How-To Geek - Smart Home

Best Buy just slashed the price of this 75-inch Samsung TV by nearly $200

Jeff Turbett — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 19:50:14 GMT

While so many people wait around until Black Friday or Cyber Monday to buy a TV, the trick is that you don't have to wait until after Thanksgiving to find a great deal on a high-quality TV, especially if you just know where to look. Hint: Best Buy is the place to shop right now, especially if you're looking for a massive 75-inch TV from Samsung.

Someone made a Now Playing screen for their turntable using a Raspberry Pi

Jon Fingas — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 17:33:32 GMT

You don't have to give up the conveniences of digital music when you prefer the sound of vinyl, provided you're willing to put in some work. Reddit user Simon Trost has built a Raspberry Pi-based "Now Playing" screen, the VinylPi64, that automatically detects songs playing on your turntable.

Amazon's redesigned Fire TV Stick 4K draws power from your TV

Jon Fingas — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 14:20:33 GMT

Amazon is overhauling its media streaming devices. The shopping giant has not only introduced a revamped Fire TV Stick 4K, but is slimming down its lineup and promising more software upgrades.

Ring's bestselling 2K doorbell bundle is now $80 off at Best Buy

Jeff Turbett — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 19:41:13 GMT

Keeping your home or dwelling safe and protected is easier than ever with the massive popularity of smart doorbells and indoor cameras. Ring continues to be one of the industry leaders and as tech and AI evolve, these units are becoming more and more affordable, and right now, you can pick up one of the brand's bestselling bundles from Best Buy for some insane savings—and its $80 off, too.

4 open-source smart home devices that belong in your car

Adam Davidson — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 12:30:15 GMT

The term "smart home" can often be something of a misnomer. I have plenty of automations in Home Assistant that work when I'm outside of my home. There are several open-source smart home devices that you can use to extend your smart home to your car.

7 clever places to hide sensors and other smart home gadgets in your house

Tim Brookes — Sat, 26 Sep 2026 20:00:14 GMT

Having a smart home shouldn’t mean staring at sensors and flashing lights in every room. Some of the best things you can put in a smart home are inconspicuous and sometimes invisible. Best of all, you can go a long way towards hiding them with a few clever tricks.

The hidden costs of running a Home Assistant smart home (and why they're worse than you'd expect)

Adam Davidson — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 10:00:14 GMT

Home Assistant is free, open-source software that costs nothing to download and install. But the software is only the beginning. Running Home Assistant involves plenty of costs, many of which can be higher than you think.

3 Home Assistant projects to stay connected without the internet this weekend (Sep 25-27)

Adam Davidson — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 20:00:13 GMT

One of the biggest benefits of Home Assistant is that it offers local control, so your smart home doesn't stop working when the internet is down. If you're away from home when the internet connection dies, however, then you may be unable to reach your Home Assistant server even if it's still working fine. These projects offer some alternative ways to communicate with your smart home without relying on the internet.

Don't throw out these 7 old smart home devices, the open-source community found a way to rescue them

Adam Davidson — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 15:00:14 GMT

Buying smart home devices that rely on cloud-based services is always a risk. If the cloud service goes down, or worse, is discontinued completely, then your smart home devices can become nothing but expensive paperweights. Thankfully, there are plenty of open-source projects that can rescue smart home devices that have been abandoned by their manufacturers.

I tested USB-C rechargeable AA batteries in my security camera so you don’t have to

Cory Gunther — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 12:30:18 GMT

I love the convenience of my battery-powered home security cameras, but buying a dozen new AA batteries every few months—not so much. Most of the big-name security and smart device brands, like Arlo and Blink, strongly advise against rechargeable batteries, but I tried it anyway, and the results are better than I expected.