Brilliant out of money

FWIW, Brilliant's price-point was very similar to the Wink Relay's initial price-point. At the end, Wink was offloading the relays at $30 or less. At least Brilliant is being ethical enough to stop selling their controllers ....

3 Likes

the amount of times i've look into them because of the screen and ultimately decided not to because i have old cell phones laying around is more than i care to admit. the price point definitely helped me hold off on getting one

2 Likes

Too small of a fish in a red ocean without a differentiating enough product. I looked at them and like others went for using old cell phones and tablets running my HousePanel instead, which gives me far more customization and flexibility - without the cost.

2 Likes

LOL

1 Like

Homekit or Matter compatibility again underlined?
how about affordability underlined again.
The really brilliant idea, engage enough customers by being affordable.

3 Likes

I did wonder if any part of their marketing was focused on getting the high-end installers looped in, as their price points were at the level where I would think most buyers are not used to doing their own work replacing and setting up switches.

Frankly it makes my head hurt. I feel thoroughly insulted by the pricing, almost like they are saying "Hey, stoopid, wanna spend way more than you need to for a limited cloud-based system?"

OK, obviously time to take my meds... :wink:

5 Likes

No I think that they just thought that they could hang a huge number on something that is mostly a DIY hobby and that people would pluck it out of the air...They didn't read the room. I mean, sure there are a lot of high end buyers out there but most high end installers know better than to install something that could crash or cause network vulnerabilities. Again, JMO...

4 Likes

I was hoping Brilliant would last long enough to rationalize their pricing and support stock Android apps; as is, it's not hugely capable, and I still think Wink Relay started out with a superior form factor.

I'm a fan of control panels, especially if they're integrated and purpose built. I like being able to walk down the hall without digging out my phone and see the status of things a glance: weather radar, interior/exterior temps, door status, alerts.. yet I've been reluctant to put a tablet on the wall (seen too many photos of what bulging batteries look like).

My secret shame: Since 2018 I've burned through many Wink Relays (approximately 9-- some were disposed of; I lost count. All the dead ones wouldn't fit in this picture). Most lasted only a few months, before I found out that rooting them evidently caused premature failure (thanks KingRoot!).

Not exactly sure how (maybe some write amplification going on, killing the flash). Good thing Ebay had been selling 2-packs for $39, shipping included.

Wink got it mostly right... designed for self install in existing outlet box, UL listed, reasonably priced, good aesthetics, adequate screen... even provided control of the pair of switches it potentially displaced. With a hardware update (and stock Android, not locked into Wink's ecosystem) it would tick all the boxes. Of course, it requires Joe Page's excellent HD+ app to provide functionality; thankfully the Relay still runs a downlevel version, and Wink's servers no longer interfere with my non-rooted Relays. Doubtless they present vulnerabilities .

Sure, they're slow if you actually need to interact with them; I rarely need to... still I can observe/control anything exposed via Maker API. Depending on you set up HD+, the information density can be very high. Thanks to HD+, everything I want to see (temps, alerts, status indications) is always visible on the home screen or 'live icon' on a folder which can be opened with a single touch to display more:

6 Likes

FWIW - they were originally priced at ~$300. And did not sell well at that price. The fire-sale prices reflect Wink desperately trying to raise money after will.i.am bought the company.

2 Likes

One thing they got right - angling the display. :+1: I don't really use displays, but if I did, they would all be angled. Couldn't put them up too high as wife is very short, but lower w/an angle would work well for both of us.

2 Likes

Ah, I didn't realize they started out that high. But prices must have come down fairly quickly. When I bought my first Relay, around 2017 I think, I was still using a small amount of Wink stuff having begun migrating to ST the year before. As I recall, Home Depot was selling them for $119.

Maybe at that time HD was blowing them out; I agree $300 can't be called reasonable, though again as I recall you didn't need to buy a Wink hub at all to support Zigbee. Relays have a Zigbee coordinator built in.

1 Like

Is there a preferred wall controller that works with Hubitat? I really liked the functionality and aesthetic the Brilliant panel had, glad I stopped by here before sourcing it to see if it was compatible.

1 Like

I suspect most folks would use an Android tablet running the HD+ app; though you may need to get creative in how you mount it. Certainly HD+ has almost every feature you could ask for (if it doesn't, try asking in the HD+ thread, @jpage4500will probably find a way to add it!)

I might do likewise if I had the right spot for it and it looked like it belonged there. Don't know if battery swelling remains a concern; perhaps recent devices cope with the 'always plugged in' scenario better, though that's not a common one for tablets. My newish laptop has a power mode specifically for that case; I've run it that way for 6 moths and it still claims to have retained (according to its battery utility) all but a few percent of its original capacity.

Yes, the Relay's well designed to be viewable from its intended mounting position ( inside a dual gang light switch box). I doubt anyone would have issues with that. A tablet stuck flat on a wall would likely wind up in the sweet spot for a smaller number of users.

2 Likes

Hey Tony, do we need to root to install HD+ on the Wink Relay? -Please say "no" I already bought 2..all your fault, at least that's what I'm telling my wife

1 Like

Thanks for taking one (or two, as you say) for the team. We look forward to you making the mistakes so we won't have to. :wink:

3 Likes

No, HD+ doesn't require rooting the Relay. That's fortunate, because every Relay that I rooted never lasted more than two or three months (meanwhile a buddy of mine has been running ActionTiles for SmartThings on his non-rooted relay for 6 years now without a hiccup). KingRoot evidently kills them. When this happens, they'll continue to operate but somehow the flash memory gets affected so that any configuration changes won't be retained (like a modification made in HD+) whenever the unit gets rebooted. I've seen forum posts refer to this as the 'groundhog day syndrome'.

I'll dig up my notes on how I set them up. Last time I set one up was last summer so hopefully I can still make sense of my notes. EDIT: I'll message you to avoid (further) hijacking the thread.

There are limitations in things they can run because of the old Android version; you'll be limited to running an old version of Chrome (you'll just need that to download some utilities and HD+). HD+ also will be limited to a down-level version, but it's perfectly functional; last time I tried, the latest HD+ version would claim to install but not actually work properly. Many of the enhancements of later HD+ versions aren't useful on the Relay anyway.

The only significant capability I lost running the Relay non-rooted is the ability to install @josh 's awesome Wink Relay LAN integration-- this allows HE to control the Relay's two local switches and backlight. The switches still function manually; however the proximity sensor can't be configured without it so the backlight is always on; that's a bummer. If the backlight ever dies, maybe I can salvage one from the half dozen dead Relays that remain...

This is interesting enough that it would be nice if you started a new topic in Get Help>Devices on this, w/whatever info you can share about setting the Relay up w/HD+ and other uses. I think folks would find that interesting.

2 Likes

I know I would. I have a spot where there is currently a blank plate were one of these would look cool.

2 Likes

I'm trying to figure out a spot for one...a little difficult as my wife has already clearly indicated that she doesn't want "...that kind of stuff hanging off the walls." :wink: She is perfect in every other way, so what can I do? :smiley: