6 Smart Home Devices That Still Work With No Internet Connection

As someone who remembers a time before the internet, I still have a natural mistrust of anything that needs to be online to function. This is slightly ironic, as I love the internet and all things technology. So, smart home devices are something that I quickly adopted and in a professional capacity I helped numerous households and businesses install smart devices. However, my internet reservations never faded. A point that proved to be a valid concern when I moved to an area with patchy internet access and found my smart home was considerably dumber. 

This led me to investigate whether it was possible to set up a smart home using devices that would require little or no internet. Not all smart home devices are equally "at home" without an internet connection, so the challenge was to source smart home gadgets that are easy to set up and offer core functions without having to be continually online. Each product on this list, meets this basic criteria, while also being currently available on the market, widely supported, and regularly updated.

On a personal front, I also needed the products to work with my Home Assistant hub. More details on this hub and how these products were selected can be found at the bottom of this list.

For my smart lighting setup, I opted for the Philips Hue range. I've used this brand a lot and have always found them to be reliable, reasonably priced, and easy to set up. They're also Zigbee compatible (Zigbee is a wireless protocol that allows many smart home devices to communicate) and work well with my Home Assistant hub. However, they work perfectly without a Home Assistant setup with the addition of a Philips Hue Bridge. This plugs into a home router and establishes a Zigbee network which will work even without internet. Additionally, many lighting systems in the Philips Hue range are Bluetooth-compatible. This allows them to be controlled individually from a smartphone without the need for any bridge, central hub, or internet connection. This makes them a good choice for any level of smart home. 

The other advantage of the Philips Hue lighting range is the diversity of choices available. For instance, the Philips Hue Smart Light Starter Kit has everything you need to set up a couple of rooms in your home with smart lighting that will work offline. The pack includes the Hue Bridge and two smart light bulbs that use a palette including millions of colors to create the perfect light for any circumstance. Overall, the core functions of these lights work perfectly well with no internet, but the ability to control them from a remote location is lost when offline.

One way to add diversity to your smart home without shelling out on individual smart devices is to install some smart plugs. By installing these around my home, I was able to turn on things like fans, lamps, and phone chargers, either through scheduling or from a smartphone app, without using the internet. I chose the GE Cync range of smart plugs because I have used the brand several times and trust it, plus they also integrate with my Home Assistant setup.

I did need a Wi-Fi connection to set up the plugs, but after that I was able to control them through an offline Wi-Fi network, my Home Assistant system, and individually through Bluetooth and the Cync app. Again, the main loss of functionality is communicating with the plugs from remote locations. Smart plugs are an affordable way to add smart home functionality to your home — a set of three Cync Indoor smart plugs costs less than $30.

First, let's begin with an obvious statement — no internet equals no streaming services. However, I do stream a lot of music, and sound quality matters. So, in this instance I opted for something that would stream music when the internet was on and would also work when the internet was down. Once more, familiarity was a deciding factor here. I have used Sonos products for years, since I first set them up for a client. Since then, they have been my go-to choice for audio. 

In this instance, I opted for the Sonos Era 100 Smart Speaker. This is a great speaker, and it doesn't purely rely on the internet. I could connect to it through Bluetooth, cable, or Wi-Fi. Importantly, it also integrated with my Plex Media Server, which meant that I had access to all my locally stored music from any local Plex device even without the internet. It isn't the cheapest option, but superb audio quality is an indulgence, and this speaker delivers that — both on and offline.

Smart security cameras often use cloud-based storage for recorded videos. However, while this is undoubtedly convenient, it does rely on a robust internet connection for it to work effectively. This is where the EufyCam S3 Pro differs. While this does have features that require the internet to work — cloud storage, remote access, remote alerts — it doesn't rely on the internet to perform its primary function, to monitor and protect your home. 

I opted for this camera for several reasons. The first was the offline storage that the cameras offer. Out of the box, there is 16GB of offline storage, and this is expandable up to 16TB, useful for when there is no internet. Also, it was compatible with my Home Assistant setup, although it doesn't need this to function. I also liked the solar power aspect of this camera, this allows the system to keep working even when the power and internet have failed. Again, this is on the pricy end of the scale, but for the peace of mind that comes from knowing this will monitor my home even with no power or internet it's a worthwhile investment.

So, the scene is set. You're sitting safely at home courtesy of your offline smart security cameras, the lighting is perfect thanks to your smart bulbs, and your own music is playing gently in the background courtesy of your smart speaker. This is the sort of scene that needs a bit of warmth via a smart thermostat. This could be the final piece of the puzzle, and I'd choose Ecobee. Again, familiarity played a key part in this choice, I've installed dozens of these over the years and I always found the process simple and the hardware to be sound. Although, it's important to always check compatibility with your HVAC system before purchasing any smart thermostat. 

As far as offline functionality goes, these can be set up without access to the internet or even without a Wi-Fi connection. However, this also skips the registration process and limits the support you can receive, so it's always good practice to try and connect at least once to complete this. Similar to most devices we've listed, the main loss of functionality is not being able to control your heating when you're away from home, or functions like live weather data. Apart from that, smart thermostats like the Ecobee 3 Lite can be set up using the touchscreen interface or by using the Ecobee app on any suitable device connected to the same Wi-Fi network, including offline networks.

If you're looking to control all of these smart home devices while offline a central hub can be useful. For this purpose, I opted for Home Assistant. This is an open-source project that focuses on putting local control and security first and has over 3,000 integrations. I installed this on an old laptop (Home Assistant can even run on a Raspberry Pi) and used a Zigbee USB dongle to enable connectivity with Zigbee compatible devices. Using this allowed me to set up a mesh network for all my smart devices to communicate efficiently even when offline. If this sounds a bit too daunting, then Home Assistant also offer a pre-configured hub called Home Assistant Green that makes the process much easier. 

I chose Home Assistant because it's compatible with a huge number of devices. Also, because it's open source, it's continually being developed so it's unlikely to become irrelevant in the future. I also like the user-friendly interface, which is intuitive and easy to navigate. It's important to state, this is not an essential piece of the puzzle, the devices featured in the rest of this list will all work as smart devices without the need for a Home Assistant central hub.

There is no doubt that most smart home devices will benefit from an internet connection, even if just at the set-up stage or to receive updates. The challenge here was to select devices where the need for an internet connection was completely negated. As well as that, each device had to meet some basic ground rules designed to ensure that they were still value for money and could still be considered "smart" even when not connected to the internet. 

Firstly, it had to retain its core functionality, this is obviously essential. Another aspect that needed to be considered was the availability of the devices. Each selection is currently on the market and fully supported by the manufacturer. If a device is outdated or difficult to find, then it's not a practical choice for most people. This also helps to ensure that firmware updates are still available for the device (although this will require internet access). 

The list is also designed to cover a range of smart devices and includes security, heating, entertainment, lighting, and smart plugs. For my personal project, they also had to be compatible with my Home Assistant and Plex Media Server set-ups, but that isn't an essential consideration for most homes. Finally, with years of experience with smart home devices, I opted to go with products that I've extensive experience of and have come to trust.