Firmware Features and Roadmap, Forum, Manuals, etc

[Guest gembrain]

For Fibaro Moderator/Development Team please

The Fibaro website lists how brilliant the HC2 system is and how many wonderful things it can do and will do in the future.

However, from these and other forums it is clear that a very confused message is being given out as to what works properly now and when features are coming out.

HC2 for UK release by end 2011 - but it wasn't.....

EZmotion 3-1 - It works - or maybe it doesn't.....

Iphone App ready this week - or maybe not....

Firmware update by xx date - no we've delayed to add a feature....

Fibaro is coming into the market possibly at just the right time with a potentially really great product. It does Fibaro no good at all when the firmware is being discussed on these forums as being in beta phase and products that should interoperate without problem do not.

Fibaro need to have an active admin on the International Forum who is clearly listing the compatibility status of other manufacturer sensors, thermostats, etc AND who is making it clear what each new firmware release has added to the feature set and which problems it has solved.

When I read that the whole code for certain features is being rewritten already it does not inspire confidence.

Please give us good, useful, accurate, and timely information about what is going on.

Don't over-promise and under-deliver! Just let us know which features are rock solid and ready to use.....

Many Thanks

Yes - I do REALLY want to buy it - but.....!!!

[Guest Dennis]

100% agree

[Guest gembrain]

As a follow up to my previous post here are a few other suggestions:

FORUM

1) Have a specific sub forum for user reporting of BUGS. Only if entered in this section are they specifically addressed by the software developers. If the reported bug is confirmed as a bug it is specifically tagged by the software team as being acted on and when it will be resolved.

2) Have a specific sub forum for HELP. Here a user can post a query on how to do something or a problem they are having and other users try and help out. Forum admins may choose to help but don't have to. Rather than each distributor having their own forum for dealing with Fibaro specific questions - encourage them to help users on yours. If they are seen to be helping out it helps their image for their sales. It means the same questions are not being asked in different places and Fibaro get better information on how the system is being used.

3) Have a specific sub forum for the compatibility of other manufacturer additional devices. Only one message thread for each device. Users post their own comments about how well something works with HC2.

FORUM GENERAL

The forum needs to be thought of by Fibaro as part of their business model. A place to talk about good things and not just bad! A place to keep customers and dealers informed. A place to post how the product is progressing. For instance - I understand that the retrofit dimmer and switching products have been a great success with vendors but no mention of it here.

I note on the Polish forum that there have been some very frustrated discussions between users and admins. I also note that, just possibly, Fibaro are getting the message that the users on these forums can be the best ambassadors for their products and can help them with the success of their products.

The success of a company is never just down to how good the product is. It is down to how good a product the customer thinks it is.

At the moment the sales staff at Fibaro need to look at this forum and ask themselves whether, if they were a potential customer, would this forum encourage them to buy now, wait, or buy from another manufacturer product?

If the answer is not "Buy Now" then Fibaro really do need to think very carefully about how they can improve the situation.....

Feedback and providing information may be time consuming but it will pay for itself many times over......

[Guest Joanna_Ossowska]

Thanks a lot for all of the tips. We will try to intoduce it asap.

[Guest sgbirch]

Thanks a lot for all of the tips. We will try to intoduce it asap.

You SHOULD do that. Like many others, I am a Vera user and would be happy to upgrade to a Fibaro ... but I see the pain of your users in these forums, Fibaro seems to be ignoring its users.

Also, I do not have a clear idea about what works and what doesn't.

I strongly suggest you start responding to your customers.

[Guest gembrain]

Regrettably, some two months after my original post, and months after the system was released, the situation has not improved at all.

There is no complete manual for the system, no knowledge base, no list of tested compatible devices, no sign of the new scene engine, no information on all the different module versions, etc, etc ......

Even the "news" section of the website still says "coming soon"!

Basically there seems to be no way of really knowing whether the system will do what I want without buying it all - and I'm not going to risk that. I'm doing a whole house rewire and was looking to spend £1500-£2000 on Fibaro kit. I can't wait much longer so have had to completely rethink my approach. For the moment I may buy a few basic bits where functionality isn't critical but no more than that.

If Fibaro really can't see the point of a good website and a good forum then I despair.

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Perhaps I'm totally wrong and they've got so many happy customers that they don't need to bother!

However, if anyone else is looking to buy but being held back by lack of confidence and information then let Fibaro know.

Best wishes to one and all

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[Guest Futuretech]

Regrettably, some two months after my original post, and months after the system was released, the situation has not improved at all.

There is no complete manual for the system, no knowledge base, no list of tested compatible devices, no sign of the new scene engine, no information on all the different module versions, etc, etc ......

Even the "news" section of the website still says "coming soon"!

Basically there seems to be no way of really knowing whether the system will do what I want without buying it all - and I'm not going to risk that. I'm doing a whole house rewire and was looking to spend £1500-£2000 on Fibaro kit. I can't wait much longer so have had to completely rethink my approach. For the moment I may buy a few basic bits where functionality isn't critical but no more than that.

If Fibaro really can't see the point of a good website and a good forum then I despair.

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/emoticons/default_icon_rolleyes.gif" alt=":roll:" />

Perhaps I'm totally wrong and they've got so many happy customers that they don't need to bother!

However, if anyone else is looking to buy but being held back by lack of confidence and information then let Fibaro know.

Best wishes to one and all

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/emoticons/default_icon_biggrin.gif" alt=":-D" />

120% agree with you. See my post

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[Guest Kuuno]

i agree with you that there are few things that are missing and probably due toa lot of development work not all changes have been done in the forum as proposed (very good suggestions btw!)

When i began looking for a solution for myself then i tried various other solutions and read many forums and i must say that you can find similarities everywhere - demand is lot bigger than possible input

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For me one of the big steps towards HC2 was the UI - it is lot better looking than many others in the price range. Firstly i tested some solutions that you can install on your own server and they were few steps ahead with functionality but if i look at the ui every day that i dont like then ill better wait for these functions to come on HC2...

now for the list of compatible devices- I have tested and played around with some devices and i will post the results here. the list will increase over time also...

Regarding the manual, that is something I need also in my country so i started making one myself. Currently at version 0.1

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/emoticons/default_smile.png" alt=":)" srcset="https://forum.fibaro.com/uploads/emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> i will try to release it in a week or so (not taking any obligations here thou:) )

im pretty sure that if Fibaro development team gets over few important corner stones then you will enjoy the solution.

If you have any specific problems then give me a feedback!

regards

Kuuno