Ecobee's SmartThermostat Gains 'Hey Siri' Support With Free Software Update Rolling Out Now

[jasoncarle]

I don't know of any thermostats that aren't part of a proprietary system involving communicating thermostats that will control the speed of the fan, other than on or off. My furnace also has a variable speed blower, however the ecobee has a setting that will allow the HVAC system to control the fan speed. Generally this is the best choice when using something like an ecobee or nest in systems with variable speed fans. Assuming you're not using a communicating system, are you sure this isn't the way your system is already working with the existing thermostat? Generally fan speed behavior that's controlled by the HVAC can be adjusted with dip switches on the furnace control board.

I am not sure about any of that but it is something I will look into. Right now I have these around the house in various locations.

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[vipergts2207]

I am not sure about any of that but it is something I will look into. Right now I have these around the house in various locations.

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Yeah, looks like you've got a communicating system and can't use traditional smart thermostats. The good news is that means you've probably got a pretty good HVAC system. The bad news is that I don't think Carrier offers a HomeKit compatible t-stat for your system.

 

[macleod199]

Apologies for sidetracking but it seems I found a whole thread of Ecobee users lol. Anyone else not getting push notifications for high/low temp/humidity? They rolled out the feature maybe a year or two ago but it only worked for me for a few months in that time. Support is useless. Thanks.

Can confirm that the support is frustrating and very dependent on who you get. I haven’t tried the push notifications for this, though.
My current issue is that it doesn’t resume schedule if you return home during a peak usage time. Maddening.

 

[macleod199]

So how do we download this free update? Is it automatic or does the thermostat and/or app provide details? Haven’t seen anything yet…

Ecobee provides no way to trigger updates other than contacting support and asking them to push the update to a specific unit number. I wish I was making that up. They roll out pretty slowly if you don’t do that.

 

[vipergts2207]

Ecobee provides no way to trigger updates other than contacting support and asking them to push the update to a specific unit number. I wish I was making that up. They roll out pretty slowly if you don’t do that.

This is my biggest complaint with them. There should be an ability on thermostat to download the newest update, rather than having to wait for it or contact ecobee directly. Otherwise, it's a wonderful product.

 

[Itinj24]

Ecobee provides no way to trigger updates other than contacting support and asking them to push the update to a specific unit number. I wish I was making that up. They roll out pretty slowly if you don’t do that.

Thanks for the heads up. After I posted that, I came across on the web that they automatically get pushed but didn’t know how slow it can be and that contacting them speeds it up. I was gonna just wait it out. Their support used to be great. Was on the phone once for over an hour in the past until my issue was fixed. They’ve been useless lately, though. All I get now is we’ve escalated your issue and we will get back to you soon, in which case, they don’t. Had a huge issue with their air filters subscription a few months back and I stopped getting push notification alerts (high/low temp/humidity) for a few months as well with no fix in sight.

 

[Itinj24]

Can confirm that the support is frustrating and very dependent on who you get. I haven’t tried the push notifications for this, though.
My current issue is that it doesn’t resume schedule if you return home during a peak usage time. Maddening.

Think it could have something to do with eco+? I keep trying to disable it but all I get is a red pop up message that says there’s a server connection issue and to try back later. I’ve been getting that pop up for over a month now. The request to disable finally went through once and another pop up message says I need to contact my utility provider because of the “bring your own thermostat” service, or something to that effect. They’re more locked down than Apple lol.

 

[I7guy]

Think it could have something to do with eco+? I keep trying to disable it but all I get is a red pop up message that says there’s a server connection issue and to try back later. I’ve been getting that pop up for over a month now. The request to disable finally went through once and another pop up message says I need to contact my utility provider because of the “bring your own thermostat” service, or something to that effect. They’re more locked down than Apple lol.

I have none of those issues. Have you tried to reset your thermostat? Is your thermostat locked down with an installation code?

BTW what is everybody's firmware. My thermostat is the smart thermostat with Alexa with firmware ending in "250".

 

[Itinj24]

I have none of those issues. Have you tried to reset your thermostat? Is your thermostat locked down with an installation code?

BTW what is everybody's firmware. My thermostat is the smart thermostat with Alexa with firmware ending in "250".

I tried everything I could. Removing from app, factory reset, etc… No clue what’s going on and not locked down to my knowledge.

 

[macleod199]

Think it could have something to do with eco+? I keep trying to disable it but all I get is a red pop up message that says there’s a server connection issue and to try back later. I’ve been getting that pop up for over a month now. The request to disable finally went through once and another pop up message says I need to contact my utility provider because of the “bring your own thermostat” service, or something to that effect. They’re more locked down than Apple lol.

Yea, it’s an interaction between eco+ and resume schedule. I went through a bunch of back and forth with them in the spring getting peak usage to work properly, and don’t want to disable it. While I’m still working from home we’re rarely all of our the house, so the away/home not working is currently only a mild annoyance by comparison. I sent them video of the problem because there support people didn’t believe me at first - charming.

 

[chown33]

Moderation Note

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In particular, complaints, comments, criticism, or discussion of editorial word choices in the article or the headline are considered off-topic. So is any discussion of moderation.

 

[jcanavera]

Haven't seen any indication of the processors on the new thermostats but my guess it will be the quad processor which was introduced in the Ecobee Smart thermostat with Voice Control (Ecobee 5). While the 4 was enticing on its price, when I learned of the quad processor I went with a 5 knowing that many of the software bells and whistles would not be able to be done by the dual processor in the older equipment. At this point the screen changes and case, are nice, air quality I can take it or leave it....but not enough new issues to make it worth jumping to.

 

[SactoGuy18]

I would consider this new EcoBee but I already have an older model that is full compatible with Amazon Alexa (which is my home's automation network system). It's really easy to control, too.

 

[gwhizkids]

I would consider this new EcoBee but I already have an older model that is full compatible with Amazon Alexa (which is my home's automation network system). It's really easy to control, too.

Same here. Just bought it in February. So while the new features are nice, I can’t justify buying a new one right now.

 

[gsmornot]

I have version 3, prior to voice assistant being included and can't really justify the upgrade. At the end of the day its main job is to keep the house at a comfortable temperature. It does that and its not clear to me if the multiple remote sensors I have already will work with the new unit.

 

[Itinj24]

The new metal bezel/band looks great and more premium but the humidity sensor on the previous version wasn’t exposed to HomeKit. As far as I can tell, neither is the air quality sensor on the new one. No point for me to upgrade and I have six thermostats running in my house. Three Smart, three 3Lites.