Author Topic: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.  (Read 19913 times)

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Offline nincehelser

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Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« on: February 14, 2018, 01:01:15 PM »
FYI -

Acurite has put out the word that they intend to drop the SmartHUB effective August 31, 2018.  It sounds like this includes myAcurite support for the SmartHUB.

Folks can still the $40 Access upgrade, though.

Also, Acurite has released an Amazon Alexa skill that queries myAcurite directly.  Link here: https://www.amazon.com/Primex-Inc-My-AcuRite/dp/B079K37QYF

Offline Glenn

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #1 on: February 14, 2018, 01:24:05 PM »
Thanks for the update George.

Appreciate the Alexa skill link. I have two MyAcurite accounts; one for each station. It'll be interesting to see how this works.
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Offline daman

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #2 on: February 14, 2018, 01:46:36 PM »
Just got the email, id be mad if I was one that just got a new bridge and now it's getting decommissioned no longer usable.
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Offline davefr

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #3 on: February 14, 2018, 01:51:38 PM »
I bought a 5 in 1 kit just a few months ago and these idiots want me to pay $40 ransom to continue to have WU reporting capability!!

This is the ultimate in disregard for their consumer base.

 :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

 

Offline DoctorKnow

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #4 on: February 14, 2018, 01:55:25 PM »
I would expect you could still use a meteobridge or Kevin Key software though... Unless they send a signal to "fry the hub". lol

Offline joegr

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2018, 01:55:47 PM »
I have a Meteobridge that I use to pull weather data for my home automation.  This will end that, so even though I got my 5-n-1 some time ago, I'm still very annoyed.

What's my next bet for a low cost weather station that I can get data locally from?  It won't be Accurite.  Do Ambient or LaCrosse have anything that I can get data into a PC from, even if the internet is down or they decide to stop supporting it?

Offline BeaverMeadow

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #6 on: February 14, 2018, 01:56:15 PM »
What is the procedure for getting the $40 Access upgrade? I originally signed on but never heard anything further from Acurite.

Offline joegr

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #7 on: February 14, 2018, 01:58:07 PM »
I would expect you could still use a meteobridge or Kevin Key software though... Unless they send a signal to "fry the hub". lol

I thought that it wouldn't work if Accurite's servers are not still requesting data from the hub.  I know that Meteobridge stops getting data when the internet is down (even though the link between Meteobridge and the hub, and the link between my automation PC and Meteobridge is still good).

Offline davefr

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #8 on: February 14, 2018, 02:04:10 PM »
I bought a Square Trade extended warranty with my 5 in 1 kit.  I guess when the smarthub get's "nuked" I can claim the warranty.

Acurite has had nothing but problems and this is icing on the cake.  They should at least replace the hub at no charge for those still under the 12 month warranty.

Offline tandy1000

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #9 on: February 14, 2018, 02:06:27 PM »
My inherent distrust for cloud services (particularly ones not tied to a subscription fee) continues. Ah well - I would hope that they don’t brick the units vs simply stop accepting traffic. I’ll probably move my sniffing setup to rtl-433 just in case. This makes me less likely to get an Access without some local data connectivity.

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #10 on: February 14, 2018, 02:12:20 PM »
I would expect you could still use a meteobridge or Kevin Key software though... Unless they send a signal to "fry the hub". lol

Without sufficient feedback from the servers, the SmartHUBs will eventually stop sending data.

With a little effort you can "fake" that feedback, though.

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #11 on: February 14, 2018, 02:15:06 PM »
What is the procedure for getting the $40 Access upgrade? I originally signed on but never heard anything further from Acurite.

Call support if you haven't heard anything.  Or you should be getting an email announcement that they're shutting down SmartHUB support with a personalized discount code for the Access.

Offline Bushman

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #12 on: February 14, 2018, 02:17:58 PM »
So this means that you MUST upgrade?  Or are they saying no future support?
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Offline BeaverMeadow

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #13 on: February 14, 2018, 02:24:39 PM »
What is the procedure for getting the $40 Access upgrade? I originally signed on but never heard anything further from Acurite.

Call support if you haven't heard anything.  Or you should be getting an email announcement that they're shutting down SmartHUB support with a personalized discount code for the Access.

Thanks for the info. I waited an hour on the line recently and gave up. I sure hope they send me an email.

Offline davefr

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #14 on: February 14, 2018, 02:26:48 PM »
So this means that you MUST upgrade?  Or are they saying no future support?

The way I read it is that they'll ignore any reporting from your smart hub to their server.

The smart hub should continue sending data to a non-existent server.
« Last Edit: February 14, 2018, 02:28:26 PM by davefr »

Offline BeaverMeadow

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #15 on: February 14, 2018, 02:31:12 PM »
I found this link on Acurite's website to get the upgrade code:

http://go.acurite.com/request-an-acurite-access-upgrade-code

I hope it helps people get the Kool-Aid down easier.

Offline tandy1000

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #16 on: February 14, 2018, 02:33:08 PM »
So this means that you MUST upgrade?  Or are they saying no future support?

Looks like a must-upgrade.

https://www.acurite.com/blog/acurite-smarthub-end-of-life-announcement.html

This didn’t work in Logitech’s favor when they tried something similar with their Harmony hub.

https://www.extremetech.com/electronics/258824-logitech-reverses-course-will-now-replace-harmony-link-free

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #17 on: February 14, 2018, 02:34:18 PM »
So this means that you MUST upgrade?  Or are they saying no future support?

That's not entirely clear.  My reading leads me to believe they will stop accepting data, but there are a few (very few) that disagree.

I wouldn't be surprised if they backed off that position based on the current uproar on the support board, kind of like the way wunderground backed off on discontinuing web cams.

Offline Bushman

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #18 on: February 14, 2018, 03:09:27 PM »
Well, let's hope they make it clear.  NFW will I ever buy another Acurite product if this is the case.  I mean seriously - you cut off your install base to sell marginally better HW?  They need to realize that there are many, many options for consumers.
Need low cost IP monitoring?  http://wirelesstag.net/wta.aspx?link=NisJxz6FhUa4V67/cwCRWA or PM me for 50% off Wirelesstags!!

Offline Bushman

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #19 on: February 14, 2018, 03:12:38 PM »
OK - so I checked: 

Summary of End of Service for smartHUB

Product Discontinued as of February 1, 2018
End of Service/Support (Will no longer report to My AcuRite or Weather Underground after this date): August 31, 2018
Replacement Product: AcuRite® AccessTM

Toal BS.  Adios Acurite!!!!  (although I wonder what my Meteobridge will do?)
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Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #20 on: February 14, 2018, 03:17:29 PM »
Well, let's hope they make it clear.  NFW will I ever buy another Acurite product if this is the case.  I mean seriously - you cut off your install base to sell marginally better HW?  They need to realize that there are many, many options for consumers.

Oh, it's way better than marginally better hardware.  The upgrade is a bargain at $40.

Of course, the shipping fees really mess with you Canadians.  I'm not sure how they can work around that, except maybe by offering a rebate program so you could buy from Amazon.ca and still get some money back.


Offline Bushman

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #21 on: February 14, 2018, 03:18:06 PM »
And for Canadians (and I presume other non-US folk) this means the landed cost in Canada is about $85 CAD!  For that, I can essentially build an RPi based station.  Fook Chaney/Acurite!!
Need low cost IP monitoring?  http://wirelesstag.net/wta.aspx?link=NisJxz6FhUa4V67/cwCRWA or PM me for 50% off Wirelesstags!!

Offline Bushman

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #22 on: February 14, 2018, 03:20:14 PM »
Better?  No need for crazy distance reception; no need for 12 hour backup/rollback; etc.  I will happily uninstall the Myacurite app (although I do have to say, its UX  was pretty decent)

Chaney shot itself in the foot with this one!
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Offline alanb

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #23 on: February 14, 2018, 03:39:18 PM »
One thing for sure ... this is making for some fun reading over on the Acurite support forum.  ;) I think this decision will do some real damage to their reputation ... which wasn't all that great to begin with.

Wow, am I glad I resisted the temptation to buy when Acurite was running all those sales this fall and winter. I have been waiting for the Atlas release and reviews before buying, but if Acurite treats loyal customers this way, I think I will just cross them off my list and look elsewhere.
« Last Edit: February 14, 2018, 03:42:52 PM by alanb »
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Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #24 on: February 14, 2018, 03:47:41 PM »
One thing for sure ... this is making for some fun reading over on the Acurite support forum.  ;) I think this decision will do some real damage to their reputation ... which wasn't all that great to begin with.

Wow, am I glad I resisted the temptation to buy when Acurite was running all those sales this fall and winter. I have been waiting for the Atlas release and reviews before buying, but if Acurite treats loyal customers this way, I think I will just cross them off my list and look elsewhere.

I expect most of it is going to blow over quick.  For some reason the same reaction isn't happening on the Facebook forums.