On Sat, 30 Jan 2021 12:23:26 -0500, Jack wrote:

On 1/30/2021 11:41 AM, Leon wrote:
On 1/30/2021 9:42 AM, wrote:

The only thing that stops me from home automation is that they seem to
come out with a new "standard" every year.* I once used X-10 but gave
that up long ago.* Now it seems like a different app for every device.

Home automation and wireless stuff is col,,,,, until it stops working.
Then you struggle with how to get it all running again.

I have 8 smart plugs on various lamps around the house. All plugs work
on a Kasa app and with Alexia. If they stop working, say you unplug them
or the WiFi goes down, startup is automatic. I like them a lot because I
just tell Alexa what I want, and it happens (usually).

I won't have an Alexa in the house. Actually, I did. My son gave us
one. It never left the box.

I really like that all the lamps are on timers, so go on and off
automatically, and if away on vacation, the lights go off and on, and
can be controlled from the other side of the world from my cell phone if
I want.

The down side, and after several years this has not happened, is if the
plug or WiFi stops working you will have to unplug each lamp from the
smart plug and plug it directly into the outlet like it was before smart
plug days in order to turn on the lamp. Some of my plugs are not easy to
get to, and would be fun crawling around on the floor with a flashlight
to fix.

Another minor issue is if someone turns off a light manually, later
you'll wonder why the smart plug won't do anything.