The Wink home automation thread

[IndyColtsFan]

Big update to my Wink@Home webpage today.

It let's you rearrage the device on the controllable only panel. + lots of UI improvements since the last time I posted. Just unzip the new file into the WinkAtHome directory. No need to delete anything.

https://plus.google.com/+CraigTrunzo/posts/6nzLFegJxyY

Just got around to trying this. Any reason why my GE bulbs aren't showing as controllable devices?

 

[smhawkes]

Got my $12 Power Pivot Genius today and I think they are unclear on what the term Genius means.

I would expect a product from Quirky to be fully functional in the Wink system, the power pivot does not show the correct state of the outlet unless it happens to be off. If I want to turn off an outlet I have to click it on then try to turn it off before the state changes to off even though it is on. Is this normal for the Pivot? How can you remotely control it if you don't know the actual state?

 

[BillinGlendale]

How's the performance? Much lag?

I'm excited for my bt.tn to arrive, I have a lot of scenarios I want to test it out in! Spark has an interesting competing model for half the price: (although it's not quite as plug & play as the Bt.tn is)

http://www.spark.io/button

Would also be interesting to repurpose the Aeotec doorbell for IFTTT functionality.

I've not been overly impressed. Sometimes there's no lag at all, sometimes as much as 10 minutes.

 

[BillinGlendale]

Elixer pointed out in Hot Deals that the no-contract Moto X is on sale for $39, which is a fantastically cheap remote control for your Wink system: (runs Android 4.4)

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/verizon...lack/3041063.p?id=1219086346405&skuId=3041063

Forget the $300 Relay, just mount some of these on your walls :biggrin:

I picked up 2 of them. They're a really nice phone, unfortunately unrootable(I had hoped to put Lolipop on them).

 

[MjnMixael]

I've not been overly impressed. Sometimes there's no lag at all, sometimes as much as 10 minutes.

IFTTT is not reliable for instant actions. As per their FAQ, depending on the channel being used the recipe, actions can take up to 15 minutes.

 

[Kaido]

IFTTT is not reliable for instant actions. As per their FAQ, depending on the channel being used the recipe, actions can take up to 15 minutes.

Supposedly there's a Premium version of IFTTT coming:

https://gigaom.com/2014/10/22/ifttts-paid-premium-services-will-appear-in-the-coming-months/

15 minutes seems crazy...I can click on a HD Netflix video & it starts playing in about three seconds. Downside of the cloud, I guess.

 

[Kaido]

Now that there's IFTTT intigration you could use a bt.tn I'm not sure what you want to have happen when someone pushes it but that should do it. I personally have dogs so the idea of more noise when someone comes to the door doesn't appeal to me.

Got my bt.tn in yesterday. Took about 2 weeks to ship from Finland, not too bad. It's a beast :biggrin:

I haven't had much of a chance to play with it since I had to run out for work last night, but it looks like you just hook up to the internal SSID to program it for your network, then tie it into your bt.tn account online. Definitely going to mess with it using IFTTT & Wink and see how it works. Just a quick critique list:

1. Takes (4) AA's, which are not included. That's a bit annoying since the button literally cost a hundred dollars.

2. No A/C adapter included. Again...$100 button.

3. Mine arrived super scratched up. I thought it was used at first, but I think it just got jostled in shipping. Really disappointed; it looks terrible. I contacted the manufacturer to see if I can get a replacement button cap. My guess is they'll need to change the material in future production runs or put on some kind of protective coating to prevent visual wear & tear on the plastic material.

4. The springy switch inside reminds me of something, I'm not sure what, but something cheap that will break. It has that "boing" that super-cheap toys from China has. I can't place it, but I've heard it before.

On the positive side:

1. Super neat concept. Just a big freakin' button you can put anywhere, to do anything. I love the idea! I've been sketching out more ideas; there are just so many great use-case scenarios for something like this. It's big, it's visual, it's tactile; it's a really great idea!

2. IRL, the button is physically awesome. I can't explain it; you just have to hold one. We are tactile creatures: this is big, it's red (other colors available, but c'mon...push the red button!), it's clicky, it gives visual LED feedback; it's just very satisfying to use.

3. Despite what I said above about the cheap-feeling switch, it actually is very nice. It presses well & it makes a nice physical boingy sound when you press it, so you know when you've pressed it properly. It's not soft or quiet, so you're not stuck wondering if the click went through or not (plus you have the LED feedback, which is a nice visual notification system).

4. I was mulling over other button options (ex. the Amazon Prime re-order button, Aeotec's doorbell button, etc.), but having a very large, colorful button is really in a different category because it's eye-catching and again, tactile. It really amps up the "easy" factor in terms of "I'll actually use this" due to those features. Again with the laundry example, I always forget to swap my laundry from the washer to the dryer - it's not that I don't have other options, I mean, I could always just set a timer on my phone to remind me, but I never remember to do that. Sticking a ginormous red button on top of my washing machine makes it pretty easy to remember because you visually trip over it every time you run a load of laundry. I think that's just really great; there's not really anything else out there like it on the market.

It will be interesting to see how complex the programming can get. For example, having one on your bedside table. If it's morning, have it do X, Y, and Z (ex. turn on bedroom lights, open bedroom blinds, play radio in bedroom & bathroom, start hot water to shower, etc.). If it's evening, have it do A, B, and C (ex. lock all doors, turn off all lights, turn down A/C, make sure garage door is closed, etc.). As IoT hardware & hubs progress, it will be really fun to program this thing with IFTTT, time-of-day, and so on. It would be cool to see a v2 that has (1) audible feedback (ex. beeps or a little MP3 player type of deal), and (2) a glowing cap (button glows like a shop lightswitch, instead of just an LED ring).

 

[FreddieT]

OK, that thing IS gigantic! It looks as though 20 clowns (circus style in a car) could come walking out of it when it's pushed!

 

[Kaido]

OK, that thing IS gigantic! It looks as though 20 clowns (circus style in a car) could come walking out of it when it's pushed!

Yeah, it's hilariously huge. But in a good way! It makes you grin when you hold it & press it. Nice clicky feel & sound, plus the LED's. Way cool toy! I will definitely buy more when the price comes down. The difficult thing is putting the pricing in context right now...you can buy a Moto G Android phone for $30 no contract & just put a big red virtual button on that for IFTTT (plus the Wink app!), and it has Wifi & a backup battery just like the BT.TN does, so financially it doesn't make a whole lot of sense right now, but it is very cool. Just needs to be cheaper!

 

[aosmer]

Is this normal for the Pivot? How can you remotely control it if you don't know the actual state?

I picked up one back in January, and sent it back within a week. The only thing I can recommend is to stay away, stay far away from the Pivot Power Genius. The only thing I found it useful for was IFTTT, but we have that with shortcuts now.

 

[Mike A.]

I picked up one back in January, and sent it back within a week. The only thing I can recommend is to stay away, stay far away from the Pivot Power Genius. The only thing I found it useful for was IFTTT, but we have that with shortcuts now.

Yeah, that was the main reason to have one before shortcuts were available.

If anyone does want one for whatever reason, Walmart has them for $30 now.

 

[FreddieT]

Yeah, it's hilariously huge. But in a good way! It makes you grin when you hold it & press it. Nice clicky feel & sound, plus the LED's. Way cool toy! I will definitely buy more when the price comes down. The difficult thing is putting the pricing in context right now...you can buy a Moto G Android phone for $30 no contract & just put a big red virtual button on that for IFTTT (plus the Wink app!), and it has Wifi & a backup battery just like the BT.TN does, so financially it doesn't make a whole lot of sense right now, but it is very cool. Just needs to be cheaper!

I can definitely see some practical uses for the bt.tn, but at $100 a pop I'll wait to see if the price (and size) come down before I'll consider it. Keep us posted on your uses for the bt.tn and how it integrates with your HA scheme.

 

[jiver]

Has anyone gotten the "ok Google" integration to work? I'm stumped as to what I am doing wrong. I've set up the shortcut and given it an appropriate activity assignment (I've set up "home mode" and "sleep mode"). I was disappointed that I had to recreate shortcuts as the app would not let me just assign modes to existing shortcuts. Anyway, when I say "ok Google -- activate home mode" or "ok Google -- activate home mode on Wink" the voice-to-text works but I end up with a google search on the phrase instead of something actually happening with my Wink system.

What setting am I missing?

 

[zarthan]

Jiver you can't create your own shortcuts, you must use the existing ones in the Wink app. You assign whatever actions you want to the shortcut so it isn't bad. Use the "try it" link at the bottom of the add shortcut page and choose one of the icons, then make your changes.

 

[smhawkes]

Has anyone gotten the "ok Google" integration to work? I'm stumped as to what I am doing wrong. I've set up the shortcut and given it an appropriate activity assignment (I've set up "home mode" and "sleep mode"). I was disappointed that I had to recreate shortcuts as the app would not let me just assign modes to existing shortcuts. Anyway, when I say "ok Google -- activate home mode" or "ok Google -- activate home mode on Wink" the voice-to-text works but I end up with a google search on the phrase instead of something actually happening with my Wink system.

What setting am I missing?

Try saying ok Google -- activate wink home mode

 

[sfseay]

I picked up one back in January, and sent it back within a week. The only thing I can recommend is to stay away, stay far away from the Pivot Power Genius. The only thing I found it useful for was IFTTT, but we have that with shortcuts now.

My Pivot Power Genius shows the proper status and has worked flawlessly since I bought it.

 

[wagohn]

Looks like Wink will soon have another competitor - Comcast. They are moving nto home automation.

http://www.cepro.com/article/comcas..._home_automation_adds_nest_arlo_lutron_skybe/

I have the Comcast X1 'dvr' its a very impressive piece of hardware and has unlimited potential.

Imagine it - sitting down to watch a movie and dimming the lighs and adjusting the heat - all from your X1 box.

 

[MjnMixael]

Ugh.. Comcast is the last company I want to rely on for... well... anything.

 

[HexFlyer]

Has anybody gotten the PEQ sensors to work with the Wink hub, looks like they work with SmartThings and they use zigbee, I can't see a way to try to add them.

 

[wagohn]

Ugh.. Comcast is the last company I want to rely on for... well... anything.

2nd to last - don't forget Wink

 

[quagga]

Well the Wink Hub never came back. It perpetually tries to connect to wifi and fails. No amount of reseting has helped and I'm done.

If anyone in the US is interested in buying 4 trippers, send me a PM. I'll throw in a Wink "We're Sorry we can't do anything remotely right but we're just a start up pretending to be an actual company, hehe" $50 code to buy some overpriced products with irrationally high shipping. And if you're interested in my "probably broken hub" you can have that for the higher shipping rate (I'd have to use a medium flat rate instead of small flat rate box).

</jaded>

Good luck everybody. I'll see you around the HA world.

 

[wagohn]

Well the Wink Hub never came back. It perpetually tries to connect to wifi and fails. No amount of reseting has helped and I'm done.

If anyone in the US is interested in buying 4 trippers, send me a PM. I'll throw in a Wink "We're Sorry we can't do anything remotely right but we're just a start up pretending to be an actual company, hehe" $50 code to buy some overpriced products with irrationally high shipping. And if you're interested in my "probably broken hub" you can have that for the higher shipping rate (I'd have to use a medium flat rate instead of small flat rate box).

</jaded>

Good luck everybody. I'll see you around the HA world.

I will take your 'probably broken' hub for the cost of shipping. Im hesitant in actually paying full retail for one as they seem so problematic.
Sorry that I cant PM you - I dont have enough posts

 

[big rob]

Well the Wink Hub never came back. It perpetually tries to connect to wifi and fails. No amount of reseting has helped and I'm done.

If anyone in the US is interested in buying 4 trippers, send me a PM. I'll throw in a Wink "We're Sorry we can't do anything remotely right but we're just a start up pretending to be an actual company, hehe" $50 code to buy some overpriced products with irrationally high shipping. And if you're interested in my "probably broken hub" you can have that for the higher shipping rate (I'd have to use a medium flat rate instead of small flat rate box).

</jaded>

Good luck everybody. I'll see you around the HA world.

Sorry, you can only send messages to the Administrators group until you have 25 posts.


Ill take the trippers and the code.

 

[HexFlyer]

Well the Wink Hub never came back. It perpetually tries to connect to wifi and fails. No amount of reseting has helped and I'm done.

If anyone in the US is interested in buying 4 trippers, send me a PM. I'll throw in a Wink "We're Sorry we can't do anything remotely right but we're just a start up pretending to be an actual company, hehe" $50 code to buy some overpriced products with irrationally high shipping. And if you're interested in my "probably broken hub" you can have that for the higher shipping rate (I'd have to use a medium flat rate instead of small flat rate box).

</jaded>

Good luck everybody. I'll see you around the HA world.

Did it not come back after rooting or trying to fix it via Wink instructions?

 

[MjnMixael]

2nd to last - don't forget Wink

That's a cute sentiment that you'd trust Comcast over Wink. Comcast, already a massive company, has proven that it's a terrible company. It's poorly run, with even poorer customer service. They have also shown time and again that they will try to use their size and control of content (NBCUniversal) to strong arm their way into your home at whatever cost... so long as they don't get caught for it.

Wink, may turn out to be just as bad, but they still have a chance to right the course. Comcast is already a long ways down the wrong road.

See this and this.

I do not want to give that company any access to my home.