Run your home tech like infrastructure.
Operator-grade runbooks for Wi-Fi, docks, monitors, devices, backups, NAS, storage, and UPS power. Check logs, isolate layers, verify restore paths, and stop before a guess turns into downtime or data loss.
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What is broken?
Diagnostic order
Check first, then change.
Wi-Fi & Network
Weak rooms, flaky mesh nodes, router dropouts, IP changes, and network devices that vanish.
Docks & Monitors
USB-C docks, blank displays, dual-monitor limits, charging gaps, refresh rates, and cable traps.
Devices & Setup
Printers, webcams, smart plugs, Bluetooth gear, and setup loops that should not need a factory reset.
Backups & Storage
Failed jobs, missing drives, Windows shares, NAS reachability, and backup plans you can restore from.
Power & UPS
Short runtime, overloaded battery outlets, old UPS batteries, and safe shutdown planning.
Gear
Buying criteria based on specs, failure modes, upgrade paths, and practical fit.
Tools
Step-by-step planners, not vague advice.
Each tool asks for the facts that change the next step, then gives a runbook with expected results, decision points, safe actions, and stop points. The goal is to narrow the fault domain, not produce a generic checklist.
Wi-Fi dead spot troubleshooter
2026-aware triage for dead or slow Wi-Fi rooms: detect the 1 GbE-backbone trap, client adapter gap, wireless-backhaul drag, and mesh oversaturation.
USB-C dock monitor setup planner
2026-aware Thunderbolt 5 / USB4 v2 / DisplayPort 2.1 dock planner: detect silent TB4-in-TB5 40 Gbps caps, v1-in-v2 fallback, and Apple Silicon DP MST limits.
Backup plan builder
Score a home backup plan against 3-2-1, immutability, RPO/RTO, and ransomware-resistance — and get a concrete next-step list.
UPS runtime estimator
Estimate UPS runtime with chemistry-aware capacity math, SoC headroom, LFP cold-lockout warnings, and annual idle electricity cost.
Device setup troubleshooter
2026-aware safe first checks for Matter, Thread, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth LE, AirPlay, and AirPrint setup failures on iOS 26, macOS Tahoe, and Windows 11.
NAS setup planner
2026-aware NAS platform direction for backups, photos, media, remote access, and drive growth, including the Synology 2025-series transcoding trap.
NAS storage and backup planner
Plan NAS usable capacity, parity vs cache behavior, daily-change headroom, and offsite copy gaps before buying drives or restructuring an array.
NVR storage calculator
Estimate how much drive space your cameras need by bitrate, codec, recording mode, and retention, and see how much H.265 and motion-only recording save.
PoE budget calculator
Check whether one switch can power all your cameras using delivered watts and the total PoE budget, with the 80% rule and headroom for IR and heater spikes.
Camera bandwidth calculator
Add up main and substream bitrates to size your NVR uplink, see what share of a 1/2.5/10GbE link the cameras use, and avoid saturating the network.
Frigate hardware planner
See how many cameras a detector (Coral, Hailo, Intel, Nvidia) can handle at your detection fps, and get flagged when the chosen detector is over capacity.
Common fixes
Start with the most likely problems, then move to the full library.
Wi-Fi dead spots
Find the first checks, likely causes, and safe fixes for rooms where Wi-Fi drops or disappears — usually a signal, placement, or interference problem.
Open runbookWi-Fi slow in one room
Work out why one room is slow while the rest of the home network seems fine — usually a weak path back to the router or a crowded band, not a bad plan.
Open runbookRouter keeps dropping devices
Diagnose repeated Wi-Fi disconnects across phones, laptops, and smart devices from router load, weak coverage, bad firmware, or IP conflicts.
Open runbookMesh node won't connect
Get a mesh satellite or node back online without guessing — it is often too far away, on the wrong network, or stuck after a failed setup.
Open runbookDevice keeps changing IP address
Stabilize a printer, camera, NAS, or smart-home device that keeps getting a new local address — usually a DHCP reservation issue, not a hacked device.
Open runbookUSB-C dock monitor not detected
Find the safe first checks when a monitor through a USB-C dock stays blank — cable, port capability, dock power, display input, or OS settings.
Open runbookBuying & comparison
Plan your next purchase
Spec-verified, source-backed comparisons — every spec labeled by how it was verified, no star ratings, no stored prices. Pick by your use case, then size it with the planners.
Synology vs UGREEN vs DIY NAS in 2026
A spec-verified, source-backed comparison of a Synology DSM box, a UGREEN NASync, and a DIY mini-PC NAS — and how to choose the right one for your home.
Open guideNAS Drives: WD Red vs IronWolf vs N300
A source-backed comparison of WD Red Plus/Pro, Seagate IronWolf/Pro, and Toshiba N300 NAS hard drives — CMR vs SMR, workload, warranty, and reliability.
Open guideCloud Backup: Backblaze vs Wasabi vs S3
A source-backed comparison of cloud backup for a home or NAS: Backblaze Personal, Backblaze B2, Wasabi, and AWS S3 Glacier Deep Archive — egress, immutability, and restore.
Open guideNAS for Plex & Jellyfin: transcoding
A source-backed guide to choosing a NAS or box for Plex and Jellyfin — why the 2025 Ryzen Synology models can't hardware-transcode, and the Intel options that can.
Open guideUPS for a NAS: APC vs CyberPower vs EcoFlow
A source-backed guide to choosing a UPS for a NAS or home server — why an Active-PFC PSU needs a pure sine wave, line-interactive vs online, and auto-shutdown.
Open guideLocal Cameras: ONVIF vs UniFi vs Cloud
A source-backed, local-first comparison of home camera approaches — open ONVIF/RTSP cameras with a self-hosted NVR, UniFi Protect, and cloud cameras like Ring and Nest.
Open guidePoE Switch: Unmanaged vs Managed vs UniFi
A source-backed guide to choosing a PoE switch for home cameras or a NAS network — sizing the total PoE budget, VLANs for camera isolation, and 2.5/10GbE uplinks.
Open guideMini PC for a Home Server: N150 vs MS-01 vs Tiny
Compare three classes of mini PC for a home server or Proxmox: a low-power Intel N150 box, the 10GbE Minisforum MS-01, and a used enterprise Tiny — every spec sourced.
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