Despite being designed to 'connect and just work', it turns out IKEA's new smart home sensors actually have some specific, confusing hub requirements

Recently, IKEA brought out what looked like the perfect range of smart home sensors. I had a sneak peak of the range at CES, and got the low-down from an IKEA representative, who was keen to emphasize how simple, accessible, and affordable the new additions were designed to be.

When I got them home, things looked promising. IKEA had emphasized that the range was designed to 'work out of the box', offering basic functionality without the need to download the app first, to remove that barrier to entry. That held true for my Timmerflotte temperature sensor — I was able to pop in some batteries, flick a hidden toggle switch from Fahrenheit to Centigrade, and immediately see the temperature and humidity displayed on-screen.

I then decided to dig deeper into the extra functionality, and this is where I started to run into problems. I downloaded the IKEA Home ...