The Wink home automation thread

[Kaido]

We are just now starting to test user code features. I haven't setup my lock yet on the testing system, so I can't say yet if battery status is included.

EDIT: I've also been testing the Pella stuff for a few days. I'll share more when I get a better view of how well they are working.

Nice! Glad to hear you've got Pella gear as well. My kitchen was recently partially destroyed by the blizzards here, so I'm looking at replacing some windows soon when it's warm enough to rebuild.

 

[MjnMixael]

I have a single hole steel entry door into the house from the garage. I want to get a WINK connectable lock that IS NOT a deadbolt. So far, I have seen the Schalge FE 599 and the Kwikset 912 lever locks.

Anyone been able to get the Schlage to work on the Wink hub? I have heard that sometimes it opens but never locks.

Also, which lock is the better of the two - schalge lever or Kwikset lever.

:'(

I do know that the Kwickset 912 lever lock works because it has the same 'brain' as the deadbolt which is certified by WINK to work. However, I think the Schlage looks nicer. But I will get the one that works the best with most features. So, any comments are welcome. Thanks.

FE599 testing begins soon as well. They shipped it to me, but it hasn't been activated yet. I'm actually going to move one of my Schlages over right now to the testing system.

EDIT: I moved my Schlage over to the testing setup and it is a much welcome upgrade. I can manage user codes. I can enable/disable Alarm, Auto Lock, Button Beeper. I can set Vacation Mode. I can see the battery life and turn on/off a Low Battery notice. It also has a spot saying 'Connected', so I assume that will show other errors if they arrive. Looks like the activity log now knows the difference between Wink Users (and who, specifically) unlocking the lock, which codes (see: people you gave specific codes) are unlocking the lock, and manual lock/unlock. If ever there was proof that Wink is trying to get things done and done right.. this is it.

 

[enyce9]

I installed 2 leviton on off switches yesterday, but sadly they are not reporting status correctly when used manually...

 

[bdjohns1]

I don't think there is a guaranteed standard, but in my house, white was the neutral, and red wires were the travelers. Black was of course line (hot) and load.

So for the main switch, you should have Line (hot) , load (wire going to the light), Neutral, and a traveler wire. If you don't see this , something is wrong,,,not the main switch, your house doesn't have neutral, or for some other reason .

The red traveler is the norm in new construction. My house was built around 2006, and the black/red was also used for rooms with ceiling fan boxes installed - black as the always-on power to the fan, red for the light.

My prior home was built in the early 60s, and it seemed to use a lot of orange and yellow wires.

In older houses, it's not that you don't have a neutral - it's just that sometimes the neutral wasn't brought through the switch box.

 

[PAPutzback]

I have 12 Lutron Caseta Switches and associated Picos running in my home - no buzzing, no noise. Super easy to install if you have basic electrical. The Pico Remotes pairing is very simple. I love the switches and they all report correctly on/off in the iPhone App.

I am using the Lutron Caseta/Pico Switches with WINK Hub, Not Lutron Hub

Thanks for the info. I assume they have a package without the Pico controller. I do not see a need to have more remotes laying around. Is Amazon the cheapest pace to get these?

 

[BillinGlendale]

Do you know of any beginner tasker tutorials ? Is there such a thing as debug mode in tasker so you can see what is being passed and where things are failing?

Yes to both questions. The second, first; as each line is executed you will see a green or red indicator(this was just added in a recent version, released not beta), green means it executed, red means it didn't. There is an excellent(though a bit old, but still relevant) intro to Tasker.

http://www.pocketables.com/2013/06/...rt-0-tips-and-tricks-for-learning-tasker.html

BTW: Andreas's experiments with home automation is what sparked my interest.

ETA: Also guide link on the Tasker web site: http://tasker.dinglisch.net/guides.html

 

[Delfian]

EDIT: I moved my Schlage over to the testing setup and it is a much welcome upgrade. I can manage user codes. I can enable/disable Alarm, Auto Lock, Button Beeper. I can set Vacation Mode. I can see the battery life and turn on/off a Low Battery notice. It also has a spot saying 'Connected', so I assume that will show other errors if they arrive. Looks like the activity log now knows the difference between Wink Users (and who, specifically) unlocking the lock, which codes (see: people you gave specific codes) are unlocking the lock, and manual lock/unlock. If ever there was proof that Wink is trying to get things done and done right.. this is it.

Wow This will be a nice addition when it goes live.

 

[WINKY-DINK]

So, I have a GE Link A-19 Bulb in a lamp on the nightstand in my bedroom. Last night, in the dark, I noticed that a faint blue light was shining on the ceiling above the bulb. In the morning, my wife asked why there was a blue light on the ceiling. She saw it and got out of bed to investigate, thinking I had plugged in an LCD blue night light into the socket.


I called WINK this morning and they had never heard of such issue. I wonder if the new APP update messed up the OFF and 0% brightness. Anyone else have any similar experience?

 

[WINKY-DINK]

Thanks for the info. I assume they have a package without the Pico controller. I do not see a need to have more remotes laying around. Is Amazon the cheapest pace to get these?

If you have any extra Pico Remotes when you buy the switches, shoot me a PM. At Home Depot I believe they only sell the pair (Switch and Pico).

I think you can buy the Switch only on the Wink site. But if you have any current switches in more than one location that turns a circuit on/off you will need the Pico to replace the other switch(es).

 

[WINKY-DINK]

FE599 testing begins soon as well. They shipped it to me, but it hasn't been activated yet. I'm actually going to move one of my Schlages over right now to the testing system.

EDIT: I moved my Schlage over to the testing setup and it is a much welcome upgrade. I can manage user codes. I can enable/disable Alarm, Auto Lock, Button Beeper. I can set Vacation Mode. I can see the battery life and turn on/off a Low Battery notice. It also has a spot saying 'Connected', so I assume that will show other errors if they arrive. Looks like the activity log now knows the difference between Wink Users (and who, specifically) unlocking the lock, which codes (see: people you gave specific codes) are unlocking the lock, and manual lock/unlock. If ever there was proof that Wink is trying to get things done and done right.. this is it.

MjnMixael - If I buy the FE599, will it work as you describe on the current APP I have (just upgraded) and the Hub with .56 firmware? OR do I have to wait for the upgrade APP that you have as a beta tester?

Does the FE599 you have in your possession have a different firmware chip from the current FE599 Z-Wave I can buy on Amazon?

Do you have any idea as to time frame for WINK release for this lock. (as you can tell I want it NOW )

 

[FreddieT]

So, I have a GE Link A-19 Bulb in a lamp on the nightstand in my bedroom. Last night, in the dark, I noticed that a faint blue light was shining on the ceiling above the bulb. In the morning, my wife asked why there was a blue light on the ceiling. She saw it and got out of bed to investigate, thinking I had plugged in an LCD blue night light into the socket.


I called WINK this morning and they had never heard of such issue. I wonder if the new APP update messed up the OFF and 0% brightness. Anyone else have any similar experience?

Wow, that's bizarre! My house I has the GE A19's all over the place and none of them are acting up like that. I checked the app, and when they are off, they are off (meaning not dimmed to some very low level)

 

[WINKY-DINK]

Thanks for the info. I assume they have a package without the Pico controller. I do not see a need to have more remotes laying around. Is Amazon the cheapest pace to get these?

You should buy the switch from WINK. They are $60 for the switch and the remote.

Without the remote, the switch is $55. Makes sense to get the Pico. I will buy the pico's from you if you don't need/want them.

But if you have 3way or 4way switches controlling your lights, you will need the Pico remotes.

ALSO IF YOU BUY 2 switches from WINK you will get a free hub, no tax, and free shipping. Always good to have a spare hub should the one you have 'break' or if you need to get more wi-fi signal to the Wink z-wave mesh.

 

[WINKY-DINK]

Wow, that's bizarre! My house I has the GE A19's all over the place and none of them are acting up like that. I checked the app, and when they are off, they are off (meaning not dimmed to some very low level)

Yes, I checked the APP and they are OFF and brightness says zero. HOWEVER, I noticed that there is a very small dark spot at the zero bright dimming area whereas other A-19's did not have that 'spot'. Once I looked into the others, the 'spot' appeared on every bulb I 'investigated'.

All I can think is that the APP upgrade of Friday did 'something' to change it.

WINK support never heard of the issue, but said that the bulb is always 'powered'. And that maybe the 'light' is electrical buildup. Very weird. I think I'm going to check out the Cree Connected Bulb to see if it does the same thing. If it doesnt I'm going to return my GE bulbs to Home Depot and swap them out for the Cree.

FreddieT, did you upgrade the APP?

 

[MjnMixael]

MjnMixael - If I buy the FE599, will it work as you describe on the current APP I have (just upgraded) and the Hub with .56 firmware? OR do I have to wait for the upgrade APP that you have as a beta tester?

Does the FE599 you have in your possession have a different firmware chip from the current FE599 Z-Wave I can buy on Amazon?

Do you have any idea as to time frame for WINK release for this lock. (as you can tell I want it NOW )

It probably will work like that. But I haven't added it yet, so I can't say. But I'm betting that they are integrating all the Schlage features across the board because that's the impression I got from the support team on Twitter when I asked mooonths ago about features like battery life reporting. When it's enabled, in the retail app and hub, you'll get an app and maybe a hub update. They'll push out everything you'll need.

I imagine it's the same firmware chip.

No idea on time-frame. Maybe 1-2 months? Hard to say. There's a lot of stuff being tested right now.. so the Wink team is doing a crapton of work to get the system to be very robust.

 

[blampen]

The red traveler is the norm in new construction. My house was built around 2006, and the black/red was also used for rooms with ceiling fan boxes installed - black as the always-on power to the fan, red for the light.

My prior home was built in the early 60s, and it seemed to use a lot of orange and yellow wires.

In older houses, it's not that you don't have a neutral - it's just that sometimes the neutral wasn't brought through the switch box.

This is a dangerous assumption. As an electrician that has worked in the field I can assure you that there is no standard and it is completely up to however the person wiring is feeling that day. I can't stress enough the importance of using a multimeter to figure out what each wire in your switch box is before doing an install

 

[fletchb]

Yes to both questions. The second, first; as each line is executed you will see a green or red indicator(this was just added in a recent version, released not beta), green means it executed, red means it didn't. There is an excellent(though a bit old, but still relevant) intro to Tasker.

http://www.pocketables.com/2013/06/...rt-0-tips-and-tricks-for-learning-tasker.html

BTW: Andreas's experiments with home automation is what sparked my interest.

ETA: Also guide link on the Tasker web site: http://tasker.dinglisch.net/guides.html

Thanks! Starting to read it now.

 

[FreddieT]

FreddieT, did you upgrade the APP?

Yes, all of my apps were updated yesterday afternoon.

 

[Kaido]

I moved my Schlage over to the testing setup and it is a much welcome upgrade. I can manage user codes. I can enable/disable Alarm, Auto Lock, Button Beeper. I can set Vacation Mode. I can see the battery life and turn on/off a Low Battery notice. It also has a spot saying 'Connected', so I assume that will show other errors if they arrive. Looks like the activity log now knows the difference between Wink Users (and who, specifically) unlocking the lock, which codes (see: people you gave specific codes) are unlocking the lock, and manual lock/unlock. If ever there was proof that Wink is trying to get things done and done right.. this is it.

Excellent! I'm curious if they're going to integrate the door sensor in with the locking system down the road. You can have the door locked with the door open, so it's not a 100% accurate system in terms of "is my door both shut AND locked"

 

[bigverm24]

Getting frustrated with these Leviton switches. Got the same exact wink certified switch as on the website. There is no robot capability outside of it detecting my GPS location and turning lights/switches based on that. Also still no status polling as of yet.

Also the switches show up as lights....annoying.

 

[blampen]

Getting frustrated with these Leviton switches. Got the same exact wink certified switch as on the website. There is no robot capability outside of it detecting my GPS location and turning lights/switches based on that. Also still no status polling as of yet.

Also the switches show up as lights....annoying.

What are you trying to get a robot to do? I have full functionality on my system except for triggering a robot from the on off status of the switch. That will not work until they get status polling working.

 

[WINKY-DINK]

Since my GE Link Bulb was 'glowing' last night in the dark, I decided to take it out of my night stand lamp and replace it with a Cree Connect 60W.

Here's my initial take
1) The Cree Connect has a plastic 2-piece shell around the bulb - so it's not glass and it feels loose. As a matter of fact I had to 'connect' the plastic parts - very weird construction. (I bought a Cree regular 60W LED for my hallway ceiling fixture controlled by Lutron Caseta/Pico and it has the same construction. Personally, I dont like the feel);

2) The Cree Connect linked to the Wink Hub incredibly fast;

3) The light is more 'mellow' but I think that's because it gives off 800 lumens while the GE gives off a higher number of lumens.

The test will be tonight when the room is dark - I'll see if there is an 'eerie glow' from the Cree Connect.

The Cree regular LED looks nicer in the enclosed ceiling fixture than the GE did, but that must have been due to the higher lumen and brightness of the GE.

If you want more light, I think you'll want to use the GE Link. I will say that the GE link is a MUCH better constructed bulb than the Cree Connect.

BTW, I would have gone with a Utilitech 60 watt LED for the hallway fixture, but Lowe's was all out of the dimmable Utilitechs ergo the Cree. You cannot use a non-dimmable LED in a Lutron Caseta because it will just flicker when you turn it off.

 

[bigverm24]

What are you trying to get a robot to do? I have full functionality on my system except for triggering a robot from the on off status of the switch. That will not work until they get status polling working.

That makes sense. Originally I bought Wink thinking I would be patient and wait on important updates like status polling, etc. Now that I've spent a ton of money on these beautiful Levity switches that don't update and can't be controlled via robots (IF on/off, then...)...starting to think I either need to return all the switches and go with something cheaper like a Linear or GE switch at $35-$40 vs $60 for a Leviton dimmer OR just make the switch to smart things to make the best use of this expensive hardware now.

 

[blampen]

That makes sense. Originally I bought Wink thinking I would be patient and wait on important updates like status polling, etc. Now that I've spent a ton of money on these beautiful Levity switches that don't update and can't be controlled via robots (IF on/off, then...)...starting to think I either need to return all the switches and go with something cheaper like a Linear or GE switch at $35-$40 vs $60 for a Leviton dimmer OR just make the switch to smart things to make the best use of this expensive hardware now.

If you are going to switch to smartthings I would hold out a little longer till version 2 of their hub comes out. They have said it was going to be released second quarter of this year. I know a lot of us are riding wink out till that point to see what wink can get caught up on

 

[bigverm24]

Thanks for the info. I assume they have a package without the Pico controller. I do not see a need to have more remotes laying around. Is Amazon the cheapest pace to get these?

Amazon is definitely the lowest price available...and if you have prime you get free shipping. Not to mention no hassle returns if you so choose.

 

[bigverm24]

If you are going to switch to smartthings I would hold out a little longer till version 2 of their hub comes out. They have said it was going to be released second quarter of this year. I know a lot of us are riding wink out till that point to see what wink can get caught up on

I agree. Just starting to get a little frustrated with the lack of robots and functionality. I'm sure it will come, just a matter of when. I was patient when I only had GE link bulbs set up, but these switches get very expensive very fast...especially when you have a bunch of 3 way set ups in the house. Hopefully I decide to wait it out and the correct changes come through...