• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, August 21, 2018

Consumers are climbing aboard the Internet of Things ship, but for many, it’s not all smooth sailing.

The majority of consumers already use IoT technology for one thing or another in the course of a day, and many of those have encountered issues.

While most (52%) consumers are using IoT devices, 64% of them have already had to deal with performance issues, based on a new study.

The study comprised a survey of 10,000 adults in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Australia, Brazil, Singapore and China conducted by Opinium Research for Dynatrace.

The highest consumer usage of an IoT devices is with a smartwatch (28%) and the most performance problems (62%) occur with virtual assistant devices and smart or connected cars.

U.S. consumers have two digital performance problems a day with their IoT device. What’s worse, 62% of people fear the frequency and number of problems they encounter will increase as the Internet of Things grows.

Here are some of the concerns of consumers, according to the survey:

• 85% are concerned that self-driving cars will malfunction and lead to high-speed collisions
• 86% are concerned that digital locks will see them locked out of their cars
• 83% (76% in the U.S.) are concerned about losing control of their smart home due to performance problems
• 81% are concerned about being overcharged for smart meter usage due to technology or software problems
• 73% are concerned about being locked out of the smart home
• 68% are concerned about being able to control the temperature in the smart home
• 67% predict chaos due to performance problems with smart city traffic lights
• 64% are concerned about being able to control lights in the smart home

Whether these concerns will decline over time in large part will be determined by how well the technology is implemented and evolves. Meanwhile, many consumers are realistic, if not skeptical, about what to expect now and around the corner.