Devices we do not recommend
The short list of smart home hardware Selora will not put in a client's home, and why. Each entry names what changed, links the evidence, and points at what we install instead.
Selora does not recommend this device
since November 2023Chamberlain cut off third-party API access to myQ in November 2023 and has held that position since, which removed the Home Assistant integration in the 2023.12 release and broke every automation built on it.
There is no local API and no supported cloud path, so a myQ hub is a dead end for any system that is not Chamberlain's own app. Nothing about the hardware is broken, but a vendor that has already revoked integration access once is not one we will build a client's garage automation on. For openers already installed we fit a local ESPHome controller to the existing motor, which restores door state, open and close control, and the obstruction sensor without touching myQ.
- ratgdo or a comparable ESPHome garage controller, wired to the existing opener
- A Shelly relay plus a reed contact where the opener exposes a dry-contact terminal
Selora does not recommend these devices
since September 2026A September 2026 Gamers Nexus investigation caught LG webOS sets logging microphone audio with the screen off and sweeping the LAN to fingerprint phones, watches, and every other device in the house, with the harvest feeding LG's advertising arm.
The webostv integration is not the problem: it stays local and it still works. The panel behind it is the problem, and it is not something we will hand a client unmanaged. On sets already installed we block internet access at the firewall and move the TV to an isolated VLAN, which cuts the telemetry while leaving Home Assistant control intact. On new work we specify a different panel and drive it from an external streaming player. The same investigation documented webOS remote code execution bugs still moving through responsible disclosure.
Selora does not recommend these devices
since September 2026Home Assistant reaches Samsung audio only through the SmartThings cloud API, and Samsung is putting that API behind a paid plan from October 2026, so controlling a bar an installer already fitted turns into a recurring subscription.
Unlike Samsung's televisions, which answer the local samsungtv integration, the soundbars have no local path at all. Free SmartThings API access ends in October 2026: individual developers move to a $4.99/month plan and commercial use moves to separate paid tiers, so a client's soundbar automation comes to depend both on a subscription and on Samsung's cloud staying up. Where a bar is already installed, pair it to the TV over eARC with Q-Symphony and automate the TV's local media_player instead, which keeps evening scenes working with no SmartThings account in the loop.
How a device lands here
The bar is the same one we rank on: local control, integration maturity, and whether the vendor keeps its side of the bargain. A device moves to this list when the answer changes after we recommended it, whether the vendor closes an API we depended on or gets caught doing something we would not put in a client's home. We leave the page up rather than delete it so the reason stays findable.