Logitech is done making Harmony remotes

[sweetchaos]

Sad news...

After going a long time without any hardware updates, Logitech has finally announced that they will no longer manufacture Harmony remotes.

Logitech wrote this announcement in their support forum:
https://support.logi.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/1500000658341

Is Logitech selling/closing/discontinuing Harmony?
Logitech has made the decision to discontinue manufacturing Harmony remotes. Remaining Harmony remote inventory will continue to be available through retailers for new customers, and support will continue to be offered.

What’s the last day we can buy/find a Harmony?
As supplies last at your retailers.

How long will you keep the service and support going really?
Our goal is to keep service running as long as customers are using it.

Shane talked about the news as well:

As an alternative to Harmony remote, Shane recommended the following iOS app:
Roomie Remote from https://roomieremote.com/

Discuss!

 

[dougi]

I'm shattered. Lucky I just bought another 650 as a backup, given that has already been discontinued. We'll see how long support eventuates. My system could not function without something as good.

 

[Alexanderc]

I hate remote apps. I’ve used them for years off and on and they frequently have to be reset and reconnect to the network. My setup involves a minimum of three devices with several inputs to choose from and doing so manually is not really an option for the rest of my family, not to mention guests. Sorry for the rant.

I’m not in the market at the moment, but anyone have suggestions for a good universal remote to replace my Harmony eventually?

 

[MZKM]

I bought the $60 665 from BestBuy when I saw the headline. I currently use a 650 and after a couple of years some buttons have gotten finicky.

 

[simbloke]

I use the OneForAll stuff, which can be programmed by a third party app.
I mean, the experience is pretty awful and I wouldn't recommend it to any non technical person, but it can be done.

 

[Alexanderc]

Sofabaton remotes look similar. Any experience with those?

 

[Frank Dernie]

Sad news...

After going a long time without any hardware updates, Logitech has finally announced that they will no longer manufacture Harmony remotes.

Logitech wrote this announcement in their support forum:
https://support.logi.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/1500000658341



Shane talked about the news as well:

As an alternative to Harmony remote, Shane recommended the following iOS app:
Roomie Remote from https://roomieremote.com/

Discuss!

Another company foisting a monthly charge on us rather than a purchase.
They can shove it where the sun don't shine.

 

[FrantzM]

Sad news but one I saw coming.

Ergonomics is the last frontier for Home systems. Most systems are hard to use and only aficionados know their way around them. Logitech had a good if imperfect system. You could easily define "activities" that result in actions allowing a "normal" person to use a complicated system.
I have this at home. You press Watch Movies and things happen... Light down, AVR s to correct input, Screen goes down or Plasma turns on.. etc...
Automating those simple tasks is not easy as it should. The current slew of "home assistants", purport to do just that but are miserable failures once a certain degree of automation is required. Even the fabled IFTT . There are commercial but expensive solutions; they all seem to require a programmer notwithstanding claims to the contrary. AMX , Crestron , Control4, are at the end expensive solutions. You could change one component and incur hundred of dollars in service calls... Logitech was the affordable and hobbyist-leaning alternative.
Logitech , the company seems to come up with great solutions that they cannot market properly. Remember the Squeezebox? A very good streamer and a more than decent ecosystem? It has known the same fate.

I will continue to use the Harmony in my system, wishing fervently that the company keeps the servers and software alive while waiting for some company to understand that we need better ways to control our systems.

Peace.

 

[jhaider]

What a shame. I was afraid this would happen when I did a review of the Logitech keyboard/trackpad we use for the Mac mini. It's a well thought out piece, but in speaking with Logitech reps their coolness towards my idea of integrating it as the keyboard for Harmony was obvious. Even though a media center computer keyboard and trackpad seems to me to be an obvious extension of a remote that can serve as a keyboard for a media center computer (in its iOS app). Alas I did not have the foresight to purchase backups for the two Harmony remotes we currently use.

My first Harmony remote looked like this, screen on the bottom and almost no buttons:

Harmony was way out in front in terms of device compatibility. I controlled Meridian integrated with that one! It was perfect for that application, where all you wanted the remote to do was change sources, change tracks on a disk, and adjust volume. But get it right way more often than not!

I hope our current ones last a while, or somebody comes out with a real replacement. I'm not going to talk to the damn stereo. Even ignoring the privacy intrusion, it's foundationally a stupid idea to control music playback with speech. Conductors don't direct the orchestra with speech!

 

[devopsprodude]

Good. Their stuff has sucked for so long. I switched from Harmony to Roomie/Simple Control years ago and have never looked back. So much nicer to set up and use, but definitely not cheap.

 

[AlmaAtaKZ]

I expected that smartphones would have IR blinkers and apps would allow them to be advanced programmable remotes. But for some reason this has not happened.

Remotes like Pronto still reman unbeaten so many years later and smartphones could and should have taken their place.

 

[jhaider]

I expected that smartphones would have IR blinkers and apps would allow them to be advanced programmable remotes. But for some reason this has not happened.

Why would Apple put IR on phones when there's Bluetooth and Airdrop? Also, note that such a proposed scheme would be useless for those of us who appreciate music more than electronics boxes, and hide all of our audio equipment behind solid doors.

Also, there's something to be said for not using your iDevice to control the audio system IMO. It's nice to get away from the phone sometimes.

 

[vavan]

I expected that smartphones would have IR blinkers and apps would allow them to be advanced programmable remotes. But for some reason this has not happened

though there are not that many smartphones with IR port these days that actually happened and I've been using it for years

 

[Frank Dernie]

Also, there's something to be said for not using your iDevice to control the audio system IMO. It's nice to get away from the phone sometimes.

Yes, I don't like using my phone for remote control.
Devialet have a remote for the phone but I have to pick up the phone and launch the app before I can use it whereas the real remote is on the table and I can just reach out and turn the volume knob immediately.
I had a Harmony device which seemed to brick itself during an update and its utility wasn't worth bothering to reset and re programme it for me so I didn't.
I don't mind the clutter of 7 remotes on the table and as long as I keep them in place whatever I want to do I can do immediately, except switch everything on, but since I disconnect everything when I go to bed and don't power up anything until I need to use it, initial switch on is a trek anyway.

 

[MattHooper]

I actually got rid of my Harmony stuff a while back. It was ok, but didn't really need it. When we switched to a new wi-fi based TV system from our cable provider, they set us up with their own remote which learned the codes fine from the modest plasma tv/av receiver based system in our family room.

For my home theater system, that involves some really complex programming that Harmony could never provide. I've been using an RTI remote system for over 10 years and it's been mostly bullet-proof, and as a dedicated remote far better than any remote app I've seen (at least for me).
The only issue is that I need an authorized RTI dealer to program the thing which can be a hassle. But once done, it's fantastic.