Hive’s abandoned smart home devices will cease operation starting in 2023

Hive, the smart home company best known for its smart thermostats, is officially getting out of the home security market globally. In a support page posted on its website, the company says it’s no longer selling its Hive View security cameras, HomeShield security system, and Hive Leak water detection device. And soon, existing devices will cease to function.

After September 1st 2023 Hive Leak will stop functioning, and by August 1st 2025 all its cameras and security system will have joined it. The sound detection feature of its Hub 360 will disappear at the end of 2022. Hive’s customers have begun receiving emails warning them of the shutdown.

The smart home company, which is part of the same family of brands as UK gas and electricity supplier British Gas, says it’s discontinuing the devices to focus on products that help make homes more energy efficient. “As a smart tech brand in the middle of a climate crisis, we know our focus needs to change,” the page reads, “So we’ve made the tough decision to discontinue our smart security and leak detection products – and develop smart home tech that’ll get us closer to Net Zero.”

Products still listed for sale on Hive’s website include its smart thermostat, lighting products, EV charger, and a range of smart plugs and sensors.

But this isn’t the first time Hive has taken the decision to scale back its business. It stopped direct sales in North America at the end of 2019, and customers reported that their devices stopped connecting to the company’s app in November last year. After the shutdown, the Hive thermostat still works as a basic thermostat without app support, and the company’s Zigbee-compatible smart plugs and lights can be used via other smart home networks, but other products like the Home Hub and cameras were effectively bricked.

The incident is an uncomfortable reminder that ownership of any device tied to a service can be bricked whenever a company’s priorities change. Needless to say you should probably steer clear of purchasing any of the impacted devices, which are still being sold by third-party resellers like Amazon.