After nearly two decades of operation, Ecobee has announced a significant shift in its product support, signaling the end of the road for its original smart thermostat. This move underlines the transient nature of connected devices in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.

The fact that Ecobee was still supporting technology from 16 years ago is rare in today’s upgrade-focused world. But the move does illustrate a big caveat when buying cloud-dependent devices: if the company turns off cloud support, you will lose those smart features you paid for.

Nearly 16 years after its unveiling, the groundbreaking Ecobee Smart thermostat will soon lose internet connectivity, although its basic HVAC features will still work.