… My first thought was that the old phone would be a budget stand-in for proper hardware, but it mostly isn't. The phone isn't replacing a Raspberry Pi as your Home Assistant server, and the network chores are a bonus rather than the reason to do this. …
… You'll first need to connect it to your home's Wi-Fi network and then enable the hotspot so it shares that connection. Here are the steps: Enable Wi-Fi on your old Android phone and connect it to your home network. …
… First off, I noticed that the devices' response times became better. My Eve door sensor triggers a Google Home automation in under a second. …
… I'm still using my first generation Google Home speaker, which launched in 2016, as the white noise machine in my daughter's bedroom. …
… From disrupting network connectivity to enabling local networking espionage and intellectual property theft, foreign-produced routers present unacceptable risks to Americans. …
… While I'm constantly asking my Google Home devices to ring my phone, it's more to save time I'd otherwise spend digging through various pockets. Until this week, I've never had to rely on the Find Hub network . …
… All you do is plug things in, connect the smart plug to the network, and that's it. It's a simple way to upgrade the simpler things in your smart home setup . A simple smart plug is all it takes to fix the small gaps between what you want your home to do and what it actually does. …
… For Android Police, I have reviewed 10 phones, 10 smart home devices, three tablets, and three earbuds. Sign in to your Android Police account I'll be the first to admit that sharing a pair of headphones with your partner can be pretty romantic. …
… I continued to use my phone the same way I normally do across various networks, such as home Wi-Fi, public networks, and mobile data. …
Dhruv Bhutani Mar 26, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT Dhruv Bhutani has covered the Android ecosystem since 2010, with a focus on smartphones, connected devices, and home networking. …