I'm at the end of my patience

General
1

I’m at my wit’s end with this remote control.

Years ago, before IPTV even existed, I had a Dreambox DVB receiver. You could customize and program it to your liking. From pay-TV channel encryption to custom channel icons and who knows what else, everything was possible.

But at some point, I was so busy trying to get the thing working that I couldn’t actually use it for its primary purpose: watching TV.

It was more like a never-ending project. New firmware, new OS, updates, etc…

The Remote 3 is the same story.

I’m constantly trying to get it working without even being able to use it for what I bought it for in the first place.

And it’s a constant struggle. Searching in forums or Discord. Docker here, integration there. Everything’s in beta.

Why did I even buy this? Why am I doing the work the manufacturer should have already done?

The final straw came recently when, after all that frustration, I bought a Sofabaton X2.

EUREKA, it works right away!!!

Half an hour to set up, including configuring it in Home Assistant and the Alexa skill. No constant charging, no Wi-Fi problems, etc. Absolutely perfect and cheaper.

I threw the Remote 3 and its dock straight in the trash. No joke. I wouldn’t even sell the thing.

Sure, some will disagree and make excuses like, “Well, it’s not a Logitech Harmony replacement,” or “That’s not the target audience.” But who exactly is the target audience?

In conclusion:

It probably sounds strange, but after all my experiences, I really wish it had been a Kickstarter scam. Then I would have bought a Sofabaton much sooner.

2

Not sure why you would throw it out when there are those of us who appreciate it for what it is and would gladly buy it from you (and if you’re offering a deal, I’m game).

I agree with you in some ways … UC is so engineering focused that they miss some basics about customer sensibilities. Some of their leadership is great at responding and trying to be helpful (particulary Markus in Discord), others not so much, but the overarching sensibility isn’t there.

This product is essentially a DIY version of a CI level integration platform and that was never explained to backers with either the R2 or the R3. I have a long history of programming Pronto devices (before Philips got out of the game) and URC CCP remotes (before they caved to their CI base and shut out DIYers). That’s why the learning curve on the R2/R3 didn’t bother me and I derive some utility out of the experience of making it work how I want it to. But, we were never told that’s what we were buying and I completely get your frustration.

I have a Sofabaton X1S and I know the X2 is a significant step forward but it’s primarily designed as an IR control device which is a much less desirable platform than IP and the integrations it does offer aren’t very well developed. If that changes in time, that may change my perception of the remote. OTOH, my experience with Sofabaton makes the X2 a non-starter (it cannot properly control STBs on the X1 platform … the IR cannot be tuned to send a single button press for example). I am only pointing that it is a promising product but has its shortcomings too.

3

I’m almost as fed up as xenoton.

I keep thinking about just getting rid of these damn things (R2/R3) so I don’t even have to look at them anymore—they’re getting on my nerves so much by now. It’s just unusable/unreasonable for a normal user. That’s why I still use my Prono TSU9400—it’s simply the better remote. It works—always. No connection drops, and the battery lasts a week. Pronto Edit is a dream.

4

I think there are a number of issues with UC. The deal breaker is the poor radio performance which means you need a bulletproof wireless connection before anything else. In my case what did the trick was switching to 2.4Ghz.

Once you have a stable connection you have to plan how to control your devices. IP works best but the number of supported devices through third party development is admittedly very limited.

IR is hit and miss. The docks perform poorly, there is no IR library available on the platform so you are left to figure out yourself where to source the codes, in a compatible format, for a specific device. Even with the codes, IR does not always trigger my amplifier and I have not figured out a way to control my dCS stack yet. Also switching between activities, when IR devices are involved, can cause frustration. It’s a best effort affair since the remote does not receive status feedback from IR controlled devices.

And the battery life is indeed poor by remote control standards. It essentially measures in hours rather than days / weeks.

Having said that, if you achieve a stable connection and most of your devices support IP control, UC is a powerful remote which is infinitely customisable and reliable most of the time with the latest firmware updates. A couple of months ago I used to reach regularly for my
Harmony as UC would fail to trigger certain devices. Now I am seriously thinking about selling my Harmony because it has not seen any use in at least 8 weeks and that platform will sooner or later be abandoned by Logitech.

I personally would buy UC for the IP control, if most of your devices are supported with integrations. Luckily, in my case, they are. If you need mostly or exclusively IR control, Harmony is still a vastly superior remote with a comprehensive database, streamlined setup and bulletproof IR performance from their hubs and blasters.