I hesitate to poke fun at this one, as the overall form factor of this $24 home thermostat is ingenious. The user levels and mounts the backing plate, inserts the wires and tightens the screws on the terminal block, and snaps the main unit onto the mounting plate. Pins on the back of the unit insert into the female side of the connector below the screw terminals. Everything aligns beautifully.

That said, I could not let a good “NOT USED” label go to waste. Obviously custom connectors are expensive compared to off the shelf items. I can cut them some slack for 24 bucks.

That warning about removing the batteries does come a bit late though…