Are You Buying a Future Brick?

The promise of the “smart home” was a future of convenience, efficiency, and seamless automation. We bought into the vision of light bulbs that dim with a voice command, thermostats that learn our habits, and security systems we can monitor from halfway across the world. But for a growing number of consumers, that dream is turning into a nightmare of expensive, useless hardware. The culprit? A business model built on centralised control and proprietary systems.

“Old St. Pats wall” (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) by niznoz

Every time you buy an Internet of Things (IoT) device that relies on a company’s specific cloud servers to function, you’re not just buying a piece of hardware. You’re making a bet on that company’s long-term survival and commitment. It’s a bet that many are now losing, as a graveyard of abandoned smart devices grows.

Here are just a few of the more recent and prominent casualties:

1. Google Nest Secure (2024)

In a move that sent a chill through the smart home community, Google announced that its Nest Secure alarm system would be completely discontinued on April 8, 2024. This wasn’t a gradual phase-out; the entire ecosystem, including the Nest Guard hub, Nest Detect sensors, and Nest Tag key fobs, was rendered inoperable overnight. For customers who had invested hundreds of dollars into the system for their family’s security, their functional hardware was turned into e-waste by a corporate decision. While Google offered compensation, the event served as a stark reminder that even the largest tech companies can and will pull the plug.

2. Insteon (2022)

A long-standing player in the smart home market, Insteon abruptly shut down its cloud servers in April 2022 without any warning. Users who had invested thousands of dollars into their home automation systems, including smart plugs, switches, and hubs, woke up one morning to find their setups completely unresponsive. The company’s digital disappearance effectively bricked countless homes. This was particularly painful for users who’d built their entire home automation around Insteon’s ecosystem over many years.

3. Wink (2020)

Wink’s failure was a different, but equally frustrating, kind of betrayal. Rather than shutting down outright, the company suddenly switched to a mandatory monthly subscription model in May 2020, giving users only a week’s notice. Those who refused to pay found their Wink hubs and all connected devices—from smart plugs to sensors—became severely crippled. Automations stopped working and app control was lost. In essence, the hardware customers had bought and owned was held for ransom, demonstrating how a sudden change in business model can be just as destructive as a complete shutdown.

4. Wyze Cam v1 (2022)

The case of the original Wyze Cam is a story of forced obsolescence. In February 2022, Wyze “retired” its first-generation budget security camera, citing its inability to support a critical security update. While the cameras weren’t remotely disabled, the company ceased all support and security patches. This left users with a difficult choice: continue using an insecure camera on their network, or throw away a perfectly functional piece of hardware. It highlights a more subtle way devices are bricked—not by being turned off, but by being left dangerously vulnerable.

5. Revolv (2016)

While not as recent, the Revolv shutdown by Google’s Nest subsidiary remains one of the most egregious examples of corporate disregard for customers. In April 2016, Nest announced it would completely brick the $299 Revolv smart home hub on 15 May 2016—giving customers just one month’s notice. The device, which had been sold with promises of a “lifetime subscription,” would cease functioning entirely. Unlike simply ending software updates, the hubs required a permanent connection to Nest’s cloud service and had no local-only mode. The decision sparked outrage, with customers rightly furious that a company could remotely render their purchased hardware completely worthless.

The Common Thread: A Lack of Control

The pattern is clear. When you buy a device tied to a proprietary, cloud-dependent ecosystem, you do not truly own it. You have a temporary licence to use it, subject to the whims, financial stability, and strategic decisions of a distant corporation. Your expensive hardware is one corporate pivot or bankruptcy away from becoming e-waste.

And it’s not just small startups that can’t be trusted. As the examples above demonstrate, even tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and IBM will pull the plug when the numbers don’t add up. No company is immune from the temptation to cut unprofitable product lines, regardless of the impact on customers who’ve invested thousands in their ecosystems.

The Open Source Alternative

This is where the argument for Open Source becomes not just a matter of principle, but of practicality and long-term ownership.

Imagine a world where your smart devices run on firmware that you can inspect, modify, and update yourself. Imagine a smart home hub that runs on your own local network, not on a server on another continent controlled by a corporation with quarterly earnings targets. This is the world that Open Source software and hardware enables.

Frameworks like Home Assistant are at the forefront of this movement. Home Assistant is a powerful, open-source home automation platform that puts local control and privacy first. It runs on your own hardware—a Raspberry Pi, an old laptop, or a dedicated server—and integrates with thousands of devices. More importantly, it gives you the power to create a truly smart home that you own and control, free from the fear of a company shutdown or a surprise subscription fee.

When the device firmware itself is Open Source, you have the ultimate guarantee. Even if the original manufacturer disappears, the community can continue to support and develop the product. The hardware remains yours, fully functional and adaptable. Projects like ESPHome and Tasmota have breathed new life into countless devices, replacing cloud-dependent firmware with local control.

Building for the Long Term

This is the philosophy I’m bringing to my own projects. I believe in building technology that empowers, not entraps. That’s why the two major projects I’m currently working on will be fully Open Source from day one:

• An Open Source Irrigation Controller: A smart, flexible system for managing water resources efficiently, designed for Australian conditions but usable anywhere. (link coming soon)
• An Open Source Sourdough Environment Controller: A device to help bakers create the perfect environment for their starter and dough, because good bread shouldn’t require a cloud connection. (link coming soon)

Both projects will use open hardware designs, open firmware, and integrate seamlessly with Home Assistant. If I get hit by a bus tomorrow, the designs will live on. That’s the promise of Open Source.

The Choice Is Yours

By choosing and building Open Source, we’re not just buying a product. We’re investing in a future where we own and control our technology, a future where our smart devices can’t be turned into bricks overnight by a quarterly earnings call on the other side of the world.

The next time you’re tempted by a shiny new IoT gadget, ask yourself: Will this still work if the company goes bust? Can I control it locally? Is the firmware open? Your wallet—and the environment—will thank you for asking those questions.

Because the real question isn’t “are you buying a future brick?” It’s “are you willing to accept that you might be?”

• Iot
• Open Source
• Digital Sovereignty
• Privacy
• Smart Home