Logitech officially discontinues its line of Harmony universal remotes

[softworkz 3341]

2 minutes ago, softworkz said:

This database is Logitech's highest value in the game

That's also the reason why there have never been many alternatives on the market: no vendor can compete without having a similar device database

[jachin99 82]

47 minutes ago, softworkz said:

That's also the reason why there have never been many alternatives on the market: no vendor can compete without having a similar device database

All I have ever really needed is IR learning.  As long as your willing to set that up then even the database missing isn't a deal breaker.  I'm not sure if harmony has that or not

[softworkz 3341]

1 hour ago, jachin99 said:

As long as your willing to set that up

That's one of the primary selling points and reasons why the Harmony remotes were quite successful - at least compared to those other "learning-only remotes". Those have always existed, long before Harmony (and the predecessor from which Logitech had it acquired). For some users, these might be just fine, even though they are usually of rather low quality.

Edited April 13, 2021 by softworkz

[jachin99 82]

That's true but i used IR emitters connected to a pc at the time so I could pick better remotes (Event ghost could see my remote button presses and fire learned it blasts).  I used the dell branded gyration remotes.  I liked those because they were back lit and had a mouse built in.  I really like that the shield pro remote for that reason also though.  

[Dan_Austin 62]

Ugh.  I like my Roku and Shield, but hate their remotes.  I have seen a number of Chinese Android universal remotes, but don't have a lot of confidence that they would be 'replacements' for my Harmony.  Maybe Logitech will work out a licensing deal with one or more of those manufacturers for their device DB.  Until then I guess stockpiling is the way to go.

[Gilgamesh_48 944]

9 hours ago, Dan_Austin said:

Ugh.  I like my Roku and Shield, but hate their remotes.  I have seen a number of Chinese Android universal remotes, but don't have a lot of confidence that they would be 'replacements' for my Harmony.  Maybe Logitech will work out a licensing deal with one or more of those manufacturers for their device DB.  Until then I guess stockpiling is the way to go.

Maybe this is just a ploy by Logitech to sell of their remaining inventory as fast as possible.

[Spaceboy 2500]

well it worked with me  i have an unboxed elite and hub in storage waiting to be called into action at some future point.

also i would think that logitech will either continue to make the db available or provide it to someone else to maintain, with free access. or the community will come together and build a replacement db. but i'm an eternal optimist...

[mgworek 121]

Quick random question. I have a hub, companion, and an Elite. I just hooked up the Elite. I have a button customized on my companion that works fine but it won't sync to my Elite. I am using their ios app to set it up, my mac won't support their sucky ass software. What worries me when I go to customize buttons it says Harmony Companion / Home Control.   Can you not edit buttons on the Elite?

[Q-Droid 657]

The db is one thing but the hub connects to Logitech and stops working when it can't. So when they decide to shutdown the service the hubs can very well become useless bricks. 

 

[clarkss12 296]

My Boxee Box is still perfectly good, but no longer usable since D-Link stopped supporting it.  Eventually, Logitech will stop supporting their remotes...........

Of course you can use them for display like I display my Boxee Box....

[jad3675 26]

Sofabaton (available on Amazon) is good universal remote - no hub or anything though, but it does IR and BT.

 

I used to really like the Xsight  universal remotes, but they stopped being supported around 2018. They replaced them with the NevoC2, which looks like is also discontinued?

[mgworek 121]

1 hour ago, jad3675 said:

Sofabaton (available on Amazon) is good universal remote - no hub or anything though, but it does IR and BT.

 

I used to really like the Xsight  universal remotes, but they stopped being supported around 2018. They replaced them with the NevoC2, which looks like is also discontinued?

I wanted to like the Sofabaton but returned it an hour after opening it. All it needs to do is let the devices on the screen be macros. The screen is kind of pointless without it. You should be able to pick whatever from the screen and macro run, instead you have to assign the macro to another button on the remote.

There is no way my wife will remember "Ok, press orange to watch tv. Press Green to play video game. Press Yellow to throw the remote at the wall"

Edited April 15, 2021 by mgworek

[Guest]

I don't want to know what red does..

[mgworek 121]

Would you like to play a game?

[Guest]

After seeing what the other buttons do going up to there..

NO.

[Carlo 4330]

On 4/12/2021 at 9:47 AM, ebr said:

I stopped using my Harmony remotes when I fully moved over to the Shield for daily driver.  Its new remote will turn on my TV and receiver and wake up the shield and then control everything I need to - including volume which operates either the Shield or the AVR depending on the exact mode.

I think, just like HTPCs these complex systems are just getting to be too small of a market for large companies to justify the expense of continuing to support.  It is no longer a money-making proposition for them.

I was going to write something similar but then came upon ebr's post which exactly mimics my own experience.

I've got 4 or 5 remotes all setup and programmed for my Shield/Samsung setup but haven't picked up any other remote other than the new style Shield TV remote in at least a month. Since setting this up on day one I've not had to touch it or mess with it in any way and it just works every time.  It's super comfortable and easy to use in the dark.

It's also nice to be able to use the "find remote" feature which has come in handy a couple of times.

Hate it when the remote wants to play "hide and seek" so now I cheat. LOL