollys’ got your number! 🤣
If you were still on the market for cameras and a doorbell would you still go Unifi? And what Access points are you using U6's?
so many lithium batteries to fail and combust 🤓
Don't you know? 1-10 scale is out. The cool kids all use Tiers.
True story though, your channel is awesome. Planning so many things for my home that's currently being contructed.
I'm 100% with ally on all of em
So I am just now starting to build out my Unifi network. You mentioned you use Unifi and Reolink security cameras. My question is, are you able to record the Reolink cameras on your Ubiquiti Dream Machine Pro?
Love the Bond Bridge. It occasionally will fail to control a device though. The local API is fucking awesome.
Love the tv cabinet, could you please give more details on those ?
What are you using to trigger smart home routines from your Stream Deck? The only thing I found that could run my Alexa routines to pull up my Ring cameras was VoiceMonkey.
I have been a Weatherflow user since their Kickstarter, and when the unit goes dead quickly it is usually a failing battery. Which is my one complaint that the user cannot change the battery, though they do give a healthy discount to replace it with a new unit if you contact their customer service.
Hi I like your video on the smart home solution and have started my home assistant journey.
I would like to check if you have any advices on the automation for washroom as I have no issue triggering the power but if you are seating on the toilet bowl my motion sensor sometime doesn’t register presence.
Let us know when your daughter makes a YouTube channel. She is funny!
Ditch the Raspberry Pi and install HA on something SFF like a refurbished HP Elitedesk Mini. It's basically the same price and the performance increase is massive. Like me, you'll wish you'd done it way sooner.
Contact tempest support, they sent me a new station when mine was having the same issues. They can run a remote test.
For the devices we have in common, I agree. Roborock, ecobees (I have 3), etc. In process of swapping out our outdoor wyze cameras new house thick brick wifi just not cutting it. I liked where Ally weighed in – the WAF is critical. One of the reasons for the camera upgrade wifey uses them all the time – so need better and faster. Tapos.
first
Have you made a video about your server rack, with the Ubiquity Unify Dream Machine Pro ?
Is it me or has someone lost weight
TBH all the smart home stuff seems a lot of effort and costs to basically avoid pressing a few buttons, it sounded cool at first but i realise i can just about manage 🙂
I use a Geeni garage door opener. No issues and is a low cost option. Even sends me a messagebif it is left open or if my Internet goes down. I think I paid around $30. Easy to install.
Have you tried the Leviton D2MSD-2RW motion light switch? It works in all the ecosystems and very reliable. I have a HomeKit home and truly love this switch. In the app you have a lot more settings to where you can set the default brightness and fade in and out. Thanks for the ratings of the devices.
Smart locks will eventually be abused for no knock raids 😓
Loved the video! My 10/10 device in my home is my Kasa light bulbs. They are wifi but they have been flawless. Do you use hue with the bridge or just paired them directly to zigbee?
Regarding the Lutron motion lights – I did the same thing for my utility room, but I took it next level.
I don't have toddlers anymore so I removed the door latch and just replaced it with a magnetic latch/catch. When I come down with my hands full with laundry, a big Costco order or a bunch of tools, I just bump the door open and the Lutron motion light does its thing. Game changer !
The only problem I've had is that I also tried to open other doors by bumping them, and they didn't use magnetic latches so ….. crash. 😬
By the siri is getting massive update to make it 1000 time better with AI like chatgpt !🎉
this was fun and useful. and +1 for the contrasting viewpoints from Ally.
Zemismart blind driver is my favourite out of the 40 devices in my home, I never have to open and close the blinds as they run automatically 10/10. Also 10/10 for my Gimdow door lock and 10/10 for my Brilliant Elite smart home switches.
Thanks for the shout-out and the 10, Reed! It's an honor to be in your house 🙂
Eric
Seems unusual for a reviewer to give a smart lock a 6/10 rating because he doesn't use his front door, but at the same time says the device works really well. I guess the ratings don't matter? I give my Schlage Z-wave lock a 10/10, but I guess I actually use my front door.
What do you think about Eufy products ?
I had an EcoWitt all-in-one weather station just like the Tempest but got rid of it because those style of stations are wildly inaccurate here in AZ! The temperature was consistently 5deg (or more) too high whenever the sun comes up and the piezoelectric water sensor might as well give random numbers, it is so off. There are a lot of connected Tempest devices around me so I know that Tempest is giving the same very-wrong numbers. I replaced the all-in-one with a suite of separate devices which is much much more of a pain to setup (and more expensive) but at least I know I'm getting extremely accurate numbers (after double-checking with calibrated sensors). Still EcoWitt since those integrate with HA very easily.
The reason I do not use the Google Assistants it’s I don’t like the keywords OK Google or Hey Google. Echos are becoming more hassle than they are worth.
4/10 for NFC tags because you forgot where you put it? Seems like an user error to me 😂
Do you using Homey Pro anymore?
I'd love an updated video comparing Google home and the echo devices! I'm curious how they have changed over time. I recently got an echo after being a Google home family for years and I'm curious your thoughts
if there was a simple HA touchscreen all loaded ready to go straight out of the box? I'd give that a 10/10 ! Same for local voice control!
Ring sucks. To much control over what their customer can do with their own devices. 0 out of 10!