this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2025
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It’s me. I have no fucking idea and the time to research it makes me quit before I start.
Couple that with the fact that asking questions from ignorance will most likely get two responses, both of which suck.
First, I’d probably get an info dump of terminology I don’t recognize and have to research each one before understanding what’s being said. That would take me back to my original stance of quitting before I started.
Secondly, I’d encounter loads of derisive assholes that scoff at my lack of knowledge.
EDIT: I’m one of the unlucky bastards targeted by this google fuckery. Obligatory link because fuck google. www.killedbygoogle.com
Someone should publish a guide or something similar.
I can sum it up for you. You won't go wrong with anything Zwave. Zigbee is also pretty good and cheaper. Matter is an up and coming standard so less fully formed but also good. Stick to those 3 and you should be good. There are some other niche ones like esp32 or KNX but generally those are more advanced or for specific use cases.
Man, thanks for trying to help. I really mean it, no snark.
This is me right now: “Hey Siri, what are Zigbee, Zwave, Matter, esp32 and KNX?”
Matter is more of a higher level IoT coordination protocol.
Zigbee and Zwave are radio protocols (relatively long range, low energy).
The neat thing here is you can bridge a lot of shit into Matter, and then use almost anything you want to control all the different devices. Everything becomes visible in the same control panel regardless of connection type and manufacturer. Everything becomes available for automation tools too!
If you run the software Home Assistant on a computer at home then it can act as your IoT control server, and giving it radio antennas for Zwave and Zigbee will let it act as a bridge to relay commands to devices that use those protocols (like a ton of small lights and sensors and more).
Unfortunately, with smart home stuff, you need to choose between ease of use and control. Google provides ease of use because their stuff all works together out of the box, but there's also a whole ecosystem of stuff that works together that takes a bit more effort to connect.
The barrier to actually controlling your smart home isn't super high, but there are some things you need to learn about to pick devices. Another user mentioned a few things to research, but I'll point you another direction that's a bit like throwing you in the deep end.
HomeAssistant is a self-hostable hub for various smart things. Basically, you'll install it on your computer and figure out which of your current devices work with it. Your setup will only be available at home until you get a way to access it from outside your home, but don't worry about that to start, there are services you can use to simplify that later (or ask on !selfhosted@lemmy.world). Once it's setup, you need to decide what things you can't connect that you'd like to replace and look at your options (most likely you'll pick ZigBee or ZWave devices, maybe Matter). HomeAssistant's website has a bunch of documentation about various devices, like which will work, so you can use that to help shop too.
If you can manage that, you'll get a lot more control over your smart home and eliminate whatever monthly fee you pay. Some devices won't be available, but the ones you pick will continue to work as long as the hardware isn't broken (even if the manufacturer discontinues support).
I'd like to add that accessing your things from outside the home is relatively simple if you have a static IP and you setup a VPN to your home with Wireguard.
Some advanced routers even have native support for Wireguard, like the Freebox in France or the Iliadbox in Italy.
And if you don't, it's also not that hard with something like Tailscale, and a reverse proxy with a DIY VPN isn't that hard either.
This helps. Thank you.
Don't hesitate to ask, that community I linked is especially excited to help people take ownership of their stuff.
Simply, check for cloud dependency; can you set it up without the thing’s app, without internet? Does it keep working when the internet is down?
Thread and matter can have “unique” implementations but it’s better than proprietary.
Also, if it works on multiple, competing platforms, it's likely following an open standard. Can you use a mix of devices from competing companies on a third, competing platform? If so, you'll probably be fine.