Ok. So first of all, a new model was just announced. Like, seriously??? Sure, that’s fine. But honestly, the R2 is not a fully capable device yet. It feels like a beta high school project still. And in my opinion, most of the kinks are probably fixable via SW implementation. I know some of you have IR signal issues, but with my setup, IR works great. Maybe because I have a repeater and certain placement. You know, I really was cheering for this remote in the beginning. After using it for months, I’m steering away from it because it pisses the ever crap out of me. What is my biggest complaint??? The stinking way the entire remote works in realtime!!! Like OMG. Why have I dealt with this. Optimism?? Probably. But I’m done.
Here’s my main rant/complaint…will this remote EVER work with 100% responsiveness? Like, seriously. The number thing I believe will make this a solid option. When I pickup the damn remote, why can I not press buttons right away and control a device? Because this dumb thing wants to sync first. But why?? Why can’t it just spit out a command from a sleeping state right away? Pretty much all universals can do this. Whether they’re sending IR, WiFi, or Bluetooth. Can this one crippling flaw be fixed?? That’s really all I care about at this point. Everything else is pretty good. I find myself using OEM remotes though just to change the volume and not have to wait ~8 stupid seconds for the dumbass remote to wake up. Sure, I can make an activity never sleep…but then the remote will die in less than 2 hours. Screw this thing. Developers…respond!! It’s like you’re ghosts. Can that issue be fixed or is it inherited design? Is this a planned implementation or not??? UGH.
2 Likes
Tend to agree. The remote is great but the fact I have to wait 5sec to use it every time I pick it up, makes it a non starter. The family will never transition off the old Harmony Elite to this device with that cippling shortcoming. Can’t there be a software fix to make it work like a normal remote without changing a setting that kills the battery in less than a day?
1 Like
You guys are pissed off I can understand that but you can’t say that the software is a high school crappy project. The UI is modern and the software architecture well thought and opened. You cannot find anything similar on the market
The problem you raise is real though : permanent WiFi connection consumes a lot of battery. With harmony remotes you also had this annoying 2s delay to process command when waking up. This is less but still. With upcoming Bluetooth support this will be much more reactive (hopefully).
One trick is to keep the device active per activity. In that way you will get instant reactivity. The drawback is the battery. But I use to put back the remote on the dock and it easily lasts the whole day
1 Like
Ok. College project then. But in all seriousness, the entire idea of how this remote functions needs to change. Don’t get me wrong, I like it a lot. But I cannot use it in realtime if having to wait so long just to change the damn volume. The elite lag is not that bad, but I prefer instant commands. However, I’d rather deal with the lag if I know my remote is reliable and will respond when needed. Pausing something, volume, etc. The Harmony also doesn’t wake the screen. Why the hell can’t the R2 let me press physical buttons without the screen needing to be turned on? And most importantly, have to wait for established connections to respond? It’s dumb and I’m pretty much done with dealing with that after several months of use.
Ok but have you tried to tick the “prevent slepp” option inside each activities needing reactivity : I ticked it for TV, video activities and not for music activities.
Also you have the global option “sleep timeout” (fixed at 6min here) to prevent sleeping for all activites during this duration.
With these 2 options, I have a remote that last all day without being on the dock until the end of the day
Of course. I have my timeout a bit shorter. But I am always in an activity. So if I prevent sleep, the remote won’t last long at all.
Tend to agree as well. The user experience is still not yet bug free and fully developed. The new product looks like a nice evolution, but to me UC has no business not investing their full attention to getting the R2 over the finish line first. We paid a f-ing fortune for these things and we get no support, no responsiveness from UC to issues, no communication from UC, and they’re too busy developing the next product to pay attention to getting this one right.
Not acceptable in my books.
1 Like
100% agree. But a small part of me thinks they are planning something big for R2 and have been working on it for a while now. Small team, I get it. But no support on the forums for sure. We do know a UI overhaul is coming. I’m just optimistic that maybe they fix the most basic and crucial thing…in my opinion at least. If they don’t, I probably have to look elsewhere.
I kind of understand why UC is introducing the Remote 3. They need to develop and run a business and ultimately need to make it a profitable business. Introducing a lower cost model, with most likely better margins, bigger sales volumes etc. will contribute to the continuity of their business which, in the long run, is better for us, the Remote 2 users.
I think we need to keep in mind that Remote 2 was a Kickstarter project, created by a small team. IMO UC just don’t have the bandwidth to create fancy documentation etc. which I feel is perfectly acceptable in this phase of their company.