Welcome. We’re discussing smart home products that are suddenly becoming useless or “dummy” products, rendering your investment a waste of money.
I must admit, I regret my early enthusiasm for smart home tech. I was a big fan, including smart lighting throughout my home.
The Issue
I knew the cloud connectivity wouldn’t last forever. What I didn’t expect was for companies—some worth billions—to pull support so quickly. I anticipated 20 or 25 years, not five to ten years before they suddenly say, “We’re stopping support. Sorry, you’re on your own.”
The frustrating part is that these wealthy companies could easily offer a solution. For products like the Google Nest Thermostat (one topic we’ll discuss), they could release the source code for the app to the community. Users could host and use the app themselves on a home server. The company wouldn’t support it, but the community could maintain it. People would be fine with that compromise.
Neato
Case Study: Neato Smart Vacuums. Our first example is Neato, a long-running smart vacuum company.
Neato is shutting down services for some of its smart home vacuums. Smart vacuums are not like basic vacuums; they rely heavily on smart technology for mapping, scanning furniture, and avoiding collisions. If you move furniture, the smart tech adjusts its cleaning path. Without it, the vacuum essentially stops working correctly.
Neato originally promised five years of cloud support and services. Instead, they shut it down after only two years. Consumers are left with very expensive vacuums they were promised would have support for a significantly longer period, but the rug has been quickly pulled.
Google Nest Thermostats
Now we turn to the biggest name: Google Nest. The first and second-generation Nest Learning Thermostats are losing their core smart capabilities. While they’ll still function as basic, or “dummy,” thermostats, remote management and app connectivity will cease.
A company of Google’s immense size could easily offer a solution, such as releasing an open-source third-party app. They could provide the code and tell users, “Here’s the code to host the app on your own server (like on a Raspberry Pi or laptop). You can continue using it until the device physically fails.”
Worse, Google offered affected customers an email stating they could purchase the new fourth-generation Nest Thermostat for a discounted price—a $150 USD loyalty coupon off the normal $280 price. Essentially, they screwed over customers with little warning, only to suggest, “Spend more money on us.”
The Bigger Problem
This situation has caused a heated debate. Some people argue that getting ten years of use is enough and that nothing lasts forever. The problem with this mindset is accepting that multi-billion dollar companies, like Google, can provide a decade of use and expect customers to be grateful.
Why should a smart thermostat only last 10 years? AC and furnace units typically last 15 years minimum with proper maintenance. These folks are justifying multi-billion dollar companies essentially screwing over consumers without warning. There is no guarantee on the packaging stating, “Guaranteed 10 years of support.”
This defense demonstrates a sad mentality where people don’t realize they don’t truly own the smart capabilities of the product—the company can pull the rug at any time. This mirrors the issue with modern electric vehicles where, even if you buy the car outright, you may need a subscription fee to unlock its full speed and capability. You don’t own the entire product; you co-own the smart features via a subscription or cloud service. The same logic applies to the Nest Thermostat: you don’t own the entire thing because the smart features can be remotely disabled.
Google owns that smart capability portion, and this is the mentality people are drawn to: “Own nothing and be happy.” Consumers should not be happy with this; they deserve a clear warning that the product will become obsolete.
Another issue I raised in my Nest review (I own a third-gen) is the lack of personalised data. Google periodically sends emails detailing total kilowatts saved worldwide by Nest thermostats, but I never receive a report on my personal savings. The entire point of buying a Nest is the promised return on investment through energy savings. Where is the evidence? They hide individual data while advertising global success.
Bose Smart Features
Next, we look at Bose, another major player. Bose is removing key features from its SoundTouch speakers starting in February 2026. These speakers will lose cloud-based functions like integrated Spotify and multi-room playback.
Bose’s excuse is one of the worst PR statements possible: they claim “technology has evolved,” and they can no longer sustain development and support for the older cloud infrastructure. They can’t support the infrastructure? Again, they should release the entire platform as open-source. The community would successfully host it, likely embarrassing Bose and proving their statement false. This is a slap in the face to their customers.
WeMo: The Worst Offender
The absolute worst example comes from Belkin’s WeMo division. On their official website, Belkin released a statement titled “WeMo Support Ending: What You Need to Know.”
The company press release states that after “careful consideration,” they made the “difficult decision” to end technical support for older WeMo products effective January 31, 2026. After this date, several products will no longer be controllable through the WeMo app. Features that rely on cloud connectivity, including remote access and voice integrations, will stop working.
Their official statement concludes, “We understand this change may disrupt your routines, and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.”
The WeMo list on their website is extensive, affecting far more than a few products. The biggest insult is the discontinuation date relative to the last time some units were sold. The last sold date for some models was November 2023, meaning customers are getting barely two years of support before they are killed off.
While late-model smart plugs aren’t expensive, customers bought them without warning that support would end so quickly. These devices become mere bricks—useless pieces of plastic that cost $30-$40, when a free, basic wall outlet works just fine.
My concern is that some products in that list will become entirely useless. For example, the Wi-Fi Baby Monitor—will it be completely bricked because it relies on internet connectivity, or will it still function on the home network? It’s difficult to tell.
More E-Waste
Not only is this a waste of money, but it contributes heavily to e-waste. You can’t sell these devices because they’re no longer “smart.” Frustrated owners will simply throw them out, contributing to a massive, growing e-waste problem that we should avoid where possible.
What Can You Do?
The first answer is simple: Don’t buy smart home products. Many people argue that early adopters “should have known better.” While I knew they wouldn’t last forever, especially when reviewing them, I expected major companies like Google to offer support for 20 or 25 years—not ten. That’s pathetic.
For instance, the Nest Thermostat should have a support life that matches the furnace or AC unit it controls, which is a minimum of 15 years, and often 20-25 years with proper maintenance.
Option 2: Alternatively, you can choose to buy smart home products, but do so knowing that support could be shut off at any moment, even if the product has only been on the shelf for a couple of years.
The third option, more proactive solution is to research brand history. Look for companies with an excellent track record, especially those that have been around for over a decade and actively support their community.
Specifically, look for brands that allow you to use their products on your own hardware, like a Raspberry Pi or a home server/mini-PC. If they offer an open-source software option, hosted by the community, you are protected. If the company ever shuts down its cloud services, you can load the open-source software onto your dedicated 24/7 home computer, effectively running your own server to maintain the smart capabilities.
