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 2 days 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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[–] spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

For the washer a smart plug with power monitoring. The current draw goes to almost zero when the cycle's finished. A Zigbee vibration sensor for the dryer (or another smart plug if it's a gas dryer) and temperature sensor for the fridge. All in they were less than $20.

[–] early_riser@lemmy.radio 4 points 1 day ago

I'll have to try that smart plug idea. I have some heavy duty Z-wave plugs I used for Christmas decorations last year and that would work great for the fridge.