Opinions on IoT...

B00nie

[H]F Junkie
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This meme pretty much sums it up for me. Do you use IoT devices in your home and if so, why?
 
None of the IoT items here, hard pass. I rarely bother to lock the doors when we leave, and if I do I don't find it hard to use a key to unlock it. Thought about putting a camera or two out to see what critters roamed about at night, but never bothered to actually do it. Thermostats are set and forget and take very little thought or planning beyond that. Eh, just not anything I want to waste money on. If I was younger I might have gotten into them, but not anymore. I did waste more money than I'd like to remember on computer stuff back in the day so I'm not judging anyone else on it.
 
No. I don't like being spied on and I don't trust the manufactures to keep their products updated to combat security threats.
 
No IoT stuff here. (I still have an unopened Google Mini I received when I bought my Pixel 2 3.5 years ago.)

I've thought about setting up some sort of open-source on-site thing, such as Home Assistant etc. I don't like the idea of having a bunch of home infratructure reliant on my internet connection or some cloud provider who might say "f it". Then I look at the cost and time involved in replacing switches and all that and can't be bothered.
 
My OLEDs have google assistant in them but I never set them up or plan to use them. I got free food mini craps sent to me that went straight into the trash. I do not need/want this shit around me if possible but the sad truth we have one with us all the time anyway.
 
I only have some Google Homes around the house. Those don't bother me and they're mainly for music.

It's the other IoT stuff that scares me. No updates ever. Phoning home to China and sending God only knows what data.

The thought of making my house "smart" is tempting but it's also something that doesn't need to be done.
 
Have 2 Echos for music. Both, along with Smart TV are on their own SSID which maps to its own VLAN with dropped packets for anything trying to cross into one of the other networks (other than WAN). I even have the SSID aptly named "IOT devices".
 
We've had a Google Home Mini for a while and we tend to use it more and more as time goes on.
Our Florida room (three seasons room) wasn't wired up with lights or switches so we use pedestal lamps with twist switches below the bulbs. I bought a Wi-Fi switch and a few Wi-Fi outlets so now when i flip the switch the linked outlets turn on all four lamps. It is far more convenient than reaching behind chairs and couches to turn all the lamps on manually.
There are other light switches in our house that only cover particular zones instead of lighting the whole room. This weekend I am installing more Wi-Fi switches and linking them to turn on all the lights in the room with one switch since it is less expensive than rewiring everything.
We are also lazy people so the ability to change the thermostat, turn on/off the TV, and even dim the lights to watch movies without moving is nice.
 
We've had a Google Home Mini for a while and we tend to use it more and more as time goes on.
Our Florida room (three seasons room) wasn't wired up with lights or switches so we use pedestal lamps with twist switches below the bulbs. I bought a Wi-Fi switch and a few Wi-Fi outlets so now when i flip the switch the linked outlets turn on all four lamps. It is far more convenient than reaching behind chairs and couches to turn all the lamps on manually.
There are other light switches in our house that only cover particular zones instead of lighting the whole room. This weekend I am installing more Wi-Fi switches and linking them to turn on all the lights in the room with one switch since it is less expensive than rewiring everything.
We are also lazy people so the ability to change the thermostat, turn on/off the TV, and even dim the lights to watch movies without moving is nice.
Those wifi switches are one potential security breach, they're often an easy way into your lan. So I hope you isolate their network before doing any online shopping or banking ;)
 
It would be a huge wall of text if I tried to explain, so tldr: I don't and won't use it.
Short explanation: I don't take electricity for granted. I'm in an area that will most likely in my lifetime become a front line. When that happens, you can't really count on Internet access and power, kind of like what happened in eastern Ukraine.
If not war, then another Carrington level event.
What we have now WILL fail one day, and without electricity we're just a modern school/college curriculum above our cave dwelling ancestors.
 
Sounds like the rants of a person who is still clinging onto their illusions of privacy. All of our data is already out there and things like mechanical locks are just as easy to get around with basic tools available online or even a simple crowbar.

I don't have a ton of IoT devices, but I also don't live my life in fear of them.
 
I have 3 Samsung Smart TVs and a Lutron Hub for my wall switches and a couple of receptacles. Alexa, Siri and the rest creep me out.
 
Those wifi switches are one potential security breach, they're often an easy way into your lan. So I hope you isolate their network before doing any online shopping or banking ;)
A agree with Kardonxt; with all the devices on our LAN it is likely a lost cause. Thermostat, light switches, printer, chromecast, computers, Apple and Android tablets, TVs, gaming systems, etc. Sure, the Google Home is a bit much but our phones are already listening.
Sure, I can get some network gear and try to isolate them but I am not a network engineer so I can't guarantee I would even do it right after spending lots of time and money.
Even then, some random company that I do business with or pay bills to will just have a data breach (again) and it would all be for nothing.
 
Sounds like the rants of a person who is still clinging onto their illusions of privacy. All of our data is already out there and things like mechanical locks are just as easy to get around with basic tools available online or even a simple crowbar.

I don't have a ton of IoT devices, but I also don't live my life in fear of them.
Sounds like you don't understand the implications of having someone penetrate your home network and, say, place a MITM attack to harvest your banking credentials and empty your account. All of this is trivial once they penetrate your firewall / router and IoT devices are the weakest link typically.

Oh, and I do care about my privacy. I don't use any social media where I could be identified, keep safe browsing and use burner e-mail accounts for everything but official business. Last I checked even the couple last news articles I was in have vanished from Google results... My name can be found only in some scientific studies and analysis as source notes.
 
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That meme sums up my attitude, but I must admit that I too have a couple of IoT devices in the home. We have an Ecobee thermostat mainly because we have a two story house in a hot climate, and it was the only thermostat I could find at the time that had remote sensors I could place in the upstairs bedrooms. This way the thermostat knows the temperature upstairs and downstairs. The other is a home security system that connects to WiFi.

Those are the only IoT devices in the house, and they are on an isolated vlan separate from everything else. Everything else is manual. No need for smart light switches or anything else in my mind.
 
I was against them for a while, but I have some now, a few Google Homes and RGB light bulbs.

There really isn't anything I couldn't do with my phone, but the Google is good for asking the weather, or starting timers when I'm cooking, and can also play music.

Definitely don't need them, but they are convenient and I have an Android phone anyhow, so if Google wants to spy that ship has sailed.
 
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