REVIEW UPDATE AGAIN:
Well, as of May 2020, they have apparently hit financial troubles, and rather than continuing to allow these devices to work locally, they have decided to start charging a monthly fee. So first they sold a beta product with problems, once the problems have more or less been resolved, they decide that they have to change their business model and force people to pay a monthly fee for something that was originally advertised as not needing a monthly fee. I hope the FTC comes down on them for this garbage if they manage to stay out of bankruptcy.
REVIEW UPDATE:
It's now been almost 5 months since I purchased this, and I've been holding off on a review update to give the manufacturer time to get the issue fixed, but as it's been nearly 2.5 months since the issue was noticed with no resolution still, I figured it was time to update the review. My situation is strictly around the "robots" that Wink uses. I'm using a GE outlet to control a water pump to circulate hot water. This was done specifically to stop wasting water here in California while waiting for the water to warm up, and using the Wink, it has a robot set to turn off the pump after 5 minutes using a robot. I've had an ongoing open support ticket with Wink for 2.5 months as the robot just decides to take the morning off sometimes. It doesn't even try to fire, nothing showing in the logs. It's completely intermittent, so if I don't check the app the water can be running for hours- which defeats the purpose of having the Wink hub in the first place, as I've gone from wasting water to wasting natural gas to heat the water. I'll update again if they finally get it fixed, but as it's not working for the MAIN purpose of buying it in the first place, I'm not impressed. (And yes, I've spent several times on the phone with techs and sent them screen shots of the issue. They've had me try everything from firmware updates to deleting and re-creating the robot with no success)
It seems that most of the reviews here are folks upgrading from the original to the newer Wink Hub 2, so I'll give my $.02 as a newbie to home automation.
I've been wanting to get into this stuff for several years now, but the poor reviews/buggy hardware and software have kept me from taking the plunge, and with something like this, going in early didn't appear to be a great idea, particularly since I'd have to sell my wife on yet more technology.
So, with the upcoming installation of a tankless hot water heater, I wanted to be sure that our experience would be a good one, and living in CA, not wasting water is important. So was my excuse for buying this- once the hot water heater is installed, I'll be controlling a GE outlet to turn on and off a hot water recirculating pump.
But in the interim, I needed to see how the system worked. I have a Rachio Sprinker system already, so ordered a GE Z-Wave plug and Dimmer, the former for the recirculation pump and the latter for our first smart light in the living room.
So with a few trial and errors on the light switch install (remember you MUST connect the neutral wire, oddity of the smart switches), had it all installed and went to pair, with my Hub plugged into the LAN in the office and the light switch in the living room- no dice. Fortunately the Hub supports WiFi as well, so was able to add my WiFi network to it via the app and took the hub into the living room and plugged it in- found the switch in no time. Decided to leave the Hub in the living room since it's a bit more central to the rest of the house, and it is not really noticeable behind the TV.
So for the first test, worked well. A little bummed that there's not a web app like there is for my Rachio sprinkler controller, as that would be pretty handy to have, but so far it seems to work fine. Next test will be when the Echo arrives so that I can setup voice control, which is really why I bought it- being able to say hot water and have the recirculation pump turn on will not only be a nice to have, but eco friendly- Given the well thought out application for the Rachio already, not sure if I'll bother hooking it up to the Wink Hub, but may at some point.
So the long and the short of it? Seems that home automation is ready for prime time. Good to see that it's finally here!
| Manufacturer | Wink Labs, Inc. |
|---|---|
| Part Number | WNKHUB-2US |
| Item Weight | 8 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 7.25 x 7.25 x 1.25 inches |
| Item model number | WNKHUB-2US |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Color | White |
| Style | Hub |
| Item Package Quantity | 1 |
| Special Features | WPS |
| Included Components | Wink Hub 2, AC Adapter, Ethernet Cable, Quick Start Guide |
| Batteries Included? | No |
| Batteries Required? | No |
| Battery Cell Type | Alkaline |
