(BPT) – With everyone hunkering down, many of us are thinking about how to maximize what’s already in our homes. What many don’t know is that the benefits and efficiencies of a smart home might already be at their fingertips. With a little research and time spent with your appliances and technology, you can start enjoying the convenience of the smart home features you never knew you had – with added benefits like tips and alerts that will help you take care of your appliances to avoid service issues.
1. Reacquaint yourself with your tech
Start online by doing a search of the make and model of your TVs, speakers and appliances to determine if your items have smart capabilities. If they do, you can easily locate online instructions for setup and user-friendly tutorials on how to use them to their full advantage. Have you recently purchased a premium new TV or appliance? If you have, there’s a good chance that it’s smart-enabled.
2. Start exploring your smart app
After selecting a smart-enabled appliance or TV that you’d like to focus on, download the accompanying smart app to your smartphone or tablet. Many brands have one central app for their appliances and electronics to make this even easier. For example, LG’s is called ThinQ. A central app is the easiest way to keep yourself organized.
3. Get notifications directly to your phone
Apps like ThinQ allow you to track the status of appliances like your Wi-Fi-enabled washing machine. Download unique wash cycles on the ThinQ app like the Waterproof cycle, which washes waterproof material like mattress covers and rain jackets. Through the app you can receive notifications to your phone when cycles are completed, and start and stop your machine. If you have a ThinQ-enabled LG TV, you can even receive these notifications directly on the screen – making sure you don’t miss any binge-worthy television.
4. Avoid service calls
You may be surprised just how advanced some of these features get; LG now offers customer support technology that alerts smart appliance owners to potential problems before they occur, which is more important than ever these days. For example, if you used too much detergent in an LG washing machine, ‘Proactive Customer Care’ will send you an alert followed by specific care instructions to fix the problem. It can even tell you if your dryer vent needs cleaning or your fridge is not cooling properly, providing guidance for how to take the right action to avoid a problem.
5. Hands-free is carefree
Most smart appliances and devices can be connected to the Google Assistant and/or Amazon Alexa. Some smart TVs like those from LG have both built in. This feature lets you use voice commands to control your enabled appliances or devices so you don’t have to lift a finger!
If you recently bought a new appliance or TV, your home may be smarter than you thought. Interested in learning more about what smart appliances and smart TVs have to offer? Visit LG.com and take a look around.