The Wink home automation thread

[Wink22]

My Wink with Google Now was working ..
Now when i say my command to Google, it just googles it.

"Activate Sleep Mode on Wink" i would say
"Sleep Mode Activated" is the response i would get. and the trigger would be activated.

Now, i just get a google result

Did i switch off a setting..?!
Or are other having this issue?

Thanks

 

[majunee]

My Wink with Google Now was working ..
Now when i say my command to Google, it just googles it.

"Activate Sleep Mode on Wink" i would say
"Sleep Mode Activated" is the response i would get. and the trigger would be activated.

Now, i just get a google result

Did i switch off a setting..?!
Or are other having this issue?

Thanks

I have same issue today. If you figure it out please let us know. Thanx

 

[Wink22]

Looks like its working.
I did nothing. No setting changes or anything..
Just started working again yesterday.

This forum is a ghost town..

 

[IndyColtsFan]

This forum is a ghost town..

I can't remember the last time this thread wasn't on the first page of the Mobile Devices forum, but I had to go looking for it to see what was up. Kaido deserves serious props for this thread and being a Wink (and Smart Home) advocate.

But, the thread being dead reflects the state of Wink - nothing new, nothing exciting, and nothing to talk about. When you have a walled-off ecosystem and no new meaningful products have been added in months, no roadmaps have been announced or released, and the spokeswoman kept saying "exciting things are around the corner!" and nothing ever happens, it kills your community. Several of us begged and pleaded with them to release some sort of plan but it fell on deaf ears. To compound all of this, their recent Spotter stance is sure to alienate more of their community. The last several weeks of seen a ton of Wink folks join the ST group on Facebook as well.

I like Wink as a product, but gross mismanagement has killed it IMO. If you want a cheap hub to play with, grab a SmartThings hub - they're on sale for $80 right now. I'm still wanting to look into VeraPlus, but I heard there are some Zigbee issues with it now so I'm waiting for the dust to settle.

 

[pmark]

If Wink is dead then what is the next best option? Is it really SmartThings? Will getting SmartThings lock myself into their ecosystem?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

If Wink is dead then what is the next best option? Is it really SmartThings? Will getting SmartThings lock myself into their ecosystem?

I can't say it is the best replacement, but I can say that it is rapidly improving and has been solid for me. SmartThings is an open system, meaning it supports just about anything with Zigbee and Zwave as long as the device handlers exist. The community is extremely active and generally have device handlers ready for new products within a few days of release. It is also 20% off at this time and if you're like me, a relatively inexpensive new toy to play with.

I'm not sure Wink is dead, but it is on critical life support at this time and they're doing it to themselves. The platform itself has been solid for me and I don't have issues with it. The issues I've always had have been because of the mismanagement of the platform. It is also a closed platform and that hinders its growth and with no roadmaps or any major updates recently, you have to wonder how long they can remain silent without doing irreparable damage to their brand. As a matter-of-fact, I asked their spokeswoman - again - for a roadmap today, just to be told that she doesn't have one she can show us.

 

[Wink22]

I can't say it is the best replacement, but I can say that it is rapidly improving and has been solid for me. SmartThings is an open system, meaning it supports just about anything with Zigbee and Zwave as long as the device handlers exist. The community is extremely active and generally have device handlers ready for new products within a few days of release. It is also 20% off at this time and if you're like me, a relatively inexpensive new toy to play with.

I'm not sure Wink is dead, but it is on critical life support at this time and they're doing it to themselves. The platform itself has been solid for me and I don't have issues with it. The issues I've always had have been because of the mismanagement of the platform. It is also a closed platform and that hinders its growth and with no roadmaps or any major updates recently, you have to wonder how long they can remain silent without doing irreparable damage to their brand. As a matter-of-fact, I asked their spokeswoman - again - for a roadmap today, just to be told that she doesn't have one she can show us.

So ridiculous that nothing have surfaced in months . ( I've had wink for about 4months )

I will say it's solid for me.
Except the temp keeps changing from Celsius to Fahrenheit ..
And the humidity gage on the Relay is off by about 15-20%

The GE link bulbs are on clearance at home depot Ottawa Canada.
Not sure if this a good thing or bad sign ..

 

[IndyColtsFan]

So ridiculous that nothing have surfaced in months . ( I've had wink for about 4months )

I will say it's solid for me.
Except the temp keeps changing from Celsius to Fahrenheit ..
And the humidity gage on the Relay is off by about 15-20%

The GE link bulbs are on clearance at home depot Ottawa Canada.
Not sure if this a good thing or bad sign ..

No roadmap, no meaningful updates in months, discontinuing support for products like Spotter - I'm sorry, but how are these guys making any money at all?

 

[jlslate]

How is SmartThings making money?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

How is SmartThings making money?

You can actually buy their products. Plus they have Samsung's backing.

Wink? If you're lucky, you might find a hub at Home Depot.

 

[MjnMixael]

You can actually buy their products. Plus they have Samsung's backing.

Wink? If you're lucky, you might find a hub at Home Depot.

So it's likely that Smartthings isn't making much money either. If it weren't for Samsung's pockets, they'd be in a similar spot as Wink may be in.

Interestingly, both my local Home Depots still stock Hubs and Relays (and Smartthings).

 

[IndyColtsFan]

So it's likely that Smartthings isn't making much money either. If it weren't for Samsung's pockets, they'd be in a similar spot as Wink may be in.

But I thought Flextronics had deep pockets too - what's taking them so long to say something?

At any rate, SmartThings isn't the one attempting to emerge from bankruptcy either. ST also makes several accessories and sensors that they sell as well. But let's be honest here - you tell me which company looks in trouble:

1. Company A: Communicates constantly with end user community, including weekly updates from the CEO about platform status and update plans. Several firmware revisions have been pushed out in the last few months (including 2 this month alone).

2. Company B: Hasn't communicated plans with the community for months. Hasn't issued a firmware update in months. Hasn't added any meaningful new device support in months. Spokeswoman appears in major support venues (like the Facebook group) and when asked about future plans, used to refuse to give specifics about plans other than repeating "exciting things are around the corner!" At one point, even she stops with the "exciting things are around the corner!" spiel.

Interestingly, both my local Home Depots still stock Hubs and Relays (and Smartthings).

I don't believe I've ever actually seen a Relay in the store and have only seen 1 or 2 Wink hubs recently. At the usual price, Relay was way overpriced IMO. I'd consider one for some of the clearance prices I've seen though. By the way, how's that intercom feature coming along?

At any rate, I can't stress this enough - Wink MUST say something soon and release a roadmap. You're a beta tester and I hope you are relaying this to them - I know we have told their spokeswoman REPEATEDLY that they are doing irreparable damage to themselves by not saying something. They need to energize the community and get them excited again. People don't have unlimited patience and with ongoing sales, ST is about the same prices as the new Wink prices and has a ton of potential and device support.

 

[MjnMixael]

Meh. I see a side of the company you don't see. But I can't say anything about it.. which I completely understand will frustrate you more because it's essentially the same as saying "exciting things are around the corner!".

All I can say is that I'm not terribly worried about Wink right now. (Or Smartthings for that matter). I'm more interested in where the smarthome industry is headed as a whole. (See: every company keeps creating new standard to be universal.. except that's now how that works, sorry Google & Apple.)

 

[Mike A.]

Meh. I see a side of the company you don't see. But I can't say anything about it.. which I completely understand will frustrate you more because it's essentially the same as saying "exciting things are around the corner!".

All I can say is that I'm not terribly worried about Wink right now. (Or Smartthings for that matter). I'm more interested in where the smarthome industry is headed as a whole. (See: every company keeps creating new standard to be universal.. except that's now how that works, sorry Google & Apple.)

Yeah on the beta side I guess we see more activity.

I'd have to agree though that overall progress is incremental at best and Indy's criticisms re where this train is headed are valid. I've been kind of disappointed from the start with how not open they've been on the development side, new device support, through future plans, to simple things like just having a forum of their own. Even on the beta forum every time that I've posted something related to a feature request or asking when/if something might be implemented, they delete it. lol I gave up trying. Seems like all that they want are bug reports. No idea who's in charge of marketing for this thing but whoever it is should be fired.

All that said, it's been running very well lately for me. No problems to whine about and I have most all of what I want to have working so I'm in hold mode for now. Though they do a much better job communicating and as far as device support, overall ST hasn't really wow'ed me. I've been down the Vera and openHAB roads and neither really are what I want. The former feels like the old X10 system that I used to run and I don't need another hobby with the latter. So I guess I'll just chill for a while and as you say see how things play out at the larger level...

 

[Rene F]

I have a similar setup which is right now controlled by a linear zwave switch that turns off light and fan together. I was doing research and I think best option would be to install the Aeon Labs dual relay module in the fan so you can control the fan and lights individually. For local control I would add two zwave aux switches on the wall to control the fan and light separately. I'm not sure if there is any cheaper option besides running a new wire in the wall to your fan. This will cost around $40 for relay and then $20 for each switch. If anyone has better ideas please let me know too. Thanx

I have been using HA since 1996, back when X10 was the hottest thing going. Back then, I used X10 extensively to retrofit older houses, particularly when I needed two-way or three-way control. And I will 100% agree that the best solution is to use inline relay(s), backed up by wall switches if possible, which is so much better than constantly hunting down your phone to turn things on and off. (Think about racing into the kids' rooms late at night in an emergency...) If you currently have a single switch that does something, you can either replace it with an expensive Relay, or get a standard double or triple toggle switch and use one of the zwave dongles that fit in the electrical boxes and use the old-school switches.

 

[Rene F]

Any news on Wink being able to work with wall-mounted or handheld multi button controllers like the GE ZW5301? These are tremendously useful in HA, and in fact have historically been a major motivator for my willingness to devote countless hours and energy to fighting the hub wars. I have an old 4-button X10 switch in my kitchen that replaced a single switch to a single light, allowing me to split the power in the ceiling and install two separate light sources, all controlled from buttons one and two at the wall. Buttons three and four toggle over-cabinet lighting and an outside security light. Near my pool I have an Insteon 4 button switch that controls the pool pump and polaris cleaner, lights for my seating area, the pool light, a mister system and a water cannon that can automatically refill the pool if it gets too low. My pool guy loved having the button because it saves him extra trips down the hill to my pump room. The problem is, now I have three independent systems that can't talk to one another. Is there an approved button for Wink or an easy and lag-free work-around?

 

[Wink22]

I don't believe I've ever actually seen a Relay in the store and have only seen 1 or 2 Wink hubs recently. At the usual price, Relay was way overpriced IMO. I'd consider one for some of the clearance prices I've seen though. By the way, how's that intercom feature coming along?.

They don't display the Relay I've noticed. I looked online and it said 2 in stock but it was nowhere to be found. Untill I asked ..
I got taken to the front of the store to a cahed cabinet with all the cool toys ! Relays, hubs, thermostats.. Etc.

They probably keep it in that cabinet for safety.
They have a wink station at my local home depot but half the stuff it supports isn't there . like the lutron in wall switched are in another isle , light bulbs are in another isle. Pretty stupid IMO. They should have everything compatible with it all together to show the buyer it's potential.

Has anyone used the ifttt channel with small things talking with wink .
Wondering how that would work.
Ifttt only used shortcuts . so you would have to make a shortcut on the app. Then go to ifttt and point the smart things ifttt to a wink shortcut.
Wondering how the SmartThings ifttt work and it's it's good..

 

[IndyColtsFan]

They don't display the Relay I've noticed. I looked online and it said 2 in stock but it was nowhere to be found. Untill I asked ..
I got taken to the front of the store to a cahed cabinet with all the cool toys ! Relays, hubs, thermostats.. Etc.

They probably keep it in that cabinet for safety.
They have a wink station at my local home depot but half the stuff it supports isn't there . like the lutron in wall switched are in another isle , light bulbs are in another isle. Pretty stupid IMO. They should have everything compatible with it all together to show the buyer it's potential.

Has anyone used the ifttt channel with small things talking with wink .
Wondering how that would work.
Ifttt only used shortcuts . so you would have to make a shortcut on the app. Then go to ifttt and point the smart things ifttt to a wink shortcut.
Wondering how the SmartThings ifttt work and it's it's good..

I don't really use IFTTT for anything except SMS alerts at this stage. In general, it worked OK for me but sometimes the delays were just way too much. In terms of Wink, I think I was using IFTTT to launch some of my Wink shortcuts where I preset various colors on my Hue bulbs, but I was seeing some strange issues and haven't revisited it.

Before alerts, I did use it to control my Logitech Harmony hubs via Amazon Echo, but SmartThings integrates with Harmony so now I use that with Echo and it works very well. Harmony itself has some shortcomings and I'd like to see Amazon and Logitech work together on fixing some of those. For example, I would love to say "Alexa, turn TV to channel 100" and have the TV change channel WITHOUT having to create a Harmony activity for each channel.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Guys, if you haven't heard, Home Depot is clearing out the Go Control kits on a fire sale. The premium kit (siren, 3 open/close, and 1 motion) is $25 and the standard kit (1 motion, 2 open/close) is $13. These are Linear devices and work with Wink and SmartThings. I picked up one of each yesterday but may go get a few more, as the open/close sensors are like (maybe even the same as) the Monoprice ones, meaning they have terminals for external connections and you can therefore use them as cheap water sensors or many other things. I have 3 of the Monoprice versions being used as water sensors and it was a very easy mod.

The main issue is that if your HD has them, they may be hard to find - my HD had them stashed in the smoke alarm aisle and not in the clearance aisle.

 

[lsd]

Guys, if you haven't heard, Home Depot is clearing out the Go Control kits on a fire sale. The premium kit (siren, 3 open/close, and 1 motion) is $25 and the standard kit (1 motion, 2 open/close) is $13. These are Linear devices and work with Wink and SmartThings. I picked up one of each yesterday but may go get a few more, as the open/close sensors are like (maybe even the same as) the Monoprice ones, meaning they have terminals for external connections and you can therefore use them as cheap water sensors or many other things. I have 3 of the Monoprice versions being used as water sensors and it was a very easy mod.

The main issue is that if your HD has them, they may be hard to find - my HD had them stashed in the smoke alarm aisle and not in the clearance aisle.

Sssshhhhhhh! lol
I was able to pick up 4 sets of the standard kit on clearance at my HD. They were stashed away in an aisle no one would check.
These do seem to be the same as the monoprice sensors and they have been reliable for me (on smartthings system of course).

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Sssshhhhhhh! lol
I was able to pick up 4 sets of the standard kit on clearance at my HD. They were stashed away in an aisle no one would check.
These do seem to be the same as the monoprice sensors and they have been reliable for me (on smartthings system of course).

I think I may sell the siren and motion sensors - I don't think I really need them and would prefer the Aeon siren for my alarm.

 

[MjnMixael]

Wink posted to Twitter today.

Relay 2.6: Microphone feature enabled, refreshed clock and weather widgets

Wink App Update (4.6): Rachio Gen 2, Locally Controlled Locks, other geeky engineering stuff to control speed and reliability.

Hub 2.66: FW update for leakSMART, FW update for Osram Lightify RGBW bulbs, improvements on Hub functionality & reliability.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

They were also selling a 2-pack of Relays for $149 - not sure if the sale is still going or not.

When is 2.66 being pushed?

 

[Wink22]

The Relay was updated.
Some new features like intercom and customization for the Lock screen.

Not impressed to be honest.
Again, its a such a basic device with potential to be fully customizable.
You cant use the intercom system without multiple Relays.

 

[jlslate]

You cant use the intercom system without multiple Relays.

Oh really, Captain Obvious?