Tech Gadgets Finder

Building My Personal Cloud With Nextcloud: Repurposing an Old Desktop

Tech Gadgets Reviewer — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 22:58:33 +0000

Over the years, our family photo and video collection has continued to grow. At different points, we have used OneDrive, Google Drive and iCloud to store everything. With two children, and my wife constantly taking photos and videos on both her phone and Sony A7C, our family media collection grows very quickly. The amount of storage we need only seems to move in one direction.

Around the same time, we were transitioning from our older Windows 10 desktop to a new Windows 11 machine. The old PC still worked well, but it was not eligible for a Windows 11 upgrade, so I knew it was nearing the end of its life as our primary desktop. Rather than let it sit unused or eventually recycle it, I started thinking about whether I could give it another purpose. I had already been looking at NAS devices and other ways of creating personal cloud storage at home, and at some point the two ideas came together: instead of buying another dedicated device, could I simply reuse the computer I already owned?

That eventually led me to Nextcloud. The idea was fairly simple: could I turn the old desktop into a personal cloud for our family photos, videos and other files instead of continuing to increase the amount of storage I paid for every month?

If you are looking for an exact step-by-step tutorial, this is not really that article. Instead, I want to show what this project actually involved in real life — the hardware I used, what I spent, the decisions I made, the parts that took more effort than expected, and how the setup has held up over time. My hope is that this helps you decide whether a project like this is something you would want to try yourself.

Testing the Idea Before Spending More

I did not start by buying new hard drives. Before spending more money, I installed Ubuntu on the old desktop and started experimenting with the hardware I already had. I wanted to see whether the basic idea was practical and whether I was comfortable enough with Ubuntu, Docker and Nextcloud to continue with the project. In other words, the first setup was really a proof of concept rather than the final build.

Once the proof of concept showed that the old desktop could do the job, I was comfortable investing in the storage I actually wanted. The initial Ubuntu setup had served its purpose: it let me experiment without committing much money. When the two 6 TB hard drives arrived, I deliberately started fresh so I could build the final storage layout and mount naming the way I wanted from the beginning. The multiple installs were therefore part of the plan — first prove the idea, then build the version I intended to keep.

Building the Final Server

The desktop itself and its existing 1 TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe drive were hardware I already owned. For the final setup, I purchased two 6 TB Seagate IronWolf hard drives, which cost me $233.18 total. I also purchased a .us domain through Cloudflare for $6.50 per year. Cloudflare Tunnel itself does not add another subscription cost for the way I use it.

The final storage design was fairly straightforward: the 1 TB NVMe drive would hold Ubuntu, applications and Docker, one 6 TB IronWolf drive would hold the main Nextcloud data, and the second 6 TB IronWolf drive would be used for backup. The old desktop, NVMe drive and networking equipment were all things I already owned, so the hard drives were the major new hardware expense.

Hardware	Purpose
Old desktop PC	Nextcloud server
Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1 TB NVMe	Ubuntu, applications and Docker
Seagate IronWolf 6 TB HDD	Primary Nextcloud storage
Seagate IronWolf 6 TB HDD	Backup storage

The other cost, of course, was time. The entire project probably stretched across about a month, mostly working four or five hours here and there over the weekends. Some of that time was spent recording the project for TechGadgetsFinder, but a significant amount was simply learning, configuring and testing. If I assigned a professional hourly rate to all of that time, I am not sure I could make a convincing argument that this is the cheapest possible way to store photos. For me, the value was a combination of reusing hardware, learning something new, having more control over my data and reducing my dependence on continually increasing cloud storage subscriptions.

Both 6 TB Seagate IronWolf drives detected in the system BIOS before the final Ubuntu setup.

The final Ubuntu storage layout separating system and Docker storage from the data and backup drives.

The Docker Compose configuration used to define the Nextcloud application stack.

One of the early design decisions was what to do with the two identical 6 TB drives. I considered mirroring them using RAID 1, but eventually decided that a separate backup drive made more sense for my situation. The data is important to me, especially family photos and videos, but this is not a mission-critical business system where I need immediate failover if one drive fails. I was comfortable accepting the possibility that I could lose up to roughly a day of new data between backups. Newer photos also tend to remain on our phones for quite a while before we delete them, which gives me another copy during that period.

A RAID mirror and a separate backup solve different problems. RAID can help keep a system running after a disk failure, while a backup gives you another copy that can be useful if something gets deleted, corrupted or otherwise goes wrong. For my use case, I preferred one drive for primary storage and one as a backup destination.

Once the IronWolf drives arrived, I rebuilt Ubuntu rather than trying to retrofit the final configuration into the proof-of-concept setup. I wanted the storage layout and mount points to be very clear, so that months later I would still know exactly what each drive was doing. The main 6 TB data drive became /mnt/storage, while the second large disk was reserved for backup.

The storage configuration took more time than I expected. Installing Ubuntu itself was not particularly difficult, but getting the NVMe partitioning, mount points and disk layout organized exactly the way I wanted took several attempts. I ended up separating space for the operating system, applications and Docker rather than letting everything accumulate under one large root filesystem. That was one of the first reminders that building your own server gives you a lot of control, but also means you are responsible for making many of the decisions that a consumer NAS would normally hide behind a graphical interface.

Getting Nextcloud Running

For Nextcloud itself, I chose to use Docker Compose rather than installing everything directly into Ubuntu. My final stack included Nextcloud, MariaDB, Redis, a cron container and eventually the Cloudflare connector. I was not already a Docker expert going into the project, so I had to get comfortable with concepts such as containers, volumes, persistent storage, environment variables and Compose files as I went.

Once I had everything configured, though, I liked the fact that the application stack was defined in one place. One of the more satisfying moments in the project was finally being able to pull the required images, start the containers and then verify that all of the services were running successfully.

I started the project in November 2025, and my original installation used Nextcloud 31.0.10. That version is useful context for what appears in the screenshots and recordings, but it is not a recommendation for someone starting today to reproduce the exact same software versions or configuration. The useful part of this project is understanding the overall approach and the decisions involved rather than copying every command from an older build.

Once the containers were running, I could open Nextcloud in a browser, create the administrator account and work through the initial setup. That was the point where the project stopped feeling like an Ubuntu and Docker experiment and started feeling like an actual personal cloud.

Remote Access and Security

Getting Nextcloud working inside my home network was one thing. Making it accessible from outside the house was the part I was much more cautious about. My concern was not simply whether remote access would work, but whether exposing a service inside my home could create unnecessary risk for the rest of the network.

I ended up using three main safeguards that made me more comfortable with the setup. First, I placed the Nextcloud server on a different subnet from the rest of our normal home devices. Second, I configured firewall rules on my Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite so that SSH access to the Ubuntu server is only allowed from inside my home network. Getting those rules working the way I wanted took some time, and I used documentation, Google and AI tools to work through the configuration and test it.

The third decision, and probably the one that mattered most to me mentally, was using Cloudflare Tunnel instead of opening an inbound port on the router. Before finding Cloudflare Tunnel, I had assumed remote access would require traditional port forwarding. That was one of the reasons I had hesitated about doing a project like this in the first place.

With Cloudflare Tunnel, the cloudflared connector establishes an outbound connection to Cloudflare rather than requiring me to expose an inbound port on the home router. I still kept the server on a separate subnet and restricted SSH access, because I do not view Cloudflare Tunnel as a reason to ignore the rest of the network design. But avoiding traditional port forwarding removed one of my biggest concerns.

I purchased the .us domain, configured the tunnel and updated Nextcloud so it recognized the public hostname. Seeing the Nextcloud login page load through my own domain was another important milestone. At that point, the old desktop was no longer just a computer running a few containers in my house. It had become something I could actually use as a personal cloud from outside the home.

Nextcloud Docker Services Running

First Nextcloud Setup Screen

Cloudflare Tunnel Route to the Local Nextcloud Service

Cloudflare Tunnel Healthy Status

Nextcloud Public Login Working Through Cloudflare Tunnel

How We Actually Use It

The real test of a project like this is not whether it works the night you finish setting it up. It is whether you are still using it months later. We are.

The main use remains family photos and videos. We have moved a significant amount of that data into Nextcloud, and I have canceled at least one cloud storage subscription we previously used. We also keep other everyday files that we want available across devices, but I intentionally avoid treating this server as the home for highly sensitive personal information such as tax documents, identity records or similar material. For me, the value is having a large amount of normal family content in one place that I control.

My wife also keeps large training videos and audio material on the server. One of her more useful real-world tests has been listening to that content during her drive to work, sometimes streaming the audio from fairly large video files while away from home. She has told me that playback has worked well without noticeable buffering. That tells me more about whether the system is meeting our needs than a synthetic benchmark would.

One part of the setup that I particularly like is that our devices can access Nextcloud directly over the LAN while we are at home. Large photo and video uploads do not need to travel out through Cloudflare and back again, so local transfers are much faster. I currently have the phone upload workflow set up primarily around uploading while we are at home. When we are away, we can still use the public Nextcloud account to retrieve files when needed. That combination has worked well for us: fast local access most of the time, with remote access available when it actually matters.

The iPhone experience is one area where the self-hosted setup has not been as seamless as iCloud. This is something I learned only after living with the system, and it is worth knowing before you invest the time in a similar setup. In practice, I sometimes need to open the Nextcloud app after taking a lot of photos or videos and let it catch up. That is manageable for me because I know to do it, but it is more annoying with my wife’s phone because I sometimes have to remind her to open the app so the uploads can complete. There are also conveniences in Apple’s ecosystem, such as automatic storage optimization, that a third-party self-hosted solution does not reproduce in quite the same way.

I do not really view this as Nextcloud failing; it is partly the reality of running a third-party application inside Apple’s ecosystem. But for someone considering Nextcloud specifically as an iCloud replacement, this is an expectation I would set up front. The photo upload workflow works for us, but it requires a little more awareness than Apple’s native experience.

My Experience So Far

Overall, the server has been fairly stable, but that does not mean it has been maintenance-free. Interestingly, most of the significant problems I have run into have been related to the backup process rather than Nextcloud itself.

The backup runs nightly at around 3 AM. At one point, the backup drive was no longer mounted correctly and the backup process started writing somewhere I did not expect. That eventually caused the NVMe drive to fill up and took some troubleshooting to understand. More recently, I found a problem with the retention logic in my backup script where newer snapshots could be removed incorrectly. The script also did not gracefully bring Nextcloud back online under every failure condition.

Those problems were frustrating, but they also exposed weaknesses in the backup process while I was still actively using and monitoring the system. There is probably nothing worse than assuming you have good backups for years and finding out only during an actual failure that they were not doing what you thought. I have since added more safeguards, and the experience reinforced that the backup process deserves just as much attention as the application itself.

Updates are another responsibility that comes with self-hosting. I try not to let the server disappear from my attention just because it is quietly working in the basement. I regularly check Ubuntu security updates, Docker images and the individual application components to make sure they are still current, with security-related updates getting attention sooner rather than later. It is easy for a home server that is working reliably to become something you stop thinking about, but keeping the software maintained is part of running the service yourself.

I have kept the components current with smaller updates, but I have not yet completed a major Nextcloud version upgrade. I am approaching that more cautiously because I want to have a good backup in place, enough time to work through the upgrade, and enough time afterward to confirm that the data, containers and application are all behaving normally. I see that as something I would plan for a weekend when I have a few uninterrupted hours rather than something I want to start casually and discover halfway through that I do not have enough time to finish. That is one of the fundamental differences between this and simply paying another company to provide cloud storage: when you self-host, you are also the administrator.

Was It Worth It?

For me, yes, although not necessarily because I can prove it is dramatically cheaper. The two hard drives cost $233.18, the domain costs $6.50 per year, the computer consumes electricity, and I have spent plenty of hours building and maintaining the system. If I assigned a professional hourly rate to all of that time, paying Google, Apple or Microsoft might look quite inexpensive.

The value for me comes from a combination of things. I extended the useful life of a computer that might otherwise have sat unused. I learned quite a bit about Ubuntu, Linux storage, Docker, Nextcloud, networking, Cloudflare and backups. I have several terabytes of storage that I control, and I am no longer automatically increasing a monthly cloud bill every time our photo collection grows. There is also something satisfying about giving a piece of hardware that had effectively reached the end of its original purpose a useful second life.

If I were starting again today, I would probably do something similar, but I would still spend some time investigating the current software and installation options before committing to exactly the same stack. I would also look at other self-hosted alternatives. What I would not do is replace something that is working just because something newer or more interesting exists. Both my wife and I use this server now, so stability matters much more to me than experimenting with the newest option simply because it is new.

I think this kind of project makes the most sense for someone who already has suitable hardware, enjoys tinkering with technology, does not mind using the command line and is willing to learn some Linux, Docker and networking concepts along the way. You do not need to know everything before you begin — I certainly did not — but you do need enough technical background and curiosity to work through problems. Modern AI tools make that considerably easier than it used to be: if you have the willingness to learn, they can help explain unfamiliar commands, configuration files and error messages as you go. You still need to understand what you are changing, especially around networking and security, but you no longer have to figure out every unfamiliar piece entirely on your own.

If what you want is something you can plug in and essentially forget, then buying a NAS or continuing to use commercial cloud storage may make more sense. If the idea of turning an unused PC into a useful home server sounds like an enjoyable project, however, this experience has convinced me that it is a very realistic option for a technically inclined home user.

What started as a way to avoid wasting a perfectly usable Windows 10 desktop has become something my family actually uses every day. It stores the photos and videos that originally pushed me toward the project, gives us fast access to files inside the house and lets us reach them when we are away. It has also required occasional troubleshooting and ongoing maintenance, which is part of the bargain when you decide to run the service yourself. For me, the trade-off has been worthwhile: the old PC got a second life, I learned a lot in the process, and we ended up with a personal cloud that has become a useful part of our home technology setup.

References and Further Reading

Cloudflare Tunnel documentation — Cloudflare explains how cloudflared establishes an outbound-only tunnel, avoiding open inbound ports and a publicly exposed origin IP.
Nextcloud Docker documentation — Official documentation for the Nextcloud Docker image, including Docker Compose examples, MariaDB, Redis, persistent storage and container configuration.
Nextcloud upgrade guidance — Official guidance covering maintenance releases, major-version upgrades and recommended upgrade practices.

The post Building My Personal Cloud With Nextcloud: Repurposing an Old Desktop appeared first on Tech Gadgets Finder.

Improving My Home Network With MoCA: Replacing Wireless Mesh Backhaul

Tech Gadgets Reviewer — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 03:41:01 +0000

I have wanted to improve the wired backbone of my home network for quite a few years. My main network equipment is located in my basement office, where I have the modem, router, switch, wired desktops, printer and a wired UniFi access point. A second UniFi access point was on the first floor in the kitchen, but I did not have Ethernet running to that location, so it relied on wireless mesh backhaul to connect to the wired AP in the basement.

I knew fairly early that the wireless mesh connection was one of the major limitations in the setup. When I had roughly a 300 Mbps Internet plan, I could get close to that speed in some parts of the house, but performance fell considerably as I moved farther away and up to the second floor. Depending on the location, I could see around 25 Mbps and sometimes closer to 10 Mbps in weaker areas.

The bedroom on the second floor was particularly inconsistent. Watching a TV show or a sports game from the comfort of the bed could mean buffering simply because I had moved into a weaker part of the room. At times, the Wi-Fi became weak enough that my phone would switch over to cellular data instead. The bedroom is also where I usually take online certification exams because it is relatively easy to clear out and does not have additional monitors. Many remotely proctored exams require the webcam to stream continuously, so a stable connection there matters more to me than simply seeing a high number on a speed test.

The first-floor AP was in the kitchen for a reason. It sat almost directly above my basement office, so I was trying to give the wireless mesh uplink the best possible chance of maintaining a strong connection between floors. I also kept the AP tucked above the refrigerator so it would remain relatively inconspicuous.

An Aging Network in a Multi-Gig World

There was another reason I wanted to approach the problem gradually. The Internet service coming into the house had moved forward, but much of the networking equipment I owned was from an earlier gigabit-Ethernet generation. My EdgeRouter Lite, for example, dates back to 2017. The router, switch and existing access points were still working, so replacing everything at once would have meant a fairly expensive big-bang upgrade.

My Current Network Setup

Component	Current Setup	Notes
Internet	Xfinity 1 Gbps	Current service tier
Gateway	Xfinity XB8	Xfinity-owned, used in bridge mode, multi-gig capable
Router	Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite	Older gigabit-Ethernet-era hardware
Switch	Existing Ethernet switch	Gigabit Ethernet
Basement AP	UniFi UAP-AC-PRO	Wired, located in basement office
First-floor AP	UniFi UAP-AC-LR	Originally in kitchen using wireless mesh backhaul

Rather than replace all of the owned networking equipment at once, I wanted to modernize the network gradually and go after the obvious bottlenecks first. Running Ethernet between floors would still have been my preferred technical solution, but I was not comfortable fishing cable through finished walls, drilling between levels and figuring out the correct routes through the house. Hiring someone was certainly possible, but professional visits and cable runs can become expensive quickly when the longer-term goal is to provide wired connectivity on multiple floors.

I also researched powerline networking because it offered another way to use wiring that was already inside the house, but I never ended up buying powerline adapters. When I upgraded my Internet connection to 1 Gbps, the gap between the service coming into the house and the wireless mesh backhaul became even harder to justify. I wanted to fix the low-hanging bottlenecks first, but I also wanted each upgrade to remain useful as the rest of the network eventually moved toward multi-gig capability.

Upgrade strategy Fix the biggest bottlenecks first, without replacing the whole network.

Why MoCA Made Sense

MoCA, or Multimedia over Coax Alliance, technology allows Ethernet network traffic to travel over the coaxial cable already installed inside a house. My house already had coax outlets on different floors, including locations close to where I wanted better connectivity, so this immediately looked promising.

The Hitron HTEM5 adapters I chose support MoCA 2.5 and include a 2.5 GbE Ethernet interface. Hitron specifies up to 2.5 Gbps MoCA-to-MoCA throughput for the HTEM5, although actual end-to-end performance is still limited by the rest of the network and the quality of the coax path. The important part for my project was that the MoCA backbone would not become useless when I later upgraded the router, switch or access points.

In simple terms, my basement switch would send normal Ethernet traffic to the first MoCA adapter. That adapter would carry the network connection over the home’s coax wiring to a second adapter in the living room, where it would be converted back to Ethernet for the first-floor access point.

Network path: Router → Switch → Ethernet → MoCA adapter → house coax → MoCA adapter → Ethernet → access point

What I Bought

Before ordering anything, I wanted to make sure the living-room coax outlet was actually connected to the rest of the house. I temporarily moved the Xfinity XB8 from the basement office to the living room, connected it to that coax outlet and confirmed that I could get Internet service. That simple test reduced some of the risk before I spent money on the MoCA hardware.

For the project, I bought a pair of Hitron HTEM5 MoCA 2.5 adapters, a MoCA-compatible multi-port splitter for the main coax distribution point, a MoCA-compatible two-way splitter for the basement office, and a Point-of-Entry MoCA filter. The complete order was approximately $165.

For me, that cost was easier to justify because the installation was not intended to be temporary. Even as I modernize the rest of the network, the coax backbone should continue to be useful.

Installation

The main coax distribution point for the house is in an unfinished part of the basement next to my office. The original splitter had several active coax runs going to different rooms, along with an unused port that was already terminated. I replaced it with a MoCA-compatible splitter and installed the Point-of-Entry filter on the incoming coax line before it entered the splitter.

The PoE filter helps keep the MoCA signal inside the home instead of allowing it to travel back onto the cable provider’s outside network. MoCA Alliance installation guidance also notes that the filter reflects MoCA energy back into the home network, which can improve connectivity. I left the unused splitter port terminated as well, which is generally good practice for unused coax ports.

The hardest part of the splitter replacement had nothing to do with networking. Some of the old coax connectors were extremely tight after sitting untouched for years, and I could not comfortably loosen them by hand. A small wrench made the job considerably easier. If you are working with older coax connections, having a wrench or adjustable wrench nearby may save some frustration.

In the basement office, the coax connection already served the XB8, so I added a two-way MoCA-compatible splitter. One output continued to the XB8 while the other connected to the first Hitron adapter. My network switch provided Ethernet to that adapter using Cat6. On the first floor, the second adapter connected to the living-room coax outlet and converted the network connection back to Ethernet.

I also checked the MoCA setting on the XB8 because the gateway has its own MoCA capability. In my case, it was already disabled, so there was nothing I needed to change. Once both Hitron adapters were connected, they established a link almost immediately. I had expected some troubleshooting or pairing work, but the basic MoCA connection simply worked.

The Wired MoCA Test: 941 Mbps

Before connecting the access point, I plugged a computer directly into the Ethernet port on the living-room MoCA adapter and ran a speed test. The result was approximately 941 Mbps download, 57 Mbps upload and 19 ms ping.

That was the clearest confirmation that the project had achieved what I wanted. I now had near-gigabit wired Internet available in the living room through the existing coax wiring, without running a new Ethernet cable between floors. It also gave me a useful baseline. If Wi-Fi speeds were lower after connecting the AP, I knew the MoCA backbone itself was not the primary limitation.

Moving the AP From the Kitchen to the Living Room

With the MoCA connection working, I moved the existing UniFi AC-LR from its old position above the refrigerator in the kitchen to the top of the entertainment center in the living room. That placed the AP close to the active coax outlet and allowed me to connect it directly to the MoCA adapter over Ethernet.

The physical move was small, but the network change was much more significant. The first-floor AP no longer depended on the basement AC-Pro for a wireless mesh uplink. It now had a wired path back to the network switch through MoCA. UniFi recognized the AP as wired, and I reviewed the mesh configuration afterward so the AP no longer needed wireless meshing for its uplink.

Results

I ran speed tests in several of the areas I had been testing before the upgrade. These are real-world measurements rather than controlled laboratory benchmarks, so device placement, Wi-Fi conditions and the exact testing location can affect the results. The bedroom in particular could vary considerably depending on where I was in the room.

Location	Before MoCA	After MoCA
Kitchen / near living room	93.9 Mbps	333 Mbps
Bedroom	94.4 Mbps*	296 Mbps
Living room	—	518 Mbps
Direct wired MoCA test	—	941 Mbps

*The bedroom was inconsistent before the upgrade and could perform considerably worse near the bed than the captured 94 Mbps baseline test.

A representative Level 2 bedroom test before the upgrade measured about 94 Mbps download, although performance could drop much lower near the bed.

Before the MoCA upgrade, a representative Wi-Fi test near the kitchen/living-room area measured about 94 Mbps download.

With the AC-LR connected through wired MoCA backhaul, Wi-Fi in the living room reached about 518 Mbps download.

After the MoCA upgrade, a bedroom Wi-Fi test reached about 296 Mbps download with much better real-world reliability

After moving the first-floor AP to wired MoCA backhaul, Wi-Fi in the kitchen area reached about 333 Mbps download

The wired 941 Mbps result showed that the coax backbone was doing its job. Once the AP was connected, living-room Wi-Fi reached 518 Mbps, while the kitchen and bedroom also improved substantially compared with the representative baseline tests. The raw numbers were good, but the practical improvement in reliability has mattered more to me.

More Important Than the Speed Test: Reliability

It has now been more than a month since I installed the MoCA adapters, and the setup has been remarkably stable. I have not had to restart or reset either Hitron adapter, and I have not noticed any unexplained MoCA-related drops.

More importantly, the improvement has held up during the situations that originally bothered me. I have taken a remotely proctored certification exam from the bedroom with the webcam streaming throughout the session without any connection problems. Watching TV shows or sports from bed has also been trouble-free so far, without the buffering I used to experience or my phone abandoning Wi-Fi and switching to cellular because the signal became too weak.

For me, that is a more meaningful measure of the upgrade than whether one speed test shows 296 Mbps or 333 Mbps. The bedroom connection has become dependable enough that I no longer think about it while I am using it.

Was MoCA Worth It?

For my house, absolutely. If someone has a similar problem where Ethernet would be ideal but running new cable is difficult or expensive, and usable coax is already available, I think MoCA is an option worth seriously considering.

In my case, it removed the wireless backhaul bottleneck without requiring a major construction project or a full network replacement. For approximately $165 in hardware, I was able to turn coax that was already in the house into useful network infrastructure. Just as importantly, I do not consider it a throwaway installation. The MoCA backbone should continue to be useful as I upgrade the router, switch and access points over time.

I can only speak to the hardware I actually installed, but the Hitron HTEM5 adapters have also been very stable in my setup so far.

What Comes Next?

The MoCA project solved the first bottleneck I wanted to address, but it also gives me a better foundation for the next stages of the network upgrade. I already have a coax outlet on the second floor in the bedroom, so I eventually plan to add another MoCA adapter there. My current thinking is to replace the AC-LR in the living room with a newer Wi-Fi 7 access point and move the existing AC-LR upstairs. That would potentially give me wired backhaul on all three levels of the house without having to run Ethernet between floors.

The router and switch will eventually need their turn as well. My EdgeRouter Lite has been in the network since 2017, and much of the owned infrastructure is still based around gigabit Ethernet. Moving to a newer gateway/router, multi-gig switch and Wi-Fi 7 access point would be the next stage of modernization.

The good part is that I do not have to do all of it at once, and the work from this project should not have to be thrown away. For now, the question of whether MoCA could solve my wired-backhaul problem has been answered. The next question is what happens when I start replacing the older networking hardware around it.

References and Further Reading

The post Improving My Home Network With MoCA: Replacing Wireless Mesh Backhaul appeared first on Tech Gadgets Finder.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Review: Immersive sound at premium price

Tech Gadgets Reviewer — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 22:05:05 +0000

For the last few years, I relied on my trusted Powerbeats wireless headphones for everyday use. While it performed well overall, it fell short at the gym, where I felt the need for an over-ear noise-canceling headphones to block out the loud hum of fans and treadmills. I explored various flagship models from Bose, Sony, Sonos, and Sennheiser but ultimately chose the Bose Ultra headphones. My decision was influenced by my positive past experiences with Bose products, strong online customer reviews, the premium design, and intriguing new features like Immersion Mode. Beyond the using it at the gym, I paired it with my Blue Yeti microphone for editing YouTube videos. Furthermore, I have been using it to watch TV shows on my tablet and to take online lessons.

About

What's in the box	Bose Ultra Headphones, Carry Case, 3.5mm audio cable, USB-C charging cable
Type	Around the ear
Modes	Quiet, Immersion, Aware
Manual	Bose Online Manual
Launch Year	2023

Design

The Lunar Blue variant I own is nothing short of stunning, exuding a premium look. In terms of comfort, these headphones deliver; they are lightweight and free from pressure points, making them ideal for extended use.

Bose did not skimp on details either—the included protective case is top-notch, ensuring safe storage. Although these are wireless headphones, I appreciate the thoughtful addition of a wired option for versatility. The matching blue USB charging and audio cables add a touch of uniqueness compared to the standard black or white cables often included with other brands. Overall, the design and build quality live up to the high expectations of a flagship product.

My Experience

Device Integration – As an iPhone user, coming from Powerbeats, I was surprised by the absence of Apple AirPlay support, which seems a standard feature. Bluetooth works well but definitely the added convenience AirPlay is a definite downside that Apple users should consider. Beyond the basic connectivity to a device, the headphones different features such as selecting a mode or adjusting sound equalizers can be performed using the Bose App. The app also provide short helpful tutorials to fully utilize all the features of the headphones.
Ease of Use – The intuitive controls make these headphones easy to use right out of the box. However, I suggest reviewing the manual or app to fully understand all the available features. One pleasant surprise is the auto-pause feature: removing the headphones pauses your music, and placing them back resumes playback. However, there is a minor hiccup—during workouts, grimacing or intense facial expressions occasionally trigger the auto-pause feature, which can be frustrating.

I also found the slider volume control on the headphones easily accessible and intuitive to use, replacing the need to reach out for my phone to control volume. The other buttons took a little time to get used to. But after using it for a week, I can also comfortably use the button to skip or pause music.

Modes – As a parent, I have come to value the Quiet Mode and Aware Mode:
- Quiet Mode is fantastic for drowning out distractions, whether it is the sound of my kids watching TV or gym equipment.
- Aware Mode, on the other hand, amplifies ambient sounds, allowing me to stay alert to my surroundings. Having this option, lets me use the headphones even when I am the one watching the kids. The downside of the aware mode is that some sounds, like the sound of running water, feel overly amplified and can be unnecessarily exaggerated.

In addition to the quiet and aware modes, the headphones also has an Immersion Mode that provide noise cancelling while simulating an in-concert-like sound experience. In my opinion, it comes pretty close to providing such an experience. Furthermore, this Immersion Mode is also an excellent option for watching a tense live game when you are on the go.

Call Quality – Quality of the mic in these headphones is top-notch. I am heard clearly on voice and WhatApp calls. That said, I personally find it hard to use over-ear headphones for calls as I feel I am shouting to hear my own voice. If I put the headphones in Aware Mode, then my voice seems way exaggerated and unnatural. This would be a space for old Powerbeats earphones to shine.
Battery – One important thing to note is that the auto-pause feature only puts the headphones into sleep mode rather than fully turning them off. They remain in this state for up to 24 hours before shutting down completely, but the battery continues to drain during this time. To prevent unnecessary battery drain, be sure to long-press the power button to fully turn them off.

On the plus side, the headphones have impressive battery life between charges. Bose claims they offer up to 24 hours of use on a full charge. However, charging from a low battery can feel extremely slow—fast charging has not been implemented for these headphones.

Conclusion

The Bose Ultra Headphones deliver an impressive combination of style, comfort, and immersive audio quality, making them a worthy contender in the high-end headphone market. In the US, the MSRP of $429.00 seems a little too high for a gadget that was launched in 2023. However, these headphones often are discounted at $349.00, at which point it seems like a good buy. While minor issues such as the lack of Apple AirPlay and the auto-pause quirk during workouts exist, its overall performance, noise-canceling features, and versatility justify the premium price for anyone seeking a flagship listening experience.

The post Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Review: Immersive sound at premium price appeared first on Tech Gadgets Finder.

Is Shark AI Ultra cleaning robot RV2502AE worth it in 2024?

Tech Gadgets Reviewer — Sat, 17 Aug 2024 22:33:00 +0000

Any technology gadget that automates a manual and monotonous task is always fascinating. Two of the most boring chores are mowing the lawn and vacuum cleaning the floors of the house. Although the price of robot lawn mower is still high, the price of robot vacuum cleaners have come down considerably. I decided to purchase one of these cleaner robots as Mother’s day gift to my wife in 2022, hoping it would take one of the task off her plate.

Unfortunately, my wife did not want to use the robot vacuum in the living room as she feared that vacuum could destroy the kids toys. However, we agreed that our basement level with my home office and the main basement area would be a great place to test the robot. Vacuum cleaning the basement is often lower on the priority list and hence gets skipped when we are short of time. Our hope was that with the robot vacuum we can consistently get the floors cleaned without spending our time and energy.

Key specs and features

Bin Capacity	0.27 gallons
Key features	LiDAR Navigation, Self-Cleaning Brushroll, Edge Cleaning, Obstacle Avoidance, Bagless, Self-Emptying
Dock in box	Yes
Voice assistant	Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant
Owners manual	Download RV2502AE manual
Launch Year	2021

Design

The Shark AI Ultra cleaning robot has a minimalist design. As such the robot looks similar to most other cleaning robots. The robot itself is very robust with a front bumper to prevent damage to the robot. The bumper moves to absorb some force when the robot crashes against any objects. As such the 360 LiDAR technology ensures the robot does not crash into objects but it can only see if those objects are tall enough. After two years of operation, I do see many scuffs and marks on the robot. The top front of the robot has two buttons that would request the robot to start cleaning and to return to the dock. Near the buttons are light indicators for Wi-Fi and battery status. The robot is little taller and might have trouble to enter inside if it does not have enough clearance.

The dock is sturdy and robust as well. There are no bags in the dock or the robot. The bin that holds the debris in the dock is decently large, easy to pull out, and easy to open.

My experience

The setup was fairly straightforward. Assembly was easy as it involved putting together a few things only. I used the SharkClean app on my iPhone to register for an account, give a name to the robot, and run the initial mapping. The robot goes through the different areas on the floor and generates a fairly precise map using its LiDAR technology. Once this step is complete, the map can be edited to label a room and to add no-go zones. Shark recommends to place the base with its back against the wall and to have 3 ft of empty space to its either side and 5ft of empty space in the front. There were times I did not have this clearance in the sides but did not notice any issue. However, it is best to adhere to the manufacturer’s recommendation to avoid running into unexpected errors.

When it comes to cleaning, I only run the robot in max power level because the last thing I want to see is the robot going over the strand of thread on the carpet without picking it up. In this setting, I found the robot does clean up really well. Specifically, if I am wrapping gift in my office or basement without running the robot, I invariably get a few hair stuck to the gift wrap tape. Running the robot, ensure that the carpets are clean and ready to work for wrapping gifts. The volume of the robot while running is fairly reasonable. However, it does make a loud sound when it gets back to the dock and transfer the debris from the robot to dock.

SharkClean - Schedule

SharkClean - Edit Map

SharkClean - Home Menu

SharkClean - Home

SharkClean - No go zones

SharkClean - Cleaning report

The robot can be controlled through the phone app, even though there are few buttons on the robot itself. The robot needs to be connect to a Wi-Fi network for the app to be able to control robot.

The app is fairly intuitive to use. Mainly you can trigger the robot to clean, set schedule for cleaning, adjust label the map, and set no-go zones. Furthermore, the app sends push notification when something goes wrong. I have received notifications few times when my robot was not charging properly. The app also indicates the battery level of the robot.

That said the robot is not perfect. One thing I noticed is that when my main basement area has too many things lying around and I am trying to just clean my office room, the robot, which is docked in the main basement room, will move forward look around and go back to dock, even though you can tell that the robot has enough room to get to the office. In general, the robot expects the floors to have enough space and any kids / dogs toys to be picked up before a cleaning session. Although the robot can avoid taller obstacles using the 360 degree LiDAR navigation, if obstacle is smaller the robot will bump into them. I have caught it dragging some wires around when I missed take it off the floor. Lastly, I wish that the app would let you carry the robot and dock to a different level and generate a map without deleting the existing map. Then it would be up to the user to just select the right map before running the robot, when multiple maps are available. Unfortunately, multimaps are not supported. The only workaround is to delete an existing map and remap. From the company’s perspective having a multimap feature would be an excellent marketing tool. Once a user is happy with the functioning of the robot in multiple levels, they will get tired of moving the robot to different levels and eventually buy a new robot for different level.

Because I have limited run time for the robot in my basement, I have not performed any maintenance activity on the robot other than emptying the dustbin in the dock. However, looking at the owner’s guide, the maintenance looks to be fairly straightforward.

Verdict

The Shark AI Ultra cleaner robot has excellent suction power and does an incredible job picking up dirt from the carpet and hard floor. It sells around $369 (USD) in Amazon.com at the time of writing, while its MSRP is $599.99. Considering its cleaning prowess and the deep discount, the robot vacuum cleaner is still an excellent choice, if mopping capabilities are not required. Furthermore, the robot comes with a self-emptying dock that can hold debris for a few weeks. The LiDAR navigation has some glitches and does not have advance features such as poop avoidance that might be a necessity for a house with a not potty-trained dog. In general, for a house that needs a simple robot cleaner without these advance features, it is still a great choice even in 2024.

The post Is Shark AI Ultra cleaning robot RV2502AE worth it in 2024? appeared first on Tech Gadgets Finder.

Ecobee Premium Smart Thermostat: Beauty with brain

Tech Gadgets Reviewer — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 04:40:32 +0000

After moving to my new house in 2016, I had to change both heating systems and air conditioning system in the next two years. I hate that the company did not give me the option to put a install thermostat when they installed a new HVAC with a new thermostat. Since I saw a Nest thermostat, I wanted to upgrade from a dumb thermostat to a smart thermostat. The biggest deterrent was not knowing whether the existing wiring supports a smart thermostat and what it would take to install it without hiring a pro. In this post, I provide my experience researching for a smart thermostat, preparing for installing the Ecobee Premium smart thermostat and experience using it for the last three months.

The need for a smart thermostat?

One of the most annoying things about Michigan fall and spring is that at night the temperature falls while it becomes hot during the day. With the manual thermostat, we would often find ourselves waking up feeling cold in the middle of the night because we turned the air conditioner on during the day and forgot to switch back to heat before going to bed. It seems that this should not be an issue with any thermostat in 2024, but at least my previous manual Honeywell thermostat couldn’t handle it. The auto-mode on a smart thermostat takes care of the problem. Furthermore, we often would forget to turn down the heat or turn up temperature of air conditioning before leaving the house, leaving us only the option to turn around or pay the higher utility bill. A smart thermostat lets you quickly adjust from the app on your phone or watch even when you are not at home.

Ecobee Premium vs Nest learning thermostat

When I started to look for a flagship smart thermostat, Google Nest learning thermostat was my natural choice. I love the dial style of the Nest thermostats. Before I started looking, I have not even heard about Ecobee. The Google Nest learning thermostat states that I might be able to install it with the four wires without a c-wire. Unfortunately, I saw my friend who did not have a c-wire, work initially but later needed to unplug it from the wall and charge it. The more I looked, I felt Ecobee would look great on my wall and the power extender kit (PEK), which is needed without a c-wire, is easier to install given the amount videos and information available on the internet. Google Nest also sells an adapter similar to the power extender kit for systems without a c-wire. In general, I feel that both of them are excellent choices and both look great.

Purchase and installation

As mentioned initially, the installation of the smart thermostat can be a challenge especially, if you do not have a c-wire already connected. If you do not have the ability to run a c-wire from the thermostat end to the HVAC system, you can use the provided power extender kit (PEK).

You will still need four wires to connect the smart thermostat. The thermostat also comes with sticker label tags to tag different wires during installation. In the YouTube video, I walk through how to install a power extender kit at splice in the HVAC system.

The phone app provides a step-by-step walkthrough to help identify whether the Ecobee Premium is supported by the HVAC system and how to go about installing the thermostat. Even before I purchased the thermostat, I contacted the support through WhatsApp and got a good understanding of how and where to install the power extender kit (PEK) and the thermostat. Furthermore, the Ecobee support also confirmed that purchasing a new / sealed pro unit from eBay will be covered by factory warranty. However, I ended up purchasing from BestBuy as I wanted the flexibility to be able walk-in and exchange, in case I get a defective unit. They also explained installing a pro version of the unit yourself will give you one year of warranty, but when installed by a pro will give you three years of warranty. That said, I highly recommend to contact support to confirm the latest policy before pulling the trigger on a model from eBay.

Once the thermostat is successfully installed and it powers on, setting up the thermostat using the Ecobee phone app is fairly straightforward. Furthermore, pairing the remote sensor is easy too. After the initial setup, some tinkering with the different setting is required to get the desired temperature in the home.

Design

The 4″ black LCD touch screen and silver bezel design provides a premium look to the thermostat. The new thermostat was noticed by visitors, who commented on how much better it looked compared to the previous thermostat. If your thermostat resides in your living room like mine, the thermostat will most likely improve the aesthetic appeal of your room. However, you might want to check whether the thermostat mounting plate covers any previous holes and unpainted surface on the wall. Ecobee does provide a white trim plate to cover up such holes and unpainted surface, but in my opinion the white trim plate on a black LCD of the thermostat looks totally hideous. You can purchase an aftermarket black trim plate that would make the setup look better but not as good as not having a trim plate at all.

Phone app and on screen usage

Ecobee premium thermostat is easy to operate directly through it is touch screen. It provides an easy way to change the current temperature settings and put a temperature settings hold by quickly adjusting the temperature. I also love that a blue or red ring on the screen shows whether air conditioner or heat is currently running. In addition to providing easy access to day-to-day functions, it also provides access to some advanced settings that are not available on the phone app such as changing the temperature threshold between heat and cold.

On the other hand, the Ecobee phone app puts a lot of features on your phone. The app is fairly well designed, intuitive and stable. The app can access the thermostat even when you are not in your home network, assuming both the phone and the thermostat are connected to the internet. That said the phone app does not have all the controls such as changing temperature threshold or adding a new comfort settings. I feel that Ecobee tried to leave out complex and uncommon tasks out of the app to keep the app simple and user friendly.

Temperature control effectiveness

The Ecobee premium addresses some of the pain points that I mentioned such as an auto mode, and phone app for remote control. It provides options such as away mode and vacation scheduling to help reduce the utility cost and the carbon footprint. Furthermore, the thermostat comes with one remote sensor that can provide input to the thermostat. You can buy more remote sensors and add to different rooms in the house. I also like that you can control the minimum minutes per hours that you want the fan running. With my old thermostat, it was always on or on when the heat or cold was running. Overall, there are many great features that help to control the temperature effectively.

With that said, I want to highlight that there is a learning curve to moving from a manual thermostat especially if have a room setup like mine. My home does not have great duct work, hence the rooms on the top floor do not get good air flow from the HVAC system. There is always a good two to five degree difference between each levels. Just because you have remote sensors in each room, it does not mean you can control the temperature of each room individually. Previously, the thermostat installed in the living room was the only input source for temperature reading and we had an understanding of what a particular temperature would mean to the rest of the house. So when I tried to cool kids room upstairs for bedtime, the temperature of the basement and living room became way too cold. To add to the learning, I noticed that the remote sensor occasionally is a two or three degrees off. If it is consistently way off, you can reach out to Ecobee support to request a replacement. Ecobee does provide an option to control the temperature based on average of all sensor readings but again takes a few days to figure out what the average means for each room in the house. It took a few weeks of trial and error to get the best possible setting for the spring and summer. I might have to do some tinkering of the setting during fall and winter to get it setup. Unless you live in a ranch-style house or have an impeccable ducting system that delivers almost same temperature to all rooms, expect some time spent to experiment and zero-in on the best settings after installation.

Beyond temperature control

Other than the temperature control, I love that the thermostat screen provides a outside temperature and can be clicked to view the weather forecast for the next few days. I also like the air quality sensor that would notifies when the air quality in the home deteriorates. This feature in conjunction with the air filter reminder helps to change the filter when it is due.

The smart thermostat can be used to stream music through Spotify or Air Play. Even though the speakers in the thermostat will not blow anyone’s mind, it is a nice to have option if your thermostat is in a place without any speakers.

The thermostat can also be controlled by different smart assistants such as Alexa, Siri etc. Unfortunately, for Siri it needs an Apple hub device such as Apple HomePod Mini or HomePod to control the commands. You cannot directly speak to the thermostat to control it with Siri. Other than that the thermostat can also integrate with Ecobee’s smart security devices if you are in the Ecobee ecosystem.

Final thoughts

The Ecobee premium smart thermostat and the phone app seems matured over years of continues research and development. The remote control ability through smartphone and smartwatch, and settings such as away mode and vacation scheduling, in the long-run should provide a return on investment through reduced utility bills. Furthermore, the premium look of the thermostat enhances the appearance of the room in which it is installed. However, the smart thermostat is definitely not plug-and-play. Even after installation, it needs trial and error to get the temperature settings precisely to your liking. Over all, the Ecobee premium smart thermostat is definitely worth the money especially if you are replacing a manual thermostat.

The post Ecobee Premium Smart Thermostat: Beauty with brain appeared first on Tech Gadgets Finder.

Garmin Venu 3 getting starting: Ten how-to guide

Tech Gadgets Reviewer — Tue, 21 May 2024 04:43:01 +0000

As a first time Garmin watch owner, some of the basic customizations and actions took some getting used to. Furthermore, I believe that some of the options are not very intuitive. Hence, the post summarizes some of the key how-to that will help a new owner of the Garmin Venu 3 to quickly get started. The getting started list should also work for the Garmin Venu 3S and probably on other Garmin watches.

1. How to restart Garmin Venu 3?

Though there is not direct restart option, the watch can be shut down and started to complete a restart. After all restart is a common solution to many technology issues.

Long hold the top button till the menu option shows up. Scroll down to the end and hit the ‘Power off’ option to shut down. Once the screen goes blank, long hold the top button again till the screen start and the Venu logo appears.

2. How to change the watch face?

The watch comes with many watch face out the box. More watch faces can be added from Garmin Connect IQ store. But how do you change the watch face? Just long hold on the bottom most button and tap ‘Watch Face’ option. Swipe through the different options and select the watch face from the list.

3. How to use the watch to find your phone?

Keep your phone in silent and lose it often? Know how to find your phone using the Venu 3. Long hold on the top button and tap ‘Find my phone’. Click the top button again to stop the annoying ringing sound once the phone is found. One caveat, the watch uses a bluetooth connect to the phone to ring it. If the require connection is not established, the ‘Find my phone’ will not work.

4. How to keep the watch screen always on?

By default the watch screen times out and goes dark to conserve battery. However, it provides an option to keep the screen always on. The screen dims but makes the information still visible. The option will reduce the battery life though. Long hold the bottom button and tap ‘Settings’. Then tap the following

 'System' -> 'Display' -> 'General Use' -> 'Always on' toggle

The same steps can be follow to turn off always on feature.

5. How to connect a Bluetooth headphone?

To play music from the watch without a phone, the watch will need to be connect to Bluetooth headphone.

Long hold on the bottom most button and follow the below path:

Settings -> Music -> Headphones -> Add New

As prompted by the watch put the headphone in the pairing mode, and hit the green check to continue pairing. One paired the headphone name will show up under headphones and accessories option.

6. How to connect the watch to a Wi-Fi network?

Having a Wi-Fi connect is required to perform a system update directly from the watch and also to stream music from apps such as Spotify.

To connect to Wi-Fi network, long hold on the bottom button and tap through the following path

Settings -> System -> Connectivity -> Wi-Fi -> My Networks -> Search for Networks

Select the network to connect and type the password using the tedious option provided on the watch screen.

Or setup using the Garmin Connect App. On iPhone, from the home screen tap the More button on the bottom and tap Garmin Devices. Select your watch name followed by the path listed below:

System -> Connectivity -> Wi-Fi -> My Networks -> Add a Network

Choose a network and enter password and tap Add. The watch will light up showing the message ‘Connecting to network’. Once completed, a success message will be displayed.

7. How to check for software update and install directly from the watch?

Ensure a Wi-Fi connection is setup as per # 6 above. Long hold on the bottom button and tap through the following options:

Settings -> System -> Software Update

The watch will connect to the Wi-Fi network and check for an update. If an update is found, it will proceed to install the update.

8. How to enable notification only for text and calls but not for apps?

In initial version of the review for Garmin Venu 3, I mentioned it as one of the cons. However, I realized later that there is a setting in the watch to only notify for text and / or calls.

To prevent notification from apps except calls and text, long hold the bottom most button and follow the path:

Settings -> Notification & Alerts -> Smart Notifications -> General Use

There are three options for calls, text and apps. Apps notification can be setup to different than text and calls. The setting is great if you want no notifications for apps but notification for calls and text.

9. How to load music to Garmin Venu 3?

One of the great feature of the Garmin Venu 3/3S is that it can hold music files so that you can play it directly from the watch.

Other options such as streaming from music apps and playing music from phone is still available. Each of these source of music is called as music provider by Garmin.

To load music into the Garmin Venu 3 or 3S, connect the charging cable to a Windows computer. Once connected the watch will show as a drive on Windows Explorer. Navigate to the folder for music and copy the audio files needed.

For playing the music, long hold on the lower button and tap through the following:

Settings -> Music -> Music Providers -> My Music -> Select the songs to play

The output audio will need to be selected from speakers or any of the connected Bluetooth headphones / speakers.

If the music provider does not need to be changed, the Music app can be accessed from the App list.

10. How to create a custom watch face?

There are two ways to create custom watch face. First way is to create the face directly from watch. The steps are same as the one mentioned in #2. Scroll through the list of available watch face, till you find the ‘Create Custom’. Tap this option and follow along to create the custom watch face.

The second option requires using the Connect IQ app but provides more flexibility. It also provides the option to add custom images. Open the app and go to the ‘Face it’ option. Click the add icon and follow along. Once the customization is complete, click the ‘Install’ and the watch face is installed on the watch and activated.

For most of these how-to, we have provided the option to navigate and perform the how-to on the watch. However, many of these options can also performed using the Garmin Connect App. From the home screen, hit the ‘More’ on the bottom right app bar (on iPhone) and select the ‘Garmin Devices’. Then tap on your watch name. Now the many of the options on here should mirror the ones on the watch and should also work when completed through the app.

The post Garmin Venu 3 getting starting: Ten how-to guide appeared first on Tech Gadgets Finder.

Garmin Venu 3: Smart fitness tracker with excellent battery life

Tech Gadgets Reviewer — Sun, 05 May 2024 22:46:59 +0000

A month back I wrote why I decided it was time to upgrade from Polar M430 watch. Six years later, my wife again got me for my birthday the watch that I wanted: the Garmin Venu 3. I plan to do an in-depth review of the watch as I found there are many fascinating features. I have been using the watch for the last four weeks during which I tried to experiment with the different features of the watch and the related Garmin app on iPhone. My experience with the watch is limited to using with iPhone. Furthermore, I have not tried all the features yet. But I plan to add to the post, if I find new features that would dramatically alter my view of the watch.

My Use Case

Feel free to check my previous post that details my requirement for a fitness tracker. As a quick recap, I absolutely did not want to charge my watch everyday. I wanted it to be modern looking with color screen and touch capability. Ability to track naps and play music without a phone would be greatly appreciated. Any new features not available in my old polar watch would be great.

About Garmin Venu 3

Design

From a pure aesthetic sense, the watch looks great. I wondered whether, the large diameter of the Venu 3 would make it appear too big for my small wrist. But it does not look odd. It has a beautify AMOLED touch screen. The screen looks very bright even when viewing outside on sunny days.

Garmin Venu 3 - Back View

Garmin Venu 3 - Front View 2

Garmin Venu 3 - Front View 3

Garmin Venu 3 - Front View Screen On 1

Garmin Venu 3 - On Wrist Screen

Garmin Venu 3 - Microphone and Speaker

Garmin Venu 3 - Side Buttons

During my initial days with the watch, I kept hitting the screen against something, hence I decided to install the IQ shield screen protector before getting a scratch. Around the screen is a metal rim that is used when measuring ECG reading.

There are three buttons on the right. The bottom works like a back button. All the three buttons support long hold to pull different options. Coming from Polar watches, these three buttons seems totally chaotic. For the first few weeks, I was still hit multiple buttons to get what I wanted. It got better once I started remembering the options each button pulls up.

The default watch strap that comes with the box seems to cover many different sizes as many holes are available to buckle the strap. I also like the easy pull out and replace strap design, unlike the struggle I experience with my older Polar M430. The watch comes with a USB-C type charging cable that plugs into the watch. The end that plugs into the watch is proprietary. I like the Apple watch design of having a wireless magnetic charger end that snaps onto the watch better. Furthermore, I wish that a charging block were provided but I guess those are becoming a think of the past.

Overall, the watch design seems well designed and premium. It also feel comfortable to continuous wear without any irritation to the skin.

My Experience

As someone new to Garmin watches, the sheer options and features can easily be overwhelming. Also, initially it was hard to find some the options that would be considered basic. Such as changing the watch face – I installed different watch face from apps and it would automatically change the watch face. I was not sure how to go back to the initial watch face without uninstalling the watch face app I installed. Finally, figured out that long hold on the lowest button pulls up the option for watch face. Of course, as simple google search for any such question always seem to pull up with the Garmin support that showed how to do it. That said anyone coming from a basic fitness tracker without needing all the bells and whistles that this watch brings might feel frustrated.

I will go over the different areas and features of the watch that I have tried so far.

iPhone Integration

Garmin Venu 3 - Sleep Score

Garmin Venu 3 - Sleep Coach Recommendation

Garmin Venu 3 - Sleep Coach

Garmin Venu 3 - At a Glance

Garmin Venu 3 - App In Focus

Garmin Venu 3 - App Fitness Age

Garmin Venu 3 - HRV Status

Garmin Venu 3 - App Tennis HR Chart

Garmin Venu 3 - App Home

Venu 3 connects to the iPhone using a Bluetooth connection. Once connected many of the data and features can be accessed using the Garmin Connect app. The Garmin ConnectIQ app, lets you install apps for music, watch face apps and mapping apps from the Garmin store. It also lets you create custom watch faces on the phone and upload to Venu 3.

By long holding on the middle button, the watch can connect to Siri. You can speak into your watch with the commands for Siri and the Siri will respond back through the speak on the Venu 3. There is not reply option to text message when connect to an iPhone. However, the Siri on the watch can be used to response to text and WhatsApp messages. Furthermore, the watch can also make a call or pick up calls on you phone. In a way, the watch acts a client to the phone connected through Bluetooth. The app can be also used to setup the Garmin pay. Once setup through the app, Garmin pay can be used to pay by holding the watch near a card reader, even when you do not have the connected phone near by. The watch can also be used to find the connected phone, using the ‘Find my phone’ feature that is accessible by long holding the top button. This a great feature, if you keep your phone on silent and often search for it around the house.

One area of the iPhone integration that I am disappointed with is notifications. All notifications on the phone comes on the watch. Initially, vibration or sound for each notification was too overwhelming. Hence, I turned off the sound and vibration on the watch. But, since the watch mirrors all the notifications from the phone to watch, there is no easy way to select few apps for which to get the notification on the watch. The options to control notifications are based on text, calls and apps. For example, you can set the sound and / or vibration for calls and texts but not for apps, so that all the app notifications go to the notification center. Unfortunately, there is no flexibility to control notification sound or vibration per app. This could be a limitation because of the closed nature of iOS, however, it would be nice to have such app level control.

Activities

There are many activities available in the watch by default. It also provides option to add new activity. I added mowing as an activity as I seem to burn enough calories mowing my front and backyard. I have tried, tennis, walking, running, threadmill running, strength training and cardio so far. It does a fairly good job of tracking the workouts. Strength training is little weird. It lets you add the number of reps and weight per set. I could not find a way to group the three sets of a particular workout. So when I strength train, I mark each set of any workout separately. So in the end, I may have 18 sets in the workout summary, even though those are three sets of six different workouts. On most of the workout, it did a good job of tracking the number of repetitions per set but it always can be overridden. In the workout statistics, I noticed that it shows what muscles I worked out. It was correct in many instances. For some reason, when mowing, the watch had a hard time tracking my steps. The first time that I mowed without starting an activity, the watch figured out that I was doing some activity and guessed I was biking. It was surprising it could not track the steps though, as even my old Polar M430 would track the steps during mowing, even though the steps may have been little inflated.

Sleep and naps

The sleep tracking seems to be fairly accurate in terms of sleep time. It also provides a commentary about you sleep and how it helped you or not help you. Like with most of the data provided by the watch, it provides a break down of you sleep in terms of deep, light, REM and awake. It calculates and provides a sleep score based on all these data points. The watch also has a sleep coach that recommends hours of sleep each night adaptively based on your activities, stress and previous night sleep. I felt that the recommended hours are often not realistic. The quality of sleep metric seem to be mostly right. On one occasion when the watch mentioned I did not have enough REM and hence I will feel tired and irritable. I was not convinced with the feedback as I felt the great in the morning. I did not feel irritable but around noon I felt very tired and getting through the rest of the day was a drag. Occasionally, I would feel totally opposite to what the watch would predict based on my sleep. Overall, I feel that I can trust the sleep rating provided.

The watch has the ability to track naps. It says it can automatically detect a nap greater than five minutes. The preferred approach is to start a nap and optionally set an alarm, so that the nap does not turn into sleep. In the first week, the nap tracking acted funny. On a few occasions, it did not pick up my nap, even though the nap was more than five minutes. On another day, it said I took two naps and scolded me for taking too many naps, even when I did not take one. My work involves sitting and working on the computer and I assume it seemed from all the data points that I was napping. I wonder whether this happened because the watch did not have enough data points to make a good judgement. I haven’t had this issue since then. I mostly let the watch automatically track my naps and it is fairly accurate.

Body battery

The body battery feature treats the human body as a phone that charges and discharges. Garmin has kept the feature very simple. When you sleep or take naps, your body gets charged. Stress on the body causes the battery to drain. I tried to understand what type of stress Garmin measures, physical or mental.

By reading the help section, it seems the key determination of stress using HRV (Heart Rate Variability). Higher the HRV, lower the stress levels. The help link on the stress section of the app, has detailed explanation. I believe that Garmin attempts to measure both mental and physical stress though I did not find it explicitly stated. I believe so because by the the end of my work day, the watch will often tell me how I had a stress free day and hence I have enough battery left for a workout or activity. In reality, I feel that my work is mentally stressful but not physically demanding. In addition to stress, the workouts and activities also drain the body battery.

As such the body battery feature works good to get a sense of how your body is doing before a workout. It is especially helpful because I workout later in the evening or at night. That said, the premise of the body battery does seem to have a few holes. Obviously, the human body is more complicated that a simple charge and discharge. Other factors such as hydration level, quality of food intake, emotional state may all impact your body battery in someway. Overall, the feature is helpful to do a quick pulse check on your body situation, even though it might be best to listen to your body!

Other fitness features

The watch comes with the general fitness features such as steps, floors climbed and intense minutes. The user can select a fitness goal that would provide targets to achieve each day and each week. One another feature that I like is the fitness age. The watch estimates personal fitness age based on the different parameters such as weight and workout information. The accuracy will be better if you can enter a BMI. While calculation might be an estimate, it has been motivating to notice that working out consistently and achieving the targets has been helping my fitness age move below my actual chronological age. The watch can also be used to measure oxygen levels, VO2 Max and to take ECG.

Conclusion

Following the success of the Venu 2, Garmin has launched another great watch with the Venu 3. Even though some of the fitness features might not be perfect, it motivates enough to get you moving. In the current age, when you are expected to charge all your devices overnight, it is joy to have a watch that can go almost for a week without a charge with normal use. The smart features thrown into the fitness tracker are very handy, even though the integration with the iPhone could be much better. Of course, there are other smart watches that has better integration to phone and other fitness trackers that are for fitness geeks and runners. But, for anyone looking for a great fitness tracker with decent smart watch features, the Garmin Venu 3 is a excellent choice. Almost one month of using the Garmin Venu 3, I feel that it has certainly lived up to the expectation that I had from the watch.

The post Garmin Venu 3: Smart fitness tracker with excellent battery life appeared first on Tech Gadgets Finder.

Things to consider before buying a monitor

Tech Gadgets Reviewer — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 04:46:10 +0000

Before investigating the monitor to buy, ensure that you understand your use case for purchasing a monitor. Do you want a portable monitor that you would want to move from one room to another or a fixed desktop monitor? Portable monitors will be limited in options per the factors mentioned in the article. For desktop monitors, it would be beneficial to understand your main use case. Are you planning to use it for browsing and office work? Or do you play to watch movies and game on it? Once the main use case is identified consider the factors listed in the article. You also want to decide on a budget, as you will notice that as you look for better specification, the price will also go up. Below is a cheat sheet for quickly understanding the different parameters to consider for making an educated buy. Below the cheat sheet, we go into each important factor in detail.

Monitor buying cheatsheet

Factor	Is higher better?	Comments
Technology	Not applicable	Such as OLED, LCD or LED might determine the viewing experience. OLED have deeper blacks and improved viewing angle.
Screen size	Depends	Generally larger is better. But check whether the workspace can accommodate.
Shape	Not applicable	Flat or curved. Curved screen may be appealing to movie watchers and games.
Resolution	Yes	Full HD to 5K. Graphic card and the content should support higher resolution to notice the difference. Higher is good for future proofing but comes at a cost
Aspect ratio	Not applicable	Represents the width by height ratio as such as 5:4. 16:10 is preferred by content creators. There are wide and ultrawide options. It depends on personal choice.
Refresh rate	Yes	Measured in hertz (hz). Higher refresh rates are important for games and videos. It helps smoother the images.
Response time	No	Measured in milliseconds (ms). Lower the response time the better the viewing experience.
Brightness	Yes	Measured in nits. Higher values above 300 nits are better when there is too much light in the room.
Connections	Not applicable	Ensure the monitor support USB-C, display port, HDMI as per the option available on your computer. Also consider number of ports, if you plan to connect multiple devices.
Touch Screen	Not applicable	Mostly non-touch monitors. But some touch screen option might be available.

Technology - LCD vs LED vs OLED

Without getting too much in the weeds, LCD and LED are quit similar in performance. OLED has some advantages and disadvantages. OLEDs have deeper blacks and better viewing angle as compared to LCD and LED. Unfortunately, OLEDs have a burn-in problem especially with static images. OLED is a better choice when impeccable video or image quality is required. For normal office work or browsing LCD or LED monitor will suffice.

Screen size - HD to 5K

In general, higher the resolutions better the image quality. This is because the image is formed by higher pixels in a high resolution screen as compared to lower resolution screen. This means each pixel is smaller. The resolution can be from 1280 x 720 (standard HD) to 5120 x 2160 (5K). Preferred is at least Full HD, which is 1920 x 1080 resolution. If you go for higher 4K and 5K resolution, ensure that your graphic card supports the higher resolution screen, otherwise you will not notice any difference. 4K and 5K monitors will give the immersive experience required for gaming and movie watching. Of course, the better image quality comes at a cost.

Shape, screen size and aspect ratio

I am considering the shape, screen size and aspect ratio together as they go hand-in-hand. For example: if want an ultrawide curved screen such as the Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 49″, since the width is way greater than the height, it would be reflected in its aspect ratio: 32:9. As such curved screens, wide and ultrawide screens are excellent for providing the immersive experience craved by gamers and movie enthusiast. The larger the screen size, the easier it is split the screen to three or four windows even while working, eliminating the need for multiple monitors. That said if your desk space is not large enough it might not be able to fit the large, wide and ultrawide screens. Consider measuring the room available on your desk and stack it up with the specification, to prevent a return trip to Best Buy.

Refresh rate and response time

Refresh rate is the frequency with which the monitor refreshes the screen. It is measured in hertz (hz). Higher the frequency, the smoother the gameplay and videos. The common range for the refresh rate is between 60hz and 360hz. For normal office use and browsing, 60 hz should suffice. For watching movies and playing games a frequency of 120hz to 200hz would be great. If the budget allows and if watching videos or gaming is part of your usecase, it is highly recommended to purchase a monitor with at least 120hz refresh.

Although it would be displayed as a different specification, the response time has a similar impact on the display of movies and games. Response time is measured in milliseconds (ms). The lower the response time, the smoother the video and gameplay experience. Response time of less than 2ms is preferred. Lower response time prevents blurring of fast moving objects and characters.

Connectivity and ports

There are different option to connect your laptop or desktop to a monitor. HDMI port is very common. DisplayPort is also a great choice when higher frames per second is required for smooth display of videos and games. However, USB-C connectivity is becoming more and more common these days. USB-C is very common on portable monitors. Previously, DVI and VGA were common connections.

It is also good to have multiple ports available on the monitor, especially, if you have multiple devices. It is similar to having multiple devices connect to your TV, but only one will be active at a time. But it lets you easily switch devices without having to unplug a device and plug a different device.

Other factors

There are other features and specifications that we do not consider as important as the above. However, they are quickly touched on for the sake of completeness:

Panel Types – It is listed as IPS, VA and TN. A type by itself does not make a monitor better or worse. It would be the specification such as refresh rate that would make one monitor better than the other. IPS do offer a better viewing angle and is often considered premium. However, ensure to check the main factors in the cheat sheet before making the purchase.

Smart Features – Smart monitor by itself can have apps such as Netflix that you can stream and view without connecting a device. However, most monitors are going to be connected to a PC or Mac or tablet, all of which is capable of play those apps without the smart monitor features.

Blue light reduction – Most modern operating system have this feature. Hence, blue light reduction feature on the monitor might be pointless.

The post Things to consider before buying a monitor appeared first on Tech Gadgets Finder.

Polar M430 watch: Time for an upgrade!

Tech Gadgets Reviewer — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 01:21:38 +0000

I got the Polar M430 watch as a gift for my birthday in 2018. Over the last six years, it is not just my hair that has gone gray. My watch has also started to show signs of aging. During the period, I often looked at different options for upgrading the M430 but so far I figured out it is not worth the upgrade. I am revisiting the topic again in the post.

About Polar M430

The watch has been very reliable for the last six years. I have used it to track my sleep, workout sessions, tennis sessions, running sessions, and cardio workouts. The below table provides a list of pros and cons from my experience.

Polar M430 - Pros and Cons
Pros	Cons
Extra-ordinarily long battery life	Hideous looking
Many workout options	Outdate monochromatic screen
Good GPS and heart rate accuracy	No nap tracking
Sleep tracking is good	No onboard music storage
	Changing band is a pain

Some of the cons might be little unfair considering that the watch is six to seven years old. However, it is mainly a wish list of things that I want my watch to do. Mainly, I want my watch to look modern. When I go out for runs after work, I would love to drop the phone at home and still be able to listen to music. Knowing the impact of a nap would be so great. Unfortunately, most Polar watches I looked do not have nap tracking at all.

On the other side, the sleep tracking seems to be fairly accurate. It may be a little psychological but generally looking at the sleep statistics gives me an idea how I am going to feel the rest of the day. Furthermore, the battery life is such a big plus that I did not want to give up. It almost used to last a month on a charge. The watch is always ready to track my workouts. I often see my wife putting her Apple watch series 8 to charge as it is dead when she is about to start a workout. I do not want to factor in the watch charge status into my workouts. It will just adds another excuse to not workout! Especially, when the watch needs a charge every day. Luckily, at this point my M430’s battery life has come down to a week per charge. In away, it is a nice way to transition to most modern watches that do not last as long as the M430 did even a few months back.

Lastly, the Polar M430 does give me more steps than what my wife gets on the Apple watch 8. My wife would be out the whole day walking around, while I will be at home working on my laptop and I would end up getting more steps than her. I suspect the outdate technology in the M430 is probably the cause of it. That said, I do not know whether it would be a pro or a con. At least it gives me more steps and makes me feel good in the process!

Give all the above, I am ready to upgrade to a new watch if it adds enough value without compromising too much on the battery life.

Upgrade Options

he budget for the watch is around $350 to $400. The battery life requirement immediately eliminated Apple Watches. Though I have to give credit to Apple for the different watch and strap color options. I would have loved to try some of the Android watches, unfortunately, they do not play at all or play well with Apple iPhone.

Polar Ignite 3

As a repeat customer of Polar watches, I always kept an eye on the newer Polar releases. The Polar Flow app is very reliable and something I am used to for the many years. However, Polar had only addressed a few of the cons from the M430 list over the years. The Polar Sleep wise still does not seem to consider naps and there does not seem to be a push to add onboard music storage to these watches.

Given the modern color screens, the battery life advantage has gone down as well. That said I found that the Polar Ignite 3 Titanium is one of the most beautifully designed watches. Just based on the look of the watch, I had it on my wish list for Christmas 2023.

Garmin Venu 3 or Venu 3S

I have been looking at the Venu 2 and Venu 2 Plus before the Venu 3 series was launched. It seems Garmin had done a great job to appeal the consumers of my kind. It almost checks all the cons that I have listed in the cons of the M430 and not addressed in the Polar Ignite 3. It is a good looking watch, has a decent battery life, has onboard music storage, tracks naps, while still not losing on the good features of the M430.

With that said, it is always hard to get a consumer to switch from one brand to another, especially, when they are used to software associated with it. Hence, it took me a long time of going back and forth to decide that I am going to switch to a Garmin watch during the current upgrade cycle. Moreover, Garmin Venu has many other features that I am excited to try it out such as Body Battery, Fitness Age, Pulse Ox and other smartwatch features. The MSRP for the Garmin Venu 3 and Venu 3S is $449. However, I have seen them go on discounted to $399 multiple times already, which would still fit in my maximum budget.

Of course, if only making a decision were so easy! I had to ponder whether I should go for Venu 3S or Venu 3. Furthermore, the Garmin Vivoactive 5 seems very similar as well. I went to Best Buy to see how these watches look in my wrist. My wrist is relatively smaller and I was wondering whether Venu 3S would be a better option. However, the longer battery life on the Venu 3 is hard to pass. Vivoactive 5 is a little less bulky and might actually look better on my wrist. But, it does lack a few sensors as compared to Venu 3/3S. Most likely, I do not need any of those sensors, but still would want them anyway. Hence, at this time, I have zeroed in on getting the Garmin Venu 3. One thing I wish is that the Venu 3 series watches come with more color and band options like the Apple Watches do.

Summary

To conclude, I decide that my reliable Polar M430 is well past its due date. Introspecting, I believe that the super awesome battery life was one of the biggest reasons why I held off an upgrading it for such a long time. Furthermore, since I am not using the watch for features such as payments, I was not forced to upgrade because of not receiving any more security updates, as it often happens with tablets and phones. Finally, as of today my plan is to upgrade to the Garmin Venu 3. Beyond the features that I want, I look forward to try many of its other features that are exciting. I will write about my take on the Garmin Venu 3, especially, the exciting features, and whether the watch lives up to its expectation for my use cases when I put it to test in real life.

The post Polar M430 watch: Time for an upgrade! appeared first on Tech Gadgets Finder.

Logitech MX Anywhere 3 review: perfect mouse with buttery scroll

Tech Gadgets Reviewer — Sat, 16 Mar 2024 19:23:43 +0000

Over the period of time, I have purchased many different mouse. However, to this date the MX Anywhere 3 is one of my favorite mouse. I bought the it in 2021. I currently also own the Logitech Pebble M350 and Logitech triathlon m720.

MX Anywhere 3 - Right Side

MX Anywhere 3 - Bottom View

MX Anywhere 3, Pebble M350 and Triathlon M720 - Picture 1

MX Anywhere 3, Pebble M350 and Triathlon M720 - Picture 2

MX Anywhere 3, Pebble M350 and Triathlon M720 - Picture 3

MX Anywhere 3 - Back / Forward buttons

MX Anywhere 3 - Scroll front view

My Use case

I was looking for a mouse in 2021 as I had too many devices and had to constantly move the mouse dongle around. Hence, I specifically wanted a mouse with an ability to connect to at least two devices, if not more. I wanted the mouse to last for a long time. Since, I was going to start going to school in spring of 2021, a smaller footprint would be good too to carry it in my backpack while travelling to University.

I was mainly considering the Logitech Pebble M350, which was available at a cheaper price point. I decided to purchase the MX Anywhere 3 as it had a far superior and ergonomic design. I felt that I can invest in a better mouse as I spend lot of time on the computer for my day job. Furthermore, the MX anywhere 3 was able to connect to one more device than the Pebble M350.

That said a year later, I also purchased the Logi Pebble M350. I used the Pebble mainly when I was travelling to school. The MX Anywhere 3 is my daily driver when I work from my home office, connecting mainly to my work laptop, and my Mac Mini.

About MX Anywhere 3

The MX anywhere 3 has an impeccable design. Its ergonomic design makes it comfortable to use even when using it for the whole day. In believe that the scroll wheel is the crown jewel of the MX Anywhere 3 mouse. It is noise free. It can scroll through hundreds of lines of code or many pages of a document with just a flick of the finger. Just below the scroller, there is a button to toggle between a traditional ratchet feel and a free-spinning mode. In the bottom, there is a button to turn off the mouse. Furthermore, there is a small button that can toggle between the three connected devices. The light indicator shows which device is currently active. For connecting to a different device in a particular slot, click the button till the number changes to the one you want, then long hold the same button and the light will start blinking, indicating it is ready to pair. My mouse came with a USB receiver but there are variants of this mouse that do not come with a receiver. The mouse can be charged with a provided USB-A to USB-C cable. The mouse also has two button on the left side that can be used as forward and back buttons. Most of the buttons can be configured by installing the Logitech software. Furthermore, the buttons can also be configured to work differently in different apps. For example: the back or forward button can be configured to mute the microphone using Zoom app. I have used this mouse on Windows, Mac and Samsung Galaxy Tab in DeX mode and works well.

I personally prefer the AA or AAA batteries that can be replaced, as I hate to discard any gadget just because it cannot hold a charge. However, Logitech did a good job making sure that battery run for a long time with each charge, potentially increasing the life of the inbuilt batteries due to reduced number of recharges. It almost feels as if the mouse does not need a charge for months. I use this mouse and the MX Mini Keys keyboard as my daily driver for work. Roughly, I estimate that I have to charge the MX Mini keys twice before I have to charge the MX Anywhere 3. The MX Mini keys easily seem to not need a charge for two weeks at least. Moreover, I love that even when the red light starts to blink indicating the battery is low in between my work day, I can connect the mouse to charge and continue to use it.

Should you buy MX Anywhere 3 in 2024?

Given that Logitech has pulled off creating an almost perfect mouse, the answer would be a resounding yes even in 2024! One reason not to pull the trigger would be to see what’s new in the next version of the MX Anywhere mouse. However, I am curious to see what incremental improvements Logitech can bring to it.

The post Logitech MX Anywhere 3 review: perfect mouse with buttery scroll appeared first on Tech Gadgets Finder.