What happens to your smart home devices when there’s no Internet connection? It all depends on the individual device: here’s what to expect
What happens to your smart home devices when there’s no Internet connection? Do they turn into mere knick-knacks or do they retain some functionality? There’s really no single answer, because it all depends on the individual device.
Every time you install a smart device in your home, it’s perfectly normal to wonder what might happen if the Internet connection is lost. In fact, these devices work thanks to the network and store information in the cloud. If the connection is missing, most of the functions stop and it is important to know this beforehand. This talk is crucial when referring to critical and vital devices, such as smart thermostats and meters, but also smoke detectors and smart locks. The good news is that in principle they still work, but they lose some features that are better to know.
Switches, rooms and other smart devices: how do they work without the internet?
Let’s start with the good news. Smart switches continue to work even when there’s no Internet, but they activate in the traditional way, not with innovative voice commands. For example, some smart light bulbs, such as Philips Hue turn on and off even without web access, but they cannot in any way be controlled remotely.
The same goes for several CCTV cameras installed inside the four walls of the home. If they are connected in the cloud to an app, all it takes is for the connection to drop for a moment to lose the transmitted images. This happens, for example, with a smart home security camera called Nest. Without the Internet, it is no longer possible to watch any video, not even previous videos. Other wi-fi connected cams manage their recordings differently. For example, the Arlo Pro system can record video through a connection to a USB stick that has a data connection. It will continue to record video in the cloud, but if the wi-fi goes down, the internet support will move to the USB stick.
Finally, there are the smart alarms and timers that fortunately work even without the internet: they will wake the user up at the set time, without the need for a connection. Of course, it won’t do any good to say the voice command “Turn off”, but you’ll have to do it manually.
What about smart thermostats?
Thermostats are part of the “vital devices” category and are very important for living peacefully and without worries. In principle, a smart thermostat in the absence of connection should work as well as a traditional one, and as well as for all critical appliances in the home. All the features that make them “smart” immediately turn “traditional” until the network returns.
The only devices that become virtually useless, like knick-knacks to be dusted off, are Digital Assistants, such as Amazon Echo and Google Home. At most, you can control your phone’s voice assistant, if you take advantage of the data connection. In short, the absence of a valid connection jeopardizes the smart home, which loses all the smart peculiarities to become the classic and traditional home we are used to.