Creating 'rooms' with Alexa Groups
Amazon’s Alexa has some limitations when it comes to managing your smart devices in the app, but by using the Groups feature you can simplify your device naming, and organize your gadgets much more easily.
HomeKit Motion Sensors: Philips Hue vs Eve Motion
Motions sensors are the first port of call for many smart home initiates, and they provide some core functionality for triggering activity based on presence, often in conjunction with smart lighting. Two strong candidates are compared in this deep dive article.
People really don’t get home router security, who knew?
A UK based survey of home router owners provides an eye-watering view of general user ignorance and lack of awareness of basic security requirements.Â
Ring app continues to allow access after password change
Ring has had a pretty good reputation for security, employing best practices for encryption and firmware management, but the existence of this antuentication issue is a head scratcher.
Canary Flex: Review
Canary’s Flex indoor/outdoor security camera may not be new, but still offers some capabilities that are lacking from the competition. It’s worth taking a look at how things stack up before deciding on a home smart camera solution.
Free tools to check your vulnerability exposure
Keeping track of device vulnerabilities that may impact you is a major headache. There is hope though, with a couple of free online tools that can give some peace of mind that your internet connection is not leaking like a seive.
Integrate your Z-Wave devices with Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant
Do you have an established Z-Wave smart home. Wish you could use those fancy digital assistants to tell your stuff what to do? Well, this may be what you've been looking for.
Canary announces new hardware and features
Canary, the maker of the Canary All-in-one and Canary Flex home security cameras, dropped a blog post to align with CES announcing a new device, and new AI features for their existing customers.
Sonos and Bose smart speakers left exposed
Sometimes even the respected players can stumble. If your Sonos (or Bose) speaker has been acting weird lately, researchers at Trend Micro may have found the answer.
Managing Bluetooth signal with HomeKit
Bluetooth usage is on the rise for wireless smart home devices, particularly sensors. The limitations of Bluetooth range can be problematic for reliability though, particularly in HomeKit installations with a single home hub.
Smart AC Control: Sensibo vs tado°
Since the Nest Thermostat made it’s smart home debut, there has been a wealth of good smart thermostat options hitting the market for pretty much any platform of your choosing. These devices are great for those with central heating or thermostat controlled ducted air conditioning. But those with stand alone split system air conditioners have been left out in the cold (or heat as the case may be).
HomeDash, a dashboard for HomeKit: Review
While not strictly necessary in an age of voice control and mobile apps, the ability to have a nice, always on dashboard somewhere in the house can be an appealing addition to any smart home. Such a dashboard needs to provide an at-a-glance view of the status of key devices, sensor data, and provide the ability to control aspects of the home conveniently. Â
How to configure Hue dimmer switches for HomeKit
Earlier this year, at the IFA trade show, Philips announced upcoming Apple Homekit support for the Hue accessories. Specifically, the accessories to be included were the Hue Tap Switch, Hue Dimmer Switch, and the Hue Motion Sensor. The support has now come to pass through a firmware update for the Hue Bridge.
The KRACK attack: How does it affect your smarthome?
After reading up on the various tech coverage of the last couple of weeks, things have settled down somewhat. We've gone through the usual phases of "ZOMG everything is broken!", through "It's bad, but not as bad as we thought" and now we've landed on "OK, we can work with this".
FingBox network security appliance: Review
The FingBox, a handy little network security gadget and troubleshooting toolkit for the home. If you've ever wondered how to keep an eye on your network, this new crowdsourced appliance may be of interest.
Ring goes all in on home security with Ring Protect
Video doorbell company Ring has been on a roll with new products announcements this year, and have now jumped into the monitored security market with a new offering that looks set to shake up the market.Â