this post was submitted on 11 Oct 2025
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... and all the actual tech nerds who told everyone they should avoid smart devices like the plague laugh and laugh...
And the pro tech nerds who told everyone to use local-only, non proprietary smart devices so they can still have a secure, ad-free smarthome laugh as we walk through the house without ever touching light switches.
I’ve been wanting to set up something like this for a while. Have any guides or a good place to start?
Exactly. It's not the smart part of a device that is the problem. That's an extreme overreaction.
The problem with most smart devices today is that they are proprietary, non-fully libre and open source, for-profit, cloud-connected, corporate committee designed spyware, adware, and bloatware.
Devices that are fully FLOSS (firmware, hardware, software) and based on open and free standards and protocols are awesome, but they get easily forgotten.
The Internet and your technology can be so much better. Demand it.
Can you recommend some light switches like that?
Z-wave or zigbee. They use an alternative to wifi.
User in tandem with a open source system like home assistant.
There is plenty of information on !selfhosted@lemmy.world and !homeassistant@lemmy.world if you're looking for more than the most basic motion- or remote-controlled light switches.
Yes but I have done zero maintenance on my light switches in over 30 years. No downtime either or updates.
I have done zero maintenance on my light switches in all my life, and I never had any smart home stuff, lol
To be fair I put in all my smart lights once 7 years ago haven't touched them a single time in that entire span. Took an hour to set up.
And now my alarm turns on lights which helps me wake up :D
I literally don’t believe you. Wi-Fi? Zigbee? Z-Wave? Not a single reset or re-pair because you changed some password or bridge or the power went out and one of them needed a little encouragement?
My smart switches have zero downtime. If I attack my server with an hatchet I lose smart functionality but pressing the switch still works, just like yours.
It doesn't take much to avoid the bullshit devices.
Oh, you own a house, I see, ok, that explains that.
I really don't. I can find no joy about being right about the state of our world. Quite the opposite.
You think “actual tech nerds” don’t like smart devices? I don’t think you know what a “tech nerd” is.
Actual tech nerds love the tinkering to make it work again until the moment they are tired of it and just want something that works. I'm in the tinkering phase.