One of our technicians recently did some troubleshooting of a customer’s Nest Protect smoke/CO2 alarms and determined that, unfortunately, they’d all been ruined because they weren’t protected from the dust and debris of a remodeling project in the home. Dust buildup on the outside or inside of a Nest Protect can stop its sensors from working properly. (The Nest Protect has 6 different sensors: Split-spectrum, carbon monoxide, heat, humidity, occupancy, and ambient light.)
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In addition, a Nest Protect's sensors can be damaged by common cleaning chemicals, paint, or too much water. So, be sure to take steps to protect your Nest Protects when needed and to clean them periodically as well.
Here are some tips:

• Never use detergents or solvents (like glass cleaner).
• Don't spray air fresheners, hair spray or other aerosols near your Nest Protects. These chemicals will damage them and can make them non-operational.
• Don't get water inside your Nest Protects.
• Don't paint any portion of your Nest Protects. Paint will seal the vents and affect their ability to detect smoke and carbon monoxide.

 
​To clean the outside of a Nest Protect: Wipe with a soft, slightly damp, lint-free cloth.

To clean the smoke chamber inside: Take the Nest Protect off the wall or ceiling and follow the steps detailed on Nest’s website that correspond to the model you have. (On Nest's website, click on Nest Protect, scroll down, and choose the model you have - 1st gen Nest Protect or 2nd gen Nest Protect.)
 
For installation or troubleshooting of Nest Protects, please contact AvidWorks Technology at [email protected] or by calling (800) 701-9021.

​Every year at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, manufacturers put their latest technologies on display. We attended in hopes of finding some cool smart home products we couldn’t live without.

• We were surprised at the sheer number of smart security cameras, video doorbells, door locks, and thermostats available from various manufacturers. There are far more choices than we realized from Samsung Wisenet, Honeywell, Ring, Blink, Zmodo, Somfy Systems, Sengled, Johnson Controls, RCA, Interlogix, Kwikset, Yale, Brinks, Schlage, etc.
• Voice control of smart home products was especially big this year with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant seemingly incorporated into just about every product we looked at.

We found several smart home products that we thought were noteworthy:

Bitdefender BOX
An absolute necessity rather than a frivolity,  Bitdefender BOX 2 is a smart home cybersecurity hub that protects an unlimited number of your internet-connected devices from malware, stolen passwords, identity theft, spying, etc. It helps manage all the devices in your home and includes parental controls to monitor your kids’ online activities and manage screen time. (We purchased Bitdefender for ourselves during the show!) ​

GarageSmart MyLifter
For anyone needing more garage storage space, this is one possible smart home solution. GarageSmart’s MyLifter is designed to lift bikes, a kayak or canoe, a storage platform, car roof rack, etc., enabling you to keep them off the garage floor. Additional products that can be attached to the GarageSmart track such as a spotlight, speaker, extension cord, fan, parking assist/camera laser, air hose, and battery backup are coming soon. Also, coming soon is a voice module so devices can be controlled with Amazon Alexa.

​For installation assistance for these products (or any smart home products), contact AvidWorks Technology at [email protected] or by calling (800) 701-9021.

You may have great Wi-Fi inside your home, but how strong is your Wi-Fi signal outside where you’re looking to have cameras installed? You can determine this by standing as close as possible to a proposed camera location and running a speed test on your smart phone. Make sure you’re connected to your Wi-Fi network, and then try a service such as www.speedtest.net or www.speedof.me to check your network’s upload and download speeds. If your upload speed is less than 1Mbps, you will likely experience problems streaming video.

Here are some tips for improving your Wi-Fi:
1.       Move your wireless router
Moving your wireless router out from inside a closet or underneath a desk may be all that’s needed. Or, you may want to move it to a room that’s closer to the location of your proposed camera(s). Then, run the Wi-Fi speed test again and see if your results have improved.
​2.       Install a Wi-Fi extender
Another option is to purchase a Wi-Fi extender, which will provide a stronger signal to a location that has a weak signal or that was out of range of the router. Ideal placement is about halfway between your router and your proposed camera location. Try different locations and compare Wi-Fi speed test results to determine the best final placement.

​The number of walls a Wi-Fi signal must travel through can significantly affect its performance.

3.       Upgrade your internet service plan
Keep in mind that all of your connected devices are sharing the same Wi-Fi signal and this can affect their performance. If you have an internet service plan that’s on the slower side, you might want to upgrade.
4.       Use your router's 2.4GHz band  
If your router supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, try connecting to your 2.4GHz band to increase your network speed outside your home. 2.4GHz travels through walls more easily and can potentially enable a better signal at the proposed camera location(s).