Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
Recently, when I started renovating my home, I knew it was the perfect time to rebuild my smart home from scratch. I’ve been on the smart home bandwagon for years, but cobbling together IoT products is never the right approach. Some things work, some don’t, and some don’t work quite as well as you’d want them to.
The best smart homes are the ones you never have to think about.
Over the years, I’d pieced together a mix of gadgets, platforms that included Alexa, Apple’s HomeKit and Google Home. And, of course, half-finished ideas. This time, I wanted something more deliberate based on my actual experience and requirements. No, that did not include a flashy setup packed with voice commands and novelty routines, but a smart home that just worked — reliably, quietly, and without falling apart the moment the power flickered or the WiFi stuttered. Clean wiring, stable connectivity, and simple automations that make daily life easier and seamless was the goal. Here are the five biggest takeaways from that rebuild and how I achieved it.
Drop wired internet wherever possible — and do double drops if you can
Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
If you’re opening up walls anyway, run Ethernet. I pulled CAT6 to every room and doubled up in key spots like my office, living room, and media cabinet. It’s a low-cost move during renovation that gives you flexibility for years. In fact, one of those extra drops came in handy right away. I accidentally drilled through a cable while mounting a shelf, and having a backup line already in place saved me from opening up the wall again.
Even though I already had a solid mesh WiFi network, I still prioritized wired connections wherever I could. Mesh is great for general coverage, but it can’t match the stability, low latency, and consistent speed of Ethernet. Wired lines also cut down on interference and congestion, which is something you notice quickly in smart homes where dozens of devices are chatting constantly.
Every device you can hardwire frees up bandwidth for what actually matters.
Every device you can hardwire, be it a streaming box, smart TV, access point, NAS box, or small server, takes pressure off your WiFi and frees up bandwidth for things that actually need to roam — like the best smartphones. That means fewer random dropouts, and less troubleshooting.
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