Wasted $150 on a wireless relay that couldn't handle a basic doorbell circuit

2 comments

2 Comments

Buddy of mine tried to wire up one of those smart relays for his garage door opener. Spent a whole Saturday running wires and setting it up in the app. Thing clicked and hummed for like two seconds then just died. He said it smelled like burnt plastic. Ended up driving to the hardware store and getting a basic mechanical timer switch for twenty bucks. That cheap thing has been running solid for like three years now.

lisa_grant23d ago

Oh man, that's exactly why I gave up on smart home stuff for basic jobs. Ngl, I tried a WiFi smart switch for my porch light a couple years back. Spent an hour getting it connected to the app, and then the app updated and it just refused to work again. I swapped it out for a simple old school timer you twist and click. That thing has been running for maybe four years now with zero issues. Honestly, sometimes the dumb technology is the smartest choice. There's something nice about a switch you can just set and forget.