A recent controversy sparked by smart speaker maker Sonos illustrates the dangers of building a smart home. What happens when the technology you build your home is suddenly outdated? This is the moment many Sonos customers face this week, after the company announced the end of support for its oldest products, some of which have been in use for over a decade.

Sonos says those older devices are too limited to be accepted with new updates. No need to recap the Sonos controversy here - read our coverage for more details.

Sonos had problems because it initially suggested that its newer devices will not be upgraded if older devices remain in use, but have since gone back. It should also be noted at the outset that this is not the first time that a smart home appliance manufacturer has aged a product or service that they have offered. Just the latest high profile example.

But the problem reminds us of one of the great dangers nowadays of setting up a home or office with "smart" technology. What happens when the manufacturers of that technology decide that you no longer deserve the support?

Smart house elevation

Smart home tech is on the rise. Annual revenues from smart home platforms - already in the billions - are expected to grow in double digits for the next few years. If you are in a home improvement business, such as Home Depot, Lowe's or even your local hardware, you will see smart home products as soon as you enter. . In fact, studies show that up to half of all new home buyers wait to see smart home technology when they are in the market for a new place.

Also, consumers are very interested in adding smart technology to existing homes. Homeowners have many reasons for incorporating smart technology into their homes. Convenience. Security. Economics, in cases of learning thermostats and smart outlets.

The old smart home

What makes all these devices different from their dumb counterparts is that the technology that makes them work is always evolution. Apple, Google, Amazon and others are competing with each other and clamoring to bring new features and functionality to their products, even as consumer tastes change as technology evolves.

Smart home appliances are flooding the market with sophisticated technology that makes it easy to do things you couldn't dream of a decade ago. But there is no guarantee that one of these devices will continue to work after a few years.

Amazon, Apple and Google and the companies in the Zigbee Alliance also understand this. Their IP-connected effort is an attempt to stabilize the smart internal market with a basic technical standard for interoperability and compatibility. This does not mean, however, that smart home appliances will not continue to age.

We hope they will continue to work. Of course, it's not new that the devices we ultimately depend on will be updated with new features. Look no further than your pocket or desktop for an example. Every year, Apple launches new features in iOS and macOS that use new hardware technology. Older devices fall on the roadside. If you're still using an iPhone 6, for example, you can't run iOS 13. And an iPhone 6s will be very different to iOS 13 than an iPhone 11.

Praising DIY ethics

All this reminds me that something has to be said for "dumb" products. Say what you want about the cheap vinyl mini blinds I put in my bedroom when we moved 18 years ago - it works without firmware updates. I may not be able to pick up and lower the shades from my bed, but at least the windows still open even if my iPhone is in the store.

This does not mean that we have not added any smart technology to the home where it makes no sense. But so far I have not supported any abandoned products or services. I suppose I was pretty lucky with this number.

However, situations like this remind me that I have to be careful when making those decisions about what smart home appliances and services to add. I'm worried about being overly tech-driven whose end-to-end operation is something that is still up to the manufacturer, not me.

I have never considered myself a handyman and no one who has ever seen my work. But I am also in favor of the "Do It Yourself" ethic. This is why I was interested to find out more about how Raspberry Pi users added HomeKit support to their products. Using a framework called HomeBridge, they can interface HomeKit devices with Raspberry Pis. For people who prefer to use their own tools, this is an interesting option.

However, regardless of whether I run my own or buy a finished product, I must constantly remind myself not to value myself and to be cautious in relying on purposeless technology.

Or simply to be satisfied with what I have, no matter how outdated.

How are you? Are you afraid of getting smart home appliances? Were you burned by either Sonos or anyone else? Let me know in the comments.