PSA: My 'smart' light switch cost me $80 and a whole weekend.

I bought one of those wifi switches to control my porch light from my phone. The install seemed easy, but the app would NOT connect to my home network no matter what I did. I spent 6 hours over two days resetting it, checking router settings, everything. Finally gave up and put the old dumb switch back in, so now I'm out the cash with nothing to show for it. Has anyone actually gotten these things to work without a degree in networking?

3 comments

3 Comments

sage2862mo ago

The part about needing a networking degree is too real. I've had better luck with the ones that just use a remote instead of wifi, less to go wrong.

mark7312mo ago

Disagree completely with @sage286 on this one. Wifi is way better than a remote once you set it up right. Having to find a remote is a pain, and they always need new batteries. With wifi, my phone is the remote and it's always in my hand. The setup is a one time thing, and then you get updates and new features. It's not that hard, you just need to follow the instructions.

jake_walker1mo ago

Nah, I'm with sage on this one. Half the time my phone won't connect to the wifi on the TV and I'm stuck fiddling with settings for ten minutes. A remote just works... every time. Batteries last a year anyway.