Useful review from Buyer of Wink Relay - Smart Home Wall Controller

REALLY disappointed to learn (after spending over an hour on hold ...

By David on December 22, 2014

Color: White Verified Purchase

REALLY disappointed to learn (after spending over an hour on hold waiting for support rep) that Wink has a special, contractual agreement with Philips to omit several key features of the Wink platform when it comes to Philips Hue bulbs. The ONLY thing that the Wink platform is authorized to do is turn INDIVIDUAL lights on/off, change color, dim setting. NO grouping, NO robots, NO shortcuts. And according to the support rep with whom I spoke, there is no plan to change this. Wink Relay and Hub going right back to Amazon! So terribly disappointing...

Not fully baked yet

By Thomas Parks on December 20, 2014

Color: White Verified Purchase

I would have to say that the packaging, presentation and design of this product is simply stunning. The customer support has the appearance of being over the top. However the customer experience stops at the superficial. It was not clear when I pre-ordered the Wink Relay that a Wink Hub was needed to make everything work. I ordered a Hub from Amazon for an additional $49.00. (BTY- the next day Home Depot offered the Hub for 20.00 off if you bought two GE Z Wave Light Bulbs.) When the Hub arrived I followed the instructions. I added it to the network using the phone app. It was slick and easy to do. Until, the app stated that the Hub needed to be updated. I followed the instructions and updated it. It did not work after that. I spent 2 + hours on the phone with Wink Support. No success. Wink Support sent a new hub via UPS ground. It was not new. The box had signs of being opened. The following weekend I attempted to install the not so new Hub. The same issue happened. Not having a spare few hours to deal with the issues again, I returned all the products to Amazon. I am hoping they get their act together soon as I like the concept and may try this again in a year or so.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WINK (but were afraid to ask...)

By Krishna on February 15, 2015

Color: White

EDIT: I'm taking my review of Wink down a star after a very obnoxious technical support interaction I just had.

I called tech support when I returned from vacation and discovered that my outdoor lights were not turning on/off as they were scheduled to do so. Here is an abbreviated example of what went on in that conversation:

Me: "I'm very concerned about the security issue this poses when my outdoor lights fail to turn on and off."

Tech: "Sir, the Wink hub is a very secure device and it is not possible to hack into it."

Me: "I'm not talking about hacking into the Wink hub. I'm talking about the security risk it poses when it is obvious to outsiders that I am not home due to my outdoor lights not turning on."

Tech: (silence)

Me: "Well, do you think we should troubleshoot this or something? I'm worried about it happening again."

Tech: "Sir, I don't have enough information with which to troubleshoot this."

Me: "Well, what other information do you need?"

Tech: "I don't have enough information."

Me: "Well, is there anything you can do?"

Tech: "Sir, if you are going to keep calling every time a device does not turn on, I'm not going to be able to help you."

Me: "If I called every time a device did not turn on, I would be calling you three times a week. I only called this time because all three of my outdoor lights failed to turn on and off at the same time, and this may have been happening while I was away from home. Don't you think that's significant?"

Apparently, she did not. My impression of this tech was that she had no idea what she was doing, and was just trying to get me off the phone as quickly as possible.

Lot's of promise, but doesn't follow through

By Shawn Parr on February 25, 2015

Color: White Verified Purchase

I recently started off some home automation projects with a Wink hub and some GE Link lights. While the system does seem to work pretty well I had an issue in that my wife and kids needed a way to control some of the lights, and any future products going forward. I decided to try out a Wink Relay to have a master control for the system in our master bedroom. The idea of having access to all the Wink features, plus Nest integration, all while showing us the weather/temp, was a fantastic idea. However ultimately it didn't work out for us.

1. Installation: mostly straight forward. The Relay has a power module that sits inside a switch box on the wall, and it can work with one or two gang boxes. The actual relay is the same size as 3 gang, but will only support being installed on a two gang box maximum. After installing the power module in the switch box, you determine whether you want that position to be the left side, middle, or right side of the Relay. In the other two locations on the back of the relay you put in plastic spacers for where the power module won't be. I think the reason you can't use a 3 gang box is that at least one of these spacers should touch a bare wall surface so that the unit feels solid while touching it.

On the power module are cables with special push in connectors on the ends. This makes it easy to connect up cables, and even has openings for multiple neutrals, up to 5 if I remember correctly. The stripped cables inside your wall box push in and get decently trapped, but a really solid tug can pull them back out. My installation was in a single gang box, which can lead to issues with the amount of space with any large switch.