I thought same until I found Additional activities could be added via the dedicated HA buttons (using ST to trigger them) That and the remote, albeit looks very similar, has slightly better ergonomics: placement of pause fast forward play buttons. May not sound like much but since I prefer to use it more than my cell, it matters to me. I even tried the touchscreen remote & found it more cumbersome than the simple remote that comes with the hub.
I picked up the HA remote as a refurb off eBay. Now I just need to find someone selling a hub-only for cheap so I can add it to my basement TV. Last one I picked up on eBay was DOA
Last hub I got on ebay also appeared to be DoA, but turned out it was just the power supply. I tried a different one and red hub light came on fine. Just something to try if you havenāt already.
The hub works really well even without IR blasters. I have it sitting on top of a Roku on the lower shelf of an open TV stand, and it easily controls 5-6 devices on that shelf, and somehow manages to control my TV and Receiver/soundbar on the shelf above despite not having line-of-sight. I suspect the IR is bouncing off other surfaces enough to control everything.
Yeah, I investigated all possibilities. Used my own power supplies with no joy. Luckily the seller refunded. I still have it & might open it up when Iām bored, but I doubt there is much to it to repair other than maybe if Iām lucky an obvious bad solder or disconnected wire.
My HA remote is on my primary entertainment center. This is tempting, but I donāt feel like going thru the hassle of selling off/shipping the extra remote I donāt need (I still have orig remote that came with hub) The hubs can occasionally be found for around $30-45 & thatās all I need. That & itās a seldom used Entertainment unit so no rush.
Once upon a time I would have bitten on thatā¦but do I really want to screw Amazon whom I use a lot? Might be better to do it to bestbuy lol. But still.,ā¦
This is almost a no-brainer. Got one some months back and it is my favorite Harmony system remote. You lose ādevice modeā on the remote, but thatās available via the Harmony app on you phone if you need it (I have only needed it a couple times in several months). The hub is about 4"x 4" or so, and <1" high. takes up very little room.
Just love this thingā¦came from years of using various Harmony remotes, lately the 700 series, and do not miss any of them when using this one. The remote that comes w/this system is really well sized, light-weight, buttons are well placed for both me (6ā2") and my wife (5ā1"). She especially likes the smaller/lighter remote. This one had big WAF for me, even better than the 700.
The one thing that is a bit of surprise is that the remote is sealed, and there is no way to charge it. So at some point it will have to be replaced, but given it lacks a display and the energy use per button press must be tiny, so I expect it to last for quite a long time.
Ya, I didnāt realize how yellowed & dirty is was until I popped it open to take the pic. I guess that explains why when I bought it the white was $20 cheaper than the black LOL
The Harmony Smart control and Hub dropped to $70 again on Amazon and Ebay through BestBuy. Good deal compared to the retail price, although it has dropped this low a few times this year.