The Wink home automation thread

[Aikouka]

Was your Protect located close enough to a bathroom to see the shower mist?

In my case, I want to add one in two bedrooms and my office. My office is probably the most likely place a fire would begin because of all the electronics, so I definitely need one there. Just debating on whether I should go with Nest or stick with a cheaper dual-sensor model. As far as downstairs, I think I probably need one in my bar area.

Yeah, I put it in the exact same spot as the old one, which is right above the bathroom door. I replaced an old Kidde Nighthawk model. It started messing up a month or so after I moved in. It was on the contract of things to fix, but I guess they figured that putting a new battery in was sufficient to fix a unit that's 15 years old. (I read that their expected service life is only about 8 years?) I guess I could move it, but oddly enough, that was the only time that I've had that happened and it wasn't a particularly steamy shower or anything. It might've just been an anomaly.

One random nice feature is the nightlight. It isn't the brightest thing in the world, but it provides a little bit of illumination as you're walking by.

 

[MjnMixael]

For what it's worth, I have 5 Protects. 3 bedrooms, hallway, and a den. All 2nd gen. No issues here with mist or anything.

 

[RodolfoDLV]

Mine is in my bedroom. Plan to add 3 more. Haven't had an issue but it's not close to the shower. If you do get one for the bedroom I recommend you to turn off the Pathlight. In my experience, even at a low setting it was more than I wanted at night.

 

[MjnMixael]

Pathlight can be pretty bright. (You can adjust the dim... but in the middle of the night, even the lowest setting is, indeed, too much.)

However, my kids love them as nightlights. My son calls it his "moon".

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Lowes has a couple of new and more "open" sensors under the Iris brand - a contact sensor ($25, with temperature sensor as well) and a motion sensor ($28, with temperature sensor as well). I bought a couple of the contact sensors and paired one with SmartThings with little difficulty other than a brain cramp on my part. I didn't see a way to add a generic Zigbee device to Wink via the app. Thoughts?

 

[RodolfoDLV]

Maybe adding them as a Tripper?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Maybe adding them as a Tripper?

Yeah, tried as a Tripper, GoControl, and even a generic Zigbee light and none worked.

This is the one area SmartThings is far and away superior to Wink and IMO, reason enough to pick ST over Wink. A guy already had a profile built for the Iris contact sensor (you could also use the SmartThings Open/Close profile and it would work IIRC) and all I did was download his code, paste it into the SmartThings IDE, and away I went. Wink is going to have to do something similar at some point IMO. I really don't like to be at the mercy of Wink's dev staff to add new hardware.

 

[RodolfoDLV]

Yeah, tried as a Tripper, GoControl, and even a generic Zigbee light and none worked.

This is the one area SmartThings is far and away superior to Wink and IMO, reason enough to pick ST over Wink. A guy already had a profile built for the Iris contact sensor (you could also use the SmartThings Open/Close profile and it would work IIRC) and all I did was download his code, paste it into the SmartThings IDE, and away I went. Wink is going to have to do something similar at some point IMO. I really don't like to be at the mercy of Wink's dev staff to add new hardware.

True. This is how ST has always approached the whole HA thing. Be open and have amazing dev tools and support. Wink's on the other hand is more to partner with "respectable" brands and give you things as easy as you can. Two different approaches, where the ST approach looks good when you have a slow "official" support for new items, and the Wink approach looks good when you want something to work with ST and you bang your head after you tried many different things and there's still no answer.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

True. This is how ST has always approached the whole HA thing. Be open and have amazing dev tools and support. Wink's on the other hand is more to partner with "respectable" brands and give you things as easy as you can. Two different approaches, where the ST approach looks good when you have a slow "official" support for new items, and the Wink approach looks good when you want something to work with ST and you bang your head after you tried many different things and there's still no answer.

I think I am probably going to transition everything to ST and just use Wink for Lutron. If I go the Nest Protect route, might use Wink for that too.

 

[Kaido]

Got my Honeywell Wifi Thermostat installed. Snagged it for $165 on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-Wi-Fi-Smart-Thermostat-RTH9580WF/dp/B00FLZEQH2/

Currently $219 at Home Depot: ($55 savings, woot!)

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Honeywell-Wi-Fi-Smart-Thermostat-RTH9580WF/203926327

Initial thoughts:

1. It was white, not silver like in the picture. Which worked out great since my trim is white, but I always thought it had a silver bezel. Amazon description confirms white bezel.

2. Very small, surprisingly small. Screen is decent, but has that older TFT look to it.

3. Lets you choose color themes, which is cool. Lots of color options for the screen to fit your mood or the room design.

4. Interface is brilliant. So easy. Very straightforward. I'll readily admit I have no idea how to use traditional thermostats. I find them frustrating & poorly designed. I replaced an ancient Honeywell mercury thermostat with this newer model. It's sooooo much easier. Tap up or down to change the temperature. Tap to turn on the heat, the A/C, or set it all off. Turn the fan on or off. Love that. That's a big reason I didn't go with a Nest...it's too smart for me. I'm a very straightforward person...I like easy controls with some extra connectivity features.

5. Not planning on hooking it into my Wink system. It has it's own app, and I constantly see the Honeywell tie-in go down on Wink's site. I don't know if Honeywell itself goes down constantly or not, and I don't know if the Wifi app can talk directly to it over the network or if it's a completely cloud-based solution like Wink is too, but eh, I'll keep them separate. I haven't hooked up my webcams either (partially out of security concerns), and don't plan on hooking in my upcoming Chamberlain MyQ garage door system either.

As far as future tech goes:

1. Will be trying out a Logi Circle camera as a kidcam. Sounds awesome!

2. Considering Pella Insynctive for blinds & door/window sensors. Blinds can get crazy expensive with motorization, but it seems like a nice alternative to Somfy & the RTS tie-in requirements.

3. Will be adding a MyQ at some point. Hope my Wifi reaches! It's not a parking garage (detached shop/storage) but the convenience would be nice, especially on cold days.

4. Think I'm going to finish my conversion to LED bulbs this year. I did the basement with LED can lights in the ceiling & Lutron dimmers, super awesome! Eventually I will replace everything with Lutron dimmers & wall-mounted Pico remotes with wallplates here & there. No smart outlets for me, not needed for anything I want to do.

5. Haven't really figured out home theater automation yet. Pretty much I just have a Roku on all of my screens, so everything is actually pretty straightforward. I keep almost buying a Harmony hub with a dumb remote & smartphone backup app, but...eh. I have a small LED projector for the basement theater with a Sony 5.1 receiver, so it's not overly complex to operate. Just use the TV sound upstairs at this point too. I kinda wish there was more tech, but it's also nice to have it low-maintenance for my family. Turn on the projector & receiver, then use the Roku remote for video apps & Lutron for the lights. Easy enough. I still think what this area could use is a combo RF/IR blaster that has a Tivo peanut-style remote with programmable buttons. I really miss my old Tivo remote where all of the buttons had different shapes & could be used in the dark. Is that too much to ask, home theater manufacturers??

6. Haven't really decided on whole-house audio either. Still hoping Sonos will integrate Airplay! My buddy's Amazon Echo actually sounds surprisingly great as a kitchen stereo...wouldn't be bad to have one in each room. I built some great little cube speakers with 3" full-range drivers & I'm going to be testing out a custom 8" in-ceiling subwoofer when I get some free time over Thanksgiving, so I may just go that route for every room, along with an Airport Express, TA2020+ stereo amp, and sub plate amp. That gives really enjoyable sound. The problem is I'm not really one to just sit & listen to music, I like the idea of it more than actually using it, which is why I haven't made much progress on it yet. Plus, the AE lacks Sonos' sync capabilities, which conflicts with my goals of being able to blast Airplay out to one or more speaker sets, and have someone else in the house do the same to the speaker(s) they want. No perfect solution yet!

Other than that, pretty much just hoping for local support as always. Wouldn't mind buying a Wink 2.0 upgrade with a black shell & Ethernet port either! Christmas present, maybe?

 

[qfwfq]

I can verify that one as far as the Spotter goes. Tried it to test the temp sensor with one of those that I have. Doesn't work well in my fridge. Actually it's kind of shaky outside of the fridge too but even less well inside.

Do have to give them a little bit of credit. At some point they seemed to have updated something relative to the Spotters and they do seem to work much better since. It was pretty much completely worthless when I first got it.

Yes, but those open/close sensors likely aren't INSIDE the freezer. I want to monitor the temperature inside of a freezer and an open/close won't help me do that without modifications like what I've discussed and would likely have battery issues. The connectivity issues are harder to say for sure, as I have seen people put Spotters in the freezer and while the battery life was awful, they did connect. I'm honestly quite shocked that NO ONE - not a single company I'm aware of - has thought to make a sensor with an external temperature probe. It is such an obvious need and I can't believe I'm the only person wanting something like that. I mean, you have things like z-wave water valves and no one thought about a device with an external thermal probe?

I currently have a digital temperature display with a long thermal probe and I decided to put the probe in my refrigerator because I was concerned with the seal integrity. Works fine and the refrigerator stays at 35-36 degree. Obviously isn't reporting to a smart hub, but I was more interested in testing the seal of the door around the probe.

Just to report back, I installed the ST open/close sensor in the freezer and connected it to the ST2 hub. The hub is across the house with the garage walls in between and no other device as repeater. The open/close notification is nearly immediate with hardly any lag. The temperature sensor has some lag, but eventually, it will report the correct temperature. Battery, as found out by Indy, dropped quickly to 77%. Now it's been there for some time. Hopefully it doesn't drain too fast.
The Aeron metering switch also paired with the ST2 hub very easily and it's working fine, both switch and meter.

For the time being I am pretty satisfied with the setup I have for the freezer with the ST2 hub.

Anybody wants to buy a nearly new wink hub?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Just to report back, I installed the ST open/close sensor in the freezer and connected it to the ST2 hub. The hub is across the house with the garage walls in between and no other device as repeater. The open/close notification is nearly immediate with hardly any lag. The temperature sensor has some lag, but eventually, it will report the correct temperature. Battery, as found out by Indy, dropped quickly to 77%. Now it's been there for some time. Hopefully it doesn't drain too fast.
The Aeron metering switch also paired with the ST2 hub very easily and it's working fine, both switch and meter.

For the time being I am pretty satisfied with the setup I have for the freezer with the ST2 hub.

Anybody wants to buy a nearly new wink hub?

Yeah, the battery in my refrigerator sensor quickly dropped to 77 and then dropped to 66. It stayed at 66 for a few of days and dropped to 55 a couple of days ago. Of course, I am using the ST motion sensor and not the contact sensor so that may also play into it. If accurate, I'm guessing maybe 1 month of battery life which kind of sucks. I'm guessing that maybe being in the refrigerator means a weak signal and it is having to rebroadcast a lot. I ordered a GE Link Hub and am hoping I can pair that with ST and use it as a repeater and place it in the kitchen next to the refrigerator. I may end up trying one of my new Iris contact sensors in the refrigerator for temp measurements and see if I have better luck with the battery.

Also, I have a question regarding GE Link bulbs. Do they function as full-fledged repeaters or only as bulb repeaters (ZLL, if I remember the acronym right)? The reason I ask is that I saw an older thread at ST that claimed they only repeated the Zigbee lighting network and not Zigbee HA. However, I was having problems with my Trippers and dropped a GE bulb between them and the hub and the problems seemed to vanish.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

3. Will be adding a MyQ at some point. Hope my Wifi reaches! It's not a parking garage (detached shop/storage) but the convenience would be nice, especially on cold days.

I'm starting to lean towards MyQ as well, but I need to replace my garage doors and may use that opportunity to get the Chamberlain openers with MyQ built-in.

5. Haven't really figured out home theater automation yet. Pretty much I just have a Roku on all of my screens, so everything is actually pretty straightforward. I keep almost buying a Harmony hub with a dumb remote & smartphone backup app, but...eh. I have a small LED projector for the basement theater with a Sony 5.1 receiver, so it's not overly complex to operate. Just use the TV sound upstairs at this point too. I kinda wish there was more tech, but it's also nice to have it low-maintenance for my family. Turn on the projector & receiver, then use the Roku remote for video apps & Lutron for the lights. Easy enough. I still think what this area could use is a combo RF/IR blaster that has a Tivo peanut-style remote with programmable buttons. I really miss my old Tivo remote where all of the buttons had different shapes & could be used in the dark. Is that too much to ask, home theater manufacturers??

Woot had the refurbed Logitech Smart Control package (hub and basic remote) for $60 last week or the week before and I bought it. I had always wanted to play with one and have been long considering how to replace my existing Harmony 880s, as their buttons are dying and the oldest is almost 12 years old.

It is really cool and I like being able to use tablets/phones as remotes in addition to the basic remote and my trusty Logitech 880s (though we're not using the basic remote yet, as I need to think a little more on how I want it configured). If I sell the wife on this one, I might go ahead and buy another hub for our bedroom and another hub for my office and then I could flip between them in my Harmony app on my tablet.

It also apparently has 2-way integration with ST (ST can control the hub activities and the hub/remote can control ST devices) but I haven't tried it yet. Not sure I see a real need yet other than perhaps when I'm on vacation and perhaps having the TV come on at random times to simulate someone being home. No idea what the level of integration with Wink is.

6. Haven't really decided on whole-house audio either. Still hoping Sonos will integrate Airplay! My buddy's Amazon Echo actually sounds surprisingly great as a kitchen stereo...wouldn't be bad to have one in each room. I built some great little cube speakers with 3" full-range drivers & I'm going to be testing out a custom 8" in-ceiling subwoofer when I get some free time over Thanksgiving, so I may just go that route for every room, along with an Airport Express, TA2020+ stereo amp, and sub plate amp. That gives really enjoyable sound. The problem is I'm not really one to just sit & listen to music, I like the idea of it more than actually using it, which is why I haven't made much progress on it yet. Plus, the AE lacks Sonos' sync capabilities, which conflicts with my goals of being able to blast Airplay out to one or more speaker sets, and have someone else in the house do the same to the speaker(s) they want. No perfect solution yet!

I'm in the same boat. I have a Yamaha RX-A850 that can function as an Airplay speaker and is pretty centrally located in the house, so this isn't a high priority for me yet but might be something I tackle late next year.

Other than that, pretty much just hoping for local support as always. Wouldn't mind buying a Wink 2.0 upgrade with a black shell & Ethernet port either! Christmas present, maybe?

Good luck with that. I think you'd really like ST to be honest. The frustrating thing is that while ST does support more products, Wink seems to support a couple that I want/need far better - Lutron (NO support on ST yet) and Nest (only community support). I'm looking at the Ecobee 3 thermostat and not sure where ST is on support for that; need to research.

 

[Kaido]

I'm starting to lean towards MyQ as well, but I need to replace my garage doors and may use that opportunity to get the Chamberlain openers with MyQ built-in.



Woot had the refurbed Logitech Smart Control package (hub and basic remote) for $60 last week or the week before and I bought it. I had always wanted to play with one and have been long considering how to replace my existing Harmony 880s, as their buttons are dying and the oldest is almost 12 years old.

It is really cool and I like being able to use tablets/phones as remotes in addition to the basic remote and my trusty Logitech 880s (though we're not using the basic remote yet, as I need to think a little more on how I want it configured). If I sell the wife on this one, I might go ahead and buy another hub for our bedroom and another hub for my office and then I could flip between them in my Harmony app on my tablet.

It also apparently has 2-way integration with ST (ST can control the hub activities and the hub/remote can control ST devices) but I haven't tried it yet. Not sure I see a real need yet other than perhaps when I'm on vacation and perhaps having the TV come on at random times to simulate someone being home. No idea what the level of integration with Wink is.



I'm in the same boat. I have a Yamaha RX-A850 that can function as an Airplay speaker and is pretty centrally located in the house, so this isn't a high priority for me yet but might be something I tackle late next year.



Good luck with that. I think you'd really like ST to be honest. The frustrating thing is that while ST does support more products, Wink seems to support a couple that I want/need far better - Lutron (NO support on ST yet) and Nest (only community support). I'm looking at the Ecobee 3 thermostat and not sure where ST is on support for that; need to research.

Yeah, I have an 880 and I think an older 680, but my family gets kind of frustrated with them. We've downsized to just the Roku (simple remote with no pointable IR, yay)...don't even have the Bluray hooked up anymore. Ideally a Harmony smart hub plus a programmable Tivo remote with RF communication would be the best system, especially if they could tie in commands to Wink via Zigbee or something. Hmm, Kickstarter project time? Hehehe.

As far as audio goes, the new Chromecast Audio looks really promising:

http://www.engadget.com/2015/09/29/google-chromecast-audio/

I might pick one up today from Best Buy on my way home to play with.

 

[RodolfoDLV]

Good luck with that. I think you'd really like ST to be honest. The frustrating thing is that while ST does support more products, Wink seems to support a couple that I want/need far better - Lutron (NO support on ST yet) and Nest (only community support). I'm looking at the Ecobee 3 thermostat and not sure where ST is on support for that; need to research.

Have you tried either the ST community Nest support or connecting it through IFTTT? Curious in case I need to jump ship.

 

[dennisj00]

3. Will be adding a MyQ at some point. Hope my Wifi reaches! It's not a parking garage (detached shop/storage) but the convenience would be nice, especially on cold days.

The MyQ that I have doesn't have to be near the garage but it is also wired Ethernet. I'd assume it has the RF range of a manual opener.

It's currently in the basement on a switch. Opener is on opposite end of house at ground level.

I also have a TP-link G repeater ($20) that I plug in to the deck to punch my wifi to detached shop.

 

[Mike A.]

Got my Honeywell Wifi Thermostat installed. Snagged it for $165 on Amazon...

5. Not planning on hooking it into my Wink system. It has it's own app, and I constantly see the Honeywell tie-in go down on Wink's site. I don't know if Honeywell itself goes down constantly or not, and I don't know if the Wifi app can talk directly to it over the network or if it's a completely cloud-based solution like Wink is too, but eh, I'll keep them separate. I haven't hooked up my webcams either (partially out of security concerns), and don't plan on hooking in my upcoming Chamberlain MyQ garage door system either.

I've had one of those for a while now and I've been pretty happy with it. They don't have some of the gee-whiz features of the Nest and ecobee but as a functional thermostat it works well. I replaced a first generation Nest with it and it works better in my case. Some of the features of the Nest got in its own way more than anything else. Coming from an old world thermostat I'm sure that you'll like it. Remote control is great and they make programming things much, much easier vs trying to do it on the unit itself.

The Honeywell interface is nicer and works better than that in Wink. I've also seen the frequent problem status messages but haven't noticed problems. Though I don't really use the Wink side much. They're independent as far as operations so functions of the thermostat are unaffected. Wink just happens to provide an interface to it. I don't recall the Honeywell side ever going down unless it was some issue with connectivity on my end (network down, power out). The only reason to use the Wink integration really is if you wanted to build in some automation beyond scheduling like geo-fencing. I work from home so I don't have a good use-case for any of that.

 

[Mike A.]

In other news, there's a new Hue 2.0 hub which now supports Homekit/Siri and will do more than the Hue lighting:

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015...-works-with-homekit-lets-siri-control-lights/

Along those lines I think that time is quickly running out for Wink. The deep pockets of those like Samsung, Philips, Nest/Google, Apple, etc., are going to be very hard to compete with as things move forward from here and in the directions that they're going. I'm going to hang on to Wink for a while but that's mostly just waiting for things to shake out a little more otherwise.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Have you tried either the ST community Nest support or connecting it through IFTTT? Curious in case I need to jump ship.

I haven't bought a Nest yet. Still debating.

 

[Aikouka]

For what it's worth, I have 5 Protects. 3 bedrooms, hallway, and a den. All 2nd gen. No issues here with mist or anything.

I had it warn me this weekend too, and that was with the exhaust fan running in the bathroom. Essentially, I have to keep my door bathroom door closed (note: it's only me, so I don't care whether it's opened or closed) to avoid the mist from setting it off. I do have a Panasonic WhisperQuiet sitting around that I haven't installed in my other bathroom yet. It's a bit easier to retrofit a unit into an existing location, so I might see if the problem is just an exhaust fan that isn't powerful enough to pull the mist out.

Other than that, pretty much just hoping for local support as always. Wouldn't mind buying a Wink 2.0 upgrade with a black shell & Ethernet port either! Christmas present, maybe?

That's what I'd like to see too! Do you think that there's almost too much of a push for everything to be wireless regardless of limitations?

I'm starting to lean towards MyQ as well, but I need to replace my garage doors and may use that opportunity to get the Chamberlain openers with MyQ built-in.

That's what I have and it works pretty well. The only downside is that it isn't very cheap. At least from what I saw, the only one with MyQ built in is the one that is exclusive to Home Depot. It's the battery back-up model that sells for about $270, so it's definitely an investment. You also need to keep in mind that if you use HomeLink, the newer garage door openers may not work with your car's HomeLink as it requires the newer version that's mostly used on cars 2012-ish and beyond. You can use it with an older HomeLink, but you'll need an adapter.

EDIT:

Along those lines I think that time is quickly running out for Wink. The deep pockets of those like Samsung, Philips, Nest/Google, Apple, etc., are going to be very hard to compete with as things move forward from here and in the directions that they're going. I'm going to hang on to Wink for a while but that's mostly just waiting for things to shake out a little more otherwise.

At least in the case of HomeKit, you have to keep in mind that it isn't really the same as Wink or SmartThings. The latter is really designed as a local and remote home automation system, but HomeKit is more-or-less a local-only system that still requires remote functionality for Siri integration. To give you an idea, if I even want to mess with any of my Lutron settings, I have to be on my home WiFi. Now, I can mess with stuff in the Lutron app regardless of where I am.

 

[Mike A.]

At least in the case of HomeKit, you have to keep in mind that it isn't really the same as Wink or SmartThings. The latter is really designed as a local and remote home automation system, but HomeKit is more-or-less a local-only system that still requires remote functionality for Siri integration. To give you an idea, if I even want to mess with any of my Lutron settings, I have to be on my home WiFi. Now, I can mess with stuff in the Lutron app regardless of where I am.

Yep, understand. But the overall direction that things are going is toward an integrated system built around Homekit/Thread/Weave and similar frameworks on the front end at least. Remote operation is/will be provided in various forms. Hobbyist-types may still go the ST, Vera, OpenHab, etc.-type route but as off-the-shelf consumer-type products against Wink's main target market it's going to shift more toward hubs like the Hue, Apple TV, Nest, etc., from bigger name players which will provide that same functionality and more in some other directions. Not that Wink couldn't provide Homekit/Thread support, but I don't see that they are and they're now up against the big boys. It becomes much harder to get any consumer attention. On the other side, Wink doesn't get a lot of love from more dedicated hobbyists either. A year ago they had a much better chance to capture some share in both markets.

 

[MjnMixael]

I think you are putting more stock in Homekit & Weave than they deserve. As is, they do not look like a threat to current HA systems, but something to use in tandem.

People complain that they don't have enough fine-tune control with Wink. Nest's Weave is even worse because they insist that everything should be automatic. But when it doesn't work (because yeah, it won't always work.), you're SOL to figure out why. I love my Nest products. I'm very underwhelmed by Weave and it makes me think more of this XKCD than what I could do with it.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I think you are putting more stock in Homekit & Weave than they deserve. As is, they do not look like a threat to current HA systems, but something to use in tandem.

People complain that they don't have enough fine-tune control with Wink. Nest's Weave is even worse because they insist that everything should be automatic. But when it doesn't work (because yeah, it won't always work.), you're SOL to figure out why. I love my Nest products. I'm very underwhelmed by Weave and it makes me think more of this XKCD than what I could do with it.

I personally think Wink, ST, Vera, and others will eventually fall by the wayside and it will come down to what it usually does these days - Apple vs. Google. Zwave and Zigbee devices will still be supported but I just can't see Wink OR ST doing well once HA hits critical mass and Apple and Google are just the ones to do it.

With that being said, I HOPE something like ST survives for the nerdier hobbyists among us. I agree with Mike in that Wink is in the space that Google and Apple will invade whereas ST is in a little different space, though I do think Samsung wants them in the same space as Apple and Google.

Your average John and Jane Doe will NEVER go for the current offerings - they're confusing and can be tricky. If something says it supports Zwave or Zigbee, the average person assumes they can go buy any Zwave or Zigbee sensor/device and it will work but boy oh boy, are they in for a not-so-pleasant surprise in many cases. That's why Wink desperately needs to do what SmartThings is doing with regard to custom device types - they can effectively get free development resources from their passionate community and then roll those out as part of future updates.

 

[MjnMixael]

I personally think Wink, ST, Vera, and others will eventually fall by the wayside and it will come down to what it usually does these days - Apple vs. Google. Zwave and Zigbee devices will still be supported but I just can't see Wink OR ST doing well once HA hits critical mass and Apple and Google are just the ones to do it.

Oh I agree with this. But Homekit and Weave are disappointing attempts at "HA".

 

[Fsant]

Just tunning in. I have been using SmartThings for the past year and was with Vera before that. I came back to Wink after trying it when they were new last year which I dropped since they did not support too many of my Zwave devices. Anyway I came back to give Wink another try as they now support more devices and especially like their app and how they work with Nest Thermostat and protect which I have and how they work with my schlage lock and MyQ garage. These are things SmartThings still do not really have down yet. However what puzzles me is how SmartThings hub reacts almost instantly and so much more reliable than Wink even a year later when they both use cloud integration to operate. And the Wink has such a long delay with robots lighting the dark areas that it's practically useless. I was wondering if I may have a defective hub or something. Does anyone here have same issue or does most of your hubs respond faster than 15 seconds after sending a command? Appreciate any feedback. Thanks and sorry don't mean to hijack this conversation.