Not sure where to set up your new smart home hub? Well, you should definitely be avoiding these five common areas in your house.
If you’re new to the smart home world, the first product you should invest in is a smart hub. A hub acts as the centre of your smart home automation and connects all your smart devices together. Although most devices can be easily controlled with an app, if you have multiple gadgets from different brands, you can control everything in one place with a smart hub, rather than having to download different apps and software.
In general, having a smart home hub can make your life easier by automating your daily tasks and communicating with your other smart devices, like security cameras and video doorbells. A few examples of popular smart hubs include the best smart speakers and smart displays like Amazon Echo Show devices which have become increasingly popular.
After you’ve bought your smart hub, you’ll need to find a good place to put it. Taking time to decide where to place your hub is important, as where you put your speaker or display can affect its responsiveness, privacy and cause damages.
Here are five spots you should avoid putting your smart home hub.
1. Bedrooms
While putting a smart hub, display or speaker in your bedroom sounds pretty logical, many experts have suggested they should be kept out of intimate parts of your home. As stated by Fox News, devices like the Echo Dot are “designed to take commands from the sound of your voice, and are naturally intended to always be listening.” Having devices ‘listen in’ to your conversations is one of the main reasons people are hesitant to use smart home gadgets, but there are many security measures in place to protect your privacy. However, keeping your smart display or speaker out of private areas of your home, like the bedroom and bathroom, is advised. Instead, place your hub in a commonly used room like the living room or kitchen which is where it’ll be utilised most anyway.
2. Near windows
Putting your smart hub close to your windows isn’t particularly secure. If you keep your windows open, a potential intruder or thief can easily reach in and grab your device. But the real risk is that people could gain access to your devices from outside of your home. If someone spots your Google Nest Hub Max from your window, they can easily say wake-up phrases like ‘OK Google!’ and they’ll have control of your device. Furthermore, if you have multiple smart devices linked to your home hub or display, people can gain access to them which poses an even bigger security risk, especially if you have gadgets like the best smart lock on your front door.
3. Next to the sink
This next spot is a fairly obvious one but it’s worth mentioning anyway. Your smart display or speaker shouldn’t be too close to your sink to prevent any water damage or your device accidentally falling into the sink. The same can be said for your bath, and as already mentioned, your smart hub is best kept out of your bathroom for privacy reasons.
4. Too near your TV
Putting your smart hub too close to your TV is a big no-no, mainly just for your own sanity! Firstly, the amount of adverts that use wake-up words for Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri can set off your device which is incredibly irritating. Additionally, if your hub gets activated by your TV and you’re having a personal conversation, your device could record that which puts your privacy at risk.
If you have an Amazon Fire TV and you’re using voice commands to control it, you could also activate your display or speaker at the same time. This will likely result in your hub having issues with your command and your TV and display talking over each other and confusing one another. Keeping them apart is your best bet.
5. Inside cabinets, cupboards or drawers
I’m not sure why you’d put your smart hub in a cabinet unless you weren’t using it anymore but it’s worth mentioning that you shouldn’t keep your display hidden away. While you might want to hide its wires, keeping your hub in a cabinet, cupboard or drawer will affect its responsiveness and answers. Essentially, it won’t be able to hear or communicate with you effectively which will impact what tasks it does for you and how well it completes them.
Where should I put my smart home hub or display?
Unsurprisingly, your smart display, speaker or hub needs to be accessible to you so it needs to be out in the open. For any smart home device, it’ll need a power outlet, a Wi-Fi signal and if it’s battery powered, you’ll need to be able to reach it easily for charging purposes. With this in mind, put your smart hub somewhere where you can see it, ideally on a shelf in your room of choice. You can also mount it on a wall for easier accessibility, but make sure it’s not in clear view of a window.
