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Ok what is / was Wink, and what happened to it?

+40 votes
by (2.6k points)
Ok what is / was Wink, and what happened to it?  
Ok what is / was Wink, and what happened to it?

23 Answers

+28 votes
by (2.6k points)
 
Best answer
And we all bailed!  
by (680 points)
@history85014 I bailed a few months ago due to all the other issues. Had I not I would definitely be jumping now!  
+25 votes
by (680 points)
A hub similar to SmartThings. They announced last week that they were moving to subscription only and users have one week to decide or else they can't connect to their devices.  
by (4k points)
@avner that explains the out of stock situation on Amazon
by (680 points)
@tenpenny absolutely! I'm helping a friend make the jump and his won't get here until next week. So he has to live with unpaired devices until then.  
by (230 points)
As soon as I got the email I ordered my st and had it the next day.  
by (4k points)
@avner I have gotten spoiled to 2 day from Amazon, went to order one for a client and I was shocked. Ended up ordering direct from Samsung.  
+10 votes
by (2.6k points)
Jees what a way to loose face! Can't see that strategy working well for them
by (680 points)
@synthetic5778 it's definitely a last ditch effort. Their employees haven't been paid some weeks either due to finances. It was most likely jump to this or shut down.  
+6 votes
by (400 points)
Wink is/was a hub that is/was a sinking ship who’s passengers defended and still defend its inevitable demise. I belonged to their group for a while, and every time I said anything negative about the hub or recommended migrating to a new system to stave their frustration, I’d get my head chewed off. I LOVE that those fools are going to get a monthly charge for their stubbornness.  
by (3.9k points)
@argo46203 Baghdad @mountfort1339 booted me from the Wink group for telling the truth. I’m sure he is defending them to the death. Such fools.  
by (1.3k points)
I left the Wink group after I had a few buddies of mine get snippy about why I was in the group anymore. I felt like I had contributed a lot to Wink's ecosystem back in the day with WinkNodeRed but it was only a matter of time before they failed.  
by (900 points)
@vague you’re always welcome in the group!  
by (430 points)
@mountfort1339 I'm surprised your here at all, do you even have a smart things hub? I mean the way you act like Wink is the Messiah over there in your own wink group I'm a little shocked you would use anything else.  
by (430 points)
@mountfort1339 great response on booting me from that group as well. I was leaving anyway. You might want to boot anyone else that doesn't bow at the alter of wink too
by (250 points)
@mountfort1339 If you really are the type to kick people for not praising wink in a completely separate group then go ahead and kick me. That's a pretty weak minded disgusting way to react.  
by (250 points)
@mountfort1339 Good job proving that wink and the user group ran by you are garbage and not worth anyones time that may be on the fence about ecosystems. You do more disservice to your saviour Wink then you even realize.  
by (250 points)
Those wink cultists from that group were the worst people I've ever had the pleasure of talking to online. I remember griping about how it sucked that wink blocked out certain zwave devices that came from Iris, and one guy chewed me out on how wink can do what they want. Then I was just like "relax" and 5 people defended him because "he knows more than anyone about smarthomes" Yeah. that's why he uses wink . he's a genius using a horribly locked down system. Makes sense.  
by (250 points)
@orphism I imagine @mountfort1339 is at home in his mothers basement frantically searching for your name in the groups members list right now trying to kick you because of that comment.  
by (140 points)
@horseweed aww, he booted me for laugh reacting him! What a pathetic child.  
by (250 points)
@introgression I voluntarily left. I credit that group with one important thing: leaving me upset enough to go to ST
by (3.9k points)
@brough Baghdad @mountfort1339 is here to tell us how Wink is great, that the subscription is the best financed they’ve ever been and is all they need to compete with ST and Hubitat. In other words, the same excuses he has been peddling over the years. I still remember years ago, when I complained about the lack of temperature and humidity sensors, Baghdad Paul’s response wasn’t “Yeah, they need to address that” but instead “Why would you need those? ”
by (3.9k points)
@geodesic93265 I am sorry that you can no longer view the wisdom of Baghdad @mountfort1339. Let me attempt to fill his place: “Wink is thriving. This subscription will propel Wink even further ahead of the competition. Who needs fancy sensors and rules engines? Wink knows best! ”
by (3.9k points)
@orphism I know the user who you’re referring to, and he commented on the official Wink FB thread that he is dumping Wink. Lol!  
by (140 points)
@horseweed I'd been planning to stay so I could see what happened with the subscription plan, good thing Baghdad @mountfort1339 can't use his powers of petulance on Reddit!  
by (900 points)
You mean this post? I don’t seem to see where I said that. On the other hand, you guys seem to have an unhealthy infatuation with being in a group that doesn’t even pertain to you.  
by (3.9k points)
@mountfort1339 No, not that post. Keep searching.  
by (900 points)
Seems to be the only post I can find. maybe you can show me what you mean?  
by (3.9k points)
@mountfort1339 You very well know I can’t do that.  
by (900 points)
Darn! Oh well.  
by (430 points)
@horseweed her probably looks for people bad mouthing wink here to make sure he boots them from the wink group if they are there too. So far I'm enjoying ST. They're are things I have with it that I didn't have with wink. For instance my front door smart lock had a sensor that will tell if the door is opened or closed, with wink I had an actual go control sensor on the door so when it was opened certain lights would your on, but now I can just use the one built into the lock and I moved the go control to the barn door in my wife's craft room. The one thing I'm not enjoying is having to different apps where the classic it's way more unfriendly but allows for some integration with life 360 and the new one is more user friendly but doesn't have integrations the old app does
by (3.9k points)
@mountfort1339/activity" class="qa-user-link">mountfort1339 It’s OK @mountfort1339/activity" class="qa-user-link">mountfort1339 - it’s your group and you feel free to run it the way you want. Banning people who are laughing here, though, is pretty extreme.  
by (3.9k points)
@brough I’ve not loaded the New app yet so I’m not super familiar with it. The main issue I have with ST now is an occasional issue with webCoRE pistons being delayed. It generally just works and I’ve kind of left it and my Hubitat environment alone.  
by (140 points)
@brough I've been recommended the Life360 stuff, but so far it looks like my location-based stuff is working with the smart lighting add on. Personally, I'm thrilled to have location based control back, since Wink took it away ages ago. It was one of my favorite features, and them taking it out entirely was when I started looking at new options. Though I'm sure the insecure child here thinks that feature was unimportant or somehow still there.  
by (430 points)
@horseweed I haven't had a chance to mess with webcore, that will probably be this weekend. It seems like a better stringify which I loved. I considered going to hubitat but after seeing their prices double in a day after wink made their announcement and the lack of an app, that is a wife requirement, I decided on ST
by (900 points)
Not banning anyone for laughing here, I don’t care what anyone does in this group. I’m just cleaning up some members who don’t even have wink anymore. No need to be in a wink users group if you aren’t a wink user and all you want to do is bash people for the system that they want to use. The difference between me and you is that I do not constantly (or ever, for that matter) come into a group for a rival system and start talking about how great wink is. I think I’ve only posted in this group a few times, either to help someone with a generic device question, or to ask how to implement a device into smart things for an experiment I was running. If anyone who doesn’t use wink wants to be in the group and isn’t a broken record about how much wink sucks or how great x system is, more power to them. I don’t have any issues with that. I do have issues when every comment or post they make seems to be about the downfalls of wink, that they don’t even use, and I get constant complaints from the membership (who actually use wink) about that person. Most of my administrative actions are based upon member complaints. For the most part, everyone is well behaved and I don’t have to do much of that.  
by (900 points)
@geodesic93265 you don’t happen to mean this location feature, do you?  
by (430 points)
I like how @mountfort1339/activity" class="qa-user-link">mountfort1339 asks why you would be in a group that doesn't person to you and he is here in a ST group. The way he acts like a wink cultist he shouldn't be using wink because that's all you need. You should take your item advice @mountfort1339/activity" class="qa-user-link">mountfort1339 and leave this group.  
by (900 points)
@brough I guess you might want to work on your reading comprehension. I said the difference between me and you is that I actually do use smart things for some devices, and yet I don’t come into the group and complain about smart things and then make every post or comment that I write about how great wink is. I think everyone is free to use the system they want to use. If your sole purpose in my group is to sing the praises of smart things, that is not our focus. There are appropriate groups for that.  
by (900 points)
I’m not even sure why you guys care about a wink users group anyway. You are running your system of choice and that is fine with me. I guess the rejection has bruised your fragile egos? Just move on.  
by (140 points)
@mountfort1339 yep, the one that can't access location unless the app is open, thereby defeating the whole point of having it automated, you simple child. :)
by (900 points)
@geodesic93265 thats really strange, my location services based routines seem to be working just fine. They get used daily for the past 5 years. Maybe you pissed someone off at wink and they messed up your account.  
by (140 points)
@mountfort1339 and I never posted a thing "singing the praises" of SmartThings in the Wink group, I was helping other people move over in a group that helped me find a substitute system as Wink was falling apart, and that I still stayed on until last week. You ARE removing people for laughing at you here, because you're a child who can't handle any tiny insult to your fragile ego like a tiny react emoji. You're pathetic.  
by (900 points)
Wrong again, I removed you based upon numerous complaints. I volunteer as a admin for my group and I do not get paid to babysit. If I get enough complaints, that person gets the axe. Simple as that.  
by (140 points)
@mountfort1339 there were a multitude of posts IN YOUR OWN PRECIOUS GROUP about the removal of location services from the app. Though I'm sure, given your pattern of behaviour, you deleted those posts, removed those people, and blocked it from your memory because God forbid anyone point out the real issues that Wink has and continues to have.  
by (900 points)
Seems strange, as my routines continue to work. Not sure what happened there for you. Best of luck for the future, looks like you found the system that works for you and I’m truly happy about that. Stay safe out there!  
by (140 points)
@mountfort1339 your lies are as pathetic as you. All my posts were polite and helpful, or honest but polite responses to questions. The trigger was I laughed at you, and your tiny ego was too fragile to handle it. There wasn't a single complaint unless you made it.  
by (900 points)
Why are you so infatuated with my group, may I ask? Why are you so bummed out that you got the axe if you don’t even use wink? Just wondering why it’s bothering you so much. Maybe you should talk to someone about that — a family member, close friend. It’s not healthy to have so much aggression.  
by (1.3k points)
Yeesh - guys - c'mon. Who cares. Don't bring the drama to the ST group.  
by (430 points)
@mountfort1339/activity" class="qa-user-link">mountfort1339 you just said above that people who don't start trouble in your group are allowed to stay, then you turn around and say if you don't use wink there is no reason to be in the group. I've made helpful posts and stated my opinion about how wink even treated people beta testing for them. The most recent post I made was about how wink sent out beta test emails asking for us to test their paywall system and mentioned we had to sub first to do it and that post was 4 days ago. That is not how you treat beta testers for your product. You booted me within seconds of my post here and you didn't just boot me, you banned me from the group so I could not even search for the group anymore. @vague you are right. I am don't responding to @mountfort1339/activity" class="qa-user-link">mountfort1339 because it isn't helpful what has happened here and responding to him only makes it worse. The one bright shining thinks is people will see Pauls true nature and why to best avoid that sinking ship.  
by (900 points)
@brough that is true. If I didn’t get numerous complaints about you, you might still be in the group. And again, why does it matter so much if you’re not in my group? It’s really bothering you that much? There’s bigger things to worry about in this world.  
by (140 points)
@argo46203 go away now little girl
by (400 points)
@conservator Why are you comparing me to a little girl? Not that I’m offended, but just curious. You want me to go away? Do you not like my comment?  
by (400 points)
MyQ integration.  
by (190 points)
@argo46203 - counting the hours before the next vendor drops them. Their collapse is, in a word, delicious.  
by (250 points)
@horseweed are we both thinking Marco?  
by (3.9k points)
@orphism Yep! If you go over to the Wink FB page and read the thousands of comments, he's one stating this is a good time to leave Wink. lol
by (250 points)
@horseweed but he told me wink can do whatever they want and that I need to learn to read! Maybe he forgot.  
by (3.9k points)
@orphism You might want to ask him how Wink is working out for him.  
by (250 points)
I'mma let that one go. wait for him to drop over here and share his expertise or grace the homeassistant group with his mastery of all things smarthome
by (1.1k points)
@mountfort1339 might not realise it, but he absolutely played a roll in the demise of Wink through his Facebook group. He might not have been the main cause but he definitely played a part in their downfall and while he'll deflect and use smear tactics to avoid admitting he did, deep down, he's going to realise one day that his behavior is the problem, not everyone else's.  
by (190 points)
@hartzel - absolutely agree. I wholeheartedly agree that Paul’s infantile dictatorship in the Wink users group led to the purchase of far more SmartThings hubs than any other single entity. Further, if the owners and investors of Wink ever wanted to know who worked so diligently to drive folks away from Wink, they only need turn to @mountfort1339 and his legendary feats of antisocial behavior on their behalf.  
by (430 points)
@hartzel He probably won't ever realize it. In my experience people like that rare realize the consequences of their actions and true change is not something you just stumble into.  
by (110 points)
Hahaha bagdad @mountfort1339 hahahahaha. It's amazing to know he continued making enemies after all these years.  
+12 votes
by (3.9k points)
The fact that you haven’t heard of Wink speaks volumes to what those of us who left years ago have been saying - it’s dead.  
+5 votes
by (1.3k points)
If SmartThings could be compared to Android, Wink was the Apple equivalent. While SmartThings is "open source" for community development, for the most part Wink was a closed ecosystem of devices. They only supported devices if the companies paid Wink. Their software was well polished, though it still had a bunch of bugs. And their automation was pretty basic compared to what you can do with SmartThings. Wink is what got me into smart home tech - back in the early days they had a ton of cool hardware that they supported and it seemed like they were always coming out with new stuff, but then Quirky (who owned Wink) sold them off, then they got sold off again, etc. Frankly, the writing has on the wall for a LONG, LONG time. I think the first real sign was when Wink accidentally bricked all their hubs when they forgot to renew their SSL certificate. They were able to come up with a work-around to get your hubs back online but if you weren't techy enough to change your DNS servers your only option was to ship your hub to them for them to fix and they'd ship it back. I twas quite the disaster. I feel like they never really recovered from that.  
Show 6 previous comments
by (1.9k points)
@vague bad analogy. more like comparing a modern day smartphone (Android or Apple) to a Nokia.  
by (1.3k points)
For it's time it was an accurate analogy lol
by (3.9k points)
@vague I poked fun at Ben Kauffman, but at least that guy had a vision and tried. Quirky did have some cool stuff. Flex didn’t care and was just trying to find a sucker and fortunately for them, Will. i. am was the one born that minute.  
by (3.8k points)
Well polished LMFAO
by (1.3k points)
@horseweed I'm still mentally scarred by that image of Ben giving a footrub.  
+22 votes
by (800 points)
I looked at Wink when choosing my smart home ecosystem. Saw too many red flags even though it looked really cool. It seems I made the right choice.  
+18 votes
by (1.3k points)
I will say -- the propane tank scale and the Nimbus were pretty cool. And for its time, the Wink Relay was really cool. They actually had a lot of cool products, but they just didn't have the right business case for longevitiy.  
+19 votes
by (560 points)
I’m selling a Wink 2 hub
+29 votes
by (490 points)
Class action lawsuit in the works cool cats and kittens
+18 votes
by (490 points)
I liked my wink hub and the app was really nice but now they want me to pay $5 bucks a month to keep the same functionality. not happening.  
by (230 points)
5. 99 per account. We had several accounts. You know, me the wife the kids. Adds up very fast.  
by (490 points)
@attentive59 oh, I didn’t realize that. What a joke.  
by (990 points)
I had everything in one account and just logged into it with the same info never had a problem. Still not willing to pay for something that only works 70% of the time
+20 votes
by (650 points)
I’m not sure what happened to it but I’m glad I went down the smartthings route instead.  
+15 votes
by (440 points)
My egg minder worked flawlessly. But I’ve been using both ST and Wink for years. Sad to see wink go but it wasn’t pushing out anything new.  
by (1.6k points)
@mountfort1339 Giardino Egg Minder was awesome! I still use it just to hold the eggs
+21 votes
by (1.6k points)
Wink started in the right path. IMO, if they weren’t so mismanaged as far as thinking they deserved royalties from supported vendors, holding their users hostage, I think they could have went somewhere. The Oxford English dictionary will soon correct their literature with the following addition in their next printing. wink: - noun - wiNGk -unadopted technologies that may never to be seen again with the exceptions of collectors, yard sales, and possibly in the future, E-Museums. - see Betamax - see LaserDisc - see HDDVD -also see Endogenous
by (250 points)
Yup - when smarthomes were kind of unknown - wink did a great job simplifying it and introducing it to everyone. Unfortunately, as people got hungrier, they kept it locked down and limited and as a result, everyone found better things.  
+7 votes
by (3.8k points)
Wink was HA system that came out about 5-6 years ago as part of Quirky. It got a huge influx of money through a partnership with Home Depot. Then was sold off during bankruptcy and has been nothing but trouble for years.  
+7 votes
by (870 points)
I'd like to welcome all the Wink users to our community.  
+26 votes
by (5.8k points)
If people didn't see the writing on the wall back in 2017 when Will. i. am (yes, the guy from the Black Eyed Peas) took ownership of Wink, then I guess they finally got the message with this last FU to the remaining loyal holdouts.  
+12 votes
by (2k points)
Wink used to suck and now they suck but with a subscription.  
by (270 points)
@idiomorphic I'd buy that for a dollar.  
by (1.6k points)
. Bet you would. Best see if wink is willing to participate.  
+18 votes
by (510 points)
I thought "Wink" was a carbonated drink.  
+27 votes
by (590 points)
Seeing such news, I am glad that I chose Smartthings over Wink few years ago, but quite frankly, local control (Hubitat etc. ) would've been much better. Slowness of the cloud control sometimes just a killer.  
+15 votes
by (370 points)
Wink was great when it worked. I switched a few months back because it was inconsistent. What I really wish we had back is Stringify ☹️
by (3.9k points)
@berlauda Why? WebCoRE is more powerful.  
by (370 points)
Because it was easier for me to setup and use. I set up a few things in webcore, I just don’t care for it. My automations are fairly simple, and stringify was perfect for that.  
+9 votes
by (1.3k points)
For anyone who is switching from Wink to SmartThings -- know that your Quirky Trippers and most Wink devices work with SmartThings with the right device handler. My dozens of Quirky Trippers are still working perfectly fine in SmartThings environment.  
+36 votes
by (1.2k points)
Brian, are your trippers reporting battery status? Mine aren't. Which DH are you using?  
by (1.2k points)
Wierd - I changed my DH to yours, made the changes on lines 201 and 207, uninstalled, then re-paired the tripper. I now get battery and tamper condition but state says Open all the time and doesn't respond when contact opens, even though the light on the tripper blinks. Hmmmm
by (1.2k points)
Check that - Must have taken a bit of time on the server side to transition. All works as it should - Thanks for the help.  
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