Std. 1.0 · Published November 2026
The Dumb Standard.
The rules every Dumbwell product meets, and every product we sell or recommend. Public, versioned, and applied the same way every time.
Std. 1.0
The gate.
Pass or fail. All seven are required.
- No app, account, cloud service, or subscription.Nothing needs to be downloaded, signed into, or paid for again to make it work.
- No microphone or camera.It cannot listen or watch. Not even optionally.
- No two-way or networked radios.No Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Thread, NFC, cellular, or wireless charging. A receive-only AM/FM tuner is allowed: it listens to the air, not to you.
- No firmware that updates.What you buy is what you keep.
- Works out of the box, with a physical control for every function.Dials, switches, buttons with real travel. No touchscreens.
- Keeps working if the maker disappears.No server, no license check, no end of life.
- Safe, and someone stands behind it.Mains-powered products carry a recognized safety listing. The maker is a real company in the market where it is sold.
Better without.
Passing the gate is not enough. A product earns its place only if it is better because it doesn't need technology. Not merely missing it.
A mechanical timer is immediate. An analog hygrometer needs no power and no screen. A dial thermostat can be read from across the room. If we can't name the advantage, we don't sell the product.
After that, we judge it the way you would: is it well designed, will it last, can it be repaired, and does it belong in a room you care about?
Rulings.
Edge cases, decided in public.
| Case | Ruling | Why |
|---|---|---|
| AM/FM radio receivers | Pass | Receive-only. Nothing is transmitted. |
| Wireless (Qi) charging | Fail | It is a transmitter. |
| Optional desktop software over USB | Fail in 1.0 | Too close to needing an app. Under review for 1.1. |
| Power-only USB ports | Pass | If labeled as power only. |
| Same model name, different variant | Per SKU | We assess the exact model. A Bluetooth version of a passing product does not pass. |
How we check.
We review the specification and, where the claim depends on it, open the product. Every product we list shows the version of the Standard it was assessed against and the date. If a maker changes a product in a way that breaks the Standard, it comes off the list, and we say so.
Products we approve but don't stock, like thermostats and wired switches, will appear in a public registry when it opens.
Changelog.
| 1.0 | November 2026 | First publication. |