Better Alarm Panel Needed

[FritzB001 0]

Hi guys,

I use fibaro with a lot of sensors for half a year. You offer it with nice presentations on your homepage an millions of possibilities. But the truth is that there is a big lack of usability.

E.g. you show pictures of statistics from the smoke detector. Where are they in HC2.

You offer burglar alarm but on the iPhone there is no information WHICH sensor has been breached. So where do I run to get the thief?! First floor, second floor...

The alarm central simply is a joke! There is still no possibility to control a sirene (without scenes or other workarounds). No possibility to arm only internal sensors and so on.

Everything has to be done with workarounds (if possible at all).

I could continue this report for dozens of lines.

I ask you WHEN will you correct these things and make the system that good as you promise in your advertisings?!

And I would like to hear from other users if they are as disappointed, upset and annoyed as I am...

Fritz

[j.nowacki 5]

FritzB001, so called "black box" will appear in next update but it is available in alpha already. Also in Ipad App, when Alarm goes off, the pop-up does inform you about name of sensor that was breached. Siren can of course be controlled by e.g. relay switch. What do you mean by internal sensors? All of our devices are meant to be used indoors.

FIBARO system is not an alarm system, it gives you some basic functionality of alarm, but for full security you should integrate it with e.g. Satel alarm.

[FritzB001 0]

Where do I find this black box?

Maybe it does in iPad, but in iPhone it does not.

Sirene should not be controlled by workarounds but as regular part of the alarm system. Btw. watching your website you DO point it out as a full functionial alarm system. Or at least you create the impression. If it is not meant that way i am of the opinion that you are commited to point that out more clear.

I did not make this clear enough. I understand your question. "Internal" means door/window sensors which make sense to be armed if you are in the house. "External" means motion sensor which you will arm only if you leave the buildind.

[j.nowacki 5]

FritzB001, what version of firmware do you own?

Also on Iphone name of breached sensor is mentioned in a Pop-up. Direct control of siren is caused by lack of such device integrated with z-wave. But enabling it by relay switch is no workarounds but normal way of switching non-integrated devices on. Arming different sensors can be achieved with a scene.

[FritzB001 0]

Which firmware? iPhone or Fibaro.

Fibaro is on Software Version:3.591beta

iPhone is 7.0.4

There are no pop-ups naming the breached sensor

What do you mean by "sirene not integrated"? I use an z-Wave sirene from Everspring (SE812 Indoor Siren)

[j.nowacki 5]

FritzB001, as i said "black box" is available in alpha verison, you have beta.

There is a pop-up when you are in app. Otherwise you should set a push to inform you about breached alarm. I meant there is no FIBARO siren with z-wave. What problems do you have with your siren? It should be possible to run it with simple LUA scene.

[FritzB001 0]

How do I get alpha?

I thought it would be updated automatically?

The problem is that I can only use the sirene with your alarm panel if I configure it as light. The way you advertise your product raises expectations (of easy usw) which you do not hold.

Another example is that you advertise your motion sensor as capable to arm sensors if there is no motion for time of x minutes. The customer thinks "great, it sure it is easy to setup", but it is not. You have to do programming. And I did not manage to handle it. And I am an a bit more experienced user.

[j.nowacki 5]

FritzB001, alpha version is not stable one and if you want access to it there is special topic in "Home Center, software versions" section. Every system needs configuration and if you want more complex functions with some LUA code you are able to achieve almost everything.

[FritzB001 0]

Dear j.nowacki, this is not the point: YOU advertise a system as EASY and possible of everything but it is not. And that is not OK.

Your hint to alpha version though is useless to me because the system already is unstable (smoke sensor through me out of bed the last two nights also it wasnt breached... I send a mail to support).

All together nothing you wrote was of any help.

[hvb83 1]

I have to agree with Fritz here; the alarm panel is next to useless. If you take a look at the way Zipabox implemented the alarm, then you know it can be done without Satel. Why Fibaro keeps pushing that route I don't know. And with the answers that Fibaro is presenting here, I'm not sure we will see serious improvement anytime soon.

As said, you advertise it as being easy to setup. You counter that by saying any system needs programming in order to function. I assure you, with Zipabox, with all the flaws that system had in other departments, I had a completely functioning and advanced burglary alarm system just by clicking and dragging. So I cannot take your explaination serious; it's simply not true. Ok, for some very advanced requirements doing some LUA would be acceptable, but with consecutive trigger zones, protection modes and even a proper control for the siren missing, it is clear that we're not talking about adcanced features that need to be programmed.

So yes, it can be done and with the way Fibaro advertises their stuff they make it appear that this is also the case for Fibaro. Over the past 3 months people have clearly gotten more annoyed with Fibaro on this board, I'm just hoping for everybody involved that once 4.x finally arrives it blows our socks off...

[FritzB001 0]

Well spoken hvb83!

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In addition there support is an catastrophy... you just dont get an answer.

And that really is a problem if there sensor (flood, smoke) throw you out of bed at night even they were not breached.

I am so pissed of!

[Dalle1985 16]

Well... To be brutally honest, I am marvelled at the fact that no one has mounted a False advertising claim against Fibaro yet. Not saying I want to do it - my system is working as I expect and I like the challenge of programming the system myself, but there are lots of functions being advertised which are either very difficult to set up or next to impossible.

[FritzB001 0]

Actually I am so angry that I am thinking about doing this. I already had contact to a lawyer.

[hvb83 1]

Same here; I have very few problems in terms of stability or unexpected problems. But the website should be regarded as a business plan instead of a platform to inform people about the capabilities of the system. The only problem is that as a prospect you simply don't know that and can't know that. A proper manual through which you can investigate up front what the system can do is not available.

It's kinda like me going into a VW dealership ordering a new Passat and then when it arrives, being presented with all the bits 'n bolts and the message "here is your new car sir, if you put all the parts in the right place, you may be able to enjoy it the way it was designed." If I would want that, I'll just order a Westfield. At least they provide a manual with their products and if there is something wrong, they support their product with employees that know what they're doing and don't push responsibility back to the customer right away...

Sure I can put some serious effort in to build an alarm panel that does what you would like it to do, but Fibaro implies that their system is capable of providing something that works and we may expect that from a product that costs 2 - 3x as much as the competition. The same goes for the climate panel; a ridiculous piece of crap.

Energy monitoring; HC2 is the only system on the market that does not interface with smart meters or anything like that.

iPhone interface looks nice on the website, but in practice it's simply too static. For iPad I'll even go as far as to say that it's unusable in practice. And Fibaro's designers spend days making new leaflets and websites once a new product comes out, but the amount of icons available from Fibaro for new or existing purposes is very limited. To me this shows Fibaro is mainly interested in selling, but not so much in keeping existing customers satisfied.

I've kept quiet for months now and I'm usually somebody who tries to be realistic about expectations towards manufacturers, but Fibaro has kept us hanging for too long and I don't know what it takes to get them moving again. We were promised for more and better Fibaro employees to answer the questions on this forum. If the only thing these new guys will do is shift responsiblity for expectations not being fulfilled back to the users, then Fibaro might just continue on the road they went: keep quiet.

I've come to the point that I'll investigate other options. I'm not saying HC2 will move out entirely for now, but I've had it with this attitude. And reading by the comments other people are making, I'm not alone in this. Wake up Fibaro. A good reputation is built over a long time, but can be destroyed before you know it.

[FritzB001 0]

Totally agree.

Unfortunately I dont have the time (nor money) to change the system. But if fibaro doent come up with a solution quickly I DEFINETLY will write a lot of reviews to all the websites I know. And I will sure take that time... (vacation in two weeks). Fibaro sure knows that bad reviews (mirroring the reality) are nearly devastating.

And then we will see If THIS speeds things up.

[hvb83 1]

I'm thinking along the lines of a hybrid system with a Rpi with Domoticz on it. I'll have to investigate if there are any drawbacks to that for now, but I don't think so. That would allow me to change gradually and use the advantages of both systems, while indeed not having to invest a lot of time to make the transition. Cost-wise it would not be a very big thing, since you'll only have the costs for the Rpi and the Z-wave stick.

[remcoploeg 10]

hvb83,

Same here, great marketing department, but really crappy communication from product developement to the great Fibaro community! I have spend thousands of euro's for this crappy system. Every problem, the answer is version 4.x. The simple things like energy monitoring, the heating panel, good working other zwave products (other than Fibaro..) eventpanels, monitoring high CPU scenes etc etc doesn't get anything better. I came from HomeSeer to Fibaro because of the lack of innovation. But HomeSeer is much better with the functionality and extended possibilities.

There is one simple question: When does version 4.x come that solve all of our problems like Fibaro is saying? I am on the edge now to sell my HC2 and move the the competition.

[Dalle1985 16]

Well... I'm working on a business plan which might be helpful to some of you guys who are fed up with this! Watch out on kickstarter!

[dhanjel 7]

Well... I'm working on a business plan which might be helpful to some of you guys who are fed up with this! Watch out on kickstarter!

Interesting, keep us informed!

[dw89 8]

Hi Guys,

I'd be the first to bitch about Fibaro (e.g. the Motion Eyes!) but to be honest, he 'is' right that, if you do the work you can a) get it stable and b) get it to do what you want without issues. But it does take work!!!

Yeah there will always be problems (show me a system that doesn't have them? Even ones that cost ££££ more than this!) but that's life to a point. I do agree that a lawsuit couldn't be far off however because their marketing ~= what you get. That's the only major issue because it does not do what it says it will and therefore if you're no good at code then you are pretty much in trouble.

On the up side I do hope they keep up the 'good' work because there's so much potential here. I just hope it doesn't become too much marketing and not much substance.

All the best

Dave

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[hvb83 1]

I don't think many people here complain about stability issues or getting the system to do what we want; it's that Fibaro is selling something that looks very nice and shiny on the website, but under the hood it's a lot of loose ends.

If we take the alarm panel, it's really only a panel, the arm/disarm functionality and the notifications that work. All the rest you have to program yourself; even the siren that needs to become silent once the alarm is disabled after being triggered. No rocket-science indeed, but testament to the way Fibaro neglected the alarm panel.

My proposal to solve this would be for Fibaro to provide a decent alarm panel on short-term. I'm willing to assist in providing ideas and testing, but in my opinion it's Fibaro who has to solve this issue, not the individual users. They owe it to the people who bought a HC2 / HCL thinking it would provide a decent alarm panel and then finding out it is not useful at all.