Philips Hue Motion Sensor Battery Guide: All You Need To Know

My Philips Hue motion sensor in its box

The Philips Hue Motion sensor is a really useful tool because it’ll quickly turn on your lights when it detects someone approaching. However if the battery has any issues, your motion sensor may not work as expected. So I wanted to write this guide to talk through everything you need to know about this useful … Read more

Hue Smart Button: Battery Draining Quickly (How To Replace Or Fix)

A Philips Hue Smart Button with a green or orange LED light flashing

The Hue Smart Button is a unique little device that adds a lot of utility in a very small package. However, it has a lot of bad press when it comes to its battery life. The Hue Smart Button has a few flaws that cause it to drain batteries in a matter of days. You … Read more

Newsletter (16th Sept 22): Ring & Philips Hue Updates (& More)

The new slim downlights from Philips Hue

(This newsletter was originally sent on 16th September 2022) The latest smart home updates from Smart Home Point Somehow we’re already in September (where’s the time going?!). In some ways September can be a slow month for the smart home industry. After all, June and July are always quite busy because of Prime Day, resulting … Read more

How Kasa Smart Plug Works Without Internet (Not Everything Works Though)

A Kasa Smart Plug box with the text no wifi equals no worky

Smart plugs really are the next frontier when it comes to living in a truly smart home. However, they do raise some serious concerns when the internet goes out, and you’re relying on Kasa smart plugs. Your Kasa smart plug will still be able to use existing timer and schedule settings when the internet goes … Read more

Why Your Amazon Echo Has SSL Certificate Errors (& How To Fix)

An Echo Show showing the Wi Fi signal strength and other details

SSL certificates are one of the most important safety advances of the modern internet, but they also cause a lot of connection problems for smart technology. If your Amazon Echo show SSL certificate error, what should you do? The first thing you should do is update your Amazon Echo Show as well as your Wi-Fi … Read more

How Long The Ring Floodlight Stays On (& Other Useful Info)

Ring Floodlight Cam wall mounted - bottom view

The Ring Floodlight Cam is a really useful two-in-one smart camera: it has all the usual smart cam functionality that you’d expect from Ring, along with two lights which output a total of 3,000 lumens of brightness (which is quite bright, in case you aren’t too sure how much 3,000 lumens is!). But how exactly … Read more

Zigbee vs Z-Wave vs WiFi vs Bluetooth: What’s Best?!

A diagram showing how Google's Wi-Fi router and points work, and how they extend your house's WiFi coverage (even to outdoor WiFi products).

I remember when I first started getting into smart homes. I was happily running a few (WiFi based) Echo speakers, but I started to hear terms like ‘Zigbee’ and ‘Z-Wave’ thrown around too. I was also (obviously) aware of Bluetooth, but I’d mainly seen it used in headphones and mobile phones: so it seemed odd … Read more

Kasa Smart Plug Overheating Problems (What To Do Now)

A Kasa Smart Plug with totally realistic flames coming out of it (not Photoshopped at all...)

Smart plugs are one of the best smart devices out there, but they’re also prone to overheating (in a small number of cases). What should you do if your Kasa smart plug starts overheating? The first thing you should do is disconnect your smart plug and allow it to cool down. You should inspect the … Read more

Newsletter (26th Aug 22): Smart Home News (& History’s Being Made!)

YouTube thumbail showing me partying with the text Hue Labs plus Alexa Routines equals PARTY

(This newsletter was sent on 26th August 2022, to the first 50 subscribers to our newly-launched newsletter.) Welcome to the FIRST EVER* Smart Home Point Newsletter (* Do you feel honored to be one of the first 50 subscribers?!) Today’s newsletter will be shorter-than-average – it is mainly a ‘hello’, and to say thanks for … Read more