Pivot Power Genius is OK. I have 2. It works well enough except that wink server outages sometimes affect it too. Not always, though. It can be controlled if you don't have a hub.. Meaning if your hub has issues, then Genius won't care. But if their servers have issues Genius is sometimes affected.
If anyone is looking for a spare Hub to experiment with, Amazon has a Hub & GE Link bulb for $16 shipped on Amazon right now:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00PX9VMEG
Thank you for the review, and also ugh, cloud downtime takes out your power ports? No thanks. I'm so bipolar on this Wink stuff...on one hand, I totally love the concept, on the other hand, the execution of having everything linked through the cloud is a nightmare sometimes.
Does anyone have a Relay installed? Can it really work without the cloud? I'd like to know more about that functionality...
Did I really just read above that when power is turned off to a bulb it can un-pair? Seriously?
The "big" investment at this point is the components. Do the GE link bulbs have or are they likely to have support through other products if Wink bites the dust? Obviously its cloud thing isn't going to be around forever.
Pivot Power Genius is OK. I have 2. It works well enough except that wink server outages sometimes affect it too. Not always, though. It can be controlled if you don't have a hub.. Meaning if your hub has issues, then Genius won't care. But if their servers have issues Genius is sometimes affected...
Also, for a while, it seemed that if Wi-Fi dropped, they would auto-power off its switches. But I can't confirm that and Wink replaced the Genius that I thought was doing that. That was when I had the Wink hub plugged into a Genius so I could reset the hub remotely. Stability for Wink has gotten much better, so I removed the Genius from that role.
I've had bulbs that were powered off unpair. I've also had bulbs that were slow to refresh on my phone or tablet unpair. It can really be frustrating in the evening when I expect a light to just work and it doesn't.Did I really just read above that when power is turned off to a bulb it can un-pair? Seriously?
The "big" investment at this point is the components. Do the GE link bulbs have or are they likely to have support through other products if Wink bites the dust? Obviously its cloud thing isn't going to be around forever.
So I'm considering the Wink Hub with the Kwikset Smart Lock system. What security measures does Wink take to ensure no one enters my house? Be it an internal (employee) or external (hacker/criminal) or combination of both...
I just can't see trusting my house to the Internet. To me, I would rather have software installed on a VM and keep everything internal. Notifications can be sent to my phone but for me to control my house outside of my home wifi, I would need to VPN or respond to the actual push notification for added security.
Ubiquiti has answered a lot of that with their local-hosted Unifi control center for switches, gateways, wireless access points, IP cameras, VoIP phones, etc. It looks like they are getting into door sensors too, albeit a little more pricey.
Right now I just hate having multiple apps controlling one device (ie, Phillips Hue, Craftsman Assurelink, etc). One app to do this all, run off a local VM would be a killer. I'd be willing to pay a license to have software like this.
I would look elsewhere. I have the schalge touch screen and as it is right now the wink won't even tell you which user opened the door or if tampering was detected.So I'm considering the Wink Hub with the Kwikset Smart Lock system. What security measures does Wink take to ensure no one enters my house? Be it an internal (employee) or external (hacker/criminal) or combination of both...
I've had bulbs that were powered off unpair. I've also had bulbs that were slow to refresh on my phone or tablet unpair. It can really be frustrating in the evening when I expect a light to just work and it doesn't.
The GE Link bulbs use Zigbee for communication. I know they are supported on the SmartThings hub with a firmware update and probably on other Zigbee compatible hubs.
I too am baffled as to why the hard-wired products like switches and outlets sit in the $50-$60 range. The switches in particular are typically basic single-pole non-dimmers with a z-wave or zigbee radio -- I'd expect those to be no more expensive than a dimmable LED bulb with a similar radio.
Are there some kind of RF shielding issues that make them more expensive? Maybe some additional regulatory approval as a hard-wired device?
I'd love to hear some insight on this.
1. Get a Schlage instead of a Kwikset. Kwiksets are easy to pick:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSbSPf_EpE4
2. Wink is cloud-based. No option for anything else. Which is particularly annoying when their service goes down (no matter how rarely it may be). And not to be paranoid, but I don't know what their security & monitoring policies are on the other end, so there's no way I'm tying my network cameras into my Wink system.
Ubiquiti makes some cool-looking stuff. Might also consider an Okidokey system if you really want to get serious about locks & door access. Vera has a new controller coming out soon that I believe is local-based (for Z-wave products & stuff with web API's).
I would look elsewhere. I have the schalge touch screen and as it is right now the wink won't even tell you which user opened the door or if tampering was detected.
Do the positions of the numbers change? How can you be sure someone can't figure out your code from finger prints?
The material is smudge resistant and you can use up to a 8 digit code. Also the keypad wont activate unless you touch the right spot first.
Pretty neat. Not a fan of 4 digits. Always preferred 5. I know one digit doesn't seem like a lot but it increases the possibilities by a lot and still easy to remember.
The activation feature is really neat. Does it auto-lock if you miss the spot too many times and makes you wait a few minutes?
Interesting. I looked at that web page and the Xbee product comparison, but I could use some more help. Can you point me to a good, basic tutorial on Xbee (particularly for power control applications)? Many thanks for this thread.I dunno. They sell Xbee adapters for doing Zigbee on Arduino for like $10:
http://www.adafruit.com/products/126?gclid=CK-57eT3tsICFUwS7AodPDUARg
Slap that into a $2 switch, voila.
Interesting. I looked at that web page and the Xbee product comparison, but I could use some more help. Can you point me to a good, basic tutorial on Xbee (particularly for power control applications)? Many thanks for this thread.
Interesting. I looked at that web page and the Xbee product comparison, but I could use some more help. Can you point me to a good, basic tutorial on Xbee (particularly for power control applications)? Many thanks for this thread.
A few questions:
1. In the (Android) app, what are "Activities"? It's empty and I can't add new ones. I can't figure out what it is.
2. Is it possible to add more complicated robots? For example, I'd like my lights to dim once it gets past 10 PM, so it's not so bright in my master bedroom as I get ready for bed. The only way I can do this is to setup a schedule for Master Lamp to turn ON (this is key) at 60%. Well here's the thing - what if I am on vacation? I don't want it to go from OFF to ON (60%). I want it to dim, IF, it's already on.
Or I have lights turn off when I leave my house but I wouldn't want the living room light to suddenly turn off if my roommate is watching a movie or something. Any ideas?
Hi guys, glad to have found this thread. I just got my Wink Hub and A19 light bulb from Amazon last night. The hub took forever to setup because it only operates on 2.4Ghz. My router is setup with two bands (2.4 and 5.8) sharing a single SSID and security key. I don't really care which my devices connect to. I assume they choose the best one.
Anyway, the Wink hub does not like this. I ended up having to split them up with SSID and SSID (5 Ghz) names. Even then it took about 30 minutes to get it all setup.
I tried adding the A19 bulb using the UPC barcode scanner but it didn't work so I added it manually and that was good. I have some robots setup and they work great.
A few questions:
1. In the (Android) app, what are "Activities"? It's empty and I can't add new ones. I can't figure out what it is.
2. Is it possible to add more complicated robots? For example, I'd like my lights to dim once it gets past 10 PM, so it's not so bright in my master bedroom as I get ready for bed. The only way I can do this is to setup a schedule for Master Lamp to turn ON (this is key) at 60%. Well here's the thing - what if I am on vacation? I don't want it to go from OFF to ON (60%). I want it to dim, IF, it's already on.
Or I have lights turn off when I leave my house but I wouldn't want the living room light to suddenly turn off if my roommate is watching a movie or something. Any ideas?