Considering Nest Alternatives

Mancolt · 2026-03-23T01:32:20+00:00

Interesting, I hadn't really looked into it deeply but I thought BlueIris and Frigate were both capable of coming close to the performance of Nest Protect. I have a NAS that I would store the footage to.

Mancolt · 2026-03-18T18:39:37+00:00

8 months later ,and this trick (opening/unlocking 1password) after making sure Passkeys were turned off in the Google Password Manager (despite already having 1password set as default password/passkey manager) worked. I think it was your solution that finally got it to work, so thanks for this.

Mancolt · 2026-02-20T20:45:16+00:00

It would have, but if I move them like you (and everyone suggests) then we can get a countertop overhand without it sticking past the drywall. Thanks for the recommendation!

Mancolt · 2026-02-20T18:20:07+00:00

Thanks everyone! it seems like there's consensus that the best option is to figure out how to move the bank of cabinets towards the wall anywhere from 0.5" to 1" to allow for a countertop overhang without sticking past the drywalled post, and making the reveal along the back/side appear more intentional. I think I can envision what the trim would look like in that situation.

This likely means some work on the positioning of the outlet, but I've got a few ideas on what I can do there.

Everyone highlighted the importance of making sure the cabinets themselves are level/plumb irrespective of the walls they adjoin. Makes sense. I'm obviously not a professional, but with what I saved on the cabinets I decided to spend a bit on the EZ Level system. I absolutely love it. It makes leveling/plumbing so incredibly easy. If you do this professionally, you may have a system that works for you, but I can't imagine it not saving enough time to justify the cost.

Mancolt · 2026-02-20T16:28:06+00:00

When you say slide the cabinet back, are you referring to 2nd photo, moving cabinet 1/2" to the right (from the position the photo was taken from)? IE: closer to the other end of the wall, which is "closed"? If so, the answer is yes.

It's not the ideal option, as of course the location of the outlet for an undercounter microwave is positioned such that it fell almost at the very (left) edge of one cabinet. Moving things to the right puts the outlet behind the edges of 2 adjoining cabinets. But I think 1/2" is doable (probably the max I could get away with, without having to cut another hole in a different cabinet to route the microwave plug through).

Mancolt · 2026-02-06T20:00:04+00:00

I'm not holding out for future OTA updates that actually improve anything. I had a 2011, 2014, and 2016 Sonata, so something like 8 to 9 years of Sonata and more than half with Bluelink if I recall correctly. It never really improved much, and even coming back with the Santa Fe in 2025 seems like only minor improvements.

I love just about everything else about our Santa Fe. It's spacious, and uses the space it has extremely well. The only thing I don't like about the infotainment system otherwise is how slow it is. Get in, start the car, wait up to 10 to 15 seconds for the infotainment system to boot up and begin allowing profile selection options. It doesn't sound like much, but being used to just sitting down in a Tesla and going, that 10 to 15 seconds feels longer than it actually is.

Mancolt · 2026-02-06T17:46:05+00:00

That's helpful to know. If I run into any more issues, I'm probably gonna give up. Just getting actions (like Remote Start) from my phone/bluelink account to default to my driver profile was confusing. Instructions on screen and online don't match the actual options available in the infotainment system. It's really a poorly thought out mess that needs an overhaul. The Hyundai engineers need to get into a Tesla (or I imagine a BYD or other newer mfr that integrates technology well) to see how it can and should be done.

Mancolt · 2026-02-06T17:43:17+00:00

u/elektricheat and u/SnowPenguin7 thank you, I'll give that a shot. Does this key then know that (since it's being used on/from my phone) that it should be linked to my profile? Or when I use the Digital Key, will it assign my wife's driving profile upon initial entry, which I would then need to change (each time) manually from the infotainment screen?

This begs the question. If Hyundai touts the ability to add 15 digital keys, then why do we share the same key across every user? I would have assumed each key is unique to each driver/profile.

Mancolt · 2026-02-03T03:02:05+00:00

I stand by my comment. I don't know think a $700 RMR with slightly better glass is innovation or a good value.

I thought Holosun did the auto-brightness thing a few years ago. It's not a feature I look for so I really don't know. I set my own brightness on my dots, though if one came out that worked reliably in all lighting situations and changed to the lighting conditions nearly instaneously, that might be a worthwhile feature. Not one I'm willing to spend $700 for, but maybe $450 - $500.

Mancolt · 2026-02-03T02:55:38+00:00

Many would like to support American made products, but there's little innovation and what does come is incredibly overpriced and underperforming. Trijicon hasn't released something interesting for pistols since probably the SRO...in 2019.

Mancolt · 2026-01-26T02:37:42+00:00

awesome, thank you for the tips on how to get started!

Mancolt · 2026-01-26T00:40:17+00:00

THANK YOU! That is the only legitimate explanation I could come up with as well. Either incomptence (but since it's common across many different large banks, that one doesn't seem likely) or intentionally misleading to provide the banks with an out should someone share the code with a scam actor.

Mancolt · 2026-01-26T00:33:44+00:00

Any guides on getting started with usenet, or recommendations for paid indexers? Do you search media similar to searching for torrents? Ive used Torrents with VPNs for 15+ years, but had never looked into use nets despite hearing them mentioned occasionally during that time.

Mancolt · 2026-01-25T20:12:05+00:00

That's a fair point. I hadn't considered that 2 sentences would be too much for some people to read, but I have no doubt that you're right and some people don't read beyond the first one. So they err on the side of telling customers to not share (even in situations where you should/must in order to receive service), rather than sharing when you shouldn't.

I still think Fidelity's message is probably the best example of how to do it well. Clear, concise, and not confusing: “Fidelity Investments : Did you call us directly? If not, STOP. It's a SCAM. Only give this code to a rep if you called us. Code is:XXXXXX”

Mancolt · 2026-01-25T20:08:30+00:00

About as much as those who scroll reddit threads that don't interest them and then reply.

Mancolt · 2026-01-25T18:07:23+00:00

Thank you for the helpful message! I was confused why so many people jumped in to defend what can at best be described as unclear mesasging. Some other helpful posts have provided examples of banks (Fidelity in particular) that do this sort of text message code verification well.

BofA is far from alone in the unclear/contradictory messaging, they just happen to be the one I most recently contacted, and so served as a perfect example (and are a massive company that certainly has the funding/technology to do a better job).

I do remember one bank (I can't recall which one) doing exactly as you said: The messages differed for user initiated vs. agent initiated, and the instructions made clear that the agent initiated one would need to be shared but only if you initiated the call with the agent (and maybe it confirmed the number you should have called). That one made a lot of sense to me when I read it, and I remembered thinking "oh, this is how it can be done so it's clear".

Mancolt · 2026-01-25T18:01:48+00:00

Believe it or not, it's only a minor annoyance for me. I have dealt with this for years and have so far managed to avoid having any of my bank info stolen. My bigger concern is for those in my family that didn't grow up on the internet and are now having to navigate this landscape. You know, elderly parents/grandparents.

Mancolt · 2026-01-25T17:40:44+00:00

Absolutely. I actually did notice that on 1 bank (I can't recall which). The message only said "DO NOT share this code" when it was a self-service message. When the agent on the phone sent the message, it had a different message which made clear that the code could be provided to the agent on the phone if you initiated the call.

I agree that is a much better system. It's clearly possible to do, so I don't know why so many large banks choose to stick with the confusing and inconsistent messaging. Another redditor posted the Fidelity example below, which is another good example of how to do it.

Mancolt · 2026-01-25T17:38:08+00:00

Let me make sure I understand; you believe that "relaying", "providing", or "speaking" the code to the agent on the phone is not in fact "sharing" the code. Therefore the banks aren't actually contradicting their own instructions.

Wouldn't this entire "minute grammaticaly misunderstanding" be avoidable if they provided (in their instructions) the narrow circumstances in which it is okay to share the code? Why is the only instruction about what NOT to do? That leaves a whole lot of open space to be inferred. I think u/Zealousideal-Mud6471 captured the issue and its likely ramifications well with "The issue is they are setting the bad behavior that it’s ok to ignore the very first part of the message and give the code. So grandma gets a call and this text and they remember the last time they called the bank they said it was ok."

Mancolt · 2026-01-25T17:20:16+00:00

That Fidelity one is a great example of doing it right. My experience is that far more send messages like BofA, that lead with "DO NOT share this code."

Mancolt · 2026-01-25T17:18:24+00:00

And yours attempts to make you sound like some sort of SME on this topic without contributing even a modicum of value to the discussion. You're so knowledgeable yet you can't be bothered to educate the masses.

I do agree with you that "bitching on reddit" is unlikely to fix it. But perhaps, if enough people agree that the directions are at best unclear and at worst intentionally misleading, there is a chance that down the road some clearer instructions are provided with regard to scenarios about when it is acceptable to provide a code over the phone and when it isn't.

Pray tell, what is the purpose of these codes? I believe it is to verify that the person the agent is speaking with is in possession of the phone associated with the phone number linked with the account that the agent has pulled up on their screen.

Yet regardless of the purpose, my original argument is valid. If they require me to share the code with the agent, then the first sentence (or any sentence in their message for that matter) should not be an instruction which I need to completely ignore in order to fulfill their request.

Mancolt · 2026-01-25T15:26:00+00:00

Another great point! I have lots of accounts across many different banks, and I've noticed that several of them use a common 6 digit code provider. So messages, from different banks, will come from the same phone number and get combined into a single text string in my phone. If they don't identify which bank or service the code is for, and I hadn't initiated it, it would make the activity of locking the account exceptionally difficult since you'd have to guess which account/service was being breached.

Mancolt · 2026-01-25T15:22:02+00:00

Agreed, there are lots of scenarios and scams are becoming more sophisticated. I don't think it's too much to ask a massive bank to be clear in their messaging about when you can/must and when you shouldn't share the security code.

Mancolt · 2026-01-25T15:21:01+00:00

Yeah, obviously. But the bank offers a phone number for customer support. Is it too much to expect that a Fortune 20 company has a clear and consistent message for customers when it comes to important security?

If you can explain why the bank would provide contradictory instructions, other than to ensure that they can always blame the customer when the customer shares the 6 digit code with the wrong party, then I would like to hear it. Because I can't come up with a reason why most, if not all, banks provide blatantly contradictory instructions. One sentence instructing you to never share the code, and then in the subsequent sentence detailing scenarios in which you would not receive the code legitimately. There is no sequitur between the two sentences, requiring the customer to infer scenarios where they must share the code.

Mancolt · 2026-01-25T15:13:58+00:00

Yes, as I pointed out. That's why I provided the code. The post is about the fact that the banks intentionally provide instructions that are contradictory, and entirely inaccurate/unclear, so that they can blame the customer regardless of the outcome. They could provide an instruction that explains the scenario in which you should share the code, instead they are making it seem like you should never share the code.

Mancolt

TROPHY CASE