I would not necessarily call it "badly flawed". Just "naively implemented". There are a lot of advantages that solution brings, resulting in a simpler implementation. Not only for the manufacturer, but also for the user. You may have the know-how to talk to the thermostat in your bedroom from your phone on the beach on Ibiza but my sister does not. She needs a device that talks to a central server and a phone app talking to the same server. There are a million people like my sister for every juiceme. Of course there are disadvantages too! For example... Originally Posted by juiceme Even if there was no sinister ulterior motivations from the manufacturer who so wants to become more of a service operator then just purveyor of HW I'd feel extermely uncomfortable to allow it. ...this is one of them. It is not so much that the manufacturer "wants" to be the operator, it is more like he is "forced to become" one. In many cases the roles of "HW purveyor" and "service operator" are separated. An obvious example is smart meters: in such cases, the "service operator" is your utility company, not the meter manufacturer.
Even if there was no sinister ulterior motivations from the manufacturer who so wants to become more of a service operator then just purveyor of HW I'd feel extermely uncomfortable to allow it.