Orange announced it was set to discontinue a smart home service in France along with the associated iOS and Android apps, citing a very weak market for services related to connected objects.

Maison Connectee provides remote operation of various household objects including light bulbs and power switches. The offering will end on 15 January 2023, with users who bought products exclusive to the service directly to be offered a refund.

Devices able to connect using Wi-Fi or other protocols will continue to function using the manufacturers’ own applications and are not subject to the refund offer.

An Orange representative told Mobile World Live, the “market for services related to connected objects remains very weak” resulting in the operator deciding “to discontinue its Connected Home service and to focus on its Protected Home offering, which meets strong customer demand and addresses a dynamic remote surveillance market”.

“In the area of home services, Orange continues to explore new opportunities for innovation in the improvement of connectivity performance to better respond to the increase in usage, as well as to create new services useful to our customers.”

Orange launched the connected and security services in April 2019.

The company subsequently sold a range of “things” exclusive to the offering including light bulbs, motion detectors, smart plugs, water leak detectors and a connected switch.