Your Smart Home Isn’t Disposable

The consumer smart home market is full of devices that promise ease, affordability, and sleek functionality, but over the past decade, homeowners have learned a hard truth: off-the-shelf technology doesn’t age well. 

Brands change direction, and support disappears. That stylish gadget you installed five years ago? Suddenly, it stops working and leaves you with fewer features, broken automations, or a system that’s simply offline.

Few stories illustrate this better than the rise and slow unraveling of Nest.

Once considered a leader in intuitive, design-forward smart thermostats, Nest made its way into millions of homes. Since being acquired by Google in 2018, the Nest brand has experienced a gradual erosion of functionality and support at the expense of the homeowners and integrators who trusted it.

Learn more about what happened to Nest and how to avoid a similar situation on your property below.

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What Happened to Nest?

Over the past several years, Google has made repeated changes to its smart home strategy. Each shift has further fragmented the ecosystem and disrupted systems that were once working perfectly. Here's a quick timeline:

• 2019: Google shut down the “Works with Nest” API, breaking thousands of integrations with Control4, Alexa, Home Assistant, IFTTT, and more.
• 2023: Support for Google Assistant’s “Conversational Actions” was removed, ending third-party voice experiences.
• 2023: The last remaining “Works with Nest” features were eliminated.
• 2024: Dropcam and Nest Secure were discontinued, leaving customers with no active support and no upgrade path.
• 2025 (announced): On October 25, Google will end app support and third-party integrations for 1st and 2nd generation Nest Learning Thermostats, effectively removing smart functionality from those devices.

What This Means for Your Smart Home

If your system relies on an older Nest thermostat, the impacts are immediate:

• No more remote access, app control, or third-party voice integration.
• Loss of connection to Josh.ai, Alexa, and Google Home routines.
• Thermostats will still work manually—but only at the wall.

A product once marketed as the future of climate control is now being reduced to a manual dial on the wall.

Big Tech Doesn’t Future-Proof Your Home

The Nest timeline isn't an isolated case; it’s a trend. Mass-market smart home products prioritize rapid product cycles over long-term reliability. When corporate priorities shift, support disappears. Cloud-based functionality vanishes with software updates, and homeowners are left scrambling to replace expensive devices that were never designed to last.

What appears to be a low-cost solution upfront quickly evolves into a patchwork system filled with dead-end upgrades and escalating service costs.

Total Home Technologies Does Things Differently

At Total Home Technologies, we believe smart homes shouldn’t be disposable. That’s why we offer a leasing model for most of our technology solutions, including automation, entertainment, networking, and surveillance systems.

Leasing gives our clients the ability to stay current without the risk of owning aging or unsupported devices. It’s a smarter approach to smart tech built around:

• Flexibility: Upgrade when better systems emerge.
• Performance: Always have access to high-performing, professionally-supported solutions.
• Support: Avoid the chaos of manufacturer shutdowns—our team handles compatibility, updates, and replacements as part of your plan.

We work with platforms that prioritize long-term support, including:

• Control4 for consistent OS updates and legacy system compatibility.
• Lutron lighting and shading, engineered for more than a decade of reliable use with or without internet.
• Matter, built around robust local control and integration flexibility.

We also carefully vet third-party brands, integrating them only when they meet our long-term reliability standards.

What You Should Do Next

If you’re using a 1st or 2nd generation Nest Learning Thermostat, you’ll have already experienced major functionality loss. Remote access, app-based controls, and integrations will no longer work.

We strongly recommend upgrading to a professionally supported thermostat and building a system that’s designed to grow with you, not leave you stranded.

Smart homes aren’t supposed to expire. With professional integration and a future-focused leasing model, Total Home Technologies helps you build a smarter, more stable home without the guesswork, surprises, or expensive replacements.

Let’s design something built to last. Contact us to schedule a consultation.