Author Topic: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.  (Read 19916 times)

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Offline davefr

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #25 on: February 14, 2018, 04:48:28 PM »
I expect most of it is going to blow over quick.  For some reason the same reaction isn't happening on the Facebook forums.

^^It's happening. 

I also sent a complaint to BBB asking for their help getting my recent purchase refunded.

IMHO, units in warranty should be upgraded for free.  For units outside of warranty their offer seems reasonable.

Acurite is still selling 5 in 1 kits on Amazon with the smart hub!! These SKU's should be cancelled immediately!!


I really don't see a technical showstopper on why smart hub and access hub can't co-exist other then the "hacks" at Cheney are too stupid to implement it.
« Last Edit: February 14, 2018, 04:52:05 PM by davefr »

Offline Bushman

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #26 on: February 14, 2018, 05:16:18 PM »
Thanks for that - we can fix the FB thing...  :evil:
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Offline Bushman

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #27 on: February 14, 2018, 05:17:37 PM »
I expect most of it is going to blow over quick.  For some reason the same reaction isn't happening on the Facebook forums.

^^It's happening. 

I also sent a complaint to BBB asking for their help getting my recent purchase refunded.

IMHO, units in warranty should be upgraded for free.  For units outside of warranty their offer seems reasonable.

Acurite is still selling 5 in 1 kits on Amazon with the smart hub!! These SKU's should be cancelled immediately!!


I really don't see a technical showstopper on why smart hub and access hub can't co-exist other then the "hacks" at Cheney are too stupid to implement it.

They are not too stupid to fix! How else would they resell the same thing to their existing customer base?
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Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #28 on: February 14, 2018, 05:18:17 PM »
Thanks for that - we can fix the FB thing...  :evil:

The lack of anonymity of Facebook seems to be holding things back.

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #29 on: February 14, 2018, 05:19:09 PM »

I really don't see a technical showstopper on why smart hub and access hub can't co-exist other then the "hacks" at Cheney are too stupid to implement it.

Pull out a network analyzer and it might become more clear.

Offline Bushman

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #30 on: February 14, 2018, 05:24:59 PM »
Thanks for that - we can fix the FB thing...  :evil:

The lack of anonymity of Facebook seems to be holding things back.

LOL  I am using many FB "identities"...    Besides, I would have no issues whatsoever using my real name directly to Mr. Chaney to tell him what I think of his pea-brained idea.
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Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #31 on: February 14, 2018, 05:45:47 PM »
LOL  I am using many FB "identities"...    Besides, I would have no issues whatsoever using my real name directly to Mr. Chaney to tell him what I think of his pea-brained idea.

So you're still hiding behind fake accounts?

Offline Bushman

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #32 on: February 14, 2018, 05:56:51 PM »
Yup - dozens!  Just like the Russians. ;)
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Offline davefr

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #33 on: February 14, 2018, 06:07:19 PM »

I really don't see a technical showstopper on why smart hub and access hub can't co-exist other then the "hacks" at Cheney are too stupid to implement it.

Pull out a network analyzer and it might become more clear.

But aren't they supporting concurrent  weather feeds from both smart hub and access hub right now??

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #34 on: February 14, 2018, 06:13:42 PM »
Pull out a network analyzer and it might become more clear.
Quote
But aren't they supporting concurrent  weather feeds from both smart hub and access hub right now??

Yes, but the SmartHUB generates a boatload of transactions which are expensive to support.

The Access bundles all sensor data into 5-minute intervals.  That cuts way down on the traffic and database transactions making things easier to handle.

It's similar to "Rapid Fire" on wunderground starting to become a burden in their data center.  Too much disorganized data coming in gets overwhelming.
« Last Edit: February 14, 2018, 06:16:01 PM by nincehelser »

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #35 on: February 14, 2018, 06:18:18 PM »
In case anyone hasn't gotten an upgrade code, here's the link you need to apply.

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

Offline gdicarlo

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #36 on: February 14, 2018, 06:29:57 PM »
The problem with the Access is that it doesn't always update every five minutes. It updates irregularly anywhere from 4 to 10 minutes to MyAcurite. The long update intervals causes data gaps in the CSV files. I always have a strong signal (4 bars), and it updates every 18 seconds to Weather Underground, even during the long update intervals to Myacurite. So there are still some issues with the Access that they have not resolved yet.

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #37 on: February 14, 2018, 06:35:38 PM »
The problem with the Access is that it doesn't always update every five minutes. It updates irregularly anywhere from 4 to 10 minutes to MyAcurite. The long update intervals causes data gaps in the CSV files. I always have a strong signal (4 bars), and it updates every 18 seconds to Weather Underground, even during the long update intervals to Myacurite. So there are still some issues with the Access that they have not resolved yet.

I'd guess that's probably an issue on the myAcurite server side if wunderground is still updating properly.

The upload protocols for wunderground and myAcurite are closely related.  The main difference is the Access is bundling and encrypting the data.

Offline Tylerpod

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #38 on: February 14, 2018, 07:20:16 PM »
Well I got the smart Hub so christmas time to apply for the thing

Offline DoctorKnow

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #39 on: February 14, 2018, 07:28:19 PM »
Why not just use PC connect and forget about the access if it is upsetting so many users? Acurite didn't say they were dropping this option.

Offline Tylerpod

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #40 on: February 14, 2018, 07:33:30 PM »
Why not just use PC connect and forget about the access if it is upsetting so many users? Acurite didn't say they were dropping this option.
Well some consoles like the HD one don't have that option

Offline gdicarlo

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #41 on: February 14, 2018, 07:50:36 PM »
The problem with the Access is that it doesn't always update every five minutes. It updates irregularly anywhere from 4 to 10 minutes to MyAcurite. The long update intervals causes data gaps in the CSV files. I always have a strong signal (4 bars), and it updates every 18 seconds to Weather Underground, even during the long update intervals to Myacurite. So there are still some issues with the Access that they have not resolved yet.

I'd guess that's probably an issue on the myAcurite server side if wunderground is still updating properly.

The upload protocols for wunderground and myAcurite are closely related.  The main difference is the Access is bundling and encrypting the data.

I contacted Acurite, and they don't know what is causing the issue. They want me to send the Access back to test it, which I am going to do. They shouldn't discontinue the old hub when they are still having unresolved issues with the new one.

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #42 on: February 14, 2018, 07:54:39 PM »

I contacted Acurite, and they don't know what is causing the issue. They want me to send the Access back to test it, which I am going to do. They shouldn't discontinue the old hub when they are still having unresolved issues with the new one.

If there were widespread problems with the Access it would have been known by now.

Offline DoctorKnow

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #43 on: February 15, 2018, 07:28:59 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.

I am beginning to be quite concerned for this decision, and believe based on the feedback on their help forum that backing down might not be the worst idea at this point. I don't think Cheney would have anticipated for people to be this upset when they were figuring out their future model.
« Last Edit: February 15, 2018, 07:30:37 PM by DoctorKnow »

Offline Weatherdude24

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #44 on: February 16, 2018, 02:01:28 PM »
 I'm going to wait till the end of next month see what the backlash would be like. I think its unfair to us that just got a 5 and 1 setup in the last month!

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #45 on: February 16, 2018, 02:10:14 PM »
Why not just use PC connect and forget about the access if it is upsetting so many users? Acurite didn't say they were dropping this option.

There is rumor floating around that PC Connect is being dropped, but I haven't heard anything yet from a credible source.

There's also no indication if that refers to the software program itself or the consoles with the serial port. 

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #46 on: February 16, 2018, 02:14:00 PM »
I'm going to wait till the end of next month see what the backlash would be like. I think its unfair to us that just got a 5 and 1 setup in the last month!

I'm pretty confident an improved plan is going to emerge at some point, particularly for recent purchases.

Offline billfor

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #47 on: February 16, 2018, 08:50:20 PM »
I just got my notice. I think I'm going to stick with my old weather bridge. All I really wanted to do was keep my data local and maybe export it to Weatherunderground.

There are solutions for getting the data out of the bridge to use locally, but I wrote my own a year or so ago (as several others have). I avoided posting my code just because I didn't want Acurite trying to circumvent it by using SSL or some other method to defeat it, and wanted to wait and see if they upgraded it because of the forthcoming Atlas. However now that they want to dump the bridge, https://github.com/billfor/acurite-bridge

If using it,  make sure to set $FAKEVERSION=224 and $PARANOID=TRUE. That way no matter what acurite sends back to the bridge, it will always behave the way it has, and you will always have local data.

Look around github, there are a few others that have written code that will let you keep using the bridge that you paid money for.



« Last Edit: February 16, 2018, 09:04:30 PM by billfor »

Offline Bushman

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #48 on: February 16, 2018, 09:56:46 PM »
Sweet!  Plus you get extra points for the labels.  :)
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Offline txbayou

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Re: Acurite plans to drop support for SmartHUB August 31, 2018.
« Reply #49 on: February 17, 2018, 08:29:13 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.

I am beginning to be quite concerned for this decision, and believe based on the feedback on their help forum that backing down might not be the worst idea at this point. I don't think Cheney would have anticipated for people to be this upset when they were figuring out their future model.

I did some googling, and Chaney is one company in a group of privately help companies (Primex). I get the feeling that a business plan was made for Acurite to meet marketing and sales targets (like finally starting to sell the Atlas line; how long have they been talking about this?) and they felt they had to do things like dump the smart hub.

They are behind their schedule so that's why the notice was so abrupt. And the people making the decisions are not technically versed or hobbyists, they are likely some kind of business turnaround types and they don't care about getting people angry. They think they will get lots of new customers with their great new products, that their old customers will have no other place to go anyway, and that the old customers should be satisfied with their $90 coupons. There may be some more discounts and Loyalty programs, but I  think the smart hub end of support is baked into the plan by now.
I'm not trying to defend them, just saying that business is business. My 2 cents.