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WINK HUB 2 $79 - Home Automation Device

  • Last Updated:
  • Jun 26th, 2018 6:10 pm
Deal Addict
Jan 26, 2018
1173 posts
759 upvotes
hystavito wrote: Oh so that does work, using this with Home Assistant but only to handle zigbee devices, that's exactly what I wanted to do with it.

Any issues, annoyances to look out for?
actually I still use ST to control all my zigbee and z-wave devices.
and just started to add device to home assistant, all of my bulbs are zigbee and haven't found any problem

still try to have a better understanding of .yaml and make things more smarter.
Member
Nov 22, 2012
289 posts
113 upvotes
montreal
inmeant one phone with easy access to shorcuts to fire some actions
Sr. Member
Apr 4, 2018
777 posts
194 upvotes
Anyone? Wink app - they require you to agree to ALL conditions - they can collect any personal data on you and send it to their servers & partners, they can collect personal data from your devices, they can send you any marketing they want

WTF. Is there any way around this? I assume they want us to pay for the privilege of them collecting and selling data.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Mar 23, 2008
13006 posts
10009 upvotes
Edmonton
mountaintree wrote: Anyone? Wink app - they require you to agree to ALL conditions - they can collect any personal data on you and send it to their servers & partners, they can collect personal data from your devices, they can send you any marketing they want

WTF. Is there any way around this? I assume they want us to pay for the privilege of them collecting and selling data.
Bundle it back up, and return it. It's either agree or don't.

C
Deal Guru
Mar 5, 2007
10213 posts
11272 upvotes
FWIW, I'm returning mine.

Before I start my rant, please accept I'm not singling out Wink here, my experience is limited to Wink, but most of what I'm about to describe would go with any hub.

RANT ON:
I've been avoiding most of the "smart home" type of stuff until now, mostly because it's been such a minefield and I'm past the point of fiddling with this kind of stuff. This device doesn't work with that, this software doesn't do this, but another does, just a mess. I have invested in some WiFi light switches (TP-Link) and they've been working amazingly.

My experience with those switches let me to conclude that things had improved; that something like a Wink hub would improve things. It supports all the major smarthome protocols, at least at first glance.

After MUCH research I discovered that while on paper things look good, in the real world it's still a mine field. If you're going to stick to the EXACT devices listed as compatible I'm sure it'll work great. But the moment you leave that garden it gets... messy.

In my case, something simple: I wanted a temp/humidity sensor.

First protocol: the hub supports Zigbee, except when it doesn't. Lots of Zigbee devices that do their own thing that isn't supported, turns out you have to find a Zigbee device that supports some specific protocol, so, that's off the table (most devices I found used some propriety protocol on top of Zigbee that wasn't compatible).

Zwave, that's a certified standard right? 2 devices speaking Zwave are guaranteed to connect to each other, right? Right. So, I found a Zwave based device (by monoprice) and ordered it. Get it home, and after a little confusion (monoprice doesn't tell you the extremely tiny hole on the side is how you press the program button...) I had it connected to the Wink hub. The result? Temp and humidity work, luminance and motion don't. Check online, turns out that while ZWave certification guarantees it'll connect, it says nothing about the features actually working. In this case searching shows others with the same problem, and no solution (other then using a different hub). On top of that? The Wink software is very limited, I was expecting widgets I could put on the home screen to display the temp, or something like that. Nope. What about logging of temp? Nope. Only thing available is alerts when it goes above or below a setting.

What a mess!? On a lark I searched for a WiFi temp/humidity sensor, and that exposed the other issue with smarthome stuff: price.

Zwave and zigbee are supposed to be lower power then a wifi solution, which they are, and they're supposed to be cheaper, which they are most certainly NOT. For the same price as most zwave light switches I could have gotten 2 of the wifi switches I bought. The wifi temp/humidity sensor is pretty much the same price as the zwave one I got. Will it use more power? Yup, but it doesn't need a stupid hub.

Searching more and more I realized that EVERY device I was interested in, that supported the "right" version of zigbee, or for zwave devices actually fully worked with the Wink hub the price was as much more MORE then a wifi solution (I was looking for flood sensors).

This smart home stuff is as much a mine field as it was years ago. While there has been a fantastic effort at making things better by companies like Wink there is still TONS of work to do. I'm very technically inclined, and I'm sure I could have resolved the issues I had. But I don't want to spend that time fiddling. Things should work, for a price that isn't insane.

I'm sure many/most here will know exactly where I went wrong, but the point is if the tech were in the right state for mass penetration there wouldn't be a wrong road, it would have just worked.

At the moment I'm considering just buying into a propriety system (the Xiaomi one) that has the devices I want for a reasonable price. Yes, it uses a hub, but it doesn't for one second claim to work with anything but their own devices, so be it.

RANT OFF
Deal Fanatic
Nov 26, 2008
7360 posts
5511 upvotes
All the reasons above are why I only have Phillips Hue bulbs, Nest Thermostat & Protects, a few Google Homes, Android TV, Chromecast, and a sound bar with Chromecast Audio.

I could get all the other devices and protocols working together and I would have taken the time to do so once upon a time, but now I'd rather pay more for something that works without much hassle.
Member
Apr 20, 2011
422 posts
72 upvotes
Toronto
i got wink hub 1 a year ago and installed ecosmart bulbs with it (Full RGB spectrum). 1 year down the road and now all of my bulbs flicker all the time, they no longer respond to my actions on cell phone app (wink app). Wink hub doesn't even recognize these bulbs anymore. not sure its an issue with wink or bulbs but i am super disappointed. if you guys have any tips, let me know.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Dec 18, 2002
3127 posts
320 upvotes
GTA
Does any one have a their Shlage lock showing on Google home via Wink hub? I called wink and they said Google home doesn't support locks via Wink yet.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Jan 6, 2004
8495 posts
2740 upvotes
Milton
repatch wrote: FWIW, I'm returning mine.

Before I start my rant, please accept I'm not singling out Wink here, my experience is limited to Wink, but most of what I'm about to describe would go with any hub.

RANT ON:
I've been avoiding most of the "smart home" type of stuff until now, mostly because it's been such a minefield and I'm past the point of fiddling with this kind of stuff. This device doesn't work with that, this software doesn't do this, but another does, just a mess. I have invested in some WiFi light switches (TP-Link) and they've been working amazingly.

My experience with those switches let me to conclude that things had improved; that something like a Wink hub would improve things. It supports all the major smarthome protocols, at least at first glance.

After MUCH research I discovered that while on paper things look good, in the real world it's still a mine field. If you're going to stick to the EXACT devices listed as compatible I'm sure it'll work great. But the moment you leave that garden it gets... messy.

In my case, something simple: I wanted a temp/humidity sensor.

First protocol: the hub supports Zigbee, except when it doesn't. Lots of Zigbee devices that do their own thing that isn't supported, turns out you have to find a Zigbee device that supports some specific protocol, so, that's off the table (most devices I found used some propriety protocol on top of Zigbee that wasn't compatible).

Zwave, that's a certified standard right? 2 devices speaking Zwave are guaranteed to connect to each other, right? Right. So, I found a Zwave based device (by monoprice) and ordered it. Get it home, and after a little confusion (monoprice doesn't tell you the extremely tiny hole on the side is how you press the program button...) I had it connected to the Wink hub. The result? Temp and humidity work, luminance and motion don't. Check online, turns out that while ZWave certification guarantees it'll connect, it says nothing about the features actually working. In this case searching shows others with the same problem, and no solution (other then using a different hub). On top of that? The Wink software is very limited, I was expecting widgets I could put on the home screen to display the temp, or something like that. Nope. What about logging of temp? Nope. Only thing available is alerts when it goes above or below a setting.

What a mess!? On a lark I searched for a WiFi temp/humidity sensor, and that exposed the other issue with smarthome stuff: price.

Zwave and zigbee are supposed to be lower power then a wifi solution, which they are, and they're supposed to be cheaper, which they are most certainly NOT. For the same price as most zwave light switches I could have gotten 2 of the wifi switches I bought. The wifi temp/humidity sensor is pretty much the same price as the zwave one I got. Will it use more power? Yup, but it doesn't need a stupid hub.

Searching more and more I realized that EVERY device I was interested in, that supported the "right" version of zigbee, or for zwave devices actually fully worked with the Wink hub the price was as much more MORE then a wifi solution (I was looking for flood sensors).

This smart home stuff is as much a mine field as it was years ago. While there has been a fantastic effort at making things better by companies like Wink there is still TONS of work to do. I'm very technically inclined, and I'm sure I could have resolved the issues I had. But I don't want to spend that time fiddling. Things should work, for a price that isn't insane.

I'm sure many/most here will know exactly where I went wrong, but the point is if the tech were in the right state for mass penetration there wouldn't be a wrong road, it would have just worked.

At the moment I'm considering just buying into a propriety system (the Xiaomi one) that has the devices I want for a reasonable price. Yes, it uses a hub, but it doesn't for one second claim to work with anything but their own devices, so be it.

RANT OFF
Sounds like user error. I've had the st2 for over a year and use over 25 devices including humidity sensors, water sensors, garage openers, locks etc. And can say I do not have any issues you raise....
Member
Apr 22, 2005
444 posts
252 upvotes
Maple
repatch wrote: FWIW, I'm returning mine.

Before I start my rant, please accept I'm not singling out Wink here, my experience is limited to Wink, but most of what I'm about to describe would go with any hub.

RANT ON:
I've been avoiding most of the "smart home" type of stuff until now, mostly because it's been such a minefield and I'm past the point of fiddling with this kind of stuff. This device doesn't work with that, this software doesn't do this, but another does, just a mess. I have invested in some WiFi light switches (TP-Link) and they've been working amazingly.

My experience with those switches let me to conclude that things had improved; that something like a Wink hub would improve things. It supports all the major smarthome protocols, at least at first glance.

After MUCH research I discovered that while on paper things look good, in the real world it's still a mine field. If you're going to stick to the EXACT devices listed as compatible I'm sure it'll work great. But the moment you leave that garden it gets... messy.

In my case, something simple: I wanted a temp/humidity sensor.

First protocol: the hub supports Zigbee, except when it doesn't. Lots of Zigbee devices that do their own thing that isn't supported, turns out you have to find a Zigbee device that supports some specific protocol, so, that's off the table (most devices I found used some propriety protocol on top of Zigbee that wasn't compatible).

Zwave, that's a certified standard right? 2 devices speaking Zwave are guaranteed to connect to each other, right? Right. So, I found a Zwave based device (by monoprice) and ordered it. Get it home, and after a little confusion (monoprice doesn't tell you the extremely tiny hole on the side is how you press the program button...) I had it connected to the Wink hub. The result? Temp and humidity work, luminance and motion don't. Check online, turns out that while ZWave certification guarantees it'll connect, it says nothing about the features actually working. In this case searching shows others with the same problem, and no solution (other then using a different hub). On top of that? The Wink software is very limited, I was expecting widgets I could put on the home screen to display the temp, or something like that. Nope. What about logging of temp? Nope. Only thing available is alerts when it goes above or below a setting.

What a mess!? On a lark I searched for a WiFi temp/humidity sensor, and that exposed the other issue with smarthome stuff: price.

Zwave and zigbee are supposed to be lower power then a wifi solution, which they are, and they're supposed to be cheaper, which they are most certainly NOT. For the same price as most zwave light switches I could have gotten 2 of the wifi switches I bought. The wifi temp/humidity sensor is pretty much the same price as the zwave one I got. Will it use more power? Yup, but it doesn't need a stupid hub.

Searching more and more I realized that EVERY device I was interested in, that supported the "right" version of zigbee, or for zwave devices actually fully worked with the Wink hub the price was as much more MORE then a wifi solution (I was looking for flood sensors).

This smart home stuff is as much a mine field as it was years ago. While there has been a fantastic effort at making things better by companies like Wink there is still TONS of work to do. I'm very technically inclined, and I'm sure I could have resolved the issues I had. But I don't want to spend that time fiddling. Things should work, for a price that isn't insane.

I'm sure many/most here will know exactly where I went wrong, but the point is if the tech were in the right state for mass penetration there wouldn't be a wrong road, it would have just worked.

At the moment I'm considering just buying into a propriety system (the Xiaomi one) that has the devices I want for a reasonable price. Yes, it uses a hub, but it doesn't for one second claim to work with anything but their own devices, so be it.

RANT OFF
Avenger wrote: Sounds like user error. I've had the st2 for over a year and use over 25 devices including humidity sensors, water sensors, garage openers, locks etc. And can say I do not have any issues you raise....
The compatibility issue could also be Wink specific. I have Smartthings and have no issues with compatibility on zigbee and zwave devices. However i do refer to ST forum for instructions and also load custom device handlers to unlock more features per device.
Deal Fanatic
Nov 26, 2008
7360 posts
5511 upvotes
Avenger wrote: Sounds like user error. I've had the st2 for over a year and use over 25 devices including humidity sensors, water sensors, garage openers, locks etc. And can say I do not have any issues you raise....
User error because you use a different device without issue?
Deal Guru
Mar 5, 2007
10213 posts
11272 upvotes
Avenger wrote: Sounds like user error. I've had the st2 for over a year and use over 25 devices including humidity sensors, water sensors, garage openers, locks etc. And can say I do not have any issues you raise....
I'm not denying that there is a possibility of user error, but in my case: what was the user error? The device I choose was a zwave device, and DOES connect to Wink. But according to user forums (why do I have to check user forums?) Wink doesn't support the motion sensing or luminescence sensor, it just doesn't work with Wink. So what's my user error? My user error is despite the marketing from zwave and from Wink, both being zwave devices isn't enough to ensure things work. You have to crawl with Google to find other people who have tried the combination.

Is that the way things should be? When I buy a car do I have to crawl the web to make sure the gas from Petro Canada works with my car? We're not talking anything special, I'm not trying to put a performance muffler system on my car, I just want the thing to drive. That's where we are with "smart home" devices.

As for your comment, yes, ST hubs seem to have MUCH better support out there, far more devices (including the device I bought) work with it, without issue. That said, have you gotten your foot wet in the Zigbee mess? Many Zigbee devices will not work with even an ST hub, and trying to find out which one? Good luck.

So is my user error that I bought the Wink hub instead of the ST hub? I bought the Camry, you bought the Accord, and yet the Camry won't drive on half the roads the Accord does (which in and of itself is only 25% of the roads out there)??

There was just a post from another individual who found out that the door lock they bought works with Wink, but not with Google Home through Wink, "locks aren't supported yet". What? You can't claim to support 2 things (google home and door locks) and yet not support those two things working together.

Perhaps the Wink hub is in a worse state then ST, again, my experience is limited to the Wink 2 hub. At the moment, this product is an alpha product IMHO, I don't think it's purely the fault of Wink, the whole industry has made a monster of a mess with this stuff. If they got their act together this Smart Home stuff would be selling like hot cakes, and they'd all be making a ton more money then they are. That's their fault.

Aside from all of this is price: the price of Zigbee and Zwave devices is FAR too high. I would expect prices lower then WiFi devices with similar features, it's the other way around.
Sr. Member
Feb 15, 2005
627 posts
282 upvotes
Calgary
Thanks. Just picked up in Marlborough Calgary. Lots in stock.
They also price matched the ecosmart bulbs.
Member
Aug 23, 2007
227 posts
86 upvotes
Montreal, Qc.
My Wink Hub 1 has performed very well since I got it over a year ago and I have everything I need on it: a generic water sensor for the hot water tank, door and windows sensors, motion sensors, temperature sensors and GE led lights. Everything works great and is very responsive, plus the app is well-designed and intuitive overall.

To clarify, when the Wink server goes down (very rarely and typically for just a few minutes while they do some sort of maintenance on their end), the connected stuff still works over your Wifi. They upgraded Hub 1's to that feature in one of the updates a few months ago, I believe (before they would just stop working if server went down, apparently). Obviously you are then limited to the range of your Wifi, but it's still better than a completely dead system.

The only problem encountered was with a GE bulb firmware update, because the Wink Wifi is actually too sensitive. After weeks of frustrating "update failed" messages and "new update available" popping right up n the app, I found on one of the online forums that the Hub might simply need to be placed further from the router (it's already about 25' away). I put the Hub in the garage, hit the update and it completed in less than 2 minutes. Who knew a Wifi signal could actually be "too strong", lol!

Thanks OP, ordered one. The fact the Hub 2 is encrypted and doesn't need to connect to a router via Wifi is a great upgrade, plus it should be compatible with even more devices and have better support in the long run.
Newbie
Oct 26, 2012
45 posts
181 upvotes
TORONTO
I'm running Wink Hub 1, over 20 Lutron light switches and a handful of outlets, both built in and plug-in, Also have some Leviton z-wave outlets in that mix. a bunch a few hue lights, and aftermarket hue ballasts with really long rgbw strip runs. A monoprice door sensor, a schlage door lock and a google home. Everything has been running flawlessly. In fact it works so well that its so tightly integrated into my daily life. I just picked up the 2 and will be switching over to that soon.
Honestly, if your running Lutron Caseta stuff, Wink is the only way you should go since it's got the antenna hardware built in. And you'll probably want the Lutron stuff if you're home doesn't run neutrals through their gang boxes. That being said, if SmartThings had as good Lutron support, I would of gone that way since they have much more support in other things. But they don't, so here we are. Beyond that, Wink has been absolutely perfect.
Member
Nov 22, 2012
289 posts
113 upvotes
montreal
Wink interface is nice if you want something more custom you need smatthings. Just installed konnected and reused home alarm. This is not possible with wink sadely.
Member
Aug 23, 2007
227 posts
86 upvotes
Montreal, Qc.
Picked mine up at Home Depot today. I was pleasantly surprised that I wouldn't have to go through the PITA process of re-registering all my sensors and lights, as there is a migration process between the old and new versions of the hubs.

(note: this only works one way -- from old to new. The process is NOT reversible if you decide to return the new hub for whatever reason! You will have to re-register everything from scratch on the old hub...)


Here is the migration process from Wink Hub 1 (old) to Wink Hub 2 (new) :

1. Make sure your old Hub is running and is connected to the cloud (steady blue light). Power the Hub 2 and connect it to your router via provided LAN cable (Wink included a very nice quality LAN cable, I have to say)

2. After a minute or so, open your Wink app with your smartphone

3. It will detect the new hub automatically and ask if you wish to add it to your account. Click "Add to Wink"

4. Once it's added to your account, it will say that it needs to do a firmware update. Let it do it's thing. The update is required to proceed with the migration of all the sensors + lights from Wink Hub 1. No update = no transfer

5. After the process is finished, the app will ask if you want to migrate all the sensors and settings from Hub 1 to Hub 2. You also have the option of running both hubs. If you select to migrate all your stuff to the new one, it will restore the old one (Hub 1) to factory settings once it's done.

6. Once you start the process, it says it takes approx 10 minutes. It took about 5 for me. You will get a notification on your smartphone once it's done and the old hub (version 1) will reset to factory at the end (it will flash a purple light continuously). You can re-add it and run other lights/sensors on it afterwards if you like. Some people apparently use the old hub as a sensor range extender.

NOTE : wait till you get the notification that the migration process is finished before unplugging anything!


Here's the detailed procedure from Wink:

https://www.wink.com/help/faq/wink-hub-2-transfer/
Deal Addict
Feb 15, 2009
1661 posts
511 upvotes
762mm wrote: My Wink Hub 1 has performed very well since I got it over a year ago and I have everything I need on it: a generic water sensor for the hot water tank, door and windows sensors, motion sensors, temperature sensors and GE led lights. Everything works great and is very responsive, plus the app is well-designed and intuitive overall.

To clarify, when the Wink server goes down (very rarely and typically for just a few minutes while they do some sort of maintenance on their end), the connected stuff still works over your Wifi. They upgraded Hub 1's to that feature in one of the updates a few months ago, I believe (before they would just stop working if server went down, apparently). Obviously you are then limited to the range of your Wifi, but it's still better than a completely dead system.

The only problem encountered was with a GE bulb firmware update, because the Wink Wifi is actually too sensitive. After weeks of frustrating "update failed" messages and "new update available" popping right up n the app, I found on one of the online forums that the Hub might simply need to be placed further from the router (it's already about 25' away). I put the Hub in the garage, hit the update and it completed in less than 2 minutes. Who knew a Wifi signal could actually be "too strong", lol!

Thanks OP, ordered one. The fact the Hub 2 is encrypted and doesn't need to connect to a router via Wifi is a great upgrade, plus it should be compatible with even more devices and have better support in the long run.
What brands models are you using for all your sensors?
Member
Aug 23, 2007
227 posts
86 upvotes
Montreal, Qc.
tatung wrote: What brands models are you using for all your sensors?
2x GoControl Home Security Suite kits for door + motion/temperature sensors (paid $80 each) and Aeotec water sensor for the hot water tank (paid $40). Good price and quality, long-lasting batteries in all of them and never a hiccup with the Wink hub.

For lights, I use GE bulbs and Hampton Bay fixtures from Home Depot (all LED of course).

:)

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