The Wink home automation thread

[FreddieT]

Well, it works with only certain models. I did install it last night but am very disappointed with the functionality. It is a weak integration between the manufacturer App and Wink and provides very limited data. In essence I can only see and manipulate the setpoint and nothing more. I was expecting to be able to tell the temp of the water, when it's firing and other bits of into but sadly none exist. I wouldn't recommend spending a penny on the integration at this point.

What about the manufacturer's app, does it provide more data? Like provide temperature, firing time, etc. If so, then "maybe" Wink will tap into this data pool at a later date? If not, then I would think the integration would be fairly useless. What's the point of having data if you can't access it and use it?

 

[tsuprano]

Freddie,
Not really. I can see the temp of the water. There are also supposed to be built in diagnostics and a water leak detector but on the diagnostic side I have no idea what they are or how they work....

 

[FreddieT]

Freddie,
Not really. I can see the temp of the water. There are also supposed to be built in diagnostics and a water leak detector but on the diagnostic side I have no idea what they are or how they work....

Hmmmmmm, maybe it's a data stream to Rheem Support so they can troubleshoot issues on their end? Which of course will undoubtedly end up in them telling you that a repair technician is required to fix it.

 

[Kaido]

Freddie,
Not really. I can see the temp of the water. There are also supposed to be built in diagnostics and a water leak detector but on the diagnostic side I have no idea what they are or how they work....

That was one of my complaints when I was researching Rheem's Wink gear...there's like zero information on the details of operation

 

[quagga]

That's not a problem, I consider it public domain.

Thanks! I'm storing it on github. I just changed a couple of links to make this case-sensitive file system happy and I image compressed all of the png files.

 

[trunzoc]

How did you get the minimote to join the Wink zwave network?
I went out and bought a Smartthings hub so I could get all my Linear switches paired.

Smartthings is way too complicated, I'd love to switch back to wink if I could figure this out.

I don;t remember exactly, but it wasn't hard. In the Wink app, go to the hub screen and hit the 3-dot menu button. Then pick you hub and go to z-wave controls. Pick "Include z-wave".

The minimote instructions said which button to press to pair, but I can't remember which one off the top of my head.

 

[quagga]

Any news on when Smart Things 2 will be out? As it is with Wink I usually have to repeatedly open and close my front door when I get home from work to get my lights to turn on. Some times it is more than 30 seconds before I get a notification from the tripper and still no lights turning on. I feel like an idiot just trying to turn on my lights without pulling my phone out.

Now it looks like July is more likely.

 

[CAL7]

Now it looks like July is more likely.

July is a very optimistic interpretation of "Q3".

 

[Kaido]

Now it looks like July is more likely.

I don't even mind waiting until Christmas. Would rather have it right OOTB than a bunch of updates over a period of months

 

[quagga]

I'm finding Wink limiting in what I want to do and the devices I want to use so that's probably my optimism at July.

I think there's going to be some toothing out of the box regardless of how much they test. The HA ecosystem is so wide I don't think they can possibly test everything. But I like what I'm hearing so far. Local cached controls are good. I haven't heard Lutron support yet which would be a major boon there (although I have no Lutron devices right now so I guess that doesn't matter). I'm hoping for bluetooth as well since it seems that if homekit ever happens, there will be a flood of those products coming in.

I was hoping Wink was going to have a response to this in terms of future plans or hardware support. They hinted at something on the Wink Facebook group, but I'm worried that's just the Amazon coffee pot which spends money on my behalf. I'm not really interested in toys; just better support for more advanced home automation products. But I guess they have some time until Q3 to figure out the course.

 

[CAL7]

Agree on all fronts. Right now, Wink is just an over-complicated light timer for me. Caseta switches are the best $-for-feature and reliability, so I've got a bunch of them; which is risky since my best guess is that ST is going to win Round 2 of the HA Pioneer Wars. I'm disappointed that the STv2 announcement hasn't prompted any counter-move by Wink. Maybe Wink knows that the ST Q3 date is really Sep 30th (or Sep 75th) and Wink has time to react.

 

[MjnMixael]

Agree on all fronts. Right now, Wink is just an over-complicated light timer for me. Caseta switches are the best $-for-feature and reliability, so I've got a bunch of them; which is risky since my best guess is that ST is going to win Round 2 of the HA Pioneer Wars. I'm disappointed that the STv2 announcement hasn't prompted any counter-move by Wink. Maybe Wink knows that the ST Q3 date is really Sep 30th (or Sep 75th) and Wink has time to react.

At worst, I'm sure that Smartthings V2 will be able to work with the Lutron Bridge if not ClearConnect standard directly. Given that even the Harmony Hub is touting Lutron support, I'm betting that Lutron is doing all it can to be included. It's in their best interest, lest they fall by the wayside.

 

[quagga]

Maybe they haven't worked out the details yet with Lutron yet? I mean, it's clear looking at all of the V2 posts that many people have a desire for that protocol to be added. I'm presently a renter so probably won't be installing any Lutron dimmers but I'd like to have the functionality going forward.

What I'd really like is being able to use the Aeon Minimote (Zwave) to control my Zigbee smartbulbs. I believe I can do that with Smartthings (push button on Minimote, runs SmartApp to do such and such a function). I don't think I can do the equivalent with Wink (push button, runs Robot or shortcut which does such and such). That, and the ability to use Philips Hue bulbs without the Philips Hub are the killer features ST has which makes me want it today. I considered jumping on their Earth Hour promotion last night and switching now, but that wouldn't give me the Hue bulbs (you can apparently pair Hue bulbs directly to ST hub, but can't un-pair them without the philips hub so I'd be stuck when STv2 came out). So I wait.

Still, this HA stuff is a lot of fun. Many things to add and tinker with although with some challenges. Aeotec announced their next gen multi-sensor today.

 

[MjnMixael]

What I'd really like is being able to use the Aeon Minimote (Zwave) to control my Zigbee smartbulbs. I believe I can do that with Smartthings (push button on Minimote, runs SmartApp to do such and such a function). I don't think I can do the equivalent with Wink (push button, runs Robot or shortcut which does such and such). That, and the ability to use Philips Hue bulbs without the Philips Hub are the killer features ST has which makes me want it today. I considered jumping on their Earth Hour promotion last night and switching now, but that wouldn't give me the Hue bulbs (you can apparently pair Hue bulbs directly to ST hub, but can't un-pair them without the philips hub so I'd be stuck when STv2 came out). So I wait.

If you can pair the remote to the hub, then you can probably do that... I suspect the remote would act as a simple binary trigger to the hub, which they claimed to support from the beginning. Then it's just a matter of linking the 'Pressed' state to whatever robot you want.

 

[CAL7]

Any info on price for the Aeotec multisensor? I don't understand why the PIR function needs to be turned off to be used outdoors? BTW, I have a couple of Aeotec products and I have yet to get any to pair with Wink.

 

[Kaido]

Still, this HA stuff is a lot of fun. Many things to add and tinker with although with some challenges. Aeotec announced their next gen multi-sensor today.

Wow, NICE:

1. Motion sensor
2. Temperature sensor
3. Light sensor
4. Humidity sensor
5. Vibration sensor
6. UV sensor (the heck? haha)

Mounting options:

1. Wall (3M tape)
2. Shelf (standalone)
3. Corner (mounting arm)
4. Recessed (recessor with magnetic clamps for easy removal)

Plus:

1. Up to 2-year battery life a pair of CR123A batteries
2. Optional hardwire USB power (adds realtime sensor readings)
3. Extended 492-foot wireless range
4. Secure AES-128 wireless encryption
5. Z-Wave’s new-gen 500 series chip

Holy crap! I'll take one for every room, along with a SmartThings v2 hub :biggrin:

 

[Kaido]

Wow, Aeotec is really bringing the heat, check out their Smart Strip!

http://aeotec.com/z-wave-power-strip

* 6 metered outlets
* 4 are controllable (on/off)
* 99% accurate energy consumption reading rate

$85 on Amazon: (only 3.5-star reviews tho)

http://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Z-Wave-Smart-Energy-Strip/dp/B00H3RL6JW/

I'd really like to see one that has the full suite (ALL ports are controllable), and also have a dimming function on all ports.

 

[MjnMixael]

If anyone finds some sort of single button Z-wave remote.. post it here. I'm looking to replace my doorbell...

 

[ChasG]

Seems I may be in the minority of having severe loss of connection since the .77 upgrade. I'm wading through it but ready to give up on Wink. I first lost connection with 25 of my GE Links, then 6 of my 10 Trippers stopped communicating with the hub. I am confident that something in the upgrade degraded the range. I don't mind resetting and re-pairing bulbs or sensors occasionally but doing it daily is just not worth the convenience of occasional automation. I have spoken with support several times and though they are willing to work with me to re-pair the devices, I have got no indication from them that the problem has been identified thus no solution is available. While waiting for Smartthings V. 2, I did pick up a couple of the small ge quirky hubs to test the loss of range theory. Home Depot and Amazon have them for $24.97 and it includes two of the ge link bulbs. I am about 3 days into this test and haven't lost connection with any bulbs yet. Since the small hubs don't communicate with the zwave trippers, this doesn't help me with that problem but at least I have control of the lights for now.

 

[quagga]

Seems I may be in the minority of having severe loss of connection since the .77 upgrade.

I'm not having anything that severe, but things are strange of late. Trippers disappear from the app. They still work, but I can't see when the door was opened or closed. I had the hub disappear the other day for no reason and then come back.

Home Depot and Amazon have them for $24.97 and it includes two of the ge link bulbs. I am about 3 days into this test and haven't lost connection with any bulbs yet. Since the small hubs don't communicate with the zwave trippers, this doesn't help me with that problem but at least I have control of the lights for now.

I believe the trippers are actually zigbee; they're just not enabled with the Link hub. What I'd consider doing with your shoes is put all of your bulbs on the link hub and only keep the trippers on the Wink hub. See if that helps.

As for me, I just ordered a SmartThings hub after asking Wink support about the Minimote I ordered the other day. Based on what I see, the Minimote can be added to the Wink network, but can't run Robots (which is what I'd need to be able to control Zigbee lights from a Zwave remote). I did the math on how much this would bother me until the Hub V2 came out and determined the V1 was worth it (although I bought a used one from Amazon Warehouse).

In terms of Aeotech support overall, they responded to my tweet to Wink asking how they could be better supported by Wink. Wink send them a link to their partnerships form. So there might be hope there.

As for me, I apparently have a Saturday of re-pairing 17 bulbs, 4 trippers, and 1 minimote to Smartthings. And then Profit.

 

[Subyman]

Wow, NICE:

6. UV sensor (the heck? haha)

UV sensors may be needed for people with an art collection. UV is your worst enemy.

 

[LegendKiller]

Anybody check out the almond+? Finally for sale on amazon.

 

[tsuprano]

Almond +....do you have a link?

 

[smhawkes]

It was mentioned a page back that version 3 of the app would support sunrise/sunset, I just updated to 3.0.0.6 and it does not seem to be there.

 

[MjnMixael]

It was mentioned a page back that version 3 of the app would support sunrise/sunset, I just updated to 3.0.0.6 and it does not seem to be there.

sunrise/sunset was just added in beta.. it has some issues still. Should be out as soon as those get worked out.