2024 Smart Home Holiday Gift Guide
Welcome to our eleventh annual smart home holiday gift guide! We don’t know how you feel, but for...
IFA Berlin 2024: European Market Insights
We visit IFA Berlin 2024, our first time at the premier European consumer electronics show...
CES 2024: Smart Home Insights
In 2024, CES seems to be back to where it was in 2019. This year we could feel the energy and...
CES 2024: Our Top 20 Favorite Home Tech
Every year we visit CES it’s the same. People ask us what we saw, we say, oh not much. Nothing that...
Time to Shop: Our 2023 Smart Home Holiday Gift Guide
Welcome to our tenth smart home holiday gift guide! We’ve been sharing our favorite home technology...
Smart Home Tour: Behind the Scenes at AppMyHome
Our friend and fellow creator Brandon Doyle came through California on his Tesla road trip and...
Peloton Guide Review: Best Features, Benefits and Tips
I’ve been a Peloton member since March 2021. I didn’t buy my Bike Plus during the original peloton...
CES 2023: Smart Home Insights
It’s been a few weeks since our annual trip to Las Vegas for CES 2023 and we’ve had some time to...
CES 2023: Our Top 20 Home Tech Products
This year’s CES had more than 3200 exhibitors and 115,000 attendees, far from the record but still...
2022 Smart Home Holiday Gift Guide
When we first started doing our smart home holiday gift guide in 2014, the shopping season started...
My Peloton Bike Plus Tips and Tricks
While I love the Peloton bike, the instructors and the content, I have not always found it easy to...
CES 2022: Top 20 Home Tech Products
We were so happy to return to Las Vegas this year to see what’s new in home technology at the...
CES 2022: Smart Home Insights
We made it to Las Vegas for our first in-person Consumer Electronics Show since 2020. We’ve been...
2021 Smart Home Holiday Gift Guide
Welcome to our eighth annual smart home holiday gift guide. We started recommending smart home...
DIY Home Security: Moving Inside
Our series on DIY home security systems we’ve tested in our own home. Depending on your comfort...
DIY Home Security: Protect the Perimeter
Our series on DIY home security systems we’ve tested in our own home Now that you’ve learned a bit...
Is Full DIY Home Security for you?
Our series on DIY home security systems we’ve tested in our own home Part 2: Protecting...
DIY Home Security Insights
Our series on DIY home security systems we’ve tested in our own home. Part 1: Introduction...
Best Alexa devices for every room: Our 2021 guide
We got our first Amazon Echo in late 2015. By that time, we’d already been buying smart devices and...
Temperature sensors and soil moisture meters – at home and at a family-owned winery
We test the Zynect temperature sensor and soil moisture meter at home and with a family-owned...
Smart Water Leak Detector: Flume Water Monitor
Water leak detection is an industry with millions of dollars at stake. Water damage is one of the...
Redfin: Ways to Fortify your Home without an Alarm
Redfin featured AppMyHome on their blog featuring tips about home security: read the article...
Brilliant Smart Home Control: Our Review
When we first started our DIY automation journey back in 2013, we started replacing a lot of things...
Living in a Test House
We have two different video doorbells installed right next to each other near our front door. When...
CES 2021: Smart Home Insights
We’ve been heading to Las Vegas for CES for years to see the latest smart home technology. Every...
CES 2021: Top Home Tech Products
It’s hard to imagine that at this time last year, we had just returned from a week in Las...
2020 Smart Home Holiday Gift Guide
Welcome to our 2020 smart home holiday gift guide, our seventh annual edition. AppMyHome has been...
Peace of Mind with the KATANA Safety Wallet
Have you ever been in an uncomfortable situation and wish someone could watch over you for a few...
Nexx Smart Alarm – control your alarm from anywhere
Our home came pre-wired with a security system when we bought it, but we never connected it with a...
CEDIA Expo Virtual – DIY Smart Home
Watching YouTube and reading blogs are great for learning about current smart home technology, but...
Wyze: almost a complete smart home ecosystem
We started our journey with smart cameras outdoors with our first generation Skybell video...
C by GE: the Evolution of Smart Home Lighting
With C by GE, GE Lighting, a Savant Company, is creating a new smart home ecosystem for the...
Filtrete Smart Air Filter Review
We have plenty of smart home tech that does amazing things – turn our lights on when we enter...
Konnected Alarm Panel Review
When we bought our new home more than 10 years ago, it came pre-wired with window and door sensors...
Spying Security Camera
I woke up at 3 a.m. and the security camera was on in the bedroom. I could see its bright green...
Take control of your home internet service
We believe that a strong, secure home network is the foundation for any smart home. When did you...
How to Have Hot Water in the Morning
We automate our hot water circulator with a smart plug and Alexa. We’ve all been there in the...
Our Journey with SmartThings
Update December 13, 2021: Samsung no longer builds the SmartThings Hub, but the app is still up to...
Smart Garage Door Opener – Chamberlain MyQ
The Chamberlain MyQ smart garage door opener was one of the first products we reviewed and it...
Get Smarter about Digestion: FoodMarble AIRE Review
About ten years ago we gave up eating beef. We aren’t vegetarians – we still eat pork, lamb...
2020 Hyundai Santa Fe Smart Tech
In 2016 we got a new car to replace our old Ford Escape Hybrid. The car was getting tired and...
Best CES 2020 Smart Home Tech
Every year we head to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to search for the best new smart...
CES 2020: Smart Home Insights
2020 marked our fourth consecutive year at CES in Las Vegas. Year after year, it is still the best...
Insights from the 2019 Smart Home Summit
We recently had the opportunity to attend the Smart Home Summit, an intimate gathering of smart...
2019 Smart Home Holiday Gift Guide
Welcome to our 2019 smart home holiday gift guide, our sixth edition. AppMyHome has been...
The Empty Booth
Bringing a smart home device into your life to help you is not just a time and money investment...
Smart Modular Outlets from Swidget
We are excited about making our whole home a platform with smart modular outlets from Swidget...
What happens when your smart home loses power?
Recently we were one of about 738,000 California households that lost power for a couple of days in...
Time to shut down our Wink Hub
After more than five years, it’s finally time to shut down our Wink Hub, one of our first smart...
CEDIA Expo 2019 DIY Smart Home
We explore DIY Smart Home products and services at the CEDIA Expo, the premier event for home...
Alexa in the House
Over the last couple of weeks we’ve seen so many people who used an App called FaceApp to upload...
Six Key Indoor Camera Features
When we talk to our friends about smart home technology, everyone wants to discuss smart cameras...
Amazon Echo Show Envy
About a month ago we visited our brother and sister-in-law back east in Connecticut. Joe and...
Preventing water damage with Guardian
We installed the Guardian Leak Prevention System Plus and feel safer knowing we can automatically...
Lowe’s Iris Shuts Down
We have used the Lowe’s Iris smart home hub on and off since 2014. We share our thoughts on...
Our 29 Favorite CES 2019 Smart Home Gadgets
We highlight our favorite CES smart home gadgets we are looking forward to exploring in 2019. Every...
State of the Smart Home 2019 – Observations from CES
We share our view on the smart home market after our visit to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las...
Wire-Free Smart Lighting from ThirdReality
We review ThirdReality’s wire-free smart lighting products: the RealitySwitch, RealityLight...
Smart Wi-Fi Controls from myTouchSmart
We review four Wi-Fi smart home products built by Jasco – myTouchSmart indoor and outdoor...
2018 Smart Home Holiday Gift Guide
Welcome to our fifth annual smart home holiday gift guide. Since we made our first shopping...
A Smarter Light for Our Yard: the Maximus Camera Floodlight
We upgraded our side yard security with the Maximus Camera Floodlight and Kuna Artificial...
Sleek and Stylish Smart Lock – the Kwikset Obsidian
We upgraded our smart home recently with a sleek and stylish keyless smart lock from Kwikset...
Smart Home at CEDIA Expo 2018
Last week AppMyHome attended the CEDIA Expo in San Diego, the annual gathering of professionals in...
Making our bed smart with Sleeptracker
Like most data geeks, we have been experimenting with tracking our sleep for years as part of our...
Smart Entry with Nexx Garage
We have been using the Chamberlain MyQ garage door opener for years and it was one of the very...
Filling our fountains with the B-hyve hose faucet timer
When we first moved into our home and landscaped our garden, we included two fountains, one on the...
Alarm Clock with Alexa inside – the iHome iAVS16
When we got our very first Amazon Echo we weren’t sure exactly what to do with it. We had been...
Smart Meditation with Headspace Alexa Skill
Regular meditation doesn’t require any technology, but it can relieve stress, unleash creativity...
Make an Old Lock Smart – Kevo Convert Review
We have been using Kevo Touch-to-Open Smart Locks, together with the Kevo Plus, for several years...
Smart Sleep Temperature with BedJet
Temperature can be one of the biggest challenges to falling and staying asleep. In the summer we...
Our Mother has gone offline
It looks like another IoT product has outlived its useful life – today we discovered that our...
GE Smart Motion Sensor and Touch Sensing Smart Dimmer
Since our recent story about GE smart switches and outlets, built by Jasco, we have received two...
GE Smart Switches built by Jasco
When you think about starting to automate your home, you may ask yourself, smart light bulbs or...
Attractive Smart Home Security from Maximus Lighting
We have been experimenting with different security cameras over the years, both inside and outside...
Connect to your Pet with Petcube Bites
Here at AppMyHome we are always intrigued with novel ways to monitor our home and solve problems...
Smart Home Security with Konnected
Update July 22, 2020: This is our review of the original Konnected Alarm Panel that launched...
2017 Smart Home Holiday Gift Guide
Welcome to our fourth annual smart home holiday gift guide. As we reflect on the past year, it...
Smart Comfort with Haiku Fans
Update July 16, 2019 – Big Ass Fans has discontinued the separate Haiku Home branding but...
SkyBell HD – Smart Doorbell
Update April 17, 2020: We retired our Skybell after using three generations of the product. While...
Smart Home Security with the Cujo Smart Firewall
Update April 17, 2020: Cujo AI discontinued the CUJO AI smart firewall at the end of 2017. If you...
MySmartBlinds adds window automation
Update April 16, 2020: MySmartBlinds is now Tilt by SmarterHome, with an expanded line of smart...
Smart Home Control with the Wink Hub 2
Update April 16, 2020: We no longer use our Wink Hub 2. Read why here. We purchased our first Wink...
CES 2017 Smart Home Wrap-Up
Every year thousands of visitors converge on Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show, the...
State of our Smart Home 2017
As we head into 2017, after more than three years on our journey to automate our home, it’s a good...
Solar-powered Smart Camera – the Ring Stick Up Cam
Around the same time we installed our mom’s Ring Pro doorbell, we decided we wanted to try out...
2016 Smart Home Holiday Gift Guide
Welcome to our third annual smart home holiday gift guide. As we get ready to start our fourth year...
Smart Doorbell for Mom – the Ring Pro
If you have been following our blog from the beginning you probably already know we have a SkyBell...
Our Smart Car – 2017 Ford Escape
For years, we have been looking at new cars without finding anything that compelled us to upgrade...
Sengled Snap – Smart Home Security Lighting
We have been big fans of the Sengled smart home lighting product line and the way they have...
Adding security with a smart camera
Security cameras have been in use for years, long before the DIY smart home revolution. While there...
Making our car smart with Automatic
Update: May 7, 2020: Automatic has announced that they will be shutting down their app and service...
Smart Home 2015 Holiday Wish List
Now that we have recommended holiday gifts, it’s time to think about our own smart home holiday...
2015 Smart Home Holiday Gift Guide
Welcome to our second annual smart home holiday gift guide. 2015 has been a big year for DIY home...
Smart Home with Amazon Echo
The first time we heard about the Amazon Echo was about this time last year when a colleague shared...
Kevo Plus – Smart Lock adds Internet
Update April 17, 2020: We still have one Kevo lock in service, but now also use the sleek and...
Local Smart Home Control with Zipato
Update April 16, 2020: we no longer use our Zipabox smart home hub. Zipato continues to expand...
Roomie Remote – Smart Entertainment
Update April 16, 2020: We are no longer using the Roomie Remote Service. It is still available but...
Connecting IR devices to our Smart Home
While we are in the 21st century, some companies like Samsung still do not know how to turn their...
Summer Smart Thermostat Fail
This week our temperatures soared up to the 100s, and at some point, the fan on the outside air...
Smart Home Safety with Nest Protect
This post originally appeared on Powers Automation – Smart Home Gurus. We are mostly DIY here...
A Mother for our Smart Home
As of July 2018 our Mother is now out of service. She served us well over the years and we will...
Wink Hub Goes Down
Update April 17, 2020: We no longer use our Wink Hub. Read why. Yesterday Wink had a major meltdown...
Smart Home Sound with Sengled Pulse
The Sengled Pulse light bulbs, smart LED bulbs that double as a Bluetooth speaker, were one of the...
Smart Irrigation with Rachio
We have been in the market for a smart irrigation solution for our yard and garden for some time...
Detecting Water Leaks with Iris
Update April 17, 2020: Lowe’s Iris closed their service but you can still use a Z-Wave water...
CES 2015 Smart Home Wrap-up
The Consumer Electronics Show is the place for companies from all over the world to show their...
Which Smart Home Platform is Right for You?
Update April 17, 2020: Lowe’s Iris and Staples Connect are no longer in service, and we...
2014 Smart Home Holiday Gift Guide
Home automation is hotter than ever this holiday season. If you are looking to surprise that...
Cutting the Cable
With all the talk this week about Aereo and the Supreme Court decision, it seems like a good time...
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