Ecobee3 Smart Thermostat Update Adds HomeKit Support for Remote Sensors

Wow I have not had the issues you've had. They did fix a bug I brought to their attention about the Notification Centre widget not updating.

Otherwise, I wish their app had a native feel but I see what they're trying to do by mimicking the UI on the Ecobee itself. I don't use the app much because everything is scheduled and I use IFTTT DO Button to manually set Home/Away.

I agree I have not found value in the reports.

I have not had nearly the issues that he has had either. Overall it's been a good experience. My biggest complaint, (and this type of issue seems to be common for many smart home devices), is that the geofence feature built into Ecobee is only useful for bachelors who live alone. It doesn't work with two or more person households. This means I have to use a work around geofence using IFTTT integration and the life360 app. I don't understand why these some of these device manufacturers don't design these features to work for more than one person households, since I suspect most people live with at least one other person. Especially the core market for stuff like this, homeowners.

Awesome news. However, since December I haven't been able to use my Ecobee3 with home kit. Happened after an update at one point. Still doesn't work with the newest firmware update yesterday, unfortunately.

Ecobee is an absolutely horribly bug-ridden device, and unfortunately the developers don't seem to be spending much time fixing issues and making it stable, just rolling out new functionality that most of us don't need.

Both on the iOS app and the web app it is impossible to change the temperature because it: (1) either springs back to another value than the one you set, (2) refuses to adjust in more than 4-5 degree increments, or (3) sets the cool point as the hot point, or vice versa. There are dozens of App Store reviews mentioning this issue, yet after several updates over the past six months it's still unresolved.

It is impossible to manually update the firmware, and many Ecobees are either months behind or forever stuck on earlier firmware. It takes a call to Ecobee to get a firmware update pushed.

The web app is not fully compatible with Safari despite the fact that this device works only with iOS devices. To create an Ecobee account I had to install Chrome, then switch back to Safari.

The reports are a joke. Most are nonsensical and provide nothing in the way of context to determine what they mean. Simply "you're in the 45% of homes" without clarifying whether that's the top 45% or bottom 45% (or even whether your home IS the 45th percentile or somewhere between 0 and 45).

I've also had the same HomeKit issue. Eventually it mysteriously began working, but then began a constant battle between HomeKit and Ecobee about who controlled the temperature in my home. The heat or AC would turn on seemingly at random depending on who won the power struggle. I decided to get rid of the HomeKit integration.

Unfortunately it did not want to remove HomeKit integration without a reset, which led to the next major problem. If for some reason there is an issue that requires resetting Ecobee, it also destroys your Ecobee account and all settings and prior reports, meaning you start from scratch. You can't simply log back on and restore your settings.

The only issue Ecobee has fixed in the one year I owned it is the login and TouchID, where the app was constantly logging you off even if you had used the app in the last few ours, and worse would not accept TouchID. But that took far too long, especially in light of the high percentage of users who had the issue.

I love my ecobee. I've never had any significant bugs, except it very occasionally drops the wifi connection, though it does usually reconnect by itself. It's been installed for a year and a half now, and I'm saving a ridiculous 37% on my entire electric bill (about $70 savings a month, down from $190 to $120). I really didn't expect that much savings. Maybe my old thermostat had a problem or something.

At first I bought it because of the option for extra sensors. However I didn't really end up using the one that came with it anyway. It eats batteries about every 6 months and I just stopped using it. I may have to break it back out now with the ability to add it to homekit.

Yep, this! If your Ecobee stops talking properly w/HomeKit, completely unpair it, reboot your iOS device, and try setting it up like it's a new device in it again. Annoying, but worked for me and is actually the official Ecobee advice in one of the online troubleshooting tips.

I'm glad they're still upgrading these with better support. I like my Ecobee a lot too -- but I also feel like my home is a challenge for it.

I live in a 100+ year old, 2 story house that was upgraded about 10 years ago with a pair of heat-pumps. One for the upstairs and the other for the main level and basement area. I had to buy 2 Ecobee thermostats to control the two of them.

Even with a total of 4 extra temperature sensors in use, strategically? I find it's a constant struggle to keep the house comfortable at the same temperature throughout. It seems like one problem is that warm air rises, so the unit heating the main level winds up working extra hard as that heat goes upstairs and contributes to warming it up. That means the upstairs unit probably doesn't run quite as much as it should to do its part. When the unit upstairs does decide to kick on, it heats the upstairs bedrooms pretty quickly and shuts back off. But then the whole upstairs feels far warmer than the downstairs does for the next hour or two.

I guess I'm not sure if the two Ecobee 3 thermostats actually communicate with each other, but it seems like they don't.

I've had HomeKit get goofed up enough that I had to (from the Ecobee) delete the pairing and then pair it back up again.

Glad I wasn't the only one seeing this! :)

Help me understand. I've never grasped the concept of how the sensors actually save you money.

I'm guessing most people have one furnace and multiple ducts. If one room requires additional heat (because the sensor in that room is set differently), doesn't the furnace come on heating the whole home? It's not as if each room is separately heated/cooled.

The sensors are mostly for comfort. The savings come from the thermostat being automatically being set back when you leave. There are different ways for that to happen though, one of them being using the sensors to detect occupancy.

It eats batteries about every 6 months and I just stopped using it.

Oh wow! I've had six remote sensors going on about 1.5 years and have only had to change one battery so far.

The reports are a joke. Most are nonsensical and provide nothing in the way of context to determine what they mean. Simply "you're in the 45% of homes" without clarifying whether that's the top 45% or bottom 45% (or even whether your home IS the 45th percentile or somewhere between 0 and 45).

Yeah, those reports are frustrating to me without any context.

I do love the runtime reports though! I moved into a new construction house and was able to use those to show the builder (and his HVAC sub) that there was an issue on super-hot days where the upstairs unit couldn't keep up.
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Also, I was wondering if the sensors could be WiFi enabled too?

I couldn't see that happening without requiring them to have a power cable attached.