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    AkinetopsiaTom McKay
    11/09/17 12:10am

    One more reason to flash a custom firmware whenever you can. As others pointed out, I don’t see why an application meant to control stuff that you own* in your own house relies on a cloud service for proper operation.

    *: Welcome in 2017: Purchasing something doesn’t grant you ownership anymore.

    What now, companies will brick your TV, fridge, dishwasher, toaster and car whenever they want to force you to shell out more cash on an upgrade?

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      French Cries Extra SaltAkinetopsia
      11/09/17 12:28am

      Because every shitheaded company thinks the cloud is the future. I have a really dumb harmony (the lowest, like a 200 or something) remote that needs a cloud service to customize. It’s the dumbest shit ever. Let me do it locally!

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      torchbearer2Akinetopsia
      11/09/17 1:12am

      It has always been that way, they just didn’t have the tools to enforce it until more recently. It is a broken system, but I am not sure anyone with the power would want to or be able to truly fix it.

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    SgtBeavisTom McKay
    11/08/17 11:24pm

    Well that’s one way to guarantee I’ll never buy a Logitech product that is dependent on cloud services.

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      JRRREmCeeSgtBeavis
      11/08/17 11:45pm

      I got our office all Logitech keyboards and mice and love it. I was about to get a Harmony Link for my house, but now I agree with you 100%. As long as it is cloud dependent I will not be get a Harmony Link.

      If there was a way to have a local or private server to have it work that would be great. Something like servers people use to play MMOs that are no longer supported by the developer.

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      binjaSgtBeavis
      11/08/17 11:46pm

      Better yet, avoid any Logitech product. Though, I base that suggestion on my belief that I have been seeing these things on KinjaDeals regularly for the past few months. But it’s possible that the one I’ve been seeing is a newer model... Basically, just ignore anything that I say about anything.

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    mrbofusTom McKay
    11/09/17 12:00am

    This would have been fine if they offered a comparable replacement to all current Harmony Link owners, but to brick them is one hell of a dick move. I hope they backtrack and do the right thing (either continue supporting the product or offer a comparable replacement).

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      SmugAardvarkmrbofus
      11/09/17 2:31am

      From the article:

      Rory Dooley, head of Logitech Harmony, told Gizmodo in a statement that the decision to turn off the devices “does not impact Logitech’s commitment to Logitech Harmony customers,” adding that those within a one-year warranty period could exchange their devices for free for an upgraded Harmony Hub. Other owners can get a “one-time discount offer” (35 percent, per Bleeping Computer) on the $100 replacement.

      While the free replacement is only valid for users within a one-year warranty, it’s very slightly better than nothing.

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      mrbofusSmugAardvark
      11/09/17 3:40am

      Also from the article:

      “While Dooley said the product was last sold by Logitech in 2015, Bleeping Computer reported the company “held fire sales for Harmony Link devices in the past months, offering the universal hubs at lowered prices and with a warranty of only three months.” It also noted that users on Logitech’s forums claimed the terms “class action lawsuit” were being censored.”

      The company says the product was last sold in 2015, so the odds of any significant number of Harmony Link owners still under a 1-year warranty are slim to none. And the odds of any significant number of Harmony Link owners falling under the three month warranty are also slim to none; and they still wouldn’t technically fall under the exchange period, since the company stated that they would cover those within a one-year warranty period. Which the company knows is basically nobody.

      Shady as shit.

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    crevasseTom McKay
    11/09/17 8:21am

    This kind of thing is what concerns me about my future smart home. I’m going with Smartthings for now, and all of the devices hanging off it will be standard zwave/zigbee/wififihaveto which should transfer to other hubs. Samsung will no doubt at some point stop supporting my hub which is a very basic piece of equipment actually. But I will have invested significant time configuring the triggers and automation. Will those transfer to a new version’s hub, or will I have to start all over again?

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      redroab2crevasse
      11/09/17 12:10pm

      In my opinion though the long part about configuring automations is figuring out exactly what you want (e.g.) turn on the lights at this time, but then you realize sometimes you want them to not turn on if this is so, etc.). If you had a list of your automations in pseudocode or plain English descriptions, it wouldn’t take that long to recreate them on another hub.

      Basically, given that you’re using a well supported hub and non-proprietary communication protocols, in my opinion your setup is pretty “future-proof.” :)

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    chaos2992Tom McKay
    11/08/17 11:27pm

    wow, thats kind of a dick move...

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    drewcrosbyTom McKay
    11/09/17 12:03am

    Wait... These things let people control their home theater systems and other “smart home” stuff with their phones, yeah? Why the hell are they completely dependent on remote servers at all? Why can’t this be achieved using the owner’s home wifi? That’s ridiculous.

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    Still Cat from MATom McKay
    11/09/17 12:43am

    I wonder what was in the small print of the agreement customers had to consent to — usually without actually reading the many dense paragraphs of very small font text — when getting that software and signing up. Wonder if it will be enough to undermine a class action lawsuit. Glad I didn’t get any Logitech products. The company’s bricking equipment after such a short time after purchase should serve as a warning. There is no excuse for what they are doing. Do they really believe their customers hit with this will trust them in the future?

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      KumichoStill Cat from MA
      11/09/17 8:23am

      Don’t worry, I’m sure our current government’s position on protecting consumers from signing away their rights to sue will ensure that those clauses are null and.... aaaahahahahahahahahahahaha, I couldn’t even finish that sentence without laughing. I’m sure our current government will completely fuck over customers and prohibit them from any type of class-action lawsuit, because Corporations Uber Alles!!

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    SpaceknightTom McKay
    11/09/17 12:16am

    It’s simple math.

    So long as the price to lobby congress to not regulate your idiotic behavior is cheaper than the price to maintain the product, it’s an easy decision.

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    V@noTom McKay
    11/09/17 8:10am

    One thing when you issue an update that disables cloud support, but purposely brick the whole device - this should be illegal.

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    SprzoutTom McKay
    11/09/17 12:22pm

    Hrmmm...Great. I don’t know if I have a Harmony Link or Harmony Hub...Now I’m gonna have to pray it’s a Harmony Hub, because it’s the only thing that keeps my wife sane when trying to turn on the home theater system. Seriously, I bought into the Harmony Universal remote system because my wife said, “I do NOT want to have to use 3 effing remotes to turn stuff on - either it goes through the TV, you figure out some way to make it work with ONE remote, or you don’t hook it up to the TV. Take your pick!”

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