The Best Smart Home Products Available (that I ACTUALLY use!)

What’s the best wireless outdoor camera with HSV support? A lot of people have Eufy but it can be mixed reviews. And the no two-way talk in HomeKit. Curious if there are some solid options. Would like to avoid running wires if possible.

👍👍💕💕

Jeez and we thought smartphones were fragmented lol. Dope video definitely learned some things watching. Dope video.

How to make Mini Splits smart? Does that thermostat you mentioned work with mini split systems?

Hi Shane, Thanks for sharing very interesting videos. I was wondering if you could guide or help me to become a licensed Smart Home installer to start this business in Canada. I really appreciate your comments on that.

Dude buys Lutron switches and blinds, then acts like Phillips Hue bulbs are unreasonably expensive. That's hilarious.

Have you tried the ecobee doorbell?

Nanoleaf sucks. Horrible customer service, slow updates and pairing impossible.

Oh my god all shit products

His garden is dead says it all

I use tempCube temperature and humidity sensor and its awesome! keeps my assets safe and sends alerts if the temperature rises above the preset levels

here in Ukraine, I found almost any smart device covered by Aqara! it's really affordable and I'm planning to base all my new home with Aqara. thanks Shane! love your videos, got a lot of useful stuff from your channel!

Logitech doorbell Cam is the worst experience I have ever used

Quick question, why did you choose the Logitech doorbell over Aqara or Eufy?

Great video and lot of commonality. For example, the “meh” attitude on smart bulbs is right on point. Without a doubt they are the least used, least reliable smart items I’ve purchased. I don’t need all the fancy colors - just a bright white bulb that stays connected. Switches and plugs are just more reliable and versatile. Other things - I returned or got rid of my Eufy stuff for obvious reasons, Schlage is expensive but worth it, I’m loving the Switchbot blind controller, and the Meross opener was a godsend after the silliness Chamberlain pulled with MyQ plug-in.

I use Phillips hue and it has CONSTANT connection problems. I don’t recommend them

Wow, I am new to all of this but I noticed that you did not cover any wall light switches....is there any reason for this or did you just not think of it?

Great video Shane, thanks. I'm still using Scrypted to translate my Dahua cameras into Homekit. Still waiting for a Matter firmware update for those.

Why are you so high on Secure Video that only does 1080P? Are there outdoor security camera's that work in HomeKit but without Secure Video?

You should try Nest Protects and Starling hub to connect them to Homekit. Also look at SecuritySpy to manage your PoE cams. It comes with Homehelper that allows motions detected for example to turn on Homekit lights. Thanks for the info.

Hi Shane, I’m just curious, why did you remove the eufy cameras? Is it for security or reliability reasons?

Doesn’t the HomePod HomeKit notify you if an alarm goes off anyway?

Do you know if the Lutron Caseta light switches or Aqara H1 light switches work on a two way circuit? Wanting to get my downstairs switch and upstairs switch to both be able to control the light upstairs.

Some things you missed I found to be great:
Cameras: Arlo Ultra 2 with 4k has native homekit secure support, they are top notch quality, true 4k video. Only downside is unless you record locally, needs a pricey subscription. Wort it still imo.
Door lock: Level lock is great Only downside is batteries go quickly, every 6 months or less for me. But super easy to replace, built into the dead bolt and they look the best
Smoke detector: First Alert OneLink Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector has homekit support.

Is there a Lutron Smart Switch that will control both the fan and light from one outlet?

I refuse to use Philips hue after they changed their TOS. No shot i need to share my data to turn on a lightbulb 😑🙄🙄

Thanks for this great video! I would like to have inside cameras but I was always afraid that the stream leaks in some random website... how do you prevent this ?? Thanks to anyone who could help

Some ppl say FP2 has a lot of bugs but you always say it is great. Haven't you had any issue with it?

I have a feeling that couldn't use the Abode Smoke Alarm Sensor because if its listening for the high pitch sound of a smoke alarm.. it's always going to go off when my mother-in-law comes over and opens her mouth.

Can I ask, why did you get rid of your Eufy Cameras?

👍great video again thanks for that. I've a question here (in 🇫🇷) : I use the Home app to control a few things, but I don’t have a Home pod or Apple TV.
I plan to buy the eero pro 6 E routers from Amazon, which are now a thread border router.
If I understood correctly a border router can make hub. So I think that could control my objects when I am away from home with my iphone, via the Internet and eero routers
What do you think?

How do you use flick twist is it’s not HomeKit compatible? Are there any alternatives?

What would you recommend for roller shade motor only? (Not the full shades like Lutron, Eve or Smartwings)

I want to start a smart home business where do I start

Instar does have PoE cameras that have native HomeKit support. Just installed them in my house

Super helpful for me! thanks Shane

I have to tell people to steer far away from Eve.

They have absolutely deplorable customer service. It took over a month of emails back and forth over a faulty Eve Energy and when they finally decided to send me a replacement they sent me one that just does NOT work. I got the replacement Sept 26 and instantly emailed them.

Radio silence. Nothing. No reply at all......completely ignored me.

After firing off a ton of nasty emails and commenting on twitter (and...bonus...messaging the CEO on LinkedIn)... they finally reached out on October 6.

10 days....10 days to reply to the complaint about the REPLACEMENT. My original email was sent Sept 3rd and on October 6th I now consider this "resolved" by just straight up giving up and I'm now on a crusade to get the word out about how horrendous the customer service from Eve is.

100% disgusting....but hey. It's your call. If you have any issue with any Eve product, strap in for the long haul of being ignored and feeling helpless.

Just look at any Eve device on Amazon and check the 1 star. You'll probably find some complaints about the horrible customer service.

I have a feeling it's kinda baked into the full Elgato/Eve company culture to just ignore complaints in general. Probably comes from the top and trickles down.

I need a camera for my 3d printer that does time lapse recording. It appears the aqara g2h pro does but has lower video quality. The g3 has better quality but doesn’t appear to have time lapse. Also they are more then double the price of wyze cameras. Any other alternatives? I know wyze isn’t HomeKit compatible but the price is right. I thought aqaras pricing was competitive

My favorites are Lutron, ecobee, Alen air, moen or Rachio for sprinkler, roborock, abode, Schlage & Reolink. Currently using ring/Alexa devices

So very similar setups

Hi Shane I am interested in the Govee permanent outdoor lights and was researching recently and saw mention of new permanent outdoor Pro lights and was curious if you had any info from Govee about them. Apparently they are supposed to come with the ability to splice. Thanks!

THANK YOU!!!! This is extremely helpful! I just moved and our stuff is a little outdated, so I’m in need of upgrading our stuff. No joke, I was about to message you to ask what your favorites on some of the topics you brought up.

For the security systems & outdoors cameras, do you pay a subscription service to those companies to use them? Why I ask is I have Ring and Blink and they’ve updated it to subscriptions and I’m trying to not utilize Amazon products anymore and more towards others that support home kit.
Again, thank you SO MUCH for making this video!

you can cut the controller out of the govee outdoor lights and hook up a flashed esp32 with WLED on it. then with HA you can have it in Homekit.

Great video Shane and appreciate you showcasing Aqara. Their products are overtaking the house LOL.

Disappointed... You forgot to mention that in order to use the Aqara water sensor with HomeKit you also need to purchase the Aqara hub.... I don't want another hub. Do you have a recommendation for a water sensor that work with HK natively?