Finding the time and energy to keep my house clean can often feel like an impossible task. At the end of the day, the last thing I want to do it get out our vacuum and drudge it through the house. Fortunately, advancements in technology have given rise to a new breed of cleaning devices that aim to make our lives easier — such as the robot vacuum. We have been fortunate to be able to use several different kinds of robot vacuums in our house with the latest one being the Teendow G20 Robot Vacuum and Mop.

About Teendow G20 Robot Vacuum and Mop

The Teendow G20 robot vacuum and mop is a home vacuum cleaner that can vacuum, mop, and sweep all in one. With its extra-large 200mL water tank, it can cover an area of over 1290ft in a single operation. Additionally, when connected to Alexa, this sweeping robot can instantly respond to your voice commands.

The Teendow G20 auto vacuum cleaner is equipped with a 2600mAh battery, providing a runtime of up to 100 minutes. Its powerful suction system and innovative air intake design prevent blockages caused by pet fur and human hair. Additionally, the triple HEPA filtration system efficiently captures dust, fine particles, and allergens for a thorough cleaning experience.

The Teendow G20 robot vacuum cleaner offers 4 cleaning modes (Auto Spot Edge Zig-zag cleaning) that cater to various cleaning requirements. It effectively cleans hard flooring by collecting dirt, debris, hair, fur, and other particles. Its slim design of 2.78 inches enables the robot vacuum cleaner to reach all corners and clean under furniture, ensuring a comprehensive and efficient cleaning of the entire house.

Additionally, with its ability to climb at a 15-degree angle, the Teendow G20 cleaning robot can access every nook and cranny of your home. It effortlessly transitions between cleaning hard floors and low-pile carpets, guaranteeing uninterrupted cleaning. The 360° sensor protector intelligently detects obstacles and prevents robot mopping vacuum collisions and falls.

Main Features

• 2-In-1 Mopping Robot Vacuum
• Smart Voice/App/Remote Control
• 4 High-Efficiency Modes & Self-charging
• 1400Pa Strong Suction Power
• 3D Precise Obstacle Avoidance

In the Box

• Robot Vacuum
• Charging Base
• AAA batteries for remote
• Remote Control
• Adapter
• Mop Accessories
• Water Tank
• Dust Box & Filter
• Cleaning Brush
• Instruction Manual
• 2 side brushes
• 4 water tank filter cottons

Pricing & Availability

The Teendow G20 Robot Vacuum and Mop is available from teendow.com and has a list price of $199.99. It is currently on sale (as of publishing this review) for $169.99.

User Experience

The vacuum comes in a simple retail box. There is an outlined image of the product on the front face of the box along with some icons that call out the vacuum’s main features. When you open the box, you find the manual package, the robot, and all its accessories in the protective cardboard crate. There are a lot of pieces and parts included so it’s important to get them all out to make sure nothing is missing before you start using the vacuum.

The next step in the set-up process is to plug in the charging base and set the vacuum on it so that it can get a full charge. I actually found the battery life to be very good. I didn’t have any issues with it running low after the vacuum had run for a while. And once it was done cleaning, the vacuum found its base and was able to reconnect with it easily — even with the base on carpet.

I was able to connect the vacuum to the mobile app easily enough and I found that the robot was pretty responsive to the app’s commands. I did, however, find the app a bit lacking when it came to features. One big thing that I found that was missing was a map. This was surprising to me since the website’s product page states that the user can “monitor the real-time cleaning route.” That led me to believe that a map would be drawn while the robot was running. I never found a place in the app for that option.

The biggest issue with this is that I could not tell the vacuum where not to go. We have a couple of areas in our house where cables can potentially be caught in a robot vacuum and this vacuum is small enough to get to those places. I don’t have any way to train the vacuum about these areas.

With that in mind, I used the basic operations — zig-zag cleaning, edge cleaning, spot cleaning, and automatic cleaning. The vacuum is very quiet out of the box, but I have found as you use robot vacuums longer, they tend to get a bit noisier. I thought the robot did an efficient job of cleaning the floors, but found that it didn’t seem to do a great job of completing a room’s coverage.

Using the Automatic Cleaning option, the vacuum would run until it hit an obstacle and then it would turn and go a different direction. Sometimes it looked as though it was moving in such a way that it was lining up with its previous path, but after watching it clean for 15 minutes, I noticed that it was a completely random pattern and that some floor space was getting missed.

I like this vacuum because it has a good battery life and is very easy to work with, but I would like to see it at least have a mapping option in the app so that you can see where it still needs to clean. I sill plan on using this vacuum, but only for minor cleaning jobs.

Pros

1. Quiet
2. Does a good job cleaning
3. Avoids most obstacles well
4. Responsive to commands from app

Cons

1. Basic robot vacuum/does not store maps; cannot program forbidden areas
2. Can get stuck if it doesn’t have enough clearance
3. No automatic dust bin collector
4. Not very responsive to remote control

Conclusion

The Teendow G20 Robot Vacuum and Mop offers an impressive combination of advanced features and convenience. The user-friendly app allows for easy control and scheduling, making it ideal for busy individuals or families. With its sleek design and quiet operation, this robot vacuum and mop seamlessly integrates into any home environment.

For more information, visit teendow.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

Nanoleaf Lines are an innovative lighting solution for a customized smart home or office.

I’ve always been drawn to unique lighting installations and I love surrounding my workspace and home with lighting effects that enhance the spaces. In 2017, I added the Nanoleaf Panels to my home office. Those original Panels are still part of my workspace, but they have been rearranged a few times since I originally installed them. The Nanoleaf Panels have been such a unique piece of our home that we decided to add in another Nanoleaf product: the Nanoleaf Lines — Heartbeat Bundle.

About

The Heartbeat Bundle is made up of Nanoleaf Lines, which are backlit LED bars. Users have the option of choosing from 16M+ colors and dynamic lighting animations that flow through the entire layout. Nanoleaf Lines have smart features like Rhythm Music Visualizer, Screen Mirror, and more. Some of the key features of the Nanoleaf Lines include — modular backlit illumination, music visualizer, layout assistant via the app, voice control, and dynamic lighting effects.

The bundle includes the Nanoleaf Lines along with the Matte Black Skins for the strips. While the Lines can be arranged to and customized in a variety of ways, this particular bundle is designed to have enough pieces to create an ECG visual.

Specs

Lines

• Height: 0.31 in (0.80 cm)
• Width: 11 in (27.85 cm)
• Depth: 0.78 in (2 cm)
• Weight: 0.08 lb (39g)

Connector

• Height: 0.85 in (2.16 cm)
• Width: 1.57 in (4 cm)
• Depth: 1.36 in (3.46 cm)
• Weight: 0.03 lb (15g)

Features

• Music Sync: Yes
• Screen Mirror: Yes

General

• Luminous Flux Per Panel: 20 lumens
• Lifetime: 25,000 hours
• Communication Protocol: WiFi (2.4 GHz b/g/n) NOTE: 5 GHz networks are not compatible with Nanoleaf products.
• Dimmability: Yes (via Nanoleaf App, Voice, Controller)
• Mounting Type: Via included double-sided tape or screw mounts (screws and anchors not included)
• The Nanoleaf Apps: Control via Nanoleaf App (Android & iOS) for mobile/tablet or The Nanoleaf Desktop App (Windows & Mac).
• Thread Compatibility: Yes, Lines work as Thread Border Router
• Compatibility: Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, IFTTT, SmartThings, Razer Chroma, iCUE
• Usage: Indoor Only
• IP Rating: IP20

Color Temperature

• Color Temperature: 1200K – 6500K
• Color Channel Configuration: RGBW
• Max Colors: More than 16 million
• Color Zones: 2 color zones per line
• Color Rendering Index (CRI): >80

Power

• Voltage: 100VAC – 120VAC
• Max Power Supply Power: 42W
• Max Energy Consumption Per Line: 2W
• Max Lines per 42W Power Supply: 18 Lines

Nanoleaf devices work with:

Smart Assistant Platforms

• Apple Home
• Google Home
• Amazon Alexa
• SmartThings

By Nanoleaf

• Screen Mirror
• Desktop App
• Mobile App

Integrations

• Corsair
• Secretlab
• Razer Chroma
• Engine DJ
• IFTTT
• Flic Button

Standards

• Thread
• Matter

Pricing & Availability

Nanoleaf Lines have a list price of $179.99 for the 9-Pack Smarter Kit. There is also an option for a 15-Pack Smarter Kit, which retails for $269.99. The Expansion Packs are either $24.99 each or $59.99 for a 3-pack. The Lines Skins – Matte Black are $19.99 for the 9-Pack. The Heartbeat Bundle is currently being sold on nanoleaf.me for $359.95.

Nanoleaf Lines can also be purchased on Amazon.

Installation Tips

Because I have installed Nanoleaf products before, I wasn’t intimidated by the process this time around, but I can see how some people might be. After all, it’s a semi-permanent fixture in your home or office. With that in mind, here are a couple of tips before I get into the ‘meat’ of my review.

1. Clean the surface. This doesn’t mean it has to be spotless. I would at the very least take a damp rag and wipe down your the surface where your Nanoleaf will be installed. Dust and other unsightly blemishes could keep the adhesive from sticking well.
2. Plan your design carefully. I can’t tell you how many times we thought about the design for our Nanoleaf Panels before we put them on the wall. Layout your Nanoleaf pieces and use the designer tool in the app. Be 100% sure you will be happy with the design before starting the installation process. You can find loads of design ideas on Pinterest or through Nanoleaf’s Instagram account.
3. Find the middle. This is something you will want to do based on the design you plan on using. You will see with our Heartbeat design that there is a clear middle of the wall. I measured the length of the wall and then placed a mark where the middle of that wall was. Then I figured out – based on the number of Nanoleaf lines I was using, where the middle of the design would be. Then I matched up the two centers before placing the Controller Cap.
4. Make sure you have access to power. This is another piece to the puzzle that you want to ensure is close to the Nanoleaf’s final location — a power outlet. Part of the reason we selected the wall we did for the Lines was because there was a wall outlet on that wall. The Controller Cap is actually placed only a few inches away from the center of that wall outlet, which is of course down the wall. Nanoleaf does provide enough cable so that you can properly hide it but you still want to have your power source included in your planning.
5. Have fishing line close at hand. No matter how much planning you do beforehand it’s always good to have your ‘eraser’ available for mistakes. In this particular case, fishing line works well to remove the adhesive strips from the wall. If you catch your placement mistake quickly enough, you might be able to pull it off your wall surface with little effort, but if it’s been placed for a while, you will need some help. Even though the strips come with a tab for you to pull them away from the wall (like 3M Command Strips), I have found that using a strip of fishing line helps quite a bit to make sure that your wall doesn’t get destroyed in the process.
6. Use a level. I found this tip particularly useful with the Nanoleaf Lines because it helped to line up the pieces correctly.

User Experience

The Nanoleaf Lines – Heartbeat Bundle was shipped in a standard shipping box. The bundle includes the 9-Pack Smarter Kit, 3 x 3-Pack Expansion Packs, and 2 x Lines Skins – Matte Black (9-pack). While Nanoleaf has these parts grouped together as a bundle, they can be purchased separately if desired. And, it’s not 100% necessary to use to the Matte Black skins, but it does provide a certain aesthetic to the Heartbeat design. In total, you will end up using 18 line sections in this design.

After you finish prepping your wall surface and planning your design, you will want to find your starting point to build from (the center of the wall + the center of the design). This is the point where you will place the Controller Cap. Now, I want to make a caveat here. The Controller Cap should be placed in close proximity to your power source. So, if that isn’t the center of your design or wall, then you would use one of the standard Connector Caps instead.

I found this process to be easiest when I laid out all the parts of the bundle close to the wall where I was installing the Nanoleaf. That way, I could just grab the pieces as I needed them. Once the Controller Cap was placed, I snapped the first line into place. Each cap contains the necessary connectors for the LED Line pieces to get power and lighting design instructions from the Controller Cap.

The Line pieces snap into place and can be removed if need be. Once you snap the first piece into the Controller Cap, you will attach a standard Connector Cap to the opposite end. Again, you will want to ensure the Line piece is resting at the angle you desire, so use a level to make sure the Connector Cap is straight before sticking it to the wall.

I recommend removing the film from the adhesive strip from the cap before attaching it to the Line section. You have to be cautious with this approach since it can stick to the wall at this point, but it’s much easier than trying to remove the film after it’s attached to the line. After the first couple of pieces are in place, the rest of the installation is just a matter of following your design instructions.

While it’s not essential that you plug the Controller Cap into power when you start, I prefer doing that so I can make sure each individual piece of the installation works as I am installing them. There is nothing worse than getting through the entire installation process to find there is a dead panel or line in the mix.

Once the physical installation is complete, the next step is to connect the Lines to your network, phone, and smart assistant (if applicable). Nanoleaf works with virtually every smart home platform imaginable but it can also be a standalone device. Important Note: Nanoleaf devices only work with 2.4Ghz WiFi networks. We have a dual-band router in our home so it’s not an issue, but in the past, we have run into problems with smart devices connecting properly when our router only supported 5Ghz.

The connection to your network, app, and smart home platform is fairly simple. When you connect the Lines to power for the first time, the LED indicator on the Processor will blink and then turn to a solid white. This means it is ready for pairing. Using the Nanoleaf app, follow the instructions for connecting to your network or smart home platform. We use Apple Home exclusively so I was able to tap my iPhone 14 Pro to the Processor and have the Lines connected to our WiFi network and HomeHub at one time. Full instructions on pairing to iOS or Android can be found here.

Full disclosure — we have modified our home network many times and had some issues with the lights being unreachable at times. This can be frustrating, but we have found that it has more to do with how a WiFi network is setup than the Nanoleaf devices themselves.

It is possible that the Nanoleaf device may show up as unreachable from time to time. There are four main reasons this could happen:

• Your mobile device is on a different network from your Light Panels
• Your Light Panels have lost connection to your network
• The Light Panels can no longer be found on the local network
• The Light Panels are undergoing a firmware update

For full instructions on how to fix this issue, visit helpdesk.nanoleaf.me.

Once the installation is complete, you can set up various lighting styles or patterns to your liking. The Lines provide a vivid light source in any room and can be set to work automatically through the Nanoleaf app or through your smart assistant.

Conclusion

Nanoleaf continues to provide high-quality, unique smart lighting products for consumers. The Nanoleaf Lines are another excellent example of that. The sleek, customizable LED lightstrips, combined with the easy-to-use app and integration with voice assistants, make Lines a must-have for anyone looking to add some personality and ambiance to their living or working space. While the initial investment may seem high, the Nanoleaf line offers a high-quality and long-lasting product that is well worth the price. At this point in time, we have had Nanoleaf in our home for more than 6 years — and they still work great! Overall, I highly recommend the Nanoleaf line to anyone interested in taking their home lighting to the next level. They are also excellent as a Birthday, Father’s Day, Graduation or any type of gift for loved ones who love lights and tech.

For more information, visit nanoleaf.me, Facebook, or Twitter.

Standing fan provides comfort for your environment.

I struggle a lot with finding the ‘right’ temperature for my personal comfort. Throughout the day, it’s not uncommon to find me wearing a sweater, then short sleeves, and before the day is over, a blanket across my lap. In the summer, I’ll run a personal heater because the A/C makes me too cold, but in the winter, I’ll get too hot and have a fan pointed right at me. All that said, I like having convenient ways to regulate my temperature. So, when I found the Smartmi Standing Fan that is not only remote-controlled but also a smart home device, I couldn’t pass it up.

About the Smartmi Standing Fan 3

Smartmi, a sub-organization of Xiaomi, focuses on building products that not only provide comfort but are also environmentally friendly. Their products include smart cleaning, bathroom devices, humidification, heating, and more. Smartmi’s products help people build a clean and comfortable house environment.

The Standing Fan 3 is designed to provide a natural wind for users. It features quiet operation, cordless use, and app control. The pedestal fan has variable speed control and can monitor temperature and humidity levels. The fan gives users the option of using the oscillating head feature, shut-off timer, or changing modes. There is even a clever LED display included on the stand of the fan.

Even though the fan is a work of modern technology, it has a classic design that fits with any type of decor. The fan is compatible with Google Assistant and it uses Bluetooth technology to work with its remote control. The fan is easily assembled and disassembled for cleaning when needed. It’s lightweight and durable as anodized aluminum and ABS material were the main construction elements used for the Standing Fan 3.

Main Features

• Natural Breezes technology
• Multilevel adjustment of fan speed
• Built-in lithium batteries provide 20 hours of cordless use
• Designed with scientific noise cancellation
• Al Voice + App + Bluetooth Remote Control
• LED screen
• Operation Mode: 4 levels
• Oscillation: 4 Angles Horizontal Oscillate | 30°/60°/90°/120°; 2 Angles Vertical Oscillate | 25° upwards/15° downwards
• Control: App + Al voice + Bluetooth remote control
• Dimensions: 340mm × 330mm × 960mm
• Model: ZLBPLDS05ZM
• Net Weight: Approx. 3.5kg
• Noise: ≤60dB(A)
• Rated: voltage l20V
• Rated power: 25W
• Type: DC standing fan
• Battery type: Lithium-ion battery pack
• Rated capacity of battery: 2800 mAh (33.6Wh)

User Experience

The fan arrived in a brown cardboard box with a simple outline illustration of the fan on the front. There is a sticker on the front that indicates that it’s compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. The fan does require assembly but the process is very quick and easy.

1. Take apart the fan assembly so that you can attach it to the motor.
2. Place the rear cover on the motor and tighten it with the fan cover knob.
3. Slide the blades on the motor next and tighten them in place with the blade knob.
4. Place the fan grille on the rear fan cover and rotate until it locks into place. Then, attach the screw to the fan cover for secure closure.
5. Place the motor column onto the base so that it lines up with the socket and then insert the base bolt to secure the motor column in place.
6. Finally, connect the power cable to the base and plug it into the wall so that it can charge.

After the fan is assembled and has power, you can connect it to the Mi Home/Xiaomi Home app, which is free to download. The app connection process is pretty painless as well. If you don’t have an account with Mi Home, you will need to create one. The app will detect the fan and then you can connect it to your Wi-Fi network. That’s pretty much it other than giving permissions to the app and designating a room in your home for the fan.

I have been very impressed with this fan. It has a lot of power and it’s easy to control. I rarely set it above Level 2. I love that you can set the angle for oscillation, too. For most fans, it’s usually just on or off — without any type of selection possible for the user. The display on the front is a great visual reminder of what power level the fan is on and whether or not it is connected to Wi-Fi.

I love that it’s cordless. I typically keep it plugged in, but I love having the option to move it to my bedroom or living room without needing to find an outlet for it. As far as noise goes, I’ve not had any problem with the noise level. You do notice it once you get to Level 3 or 4, but at Level 1 or 2, it’s very, very quiet.

While I don’t have any scientific proof about whether or not the ‘natural breeze technology’ is actually affecting my environment, I do feel that the breeze from this fan is more like the wind outside than other fans. And, since I can barely hear the fan operating, there isn’t the artificial mechanical noise occurring as you hear with other fans or even the A/C.

There are a couple of small recommendations I would have for future versions of this fan. First, I would love to see the remote control rechargeable or operate from a coin-style battery. As it stands right now, it requires one (1) AAA battery to function and there isn’t one included. It would be a much battery experience if you didn’t have to worry about replacing the battery.

The other thing I would love to see is for this fan to be compatible with Apple HomeKit as well as the other smart assistants. Since our home is primarily operating off of the Apple ecosystem, I haven’t used it much with Google Assistant or Alexa since neither of those devices is in my office. I would also recommend that Smartmi double-check what their information states as the box and the Amazon page indicate that it works with Alexa and Google, but the product description page on the Smartmi website only states Google Home compatibility.

Conclusion

The Smartmi Standing Fan 3 is a great option for anyone who likes having remote control over their fan. It really does make an environment more comfortable. It is an investment but I would get it again and recommend it to others in a heartbeat.

For more information, visit smartmiglobal.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

Since water leaks could result in potentially catastrophic damage, early detection becomes vital for your in-home or out-of-home office, rental property, or perhaps a laundry/washroom. Beyond the initial prevention of leaks, one can employ a variety of detectors to attempt to catch a problem before it gets out of control. From power monitoring/control to temperature, motion, leak detection, etc., look to iSocket to fulfill many of your sensor/monitor needs.   

UNBOXING

The iSocket Water Sensor arrived in a 4 inches square by 2 1/4 inches thick hanging style retail package. The front panel provided a lime green iSocket name/logo at the top left corner, while displaying a centrally located product name. I liked the lime green accent of the company name and the contrasting light/dark theme of the white font against the black background.

Beneath the product name/title, you will find a quaint product-defining sentence in a classy blue font: “For GSM Water Leak/Flood Detection System.”  The open window along the bottom paired nicely with the surrounding cartoon/sketched water theme, the red-colored “NEW!” Icon along the bottom right corner, the cartoon display of the sensor, iSocket hub, SMS message, and a recipient stickman with a smartphone.  

The top panel provided the large cardboard hanging tab, product name/logo, and company email (www.isocketworld.com). The right side panel displayed the company name/logo at the top, the product name along the top, the same blue sentence, and a red “NEW!” Icon at the bottom left, but also provided a product UPC barcode, and an iSocket seal of approval.  

The opposite side panel displayed the company name/logo at the top left, “Tested and approved for use with iSocket devices” along the top of the panel, a “NEW!” Label along the bottom right, four different versions of the iSocket along the center, and a “save energy” globe icon at the left edge. Both side panels provided a lower lime green border along the bottom edge and were meant to be viewed from the side.

The rear instructional panel listed the logo/name, product name, and general information along the top. The middle segment provided a three-point user manual (1. Connect to iSocket, 2. Place the sensor on the floor where you wish to detect a water leak, setup number for alerts on your socket device), while the lower edge listed the product manufacturing labels, ISWSN01 model number, 12VDC/20mA power input and relay type: N/O. 

TESTING

I opened the side panel, removed the 3.8-ounce water sensor, and unwrapped the 55 1/2 inches long white cable with 1 15/16 inches long 3.5mm plug. The 3.5mm plug had a 9/16 inches long metallic plug attached to the 7/8 inches long by 7/16 inches diameter body segment. The body segment is attached to the cable through a flexible 1/2 inches long by 7/16 inches diameter neck segment.

To test the design, I gripped the metal prong with one hand and the plug body in the other. I bent the 3.5mm prong forward/backward, side-to-side, and then tugged on the device. I then repeated the steps with the body/neck, then the neck/cable. I was pleased with the robust design and the cable’s quality. Finally, the cord was attached to and entered into the top of the water sensor. 

The water sensor measured 1 13/16 inches diameter by 7/16 inches tall at the base, 1 1/2 inches diameter at the top, and measured a total of 1 1/4 inches tall. From a top-down perspective, the water sensor resembled a top hat. However, a bottom-up view resembled the turret/tower of a castle.

The central 1 1/4 inches diameter black epoxy surface contained two centralized metallic studs, and had 3/8 inches wide cutouts at the north, south, east, and west points of the 5/16 inches thick sensor. I plugged 3.5mm jack into the base of the iSocket hub and then compared the hub data sticker to the back panel of the cardboard packaging.

With the sensor on the floor, I navigated to iot.isocketworld.com and logged into the iSocket dashboard. If you have not had the chance to read my review of the iSocket hub, I would encourage you to review it at your convenience. I selected the grey box/line icon along the top right, selected “Monitorings,” and scrolled to the bottom to “Add new monitoring.”  I chose “Water Leak Alarm” from the list, perused the instructional paragraph, ensured the relay type was set to N/O, added an Alias/ID, and then a description.

I selected “Go!” and was redirected back to the “Monitorings” panel. Through the web dashboard, you can observe the slow blinking green power indicator icon, which was a representation of the green power indicator on the main body. You can toggle the Alarm Function between off and on, and you can activate “Alarm Events” by sliding the toggle to “ON.”   I tapped the “Help?” Icon and was pleased to find a thorough description of the Alarm Function, Power LED, and Alarm events. 

If you plug the 3.5mm plug into the bottom of the socket and set the sensor into a small amount of water, the only change will be a faster blinking green button on the device. The “Help?” Icon detailed the feature and noted that the alarm events indicator was turned off. Once I turned the feature back “ON,” I placed the sensor into a small amount of water and immediately received a flood Office-Alarm alert to both the web application, and to my iPhone 13 Pro Max banner notifications. I removed the sensor from the water and received a green-ok notice through the App and a banner notification from iSocket: Alarm Status OK.

SUMMARY

I was pleased with the sensitivity and with the speed of the alarm. Additionally, I liked that the iSocket provided a visual cue as to the sensor status, without an annoying/obtrusive audible alert. The sensor installation ended up being a simple plug-and-play setup, while the in-app sensor setup proved to be quite intuitive.

I felt the included cable length was satisfactory and liked the strong connection points between the 3.5mm plug and the top-hat-shaped metallic sensor. Even though the $84 price tag may seem a bit high at first, it will pale in comparison to the hundreds to thousands of dollars saved through early detection/warning.

Additionally, you can save 50% off by bundling it with the iSocket ($42) kit. I believe the trade-off of $42 for the sensor is well worth the potential savings. As an add-on feature, you can opt to add the alarm events log to your monthly subscription (1000 events/3-day history for $0.59/month, 3000/30 for $0.69/month, or 10000/90 for $0.99/month).

For more information, visit isocketworld.com, Facebook, or Twitter.

If you run a home or small office, you may not know when you will lose power. As a family physician, my office has several pieces of equipment that require uninterrupted power, such as a vaccine or medication refrigerator. When small incremental temperature changes could result in thousands of dollars in damaged medications, employing monitoring devices can drastically aid in the struggle to reduce cost/waste.

You may not worry as much about clinics/hospitals with on-demand generators and specialized outlets. However, I use devices like those from iSocket to alert me to outages for my computer, and fridge.

UNBOXING

The iSocket device arrived in a 7 inches wide by 4 1/2 inches tall by 3 1/8 inches thick retail package. The cover panel displayed the company logo along the top left, “Right iSocket for You!” along the top, “Forewarned is forearmed” along the lower segment, and a sentence about prompts, alerts, and notifications in your home. The middle portion of the panel provided a photo-quality image of an array of eight sockets representing various country-style outlets.

The black background served as a good base for the off-white sockets and the lime green accents. The top panel provided the iSocket logo, a quaint “iSocket for your home” slogan at the top, and then showcased the various sockets (Europe (Type F), France (TypeE), UK (Type G), US (Type B), Italy (Type L), Australia (Type I), Switzerland (Type J), and Israel (TypeH)). The right side panel provided a prominent Facebook QR code link, while the left side panel listed the logo at the top left, information about monitoring one’s home, product manufacturing labels, SKU barcode, and product specifications: 100-240VAC 50-60 Hz input, 16A/120-240VAC (fuse protected) output, 12VDC/100mA alarm, digital temperature sensors, power failure/restore alerts.

The front panel displayed the logo at the top left, a QR code for the App, the www.iSocketworld.com website, and features of the iSocket devices: Power failure alarm, Temperature rise/fall alerts, water flood alarm, door-open alarm, break-in alerts. Lastly, the back panel showcased a fun cartoon representation of the isocket features.  

I lifted the front flap, read the battery charge warning on the inner box (charge for 20 hours to charge the internal battery), and then removed the instruction manual. Like the outer packaging, the manual provided the lime green logo at the top left, the product name along the top center, and images of the bank of outlet types, as well as the outlet proper. Beneath the manual, you will find a rather large outlet adapter that measured 2 5/8 inches wide by 5 1/2 inches tall by 2 1/8 inches thick and weighed 8.3-ounces.

Before you dispose of the outer shell, make sure that you remove the bag with the 119 1/2 inches long sensor with 2.5 mm connector.   The house-shaped hexagonal socket device could be divided into an upper 1 5/8 inches diameter type A socket section and a lower square-shaped informational section.

The lower section provided the iSocket logo, a small factory reset button, a green-colored power LED, a blue-colored online LED, and a lower red-colored power outage indicator. Along the bottom of the iSocket, you will find a 2.5mm (temperature sensors) and a 3.5mm port (alarm sensors). The instruction manual provided a helpful quick-start diagram of each feature and a short descriptive sentence about the features.

INSTALLATION

At first glance, I was a bit concerned about the size of the iSocket device. I aligned the iSocket plug with the lower type A wall outlet and pressed the device into the wall. The plug was designed to provide a power sensor function, to provide power to the iSocket device, and to provide passthrough power to the NEMA 5-15 type A outlet on the front of the device. However, the outlet is non-powered by default and is covered by a yellow warning sticker.  

Once the device was plugged in, the power LED illuminated a soft green, while the online indicator flashed a soft blue. The internal cellular chip will start to transmit data and the device will become fully operational once the internal device battery reaches 100% power (~20 hours).    Navigate to www.isocket.me/account to learn more about the setup process or utilize the activation information sent via email.

I loved the ease of the plug-and-play system, the ability to add power outage information through the plug, and the option to plug the included temperature sensor into the 2.5mm port for add-on temperature monitoring. The setup provided a two-for-one sensor setup out of the box and allowed for add-on monitoring features like water sensor data (look for the water sensor review).  

Web-Based Application

The main panel showed the iSocket logo along the top left and provided a section for my email and password login. You can tap the “Keep me signed in” feature, review the Privacy Policy/Cookies/Terms of Use/Refund Policy, and when ready press the blue login button. The second panel provided the iSocket logo at the top left, a bullet icon at the top right, and my information in the next row.

When I tapped the iSocket icon, the page shifted and displayed location data and the product serial number. When I tapped my name,  a dropdown window appeared with my customer number, a cog “Settings” option, and the option to Logout. When I tapped the bullet icon, the web application showed fourteen different row options: Locations, Monitorings, Power Switches, Thermostats, Energy Meters, Temperature Data Loggers, My Power Guru, My Profile and Users, Notifications, Billing, Settings, Support, Enterprise Look, and Shop.  

When I tapped “locations,” the App took me to the panel described above. I found that I could either touch the upper right bullet icon or use the back button to return to the previous panel. When I tapped “Monitorings,” I was able to select the + to “Add new monitoring,” to see information about the Main Power (settings + log), information about the temperature sensor (settings + log), and then another segment to “Create Your Alarm Monitoring.”  

The App provides a plethora of features and utilized branching panels to access additional features. As an example, when I tapped the log of the main power, it showed “restored” and “Failed” features and that the data was sent to my email and phone message (SMS). You can purge the logs, review the logs, export the logs, or simply leave them alone. When I pressed “settings,” I was able to adjust a power failure notification slider, and was able to turn on/off “Web Alerts, Email Alerts, Advanced Notifications to my phone number, and the option to send voice messages. You can then choose to set the features or cancel to return to the previous screen. 

Similar to the above features, you can evaluate the temperature log by selecting log. For an additional monthly charge of $0.59 per month, you can see the last 1000 events or last 3 days of data, $0.69 per month you can see the last 3000 events or 30 days of data, and for $0.99 per month, you can see the last 10000 events or events over the preceding 90 days (whichever comes first).

When I tapped settings, I was able to set the temperature rise and fall alert, as well as how to send alerts via web , email, SMS, or Voice. Along the bottom of the panel, you will see a section to “Create Your Alarm Monitoring” with six non-touch icons and another “Add new monitoring” button. Tap the button to gain another dropdown menu for Alarm Monitoring, Active Power & Energy, Equipment Operation & Failures, and Elderly parents Supervising. I selected “Equipment Operation & Failures,” named the room Vaccine Fridge, selected “Set,” and then noted that the App returned to the preceding page.   

I loved the intuitive design of the App and the simple step-by-step user interface. The App noted “Your appliance is not energized, because its power switch is turned off.”  When I tapped the “?” Icon, the App provided a paragraph description about how to activate the socket through the “Power Switches” section (add-on cost feature).

The descriptive paragraph informed the user that iSocket could not know all possible requests for the power passthrough and that data monitoring may fluctuate if using the feature for devices with on/off cycles. Like the temperature log feature above, the on/off event log will require an additional $0.59/$0.69/$0.99 add-on per month. When done with the setup step, press the bullet icon to return to the main panel.

I selected Power Switches, toggled the selection from the off position to the on position, heard a click on the device, observed that the red OUT LED illuminated, and saw “Power Switch is turned on” within the App. When I tapped settings, I found that I could keep the same status prior to power loss, turn the outlet on when power is restored, or keep the device off when power is restored.

I chose the “Keep the same status as it was before power was lost” feature and then sent the request to the device. To show the function of the App/power feature, I plugged a GB circuit tester into the outlet and activated the power. With the power switch set to “On,” the tester showed correct grounding. With the power switch set to “OFF,” the circuit tester lights extinguished and no power flowed through the outlet. 

Returning to the main panel via the upper bullet button, I played through the thermostat widget (I did not have a thermostat to add), and then evaluated the energy meter demo. I added my iSocket information into the “Energy Meters” section and look forward to seeing the output of my Fridge over the next 30 days. When I tapped “My Power Guru,” I received a warning that “No one ‘Mains Power’ monitoring is configured. Please go to Monitoring section to configure them.” 

I tapped the warning and was transported back to the monitoring panel. I was able to add a section for power monitoring and found that I could adjust the fall alerts for raise and fall values, and hysteresis values (if desired). Interestingly, the app warned the user about changing the hysteresis information (set at 10W), unless they knew what they were doing. I did not understand what the system wanted me to do and thus I left the value alone at 10W. I plugged my MacBook Pro into the socket and found that the App recorded 21.53W.  

When I tapped “My Profile & Users,” the App provided my contact information, the option to edit the data, my billing address/information, and provided the option to add a new user. Unfortunately, if you want to add users, you will need to update your billing section. You can adjust the notifications through the notifications tab, adjust the SMS/Email settings through the settings tab, and then access the support FAQ.

The “Enterprise Look” feature was designed to see all locations at once, to sort based on address/ID/comments/device or location name. Probably the most real-world tab was the “Billing” tab. I was able to see my account credits and was able to “Top UP” instantly to maintain monitoring. The base iSocket Cellular Connected home feature cost $7.99 per month and provided a long list of features, and information about the $0.09 charge per test message or voice message for a total of $7.99 per month. You can add extra a la carte features for extra emails ($0.19/month), and for sub-users ($0.99/month).

SUMMARY

The midwest has recently experienced quite a bit of rain and flooding, plus its fair share of severe weather. For example, I was recently called at 6:30 in the am, alerted by a coworker that my office had lost power at 3:30 am, and that we were still without power. I was pleased to announce that I was already aware of that information and that I had already initiated the power-outage protocol.

Thanks to the text alert feature, I knew within about a minute that the power was out, and the temperature sensor showed that the temperature remained stable. I was able to contact another colleague to move the fridge contents into a portable cooler for safety and prevent the loss of product. Although the device/plan was supposed to be for home use and not for business purposes, I used this as a test feature for proof of concept.

Imagine plugging your home deep freezer into the outlet and knowing the temperature of your freezer and the status of power. Quickly learn if you lose power, if the device fails, and about the cost to run the appliance. Perhaps you run a small in-home office and you need information for tax purposes? What is your server doing? What is the status of power to a room? Did you trip a GFI somewhere and lose power?

Instead of coming home from vacation to a power outage, iSocket can alert you to the issue before coming home to a disaster. I have only scratched the surface of the opportunities/options for the iScoket device. The iSocket A La Carte features should allow you to build the loadout that you want/need and then add those desired features to the monthly bill.

Despite the $200 cost of the base device, the company will generously throw in the first month free for whichever tier you purchase. Depending on your desired features, you can enjoy peace of mind for as little as $3.99 per month. If sage advice suggests buying insurance when you cannot afford the loss, why not upgrade your sensors to physically ensure a better outcome?

Learn more about the isocket
Follow isocket on Facebook and Twitter.

SwitchBot Curtain checks one task off your to-do list.

I never saw myself as the type of person who would have automatic window shades. But here I am, nearly two weeks into having automated curtains and I don’t think I can go back to a time when I didn’t have them. The product making these magical curtains happen is the SwitchBot Curtain Rod and Curtain Rod 2.

About SwitchBot

SwitchBot was born from a need that the CEO had. According to the story from SwitchBot’s Kickstarter page, the idea of a ‘robot butler’ came from the CEO’s need to turn off lights and close curtains after getting into bed one night. That necessity led to innovation and the result was SwitchBot.

SwitchBot is building its own smart home ecosystem by introducing various innovative products, including SwitchBot Curtain. SwitchBot is also the world’s first to introduce the retrofitting smart curtain robot and switch. SwitchBot now has over 400 employees based globally and has entered more than 100 global markets.

Main Features

SwitchBot Curtain was part of a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign that launched in October 2019. The products were shipped to backers through December of 2021 and in May of this year, the Curtain Rod 2 was released. The features of both products are included below.

I do want to note that the SwitchBot Curtain models are not natively compatible with smart assistants. They will work with them, but they have to have a hub added in. The SwitchBot Hub Mini will make the Curtain models accessible outside your home and will work with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, IFTTT, SmartThings, and CLOVA. It will also work with Apple Siri Shortcuts, which is not the same as being HomeKit compatible. It can be HomeKit compatible through the use of Homebridge.

SwitchBot Curtain

• Color: Black/White
• Material: ABS with Anti-UV coating
• Compatibility: Android 5.0+, iOS 11.0+, watchOS 2.2+
• Working Environment: -20°C~60°C / 10-95%RH
• Power Input: Lithium ion battery x 1 (Built-in)
• Power Output: DC 5V ⎓ 1A
• Battery Life: Lasts up to 8 months after a full charge (tested under the condition of a runway of 3 meters, loaded with 8 kg of curtain, opened and closed twice a day, 25℃)Battery life may vary given different conditions.
• BLE: ≥5.0 (Long Range)
• Bluetooth Range: 80m/1200m feet line of sight under ideal conditions with no obstructions.
• Bluetooth Technology: Proprietary power-saving BLE with mesh support
• Third-party Services: Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri Shorcuts, IFTTT, SmartThings, Line Clova
• Mode: Silent Mode / Performance Mode

SwitchBot Curtain Rod 2

• Color: White / Black
• Material: ABS with Anti-UV coating
• Compatibility: Android 5.0+, iOS 11.0+, watchOS 2.2+
• Working Environment: -20°C~60°C / 10-95%RH
• Power Input: Lithium ion battery x 1 (Built-in)
• Power Output: DC 5V ⎓ 1A
• Battery Life: Lasts up to 8 months after a full charge (tested under the condition of a runway of 3 meters, loaded with 8 kg of curtain, opened and closed twice a day, 25℃) Battery life may vary given different conditions.
• BLE: ≥5.0 (Long Range)
• Bluetooth Range: 80m/1200m feet line of sight under ideal conditions with no obstructions.
• Bluetooth Technology: Proprietary power-saving BLE with mesh support
• Third-party Services: Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri Shortcuts, IFTTT, SmartThings, Line Clova
• Mode: Silent Mode / Performance Mode
• What’s Included in the Box: Main Body, Hook Pair (Rod 2), Type-C Cable, Beads Fixer (beads included), Clip

User Experience

Full Disclosure — I dread setting smart home devices up. In the past decade, I’ve been through very easy installs where everything goes smoothly and then I’ve attempted adding devices to our home that completely failed. My experience with these types of devices has run the entire gamut so when I get a brand new item in my hands, I never know how it’s going to go. I will say that devices that connect through Bluetooth and not through a smart home assistant like Alexa or HomeKit seem to be much easier.

So, when I researched SwitchBot’s Curtain system, I was happy to find out that it primarily connects via Bluetooth I was ecstatic. Before I get too into the weeds with details, I will say that the hardest part of the installation process was fitting the actual SwitchBot unit to our curtain rod. After that, the connection to the app and programming was easy breezy.

As I mentioned above, we have both the original Curtain and Curtain Rod 2 as part of our setup. Each device has a different form factor. Both models are designed to work with the three most common types of curtain rods – Rod, U Rail, and I Rail. There are modification kits that come with each style of the SwitchBot Curtain. After you outfit the SwitchBot device with the correct hardware for your type of curtain rail, you select the right type of rail in the app to make sure it works smoothly with your setup.

I have round curtain rods that hold up heavy, blackout drapes. They are long (84 inches) and they cover a sliding glass door and a shorter standard window in our living room. I thought these would be a good place to set them up because every morning I open them and close them every night when it gets dark.

On the curtain rod that covers the sliding glass door, I placed the 1st gen SwitchBot Curtain. I only needed to use one unit because we keep three of the four curtain panels drawn all the time since they are helping to protect our TV from sunlight. So, I placed the SwitchBot in between the first and second ring behind the panel – just as instructed by the user manual.

The instructions tell you not to over-tighten the Top Lid and Motor when you compress the two pieces together around the rod. The two pieces latch together with a ratchet-style closure. I tried to only tighten it as far as I needed to, but when I tried to get it to open or close the curtain, it wasn’t tight enough to grip the rod. So, I pushed it one more notch and it worked fine.

The other window in our living room has two single curtain panels that cover it. I used the 2nd gen model on this window and did end up using two units since I wanted one to open to the right and one to open to the left. The installation on these is a little different because of their design. This model has a stretchable hook arm for positioning purposes.

Again, this wasn’t a difficult setup, but on this particular window, I had to use the Rod Connector that was provided with the SwitchBot. This accessory is a flexible aluminum plate that is covered with tape. It wraps around the connecting point of extension rods so that the SwitchBot can smoothly travel over that section of the rod. I did try it without the Rod Connector and the SwitchBot made the rod move back and forth.

When it came to setting up the app connection, it was a breeze – except for the user errors I encountered. When you open the app, you’ll see all the SwitchBot devices in your home. This is “your home” in terms of SwitchBot – and not a digital assistant like HomeKit. I only distinguish this because it confused me at first since this app does connect with other systems.

When you pull up the app the Home Screen has a plus sign in the upper right-hand corner that gives you the option to add new devices. It will scan for any SwitchBot devices within BlueTooth reach. On the Curtain devices, you have to put them into pairing mode by pressing a button on the unit itself. The app found my Curtain devices within a few seconds.

Next, the app will ask what mode you want to use – Open from one side or open from the middle. I actually use both of these modes with our SwitchBot curtains. The Sliding Glass door uses the open from one side mode while the standard window uses the open from the middle mode. If you select ‘open from one side’ the app will ask you to select which side it will open from. This is where I ran into ‘user errors.’ I wasn’t sure if it was left or right as I was looking at it. So, I had a couple of false starts. It was no fault of the equipment or app. I had absolutely no issues with either of those working correctly.

The last step in the setup process is to calibrate the robot. This is a simple process as you are just letting the robot know where to stop so that it knows when the curtain is fully open and fully closed. There is an installation guide in the app that provides step-by-step instructions for the placement of the SwitchBot. This was helpful to me because it’s illustrated as well as written.

The 2-SwitchBot Curtain Rod 2 setup was a little different than the solo unit because you have to link two devices together. The app does the heavy lifting and after you select the two devices and confirm which one is on what side of the curtain rod, the calibration step is the same as the single unit.

At this point of the process, you have the option to set up automations, schedules, or add other accessories to the mix. The SwitchBot Curtains are designed to work with several other products that SwitchBot designs including a remote and solar panels. The solar panels are meant to help keep the robots charged, but you have to have them installed where they direct sunlight. This was problematic for our curtain installation since both locations we use the SwitchBot Curtains have overhangs and don’t usually get direct sunlight.

Since our primary purpose for wanting to use the SwitchBots was to save me a step in the morning and evening, I set up a schedule for them. They open in the morning when the sun is finished rising and they close when it starts getting dark. So far, the schedule has worked perfectly and it hasn’t missed any tasks.

Conclusion

Even though remote curtains weren’t something I ever thought I would need I’m really glad to have them. It’s nice to have that ‘one less thing’ to do in my routine. I do wish that the SwitchBot was natively compatible with smart assistants, but since they work so well on a schedule, I’m not complaining. If you want to take that next step in smart home technology, I would invest in SwitchBot Curtains.

For more information, visit switch-bot.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

This Logitech doorbell is one of the worst HomeKit experiences I’ve ever had.

I have been dialing in my home to be “smart” before Smart Homes were cool. Because of that, I have experience with pretty much every type of smart home gadget you can think of. One of the first smart products we reviewed on Mac Sources was a video doorbell.

My most recent video doorbell was the Arlo Video Doorbell. I have been using Arlo Wireless Cameras for quite some time, and because Arlo’s Smart Hub is HomeKit compatible, I thought the Arlo Video Doorbell would be a good move. Even though Arlo’s system works with HomeKit, it is not 100% compatible with all the features. One of those features – HomeKit Secure Video – was something I desparately wanted to take advantage of. That is not available with Arlo’s system.

So, you can imagine my excitement when Logitech announced their Circle View Doorbell was not only HomeKit-enabled (and exclusive to HomeKit), but would also work with the HomeKit Secure Video option. Logitech makes some absolutely wonderful products and have been a reliable company to trust in.

When the Circle View Doorbell was launched (December 2020), I kept a close eye on it to see if I should switch from my Arlo. I finally made the jump to the Logitech doorbell in March this year. As you will read about in the User Expereince section, the changeover did not got as well as I hoped and the last three months have been a nightmare.

DETAILS

The Circle View Doorbell is an Apple HomeKit-enabled video doorbell with face recognition. The device features Logitech TrueView and is designed to provide crisp head-to-toe portrait video from short distances. The doorbell can handle high-constrast scenes and color night vision up to six feet away. It’s compatible with most wired doorbell systems and its sleek design complements nearly every type of home decor.

The Circle View Doorbell suports HomeKit Secure Video which also provides intelligent detection that is done securely and privately on your HomePod, the new HomePod mini, or Apple TV to determine when a person, animal, or vehicle is in the video. Face Recognition is accomplished through tagged images in your Photos library or by recent visitors that are captured by your camera or doorbell in your Home app.

SPECS

System Requirements

• Functioning wired doorbell system (8-24V AC 10 VA or higher) and compatible chime 
• High-speed 2.4/5 GHz a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi-based Internet near doorbell and home internet with at least 2.5 Mbps upload speed 
• Apple HomeKit Secure Video compatible components

Connectivity

• Wireless Connectivity: 2.4/5 GHz a/b/g/n/ac 2 x 2 MIMO Wi-Fi

Video

• Camera FOV: 160-degree DFOV with 3:4 format Portrait View
• Sensor + Video Quality: 5 MP Sensor with 1200 x 1600 HDR-enabled video
• Night Support: Color night vision, automatically triggered based on ambient light sensor in front of camera
• Night Illumination: 4000K LED light strip that provides illumination in an unobstructed area up to 6 Feet (1.8 m) away

Audio

• Mic: Digital MEMS
• Speaker: Mono
• Two Way Talk: Full Duplex with Acoustic Echo Cancellation

Installation

• Mounting: Screw based installation
• Orientation Options: 0° straight view with straight mount; 20° left view or 20° right view with angle mount
• Doorbell Wiring Support: 16-24 gauge cable, either solid or tinned stranded

Environmental Conditions

• Weatherproof Rating: Doorbell – IP65; Chime Kit – Indoor use only
• Supported Ambient Temperature (In the shade) 
  • 8V to 16V Transformers: -20ºC to +40ºC (-4ºF to 104ºF)
  • 17V to 24V Transformers: -20ºC to +45ºC (-4ºF to 113ºF)
  • Direct sunlight can heat the product, even in low ambient temperatures. The product may initiate protective measures, including shutting down temporarily (while still being able to ring the indoor chime) and automatically turning back on once cool enough.

UNBOXING – USER EXPERIENCE

The Logitech Circle View Doorbell comes in a nice package and has all the information anyone could ever ask for on it. It also includes a photo of the product so you know what you are getting. Once I took the Circle View out of its box I immediately started the installation process, I was enamored by its clean-looking design also by the fact that I would be able to use the Home app to view and control my camera. The installation process went pretty smoothly. There are two parts to the installation – the exterior doorbell and the interior chime. Depending on how old your doorbell is (ours is pretty ancient), it might take a bit longer to add the chime kit in.

The first part of the install is to set the doorbell up with the Apple Home app. This is pretty unique to smart home devices as most of the time, you have to install a device’s app as well as connect thorugh the Home app. Surprisingly, the Circle View Doorbell connected pretty easily to the Home app. After I had the doorbell connected and installed, I came back inside to install chime kit. This part took me about 30 minutes but that was only because I had to figure out how to route the wiring so that it looked nice and not just a clump of wires around our chime.

One of the issues I had with the Arlo Doorbell was how slowly it connected through HomeKit. In the Arlo app, the connection was a little quicker, but I felt that if I had to go to the Arlo app every time someone came to the door, that defeated the purpose of it being connected to HomeKit. With that said, I thought that the Logitech doorbell would connect faster given that it was natively designed for HomeKit and since it was a newer device. While I never officially timed the connection rate, the Logitech doorbell seemed to connect at the same speed as the Arlo.

It wasn’t any slower so I chalked it up to the limitations of this type of tech devices. At this time, I had not experienced a faster video doorbell so I figured it was a common occurance with all video doorbells. I still had the HomeKit video recording and the doorbell was staying connected to our network, so I was still happy with the switch.

Over the coming weeks, I noticed my notifications were coming in sporadically. One day I would get motion notifications for what seemed like the smallest thing – like leaves on our trees – but the next day someone could be standing on my porch swinging their arms and unless they actually rang the doorbell, I didn’t get any type of notification.

I spent time adjusting all of the settings in the Apple Home App but sadly, it did not have any affect on the doorbell’s functions. Older smart home doorbells had their quirks as well so I pushed on again. Right at the 2-month mark, the doorbell stopped connecting to HomeKit. I had noticed random dropouts before this point, but they were momentary and the connection always returned. This time, the disconnection was permanent. The doorbell was still on and if you pressed the button, it would still activate the inside mechanical chime, but there was no connection to HomeKit.

We attempted resetting the doorbell and we were able to get it reconnected. Less than 24 hours later, the connection would drop again. We went through this back-and-forth with the doorbell several times before doing additional research. As it turns out, many users online have reported issues with the doorbell overheating – especially when it is exposed to heat or direct sunlight.

According to the product page on Logitech’s website, the Circle View Doorbell is rated to operate in temperatures up to 113º F depending on the voltage of your transformer. This is meant to be an ‘ambient temperature’ with the doorbell being located in the shade. Logitech includes this disclaimer with the product description:

Direct sunlight can heat the product, even in low ambient temperatures. The product may initiate protective measures, including shutting down temporarily (while still being able to ring the indoor chime) and automatically turning back on once cool enough.

While our front patio area does get some sunlight exposure in the late afternoon, the doorbell area near our front door is shielded from it. That said, we did discover that the hottest day of the year so far (91º F) occured on May 11 and that lined up exactly with when the doorbell went offline. So, even though the doorbell wasn’t getting direct sunlight, we believe that its connection issues were likely due to overheating based on the ambient outdoor temperature.

When touching the doorbell we found it to be hot to the touch and this lined up with others’ complaints that the doorbell was overheating. Once we made this assumption about the issues we were having, we reset the doorbell to factory settings and attempted to use it without the LEDs as suggested to keep the heat down. That worked for about 30 minutes or so before the doorbell dropped off again and the LEDs turned back on automatically – causing more heat in the unit.

Many users have reported expereinces where the doorbell would overheat, power off, and then automatically come back online. This never happened with my unit. I never received any notifications from the unit saying it was offline. I discoved it by see it offline in the Home app.

After coming to the conclusion that the unit was experiencing heating problems and resetting it was not solving the problem, I reached out to Logitech support. The doorbell does have a 1-year warranty on it so I thought they might be able to assist in some way. I sent a nice long detailed explanation of what the issues we were having and how we have reset it and what steps we did to do so. I did this with the hopes that I could bypass all of the let’s try this troubleshooting step over emails and get to the point so we did not have to play email tag. After two solid weeks of waiting for some response, I decided it was time to throw in the towel.

I had continued to reset the doorbell and watch for updates hoping that maybe there would be a firmware or app update that might fix the problem. I mean this is Logitech we are talking about here. There is no way a company as big as them is not going to address an overheating issue with their newly pushed HomeKit doorbell right? Wrong. I have seen nothing from them. No updates. No recalls. No big statements. Zip.

CONCLUSION

After three months of fighting a product that, in my opinion, should have never shipped, I decided I had enough and returned it to my point of purchase for a full refund. The same day I initiated the return, I hit up HomeDepot for the Ring Video Pro 2.

I have experience with Ring doorbells and I knew what I would get from them – at least I thought I did. Remember above when I said I had not experienced a faster connecting doorbell at that point in time? Well, Ring’s Pro 2 is the doorbell that puts all others to shame. The installation was simple. The doorbell connected instantly and even though it doesn’t work with HomeKit, the device works really well. It did what the Logitech was promising and it did it better.

Would I suggest anyone buy the Circle View Doorbell from Logitech? Not at all. It’s got a nice design to it but that’s where the good will end. Take it from somone who has been setting up Smart Home products for years, this type of behavior from a Smart Home device is not normal. I’ve never had any other doorbell overheat. Maybe the second generation version of this doorbell will work better, but for now, I will stick to the Ring from here on out since they have a history of being reliable and just working.

For more details, visit Logitech, Facebook, and Twitter.

The tricorder device may be one of my favorite pieces of tech from the Star Trek Universe.  Even though replicators and holodecks slightly edge out the tricorder’s coolness, the scientist in me loves a good source of data.  Over the past ten years, I have trusted Vivint Sensors/Cameras to guard my home.  From automated door locks to thermostats, to power outlet sensors, water/flood sensors, fire/Carbon monoxide detectors, and outdoor/indoor cameras, I have learned quite a bit about my home. 

I have used data to guide changes, and several of the sensors have helped me to save money.  Beyond the physical safety and protection afforded by the setup, I wanted to expand into air quality monitoring.  My main goal was to ensure that my basement was not poisoning us with radon; I also wanted to make sure that the particulates were low and that the humidity did not encourage mold/mildew growth. 

Truthfully, I had a difficult asthmatic childhood due to poor air quality and ductwork issues at my elementary school. Moving into middle school and out of the elementary cesspool, I found my asthma symptoms essentially abated. The air we breathe can thus drastically affect overall health.

Over the past 6-12 months, I have trusted the Airthings Wave Mini and Corentium Radon detector devices to provide data about the air in my basement.  Despite the cost of the aforementioned devices (~$180 for Corentium Radon Detector, and ~$80 for Wave Mini), the Wave Mini device did not detect radon, and the top-rated Corentium device only detected radon. 

I was afraid that I would have to buy several more sensors to gain more understanding of the local area. Luckily, users do not need to purchase dozens of individual sensors for a single room when they can purchase a 7-sensor device like the Airthings View Plus.  With pandemics aplenty, the website promised enhanced monitoring for asthmatics, wildfires, pollution, and viruses (CO2).

The AirThings View Plus monitor arrived in an 8 1/8 inches wide by 4 9/16 inches tall by 2 5/16 inches thick retail package.  The cover panel listed the AIRTHINGS name/logo at the top left, “COMPLETE INDOOR AIR QUALITY MONITOR” along the top right, and three product features at the bottom left:

1. Wireless
2. Battery or USB Powered.
3. App and Dashboard. 

The View Plus device name and the short descriptor “Take control of the air you breath” were listed to the left of the panel.  The main showcase was the slightly raised, glossy,  ~4 inches wide by 2.5 inches tall image of the View Plus device.  I was able to appreciate the central LCD screen and clear values for Radon and particular matter (PM). 

The splash of yellow color for the word “Plus” provided a clever eye-grabbing accent, as did the green LED and monitor shadow.  The top panel had a retractable cardboard hanging tab, which folded down to flat.  The setup allowed the box to be displayed via either a hanging or shelf method.  The View and Plus names were printed along either side of the panel in subtle grey font, while “Breathe better. Live better.” was provided in a vibrant yellow font just beneath the hanging tab. 

The rear panel provided a quaint descriptive panel about the need to protect one’s family from contaminants at the top of the panel.  Beneath the paragraph, I found three detailed icons about the ability to customize the display/wave functions, to build your own air quality systems by pairing other devices, and an easy-to-use intuitive design (rely on the included 2-year battery life or power the device via USB). 

The right edge showed a phone with the AirThings App adjacent to a smaller inlaid oval image of the sensor.  The bottom edge provided a helpful breakdown of the product features and sensor capabilities (Radon, PM, Co2, Humidity, Temp, VOC, Pressure).  As per the packaging, the goal is to “Improve sleep, comfort and overall health by monitoring the above environmental factors.” 

The bottom panel provided product manufacturing labels, SKU barcodes, copyright information, and icons for IFTTT, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa.  For those who are interested in environmental protection and sustained resources, the packaging had a 100% recyclable logo. 

I removed the outer slipcover and was surprised to find the inner surface was a bright-neon yellow color.  The inner surface of the back panel provided a little tidbit from the World Health Organization (WHO) that 9/10 people globally breathe unsafe air.  The inner brown cardboard box provided no additional information outside of the AIRTHINGS name/logo on the cover.  I lifted the front flap, perused the mountain range inked onto the inner flap, and noted the circular cutout with “Breath Better. Live Better.” upon a yellow background. 

When I folded the inner flap outward, I found the 6 1/2 inches wide by 3 1/2 inches tall by 1 1/4 inches thick, 12.5-ounce, a pill-shaped device within a cardboard ring.  The instruction manual was placed into two tabs on the inner flap, while the lower cavity housed the accessories: 1. Three 1 3/4 inches tall by 5/8 inches wide double-sided tape command strips. 2. Multilingual regulatory information booklet. 3. 72-inches long round-type, white-colored, USB-A to USB-C cable. 4. Silica Packet.  

I removed the multi-lingual (English, French, Norwegian, German, Finish, Italian, and Spanish) instruction manual and reviewed the “HOW TO SET UP” panel.  I navigated to the IOS App Store, updated my 2.5* Airthings Wave App, and then followed the instructions.  I placed the sensor facedown onto my table, removed the clear plastic battery tab, and started the pairing process with the sensor and App. 

When I selected the “+” icon at the top right of the panel, the App connected to the View Plus device.  The App asked for country information, and WiFI network information, and then walked the user through the setup/notification screens.  The App subsequently reviewed the sensor thresholds for Radon, VOC, CO2, Humidity, Temperature, and particulate matter.  After approximately two to three minutes, the device was connected with the App and ready to be placed in my basement for testing. 

I set the AirThings View Plus, AirThings Mini, and Corentium Radon detector side by side on my basement table and left them for several days.  I liked that I could wave my hand in front of the device to view the different screen details. on the 2 5/8 inches wide by 1 1/8 inches tall LCD Screen.  Additionally, I liked that the display sensor display resembled a Kindle Paperwhite Device. 

The main panel showed Radon and particulate matter, while subsequent screens provided information about CO2, PM, and Humidity.  When I navigated to the App, I found the screen demonstrated a large red/orange ring with AirQuality fair to Poor.  The immediate demonstration of the air quality, although a bit disappointing, provided a helpful universal data summation. 

The main App Dashboard showed Radon <.3, PM2.5, CO2 1322, Humidity 60%, Temp 73, VOC 236, Pressure 998.  When I compared the View Plus data to the Airthings Wave Mini device, I found the VOC 181, humidity 62%, temp of 73, and fair air quality.  The Radon detector showed average values for the last week to be 0.3-0.4 pCi/L.  

Over the last 48 hours, the View Plus device showed <0.4 for Radon and PM 2.5-3 microgram/m3.   Interestingly, I noted a few surges in the values of PM and VOC.  When I asked my wife about daytime activities, she noted that she sprayed cleaning chemicals and vacuumed the room that morning. I was impressed with the quality of the sensors and with the sensitivity to changes in the air quality. 

The CO2 value averaged 666 ppm over the last 48 hours, with a swing from ~419ppm to 908ppm.  The app provided data that increased CO2 could like to increased infections. The humidity of my walkout basement seemed to run 64-65% over the last several days.  I tried the device in several regions around the basement and found similar information.  The current recommendations for humidity suggest it is best to maintain a room at less than 60% humidity to avoid mold/mildew.  With the added knowledge of excess moisture in the region, I decided to purchase a dehumidifier for the downstairs. 

The sensor monitored the temperature over the last 48 hours and found it to maintain a 67-69 degree temperature.  The volatile organic compounds (VOC) sensor provided a reading of 53-60 ppb for airborne chemicals.  As noted above, my wife decided to have a deeper “spray lots of things” day, and the sensor registered 227ppb VOCs. 

The pressure reading ranged from 997mbar to about 1002 mbar with an average of 1000.  I liked that the main dashboard provided a quick summary of the parameters and a large ring rating.  Even though the sensors were in calibration mode, the device provided similar data to the Wave Mini Device that had been sampling the basement for the last 6 months.  I appreciated the add-on sensor types beyond the VOC, humidity, and Temp of the Wave Mini device and the Radon only sensor.  

The App provided helpful information about the variation between the onscreen values and the App values.  As an example, the Co2 sensor sampled every 5 minutes and showed the latest reading on the device screen, while the App synced/updated every 10 minutes. The App recommended 30-day calibration for full effect, even though the sensor data was similar to that provided by a fully calibrated device.

For those interested in their environment and its impact on overall health, the Airthings View Plus may be just the device you were looking for.  The web dashboard allowed me to dive deeper into the trends, and I look forward to reevaluating the status of my basement in the next 30 and 60 days.  I loved the App/device integration and felt that the overall setup was mostly foolproof. 

I selected Device Settings and changed the screen settings from Radon/PM to Radon/Temp and then realized that I could change it to display indoor temp and outdoor temp/weather data on the main page.  The rear panel of the Airthings device had two screw holes for easy mounting for those who desired wall-mounted sensors. 

For those interested in wall preservation, the kit provided double-sided tape for your wall.  Lastly, you could rest the device upon the lower rubberized foot or place it flat upon a shelf/table.  Overall, I was quite impressed with the hand wave sensor, the sensitivity of the readings, and the easy to use App.  

Learn more about the Airthings View Plus
Follow Airthings on Facebook and Twitter.

Smart floor lamp sets the mood, enhances the ambiance, and provides a modern feel

The AIZAWA RGBICW Floor lamp arrived in a 5 5/8 inches wide by 17 inches tall by 5 5/8 inches thick purple-colored iridescent package.  Along with the AIZAWA name, the title panel listed RGIBICW, “Floor Lamp,” and Works with Alexa.  The dark purple background was softened by brilliant pink, white, and blue highlights along with the image of the floor lamp. 

I liked the dark color, the light accents, and the illuminated feel of the picture.  The right side panel provided five product-defining icons (Games, Movies, Party, Bedroom, Living Room), dual-color slides (Daylight warm white 2700k to cool white 6500k), and a 16 million color gradient icon.  The left side panel provided an additional six product-defining icons (Color Changing, 16 Million Colors, Sync with Music, App Remote Control, Adjustable Brightness, Various Light Effects). 

The rear panel provided four bullet points for the RGBICW Floor Lamp that detailed the premium LED, color change feature, app control, and the ability to sync to the music.  Additionally, you will find a product specification table that detailed the AI-0320 model number, aluminum/polycarbonate material, 12W power, AC 100-240V input, RGBICW color, 960lumen intensity, 72 LED programmable, voice/app/touch control, and indoor-only design. 

The top panel provided the same title/log as the cover and a smaller image of the floor lamp along the side of the title.  I appreciated the use of the purple background and found the white logos and lamp image popped away from the surface.  

I lifted the lid of the box and removed the large 14 inches long by 5 1/4 inches wide by 2 5/8 inches tall layer of styrofoam packing from the outer shell.  The layer had three cutouts containing the power adapter, three pairs of plastic clips (2 3/8 inches tall by 1-inch diameter, and a large cutout for the 3 7/8 inches wide by 5 1/2 inches tall by ~1/16 inches thick user manual.  The single large cutout could have housed the adapter and clips atop the instruction manual cutout and saved on packing material.  

The power adapter measured 1 3/8 inches wide by 2 1/4 inches tall by 1 1/8 inches wide, had a Type A wall prong, and a 58 1/2 inches long power cable.  The current power adapter design was less than ideal.  Instead of providing a space-saving/flat Type A plug similar to various power strips, the bulky design reduced the ability to hide the adapter behind furniture or a desk.  I set the adapter and clips aside and turned to the instruction manual. 

The manual provided a welcoming “CONGRATULATIONS” panel followed by a product overview page.  The page showed the metal lamp pole fixing clip, the metallic poles, the floor lamp base, a blown-up image of the fixing clip, and an enlarged image of the light connector/setup.  The third and fourth pages provided a helpful, detailed, step-by-step lamp assembly process. 

I followed each of the written steps, compared them to the images, and enjoyed a simple setup.  I returned to the lower segment of styrofoam and found four lamp segment cutouts and a large base cutout.  I unpacked each plastic-wrapped lamp segment and placed the base on my table.  The base had three 9/16 inches diameter buttons with a “C,” power icon, and “M” upon the 4 5/8 inches wide by 5 1/4 inches tall by 1 15/16 inches thick tear-shaped base. 

The main light erupted from the base and measured 13 5/8 inches tall.  The front 1/2 of the light was covered with a black shield, while the back half of the light was white.  I removed the 14 inches tall by 3/4 inches diameter segments B+C, plugged the connectors together, then pressed the segments together.  I removed the final 13 3/8 inches tall by 3/4 inches diameter segment D, installed the connector adapter, and then added the segment stabilizing clips.  The floor lamp measured 55 3/4 inches tall from base to top when fully set up. 

The fifth and sixth panels detailed the operation instructions.  I plugged the power adapter into the floor lamp and the wall plug into the power outlet.  The manual detailed the trio of buttons and listed each of the functions.  The color button “C” changed colors, while the “M” button entered into the reactive music mode.  A short press of the power button turned on/off the lamp, while a long press over 10 seconds activated the Bluetooth pairing process. 

I pressed the button, navigated to Settings, to Bluetooth, and could not find the device.  Using the camera on my iPhone 13 Pro Max, I scanned the QR code and downloaded the 4.8 stars Smart Life App.  I followed the prompts, created an account, allowed permissions, navigated through the information panels (must use 2.4GHZ WiFi), activated Bluetooth, and then tapped the add device icon within the App. 

As with the activation above, the phone/lamp did not immediately connect.  I then pressed the power button for 10 seconds to activate the pairing process, and tapped the add device within the app.  After about ten seconds, the Aizawa Floor Lamp had paired successfully. 

Once the App activated, I was greeted with a “New Device Firmware Found” screen, and I was able to select “Update Now” or “Cancel.”   The panel noted that the newer version V1.015 was available and ready for download.  I selected “Update Now” and started the V1.015 (625.16KB) download. 

Before I was able to proceed, the app noted that my wifi signal was weak and that the process would take a long time. Interestingly, I started the download at 8:35 PM and completed the process by 8:36 using my Linksys Velop Mesh Wifi.  During the process, the lamplight was extinguished and then turned back on.  Excitedly, I jumped into the App to test the integrated features.

The main App screen provided the product name along the top left and a color wheel along the top right.  The middle segment had a color texture gradient, basic colors, and a bar of white.  You can slide your finger along the white strip to change the brightness of the light, or you can tap along the length to adjust the brightness.  If you tap the slider to the right of the word “white,” the light will turn off, and the app will take you to another panel. 

The second panel provided access to a timer to allow the light to turn on after the timer had run down and to a schedule.  Tapping “Add” will allow you to set on or off commands for each day of the week.  I set the “on” command to today at 8:43 PM, and once the appropriate time arrived, the white light illuminated.  I returned to the main panel, changed the light to red, set another alarm for 8:45 PM, and waited until the appropriate time. 

I was pleased to find that the light remembered the last setting and illuminated a nice red color.  I tried this process several times with different colors and with different light intensities.  The alarm setup remembered the previous setting and turned it on and off based on the settings.  I loved this feature and set a nice wake-up for my daughters at 7 am the following day.  

Along the bottom of the panel, you will find a power button (links to turn off the device, timer, schedule features), a light bulb (adjust colors), music note (adjust rhythm, roll, energy, spectrum), paint palette (adjust scenes rainbow, marquee, flowing water, gradient, snow, chase, beat, wink, colorful gradient). If desired, you can tap the “Recommended Scene” or “Custom Scene” icons along the top of the panel. 

If you press the clover icon, you will gain another option to access the timer/schedule.   If you press the three dots along the top right of the main panel, you will access the settings.  You can change the generic “Aizawa Floor Lamp” name from this panel, learn about the virtual ID/IP/Mac/timezone/signal strength, tap-to-run automation, and leave a device review.  You can choose to share the device, create a group for device sync, add to home screen, check the device network, and access device updates.  If you tap the Alexa or Google Assistant options, the App will take you to an option to sign up with Amazon to access Alexa-enabled devices. 

To test the Alexa features, I navigated to the Alexa App, and launched the Smart Life skill (3*) through my Echo device. I renamed the Aizawa Floor Lamp “Lamp” within the App and found that I was able to utilize voice commands to turn on/off the lamp, change the color, change the brightness, and so much more.  The third-party connection was a bit more difficult than the App setup alone, but added functionality to the overall setup. 

I loved that you could choose to activate/deactivate the floor lamp through touch buttons, through phone/app control, and ultimately through the Alexa tech.  The light was not terribly bright but did provide a warming atmosphere.  In fact, my daughters absolutely loved having the light next to their bed.  As a treat, we often watch iPad videos before bed.  Instead of leaving their closet light on, which emits sleep-disrupting light, we used the Alexa feature to activate the red light.  They loved the extra room light and the ambiance that the light provided. 

We quickly changed the light to white and found that it provided good accent lighting with the ability to provide dim light to a large-sized bedroom.  The music motion option proved to be quite fun for their dance parties.  They activated the “M” mode, played several songs, and watched the device move in rhythm.   

ecobee has the ‘smartest’ thermostat available.

We moved into our house 10 years ago. The house was built in the late 1960s so of course, it had an older thermostat. One of the first upgrades we made to the house was to install a smart thermostat. We tried a Nest at first. I was an early adopter of that system and felt it was natural to continue with it.

In early 2014, Google acquired Nest Labs, the company that designed the Nest thermostat, for $3.2 billion. When that happened, I decided to migrate my smart thermostat interests over to ecobee.

Since I’m an Apple user, HomeKit has been my go-to for smart home management. So, when the Nest was bought by Google, I knew that HomeKit integrations were an unlikely option. To this day, Nest does not offer native HomeKit integration. ecobee, on the other hand, does work with HomeKit. So, in 2015, I adopted the ecobee3 as our smart thermostat.

It’s been a champ since day one, however, in the past year, it seems as though it is showing its age. I installed the unit we have in 2015 and haven’t had any issues with it until this winter.

We started experiencing random restarts of the thermostat and it had to ‘calibrate’ every single night. We did some troubleshooting to see if maybe it there was something software-wise that could be a fix, but in the end, it really seemed that the unit was just at the end of its life.

Fortunately, yesterday, ecobee announced the release of their newest thermostats – the ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium and ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced. I was like a 5-year-old on Christmas morning when I heard this news. I knew we needed to upgrade ours ASAP.

About ecobee Premium

One of the biggest draws to me with this newest release of ecobee thermostats was the built-in virtual assistant. The Enhanced version does not have this feature. So, the Premium model is the one we got and the version I will be focusing on in this review.

Both new thermostats are considered the most sophisticated smart thermostats yet. They come with built-in radar technology for improved occupancy and motion detection. The Smart Thermostat Premium is considered ecobee’s flagship model. It’s the only smart thermostat with both an indoor air quality monitor and an embedded smart speaker.

The ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium has been redesigned from the ground up to offer a more sophisticated user experience. It has a 50% larger touchscreen glass display and a refreshed user interface. The display is more colorful and features a more user-friendly menu system.

Some of the main features the ecobee Premium includes are:

• Up to 26% annual savings on heating & cooling
• energy saving through eco+
• compatible with iOS and Android devices
• Built-in occupancy detection
• HVAC accessory support: two 1-wire acc or one 2-wire
• Siri and Alexa Built-in
• Spotify Connect and Bluetooth
• Smart sensor included
• Indoor Air Quality Monitor
• Real-time weather monitoring
• 3-year warranty

Pricing and Availability

Both new models of the ecobee Smart Thermostat started being sold on May 17, 2022. The Premium model has a retail price of $249.99 while the Enhanced model is being sold for $189.99 (at the time of publishing). It’s being sold through ecobee.com and select retailers including Amazon, Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Best Buy.

Installation and Setup

The ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium comes in recyclable packaging that is organized in such a way that a beginner would be able to identify all the parts easily. The main body of the ecobee Premium is stunning. I can’t get over how much the design has changed since the ecobee3. It’s heavy – made with zinc – and the glass face is gorgeous. The design is similar to the original – they look like they are in the same family of products – but completely different at the same time.

Installation of the ecobee couldn’t be easier. The app provides step-by-step instructions and there are many videos online that do complete walkthroughs of the setup. The first step is to remove the old thermostat and label the wires coming out from the wall. ecobee provides sticker labels so that you don’t have to worry about them getting mixed up (I still have the old stickers on the wires from our last installation).

Once the old thermostat is removed, you will want to place the backplate and then the wiring plate onto the wall. The instructions make it sound like you are supposed to attach the backplate to the wall, but you shouldn’t do this until you have the wiring plate affixed as well. The screws are meant to connect the two plates together and then attach to the wall together.

The wiring plate is labeled to match the stickers on the wires and it’s very easy to read. there is a little snap switch on each wiring slot. If you press this and stick the end of the wire into the wiring plate it will hold the wire in place. Once all the wires are in place and the plates are attached to the wall, you place the control unit (the main body) onto the wall. It will snap into place on top of the wiring plate.

If everything is wired correctly, the main display should light up with the word, “Hi.” If you don’t see this right away, remove the body and check your wires. Ours lit up the first time and we continued with the set-up process. Most of this setup takes place on the thermostat itself which is very responsive. All in all, the entire installation/setup took about 30 minutes.

Initial Impressions

So far, I’ve been very impressed with the ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium. I love that I now have a smart speaker in my hallway along with the thermostat. Siri on the ecobee is brilliant and very responsive. The display is ridiculously beautiful. It’s bright, which is great for me because sometimes it’s hard for me to see things that are dimly lit. We’ve only had the thermostat hooked up for a little while and we’ve not had any issues with it restarting or calibrating. It’s been very quick to react to commands and has done a great job of controlling the A/C.

One of the issues I had with the ecobee3 was its menu system. There were several options on its home screen that all seemed like access to the device’s settings. This was not the case. Now, there are fewer options on the home screen and a very well-defined hamburger menu that takes a user to the settings. I’m no longer frustrated with the interface and actually enjoy using it.

Final Thoughts

The ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium is a fantastic investment for any homeowner. Not only can it help regulate the heating and cooling of your home, but it can also help control other smart devices in your home – thanks to its built-in speaker. The ecobee Premium combines several devices into one and that’s something I really like about it.

For more information, visit ecobee.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

Smart Delivery Box is nice but fails in many ways

Clearly, package theft runs rampant all over the world. It’s sad and disheartening to have it happen to you. Fortunately, companies like Yale have tried to make an option to help prevent this from happening. The Yale Smart Delivery Box with Wifi is their answer to home delivery theft problems.

DETAILS

The Yale Smart Delivery Box is a ‘safer, more convenient way to receive packages.’ It’s not delivery service specific so any carrier can use it and because it locks, it is a theft deterrent. On top of that, the container is made of plastic and it seals so it is weather-resistant.

There are two versions of the Smart Delivery Box with Wi-Fi and with Wi-Fi + Keypad. The ‘smart’ parts of the container include the Yale Smart Lock, Yale Connect Wi-Fi Bridge, and installation manual. The Yale Smart Keypad is also included with the keypad version. Batteries for the lock and the keypad are included. The container itself is sold in two styles – Kent and Brighton – and each style have slightly different dimensions.

• Kent: 19” High x 24.625” Wide x 28” Deep. Fits most standard package sizes; up to 16” High x 22” Wide x 13” Deep.
• Brighton: 24” High x 28” Wide x 18” Deep. Fits most standard package sizes; up to 16.5” High x 22.5” Wide x 11.5” Deep.

The box can be placed wherever packages are most commonly, however, it needs to be within 10 feet of the Yale Connect in order to ensure it can connect to Wi-Fi. Another essential part of the Smart Delivery Box system is the Yale app. While the smart lock can connect to HomeKit and other smart systems, the Yale app makes it possible to connect all the parts together easily.

USER EXPERIENCE

When the Smart Delivery Box arrived, I was super excited. Finally, we had a solution to keeping our packages safe. Before I dig too deep into the reasons I am unhappy with this product, I do want to say that the container has kept our packages safe, dry, and somewhat organized. It is a far better option than simply letting packages collect aimlessly on your porch.

I want to paint an accurate picture of what we deal with on a daily basis. Since Mac Sources is headquartered from our house, it is not unusual for us to receive multiple deliveries from multiple services every day. We almost always have at least one delivery from Amazon and we know our FedEx and UPS drivers by name. DHL is a little less usual, but we do see them a couple of times a month. This is why we get overly concerned about packages being left on our porch. They pile up and they are very visible from the street. Fortunately for us, our street is not a main thoroughfare and we are always notified when we have traffic on our property.

Now, on to the nitty-gritty of the review.

The Smart Delivery Box is sent in a very large shipping box. The ‘smart’ part of the box is the Yale Smart Lock system, which, on our box, was already installed into the unit. Based on the instructions, though, that may not be the case for every Smart Delivery Box. As far as installation of the box goes, you simply have to decide where you want the box to ‘live’ and place it there. You do have to connect the base to the body, but that only takes about five minutes.

You have the option of adding sand to the base so that the box is weighted down. In our case, we have a covered porch that is minimally exposed so we didn’t worry about weighing it down. The setup of the app and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth connection actually takes longer than the installation of the box itself. 

The lock connects to your phone in two ways – Bluetooth and WiFi. The WiFi connection is based on the add-on accessory, the Yale Connect (more on this in a moment). The Bluetooth connection is direct between your phone and the lock. This connection is pretty solid in our experience but it is limiting since Bluetooth is a local connection. If you are away from the home, you need a WiFi connection to be able to control the lock. We experienced some issues with this, which I will explain in just a moment.

The box itself seems pretty secure and as I mentioned above, it has been able to keep our packages safe from the elements. That said, it can be broken into if someone provides enough force to the lid. The container does, however, hide the packages from the view of potential porch pirates and gives them one more step to take before running off with your package.

Some of the major issues I had with this system include:

• the function of the app/Delivery mode
• the keypad functionality and battery life
• getting delivery drivers to use it (not Yale’s fault, but still a stumbling block)
• Wi-Fi connectivity
• Lack of help from technical support from Yale

Function of the App/Delivery Mode

Yale outlines a ‘delivery mode’ feature that “leaves the box unlocked each morning until your first delivery is made. The driver simply lifts the lid of the box, places your packages in the box, and then closes the lid using the easy-to-use safety latch. You’ll receive a notification that the delivery was made and you can choose to either unlock the box to allow for another delivery or leave the box locked until you are ready to retrieve your package.”

In theory, this is great, but in practice, it’s a hassle because it means you have to constantly monitor the locked status of the container – which is problematic because of the connectivity issues we experienced. The FAQ for the container states that there is an option to leave the box unlocked until you receive your last delivery, but we’ve never been able to find that option. In fact, we have the app set to not automatically lock the box and it still does it after 2-3 open/closes.

Keypad Functionality & Battery Life

The keypad is a great feature/add-on option – especially if you have someone checking on your packages for you. This is actually how I discovered the problem with the keypad.

I went out of town for vacation and my friend Brian was picking up packages for me. During that time, we did have the box lock after deliveries – since we weren’t home every day – and for some reason, the keypad refused to work. So, Brian would call me and ask me to unlock it. We still don’t know why this happened. He was inputting the correct code and getting a ‘code accepted’ ding from the keypad, but it didn’t communicate to the lock.

This sort of defeats the purpose of having the keypad feature. In addition to that, the battery life of the keypad was horrendous. We installed the delivery box less than a month before we left on vacation and only uses it a handful of times before we left. After our vacation, the batteries were dead. Keep in mind, that this was only after Brian attempted using it for a few days. This is unacceptable in my opinion.

Getting Delivery Drivers to Use It

I had the HARDEST time getting drivers to use the box. We had it set on our porch and for the first two days, drivers, who are familiar with our property, noticed the box, read the word “Deliveries” on the front, and then set packages on top of the box or on our front step instead of placing them in the container. No joke. I think it was almost a full week before drivers were actually using it and that’s only because I put out a sign.

Even after that I had one Amazon driver still not use the box. He told me if I wanted the Amazon drivers to use the box I needed to add special instructions on every delivery for them to do so. I am assuming that driver was moved to a different route or quit because the Amazon drivers are finally starting to use the box.

Hardware Connectivity Problems

Yale bought August lock a while back and both the keypad and Wi-Fi connector is from August. I love August and think they have a wonderful product but the hardware needed to have some improvements done to make it great. Unfortunately, Yale has yet to make any improvements. Instead, they are still using the same broken system that I had issues with when I used the August lock – back in 2016.

The Wi-Fi connector (the Yale Connect) is not only a pain in the rear to get connected it refuses to stay connected. When we first set it up, the device connected and we were able to have a strong, useable Wi-Fi signal with the Smart Delivery Box. We actually have proof of this because when we were out of town, we were able to unlock it remotely.

About two weeks ago (from the time this article is being published), we discovered that the Yale Connect had a solid red light showing on its LED indicator. This told us that it did not have a connection to our network. We aren’t entirely sure how long the Connect was disconnected because we never received a notification from the Yale app stating it was offline.

We followed the instructions from Yale about resetting the Connect. The device seemed to go through the proper setup process and would get to the part of the process where it was supposed to connect to the Wi-Fi network. At this point, the LED indicator on the device should be flashing green quickly. Our Connect was doing that until it suddenly went to red. Then, I saw an error that stated, “An unexpected error has occurred. Please try again.”

We have battled with this thing trying so many times to get it to reconnect to our network that we finally had to reach out to support to try to find a solution to the issue. This leads me to our final issue: Yale’s support.

Yale Technical Support Provided No Answers

The first communication we had with Yale Support was through an email/contact form. This is the message I sent to them.

I have my August Connect set up to work with my Yale Lock and it was working fine but today I got a notification stating that it had been offline for 24 hours. The lock is still connected via Bluetooth but the Connect had a solid red light on it.

I went through the troubleshooting steps outlined in the online help section and after several hard resets and failed attempts to reconnect it, I thought it was time to send an email to support. I have tried to reconnect the Connect to our Wi-Fi network multiple times – both through the app and through my iPhone’s Wi-Fi settings – and the Connect will start its rapid green light blinking as though it is trying to connect but then it goes to solid red. The phone/app continues to try to make the Wi-Fi connection and eventually gives the message “an unexpected error has occurred. Please try again”.

As I mentioned I have gone through this several times – probably a dozen or more times – and nothing has changed. Please provide any assistance that you can.

And this is part of the response I got from Yale support.

Thank you for contacting us! We are sorry to hear about the issues with the Lock and are happy to assist you. Please follow the steps below to assist with helping you set up your Connect.

Go to the Yale Access/August Home app.
Click on the three-bar menu on the top left.
Click on Home.
Click on the picture of your House.
Here, you should see your lock; unlock and lock six times.

Your Yale Connect needs to be plugged into an outlet within 1-15ft from the Lock and within 1-15ft from your router. You need to be connected to the Home Wi-Fi network (2.4GHz), as our Yale Connect isn’t compatible with the 5GHz network.

Click on the three-bar menu on the top left.
Set up a device.
Scan the QR code of the Connect (if it has one)/I don’t have a QR code, then enter the serial number manually (Serial number starts with C, and the zero-like numbers would be zeros).
Unplug the Connect from the outlet, wait for 10 seconds.
Plug it into the outlet, press the button thrice, and at the third time, hold it down, release after 7 seconds. Once it is in the setup mode (slow blinking green light).
Tap on continue, my device is blinking green. Continue to follow the steps to set up the Connect. You should get a congratulation message if successful.

The next part of the message stated that if it still didn’t connect, we should let them know. This was just the beginning of an email chain that continued for almost a week. Each time, the responses I received from support were less than helpful and most of them had nothing to do with my initial issue. If you read through my message, I tell them that I had gone through the reset process and the entire message they sent me initially was instructions on how to reset the Connect.

After several back-and-forth exchanges – sometimes days apart – Yale Support finally said that it’s our router that’s just not compatible with this device. Remember I already had it hooked up and working before it stopped and refused to ever connect again. This canned answer is a load of bull. I say this because this is the same adapter August used with their system (more than 5 years ago). I had a different router then that only did 2.4ghz and it still did not work correctly. I had the same issues then.

Honestly, my support experience was so bad I could write a review just on that.

CONCLUSION

I believe our issues are derived from a hardware issue that no one wants to admit to. Even if it’s not, then it’s a shame that they haven’t taken the time to update this item to work with current systems. The Wi-Fi device from Yale is living in the dark ages and the customers are paying for it.

Only having the option to connect via Bluetooth to open the box when at home still works. I am able to have my packages delivered and put in a semi-safe place. The price for this product is $279.99 at the time of this review and in my opinion, it’s not worth it. Yale could have taken what they purchased from August and put more R & D behind it before pushing this plastic box out. They had the opportunity to make something really wonderful but dropped the ball.

Instead, they pushed out a broken system that is hard to get drivers to use and supposedly only works with a few routers. I will keep using the box for now because I haven’t found anything else that will auto-lock after a package has been put inside of it. Unfortunately, I will not be able to use it while out of town unless I set my friend Brian up with the app via Bluetooth so he can manually unlock it. If there was a key option at least I could have someone use the key to open the box when I am away but this requires old Bluetooth tech and outdated Wi-Fi adapters to work.

So to recap would I suggest you buy this? No not one bit. It’s been a pain in the neck since day one. Do I hope they find a way to make it better? Absolutely! Do I see potential in this product but right now, you are only asking for a headache.

For more details, visit YALE, Facebook, and Twitter.

A few years ago, I remember hearing about motorized window shades that were app-controlled. I truly hate messing with window shades and blinds. So, when I heard about this smart home product, I thought, “Now that is something I would really appreciate having.”

A couple of months ago, smart home product designer, Eve, announced a collaboration with window covering specialist, Coulisse, and the launch of their newest product – Motionblinds. The product is based on a simple roller shade design and it marks a major milestone for Eve and its commitment to transition to their low-power product line to Thread.

What are Motionblinds?

Motionblinds are part of the global window covering brand, Coulisse. The device is being developed in the Netherlands and falls into the smart home category because it is app-enabled and remote-controlled. Motionblinds are made-to-measure window coverings and are distributed through a network of resellers.

In late 2021, Coulisse announced its partnership with smart home product designer, Eve. As one of the first companies to partner with Apple’s HomeKit technology, Eve was the perfect partner for Coulisse. Motionblinds while originally designed by Coulisse are marketed as Eve Motionblinds or Motionblinds Powered by Eve.

How do Motionblinds work?

Motionblinds are designed to be simple in both design and function. The product is essentially a simple roller shade with a motor attached to it. The motor’s ‘brain’ is powered by Eve’s smart home technology and supports both Bluetooth and Thread, which is designed to improve the connectivity between accessories.

About Thread: Thread creates a mesh network. Within this, lights, thermostats, outlets, sensors, and more can also talk to each other free of the constraint of having to go through a central hub, such as a bridge. That’s because a Thread network doesn’t need one. If a single accessory fails, the data packets are simply relayed to the next in the mesh. In short: The network becomes more robust with every additional Thread accessory.

Motionblinds don’t need a proprietary bridge or hub in order to communicate with HomeKit. You simply scan the HomeKit code with your iPhone and the device gets added to your Home app. In some cases, you may not even have to do that step to add Motionblinds to your network. If a border router – such as a HomePod Mini or an Apple TV 4K – is present, Motionblinds can join the Thread network automatically.

Motionblinds also provide a certain level of privacy and security with your data as all the intelligence for the device is stored locally on the motor. This is indicative of Eve’s influence as all their smart home accessories accomplish this task.

What kind of user experience do you get with Motionblinds?

My experience with Motionblinds is going to differ a bit from the standard consumer as I was provided a press sample for testing. This means that I did not go through the process of physically installing the Motionblinds, but I was able to experience the super simple HomeKit setup and operation of the blinds.

Here’s what was included in my press kit:

• the Motionblinds mechanism
• a stand for the Motionblinds to rest on (instead of an installation kit)
• a start guide
• a USB-C power cable (no power adapter)

So, to get started, I unwrapped the Motionblinds assembly from its packaging and then set it on the metal brackets that were provided. The assembly was meant to slide and lock into place on the stand. I had a little trouble getting one side to latch into place. Fortunately, it was sturdy enough for me to test.

The next step was to connect the Motionblinds to power. A USB-C cable was provided, but a power adapter for the wall was not. Motionblinds have a rechargeable battery-powered motor, but this particular unit did not have a charge to it. I grabbed a power bank I had close by and plugged the Motionblinds into it. I wasn’t sure how much power was going to be required to power the unit, but apparently, the battery I used was enough.

After I got the Motionblinds powered up, I added them to my Home app. This process was probably the easiest HomeKit accessory addition I’ve ever done. And I’ve done quite a lot. One of the things I really liked was that the HomeKit code is attached to the blinds, but is hidden. There is a small tag that slides up into the pull on the blinds that holds the HomeKit code. This makes it super easy to find the code if you have to reset your Home or re-add the blinds at some point.

As far as operation goes, there are really only two states for the blinds to be in – open or closed. You can set up schedules and automation for them or you can operate them manually by pressing the appropriate option on the Home or Eve apps or asking your virtual assistant to do it.

Are Motionblinds worth it?

This is always a tough question for me to answer because what isn’t important to me might be super important to someone else. I will say this, according to SelectBlinds.com, one of the resellers of Motionblinds, the blinds start at $567 and go up. Right now, the web retailer has them on sale for $397, but I believe that is only a temporary sale.

Remember that this product is designed to be custom ordered to fit a customer’s window. So, you can order blinds from 24” x 20” to 96” x 108”. The bigger they are, the more expensive the Motionblinds get. I actually selected the largest size possible and MSRP has it costing $1,495.00. After you select your dimensions, you then select the following options: your remote type, a headrail, hardware, pull wand location, roll position, bottom rail, charger, and finish customization.

As a test, I decided to go through the process of selecting different options and found that you could get the price up to $2,060 (MSRP). This was for one window shade! When you compare that to a non-motorized window shade with similar options (same size, etc.) the price through the same retailer is just under $700. That’s nearly 1/3 less than the Motionblinds option.

In my opinion, as cool as the Motionblinds are and as easy as they are to work with, I don’t think they are worth the expense – especially considering the fact that you would likely want to have several for the different windows in your home.

Final Thoughts

Motionblinds are a welcome addition to the pool of smart home accessories that are being offered by Eve. They function very well and are easy to set up. If the price can be a bit more affordable, then I think they would be easier to recommend.

For more information, visit motionblinds.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

I’ve been working from home exclusively since September 2020. Fortunately, we have enough space in our home for me to have a dedicated space for my home office. Not only do I have a full-time job during the day as a Marketing Director, but I also write product reviews for MacSources in the evenings. So, having a space where I can make my own helps me be creative. I can surround myself with things I love and that inspire me. I never thought I would add RGB lighting into my space, but as it turns out, I really enjoy having strategically placed colored lighting as long as it’s subtle. I especially appreciate smart lighting or lights that are app-controlled.  So, it was an easy decision to add the LED Ambient Light Bars With Smart Lighting from Up Tech Instruments. 

DETAILS

The LED Ambient Light Bars With Smart Lighting provides bright, colorful lighting paired with smart features and control. The light bars offer a wide spectrum of colors and a number of different settings to work with. The bars come pre-programmed with 12 light shows, 10 ambient background modes, and 4 music modes. The lights are reactive to music and voice and users have control over the lights’ sensitivity, style, and tempo to sound they detect. The light bars can be controlled through the smartphone app or via their remote control. 

Users have the option of setting up unique lighting effects through the app (DIY modes). DIY mode offers pinpoint control of the color, brightness, and activation sequence within the fifteen segments of each bar. The lights are designed to be easy to work with, install, and set up. Each bar has the option to be placed vertically or horizontally using their stands – or even mounted using the provided adhesive strips. The light bars are great for decoration, entertainment, or simple ambient lighting. 

SPECS

• Size: 11 x 1.7 x 1.3 inches 
• Weight: 3.7 ounces (each bar)
• Control: App, remote control
• Color: RGBIC
• Power: 5V DC
• LED Segment Groups: 15
• Lightshows: 12
• Ambient Backgrounds: 10
• Music Modes: 4
• Timer: yes
• Voice Control: Yes (Amazon Alexa, Google Home)
• User Made Sequences: Yes

USER EXPERIENCE

The LED Ambient Light Bars with smart lighting arrived in a simple retail-style box. The box was actually a little banged up, but that could have happened during shipping. All the pieces and parts to the lights were safe inside the box. Based on the generic style of the box (the name of the product just says “LED Ambient Lighting” and no brand is given), I was really impressed with all that was included. A decent user manual was provided along with adhesive mounting strips, cable management clips, a power adapter for the wall, an IR remote, the stands, and an Allen wrench to tighten the stands onto the bars. 

The bars themselves seem to be pretty tough. They are made primarily with plastic and are very lightweight. I opted to use the stands and have them sit on my desk, but I don’t think anyone would have trouble with mounting these on the back of a monitor or other surface using the 3M strips provided. The main power cord connects via USB-A. So, for my initial test, I plugged them into my computer’s docking station to see if that would provide accurate power. The lights turned right on. This made me happy because it meant that there were more options for powering them than just their wall adapter. 

After providing power to the light bars, I installed the stands which are tightened onto the lights using very small screws and the Allen wrench. At first, I tried them standing vertically, but realized rather quickly that wasn’t going to work well with my desk setup. The bars are tall enough that they interfere with my mounted speakers as well as the general aesthetic of my workspace. So, I switched the stand so that the bars were sitting horizontally. That seemed to fit my desk better, but to be honest, I’m not 100% convinced that they will remain there. 

There are two main criticisms I have of these smart lighting bars – the cable management and their reaction to sound. Starting with the latter, the sound reaction isn’t a feature I use often, but if it’s offered, I feel as though it should work. The first time I turned that mode on it was sporadic in operation. The lights were located directly under my speakers and just weren’t picking up the music that was playing. I had the volume of my music set on a moderate level. It was comfortable for me to listen to while working, but not so loud that you could hear it outside my office. I turned the volume up until the light bars started reacting to the music more. I had to have the volume up pretty loud before the lights were reacting with any normalcy. 

The second issue – cable management – is something that is hard to overlook. The light bars have a fairly thick cable that comes out of each bar. When I had the stand with the light bars in a vertical orientation, the cable was very visible. The stand does not offer an option to route the cable through the back of it. With the light bars horizontal, the cables are a little less obtrusive, but I noticed that both of the light bars have the cable going out the same direction. This means that if you have the light bars sitting horizontal, one of the bars has an awkward cable routing issue. I do love that cable clips were provided, but I think a little more thought could’ve been put into the cable organization of the light bars overall. 

The app that you download is kind of an all-purpose smart device hub (Smart Life) and I actually already had it installed for a different smart light in my office. Getting the LED Ambient Light Bars to connect to the app was a little bit problematic at first. The user manual includes instructions for this process, but they are definitely generic in nature and seem as though they could be used for several different types of smart lighting. I did finally figure out that if you press/hold the button (for about 5 seconds) on the light bars’ cable, it activates pairing mode. Once that started, the app recognized the light bars right away and I was able to connect to them (they show up as ‘Ambient Light Bar’). 

Navigating the app is a little awkward, but once you get used to it, it’s not too bad. Since these lights are ‘smart lighting, they are designed to work with Google Home and Amazon Alexa. Our home is primarily set up with HomeKit, so I didn’t connect them to a voice assistant. I’ve been very happy with how well they have reacted to their remote control and app connection. 

CONCLUSION

These LED Ambient Light Bars are a really neat way to introduce or enhance your current smart lighting environment. The doing get particularly warm – even after hours of use – and they are easy to set up. Even though there were a couple of improvements I’d love to see made, I really am not complaining because I now have ambient smart lighting in my office at about half the cost of more premium devices. These light bars are a really cool option for fun lighting effects – no matter where you install them. 

For more information, visit uptechinstruments.com and Facebook.

Clean air without the hassle of a messy set-up.

In the past few years, our family has been very cognizant about the quality of the air in our home. We have several different models of air purifiers in different rooms. Some of them are complicated and require a lot of upkeep. Personally, I enjoy the ones that don’t need a lot of maintenance and that you can monitor from afar. If you are like me, then you will really enjoy the Smartmi Air Purifier P1. 

DETAILS

The Smartmi Air Purifier P1 is an ‘intelligent’ air purifier. It combines filtration and monitoring to ensure that your room is as clean as possible. It features a classic tower shape for powerful indoor airflow reaching every corner. The device has a dual-purpose laser particle sensor that monitors indoor air quality as well as a True HEPA filter that removes 99.98% of particles down to 80nm. In addition to its superior monitoring and air filtration systems, the P1 also supports three major smart home systems (Google, Amazon Alexa, and Apple HomeKit). 

The powerful air purifier can clean a bedroom’s (100 sqft) air in approximately 6.5 minutes. The air purifier is lightweight and can be moved easily. It has a leather handle installed on it so that you can carry it from room to room. It has the same footprint as a potted plant and can rapidly fill any room with clean air (250m3/h CADR – when using pollen filter; 4160L fresh air per minute – when using pollen filter; 360º cycled purification). According to Smartmi’s website, it takes approximately 20 minutes to purify a space that is 320 sqft in size.  

There are two different filter types – pollen and pet. Each filter costs approximately $40 USD (at the time of publishing this article), but they only have to be replaced every 6-12 months (depending on use). The pollen filter is a specialized filter that effectively removes allergens while the pet filter contains activated carbon to remove pet odor. The LED HD display provides a quick at-a-glance air quality statement for your space. Just by seeing the color (green, yellow, orange, red), you will know if your area’s air quality is very good, medium, moderate, or heavily polluted. The purifier also has four operation modes – sleep, normal, custom, or auto. 

Purification Efficiency

• 4160L Fresh air per minute
• 99.97% Particles down to 0.3μm removed
• 99.98% Particles down to 80nm removed
• 99.9% smoke removed within 1 hour
• 150cfm Pollen CADR
• 130cfm Dust CADR
• 120cfm Smoke CADR

USER EXPERIENCE

Our Smartmi experience began with the purifier’s delivery. It was shipped in the retail box so it was fairly beat-up. The photo shows some of the damage, but honestly, this was the box’s good side. The set up of the purifier was very easy. The first step is to lift the entire unit out of the box. Flip the purifier over so that the bottom is facing you and twist the can. This will reveal both the filter assembly and the HomeKit code. The filter is easily replaceable. It lifts right out of the purifier’s canister and slides back into place just as easily. The purifier is powered by a standard AC plug. 

Once you power it on, you will want to connect it to the Smartmi app and whichever smart assistant you choose. In our case, it was Apple HomeKit. The process for connecting it to the app was very simple. The app automatically recognizes that the device is nearby and once you set up a free Smartmi account, you can connect the purifier to your account and start using the device. The feature I like the most about this purifier is its automatic mode. You can schedule different times for the purifier to kick on and off, but I prefer to leave it on auto so that it will kick on when it senses that the air quality has changed. It’s very convenient and user-friendly that way. 

Our P1 Air Purifier has been running continuously now for about three months. I’ve been very impressed with its performance. The only real criticism I have of the system is the app. It doesn’t offer a lot of details about your air quality. It shows where there are blips in the air quality but it doesn’t really give you a detailed look at what caused the blip. I would love to see that included in future versions of the app. I do like that the app alerts you to how long you have left with your filter. That is very helpful information. I also think it would be nice if there was a temperature sensor in the air purifier. I could see that being helpful information as well as a humidity sensor. 

CONCLUSION

I applaud the Smartmi team for creating a very user-friendly device. Because of its ease of use, I think this air purifier is worth the investment ($180 USD). I do hope that the app gets updated so that the user can receive additional data on their surrounding air quality. 

For more information, visit smartmiglobal.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

Can you Say Dance Party on a budget?

I have had many friends who have installed LED light strips for a variety of purposes.  For example, a few have added accent lighting to art, to their stairs, and many have added lights behind their television.  I wanted to add some backlight to my daughter’s television and found an amazing, easy tp install, option.  The Militisto LED STRIP LIGHT arrived in an 8 inches wide by 8 inches tall by 2 1/2 inches tall blue cardboard box.  Unlike the vibrantly colored picture found on the website, the cover panel of the product’s packaging was much more subdued.  The dark blue color and the bold white font proved to be a good choice for the outer packaging.  The cover panel provided a generic “LED STRIP LIGHT” name along the middle and a white sticker with “Militisto” in black font.  The top panel provided an SKU sticker with barcode and “Militisto LED Light Strips…some Decorations, Dorm Decor NEW” label, while the left and front panels were left unadorned.  The right side panel provided several manufacturing labels and another label indicating that the bulbs were built-in and not meant to be transferred/changed. Interestingly, the back panel was markedly more colorful than all of the other panels, creating an artistically designed letter “A.”  Just beneath the design, they again included “LED STRIP LIGHT.”  I wished that they would have included at least a few product specifications upon the outer packaging.  For example, I would have liked to know the strip length, the warmth, and if the device was controlled by a remote, a smart assistant, an App, or a combination of the above. 

I lifted the front flap of the box, and removed the contents.  Upon opening the box, I first noted a small 3 1/2 inches wide by 5 inches tall zip-up bag with twenty white-colored attachment brackets.  I caution you to not open the bag and upend the contents as there were twenty tiny silver screws hidden within the bag as well.  Each of the 15/16 inches wide by 1 3/32 inches tall clips had a 7/8 inches wide by 1/2 inches tall double-sided tape with central screw cutout for installation (More on these below).  Beneath the installation accessory bag, I found a 11 1/2 inches long “Smart Life Wi-Fi” Connector.  Jutting outward from the right side of the box, you will find a single 4 inches long LED power output port.  On the opposite side of the Smart Life Wi-Fi connector, you will find the 4 3/4 inches long AC input port and a 4 inches long IR sensor.  Next, you will find a 2 1/8 inches tall by 1 inch wide by 1 11/16 inches thick Type-A wall charger and 61 inches long AC adaptor.  For those tired of trying to find real estate for their plugs, you will likely need to plug this into the lower wall plug or into a surge protector with the slots oriented perpendicular to the long axis. I was pleased with the length of the cable but not with the AC plug but it was not enough to drop the rating of the product.  

Beneath the AC adaptor, I found a dual-sided 5 1/2 inches square quick access/installation card and a 17-panel accordion-style fold-out instruction manual (more on this below).  Next, you will find an individually wrapped 2 1/8 inches wide by 4 7/8 inches tall by 1/4 inches thick remote control.  The remote was set up in a column grid with 4 buttons wide and 10 buttons tall.  The first row had up/down arrows, a black off, and red on button.  The second row had buttons labeled “R, G, B, W.”  The third row through the sixth row had colored buttons under the Red (Red, dark orange, light, orange, yellow), Green (Dark Green, Light Green, Light Blue, Dark Blue), Blue (Turquoise, Dark Purple, Light Purple, Pink) columns, and moon phases under the “W” button.  These represented different power/brightness settings (25%, 50%, 75%, 100%).  The seventh row had (Smooth, Quick, Slow, Song 1), the eighth row had (Strobe, Auto, Flash, Song 2), and the ninth row had (Fade, Jump 1, Jump 2, Song 3). The tenth and final row had timer settings labeled “1H, 2H, 4H, 8H.” Lastly, you will find the main device, an individually wrapped, spooled roll of 3/8 inches wide LED Lights.

If you are new to LED light strips, the quick installation manual should be all that you need to get started.  The manual began by instructing the user not to apply to popcorn/textured surfaces, frosted glass, or rough plastic.  Find a suitable surface (drywall works well), cleanse the surface with an alcohol prep pad or light soap/water to clean off any dust.  Before installing any of the LED light strips, I would encourage a pre-run to ensure that your power will reach the end of the light controller and that they actually power on.  Like holiday lights, you do not want to get the entire process installed before having a Griswold Holiday moment.  Once the wall surface is dry, you can affix the controller end first.  Remove the backing of the light strip to reveal a layer of sticky double-sided tape.  Stick the lights to your wall, press with force, and add clips as needed approximately every three feet.  If you need to make a convex angle (less than 90 degrees), make sure not to press the turns into the wall. With your build complete, make sure to go back and press the strips against the wall, install the mounting clips, and then power on the unit to enjoy a customized lighting experience. I am not certain that the installation process could have been easier: Measure it, affix it, enjoy it. 

Turning to the instruction manual, the main panel provided an image of the LED strip, showed smart assistant integration, and a table of contents.  The first panel provided information about the 18-month warranty, 365-day free replacement, Prompt customer service (with a goal of five-star post-purchase experience), QR codes linking to their social media sites, and product certification.  The second through fourth panels recreated many of the steps detailed in the quick installation manual.  The fifth panel detailed the remote’s buttons, and the sixth through eleventh panels detailed the App integration. You can download the “Tuya” App by scanning the included QR code with your phone.  Open the App, create a new account, press the power on button on the remote, and ensure that the device is in “fast-pairing” mode.  Open the App, select “Sign up” along the bottom of the screen, agree to the terms, and then enter your email.  You will need to enter the verification code sent to your email, then enter a password.  The App will then walk you through a series of setup screens. Tap Lighting along the left of the panel, then select Strip Lights (WiFI) from the list.  I made sure that Location (while using) was active, Bluetooth was active, Local Network was active, and then I entered my WiFi Password into the Password section of the App. To activate the LED strip pairing mode, you will need to press the off button on the remote and then hold down the “on” button until the LED strip flashes quickly.  From that point, the App will take over and will automatically link the App to the LED strip. 

Similar to the installation steps above, the App integration was a snap.  Once you have paired the device to the App, you will see “Smart WiFI music LED Strip” along the top, a pen to change the name, and a power button. The midsection of the screen provided a touch-sensitive color wheel, and several color presets (red, green, blue, yellow, teal, purple, light/contrast sliders).  If you tap “Mode” along the bottom, you can change between Smooth, Flash, Music, and you can adjust the speed.  Within the “Music” section, you can change between soft, classic, and rock modes.  You can adjust the microphone sensitivity, and you can change the speed of the LED lights.  Lastly, along the bottom of the panel, you can tap “timer” to turn on/off the device.  

Summary

I did not test the device with any of my smart assistants but felt that the remote and App integration were more than adequate.  In fact, my daughters loved the music mode and danced to their “dance party” music.  My wife was pleased that the LED strip lights were visibly hidden behind the television and did not clutter up her wall.  The packaging could have been a little more descriptive, but the quick installation packet and the instruction manual picked up the slack.  I loved the double-sided tape on the back of the strip lights and the included connectors.  The length of the light strip should be more than adequate for standard home televisions, and if needed, you can cut the cable to your desired length.  We were pleased with the remote integration, the ease of the App Setup, and the App connectivity.  This device is perfect for a kids’ room and can be utilized sans internet.  This may have been one of my wife’s favorite features as she is afraid of the kids’ tech getting hacked.  If you are looking to spice up your streaming experience, definitely consider adding a little mood lighting to your setup.  

For more information, visit militistos.com and Facebook.

If you have ever had a water leak, you are likely aware that the repairs could cost a few hundred dollars if you catch them early.  However, if a leak is more indolent, it can linger, causing more significant damage. Costs can balloon into several thousands of dollars.  With washing machines, dishwashers, water heaters, toilets, pipe leaks, foundation leaks, etc., it is a wonder that we still consider ourselves land animals.  With so many potential water source threats, a water sensor becomes an important feature of a home monitoring system.

Yesterday, 2/27/21, I helped my 2-year old daughter down to a nap when I heard my alarm system warning.  It did not alert me to an open window/door; it did not alert me that someone had rung my doorbell, nor did it alert me that a fire was detected.  Instead, the warning chimes noted that there was a water leak detected in the basement.  I rushed downstairs to find water pouring down my dryer duct’s outer aspect onto my tile floor.  The water sensor behind my washing machine had done its job and alerted me to the issue.  Uncertain of the leak’s origin, I went outside to find that my children had turned on the outside water spigot.  Unfortunately, this had caused a leak within the wall.  Luckily, I was able to isolate the problem. I was able to shut-off the outside spigot and the inside shut-off valve to isolate the leak. I was then able to sop up the water with only a few towels.  Had the sensor not been present, I hate to think what might have resulted.  We contacted a plumber and found a crack within the pipe, just inside the wall.  The device likely paid for itself with only a single warning.  

The unobtrusive Vivint Water Sensor should easily slide behind a major appliance, under a sink, under a water heater, under the flashing of your dishwasher, behind a refrigerator, or underneath a pipe system.  The small white device weighed 2.36-ounces and measured 2 7/16 inches square by 7/8 inches tall.  The sensor had a rather clean appearance, with a smooth top half.  You will find four 1/16 inches tall plastic feet and two small metallic-electrodes along the bottom of the device.  When those electrodes are exposed to water (or a temperature drop), the sensor will signal to the panel that water was detected.  This can be simulated by dipping your finger into water and pressing it against the two electrodes.  The panel will then send a signal to the App, which will alert the user to the problem.  With the event mentioned above, I was home and able to address the problem urgently.  In that instance, both the panel and the App alerted me to the issue.

If a leak occurred when I was not home, the App would have alerted me to the danger.  I could have contacted my neighbor/local family member to check out the problem.  They could have contacted a professional, or they could have shut off the main water shut-off valve (located behind my dryer).  Using the system to its maximal potential, I would log into the App, disarm the alarm, and then unlock any needed doors to admit the individual.  Once the water was turned off, the individual could clean up the area if needed and then exit the home.  Through the App, I could see that the door was closed; next, I could lock the door and re-activate the alarm.  Additionally, thanks to the linked Element Thermostat, I could see my home’s temperature, and I could adjust the temperature as needed.  

This coming December (12/2021) marks my tenth year with Vivint.  Over the last decade, I have entrusted my home and family to their monitoring center and their sensors.  We have had alarms, both real and accidental, for entry, duress, and fire.  However, before 2/27/21, I had never had a water sensor alert outside of my device’s initial test.  If you are looking for a full spectrum home monitoring system, look to Vivint to fulfill your needs.  When building your system, make sure that you talk to their agents about your need for a few of their water sensors.

Learn more about the Vivint system.
Follow Vivint on Facebook and Twitter.

A unique cleaning device that will help keep your home dust-free.

When robot vacuums started appearing I thought that was a trend I would never hop on. Now here I am several years later and we have several of them in our home. Each vacuum has its own personality and its own set of features. And while I love having our own droid cleaning army, I still haven’t found that one perfect solution for automated cleaning. That’s what led me to the 360 S9 Robot Vacuum Cleaner. It has one function that the other vacuums don’t have. It mops. 

DETAILS

The 360 S9 Robot Vacuum is a vacuum and a mop in one device. It features ultrasonic and LiDAR dual-eye laser mapping and has an intelligent water tank that allows for up to 100 minutes of mopping. The device is compatible with Alexa and allows users to map no-go zones to avoid problem areas for the vacuum. The vacuum and mop functions can work simultaneously and has a 3-stage water adjustment so that the robot vacuums and mops in one trip around your house. The robot has a large 5200mAh battery that will last for up to 3 hours of cleaning time. The device also has a dual—noise reduction duct that keeps noise below 55dB. The S9 incorporates that 360º Cleaning System 5.0, a 5-stage powerful cleaning-sweeping, rolling, suction, filtering, and mopping system that ensures you have a clean floor no matter what the surface is. The map management system provides users with the ability to complete automatic cleaning, individual room cleaning, spot cleaning, scheduled cleaning, save off-limit areas, and even manage multiple floor maps. In addition to the RF omnidirectional remote control that is included with the robot, users can also control it using the RC function in the companion app. 

USER EXPERIENCE

As I mentioned above, I’ve used my fair share of robot vacuums. That said, the set-up of the vacuum was pretty standard. You get the charging base out and plugged in (make sure it’s on a flat surface). Then you pull the vacuum unit out and charge it so that when you run it for the first time, it has a full battery. You will want to make sure that you have the app loaded on your phone and that the vacuum is connected to it. You will need to create a 360 account before you add a device. The robot connects to WiFi networks and needs a 2.4Ghz network to function. Once you enter your WiFi information, the app will ‘bind’ the device, which I assume is a different term for ‘pair.’ After the vacuum is connected you can start working with it. The first time you run the unit, it will create a map of your home. At that point, you can use the functions of the app to enter no-go zones, edit the map, or schedule cleanings. One tip I have though is to make sure you are available for the vacuum in case it needs help. The unit will periodically get stuck in certain places or it will need its bin changed. As a rule around our house, we never run the vacuums overnight just in case something happens while we are sleeping. 

So how did the S9 360 robot fare against other robot vacuums I’ve used? I would say it’s a close second in our home. The S9 has a lot of features, but I found in testing it that it tends to need more assistance from a human than other robots in our house. And while it does a decent job of picking up surface dirt and particles, other robots in our house do much deeper cleaning jobs. The first time I ran the S9 it took approximately 77 minutes to complete a full run of our home. It did a decent job of vacuuming (I didn’t mop at this point in time) and it covered all the major areas of the house. I did notice that the map avoided a couple of places automatically that it really shouldn’t have. This issue is remedied easily enough thanks to the app’s map editing options, but I was surprised that the area was avoided in the first place. 

After the first cleaning was completed, I emptied the dust bin and let it charge so that it was ready the next time I wanted to use it. A couple of days later, I went to start it and the battery level was at 84% – only 22% higher than the level it was after its first run. I’m not sure why it didn’t charge because it looked as though it had been on the charging base correctly. I let the vacuum continue its run and after 2 minutes, the vacuum had gotten caught on something that didn’t cause it problems the first time. I adjusted the robot onto a flat surface and continued its cleaning run. It got caught a second time so I picked it up and placed it on its charger discontinuing its cleaning cycle for the night. The next time I ran it, the vacuum threw an error saying its side brush was stuck. I went to check on it and the vacuum looked as though it was paused next to a door. This is one place I want to make a note – the side brushes are very long. They stick out quite a bit and I noticed it even gets caught on the vacuum’s own casters. This was frustrating as I had to ‘help’ the vacuum several times rather than be able to let it do its job while I did a different household task. 

As for the mopping function, I found it to be useful, but really more for ‘in-between’ real mopping jobs. To test the mopping function, I moved the vacuum to our kitchen which has a linoleum floor, put the mopping cloth on it, and filled the water tank. Then I set some no-go zones around the kitchen so that the robot didn’t try to mop onto a carpeted area. I watched as the robot moved around the kitchen and ‘mopped’ the area. Because you only fill the water tank with water and no detergent, you are really just cleaning off the top layer of settled dust or dirt on the floor and not disinfecting the surface as you would with a cleaning solution. It might be possible that you can use a detergent, but everything I found in the manual suggests that you are only supposed to use water in the water tank. I will say that the mopping was helpful and it did clean up the floor, but I think it should be used in between soap-based cleanings. 

CONCLUSION

The S9 robot cleaner is a nice option for automated cleaning in a home. It’s moderately priced (in relation to other robot cleaners) and it gives users the flexibility to use either the vacuum or mop function. The app works pretty well most of the time. The only issue I had was when I was controlling the robot in RC mode. The WiFi connection got a little spotty between the phone app and the robot. The actual remote control that comes with the robot though works beautifully and it’s very handy when you need to go over a spot more than once. I really did enjoy getting to know the S9 robot. I just wish it was a stronger cleaner.

For more information, visit 360 Smart Life and Facebook.

Share precious memories with family members with just an internet connection and this Wireless Picture Frame.

Memories are precious and while most of us can access our personal brain data banks for the major events in our lives, it’s really nice to have photographs to remind us of the minor ones. Just the other day, I was looking through pictures on my phone of our dog who will be two years old in February. He was so tiny when we first got him and I started sending my fiancé texts of that time with the photos attached. This activity reminded me of the shared photo album my family has where we store memories of my nephews growing up. The one person that is left out of this sharing extravaganza is my grandmother. She doesn’t use technology the way the rest of us do and in order for her to see these precious memories, we have to print pictures out or show them to her when we visit. Wouldn’t it be great if she could see these amazing photos as they happen without needing a mobile phone? This is what the Brookstone PhotoShare Smart Frame by Simply Smart Home is designed to do.

DETAILS

The Brookstone PhotoShare Smart Frame is a simple way to share photos with family and friends. There is a free companion app (on iOS and Android) as well as a sharing option between photo apps (like Apple Photos and Google Photos) and the Frame App that allows users to upload photos to the frame directly from their phone. Outside users can also send photos and video to the frame using a customized email address that is unique to the frame. Facebook can also be linked to the frame so that users can upload directly from that social media outlet, too. The PhotoShare frame can be used to showcase video and photos, play music, view a clock, and even be used as an alarm. One of the unique features of this frame is Auto-Dim. The frame has an ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts the brightness of the display to match the lighting conditions in the room. The frame has both SD and USB support and can be mounted to a wall or sit on a shelf using the included stand. The frame can be viewed in either landscape or portrait orientation and photos will automatically orient and scale to provide the best image possible. The frame comes with two mattes – one black and one white – so that users can enhance the classy look of the frame to suit their own home decor.

MAIN FEATURES

• Instantly share memories from phone to frame with the free PhotoShare app
• 10.1″ WiFi Smart Frame with HD Touchscreen Display
• Invite all your friends and family to share their favorite photos
• Quick & easy one-minute setup
• Caption your favorite photos in the free PhotoShare Frame app
• Easy to use App – two taps and send
• Elegantly styled Espresso Wood Frame
• Easily share photos with Free App, via Email or linked Social Media Account
• 8GB internal memory will hold over 5000 high-resolution photos
• Accepts both SD Cards and USB sticks for extended memory
• 100% Satisfaction Guarantee and 1-year limited warranty
• No monthly subscription or hidden fees, ever!

USER EXPERIENCE

The PhotoShare Smart Frame comes in a very nice retail package. The outer sleeve features a clean image of the product in use on the front and back and there are several details included as well. The package also provides a list of what’s included in the box (PhotoShare frame, white matte, black matte, AC adapter, Desktop stand, and quick start guide). The box also indicates that there are multiple mobile applications included — iOS and Google Play — but on the back of the box, it’s indicated that you can connect to Google Photos. There are also a lot of icons on the front that show how to share photos. So, if I were to see this on a retail shelf with no knowledge of it, I might get a little confused about the best way to connect to the device. As a suggestion, the box could be simplified so that this information is condensed.

Upon removing the outer sleeve of the package, the inner cardboard carton is revealed. The top opens up to show the photo frame inside. I found this to be reminiscent of what packaging is like when you custom order a photo album. All the aforementioned parts are included in the box with the white matte stored beneath the main compartment. The frame is very nice and looks like a classic picture frame. I think it would fit in with most household decor. The guide is multilingual and gives very simple instructions (i.e. turn on the frame, connector to Wi-Fi, etc.). One thing I had a little trouble with was putting the stand together (it comes in two parts) and it would have been nice to have a small illustration to show its assembly. The app does include some tutorials and How-To tips, but none of them focus on the physical set-up of the frame (i.e. how to hang, or set up the stand).

I felt that the set-up of the frame itself was pretty simple. You plug it into power and connect it to your Wi-Fi network. At that point, the rest of the set-up is done using the app. You will need to create an account with PhotoShare. It’s free, but you do need an email address. Once your account is set-up, you will need to allow permissions for the app to access your photo library. In order to connect to your photo frame from the app, you will need to enter the Frame ID, which is provided by the frame. You will give your frame a name (you can share photos with up to 10 frames with one account) and then a special email address will be created for your frame. This is used for anyone to be able to send photos to the frame – whether or not they are on the same network. Once everything is set-up, you can start uploading photos to the frame. From the app, you can send up to 50 photos at one time. The settings menu on the app allows you to edit frame details, add a new frame, invite friends to share photos, contact support, and view the user info of the frame.

I haven’t had any issues connecting with it or sending photos to it. I primarily sent photos using the app. On the same network, from the app, transferring photos is a breeze. I selected photos from my library, selected the photo frame and hit ‘send’ in the app. Within just a few seconds of tapping the send button, I heard the chime on the frame and saw the notification that photos had been received. The slideshow didn’t trip up on the new photos and they immediately began to appear in the rotation. Even when I switched off my Wi-Fi connection and uploaded the photo through the app on a cellular connection, the transfer was instantaneous.

I also tried to send photos using the email address. The first time I tried sending a photo, I sent it directly from my iPhone’s library, which means it was a HEIC format. I didn’t think about that being a problem, but after 30 minutes the photo still hadn’t shown up on the frame. So, I converted that photo to a JPG and tried resending. A notification popped up on the screen after about 10 minutes of sending it saying, “New Sender Request” and it asked me to accept it. So, I tapped ‘yes’ and then waited to see if the photo would appear. After 2 hours, the photo still hasn’t appeared in the photo feed of the frame. The user shows up, but not the photos.

The other options for connecting and sending photos to the frame according to the manual are by connecting to Facebook and Google Photos. The instructions for Google Photos read like this:

“Google Photos or other Photo App: Select your favorite photos, tap the send icon and select the PhotoShare Frame App as the destination. The App will launch and you’ll be able to select one or more frames send photos.”

When I saw that the frame was compatible with Google Photos I thought that a user might be able to sync an album to the frame and manage the photos that way. This method was intriguing to me because it meant that a family had the potential for sharing a specific album and uploading to it. Then that album would automatically sync to the Frame automatically. According to these instructions, that’s not the case. You still have to physically tell each photo (or set of photos) to upload to the frame.

The instructions for connecting to Facebook are written as follows:

“From your web browser, visit www.photoshareframe.com and log in using the email/password that you use for the PhotoShare Frame App. Select the photos on your PC or log into your Facebook account to share your favorite pictures.”

I used the URL provided and entered my account credentials, but when the page loaded it was just a blank, white page. There was no interface. I attempted to reload the page and it was still blank. In addition to this issue, I discovered that you can only be logged into one device at a time. When I logged into the web interface, I was logged out of the app and vice-versa.

CONCLUSION

While I absolutely love the concept of this device, I think the execution may be a little faulty. The screen of the frame and output of the photos is gorgeous, but the sharing options are a little clunky. I would love to see the ability to connect the frame to a single source for multiple users to share photos – even if that meant creating a new photo share account. That way a family could upload photos to one place to share with the joint frame rather than the photos coming from different sources. The PhotoShare Smart Frame is a huge step above the last digital photo frame I used and I would recommend it as long as those who want to upload to it download the app.

For more information, visit mysimplysmarthome.com, Facebook, or Twitter.

Affordable smart table lamp that provides ambient colored light.

I am a big fan of smart home technology and LED lighting. I like it so much that when I recently redesigned my office, I made sure to incorporate as much smart lighting as possible. I have LED strips, panels, and bulbs throughout the room to create ambient lighting that matches my moods. The only piece that was really missing was a unique lamp for my desk. I wanted something that would create similar soft lighting to the other smart lights in the room and I wanted something that looked different. This is when I found the AUKEY Smart Table Lamp.

DETAILS

The AUKEY Smart Table Lamp is an RGB LED lamp that can be controlled through a mobile app or through voice control with Alexa or Google Home. In addition to the smart controls, the lamp also has a touch-sensitive top that allows you to turn the lamp on and off and cycle through the color choices. There are eight scene lights – four fixed lights and four adjustable ones. The lamp features adjustable color-temperature settings and a wide choice of colors. You can adjust the brightness on it, select a timer for it, and program color sequences through the app. The lamp is compatible with AUKEY Home, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa. There are two versions of this lamp – WiFi and Basic. The basic version only works through touch controls while the WiFi version can communicate through the AUKEY app or the smart assistants. The lamp is made out of plastic and is powered by a standard AC/DC plug.

USER EXPERIENCE

The unboxing of the lamp was pretty straightforward. The contents of the box included the smart lamp (AUKEY LT-T7), the power adapter, and the user manual. Most of the time when I see an AUKEY product box I end up being underwhelmed. The boxes are usually rather plain. Fortunately, to my surprise, AUKEY really changed that with the Smart Table Lamp. It came in a nice white box with the RedDot award logo on the top. A photo of the product and a small description was also included on the box.

What I liked right away was the lamp’s size. It’s not too tall or too wide. I needed the lamp to fit on my desk and give off a nice glow, but I didn’t want it to invade the desk space. The colored LED light was just what I wanted. It’s soft, but still bright enough to help you see through the room at night. Since the light is ‘smart’ and able to connect to smart assistants, I was looking forward to being able to set the light up with automation so that I could control it with voice prompts.

After setting it up and using it as a standard lamp for a while, I was ready to add the lamp to my office automation. The process for this is a little convoluted in my opinion. I’ve been working with smart home devices for several years and even though I utilize Amazon Alexa, my primary smart home assistant is Apple’s HomeKit/Siri. With HomeKit, you typically just add a device in the Home app on your iPhone by scanning or entering a code. With Alexa, you have to bounce back and forth between apps and you have to add Skills and log in with user information for many of them just to connect to a smart device. Even though the process is longer I was able to get the AUKEY lamp connected through the Alexa app. Once it was connected, I was able to control the light – turning it on and off and changing colors – by asking Alexa to do it.

CONCLUSION

Even though the lamp isn’t as smart as some other home automated devices, the AUKEY Smart Lamp still works well once it’s conencted. I love the design of it and the soft light it provides. It’s a nice lamp that fits right in with the rest of my smart devices.

For more details, visit AUKEY, Facebook, and Twitter.

Without Amazon and the ability to shop online, I think many families would have been hit much harder during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Retail therapy, one of my main mechanisms of anxiety reduction, was put on hold earlier this year when Amazon noted they were going to have significant delays in shipping. We went from getting several boxes a day to getting a few boxes a week to every other week. In that same period of time I had friends who reported that packages were disappearing from their porches at an alarming rate.  According to an October 2019 study by the team at security.org, package thefts increased by 13% from 2018 to 2019.  Based on their research, nearly four-in-ten people have been the victims of dastardly porch pirates. Furthermore, as online shopping increases, as desperation to find essential items increases, and as the lucrative $605 billion in online shopping prey becomes more abundant, these numbers will likely increase. So, what can you do to protect yourself, your family, and your purchases? Outside of scheduling deliveries when someone is home, arranging a safe drop site (deliver to work, install a lockbox, use an Amazon Locker or deliver to a neighbor/family member who is always home), giving the delivery person access to your home, the best option is a reliable video doorbell system.  

Vivint SmartHome, my home alarm and automation system, has been a part of my family for nearly a decade.  Over that period of time, I have enjoyed several upgrades to the system.  Starting with window and door sensors, I moved into smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.  From that point, we added automated door locks, upgraded the Go Control Panel to the Sky Control Panel, added outdoor cameras, lamp modules, and a doorbell camera.  Moving well beyond a simple monitored home alarm system, my Vivint Smart Home system started to feel more like Tony Starks’ Jarvis.  Despite all of the upgrades, my favorite add-on was the Vivint Doorbell Camera 1.0, which added two-way communication to my front door.  With the added tech, I gained motion detection, the ability for mail delivery personnel to communicate by pressing the doorbell, and ultimately my children caught on and used it to contact me at work. Beyond motion detection and alerts, the previous iteration of the Doorbell camera was incapable of thwarting would-be thieves.

Recently, Vivint SmartHome has moved beyond the Sky Control Panel and the Doorbell V1.0.  Expanding into the Vivint Smart Hub and the Door Camera Pro, the Vivint setup was designed to do more than to simply monitor your surroundings and to alert you when someone/something was present.  With an Industry-leading Smart Sentry AI, live video streaming, built-in speaker and microphone, HD recording, 180 x 180-degree field of view, smart detection, night vision, and App integration, this setup was designed to not only alert you to porch pirates but to stop them cold.  As a package is delivered, the camera AI will send a notification to the App that a package was present.  It will then ask if you want to activate the “Deter” mode.  If you activate the mode, the camera will continue to watch the package until you tell it to stop.  If someone approaches the package, the Smart Sentry AI will activate the lower red ring and will whistle at them.  The sound will attract the person’s attention, will cause them to look up, and you will be able to capture an image of their face directly.  The whistle should alert the person that their presence and actions are unwelcome and should deter further activity.  Typical thieves work to capture easy targets and do not want to have their picture taken, nor do they want confrontation. By drawing attention to their actions, the camera actively works to protect your package.  

The Doorbell Camera Pro active-delivery-protection adds a significant boost to the Vivint ecosystem.  The system will continuously monitor your porch and when packages arrive, an auto-on sentry will keep an eye on your delivery.  If at work or on vacation, you can remotely unlock your door to allow friends/family access to your home.  If you pair the Vivint SmartHome with a MYQ  Chamberlain Group Garage Door Opener, you can remotely open or close your garage door.  At the time of this review, the Doorbell Camera Pro enjoyed best-in-class 180-degree field of view.  As the widest and tallest setup on the market, the camera will see more of the porch including directly under the camera.  The 65 dB speaker will whistle and let the person know that the camera was recording and all the while, the camera recorded in 1080p HD detail.  Measuring in at 4.6 x 1.5 x 1.3 inches (118 x 37 x 33 mm), the 3.8-ounce white camera will add a pleasing aesthetic to any home.  If you have a 2.4/5GHz, 802.11 b/g/n/ac band WiFi, you too can enjoy the peace of mind of an extra pair of eyes. 

As an upgrade to the previous edition of the Doorbell Camera, the current Doorbell Camera Pro does not alert you to every motion.  Instead, it can distinguish from a passing vehicle, from a dog, from a tree branch, and a person or package.  If someone lingers long enough, or if they meant to approach your home, the Camera will activate and record a Vivint Smartclip.  Unlike other devices, including the Doorbell V1.0 that record short snippets, the Vivint Doorbell Pro Smartclips do not stop recording until the activity is done.  Thanks to the high-powered IR lens (850nm), these features are not limited to daylight hours; you can enjoy high definition monitoring at night as well.  Once Vivint professionally installs your Doorbell Camera Pro, you will need to walk through the App setup.  In under a few minutes, you should be up and running. The intuitive App design paired perfectly with the sleek doorbell camera and state plainly, simply worked. Once you tell the App the location of your doorbell camera  (When facing the door is the doorbell to the right of the door, to the left of the door, or on an adjacent wall) the view stabilizes. Select which of the ringtones you would like: traditional, elevator, modern, bells, or melody chime, and then select to share the data with Vivint to make the camera more accurate with time. Activate deter while you are away or upon notification.  Change your alert tone from friendly, to scale, to yellow, to whistle (my favorite), to alert, to light the only mode. 

With Amazon Prime Day in full swing and Christmas just over a few months away, purchase to your heart’s content and rest peacefully knowing that Vivint Smarthome is on Sentry Duty.

Learn More about Vivint SmartHome and the Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro
Follow Vivint on Facebook and Twitter.