I agree with this. Self-hosting requires the user to understand their network, their software, how it all interacts.

If you provide a hardware product and call it a solution, people are going to expect a turn-key solution like a plug-and-play router.

You're going to end up supporting a bunch of newbies who, by no fault of their own, can't tell you an error code in the console let alone whatever UI you give them.

I think a better solution would be a course that walks newbies through self hosting.

People who want the benefit of self housing without worrying about hardware will rent a vps or something simpler.

That's certainly an option. I think of dedicated hardware as working for several different people, some of which care a great deal about not using a VPS provider because they don't trust them with their data, or don't trust them to be around for a long time, or don't trust them not to raise the prices.

The hard part of hardware isn’t the purchase, it’s the maintenance.

I'm inclined to agree, but I've been doing hardware for a long time as a hobbyist and I sometimes forget how far I've come. It sounds like you might be somewhat like me in that regard. I'm often surprised when people see assembling system parts and flashing an OS as a complex, inscrutable task.

What do you see as the hard part of maintenance? Scheduling time to do it? Unexpected errors or failures?