A Wall-Mounted Remote for Your Whole House
If you already have smart home devices — a Nest thermostat, some Hue lights, a Ring doorbell, smart plugs — you’re controlling them through apps on your phone. Which means pulling out your phone, unlocking it, finding the right app, and tapping through menus. Every single time.
An old iPad on the wall changes this. One screen, always on, showing all your smart home controls in one place. Tap the screen to dim the lights. Glance at the doorbell camera. Check the thermostat. It’s faster than your phone and more accessible than a voice assistant.
This isn’t a full home automation project. You don’t need Home Assistant, a Raspberry Pi, or any technical skills. If you already have smart devices, your old iPad can be the central hub that ties them together.
What You Can Control
Almost any smart home device that has an iOS or Android app can be controlled from your old tablet:
- Lights: Philips Hue, LIFX, TP-Link Kasa, Wyze
- Thermostat: Nest, Ecobee, Honeywell
- Cameras: Ring, Nest, Wyze, Arlo
- Locks: August, Schlage, Yale
- Plugs/Switches: TP-Link Kasa, Wemo, Wyze
- Speakers: Sonos, Amazon Echo (partial control)
- Garage: MyQ, Chamberlain
- Robot Vacuums: Roomba, Roborock
The key question isn’t whether your devices work with a tablet — they almost certainly do. The question is how to organize them on one screen.
Option 1: Apple Home App (iPad, Free)
If you’re in the Apple ecosystem and your devices support HomeKit, the built-in Home app is the cleanest option.
What it does well:
- Shows all HomeKit devices on one screen
- Organize by room
- Create scenes (“Good Morning” turns on lights, adjusts thermostat, starts coffee maker)
- Camera feeds visible in the Home tab
- Automations run without the iPad (they run on your HomePod or Apple TV hub)
Setup:
- Open the Home app (already on your iPad)
- If you’ve already set up devices via HomeKit on your phone, they appear automatically
- Arrange favorites on the main screen for quick access
- Set Auto-Lock to Never
Limitation: Only works with HomeKit-compatible devices. If you have a mix of HomeKit and non-HomeKit devices, you’ll need multiple apps.
Minimum iPad: Any iPad running iOS 14+ for the best Home app experience. Works on iOS 12+ but with a simpler interface.
Option 2: Google Home App (Both Platforms, Free)
If your smart home runs on Google (Nest thermostat, Chromecast, Google speakers), the Google Home app gives you a similar single-screen control experience.
What it does well:
- Controls all Google-compatible devices
- Camera feeds from Nest cameras
- Thermostat control with schedule
- Routine triggers (“Hey Google, good night” equivalent as a tap)
- Works on iPads and Android tablets
Setup:
- Install Google Home from the App Store or Play Store
- Sign in with the Google account linked to your devices
- Devices appear organized by room
- Pin favorites to the main screen
Option 3: Amazon Alexa App (Both Platforms, Free)
For Alexa-based smart homes, the Alexa app on a tablet gives you tap control instead of voice control for everything.
What it does well:
- Controls all Alexa-compatible devices
- Groups and scenes
- Camera feeds from Ring and Blink
- Routine triggers as buttons
Practical benefit: Sometimes you don’t want to shout “Alexa, turn off the living room lights” at 10 PM when the kids are asleep. A tap on the tablet does the same thing silently.
Option 4: Actiontiles or SharpTools (Both Platforms, $25-30)
If you want a true dashboard — multiple devices visible and controllable on a single customizable screen — ActionTiles (for SmartThings) or SharpTools (for SmartThings and other platforms) are purpose-built for this.
What they do:
- Create a custom grid of tiles — each tile controls a device or shows a status
- Mix and match: lights, thermostat, cameras, weather, time, all on one screen
- Works in a browser, so it runs on any tablet
- Designed specifically for wall-mounted tablet control panels
Best for: People who have 10+ smart devices and want them all visible at a glance, rather than navigating through rooms and menus.
Setup:
- Sign up at actiontiles.com or sharptools.io
- Connect your smart home platform (SmartThings, Hubitat, etc.)
- Drag and drop tiles to build your dashboard
- Open the URL on your tablet, add to home screen
Cost: ActionTiles is a one-time $25 purchase. SharpTools has a free tier with premium at $30/year.
The Practical Setup
Where to Mount It
The most useful location for a smart home control panel is wherever you naturally pass through:
- Hallway near the front door — check cameras, set alarm, turn off lights as you leave
- Kitchen — control music, adjust thermostat, check who’s at the door
- Bedroom entrance — “good night” scene: lights off, doors locked, thermostat adjusted
- Living room — media control, lighting scenes
A Koala Mount ($15) on the wall at light-switch height makes it feel like a built-in smart home panel. Much more accessible than a phone in your pocket.
Keep It Simple
The temptation with smart home controls is to put everything on the screen. Don’t. A cluttered control panel is worse than using individual apps.
Focus on the 5-10 things you actually control daily:
- Lighting for the main rooms
- Thermostat
- Front door camera/lock
- One or two scenes (morning routine, bedtime)
- Music/speaker control
Everything else can stay in the individual apps on your phone for when you need it.
Combine with a Dashboard
The best wall-mounted tablets combine smart home control with information display. DAKboard or a similar dashboard app can show your calendar, weather, and family schedule alongside (or rotating with) your smart home controls.
If you’ve already set up a kitchen display, consider adding a smart home tab or scene buttons to the same device.
What Won’t Work Well on Old Tablets
Let’s be honest about the limitations:
Live camera feeds: Streaming video from multiple cameras simultaneously requires processing power. An iPad Air 1 or iPad mini 2 can handle one camera feed. Multiple simultaneous feeds will be choppy or crash. Show camera feeds one at a time, or use a newer iPad.
Complex automations: Your old iPad can trigger automations (tap a button to run a routine), but it shouldn’t be the hub that runs them. Use a dedicated hub (HomePod mini, Echo, SmartThings hub) for automation logic. The tablet is just the control screen.
Voice control: An old iPad’s microphone isn’t great for “Hey Siri” from across the room. Use your smart speakers for voice control. The tablet is for tap control.
Quick Setup
| Smart Home Platform | Best App | Cost | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple HomeKit | Home app | Free | 5 min |
| Google Nest ecosystem | Google Home | Free | 5 min |
| Amazon Alexa ecosystem | Alexa app | Free | 5 min |
| SmartThings / mixed | ActionTiles | $25 | 30 min |
| Advanced / custom | SharpTools | Free+ | 30 min |
Pick the app that matches your existing devices, set Auto-Lock to Never, and mount it on the wall. Your old iPad just became the light switch, thermostat control, and security monitor you walk past every day.
