There are so many benefits of having a smart home that they cannot be covered in a small article. It is said though that by 2025 there will be over 478 million smart homes across the globe. It is also rumored that all new homes built will have smart home capabilities, at least some anyway. That is a lot of homes relying on smart homes, which in turn depends on a good internet connection.
As the technological era continues to expand more homes will become even more dependent on internet connections. It would seem that the suppliers would up their game, and according to them they are. Unfortunately, as most of us know, the internet still goes out. When it is not out, the speed slows down to a crawl.
People that have a smart home, or that are considering converting to one, all ask one question. They need to know what happens to their smart home system when the internet goes down. Let us look at a few of the problem areas and then go from there.
Table of contents
1. Smart Cameras
The good news is that if your cameras are wired in as well as hooked to the Wi-Fi you will still be able to use your camera system. If not, your system will be down until the internet comes back online. This means that you will not have any security in place, so you will need to make different arrangements if you need immediate coverage. You could always keep an eye on things yourself, or you could hire a guard to cover the area. If it is not pressing to have the camera operational simply wait until they are able to work again
2. Locks
One of the biggest worries for people with smart homes is the locks. Will they work without any internet connection? The short answer is yes. They have been designed with the possibility of them not having a connection, so a key also comes with the lock. If the lock that you are looking at does not have the functionality of an old school key, get a different one. The only negative aspect of not having internet, when it comes to the door locks, is inconvenience. You will not be able to use your mobile device to lock and unlock the door, you will have to take the time to use the key.
3. Smart Lights
It may be thought that if the internet goes out that you will be in the dark. If you like to get the candles out and be able to sit in silence for a bit, then go with that philosophy. Otherwise, you will simply have to flip the switch on the wall. Some smart bulbs on the market will leave you in the dark, so make sure that you have a brand that allows the bulb to be used in both ways, such as the Phillips brands. If not, have a backup plan in place, such as old school lamps that can light the way to the restroom when needed. But of course, it would also be a wonderful time to take a nap and wait until it is back online again. If the internet is simply lagging and running slower than a snail it may be a good time to figure out what is a good internet speed for all your devices. Get the fastest and most reliable service that you can afford and check to see how dependable they are before settling with a service provider.
4. Smart Thermostat
Another problem that you may not even think about until you start getting cold would be the thermostat that you converted over to a smart version. Thankfully, most of the smart thermostats have a bypass that will allow you to control it by hand. You will not be able to use your mobile device to control the temperatures until the internet is back up and running.
5. Smart Smoke Detectors
Smoke detectors and carbon monitoring systems are extremely important aspects of home security and safety. House fires happen every day. In fact, over the last decade there has been an average of 350k house fires, with many of them ending with fatalities. When the internet goes out you will not have to worry about you becoming one of these stats because they will still work. The only thing that will not work on them are the mobile device notifications, and the automatic alerts sent to the monitoring stations.
6. Smart Appliances
Your smart appliances are all connected to your mobile device through the internet, offering you the luxury of controlling them all with a touch of your button. When the internet goes down this option will no longer be available, but they will still work. This includes little helpers that are hooked up to the system, such as the little round robots that clean the floors on a regular basis. They will just no longer be smart.
7. Voice Assistance Devices
Home devices, such as Alexa, are pretty much useless when the internet goes down. The devices may still be able to hear you, but they will not be able to complete any actions. They rely on the internet 100% to do what they were designed to do. So, if you need the lights turned on, there is no point in yelling into the empty room. You will have to flip the switch by hand.
Many people have leaned away from smart technology because it all relies upon a solid, reliable internet connection. But they do not realize that the home will still be functional. Old school functional, but that is what we have all been used to. Most of us, anyway. It is simply an inconvenience that must be dealt with for the time being.
For those that have known nothing but technology and controlling every aspect of life with them, you may have some issues with running things by hand. There really is no need to panic, though, because the internet will come back online eventually. Until then, sit in a dark, quiet room and enjoy the moment. They do not come very often anymore.