How do I hand over smart devices when moving house?

Smart devices sit awkwardly in a house move: some are fixtures, some are yours, and all of them are tied to an account that has to be untangled before the keys change hands.

Safety

Step by step

1. Make an inventory early.Walk the house and list every connected device — thermostat, doorbell, cameras, smart locks, lights, plugs, hub, alarm, TV, speakers, robot vacuum, garage door, irrigation. People routinely forget three or four.
2. Decide what is a fixture and what is yours.Anything hard-wired or replacing a fixture — a thermostat, a doorbell, a smart lock, wired lighting — is normally a fixture and stays unless agreed otherwise. Plug-in devices are normally yours. Put it in writing on the fixtures and fittings form.
3. Agree it in the contract paperwork.The fixtures and fittings form is where this is settled. Ambiguity about a thermostat or a doorbell causes real disputes on completion day.
4. Factory reset before removing from your account.This order matters. Removing a device from your account first sometimes leaves it locked to it and unresettable without support. Reset the device, then delete it from the app.
5. Check the account really no longer lists it.Open the app afterwards and confirm the device is gone. A device still showing means it is still tied to you, which means you still have access to their home.
6. Never hand over your account details.It gives new occupants access to your other devices, recordings, addresses and possibly payment details, and gives you a continuing connection to their home. It is the worst possible shortcut here.
7. Delete recordings and history first.Camera footage, doorbell clips, voice recordings, location history. Some of it is deleted with the account link and some is not — check and clear it deliberately.
8. Remove any linked payment and subscriptions.Cancel or transfer camera storage plans and any device subscriptions. Continuing to pay for a doorbell in a house you no longer own is a common oversight.
9. Reset the router if it stays.Factory reset it and leave the default credentials, or set the new ones on a label. Do not leave your own wifi password in place, and remove any port forwarding or VPN configuration.
10. Deal with smart locks carefully.Delete every access code and user, including guests, cleaners and tradespeople, and factory reset. This is the one where an incomplete handover is a genuine security problem.
11. Leave the hardware behind properly.Hubs, bridges, remotes, sensors, chargers, mounting plates and manuals. A smart bulb without its hub is just an expensive bulb that nobody can control.
12. Write a short handover note.What is installed, what it does, what it needs — hub, app, subscription — and anything non-obvious such as a thermostat's wiring or a camera's power source. It takes ten minutes and is genuinely appreciated.
13. Take the originals with you if you take the device.If you remove a smart thermostat or doorbell, the original must be refitted and working. Leaving a hole where a doorbell was is not an acceptable handover.
14. Do it before completion, not after.Most resets need physical access to the device. Once the keys are handed over you cannot reset anything, and unpicking it afterwards depends on the new owner's cooperation and the manufacturer's support.
15. Do the same check on the house you are moving into.Ask the seller to confirm every device has been reset and removed from their account, and reset anything you are unsure about yourself.

Tips

• Reset the device first, then remove it from the app. The other order can leave a device locked to your account.
• Walk the house with a list. Almost everyone forgets a smart plug, a sensor or the garage door opener.
• Do it before completion. After handover you have no physical access and no way to reset anything.

Common mistakes

• Giving the new occupants your account login — It exposes your other devices, recordings and payment details, and leaves you connected to their home. Reset and remove instead, always.
• Leaving devices linked to your account — They cannot control their own home and you retain access to it — including cameras and locks. It also frequently cannot be undone without the manufacturer's support.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask