Take These 4 Steps Before Making Your House a Smart Home

February 2, 2015 10:22 AM EST

Companies selling smart home products are quick to say how easy it is to connect their devices to the Internet. And while most of the time they’re correct, they are sidestepping a big, thorny pitfall: namely, your home’s wireless network. Over the past year and a half, I’ve been working on turning my house into smart home, and have learned that nothing is more important — and infuriating — than my house’s Wi-Fi.

Here are four lessons I’ve learned so far:

1. Be smart about where you put your Wi-Fi router.

Apple is trying to make iPhones drive smart homes, and Google is putting the Nest Learning Thermostat at the center of operations. Yet, as smart as these companies are (and there are a lot of other players in this space), they have it completely wrong. Your in-home network—which for most people is their Wi-Fi connection—is what’s really running the show. So, before installing your first smart product, give your wireless router’s location some serious consideration.

For instance, my Wi-Fi router sits in the northwest corner of my house, in the basement, in an electronics cabinet next to my cable box, connected to the line that the cable company installed sometime in the AOL era. As a result, even with the newest Wi-Fi routers on the market, I have trouble getting a strong, stable internet signal in my backyard (because the radio waves struggle with traveling through the concrete foundation), my kitchen (where a firewall, refrigerator, stove, and other appliances block the way), the second story (we’re getting further from the router now), or in the garage (where the dead horse I’m beating gets stored).

It’s likely that your situation is better than mine, but whether it’s connecting your network to a water-leak sensor in your laundry room or a garage door opener in the yard, you are going to have connectivity issues at some point. Head those off at the pass by installing your wireless router on the ground floor as close to the center of your property as possible.

2. There are no great ways to extend the range of your home’s Wi-Fi.

Many products claim to extend your home’s Internet connection. Let me save you time and awful tech headaches: Avoid them all.

For example, power-line adapters, which let the home’s electrical wiring act like network cables, may sound magical, but they are fraught with hiccups from power surges to poorly-wired exchanges inside your walls. Likewise, so-called “multimedia over Coax” adapters can turn the coaxial cabling used for your home’s television service into an in-wall data network, but every place the line gets split, it introduces noise into the line, reducing your network’s speed and consistency.

The easiest solution is to use another Wi-Fi router as a network extender, but it’s still not ideal. The relayed signal from your network extender can slow your Internet connection by as much as 50%. For instance, if you’re paying for 60 megabit-per-second service from your Internet provider, your relay router may only deliver 30 mbps. Admittedly, that’s more than enough to drive a smart bulb or a motion sensor, but the problem comes when you try to stream a movie on your laptop or tablet because you’re not able to tell your computer to connect to one wireless router instead of another.

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**Nest** Acquired by Google in Jan. 2014, Nest Labs wants to turn your home into a smart device. The home automation system includes Internet-connected smoke detectors and thermostats, which have screens and chic, round designs — a huge design boost for devices that haven't really changed in recent decades. Aya Brackett—Nest

DJI Inspire 1 The latest DJI quadcopter retains the simple style that's made their drones so popular, but adds 4K video capability — and the ability to transmit the HD video wirelessly to an on-the-ground devices. A new ground-facing camera also allows Inspire 1 to fly steadily to keep the video footage clean. — **DJI Inspire 1** The latest DJI quadcopter retains the simple style that's made their drones so popular, but adds 4K video capability — and the ability to transmit the HD video wirelessly to an on-the-ground devices. A new ground-facing camera also allows Inspire 1 to fly steadily to keep the video footage clean.DJI

**iPhone 6 and 6 Plus** Bigger is better, or so the critics cried, calling for Apple to make a supersized phone. That was before Apple quieted them with the release of the iPhone 6 Plus in September, the company’s largest iPhone ever. With an alluring 5.5-inch display that makes it feel something like a portable iPad, the phone is is a challenge to Samsung’s larger models. Along with a powerful 8-megapixel camera and longer battery life, the phone is more a statement than an answer.Apple

**Osmo Tangram** Tired of seeing your kids staring at screens like zombies? This iPad game brings virtual play to life. A reflector equipped with artificial intelligence snaps over your iPad's camera and can sense when objects are moving (or being drawn) on a pad in front of it. Osmo comes with three games, all of which promote creativity and—because it’s best played in groups—social intelligence. The best way to understand how Osmo works is by watching the video of kids who have never played with the device before testing it out for the first time.Osmo

**Tesla 2014 Model S** Tesla 2014 Model S has been praised both for its luxury feel and high-tech interior. The electric car offers instantaneous acceleration from a stop, a function very few other cars on the market provide. Tesla

Jawbone's Up3 wristband — **Jawbone's UP3 Wristband** Depending on your view, Jawbone is on the road to making us all super fit athletes or brutally efficient cyborgs who operate by data alone. How many minutes of REM sleep did I get last night? What’s the difference between my heart rate while resting and during a workout? How hydrated am I? How many calories did I burn on my last run? Jawbone UP3 answers all those questions better than any other Jawbone did before. The $179 wearable fits on your wrist and comes in black and silver.Jawbone

**Square Stand** The iPad holder and credit card reader launched last year with the goal of transforming an iPad into a point-of-sale. The sleek, white stand also offers an enhanced credit card reader, and can be adapted to include a cash register.Square

**Nerf Rebelle Rapid Red Blaster** Last year, Nerf decided to even the battlefield and create a new line of guns, arrows and crossbows specifically for girls. The resulting Nerf Rebelle line takes a cue from the success of *The Hunger Games*: The box is covered with tweens styled like that series' hero, Katniss Everdeen.Hasbro

Oculus Rift Crescent Bay The latest Oculus Rift prototype, Crescent Bay, marks one step further before the commercial release of the virtual reality handset. Crescent Bay features upgrades like 360-degree head tracking, a lighter weight, and high-quality audio. Lucky participants in the demos recalled the mind-boggling immersion in the scenes they were watching. The consumer version, Oculus Rift, is expected to launch as early as April 2015. — **Oculus Rift Crescent Bay** The latest Oculus Rift prototype, Crescent Bay, marks one step further before the commercial release of the virtual reality handset. Crescent Bay features upgrades like 360-degree head tracking, a lighter weight, and high-quality audio. Lucky participants in the demos recalled the mind-boggling immersion in the scenes they were watching. The consumer version, Oculus Rift, is expected to launch as early as April 2015.Oculus VR

**Qualcomm WiPower** Sick of tangled phone charging cables? Qualcomm WiPower allows you to power up your phone without plugging it in — a function that, to most people, is basically magic. The wireless charging pad eliminates the fuss of power chords, while also allowing you to turn everyday furniture like tables and chairs into charging surfaces.Qualcomm

3. Hard-wiring your home is easier than you may think.

The most ideal solution, as far as I’ve been able to tell, is to network your home with ethernet cables, and either install multiple wireless routers around your home or use these new cable runs to plant smart home hub devices in more accessible spots. (These hubs, by the way, are also what run the smart home, since many devices connect to them, not necessarily to your Wi-Fi.)

But fear not, because if your home was wired for telephones, you may have what it takes to hardwire your home for ethernet. I cracked open my telephone receptacle to discover the house had been wired with Category 5 cabling (phone services only need Category 3), perfectly suitable for carrying data. When I told my electrician, he said he could convert the receptacles and run an extra cable up to my attic for around $250. The attic run would go alongside a heating duct (never put cables inside a heat vent, he warns), and only entailed minimal sawing or drilling.

4. Power is a problem.

One more thing to consider when planning out your smart home is having access to power. While some devices, like connected door locks, are powered by batteries, most are not. Whether it’s a web security camera or, to go back to the topic at hand, a wireless router, you’ll need to plug them in, and you’ll want to hide those power cords from view.

So, if you’re planning a remodel or renovation, consider installing outlets in kitchen cabinets, under windows where curtains can camouflage your wall worts, within a custom-built piece such as a bookshelf or bench, or even in floors, if possible. Also, invest in power outlets that include USB ports — this will help minimize the rat’s nest of wiring, extension cords, and splitters that you’ll need. And they will make your home look truly smart.

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