All Things Smart Home related

Make darn sure you use a hard to guess password and lock all that stuff down !

 

I know this is of no use at all , but my choice would be to go with a professional who knows/installs/configures/connects compatible devices. Done! That's my method, and it works very well.

 

The t/stat is easy, 4 wires, match them to the same letters on the new stat :
red wire to R
white wire to W
green wire to G

and it will either be a yellow or a blue wire to Y, just match how the old stat is wired.

 

I think you should really take care of the security of your smart home first. After all, the smarter your house is, the more attractive it is for thieves and scammers. So I suggest you find some modern security system, like ajax. You need such a smart security system, with which you can accurately monitor the entire situation at home, you can view the cameras through the app on your smartphone. I think you should look for something like this on the Internet. I'm sure you can find one for yourself. Good luck!

 

The switch cover is supposed make your lights smart right?

 

Thank goodness they make smart white lights now.

 

I just changed my bathroom lites to LED smart bulbs, but got them in the "daylight" intensity. You almost have to wear sunglasses in there now !

 

Funny that this thread should pop up again, as I'm contemplating adding some more devices to my system. I have a problem, though.

ADT tells me that it's impossible to do what I want, i.e., add two more Ring doorbells/cameras. Why? Because of my Internet speed, 70/6. For how we use the Internet in this house, those speeds are perfectly acceptable. But ADT tells me they have to factor in each camera using 2 of my 6 Mbps. They said that they have to consider each camera uploading video to the cloud--continuously, even though that's not how they work! The cameras are motion-activated, and only kick in when something triggers them. The likelihood of ALL THREE cameras kicking in and uploading at exactly the same time are similar to an ice cube's chance in hell. (The existing doorbell is on my front door; I want to add one to my side door (which opens out to the driveway) and my back door (sliding-glass patio doors). It's almost inconceivable that all three could be triggered at the same time, but they're not allowed to use up all of the allotted speed--even theoretically.)

They said the only solution is to upgrade my Internet plan. But I don't want to! There's no need for it, other than what ADT says. I want ADT to choose and install and configure everything because of my existing ADT security system--everything needs to work together, and they're the best choice for accomplishing that. Thoughts on what I should do? I really want the cameras but I don't want to upgrade my speed....

 

Pretty sure ADT is trying to avoid service calls from you when the thing goes wonk with too much bandwidth usage.

I agree with your assessment of the devices usage, seems to me it is your house and your money, they should honor your requests, take your money, and everyone has a good day.

 

Exactly! At least try it, then if it truly bogs things down and causes problems, THEN I'll upgrade my speed.

Maybe I'll have @ocnbrze drop by and install them for me. He'd do a good job, and we could thumb our respective noses at ADT's limits.

 

This cracked me up! Thanks, buddy. But....how did you know about my priceless hand-painted walnut shell collection?

Honestly, I have no idea. When we had the Ring doorbell/camera/door lock installed, they ran over various things about how it works, but I really don't recall much of what they said. It's all available online, like in the various apps, but I haven't done much reading! I just know that when I most recently spoke to an ADT tech, I pointed out that the uploading only happens when the camera is triggered--it's not continuous--but he said it didn't matter, they're not allowed to install more devices than their calculated figure allows. In my case, I could have two, but not three, as they're not allowed to use up ALL of the theoretical bandwidth.

 

Do you accept priceless hand-painted walnut shell collections for payment?

 

Fine!! If you're going to be unreasonable, I'll just....get someone else!! And they won't live in West Covina, either.

 

Ha ha ha ha ha!

That's exactly how I feel. Leave my pets safe and take the rest, I don't care.

This *previously* gun-free home now has a gun in it. Turns out my live-in helper is quite the expert when it comes to guns and shooting. She grew up surrounded by guns AND the proper knowledge to safely keep and use them. Her father had a *BIG* collection; he died in July, and she's now taken her pick of which guns she wants to keep. The rifles and other handguns are being stored at her brother's house, but we have one revolver here in my house. It's in her room; the bullets are stored separately, since we don't have a gun safe. We've agreed that should a burglar get in, whichever one of us gets to the gun first will aim right.....smack........at his GROIN. I've always said I wouldn't shoot to kill, just to REALLY make an impression! (I'm not sure a man could do that to another man. ) I was a really good shot, back in the day. I haven't touched a gun in decades, but I think my aim would still be reasonably good. When I feel up to it, she and I are going to go to her favorite shooting range and do some practice.