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Logitech to Upgrade Harmony Link Owners for Free Following Online Backlash

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Logitech has announced in a blog post that it will offer Harmony Link hub owners a free upgrade to the more recent Harmony Hub before it bricks the older smart home controller in early 2018.

Previously, the company had offered owners who were out of warranty a 35 percent discount on the newer $100 hub to compensate for the six-year-old Harmony Link's deactivation in spring of next year, when the device's encryption certificate expires. But the news sparked an online backlash according to Wired, and Logitech has decided to reverse course.

LogitechHarmonyLink-TA.jpg
Logitech Harmony Link​
If you are a Harmony Link user, we will reach out to you between now and March 2018 to make arrangements to replace your Link with a free Harmony Hub, a product with similar app-based remote control features to Link, with the added benefit of controlling many popular connected home devices plus, it works with popular voice assistants.

Additionally, Harmony Link customers that have already redeemed their 35% discount on a Harmony Hub will also be refunded the full amount they paid for the replacement. Again, we will be in touch with you regarding these updates between now and March 2018, before your Harmony Link will no longer function.
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Logitech said it decided to end support for the Harmony Link "because we would be acting irresponsibly by continuing the service knowing its potential/future vulnerability".

As for why it couldn't just patch the device or extend the license, the company explained that the newer Harmony Hub has around 40 times as many users as the Link, so focusing support and services on the former was a better use of its resources.

Logitech has also responded to suggestions that it had been pressing the mute button on angry customers in its forums by censoring the phrase "class action lawsuit" in complaint threads.

Logitech said the removal was due to a list of auto-blocked keywords in its Community Terms of Service, which doesn't allow solicitation, including legal solicitation. The company has now unblocked the phrase and is in the process of reviewing all of its forbidden forum words and phrases.

Article Link: Logitech to Upgrade Harmony Link Owners for Free Following Online Backlash
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/11/10/logitech-upgrades-harmony-link-owners-for-free/
Can they be sued for this though? A perfectly working device that has been sold up to this year. Then eventually it’s not gonna work not on your part but theirs intentionally. Every aspect of this is wrong and they should be held liable. Unless they’re willing to take back the product and give a full refund.
 
Asian company. About 200 years behind the rest of the world in customer support and loyalty. Once you buy it, we owe you nothing.
 
How this company stays in business baffles me. They've been pulling this crap for decades, yet people continue to buy their junk.
 
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I already paid for a discounted Hub and recycled my old Link.

When will get a refund check? Or will they give me a lame coupon towards another Logitech product?
 
Is there any hope of Harmony incorporating Siri support? I’ve been waiting for that forever... I thought the API was open for developers now...
 
If you are a Harmony Link user, we will reach out to you between now and March 2018 to make arrangements to replace your Link with a free Harmony Hub
Click to expand...

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Seriously though, Logitech lost me as a customer a long time ago after completely ruining the Squeezbox lineup. A true alternative to Sonos, I loved some of the hardware, particularly the Boom. It was a damn shame they killed it off after seeming to neglect it for so long. It seems to be a bad habit of theirs.
 
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joueboy said:
Can they be sued for this though? A perfectly working device that has been sold up to this year. Then eventually it’s not gonna work not on your part but theirs intentionally. Every aspect of this is wrong and they should be held liable. Unless they’re willing to take back the product and give a full refund.
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You must not have read the article. They’re replacing every one for free.
[doublepost=1510323266][/doublepost]
FelixDerKater said:
Firmware update?
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It says in the article that there are 40 times as many people using Harmony Hub already so their resources will be used more efficiently only working on the Hub.
 
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spscott said:
Is there any hope of Harmony incorporating Siri support? I’ve been waiting for that forever... I thought the API was open for developers now...
Click to expand...

Get an Amazon Echo and the Logitech Hub HA Skill to get voice control until Logitech officially adds HomeKit support in a future hardware version. If you can't wait, you can already get unofficial HomeKit support via HomeBridge

https://github.com/KraigM/homebridge-harmonyhub
 
When we buy a products, hardware or software, from companies we agreeing to certain conditions in their T&S Agreement which most consumers don't read, so it's not surprising that Logitech (Logi) can do this. What is surprising is that consumers think companies can't, or shouldn't be allowed to, do this.

Trying to make right on a bad decision is a step in the right direction since the initial path to brick the product didn't sit well w/ customers. Thinking that it would be easy to go that route in the first case was just plain il-Logi-cal!
 
Kind of funny the see a major company act so clearly out of fear. Backlash and reputation is everything.
 
Aston441 said:
How this company stays in business baffles me. They've been pulling this crap for decades, yet people continue to buy their junk.
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As someone who bought the Hub and loves it, I have a simple answer for you: their so called “junk” is the best universal remote you can control from your iPhone and iPad. Quite reasonably priced. My individual remotes are in a box, never used any more. My iPhone & iPad don't get lost, their batteries don't need to be replaced, etc.
 
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boshii said:
You must not have read the article. They’re replacing every one for free.
[doublepost=1510323266][/doublepost]
It says in the article that there are 40 times as many people using Harmony Hub already so their resources will be used more efficiently only working on the Hub.
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You didn’t understand the article. It says only those who bought within the warranty will get a free replacement, otherwise they’ll get a discounted price. Besides they only did this after the public outcry. So yeah this is bs and learn to comprehend.:mad:
 
joueboy said:
You didn’t understand the article. It says only those who bought within the warranty will get a free replacement, otherwise they’ll get a discounted price. Besides they only did this after the public outcry. So yeah this is bs and learn to comprehend.:mad:
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What are you talking about? It seems you just want to be angry at something.

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ALL means ALL. There are no caveats.

Who cares that they did this after public outcry? That’s even better because that means they listen to their customers.

I comprehended the article just fine. Thank you.
 
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