[TheRealEdAbbey]

The problem is there isn't really much of a market for something like that. Sure, you can have detailed documentation on such a product that explains how it's functioning, why it might drop out when your ip changes, etc., but who is going to understand that? People like you and me, yes, but we're a pretty small market.

In order for there to be a reasonable audience for a product, you have to target the least knowledgeable person - or at least someone pretty far south of the median. Those people aren't going to understand what's happening, and they're going to get upset each time their ip resets and they can't connect to their thermostat anymore. They're going to take the frustration to the thermostat company, they're not going to understand what the service rep tells them, and they're going to return the product, leave a bad review, and buy a nest.

No one wants to be in the position of making and selling such a product. That's why you pretty much need to make your own with an esp8266. And that's why so many of these IoT devices end up being far too bloated.

[alsetmusic]

> The problem is there isn't really much of a market for something like that. Sure, you can have detailed documentation on such a product that explains how it's functioning, why it might drop out when your ip changes, etc., but who is going to understand that? People like you and me, yes, but we're a pretty small market.

I understand why this is not available as a standalone product. The window is probably too small to warrant it. I don’t understand why no company appears to offer it as an option to a product that otherwise “just works.”

Sure, it would require additional investment on the part of the manufacturer to include an “expert-mode” toggle that lets the user make their own decisions, but a market exists for people who want that. Money is being left on the table.

[toss1]

>> Money is being left on the table.

It sure is -- I'd buy that immediately.

The nice part about it is, if their "cloud" services actually added value, I'd be happy to sign up for that too.

I just want a direct access and a fall-back if their cloud goes offline (and I read about that happening in the reviews of every single one).

And sure, we're a subset of the market, but I'd expect a sufficiently large subset to make it worthwhile.

If it was a really good unit with high-quality sensors, WiFi connectors and other components, I'd pay more than for a Nest.

[romwell]

If what you said were true, there'd be no routers which claimed to support DD-WRT out of the box as a marketing point.

The market for people who want to control their thermostat directly is exactly the same. And the best part? The manufacturer can support that AND have their 3rd-party cloud shebang going on, these are not mutually exclusive.

[WalterBright]

> The problem is there isn't really much of a market for something like that.

These days, the internet gives you access to several billion people. Even a very niche market can translate into a large customer base and a nice, profitable business.

[dylan604]

Is there a way to bundle a dynamic DNS offering that would make the changing of an IP address invisible to the home user. It's 2018, so I'm wondering if setting this up has become easier than it has in the past. Just trying to think of something to keep the idea viable.