Does Philips Hue Work Okay Without Working WiFi/Internet?

A recently installed Philips Hue v2 bridge which is setup in my loft.

Philips Hue’s range of smart bulbs is set apart from many other smart bulbs because Hue requires a separate Hub (also called a Bridge), and the bulbs communicate over something called ‘ZigBee’ to the Hue Hub. Equally some newer Hue bulbs can work over Bluetooth, linking with the Hue Bluetooth app on your smartphone. But … Read more

LIFX Bulbs Without Internet: Do They Still Work?

LIFX app showing the dashboard and various lights that can be controlled from here.

LIFX bulbs are at the more premium end of the market (just like Philips Hue), both in terms of build quality and also their price. However whilst Philips Hue bulbs usually require a separate Hue Bridge, LIFX bulbs don’t require any extra devices: they work out the box, via WiFi. This is great because you … Read more

Google Nest ‘Drop In’ Support (And What To Do Instead)

A Google Home Mini device placed on a wooden shelving unit

The Google Home range – which includes various Nest smart speakers and hubs including the ‘Mini’ devices – is a line of products known as ‘smart voice assistants’, and they rival Amazon’s Echo line-up. One of the features from Amazon Echo is the ability to ‘drop in’ on an Echo from anywhere in the world … Read more

Google Home Downtime: What, Why… and How To Turn It Off!

A phone screenshot from my Google Home app's "Downtime" feature, explaining what it does (including that alarms and timers will still be heard).

“Digital wellbeing” is an idea that appeared a few years ago, and it aims to address addiction to digital technology – such as social media and computer games – by limiting how much time can be spent on them. Smartphones increasingly offer this feature too, and it was recently rolled out to the Google Home … Read more

Your Nest Device May Be Pointless In Illnois (Or The EU!)

Nest help pages - familiar face detection

When you’re looking at Nest’s smart doorbells and cameras, you may see a symbol (indicating a footnote) whenever “familiar face detection” is mentioned: So what does this suspicious footnote mention? Scrolling down to the bottom of the page says: (1) Nest’s familiar face detection feature is not available on Nest Hub Max used in the … Read more

Is The Ring Stick Up Cam Discontinued?

The Ring Stick Up Cam installed outdoors.

The Ring Stick Up Cam was first released at the end of 2015, and it has undergone various redesigns since then, along with being released as Solar Powered and ‘Elite’ (power over Ethernet) versions. But the Ring Indoor Cam – released towards the end of 2019 – seems to offer the same or more features, … Read more

Alexa & Echo: Are Calls and Messages Free?

Screenshot of Alexa app, on the Communicate tab, showing Call, Message, Drop In and Announce features.

The “Communicate” tab on the Alexa app shows various options, including ‘Call’ and ‘Message’. This allows you to contact your Echo devices, but also people in your contact list. So are these calls and messages free, or do they cost money? The communication options within Alexa and Echo (including calls and messaging) are completely free, … Read more