Wink Hub 2

The service for wink is horrible. I have used this product for about 2 years. it only work some of the time. I chose Wink because of its connectivity and there was no fee. but after using it for 2yrs, now a majority of the app is locked out pending payment, completely unethical. not only do they fail to support this item. but I also have another wink device that arbitrarily stopped working, I sent email s asking for help, with no response. I will be replacing all my wink devices and strongly advise anyone thinking of investment in this company, think again, then RUN AWAY.

I've been a wink customer for over 4 years and love the home automation. I have lights, outlets, door locks, sensors, a/c and even the garage door. For the most part Wink has been a solid product. I've had some problems with loosing connections on light bulbs, but that's probably because I turn them off by the switch sometimes. Well I finally decided to upgrade and took a serious look at what products are the best to use. I narrowed it down to Wink2 and Samsung. I decided to go with the Wink2 because of the 4 years of ownership and Wink's support. Boy I'm glad I did. To switch everything to the Samsung system would have taken days as each device would need to be set up again. Wink simply transferred everything to Wink 2 and I didn't have to do anything. I've seen some reviews that state the support is terrible. I disagree and was really impressed on how fast they responded. Both Wink Hubs needed to be updated in order to transfer the existing switches, etc… When I emailed support they pushed the update to me within 5 minutes, whoa! You can't go wrong with this product but I would highly recommend going with Wink2.

The Hub 2 has been reliable for us since its introduction. I had the first generation, and it worked fine, however, the 2 was rolled out within 30 days of our purchase, so I simply returned the first generation because I wanted a wired connection and the newest tech, and I have not been disappointed. It connects quickly and intuitively to smart products, supports a ton of products, and their customer service has been quick to respond to questions and issues. I had one issue with my lock, and customer service addressed it and I have not had a problem since. We use this primarily to automate lights, outlets, HVAC systems, and monitor door and window switches. We love how it works with our home assistant for voice control, and are eager to add a fan control. Our experience has been very positive.

I'm going to buck the 5 star trend, but I have to say this was not as easy to set up as it should have been.... and after some google-sleuthing, it's Wink's fault. For background, I'm fairly good with technology. I manage software development as my "day job". I will say that the connection of the hub was very simple, and the UI for the app is user friendly and fairly easy to navigate. However, the instructions for connecting my first device were WRONG in the Wink app step-by-step instructions and omitted a required key entry. I finally found a way to connect the device (after much trial and error, google searches, and alternative process experimentation). I also tried to contact the highly rated customer service, but it was CLOSED on the weekend. (Who has time to play with this stuff during the work week?) There's also not much support on the website other than a "FAQ", which is more general information and doesn't even have a search function (really?). Had everything worked the way it was supposed to, I would have given four or maybe even five stars... probably four as the hub is probably more simplistic than I would have preferred, and there are a few areas for improvement in the app. Once I got it working (after about 30 attempts), it has worked well since.

You may or may not need a hub as a lot of smart devices have their own app but a few things I bought needed the hub such as the door locks and some motion sensors I bought on Walmart through monoprice. The hub had a few issues setting up my door locks but now that it is set up it works well. I had to unpair one door and repair it. Also the monoprice sensors leave out an important step in the setup instructions. There is a hidden pairing switch you have to press with a paperclip. The obvious switch that you see inside is not for pairing. The sensors are cool as they also have temperature and humidity as well as motion. The competitor so Wink is Smartthings, which is more complicated to set up as you actually have to down load the program code or scripts and install it where Wink is more like downloading an app. With Smartthings the sensors that I have can do more things like determine the brightness in the room. I have not found any advantages yet of Wink 2 vs Wink. Overall I think the Wink system can help secure your home with motion, door sensors and locks. If you are interested in the lighting system like hue you would not even need the wink system