Its been great to watch smart home technology mature and become more accessible.

you’re free to probably find the machine you’re looking forlike a smart lockin multiple price ranges.

Doing that will also help set your expectations on what to expect.

Hands holding smart phone with app smart home on blurred house as backgrounds.

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If you’re willing to pay for it, there is some truly wild and futuristic smart home technology.

A Wi-Fi connection is a vital part of any smart home.

A Wi-Fi extender is also valid choice.

A Wi-Fi symbol over a digital, matrix-like background.

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Less expensive devices can often have reliability issues, shorter warranties, and inferior technical support.

They also often have fewer integrations with other smart home devices.

A smart home platform can also tie together different devices with automation and voice control.

Several Apple HomeKit devices.

Apple

You should pick a platform to start with and stick with that choice.

That will help prevent frustration and cost overruns down the road.

Much of the time, this will depend on the devices you already have.

The weather display on the Echo Dot 5th Gen

Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek

There are a few reasons to start slow.

You wont be overwhelmed by the technology and all of its different capabilities.

You dont want to always have to carry around a smartphone to do those simple tasks.

A person installing the backplate on a Google Nest Learning Thermostat.

Google

With a smart speaker and a simple voice command, you might interact with all of your connected devices.

Amazon Alexa can be used with a wide variety of Echo smart speakers.

The Echo Show line even has a touchscreen.

Ring app recorded video playback.

Ring

Google Home has both audio-only and touchscreen options.

Apple HomeKit and Siri are limited to the HomePod and HomePod mini.

When doing that, always check that to use a consistent naming system.

Having consistent names is important for many reasons.

Before any purchase, ensure youre comfortable installing the product.

Something like a smart thermostat requires a few tools like a drill and at least some DIY knowledge.

Thats why its vital to check for firmware updates and apply them regularly.

Depending on what the product is, there might be different ways to do that.

But usually, its through the companion smartphone app.

Along with squishing bugs, firmware updates can often also bring new features to smart home devices.

This is especially true if your housemates are tech-adverse.

A smart speaker is a great way for everyone to interact with your smart home.

While it takes some time, and money, creating a smart home is worth it.

Hopefully, that process will be just a bit easier if you avoid these mistakes.