The eBay seller refused to sell it under the same lack of information we have. Or actually, they appear to have more than we do, but also cannot get a response from Halo. Seeing that others had mixed results from Lowe’s, no response from Halo and the fact that their app was removed from the Google Play store does not make me think they are worth any more of our time.
A couple months ago I had a defective unit that stopped pairing with Smartthings after Halo sent a firmware trying to fix false power source detection. Anyways, the old unit started beeping after a few days of being unplugged and died within days. According to support, it supposed to last 30 days on battery! Anyways, they had a bit of delay before getting additional units in stock and sent me a replacement. I just received my replacement about a month ago. Hopefully it’s not gonna blow up or anything.
When I purchased my Halos about a year ago, out of the three I received, one was DOA and the other had a bad sensor and beeped incessantly. Support at the time was quick and sent me replacements. Now that they’ve gone silent, I’m afraid they may have had poor manufacturing quality which cost them a considerable amount of capital. The high amount of defective units may be the reason for the messages from eBay and Lowe’s. My speculation is that they are out of business.
If anyone lives in NC they can drive by and see if they are still around:
520 Eagleton Downs Dr. Suite B
Pineville, NC 28134
I threw in the towel - replaced my Halo with the Nest Protect and am moving on. I will say the speaker is way louder on the Nest and honestly, the whole experience with the installation and setup was way easier. Its nice to know the wired also interconnects with the wireless protectors, making the install in areas without a current alarm a lot easier to boot.
I’m giving up on them too. Found 4 at a nearby Lowe’s, got up to the register and they refused to sell them.
Said screw it and picked up the new First Alert Safe& Sound during Prime Day. Eff any company who behaves like this!
I was gonna go with a hardwired nest protect.
What made you go for the new first alert device? I don’t think I need the speaker or Alexa capability. I have an echo almost directly below where my Halo is currently installed.
I have the same setup with an Alexa in each room but having it built in, hardwired was kinda appealing. I also paired them to a VLC server via BT so SmartThings can play announcements over them (NOAA alerts, door chimes, etc)
1 Like
I have 1 Halo and 1 Halo+. The weather radio functions on the Halo+ never worked, I’m assuming because reception was too weak. Kinda defeated the whole purpose of having it.
I also paired them to a VLC server via BT so SmartThings can play announcements over them (NOAA alerts, door chimes, etc)
@tobycth3 Could you share how you did this? I have Google Home devices throughout the house, and would be interested in NOAA alerts.
I installed VLC Thing on a Windows PC (but there are other apps you could use) along with RemindR. Pair via Bluetooth and configure the alerts you would like to hear.
1 Like
It’s so hard to say goodbye.
Dear Halo customers,
It is with our sincere apologies that we must let you know that Halo Smart Labs is closing its doors. You may have noticed a lack of available product and support responses, and we apologize for taking so long to let you know what is going on. While we are proud to have created a best in class product, it takes more than a great product to make a great business. Despite the best efforts of our team, ultimately the resources required to continue making and supporting Halo products were beyond our reach.
Over the next couple of weeks, direct support for Halo devices using the Halo app will be disconnected, leaving them unable to connect to the internet and deliver messages including hazard notifications and emergency contact ability. Our recommendation for those customers who wish to retain these features is to connect the Halo smoke alarms to a hub produced by either Iris by Lowe’s or SmartThings. These connected home systems intend to continue to provide connectivity and support for Halo devices and offer some additional benefits beyond the previous Halo app.
We at Halo recognize that your support of our products was no small investment, and we truly wish we could have found a way to provide a better outcome for your experience. Thank you for including us in your search for ways to make your home smarter and safer, and for letting us be a part of your lives.
-Ben Stagg
Co-Founder
Halo Smart Labs
Just saw the email. Damn shame…guess i need to look at the positive and glad I had only bought one versus family of mine that have four that are now kind of useless.
Damn 
I guess the one positive is it will still work with SmartThings.
Based on this announcement, I’d be curious to know fellow users’ thoughts on what Device Handler / Type to use with ST from now on with an existing Halo setup.
Currently, mine use the “Halo” DH/type (mine are just basic Halos, not Plus versions), but would it be advisable to consider switching to to one of the stock (for lack of a better term) DH options, such as “Zigbee Smoke Sensor”?
Has anyone tried something like that yet? Thanks!
Edit: corrected Z-wave reference to Zigbee - I mixed up my protocols!
No worries I’ll just delete.
1 Like
So right now it would be a total jerk move is SmartThings just up and deleted the Halo device handler. But it’s a real possibility that if/when they sunset the groovy development portal that they never create a new handler in the new dev portal.
1 Like
What are the current options for smart smoke detectors that integrate nicely with SmartThings?
Need more details of what you’re looking for. Battery or hardwired? Direct connection to ST like a zigbee or z-wave device? Or are you ok with using a community developed solution to tie in something like a nest protect?
Hardwired smoke detector (possibly with CO2 monitoring). I’d prefer something with a direct connection, but not completed opposed to another service that ties in.
If I didn’t have the Halo I’d probably get this https://www.thesmartesthouse.com/products/ecolink-z-wave-plus-firefighter-ff-zwave5-smoke-and-co-audio-detector
1 Like