homeassistant

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Home Assistant is open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first.
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Why do my LG smart fridge and my GE washer and dryer all have DNS servers? And is there a way I can control them without the manufacturer's miserable apps? (lemmy.radio)

submitted 3 weeks ago by early_riser@lemmy.radio to c/homeassistant@lemmy.world

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First thing I do when I get a smart appliance is scan it with nmap. This has revealed some interesting Easter eggs, like my Davis instruments air quality sensors having a local REST API.

Doing the usual scan against my GE washer and dryer shows that port 53 is listening. What could that be for? Is there a way I can at least query their status locally or something?

When I got the washer and dryer I was excited about the smart home features because getting an alert when my laundry is done or starting the washer remotely so the clothes are done when I get home are genuinely useful features. However, last time I checked the app none of that was available, so I just have these Trojan horses in my home spying on me with no benefit in exchange. Their app wanted my freaking mailing address when I signed up for their mandatory account, so the features mentioned above are the least they could offer in exchange for my digital soul. But I digress.

My fridge is in a similar situation. It commits the additional cardinal sin of ONLY being controllable via the app, with no on-board temp or filter status indicators whatsoever.

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[–] echo@lemmy.tf 8 points 3 weeks ago (13 children)

If you want your fridge to tell you its temp, just slap your own temp sensor in it. Put a mic by your laundry machine to detect the buzzer and alert you. DIY all the things, don't give these "smart" appliance companies money to spy on you.

[–] KyuubiNoKitsune@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 3 weeks ago (9 children)

The only issue I see is that getting most sensors to work in the fridge/freezer is difficult for 2 reasons, the cold fucks with the batteries and the metal body of the fridge fucks with the signal.

[–] claude_flammang@dju.social 1 points 3 weeks ago

@KyuubiNoKitsune
I use cheap Aqara sensors, in fridge battery hold several months, but in freezer I have to replace them every two months. Attenuation seems to be less of a problem, at least since I switched to Homeassistant with central coordinator and my Ikea ceiling lights in virtually every room act as repeaters. I the beginning I had separate hubs for each ecosystem and consequently 4 poor Zigbee networks.

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