The Wink home automation thread

[atyoyo]

Tripper is working but I set up 2 robots for open and closed and only get notifications when it's opened. Nothing received when closed. Anyone notice this problem? Also, activity log doesn't show anything.

It does show the current state, and last change time but I'd like a log of status changes.

 

[RossMAN]

Hi all. I am running Android Lollipop and can absolutely not get the app to update the wink hub. I just bought new GE link lights, but I cannot add them because the hub needs to be updated. Every time I press update, the hub power cycles, the app acts busy for a bit, the hub comes back online and the app says update again. It absolutely will not work. I can still use other products but I cannot add new ones. Any ideas?

This recently happened to my wife and I using our Moto G and Nexus 5 phones, respectively.

The upgrade process wasn't that intuitive but I somehow muddled through it. When we recently added a few A19 and BR30 bulbs, we paired, were forced to update firmware, clicked the button then nothing happened. Long story short restarted cell phones a few times, clicked upgrade, unplugged Wink hub, plugged hub back in, moved it closer to the router, swore a few times, about 10 minutes later it was finished and working. Not exactly scientific I know but I have zero patience.

 

[MLieBennett]

Hi all. I am running Android Lollipop and can absolutely not get the app to update the wink hub. I just bought new GE link lights, but I cannot add them because the hub needs to be updated. Every time I press update, the hub power cycles, the app acts busy for a bit, the hub comes back online and the app says update again. It absolutely will not work. I can still use other products but I cannot add new ones. Any ideas?

Oddly, that sounds similar to the problem I had with my first Wink Hub. Turned out it had some bad firmware memory (After a LONG Tech support call and troubleshooting), and after I had it replaced the new unit updated and worked correctly.

The Hub Power Cycle/Update I had on my bad first hub was as follows (Bad Firmware Memory):
Hub Blue Light -> Hit Update in the Wink App ->
Hub Light would change for less then a second, go out and immediately start up the normal boot process of connecting to WiFi (Flashing Green) ->
Hub Blue Light again -> Wink App would show long updating, followed by it timing out and asking to update again.

The Hub Power Cycle/Update on my good hub was as follows:
Hub Blue Light -> Hit Update in the Wink App ->
Hub Light would go Red (Flashing if I recall right) for quite a number of minutes. -> When Hub Light returns Blue, its ready to go again.

So basically, does your Wink Hub ever have the Red Light for updating at any length of time? If so, you might have one of the faulty firmware memory units as well.

 

[azgdds]

I have lights that don't follow directions when scheduled. For example, one doesn't turn on or off when either scheduled or when controlled by the relays smart switch. even after they are automatically supposed to be turned off it will show in the app as on, I then can manually turn it off with no problem. Why is that? Would it be reasonable for the app to go though and check that after a scheduled event occurs that the app rechecked that the state of the item is indeed correct?

 

[hanly2]

Guys I just hooked this up today. I was wondering should I use the same account on each phone (mine, wifes, kids) or should they each set up their own account and I give permissions? I already hooked up the hub and stuff to my wifes account, but I think it would be better if it was on my account so I get the emails and have control to fix stuff.

 

[atyoyo]

With Tripper you can set the 'type':
Door, Window, Cabinet, Patio Door

These are the names displayed on the main sensor page, not what you named it so it's confusing. I'm using this for a garage door so that should be an option but they should display the name you give it on the sensor page anyway. If I had more than two the sensor page would be useless. The email alerts/notifications are useful though and it's accurate so far.

 

[alexhendershott]

Oddly, that sounds similar to the problem I had with my first Wink Hub. Turned out it had some bad firmware memory (After a LONG Tech support call and troubleshooting), and after I had it replaced the new unit updated and worked correctly.

The Hub Power Cycle/Update I had on my bad first hub was as follows (Bad Firmware Memory):
Hub Blue Light -> Hit Update in the Wink App ->
Hub Light would change for less then a second, go out and immediately start up the normal boot process of connecting to WiFi (Flashing Green) ->
Hub Blue Light again -> Wink App would show long updating, followed by it timing out and asking to update again.

The Hub Power Cycle/Update on my good hub was as follows:
Hub Blue Light -> Hit Update in the Wink App ->
Hub Light would go Red (Flashing if I recall right) for quite a number of minutes. -> When Hub Light returns Blue, its ready to go again.

So basically, does your Wink Hub ever have the Red Light for updating at any length of time? If so, you might have one of the faulty firmware memory units as well.

This is a good analysis, thank you. My hub never flashes red, it only does the power cycle. Sounds like I have a faulty firmware memory unit which is pretty disappointing. I suppose I'll be calling tech support again. Thanks for your help!

 

[Tech_Greek]

Alex, I had that initial issue as well when I first set the unit up. Does it blink at all when you click update hub? You can always try bluestacks to get it up and going as well, or try an iOS phone/device if you have a friend that doesn't mind letting you give it a shot.

Hanly, I set mine up on my account and then shared it with the lady friend's account so she doesn't have access to break my robots and such - slightly annoying with the whole having to run two sets of groups but it's for the best in the end (I'm more OCD about group names I suppose).

 

[Tech_Greek]

Annnnnddddd my hub wasn't working this morning. No, I didn't drink the egg nog.

 

[BillinGlendale]

Annnnnddddd my hub wasn't working this morning. No, I didn't drink the egg nog.

Maybe the hub had the egg nog. My hub decided to take a break while I was away Xmas eve. When I got home I just power cycled the hub and all was well.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

My hub has been rock solid since I moved it down the hall. I went ahead and ordered a set of Trippers as I want to see if I can use them on my garage doors.

 

[goose1977]

Just installed the Schlage Touchscreen Deadbolt and so far so good.

My system now consists of:

Wink Hub
2 Trippers
4 GE Bulbs
1 Lutron Dimmer
1 Leviton plug in switch
1 Drop Cam
3 MyQ Garage door openers

 

[azgdds]

I am finding that the bulbs, while very nice, are not convenient for my setup. I will have some GE link bulbs for sale soon. I have installed one leviton dimmer and it works great. I have another 3 way leviton dimmer to install tonight or tomorrow. This will get pretty expensive if I do this everywhere.

 

[k4kicker]

This is my first post. I've read through some of the post but don't seem to find the answer to two issues I'm currently having with the WINK hub.

1. When updating the firmware (app on iphone6) it locks and just keeps running with not update happening.

2. I have two locks that were HomeConnect Ready, now it appears that they are not all ready as the communication slot is empty - does anyone know where I could get this little cards? It's a weiser lock and their support said they couldn't help me and I had to search on the internet (great).

Thanks

 

[MjnMixael]

Currently, my setup is...

2 Schlage Locks
MGO/Chamberlain Garage Door
23 Lutron In-Wall Dimmers
2 Lutron Lamp Dimmers
4 GE Link Bulbs
1 Leviton Appliance Module (Power on/off)
1 Leviton Lamp Dimmer
2 Phillips Hue Lightstrips
2 Pivot Power Genius
1 Nest Thermostat
4 Nest Protects
1 Wink Relay
1 Wink Spotter

I don't post it to brag, but more as an extended review. After that one month where stability was... non-existant... things are working quite well. The GE Link bulbs are all tied to Lutron on/off events and I rely on them. Occasionally there is a slightly longer delay than there should be, but 9 times out of 10 they do exactly as they should.

Currently I use Relay to run shortcuts to turn everything off when I walk out the door or to lock things up when I go to bed. One press to turn off all lights, another to lock all doors and close the garage. I also don't have Relay tied to any hard-wired lights. The buttons currently control our Christmas Tree (which is on a Lutron) and the lights in a connected room (also on a Lutron). It's also nice to be able to set the thermostat right there and to see Wink activity.

I have several robots (aside from the GE Links I've already mentioned) that turn on the lights after dark when I come home or turn on the lights in the morning when I wake up (via when the Master Bathroom light is turned on). I have a complicated robot that works based on an unused Pivot Power Genius outlet. IFTTT turns that outlet on/off based on sunrise/sunset.. and then in Wink when that outlet is turned on/off it turns the porch light on/off. I also use a robot to turn on a fan in our bedroom (via Pivot Power Genius) when the bedroom light is turned off after a certain time of day.

The Spotter has mostly gone unused. However, the recent changes in the app make me want to get a couple Gen 1 Spotters on the cheap. First, they clarified that Gen 1 Spotter detects vibration and not motion. Good call. Second, they added a 'Sensors' category. I can go into Sensors, tap on Temperature and see the Temp from Nest, Relay, and Spotter. That gives me a quick view of how my whole house is heating/cooling. It does the same for Humidity, which is cool. Nest should really open up their API to let Wink get that data from Nest Protects because that would be boss.

At this point I'm waiting for more sensors (door sensors, motion sensors, etc) so I can really start automating instead of controlling. They just sent me (as a beta tester) a set of Pella Insyctive sensors. Hopefully that should be activated on the beta side along with the Z-wave door sensors they sent a while back.

All in all, Wink keeps moving forward and I would start recommending it to people who like to tinker and want to test the waters of home automation. Their customer support is really great, too if you have problems. At least in my experience. So, there are my thoughts several months in.

 

[Tech_Greek]

I dumped my nest at the office for an Ecobee3 plus sensors and it BLOWS the nest out of the water - wish wink would add that support. My spotter is never equal to the real temperature in any room when I test it. I use it as a make shift door chime and light on/off detector now.

 

[BillinGlendale]

At this point I'm waiting for more sensors (door sensors, motion sensors, etc) so I can really start automating instead of controlling.

This is my goal with this endeavor, and I'm almost there. The wife wanted to go to the 99 cent store this evening; on the way there I noted that the door was now locked, the temp turned down and the light dimmed. Upon our return, the door was unlock the light at 100% and the heater was on. She has thought this to pretty much a waste of money, she was quite impressed.

The only device that I can see adding right now is another link light bulb for my back porch(I tried but the socket probably needs replacing). I'd really like to see cheep motion sensors. I don't need to know the light level, temp or humidity; just if someone is in the room. $60 for even a working spotter doesn't make any sense for me.

 

[MjnMixael]

Spotter isn't even a true motion sensor. I know it says 'motion', but what they really mean is 'vibration' (which is what the Wink app now says for it).

 

[BillinGlendale]

Spotter isn't even a true motion sensor. I know it says 'motion', but what they really mean is 'vibration' (which is what the Wink app now says for it).

I was under the impression(and the wink page reinforces the impression) that version 2 of the spotter does detect motion. Then again as I said, $60 would be too pricey anyway.

 

[nyvram]

Just installed the Schlage Touchscreen Deadbolt and so far so good.

My system now consists of:

Wink Hub
2 Trippers
4 GE Bulbs
1 Lutron Dimmer
1 Leviton plug in switch
1 Drop Cam
3 MyQ Garage door openers

I love that schlage deadbolt!! My favorite wink product so far. They really need to support the myq better though. It has potential. I have a light set to turn off at 11pm and lock the door if unlocked but you can't create this same robot with the newest app for some reason. See my screenshot a couple pages back.

Don't forget to turn the tamper alarm on that schlage! It's cool.

My next purchase is going to be 2 Kidde smoke/CO2 detectors.

 

[dennisj00]

New to the Wink and this site. Wife gave me hub and GE bulb for Christmas. I see we missed some really good deals.

First day was hectic getting the hub online. 4 or 5 hours later, TechSupport admitted they had server problems - even though they're not on the status.

Quirks. . . added Kidde Smoke / Co2 alarm. . .fine. Added Second and found it only shows one and works from the Kidde 'network'.

Just added a Lutron Pico remote today and find it only supports Lutron products! Wouldn't it make sense that a hub like this supports functions across products?

I can only hope the hub / software gets better.

 

[Scottie Parr]

First post and I hope to learn a lot from this topic. About a month or so ago I found Wink and the products that it can run. I still find this fascinating.

Here's what I have so far:
- 1 Wink Hub
- 2 Wink Relays (1 upstairs / 1 in the downstairs master bathroom)
- 13 GE Link bulbs
- 1 Leviton outlet (It was controlling the upstairs loft Christmas tree and now it controls a fan that will come on if the upstairs Relay shows >70 degrees)
- 1 Philips Hue Starter Kit

Here are my observations:
Everything connected with ease for me. I'm grateful for this after reading the troubles others have had.

I love the creativity that is possible for items to trigger other items. I will be buying sensors and other items that will expand on this.

I'm glad at how new Wink is because it will grow and add as it gains traction and time.

I look forward to Wink controlling the Hue products much better at some time.

I learned here that the geofencing works best if the app is running in the background of your smartphone. I have an iPhone 5 and now that I leave the app running, the robots work great when I am close to arriving at home. Before I would have the app off in the background and my 'Arrive Home' robots usually didn't work. Now I'm good.

I like the way the Hue bulbs respond with the Hue apps compared to the GE Link bulbs do with the Wink app. Wink has a delay in acting out my shortcuts. It seems to talk to each light one at a time. The Hue bulbs act immediately and together.

I have have an occasional light that does not respond. I'd like to see the accuracy closer to 100%.

IFTTT growing to work with all products and functions will be a feature I look forward to even more.

I did have a 'Evening Lights On' look at 4pm and my outdoor lights would not turn on. Looking at Activity, they did turn on and then get set to off. I moved the scheduled event to 4:01, and then it worked. I moved it back to 4:00 and all is well so far.

So far I'm having a lot of fun with this and enjoy stories and situations people use their smart products in to open my mind to how creative you can be.

Wishlist:
More Hue bulbs
Friends of Hue Lightstrips
Norm thermostat (on order)
Dropcam Pro
Outlink wall outlets
Spotter sensors
Tripper sensors
Schlage deadbolt set

 

[azgdds]

Do you have trouble controlling hue bulbs (I have 2 light strips) from the relay, shortcuts, and robots? They don't work for me from anything other than the android app to control them manually, I can't even turn them on/off with the relay, let alone shortcuts or robots.

Also, does your leviton dimmer light state update in the app when turned on manually? I have no problem controlling it from the app, but the state in the app will not change when turned on/off manually.

 

[Scottie Parr]

Do you have trouble controlling hue bulbs (I have 2 light strips) from the relay, shortcuts, and robots? They don't work for me from anything other than the android app to control them manually, I can't even turn them on/off with the relay, let alone shortcuts or robots.

The Hue lights don't work (yet, as I have hope that soon Wink will be able to) with any shortcuts or robots. I can use my phone app and under the category of lights control them individually. I just use the Hue apps as it works much better. I have faith that these will at some point work together. I have no inside knowledge, it just has to happen at some point.

Also, does your leviton dimmer light state update in the app when turned on manually? I have no problem controlling it from the app, but the state in the app will not change when turned on/off manually.

The Leviton wall outlet that I have can be controlled by shortcuts and/or robots. I had the upstairs Christmas tree plugged into it and it worked great. Today I took down the tree and plugged a fan into it. If the upstairs Relay gets above 70F then the fan turns on and blows the warm air downstairs. I forgot that I had the tree scheduled to turn on around 3:45pm. So the fan turned on today with all the custom lighting looks for pre-sunset. When I looked at my 'lights' category where the outlet lives in the app, it showed it was off/gray. I turned it 'on' so the app icon was yellow. (No change to the fan as it stayed on when I turned it on). Then I turned it off so the icon was gray and the fan went out. That was odd as the app made it look visually as if it was on.

I see some growing pains in all of this but I travel from time to time and to be able to have the lights on a schedule and to control the thermostat (soon when the Norm ships 1/30) are wonderful features.

 

[Scottie Parr]

Most of my switches are 3-way switches and so far I haven't had problems with turning off switches, which would lose power to my smart bulbs. A bulb that is off could then be out of touch with the app. I'm not sure what to do in the future about the switches. If the entire home was a smart home, would I just eliminate the switches and place blank wall cover plates there instead? Do I eliminate one of the two switches involved in a 3-way switch and put a "TAPT" switch there instead?

Any ideas, thoughts or future plans out there from anyone?

Thanks!