Home Lifx connected just to wifi or use internet as well? Plus overall home automation questions

[phillyman]

Hi all,

I‘m not into home automation or controlling my home when away. My father is curious about smart bulbs and he will get himself some, which brought up a question. We understand that the bulbs need wifi but do they also open a ”port” or at least an access vector to the internet? My assumption is yes but if all he wants to do is change colors and schedule on/off why would he need the web? Same BTW goes for his fancy Dyson?

My default premise is anything that is logged onto a wifi network is automatically transmitting to the web (their corporate overlords). Correct? Clearly updates would have to be but otherwise I just don‘t know. Can you point me to a good site/article about privacy etc? I remember when from time to time nest thermostats would go down and people couldn‘t regulate their heat. Not for me!

BTW this is the main reason I do not have any “smart” speakers. They just creep me out. We use old Apple routers, are there routers you recommend where you could monitor individual apps/devices and block them from accessing the web?

Down the road I already know it will become more and more difficult to keep the internet out of dumb appliances , so what do you do to protect yourself, recommend for family members. If one only uses HomeKit compatible devices, does Apple lock It down and maybe even strip some of the identifiers out, or ?

At least I changed the default passwords of certain items…

Thanks for the insights,
Philly

 

[iStorm]

I can't speak about Lifx as I have no experience with them, but just wanted to say that not all smart bulbs/devices require WiFi. Some are Bluetooth only. I have some HomeKit-enabled LED lightstrips from Sylvania that fall into this category (they also have light bulbs). They are controlled completely via Bluetooth and do not connect to WiFi at all.

In a very basic setup, you just add them to your Home app and control them with your iPhone and/or iPad - either manually in the app, or by telling Siri what to do.

If you're wanting to do automation/scheduling, or control them when away from home - then an Apple TV, HomePod, or iPad can be set up to act as the hub to handle the automation, but still controls the device via Bluetooth.

 

[kkclstuff]

im using 5 lifx bulbs
you can pair/add them directly to your "My Home" in HomeKit.app (only accessible on your LAN)
Using the Lifx.app to pair will give you more options (firmware updates, only LAN, or access via Cloud)

*Either way, you'll need the Lifx.app for any firmware updates.​

For example:

1. I pair new devices with Lifx.app (allowing automatic pairing to HomeKit),
2. update devices firmware,
3. un-link from the cloud (this can be left on if you want remote access),
4. then delete Lifx app.

I have full function/connectivity in HomeKit of bulbs, no connection from WAN. If I need to do a firmware update you can always reload the app, update and delete again.

 

[Ledgem]

Down the road I already know it will become more and more difficult to keep the internet out of dumb appliances , so what do you do to protect yourself, recommend for family members. If one only uses HomeKit compatible devices, does Apple lock It down and maybe even strip some of the identifiers out, or ?

As the joke goes, the "S" in "IoT" stands for security. (For those who didn't get it, IoT is an abbreviation for "internet of things," referring to "smart" home devices, like these light bulbs. There's no "S" in "IoT"... that's the joke, security is almost non-existent and you have no control over the device, itself.)

The current security best practice for IoT devices is to wall them off from the internet with a function called a VLAN (virtual local area network). This basically allows the devices to connect to your router and be seen on the local network, but their network rules differ from other devices and you can block internet access. Admittedly my own router does not yet support VLANs so I don't have experience with setting them up; the critical part would be to block incoming access from the internet, and I suppose it'd be up to you if you wanted to block outgoing access, too.

In general these devices take direction from your local controller (for HomeKit, they're controlled by your AppleTV, HomePod, or iPad acting as a home hub) and most probably don't rely on internet access. As long as you're working through HomeKit, even controlling things remotely should not rely being able to reach them directly through the internet.

Of note, some routers claim to be HomeKit compatible. As far as I have read, this means that they are able to determine if the device connecting to them is a "smart" home device and will automatically isolate them on their own VLAN. So if you don't want to mess with your own network settings, it may be something to look into.