Yet another reminder to use open software/systems whenever possible

Best Buy is leaving smart home users in the cold, but its Wi-Fi freezer will still mostly work

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Best Buy has quietly announced that the mobile app platform for controlling its Insignia brand of smart home devices will be shutting down on November 6th. The company says affected products will still function at a basic level, but any features that rely on its Insignia Connect app and platform will no longer work. The products include its Insignia smart wall plugs, Wi-Fi light switches, its smart camera, and its Wi-Fi freezer (yes, a Wi-Fi freezer). Best Buy is now running a reimbursement program for any unfortunate soul who decided to buy one of these products.

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Either way, the situation isn’t ideal for those who’ve bought into the Insignia platform for their smart home needs. This type of quiet shutdown has become an expected and unfortunate trend in the smart home space. Running these platforms in-house can sound like a great, cost-saving idea at first, but doing so over months and years appears to be difficult and costly. Customers are then left hung out to dry when the platforms are inevitably shuttered.

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Of course, putting your smart appliance eggs in a platform basket made by Best Buy is not exactly the savviest of consumer moves. But it shouldn’t be the norm that these software ecosystems are spun up with little thought into how long they’ll last, only to leave customers on the support line clamoring for their money back.

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It's very tempting to buy into one of the "ecosystems" (and apparently some people even got tricked into buying into Best Buy's), but it seems like no matter how stable the company or ecosystem is, eventually it's going to shut down.

I urge everyone to research the open solutions before jumping into a closed system. Yes, it is usually more work to get things set up, but worst case you end up learning something and you can rest easy knowing the products you've invested time and money in won't be taken away on a whim.