A method for operating a domestic appliance includes the steps of: receiving, by means of the domestic appliance, a radio signal from at least one radio transmission source; and determining, by means of the domestic appliance, information on surroundings of the domestic appliance by evaluating a temporal progression of an evaluation signal based on the radio signal and influenced by the surroundings of the domestic appliance. The radio signal is intended for transmission within a local radio network and/or complies with the IEEE 802.11 standard, the IEEE 802.154 standard, or the Bluetooth standard.