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Keep Your Home Safe and Dry With the Best Water Leak Detectors

Keep Your Home Safe and Dry With the Best Water Leak Detectors

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Other Leak Detectors We Like

TP-Link Tapo T300 Water Leak Detector

Photograph: Simon Hill

TP-Link Tapo T300 Water Leak Detector for $20: What I like most about these water leak detectors is that they have four metal probes underneath and two above, so they swiftly detect water dripping on top or pooling beneath. Alerts came through reliably to my phone as push notifications within one to two seconds. The alarm is fairly loud (90 decibels), though you can reduce the volume in the app or even mute it. The TP-Link Tapo T300 requires a Tapo Smart Hub to function. Each hub can link up to 64 Tapo motion sensors, door or window sensors, switches, and other devices. The hub is a simple rectangular device that plugs directly into an outlet and connects to your Wi-Fi network. It doesn’t sound an alarm by default, but you can mirror the sensor’s alerts in the Tapo app. Another feature I like is the option to push the button on top of the sensor to have the hub confirm that it is within range. Each T300 sensor requires two AAA batteries (included) that TP-Link says can last for up to three years. There is a battery icon in the app to show the remaining power and warn when it is running low. As well as having the water leak alarm trigger your hub to sound, you can have it turn off devices in the vicinity if they are connected to Tapo smart plugs (I tested this, and it worked as expected). The T300 is a bit bulky, so it might not fit everywhere you’d like to place a sensor, and it continued to show as functioning normally in the app for several hours after I removed its batteries.

Eve Water Guard for $110: With HomeKit support, this is a good choice for iPhone owners with a home hub (an Apple TV or HomePod). HomeKit is also ideal if you have privacy concerns because you can be certain no data will be shared with third parties. There is an Eve app, but you can also view the Water Guard and set notifications directly through the Apple Home app. It plugs directly into an outlet and has a 6.5-foot cable that senses any water and immediately alerts you on your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, wherever you are, provided you have a working home hub. It also flashes red and has a 100-decibel siren. You can review alarm history, test or mute alarms, and update device firmware in the Eve app. The Eve Water Guard only detects water, but the sensing cable works well, triggering quick alerts and covering a large area. It needs a power outlet, which also limits your placement options, but you never need to worry about battery life. The obvious drawbacks are the complete lack of support for Android, the fact that you need a home hub for remote alerts and management, and the relatively high price. You can also add 6.5-foot sensing cable extensions ($20 each) up to a total length of 500 feet.

Govee Wi-Fi Water Sensor (3-Pack) for $55: Quick and easy to install, Govee’s sensors send alerts as push notifications and emails. They also boast one of the loudest sirens I tested (100 decibels). Mercifully, you can shut off the ear-splitting sound from the app. The sensors are quite small, and they offer drip detection on top and metal feet for leak detection underneath, but there’s no option to add a disc or cable. The Govee Wi-Fi Water Sensors only detect water, but they are effective. I found alerts triggered within a few seconds. The app is basic but works well and displays alert history. Unfortunately, these sensors require a Govee Wi-Fi hub (included in the box), which takes up a power outlet (and may block an adjacent outlet), and each sensor takes two AA batteries (also provided). One concern with these sensors is that I failed to receive alerts when my phone was connected to mobile data rather than Wi-Fi, though the email did come through. There’s also no smart home integration. You can add additional individual sensors at $13 each or buy five for $50.

Three different water leak detecting devices in a variety of shapes one with a long cord

First Alert L1 Wi-Fi Water Leak and Freeze Detector

Photograph: Simon Hill

First Alert L1 Wi-Fi Water Leak and Freeze Detector for $75: This large flood sensor, branded First Alert, works with First Alert or Resideo apps and accessories. It sends push notifications and emails to alert you to any leak and sports a 100-decibel alarm that you can stop with the side button. The sensor was relatively slow to alert in all my tests, and the push notifications only came through when my phone was connected to Wi-Fi. The 5-foot water-sensing cable allows you to cover a much larger area, and I found it alerted faster. The detector connects directly to Wi-Fi, so you need a decent signal. This sensor can also track temperature and humidity, but not very accurately (it consistently overestimates temperature and underestimates humidity). The two AA batteries provided are supposed to last up to two years.

Eufy Security Water and Freeze Sensor for $35: If you have Eufy’s security system, this could be the best water leak detector for you, but it requires a HomeBase 2 or HomeBase 3 ($150) to connect to. It proved quick and reliable to alert, offers long-range connectivity (up to 200 meters), and can warn you if the temperature drops below freezing. You receive alerts on your phone via the Eufy Security app, and you can configure the connected HomeBase to sound an alarm, but the detector doesn’t make any sound. You can track battery life in the app. A full battery lasts up to two years. Sadly, it doesn’t show the temperature; it simply alerts below freezing.

Ikea Badring for $9: Super affordable, with a simple design, this Zigbee detector alerted reliably during testing. The Ikea Badring is a good choice if you already have an Ikea Dirigea hub ($109) to connect to for notifications on your phone. But it works out quite pricey if you don’t, and it’s not compatible with other hubs, such as the Ikea Tradfri. It does have an alert sound that goes as high as 90 decibels, but only at proximity; it doesn’t carry far, and I wouldn’t rely on it alone. You must supply your own AAA battery, and this leak detector is only IP44 rated, so there’s a risk of malfunction if it gets immersed.

SwitchBot Water Leak Detector for $18: This rectangular detector triggered swift alerts in all my tests with a 100-decibel alarm. With prongs on top and underneath, this device was quick to detect water. It connects directly to Wi-Fi, so you don’t need a hub, and it can send push notifications and emails, though you must set them up in the app. Unfortunately, the push notifications did not come through when I was out of the house, connected to a cellular network instead of Wi-Fi. Smart home connectivity is good (Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT), and you can set up automation in the SwitchBot app, which makes this a versatile option, particularly if you have other SwitchBot devices. SwitchBot says the two AAA batteries provided are good for up to two years.

AiDot Winees Water Leak Detector S1 Plus (3 Pack) for $60: Connect the plug-in hub to your 2.4-GHz Wi-Fi, place the three circular detectors in likely leak spots, and you are set. You can pair up to 10 with the hub and configure it to send emails and SMS messages on top of app notifications when there’s a leak. The probes on the underside of each detector are quite far apart, and it takes 2 millimeters of water before the alarm is triggered. It failed to go off with a steady drip on top, but the alarm sounded as soon as water pooled underneath. The alarm goes up to 100 decibels, but I like that you can tweak the volume and duration for alarms. You can cancel alarms through the app or by pressing the buttons on the hub. These detectors take CR2 batteries that are good for up to a year, and there’s an indication in the app when they die. When I removed a battery from one of them, it took the app a few hours to update and show it as offline. One last downside is that the hub is circular, so it may block adjacent outlets. Support for IFTTT is a potentially handy extra that could trigger a water shut-off or a light to flash red when a leak is detected.

Aqara Water Leak Sensor for $19: This Zigbee sensor is best used with Apple’s HomeKit, and you need an Aqara hub (sold separately). The company makes a good security camera that doubles as a hub and offers a full range of smart home sensors. These small circular water leak sensors are very low to the ground, so just 0.5 mm of water underneath is enough to trigger an alarm. Dripping on top won’t set them off, but an iPhone notification is triggered as soon as water pools beneath where the probes are. You can also have your connected hub play an alarm and trigger automations through HomeKit. The sensors take CR2 batteries and can last up to two years.

Stitch by Monoprice Water Leak Sensor for $22: This affordable water leak detector has a design that’s similar to our top pick. The main body is round, with metal feet to detect water pooling, and it slots into a bracket for wall mounting. It comes with a coin-sized plug-in extension that stretches up to 3.8 feet. Both the main detector and extension were quick to sound the alarm and send notifications to my phone when wet (though the on-device alarm is not very loud). It takes a single CR2 battery, displays the remaining power in the app, and alerts you when it’s time to change batteries. Unfortunately, the app is basic and poorly translated. You have to dry the detector to stop the alarm, and it took too long to warn me when it went offline (weirdly, the offline detector is toggled off by default in the app settings, so I had to switch it on). You can get this a bit cheaper by buying directly from Monoprice.

Leak Detectors to Avoid

We did not have a great experience with every water leak detector we tested.

Image may contain Rope Adapter Electronics Hardware and Phone

Photograph: Simon Hill

Shelly Flood Gen 4: Shelly’s fourth-generation leak detector sounds great on paper, with support for Matter and impressive connectivity via Zigbee, Bluetooth, and dual-band Wi-Fi. I had no issues setting it up in my Google Home app by scanning the Matter QR code. Each IP44-rated unit requires four AA batteries (included), and you stick or screw it to the wall, and plug the extendable 6.5-foot leak detection cable into the bottom to trail around the area you want to monitor. While the detector correctly sounded an alarm when I dripped water on top, no alert came through the Home app, and it continued to show “No leak.” Multiple tests with two different detectors failed to alert through the Home app, making this impossible to recommend. I also tried setting up through the Shelly app, but it refused to load.

Swann Leak Alert Sensor: While this battery-powered water detector (two AAAs) is affordable, I had a terrible time setting it up. Your phone must be on 2.4-GHz Wi-Fi, but even then, it took me multiple attempts to connect. Frustratingly, you must remove the screw panel to reset it, because there’s no option in the app. Alerts came through to my phone around a minute after I soaked the sensor, but the Swann app is slow and clunky.

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flagship range with new models soon. It looks like the Oppo Find X9 Ultra will launch alongside the Find X9s. Along with these phones, the company may also introduce other products, such as the Oppo Watch X3 and Enco Clip 2, at the same event.

Rumored Specifications of Oppo Find X9 Ultra

Oppo Find X9 Ultra and Find X9s Series Global Launch Rumoured for April 21 Oppo is gearing up to expand its flagship range with new models soon. It looks like the Oppo Find X9 Ultra will launch alongside the Find X9s. Along with these phones, the company may also introduce other products, such as the Oppo Watch X3 and Enco Clip 2, at the same event. Rumored Specifications of Oppo Find X9 Ultra The Oppo Find X9s is expected to feature a flat display design, which many users prefer for everyday use. The bezels are quite slim at 1.15mm, adding to its premium look. On the front, a hole-punch cutout will house the selfie camera. Moreover, the phone stands out for its button placement: the power and volume buttons are on the left, while another button is on the right. For photography, Oppo is adding a Hasselblad-tuned triple camera system to the Find X9s. It will feature a 50MP main camera designed to capture clear and sharp images. The camera setup sits inside a square module, and an LED flash is also included. Another important feature of the phone is its battery, which comes with an impressive capacity of 7,025 mAh. The device will easily handle any task thanks to its powerful battery, whether it’s gaming or video streaming. However, details about the phone’s chipset and performance features remain unknown. What to Expect from the Find X9s Pro As of now, it appears the Oppo Find X9s Pro will be released only in China. Among other things, the smartphone will reportedly feature a quadruple-camera module with two 200MP lenses. In addition, it could integrate Oppo’s LUMO image-sensing tech to deliver high-quality shots. As for the display panel, it is expected to be 6.3 inches. #Oppo #Find #Ultra #Find #X9s #Series #Global #Launch #Rumoured #AprilOppo

The Oppo Find X9s is expected to feature a flat display design, which many users prefer for everyday use. The bezels are quite slim at 1.15mm, adding to its premium look. On the front, a hole-punch cutout will house the selfie camera. Moreover, the phone stands out for its button placement: the power and volume buttons are on the left, while another button is on the right.

For photography, Oppo is adding a Hasselblad-tuned triple camera system to the Find X9s. It will feature a 50MP main camera designed to capture clear and sharp images. The camera setup sits inside a square module, and an LED flash is also included.

Another important feature of the phone is its battery, which comes with an impressive capacity of 7,025 mAh. The device will easily handle any task thanks to its powerful battery, whether it’s gaming or video streaming. However, details about the phone’s chipset and performance features remain unknown.

What to Expect from the Find X9s Pro

As of now, it appears the Oppo Find X9s Pro will be released only in China. Among other things, the smartphone will reportedly feature a quadruple-camera module with two 200MP lenses. In addition, it could integrate Oppo’s LUMO image-sensing tech to deliver high-quality shots. As for the display panel, it is expected to be 6.3 inches.

#Oppo #Find #Ultra #Find #X9s #Series #Global #Launch #Rumoured #AprilOppo">Oppo Find X9 Ultra and Find X9s Series Global Launch Rumoured for April 21 Oppo is gearing up to expand its flagship range with new models soon. It looks like the Oppo Find X9 Ultra will launch alongside the Find X9s. Along with these phones, the company may also introduce other products, such as the Oppo Watch X3 and Enco Clip 2, at the same event. Rumored Specifications of Oppo Find X9 Ultra The Oppo Find X9s is expected to feature a flat display design, which many users prefer for everyday use. The bezels are quite slim at 1.15mm, adding to its premium look. On the front, a hole-punch cutout will house the selfie camera. Moreover, the phone stands out for its button placement: the power and volume buttons are on the left, while another button is on the right. For photography, Oppo is adding a Hasselblad-tuned triple camera system to the Find X9s. It will feature a 50MP main camera designed to capture clear and sharp images. The camera setup sits inside a square module, and an LED flash is also included. Another important feature of the phone is its battery, which comes with an impressive capacity of 7,025 mAh. The device will easily handle any task thanks to its powerful battery, whether it’s gaming or video streaming. However, details about the phone’s chipset and performance features remain unknown. What to Expect from the Find X9s Pro As of now, it appears the Oppo Find X9s Pro will be released only in China. Among other things, the smartphone will reportedly feature a quadruple-camera module with two 200MP lenses. In addition, it could integrate Oppo’s LUMO image-sensing tech to deliver high-quality shots. As for the display panel, it is expected to be 6.3 inches. #Oppo #Find #Ultra #Find #X9s #Series #Global #Launch #Rumoured #AprilOppo

with new models soon. It looks like the Oppo Find X9 Ultra will launch alongside the Find X9s. Along with these phones, the company may also introduce other products, such as the Oppo Watch X3 and Enco Clip 2, at the same event.

Rumored Specifications of Oppo Find X9 Ultra

Oppo Find X9 Ultra and Find X9s Series Global Launch Rumoured for April 21 Oppo is gearing up to expand its flagship range with new models soon. It looks like the Oppo Find X9 Ultra will launch alongside the Find X9s. Along with these phones, the company may also introduce other products, such as the Oppo Watch X3 and Enco Clip 2, at the same event. Rumored Specifications of Oppo Find X9 Ultra The Oppo Find X9s is expected to feature a flat display design, which many users prefer for everyday use. The bezels are quite slim at 1.15mm, adding to its premium look. On the front, a hole-punch cutout will house the selfie camera. Moreover, the phone stands out for its button placement: the power and volume buttons are on the left, while another button is on the right. For photography, Oppo is adding a Hasselblad-tuned triple camera system to the Find X9s. It will feature a 50MP main camera designed to capture clear and sharp images. The camera setup sits inside a square module, and an LED flash is also included. Another important feature of the phone is its battery, which comes with an impressive capacity of 7,025 mAh. The device will easily handle any task thanks to its powerful battery, whether it’s gaming or video streaming. However, details about the phone’s chipset and performance features remain unknown. What to Expect from the Find X9s Pro As of now, it appears the Oppo Find X9s Pro will be released only in China. Among other things, the smartphone will reportedly feature a quadruple-camera module with two 200MP lenses. In addition, it could integrate Oppo’s LUMO image-sensing tech to deliver high-quality shots. As for the display panel, it is expected to be 6.3 inches. #Oppo #Find #Ultra #Find #X9s #Series #Global #Launch #Rumoured #AprilOppo

The Oppo Find X9s is expected to feature a flat display design, which many users prefer for everyday use. The bezels are quite slim at 1.15mm, adding to its premium look. On the front, a hole-punch cutout will house the selfie camera. Moreover, the phone stands out for its button placement: the power and volume buttons are on the left, while another button is on the right.

For photography, Oppo is adding a Hasselblad-tuned triple camera system to the Find X9s. It will feature a 50MP main camera designed to capture clear and sharp images. The camera setup sits inside a square module, and an LED flash is also included.

Another important feature of the phone is its battery, which comes with an impressive capacity of 7,025 mAh. The device will easily handle any task thanks to its powerful battery, whether it’s gaming or video streaming. However, details about the phone’s chipset and performance features remain unknown.

What to Expect from the Find X9s Pro

As of now, it appears the Oppo Find X9s Pro will be released only in China. Among other things, the smartphone will reportedly feature a quadruple-camera module with two 200MP lenses. In addition, it could integrate Oppo’s LUMO image-sensing tech to deliver high-quality shots. As for the display panel, it is expected to be 6.3 inches.

#Oppo #Find #Ultra #Find #X9s #Series #Global #Launch #Rumoured #AprilOppo">Oppo Find X9 Ultra and Find X9s Series Global Launch Rumoured for April 21

Oppo is gearing up to expand its flagship range with new models soon. It looks like the Oppo Find X9 Ultra will launch alongside the Find X9s. Along with these phones, the company may also introduce other products, such as the Oppo Watch X3 and Enco Clip 2, at the same event.

Rumored Specifications of Oppo Find X9 Ultra

Oppo Find X9 Ultra and Find X9s Series Global Launch Rumoured for April 21 Oppo is gearing up to expand its flagship range with new models soon. It looks like the Oppo Find X9 Ultra will launch alongside the Find X9s. Along with these phones, the company may also introduce other products, such as the Oppo Watch X3 and Enco Clip 2, at the same event. Rumored Specifications of Oppo Find X9 Ultra The Oppo Find X9s is expected to feature a flat display design, which many users prefer for everyday use. The bezels are quite slim at 1.15mm, adding to its premium look. On the front, a hole-punch cutout will house the selfie camera. Moreover, the phone stands out for its button placement: the power and volume buttons are on the left, while another button is on the right. For photography, Oppo is adding a Hasselblad-tuned triple camera system to the Find X9s. It will feature a 50MP main camera designed to capture clear and sharp images. The camera setup sits inside a square module, and an LED flash is also included. Another important feature of the phone is its battery, which comes with an impressive capacity of 7,025 mAh. The device will easily handle any task thanks to its powerful battery, whether it’s gaming or video streaming. However, details about the phone’s chipset and performance features remain unknown. What to Expect from the Find X9s Pro As of now, it appears the Oppo Find X9s Pro will be released only in China. Among other things, the smartphone will reportedly feature a quadruple-camera module with two 200MP lenses. In addition, it could integrate Oppo’s LUMO image-sensing tech to deliver high-quality shots. As for the display panel, it is expected to be 6.3 inches. #Oppo #Find #Ultra #Find #X9s #Series #Global #Launch #Rumoured #AprilOppo

The Oppo Find X9s is expected to feature a flat display design, which many users prefer for everyday use. The bezels are quite slim at 1.15mm, adding to its premium look. On the front, a hole-punch cutout will house the selfie camera. Moreover, the phone stands out for its button placement: the power and volume buttons are on the left, while another button is on the right.

For photography, Oppo is adding a Hasselblad-tuned triple camera system to the Find X9s. It will feature a 50MP main camera designed to capture clear and sharp images. The camera setup sits inside a square module, and an LED flash is also included.

Another important feature of the phone is its battery, which comes with an impressive capacity of 7,025 mAh. The device will easily handle any task thanks to its powerful battery, whether it’s gaming or video streaming. However, details about the phone’s chipset and performance features remain unknown.

What to Expect from the Find X9s Pro

As of now, it appears the Oppo Find X9s Pro will be released only in China. Among other things, the smartphone will reportedly feature a quadruple-camera module with two 200MP lenses. In addition, it could integrate Oppo’s LUMO image-sensing tech to deliver high-quality shots. As for the display panel, it is expected to be 6.3 inches.

#Oppo #Find #Ultra #Find #X9s #Series #Global #Launch #Rumoured #AprilOppo

It seemed like this might have been a rare week without a “robot doing dumb shit” story—but never fear, because Jeff Bezos’s squadron of airborne delivery drones is here to save the day. Prime Air, Amazon’s drone delivery service, has been rolling out in a number of US cities over the last few months and—surprise!—it looks like they kinda suck compared to their human equivalents. (And that’s really saying something considering those human equivalents’ propensity for running up to your front door, whacking a “Sorry we missed you!” sticker right below the note you left saying “BUZZER DOESN’T WORK—PLEASE CALL THIS NUMBER”, and then driving away.)*

Still, whatever else your local Amazon driver might do, one thing they won’t do is casually drop your precious package onto concrete from 10 feet in the air. Amazon’s drones, however…

Several stories videos have surfaced of late, apparently showing Amazon-branded drones hovering above customers’ driveways/stoops/etc and then just dropping their cargo onto the ground below. In one video, YouTuber Tamara Hancock orders a plastic bottle of blue raspberry syrup—which is apparently a substance one can order—and watches as the drone dumps it unceremoniously on her driveway. She opens the package and, sure enough, the video depicts a smashed and leaking screw top.

Given the unholy racket these things make, you can probably hear them approaching a mile off, so perhaps the best course of action is to just run outside and try to catch your package before it smashes into the ground. This isn’t the seamless service Amazon promised, but then again, it’s not all that different from waiting to hear the delivery driver approaching and then booking it outside to grab your package before he gets a chance to whack the dreaded “Sorry we missed you!” sticker on your door. Plus ça change, etc.

Anyway, it’s not easy to see how this issue might be mitigated. The obvious answer is “hover closer to the ground”, but given delivery robots’ record in failing to detect obstacles in their path, it feels like that strategy would eventually result in a headline like “Florida Grandmother Beheaded by Drone As She Tries to Collect Her Order of Trump Memorabilia.”

All jokes aside, the question of how drones actually avoid doing things like beheading grandmothers is, unsurprisingly, controversial. Last week Chad Butler, a former head of information security at Amazon’s commercial drone program, posted a video about the regulatory regime surrounding drones like the ones Amazon use, which are referred to as “beyond visual line of sight”, or BVLOS, drones. As the name suggests, these are drones that are able to fly autonomously beyond the line of sight of a human operator. Without a human directing them, drones need to be able to ensure they don’t fly into a wall.

Butler explains that there are two competing schools of thought about how to do this. The first requires the use of a system called ADS-B, which maintains a consistent broadcast of the drone’s altitude, heading and air speed, creating a sort of virtual environment that lets every drone know where every other drone is. The second, championed by Amazon, is more like the technology used on ground-based robots—it uses onboard “detect and avoid” systems like camera and radar, which allow drones to “see” what’s around them and navigate themselves around obstacles.

Amazon recently left the Commercial Drone Alliance, which advocates for the first system, and Butler actually endorses his former employer’s stance. He argues that if drones are constantly broadcasting an unencrypted record of their position, and they have no independent on-board methods to verify that position, then it becomes pretty easy for hackers to hijack them by simply spoofing a GPS signal. This scenario certainly sounds credible—and, frankly, kinda frightening. (Reassuringly, Butler says, “This is not a drone problem—it’s a design pattern problem, and I see it everywhere in AI and autonomous system design.” So that’s great.)

Having said that, we’ve seen with ground-based robots that the use of on-board sensors alone is also, um, less than perfect—and if navigating a drone in two dimensions is hard, adding a whole other dimension seems to just increase the difficulty and the chance of things going wrong. And on that note, there does seem to be one straightforward way of avoiding the possibility of a hacked delivery drone delivering a bomb to the White House or something, which is just getting rid of the bloody things. However, capitalism will not abide such good sense, so I guess we’ll just see how this whole thing pans out.

*To be clear, we don’t necessarily blame drivers working to insane schedules for doing this; it is frustrating, though.

#Amazon #Delivery #Drones #Involve #Perilous #10Foot #Drop #Users #Posting #Apparent #ResultsAmazon,Prime Air">Amazon Delivery Drones Involve a Perilous 10-Foot Drop. Users Are Posting the Apparent Results It seemed like this might have been a rare week without a “robot doing dumb shit” story—but never fear, because Jeff Bezos’s squadron of airborne delivery drones is here to save the day. Prime Air, Amazon’s drone delivery service, has been rolling out in a number of US cities over the last few months and—surprise!—it looks like they kinda suck compared to their human equivalents. (And that’s really saying something considering those human equivalents’ propensity for running up to your front door, whacking a “Sorry we missed you!” sticker right below the note you left saying “BUZZER DOESN’T WORK—PLEASE CALL THIS NUMBER”, and then driving away.)* Still, whatever else your local Amazon driver might do, one thing they won’t do is casually drop your precious package onto concrete from 10 feet in the air. Amazon’s drones, however… Several stories videos have surfaced of late, apparently showing Amazon-branded drones hovering above customers’ driveways/stoops/etc and then just dropping their cargo onto the ground below. In one video, YouTuber Tamara Hancock orders a plastic bottle of blue raspberry syrup—which is apparently a substance one can order—and watches as the drone dumps it unceremoniously on her driveway. She opens the package and, sure enough, the video depicts a smashed and leaking screw top. Given the unholy racket these things make, you can probably hear them approaching a mile off, so perhaps the best course of action is to just run outside and try to catch your package before it smashes into the ground. This isn’t the seamless service Amazon promised, but then again, it’s not all that different from waiting to hear the delivery driver approaching and then booking it outside to grab your package before he gets a chance to whack the dreaded “Sorry we missed you!” sticker on your door. Plus ça change, etc. Anyway, it’s not easy to see how this issue might be mitigated. The obvious answer is “hover closer to the ground”, but given delivery robots’ record in failing to detect obstacles in their path, it feels like that strategy would eventually result in a headline like “Florida Grandmother Beheaded by Drone As She Tries to Collect Her Order of Trump Memorabilia.” All jokes aside, the question of how drones actually avoid doing things like beheading grandmothers is, unsurprisingly, controversial. Last week Chad Butler, a former head of information security at Amazon’s commercial drone program, posted a video about the regulatory regime surrounding drones like the ones Amazon use, which are referred to as “beyond visual line of sight”, or BVLOS, drones. As the name suggests, these are drones that are able to fly autonomously beyond the line of sight of a human operator. Without a human directing them, drones need to be able to ensure they don’t fly into a wall. Butler explains that there are two competing schools of thought about how to do this. The first requires the use of a system called ADS-B, which maintains a consistent broadcast of the drone’s altitude, heading and air speed, creating a sort of virtual environment that lets every drone know where every other drone is. The second, championed by Amazon, is more like the technology used on ground-based robots—it uses onboard “detect and avoid” systems like camera and radar, which allow drones to “see” what’s around them and navigate themselves around obstacles. Amazon recently left the Commercial Drone Alliance, which advocates for the first system, and Butler actually endorses his former employer’s stance. He argues that if drones are constantly broadcasting an unencrypted record of their position, and they have no independent on-board methods to verify that position, then it becomes pretty easy for hackers to hijack them by simply spoofing a GPS signal. This scenario certainly sounds credible—and, frankly, kinda frightening. (Reassuringly, Butler says, “This is not a drone problem—it’s a design pattern problem, and I see it everywhere in AI and autonomous system design.” So that’s great.) Having said that, we’ve seen with ground-based robots that the use of on-board sensors alone is also, um, less than perfect—and if navigating a drone in two dimensions is hard, adding a whole other dimension seems to just increase the difficulty and the chance of things going wrong. And on that note, there does seem to be one straightforward way of avoiding the possibility of a hacked delivery drone delivering a bomb to the White House or something, which is just getting rid of the bloody things. However, capitalism will not abide such good sense, so I guess we’ll just see how this whole thing pans out. *To be clear, we don’t necessarily blame drivers working to insane schedules for doing this; it is frustrating, though. #Amazon #Delivery #Drones #Involve #Perilous #10Foot #Drop #Users #Posting #Apparent #ResultsAmazon,Prime Air

stories videos have surfaced of late, apparently showing Amazon-branded drones hovering above customers’ driveways/stoops/etc and then just dropping their cargo onto the ground below. In one video, YouTuber Tamara Hancock orders a plastic bottle of blue raspberry syrup—which is apparently a substance one can order—and watches as the drone dumps it unceremoniously on her driveway. She opens the package and, sure enough, the video depicts a smashed and leaking screw top.

Given the unholy racket these things make, you can probably hear them approaching a mile off, so perhaps the best course of action is to just run outside and try to catch your package before it smashes into the ground. This isn’t the seamless service Amazon promised, but then again, it’s not all that different from waiting to hear the delivery driver approaching and then booking it outside to grab your package before he gets a chance to whack the dreaded “Sorry we missed you!” sticker on your door. Plus ça change, etc.

Anyway, it’s not easy to see how this issue might be mitigated. The obvious answer is “hover closer to the ground”, but given delivery robots’ record in failing to detect obstacles in their path, it feels like that strategy would eventually result in a headline like “Florida Grandmother Beheaded by Drone As She Tries to Collect Her Order of Trump Memorabilia.”

All jokes aside, the question of how drones actually avoid doing things like beheading grandmothers is, unsurprisingly, controversial. Last week Chad Butler, a former head of information security at Amazon’s commercial drone program, posted a video about the regulatory regime surrounding drones like the ones Amazon use, which are referred to as “beyond visual line of sight”, or BVLOS, drones. As the name suggests, these are drones that are able to fly autonomously beyond the line of sight of a human operator. Without a human directing them, drones need to be able to ensure they don’t fly into a wall.

Butler explains that there are two competing schools of thought about how to do this. The first requires the use of a system called ADS-B, which maintains a consistent broadcast of the drone’s altitude, heading and air speed, creating a sort of virtual environment that lets every drone know where every other drone is. The second, championed by Amazon, is more like the technology used on ground-based robots—it uses onboard “detect and avoid” systems like camera and radar, which allow drones to “see” what’s around them and navigate themselves around obstacles.

Amazon recently left the Commercial Drone Alliance, which advocates for the first system, and Butler actually endorses his former employer’s stance. He argues that if drones are constantly broadcasting an unencrypted record of their position, and they have no independent on-board methods to verify that position, then it becomes pretty easy for hackers to hijack them by simply spoofing a GPS signal. This scenario certainly sounds credible—and, frankly, kinda frightening. (Reassuringly, Butler says, “This is not a drone problem—it’s a design pattern problem, and I see it everywhere in AI and autonomous system design.” So that’s great.)

Having said that, we’ve seen with ground-based robots that the use of on-board sensors alone is also, um, less than perfect—and if navigating a drone in two dimensions is hard, adding a whole other dimension seems to just increase the difficulty and the chance of things going wrong. And on that note, there does seem to be one straightforward way of avoiding the possibility of a hacked delivery drone delivering a bomb to the White House or something, which is just getting rid of the bloody things. However, capitalism will not abide such good sense, so I guess we’ll just see how this whole thing pans out.

*To be clear, we don’t necessarily blame drivers working to insane schedules for doing this; it is frustrating, though.

#Amazon #Delivery #Drones #Involve #Perilous #10Foot #Drop #Users #Posting #Apparent #ResultsAmazon,Prime Air">Amazon Delivery Drones Involve a Perilous 10-Foot Drop. Users Are Posting the Apparent ResultsAmazon Delivery Drones Involve a Perilous 10-Foot Drop. Users Are Posting the Apparent Results It seemed like this might have been a rare week without a “robot doing dumb shit” story—but never fear, because Jeff Bezos’s squadron of airborne delivery drones is here to save the day. Prime Air, Amazon’s drone delivery service, has been rolling out in a number of US cities over the last few months and—surprise!—it looks like they kinda suck compared to their human equivalents. (And that’s really saying something considering those human equivalents’ propensity for running up to your front door, whacking a “Sorry we missed you!” sticker right below the note you left saying “BUZZER DOESN’T WORK—PLEASE CALL THIS NUMBER”, and then driving away.)* Still, whatever else your local Amazon driver might do, one thing they won’t do is casually drop your precious package onto concrete from 10 feet in the air. Amazon’s drones, however… Several stories videos have surfaced of late, apparently showing Amazon-branded drones hovering above customers’ driveways/stoops/etc and then just dropping their cargo onto the ground below. In one video, YouTuber Tamara Hancock orders a plastic bottle of blue raspberry syrup—which is apparently a substance one can order—and watches as the drone dumps it unceremoniously on her driveway. She opens the package and, sure enough, the video depicts a smashed and leaking screw top. Given the unholy racket these things make, you can probably hear them approaching a mile off, so perhaps the best course of action is to just run outside and try to catch your package before it smashes into the ground. This isn’t the seamless service Amazon promised, but then again, it’s not all that different from waiting to hear the delivery driver approaching and then booking it outside to grab your package before he gets a chance to whack the dreaded “Sorry we missed you!” sticker on your door. Plus ça change, etc. Anyway, it’s not easy to see how this issue might be mitigated. The obvious answer is “hover closer to the ground”, but given delivery robots’ record in failing to detect obstacles in their path, it feels like that strategy would eventually result in a headline like “Florida Grandmother Beheaded by Drone As She Tries to Collect Her Order of Trump Memorabilia.” All jokes aside, the question of how drones actually avoid doing things like beheading grandmothers is, unsurprisingly, controversial. Last week Chad Butler, a former head of information security at Amazon’s commercial drone program, posted a video about the regulatory regime surrounding drones like the ones Amazon use, which are referred to as “beyond visual line of sight”, or BVLOS, drones. As the name suggests, these are drones that are able to fly autonomously beyond the line of sight of a human operator. Without a human directing them, drones need to be able to ensure they don’t fly into a wall. Butler explains that there are two competing schools of thought about how to do this. The first requires the use of a system called ADS-B, which maintains a consistent broadcast of the drone’s altitude, heading and air speed, creating a sort of virtual environment that lets every drone know where every other drone is. The second, championed by Amazon, is more like the technology used on ground-based robots—it uses onboard “detect and avoid” systems like camera and radar, which allow drones to “see” what’s around them and navigate themselves around obstacles. Amazon recently left the Commercial Drone Alliance, which advocates for the first system, and Butler actually endorses his former employer’s stance. He argues that if drones are constantly broadcasting an unencrypted record of their position, and they have no independent on-board methods to verify that position, then it becomes pretty easy for hackers to hijack them by simply spoofing a GPS signal. This scenario certainly sounds credible—and, frankly, kinda frightening. (Reassuringly, Butler says, “This is not a drone problem—it’s a design pattern problem, and I see it everywhere in AI and autonomous system design.” So that’s great.) Having said that, we’ve seen with ground-based robots that the use of on-board sensors alone is also, um, less than perfect—and if navigating a drone in two dimensions is hard, adding a whole other dimension seems to just increase the difficulty and the chance of things going wrong. And on that note, there does seem to be one straightforward way of avoiding the possibility of a hacked delivery drone delivering a bomb to the White House or something, which is just getting rid of the bloody things. However, capitalism will not abide such good sense, so I guess we’ll just see how this whole thing pans out. *To be clear, we don’t necessarily blame drivers working to insane schedules for doing this; it is frustrating, though. #Amazon #Delivery #Drones #Involve #Perilous #10Foot #Drop #Users #Posting #Apparent #ResultsAmazon,Prime Air

It seemed like this might have been a rare week without a “robot doing dumb shit” story—but never fear, because Jeff Bezos’s squadron of airborne delivery drones is here to save the day. Prime Air, Amazon’s drone delivery service, has been rolling out in a number of US cities over the last few months and—surprise!—it looks like they kinda suck compared to their human equivalents. (And that’s really saying something considering those human equivalents’ propensity for running up to your front door, whacking a “Sorry we missed you!” sticker right below the note you left saying “BUZZER DOESN’T WORK—PLEASE CALL THIS NUMBER”, and then driving away.)*

Still, whatever else your local Amazon driver might do, one thing they won’t do is casually drop your precious package onto concrete from 10 feet in the air. Amazon’s drones, however…

Several stories videos have surfaced of late, apparently showing Amazon-branded drones hovering above customers’ driveways/stoops/etc and then just dropping their cargo onto the ground below. In one video, YouTuber Tamara Hancock orders a plastic bottle of blue raspberry syrup—which is apparently a substance one can order—and watches as the drone dumps it unceremoniously on her driveway. She opens the package and, sure enough, the video depicts a smashed and leaking screw top.

Given the unholy racket these things make, you can probably hear them approaching a mile off, so perhaps the best course of action is to just run outside and try to catch your package before it smashes into the ground. This isn’t the seamless service Amazon promised, but then again, it’s not all that different from waiting to hear the delivery driver approaching and then booking it outside to grab your package before he gets a chance to whack the dreaded “Sorry we missed you!” sticker on your door. Plus ça change, etc.

Anyway, it’s not easy to see how this issue might be mitigated. The obvious answer is “hover closer to the ground”, but given delivery robots’ record in failing to detect obstacles in their path, it feels like that strategy would eventually result in a headline like “Florida Grandmother Beheaded by Drone As She Tries to Collect Her Order of Trump Memorabilia.”

All jokes aside, the question of how drones actually avoid doing things like beheading grandmothers is, unsurprisingly, controversial. Last week Chad Butler, a former head of information security at Amazon’s commercial drone program, posted a video about the regulatory regime surrounding drones like the ones Amazon use, which are referred to as “beyond visual line of sight”, or BVLOS, drones. As the name suggests, these are drones that are able to fly autonomously beyond the line of sight of a human operator. Without a human directing them, drones need to be able to ensure they don’t fly into a wall.

Butler explains that there are two competing schools of thought about how to do this. The first requires the use of a system called ADS-B, which maintains a consistent broadcast of the drone’s altitude, heading and air speed, creating a sort of virtual environment that lets every drone know where every other drone is. The second, championed by Amazon, is more like the technology used on ground-based robots—it uses onboard “detect and avoid” systems like camera and radar, which allow drones to “see” what’s around them and navigate themselves around obstacles.

Amazon recently left the Commercial Drone Alliance, which advocates for the first system, and Butler actually endorses his former employer’s stance. He argues that if drones are constantly broadcasting an unencrypted record of their position, and they have no independent on-board methods to verify that position, then it becomes pretty easy for hackers to hijack them by simply spoofing a GPS signal. This scenario certainly sounds credible—and, frankly, kinda frightening. (Reassuringly, Butler says, “This is not a drone problem—it’s a design pattern problem, and I see it everywhere in AI and autonomous system design.” So that’s great.)

Having said that, we’ve seen with ground-based robots that the use of on-board sensors alone is also, um, less than perfect—and if navigating a drone in two dimensions is hard, adding a whole other dimension seems to just increase the difficulty and the chance of things going wrong. And on that note, there does seem to be one straightforward way of avoiding the possibility of a hacked delivery drone delivering a bomb to the White House or something, which is just getting rid of the bloody things. However, capitalism will not abide such good sense, so I guess we’ll just see how this whole thing pans out.

*To be clear, we don’t necessarily blame drivers working to insane schedules for doing this; it is frustrating, though.

#Amazon #Delivery #Drones #Involve #Perilous #10Foot #Drop #Users #Posting #Apparent #ResultsAmazon,Prime Air

I tried the battery version, which does require you recharge it every couple of weeks, but the wired-in version is the top recommendation on our guide to the Best Video Doorbells.

A Better Birdhouse

I had a new-to-me problem this spring: bird invasion. A little bird made a nest in my front-door wreath without us noticing. One evening, my sister opened the door, and the bird flew out of the nest and straight into our house. After a 30-minute battle to get it outside again (and keep my cat from eating it), it wasn’t until we saw the bird fly off the door again the next day that we realized it was calling our home its home, too.

If this is a common problem at your house, our resident bird-gear tester Kat Merck has a solution: a smart nesting box. Birdfy makes a few different smart bird feeders we like for bird-watching, and the Nest Duo is a birdhouse that lets you watch the birds while they nest inside of it. It’s a slim, attractive box that will add to your front yard’s style while also packing two solar-powered cameras (one facing the entrance, one focused inside) so you can bird-watch from multiple angles. It comes with different hole sizes to appeal to different species, metal predator guards to prevent chewing around the hole, and a remote control to reset or recharge the camera without disturbing your feathered neighbors.

Stylish Smart Lights

Image may contain: Electronics, Mobile Phone, Phone, Light, Computer Hardware, Hardware, Mouse, Appliance, and Blow Dryer

Govee

Outdoor Clear Bulb String Lights

I’ve liked Govee’s smart outdoor string lights before, usually for my holiday decor, and have previously recommended something similar with a bistro-light-like look that happened to be smart. These clear bulb string lights are part of Govee’s current lineup and have a contemporary twist with a triangle in the center instead of the wire filament. These are a fun option for outdoor lights you can enjoy on warm nights, and they can do every color and shade of white without looking as bulky as permanent outdoor lights. (Added bonus, these lights are also Matter compatible!)

Fresh Bulbs

Image may contain: Lighting, Electronics, LED, Light, Appliance, Blow Dryer, Device, and Electrical Device

Cync

Smart LED Light Bulb, PAR38

If you have light fixtures you want to remote-control, add an outdoor smart bulb. There are tons to choose from, and you can usually find one from any brand you already have at home. The only downside is that outdoor-rated smart bulbs are usually 4.75-inch-diameter PAR38-style bulbs, so they’re best for downward-facing floodlights on your porch or balcony. They’ll likely be too big to fit in a wall fixture as a replacement for a normal-sized bulb. Don’t just grab any smart bulb—not all are outdoor-rated. Check for mentions of outdoor use and waterproof ratings to make sure they’re safe to use. I’m a big fan of Cync bulbs, and the brand has an outdoor version of the Cync Full Color bulbs I like to use indoors. You’ll be able to add fun colors as well as shades of white, so you can turn the porch a spooky orange or red for Halloween, pink for Valentine’s Day, or the colors of your favorite sports team on game day.

Remote-Controlled Garage

Chamberlain

MyQ Smart Garage Controller

Chamberlain

MyQ Smart Garage Door Opener with Integrated Camera

If your garage is the centerpiece of your home’s curb appeal, you can control it as easily as a smart door by adding a smart controller. You can do two different styles: I have the Chamberlain MyQ professionally installed smart garage opener, which means the device that controls my garage has these smarts built into it (plus a camera, but I find it doesn’t work great with how far the device is from my Wi-Fi router), or you can get a smart garage controller that can add smart features onto an existing garage door. Both let you check whether the garage is open or closed and operate it remotely, and you can add a video keypad that doubles as a video doorbell and can let you open or close the garage without your phone.

Smart Shades

SmartWings

Motorized Roller Shades

Lutron

Caseta Smart Shades

The front of my home faces west, so it’s absolutely baking at the end of the day. What I need to add are some of our favorite smart shades to automate closing the shades on that side of the house at the right time of day. These also give your home a nice, cohesive look and immediate, controllable privacy from the outside world. WIRED reviewer Simon Hill recommends the SmartWings shades as his top picks, and Lutron’s Caseta shades if you’re looking for a more upgraded look.

Invisible Swaps

Looking to add some smarts without touching your existing setup? These switch-ups can make your front door and yard smart without being visible.

Yale

Approach Lock

This smart lock just swaps out the inner half of your front-door lock to make it smart without requiring a new key or changing your exterior hardware. You can also add on a keypad—or not, if you’d rather keep the smarts a complete secret.

Cync

Outdoor Smart Plug

This outdoor plug is visible at the outlet itself, but if the outlet is covered by something or is around the corner from your front door, no one will know that your lights or other electrical devices are connected to this smart plug.

Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber content that’s too important to ignore. Subscribe Today.

#Smart #Home #Gadgets #Amp #Curb #Appealsmart home,shopping,household,buying guides,how-to,yardware upgrade">The Smart Home Gadgets to Amp Up Your Curb AppealI tried the battery version, which does require you recharge it every couple of weeks, but the wired-in version is the top recommendation on our guide to the Best Video Doorbells.A Better BirdhouseI had a new-to-me problem this spring: bird invasion. A little bird made a nest in my front-door wreath without us noticing. One evening, my sister opened the door, and the bird flew out of the nest and straight into our house. After a 30-minute battle to get it outside again (and keep my cat from eating it), it wasn’t until we saw the bird fly off the door again the next day that we realized it was calling our home its home, too.If this is a common problem at your house, our resident bird-gear tester Kat Merck has a solution: a smart nesting box. Birdfy makes a few different smart bird feeders we like for bird-watching, and the Nest Duo is a birdhouse that lets you watch the birds while they nest inside of it. It’s a slim, attractive box that will add to your front yard’s style while also packing two solar-powered cameras (one facing the entrance, one focused inside) so you can bird-watch from multiple angles. It comes with different hole sizes to appeal to different species, metal predator guards to prevent chewing around the hole, and a remote control to reset or recharge the camera without disturbing your feathered neighbors.Stylish Smart LightsGoveeOutdoor Clear Bulb String LightsI’ve liked Govee’s smart outdoor string lights before, usually for my holiday decor, and have previously recommended something similar with a bistro-light-like look that happened to be smart. These clear bulb string lights are part of Govee’s current lineup and have a contemporary twist with a triangle in the center instead of the wire filament. These are a fun option for outdoor lights you can enjoy on warm nights, and they can do every color and shade of white without looking as bulky as permanent outdoor lights. (Added bonus, these lights are also Matter compatible!)Fresh BulbsCyncSmart LED Light Bulb, PAR38If you have light fixtures you want to remote-control, add an outdoor smart bulb. There are tons to choose from, and you can usually find one from any brand you already have at home. The only downside is that outdoor-rated smart bulbs are usually 4.75-inch-diameter PAR38-style bulbs, so they’re best for downward-facing floodlights on your porch or balcony. They’ll likely be too big to fit in a wall fixture as a replacement for a normal-sized bulb. Don’t just grab any smart bulb—not all are outdoor-rated. Check for mentions of outdoor use and waterproof ratings to make sure they’re safe to use. I’m a big fan of Cync bulbs, and the brand has an outdoor version of the Cync Full Color bulbs I like to use indoors. You’ll be able to add fun colors as well as shades of white, so you can turn the porch a spooky orange or red for Halloween, pink for Valentine’s Day, or the colors of your favorite sports team on game day.Remote-Controlled GarageChamberlainMyQ Smart Garage ControllerChamberlainMyQ Smart Garage Door Opener with Integrated CameraIf your garage is the centerpiece of your home’s curb appeal, you can control it as easily as a smart door by adding a smart controller. You can do two different styles: I have the Chamberlain MyQ professionally installed smart garage opener, which means the device that controls my garage has these smarts built into it (plus a camera, but I find it doesn’t work great with how far the device is from my Wi-Fi router), or you can get a smart garage controller that can add smart features onto an existing garage door. Both let you check whether the garage is open or closed and operate it remotely, and you can add a video keypad that doubles as a video doorbell and can let you open or close the garage without your phone.Smart ShadesSmartWingsMotorized Roller ShadesLutronCaseta Smart ShadesThe front of my home faces west, so it’s absolutely baking at the end of the day. What I need to add are some of our favorite smart shades to automate closing the shades on that side of the house at the right time of day. These also give your home a nice, cohesive look and immediate, controllable privacy from the outside world. WIRED reviewer Simon Hill recommends the SmartWings shades as his top picks, and Lutron’s Caseta shades if you’re looking for a more upgraded look.Invisible SwapsLooking to add some smarts without touching your existing setup? These switch-ups can make your front door and yard smart without being visible.YaleApproach LockThis smart lock just swaps out the inner half of your front-door lock to make it smart without requiring a new key or changing your exterior hardware. You can also add on a keypad—or not, if you’d rather keep the smarts a complete secret. CyncOutdoor Smart PlugThis outdoor plug is visible at the outlet itself, but if the outlet is covered by something or is around the corner from your front door, no one will know that your lights or other electrical devices are connected to this smart plug. Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber content that’s too important to ignore. Subscribe Today.#Smart #Home #Gadgets #Amp #Curb #Appealsmart home,shopping,household,buying guides,how-to,yardware upgrade

Best Video Doorbells.

A Better Birdhouse

I had a new-to-me problem this spring: bird invasion. A little bird made a nest in my front-door wreath without us noticing. One evening, my sister opened the door, and the bird flew out of the nest and straight into our house. After a 30-minute battle to get it outside again (and keep my cat from eating it), it wasn’t until we saw the bird fly off the door again the next day that we realized it was calling our home its home, too.

If this is a common problem at your house, our resident bird-gear tester Kat Merck has a solution: a smart nesting box. Birdfy makes a few different smart bird feeders we like for bird-watching, and the Nest Duo is a birdhouse that lets you watch the birds while they nest inside of it. It’s a slim, attractive box that will add to your front yard’s style while also packing two solar-powered cameras (one facing the entrance, one focused inside) so you can bird-watch from multiple angles. It comes with different hole sizes to appeal to different species, metal predator guards to prevent chewing around the hole, and a remote control to reset or recharge the camera without disturbing your feathered neighbors.

Stylish Smart Lights

Image may contain: Electronics, Mobile Phone, Phone, Light, Computer Hardware, Hardware, Mouse, Appliance, and Blow Dryer

Govee

Outdoor Clear Bulb String Lights

I’ve liked Govee’s smart outdoor string lights before, usually for my holiday decor, and have previously recommended something similar with a bistro-light-like look that happened to be smart. These clear bulb string lights are part of Govee’s current lineup and have a contemporary twist with a triangle in the center instead of the wire filament. These are a fun option for outdoor lights you can enjoy on warm nights, and they can do every color and shade of white without looking as bulky as permanent outdoor lights. (Added bonus, these lights are also Matter compatible!)

Fresh Bulbs

Image may contain: Lighting, Electronics, LED, Light, Appliance, Blow Dryer, Device, and Electrical Device

Cync

Smart LED Light Bulb, PAR38

If you have light fixtures you want to remote-control, add an outdoor smart bulb. There are tons to choose from, and you can usually find one from any brand you already have at home. The only downside is that outdoor-rated smart bulbs are usually 4.75-inch-diameter PAR38-style bulbs, so they’re best for downward-facing floodlights on your porch or balcony. They’ll likely be too big to fit in a wall fixture as a replacement for a normal-sized bulb. Don’t just grab any smart bulb—not all are outdoor-rated. Check for mentions of outdoor use and waterproof ratings to make sure they’re safe to use. I’m a big fan of Cync bulbs, and the brand has an outdoor version of the Cync Full Color bulbs I like to use indoors. You’ll be able to add fun colors as well as shades of white, so you can turn the porch a spooky orange or red for Halloween, pink for Valentine’s Day, or the colors of your favorite sports team on game day.

Remote-Controlled Garage

Chamberlain

MyQ Smart Garage Controller

Chamberlain

MyQ Smart Garage Door Opener with Integrated Camera

If your garage is the centerpiece of your home’s curb appeal, you can control it as easily as a smart door by adding a smart controller. You can do two different styles: I have the Chamberlain MyQ professionally installed smart garage opener, which means the device that controls my garage has these smarts built into it (plus a camera, but I find it doesn’t work great with how far the device is from my Wi-Fi router), or you can get a smart garage controller that can add smart features onto an existing garage door. Both let you check whether the garage is open or closed and operate it remotely, and you can add a video keypad that doubles as a video doorbell and can let you open or close the garage without your phone.

Smart Shades

SmartWings

Motorized Roller Shades

Lutron

Caseta Smart Shades

The front of my home faces west, so it’s absolutely baking at the end of the day. What I need to add are some of our favorite smart shades to automate closing the shades on that side of the house at the right time of day. These also give your home a nice, cohesive look and immediate, controllable privacy from the outside world. WIRED reviewer Simon Hill recommends the SmartWings shades as his top picks, and Lutron’s Caseta shades if you’re looking for a more upgraded look.

Invisible Swaps

Looking to add some smarts without touching your existing setup? These switch-ups can make your front door and yard smart without being visible.

Yale

Approach Lock

This smart lock just swaps out the inner half of your front-door lock to make it smart without requiring a new key or changing your exterior hardware. You can also add on a keypad—or not, if you’d rather keep the smarts a complete secret.

Cync

Outdoor Smart Plug

This outdoor plug is visible at the outlet itself, but if the outlet is covered by something or is around the corner from your front door, no one will know that your lights or other electrical devices are connected to this smart plug.

Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber content that’s too important to ignore. Subscribe Today.

#Smart #Home #Gadgets #Amp #Curb #Appealsmart home,shopping,household,buying guides,how-to,yardware upgrade">The Smart Home Gadgets to Amp Up Your Curb Appeal

I tried the battery version, which does require you recharge it every couple of weeks, but the wired-in version is the top recommendation on our guide to the Best Video Doorbells.

A Better Birdhouse

I had a new-to-me problem this spring: bird invasion. A little bird made a nest in my front-door wreath without us noticing. One evening, my sister opened the door, and the bird flew out of the nest and straight into our house. After a 30-minute battle to get it outside again (and keep my cat from eating it), it wasn’t until we saw the bird fly off the door again the next day that we realized it was calling our home its home, too.

If this is a common problem at your house, our resident bird-gear tester Kat Merck has a solution: a smart nesting box. Birdfy makes a few different smart bird feeders we like for bird-watching, and the Nest Duo is a birdhouse that lets you watch the birds while they nest inside of it. It’s a slim, attractive box that will add to your front yard’s style while also packing two solar-powered cameras (one facing the entrance, one focused inside) so you can bird-watch from multiple angles. It comes with different hole sizes to appeal to different species, metal predator guards to prevent chewing around the hole, and a remote control to reset or recharge the camera without disturbing your feathered neighbors.

Stylish Smart Lights

Image may contain: Electronics, Mobile Phone, Phone, Light, Computer Hardware, Hardware, Mouse, Appliance, and Blow Dryer

Govee

Outdoor Clear Bulb String Lights

I’ve liked Govee’s smart outdoor string lights before, usually for my holiday decor, and have previously recommended something similar with a bistro-light-like look that happened to be smart. These clear bulb string lights are part of Govee’s current lineup and have a contemporary twist with a triangle in the center instead of the wire filament. These are a fun option for outdoor lights you can enjoy on warm nights, and they can do every color and shade of white without looking as bulky as permanent outdoor lights. (Added bonus, these lights are also Matter compatible!)

Fresh Bulbs

Image may contain: Lighting, Electronics, LED, Light, Appliance, Blow Dryer, Device, and Electrical Device

Cync

Smart LED Light Bulb, PAR38

If you have light fixtures you want to remote-control, add an outdoor smart bulb. There are tons to choose from, and you can usually find one from any brand you already have at home. The only downside is that outdoor-rated smart bulbs are usually 4.75-inch-diameter PAR38-style bulbs, so they’re best for downward-facing floodlights on your porch or balcony. They’ll likely be too big to fit in a wall fixture as a replacement for a normal-sized bulb. Don’t just grab any smart bulb—not all are outdoor-rated. Check for mentions of outdoor use and waterproof ratings to make sure they’re safe to use. I’m a big fan of Cync bulbs, and the brand has an outdoor version of the Cync Full Color bulbs I like to use indoors. You’ll be able to add fun colors as well as shades of white, so you can turn the porch a spooky orange or red for Halloween, pink for Valentine’s Day, or the colors of your favorite sports team on game day.

Remote-Controlled Garage

Chamberlain

MyQ Smart Garage Controller

Chamberlain

MyQ Smart Garage Door Opener with Integrated Camera

If your garage is the centerpiece of your home’s curb appeal, you can control it as easily as a smart door by adding a smart controller. You can do two different styles: I have the Chamberlain MyQ professionally installed smart garage opener, which means the device that controls my garage has these smarts built into it (plus a camera, but I find it doesn’t work great with how far the device is from my Wi-Fi router), or you can get a smart garage controller that can add smart features onto an existing garage door. Both let you check whether the garage is open or closed and operate it remotely, and you can add a video keypad that doubles as a video doorbell and can let you open or close the garage without your phone.

Smart Shades

SmartWings

Motorized Roller Shades

Lutron

Caseta Smart Shades

The front of my home faces west, so it’s absolutely baking at the end of the day. What I need to add are some of our favorite smart shades to automate closing the shades on that side of the house at the right time of day. These also give your home a nice, cohesive look and immediate, controllable privacy from the outside world. WIRED reviewer Simon Hill recommends the SmartWings shades as his top picks, and Lutron’s Caseta shades if you’re looking for a more upgraded look.

Invisible Swaps

Looking to add some smarts without touching your existing setup? These switch-ups can make your front door and yard smart without being visible.

Yale

Approach Lock

This smart lock just swaps out the inner half of your front-door lock to make it smart without requiring a new key or changing your exterior hardware. You can also add on a keypad—or not, if you’d rather keep the smarts a complete secret.

Cync

Outdoor Smart Plug

This outdoor plug is visible at the outlet itself, but if the outlet is covered by something or is around the corner from your front door, no one will know that your lights or other electrical devices are connected to this smart plug.

Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber content that’s too important to ignore. Subscribe Today.

#Smart #Home #Gadgets #Amp #Curb #Appealsmart home,shopping,household,buying guides,how-to,yardware upgrade

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