Logitech bows out of the Harmony Universal Remote market (1 Viewer)

[Britton]

Great timing - I was just about to post something asking if anyone has replaced their Harmony battery and what their experience was.

It seems after I posted my "things are great; just charge every night" thoughts, my remote decided to not want to hold a charge at all. Pull it off the charger at 100% and maybe an hour later, it's dead. Drop it on the charger - it says charging and a few minutes later, it's back to 100%. Rinse and repeat. It reminds me of one of my old iPhones where the battery "died" at 70%.

Speaking of iPhones, I've successfully replaced an iPhone batter, and an iPod battery, so I can't imagine that this would be too much more complicated.

Glad to help! There are some soldered contacts to be aware of, but at no point did I think I was about to snap them.

 

[DaveF]

I didn’t find a dedicate thread for Sofabaton remotes, so here’s a positive, recent review on the newer remotes as possible Harmony replacement. (Caveat, it’s Cnet and they’re cashing out on a 20 year old reputation it seems.)

Sofabaton U2 Review: Best Budget Universal Remote — CNET

For anyone tired of juggling multiple remotes, the Sofabaton U2 is an excellent universal clicker at an even better price.

apple.news

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I didn’t find a dedicate thread for Sofabaton remotes, so here’s a positive, recent review on the newer remotes as possible Harmony replacement. (Caveat, it’s Cnet and they’re cashing out on a 20 year old reputation it seems.)

Sofabaton U2 Review: Best Budget Universal Remote — CNET

For anyone tired of juggling multiple remotes, the Sofabaton U2 is an excellent universal clicker at an even better price.

apple.news

The article isn't really accurate -- this statement is incorrect: "The remote can handle up to 15 devices at a time, while the competitive Harmony 650 can offer only five. ". I have more than 5 devices programmed with my Harmony 650. I stopped reading the article at that point.

I tried a Sofabaton U2, but thought it was a little cumbersome to use. It certainly didn't replace the activities function of the Harmony remotes for more complex HT setups, and I found that the $9 RCA universal remotes I bought at Wal-Mart worked just as well for my simpler setups, and those RCA's have larger, easier to find buttons.

 

[sinisanav]

I am kind of thinking / itching to consider Sofabaton X1 ,for me home theater. I can do simpler things with Apple TV remote but if I use Oppo then need to switch between Oppo and Anthem app… taht woudl bee too much for my kids or wife.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

The article isn't really accurate -- this statement is incorrect: "The remote can handle up to 15 devices at a time, while the competitive Harmony 650 can offer only five. ". I have more than 5 devices programmed with my Harmony 650. I stopped reading the article at that point.

Yeah, sounds almost like some kinda shill for this new remote brand or something. He's also clearly misleading/wrong implying you'd need to spend over $100 for a secondhand Harmony 665, which expands on the 650 by just a little bit (and is also in black/dark-gray, which may or may not be desirable in a dark room, LOL). Sure, there are sellers asking that much, but there has also always been a fair number of sellers asking for <=$60 (inclusive of shipping) on eBay at least, which is why I haven't rushed to buy another for backup -- my own was bought used for ~$50 or so 2-1/2 years ago.

That's basically the same price for a used 665 as for that Sofabaton U2.

_Man_

 

[3dbinCanada]

Yeah, sounds almost like some kinda shill for this new remote brand or something. He's also clearly misleading/wrong implying you'd need to spend over $100 for a secondhand Harmony 665, which expands on the 650 by just a little bit (and is also in black/dark-gray, which may or may not be desirable in a dark room, LOL). Sure, there are sellers asking that much, but there has also always been a fair number of sellers asking for <=$60 (inclusive of shipping) on eBay at least, which is why I haven't rushed to buy another for backup -- my own was bought used for ~$50 or so 2-1/2 years ago.

That's basically the same price for a used 665 as for that Sofabaton U2.

_Man_

With much less functionality I would add.

 

[sinisanav]

Thankful for second hand market, I was able to score a 115$ Harmony Ultimate with hub, works perfectly with all my equipment hidden under staircase.