5 Things to Know Before Buying smart electronics

Smart home devices make everyday life more convenient, letting you automate your lights, TV, thermostat, and more. But no tech is foolproof, and when your tech doesn't work the way you want it to, your life doesn't either.

Take it from us. We help more than 300 million customers across the globe take care of their devices so odds are there isn't a glitch we haven't seen—or fixed. Here's our guide to frequent issues affecting smart homes and what you can do to resolve them.

1. Your smart devices aren't compatible with each other

For years, consumers have had to buy devices from the same brand—like Amazon™ or Google®—to make sure they're compatible. To make matters even more confusing, different smart devices use different methods to connect wirelessly (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®, Zigbee®, and Z-Wave®), which means they can't always connect and communicate with each other. If you're not aware of this, you've probably experienced one of the most frustrating smart home challenges: You end up buying devices that don't play well together.

The good news is that tech companies are working to improve the situation with Matter™, a new standard that simplifies smart home systems, making it easier to connect and use devices from different brands. But Matter isn't widespread yet. Until then, invest in a smart home hub that connects and communicates with the automated tech in your home, including smart cameras, plugs, lights, and thermostats. And before buying a new smart device, double-check that it's compatible with the tech you already have.

To learn more, check out our guide to setting up your smart home plus our picks for five of the best smart home devices on the market.

How smart is your home?

Calculate your smart devices, bust common myths, and explore tips from your neighborhood tech experts.

Learn more

2. Your smart device won't connect to Wi-Fi

Smart home devices need Wi-Fi to work. So if your smart cameras keep dropping the feed or your smart lights keep malfunctioning, a network connection could be to blame. Before doing anything:

• Make sure your router is plugged in and confirm that the device in question is trying to connect to the correct network. Try turning off the Wi-Fi on your device, then turning it back on.
• Make sure you're using the correct Wi-Fi password on your smart device and router.
• Confirm that your phone, computer, or another smart device can connect to Wi-Fi. If not, there's likely a larger issue that's unrelated.

If you're still having trouble, try the following fixes, in order.

Make sure your smart device and router are updated

Outdated software can cause connection problems, so it's a good idea to turn on automatic updates—if they're available—for your router and smart home devices. And if automatic updates aren't an option, make sure to check regularly for updates for your smart devices and router.

Restart your router

To restart your router, unplug it, wait 30 seconds, then plug it back in. Your network will disappear from your Wi-Fi list for a few minutes. If your router doesn't come back online, contact your internet service provider.

Restart your smart device

A restart will refresh the settings on your smart device without erasing any of your data. Look up step-by-step instructions on your manufacturer's website.

Move your device and router closer together

If your smart device still isn't connecting to the internet, try moving it closer to your router—or, if your router is in a faraway corner of your home, move it to a more central location. Doing so will improve your chances of getting a more consistent signal.

To learn more, check out our guide to boosting your Wi-Fi signal strength.

Make sure you have the best Wi-Fi router for your home

Older routers struggle to keep up with all the devices on your network, so it might be time to invest in a new one. If you live in a larger space, consider a mesh network, which uses multiple connection points throughout your home to create a more stable network everywhere you go.

It's also possible that certain router settings could be blocking your smart device. These are device-specific, so reach out to your router's manufacturer for help.

Read our guide to learn more about how to pick the best Wi-Fi router for your home.

3. Your smart device is having battery drain issues

To avoid a fast-draining battery, try these tips:

• Check the battery status on your smart tech. A red or flashing light typically means you need to change batteries.
• Make sure your smart device is in range of your Wi-Fi network. If it's too far away, it'll run down its battery as it constantly searches for a signal.
• Adjust your device's settings. Turning off settings you never use will help improve battery life.

4. Your smart device goes off at the wrong time

Smart devices are supposed to make life easier, so when a device doesn't work properly, it can be really frustrating. This can happen with smart security cameras, which have been known to trigger an alert on your phone for something as simple as your dog jumping off the couch or the wind causing a tree branch to shift. To avoid false alarms:

• Make sure your camera/sensor is properly installed. If it's near an air vent, facing a heat or light source, or in direct sunlight, it's more likely to go off accidentally. Also, consider locations that pets and children can't reach.
• Take advantage of smart zones, which tell the camera to ignore movement in certain parts of your home. You can also exclude certain areas from motion detection zones.
• Regularly check the batteries, and make sure your phone, router, and other wireless devices stay at least a few feet away from your cameras.
• Check out your camera manufacturer's support page for more information on how to adjust settings to reduce false alarms.

5. Your smart device is difficult to use

Everyone has a different comfort level around technology and different degrees of experience installing it. Even if a smart device is marketed as DIY-friendly, that may not mean you can (or want to) do it on your own. There's no wrong time to hire a professional to help set up your smart home tech. We're always here to help you learn more about smart home installation.

Curious to read more about smart home pros and cons? We've got your covered with everything you need to consider before switching to a smart thermostat, a smart lock, or a smart home security system.

Make sure your smart home is protected

An Asurion Home+® protection plan provides coverage for nearly all the technology in your home with one simple plan. Laptops, tablets, TVs, gaming consoles, smart thermostats, and so much more—even future purchases. Plus, you'll get 24/7 live expert support and robust digital security. Learn more about Asurion Home+® coverage and how you can get peace-of-mind electronics protection.

A listicle of the things you should consider before buying a

• Display type of TV

• Screen Size

• Screen Resolution

• Refresh Rate

• Connectivity Options

• Sound

• Price

We’re here with our TV buying guide to help you decide.

• LED, QLED, or OLED - The Basic Difference First

The most important thing in any TV is - The Screen. And among the screen, there is a lot to consider in terms of panel technology. Choose from an array of technologies, such as plasma or even standard LCD, there are still plenty of new screen technologies such as OLED and QLED that might confuse buyers. Here are the basics that go into each popular screen technology.
Read More: 55 inch TVs from Samsung, Sony, Mi, Redmi & More
QLED OLED LED Black Level Good Perfect Good Motion Blur Great Perfect Good Viewing Angle Poor Great Poor Colour Volume Great Good Good Grey Uniformity Average Good Average Luminosity Great Good Great Image Retention Great Poor Great Price and Availability In India Poor Average Great

OLED

Widely considered to be the most easily available screen technology these days, OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) is also the most expensive type of television. The technology uses individual organic pixels that emit light when an electric current passes through it. OLED TVs are known for having the best black levels, as areas of the screen that are black are able to simply switch off, even while other parts of the screen are lit.

Our recommendation of the best OLED TV

Check out the options of OLED TV

here

LED or LCD

The most widely used TV screen technology, LED-LCD —or simply LED as it is usually marketed — is essentially the same liquid crystal display, but with LED (light-emitting diode) backlighting. This not only allows for the TV to be slimmer and sport smaller borders around the screen but also offers a brighter viewing experience. It's also significantly more energy-efficient than CCFL backlighting, making this the favoured form of the screen today.

Check out the options of LED or LCD TV

here

Our recommendation of the best LED TV

Quantum Dot

Often called QLED — a marketing term made popular by Samsung — this is a relatively new screen technology that uses quantum dots (a type of semiconductor) to produce coloured light. This uses a quantum dot layer that is said to improve brightness and colours on the TV. Quantum Dot LED screens are said to be better than standard LED-LCD screens, coming close to OLED screens in many ways on performance.
This is a relatively new, uncommon and expensive screen technology. It's being heavily promoted by Samsung for some of its high-end TVs, with the pricing of these options just a bit lower than that of OLED TVs in most cases. Samsung isn't the only one in the market with this technology; notably Vu also a quantum dot model in India.

Check out the options of QLED TV

here.
Read More: 43 inch TVs under Rs 30,000

Our recommendation of the best QLED TV

• Screen Size of the TV

Whether you want to buy a basic or high-performance TV, the most important factor to consider will probably be the screen size. Consider the number of people in your family who watch the television at one given time and where you wish to place it in the house. Then pick the screen size that will fit comfortably into that space and also your budget.
Screen size also depends on how close you sit to the TV. A good rule of thumb is that you should sit at a distance from the TV that is three times more than the height of the screen for HD and just 1.5 times the screen height for 4K Ultra HD. Thus, you can sit twice as close to a 4K UHD TV.
Even though 4K content is still not that easily available, you may want a higher-resolution technology if you plan to sit close to a very large screen.
Check out 4K TVs under 30000 from OnePlus, Mi, etc.
Precisely, choose a screen size and resolution appropriate for the distance you will sit from the screen.
Check out all the sizes of televisions

• 8K, 4K or HD Screen Resolution

Resolution describes the number of pixels required to make up the picture on a screen. More pixels result in a sharper picture and finer details, so a higher resolution is better.
For a very long time, full HD was the standard type of TV and is still the most common resolution in TVs available around the world. However, TV manufacturers are increasingly producing Ultra HD sets (also called 4K). These have four times the number of pixels as current HDTV screens.
The biggest benefit of 4K television is that small objects on the screen have more detail, including sharper text. On the whole, the images appear richer and more life-like as compared to the ones on an HDTV.
With the technological advancements, there are 8K TVs also available in the market now, such as Samsung's Q900 8K TV and LG's 88-inch Z9 OLED. These displays quadruple the resolution seen on 4K sets, offering a giant leap forward in picture quality, but finding content to fully take advantage of that higher resolution is extremely limited.

Check out the best screen revolution TVs

here

• Refresh Rate - The faster the better it is

The refresh rate, mentioned and measured in Hertz (Hz), describes how many times a picture is refreshed on the screen per second. The standard refresh rate is 60 times per second. However, in scenes with rapidly moving objects, a 60 Hz refresh rate can make things look blurry, primarily on LCD HDTVs. So, to create a more solid picture, manufacturers have massively increased the refresh rate.
Some new models boast of High-Frame Rate (HFR) support, which means they have a higher refresh rate along with added support for content with higher than 60 Hz frame rates.
Gamers, specifically, will get a lot from a 60Hz TV, but most TV shoppers shouldn't buy a TV with less than a 120 Hz refresh rate.

Check out the best TVs with the fastest Refresh Rate

here

• HDMI, Connections and more options

In your hustle of purchasing TV do make sure to pay attention to the number of HDMI inputs a set has. These ports can be used in several ways, like adding a soundbar, a chromecast and a game console.
If you decide to take the plunge and get a 4K Ultra HD, make sure the ports on the TV also support HDMI 2.0 to accommodate future Ultra HD sources. Many TVs on the market have only one port that supports the 4K copy-protection scheme known as HDCP 2.2 (high-bandwidth digital content protection).

Choose the best TV with connectivity options

here

• Smart TVs or Not

Just as mobile phones have now evolved to smartphones, the concept of the smart TV is also gaining pace. And just like smartphones gain their smart status of being smart because of their internet connectivity and access to apps, Smart TVs are made smart by the same level of connectivity. A smart TV is one that is capable of connecting to the Internet to fetch content and services directly, without the need for an external device such as a set-top box, USB drive, streaming dongle or Blu Ray player.
Smart TVs have built-in apps that allow the TV to use its Internet and fetch content. A lot of TVs also have a built-in Internet browser, which allows users to visit websites. TV manufacturers often use different smart operating systems and overlays for their TVs, which come with support for different apps and services or are specifically designed for ease of navigation with a standard TV remote. Popular streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube have special apps built for some smart TVs, allowing users direct access to these services.

• Sound

In addition to that, watch out for TV cabinet rattle, directional distortion and a weird buzzing sound under pressure. If you want the best sound experience from your television, consider investing in a good sound system set up by choosing a decent soundbar.

Choose the best TV with audio quality

here

DISCLAIMER: The Times of India's journalists were not involved in the production of this article.

Smart TV, LED, OLED, 4K, HDR, and whatnot. There are numerous types of televisions available in the market. The world of TVs is upgrading every day and is getting a little confusing too. So in case, you have been having a tough time choosing from a wide array of high-definition (HD) and 4K Ultra HD sets in stores, here are the basic things you need to consider first in order to make a much-informed choice.A listicle of the things you should consider before buying a Smart TV We’re here with our TV buying guide to help you decide.The most important thing in any TV is - The Screen. And among the screen, there is a lot to consider in terms of panel technology. Choose from an array of technologies, such as plasma or even standard LCD, there are still plenty of new screen technologies such as OLED and QLED that might confuse buyers. Here are the basics that go into each popular screen technology.Widely considered to be the most easily available screen technology these days, OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) is also the most expensive type of television. The technology uses individual organic pixels that emit light when an electric current passes through it. OLED TVs are known for having the best black levels, as areas of the screen that are black are able to simply switch off, even while other parts of the screen are lit.The most widely used TV screen technology, LED-LCD —or simply LED as it is usually marketed — is essentially the same liquid crystal display, but with LED (light-emitting diode) backlighting. This not only allows for the TV to be slimmer and sport smaller borders around the screen but also offers a brighter viewing experience. It's also significantly more energy-efficient than CCFL backlighting, making this the favoured form of the screen today.Often called QLED — a marketing term made popular by Samsung — this is a relatively new screen technology that uses quantum dots (a type of semiconductor) to produce coloured light. This uses a quantum dot layer that is said to improve brightness and colours on the TV. Quantum Dot LED screens are said to be better than standard LED-LCD screens, coming close to OLED screens in many ways on performance.This is a relatively new, uncommon and expensive screen technology. It's being heavily promoted by Samsung for some of its high-end TVs, with the pricing of these options just a bit lower than that of OLED TVs in most cases. Samsung isn't the only one in the market with this technology; notably Vu also a quantum dot model in India.Whether you want to buy a basic or high-performance TV, the most important factor to consider will probably be the screen size. Consider the number of people in your family who watch the television at one given time and where you wish to place it in the house. Then pick the screen size that will fit comfortably into that space and also your budget.Screen size also depends on how close you sit to the TV. A good rule of thumb is that you should sit at a distance from the TV that is three times more than the height of the screen for HD and just 1.5 times the screen height for 4K Ultra HD. Thus, you can sit twice as close to a 4K UHD TV.Even though 4K content is still not that easily available, you may want a higher-resolution technology if you plan to sit close to a very large screen.Precisely, choose a screen size and resolution appropriate for the distance you will sit from the screen.Check out all the sizes of televisions here Resolution describes the number of pixels required to make up the picture on a screen. More pixels result in a sharper picture and finer details, so a higher resolution is better.For a very long time, full HD was the standard type of TV and is still the most common resolution in TVs available around the world. However, TV manufacturers are increasingly producing Ultra HD sets (also called 4K). These have four times the number of pixels as current HDTV screens.The biggest benefit of 4K television is that small objects on the screen have more detail, including sharper text. On the whole, the images appear richer and more life-like as compared to the ones on an HDTV.With the technological advancements, there are 8K TVs also available in the market now, such as Samsung's Q900 8K TV and LG's 88-inch Z9 OLED. These displays quadruple the resolution seen on 4K sets, offering a giant leap forward in picture quality, but finding content to fully take advantage of that higher resolution is extremely limited.The refresh rate, mentioned and measured in Hertz (Hz), describes how many times a picture is refreshed on the screen per second. The standard refresh rate is 60 times per second. However, in scenes with rapidly moving objects, a 60 Hz refresh rate can make things look blurry, primarily on LCD HDTVs. So, to create a more solid picture, manufacturers have massively increased the refresh rate.Some new models boast of High-Frame Rate (HFR) support, which means they have a higher refresh rate along with added support for content with higher than 60 Hz frame rates.Gamers, specifically, will get a lot from a 60Hz TV, but most TV shoppers shouldn't buy a TV with less than a 120 Hz refresh rate.In your hustle of purchasing TV do make sure to pay attention to the number of HDMI inputs a set has. These ports can be used in several ways, like adding a soundbar, a chromecast and a game console.If you decide to take the plunge and get a 4K Ultra HD, make sure the ports on the TV also support HDMI 2.0 to accommodate future Ultra HD sources. Many TVs on the market have only one port that supports the 4K copy-protection scheme known as HDCP 2.2 (high-bandwidth digital content protection).Just as mobile phones have now evolved to smartphones, the concept of the smart TV is also gaining pace. And just like smartphones gain their smart status of being smart because of their internet connectivity and access to apps, Smart TVs are made smart by the same level of connectivity. A smart TV is one that is capable of connecting to the Internet to fetch content and services directly, without the need for an external device such as a set-top box, USB drive, streaming dongle or Blu Ray player.Smart TVs have built-in apps that allow the TV to use its Internet and fetch content. A lot of TVs also have a built-in Internet browser, which allows users to visit websites. TV manufacturers often use different smart operating systems and overlays for their TVs, which come with support for different apps and services or are specifically designed for ease of navigation with a standard TV remote. Popular streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube have special apps built for some smart TVs, allowing users direct access to these services.When looking out for the audio quality of your TV, just remember that the higher the wattage, the louder the sound output. It is absolutely important, especially if you have a very spacious house, that you have a TV that produces enough sound to travel greater distances. The best way to find this out is by playing a couple of loud action scenes and then listen for the harshness to judge whether the sound is thin and distorted at high volumes, bass for those adrenaline-inducing action scenes, voices to check if they sound realistic and the amount of detail in the sound.In addition to that, watch out for TV cabinet rattle, directional distortion and a weird buzzing sound under pressure. If you want the best sound experience from your television, consider investing in a good sound system set up by choosing a decent soundbar.