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Thread: Evohome WiFi firmware update - is it ever going to happen?

  1. #1
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    Default Evohome WiFi firmware update - is it ever going to happen?

    So let me be direct and ask Honeywell. Are we ever going to see any firmware updates on the Evohome WiFi controller. It's been over a year and we've seen no updates.
    Or is that now considered a legacy product and we'd be expected to upgrade the hardware platform to get new features.
    I can't help but feel bitter for throwing out my perfectly useful Evohome V2 controller on the hope that the V3 would stay current. I haven't gained anything yet, but lost a couple of features I absolutely loved! Zone optimisation and outside temp display.

  2. #2
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    Bump......

    I too would like to be better informed.

  3. #3
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    Never gonna happen.

    The confusing part is that Honeywell don't appear to have a replacement/equivilent product either.

  4. #4
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    Honeywell just seems to have no strategy. They have all these overlapping products, each with slightly different feature sets, each with slightly different compatibility, e.g. why doesn't EvoHome (flagship product) have geofencing? A company that was actively engaged with the community and with the enormous resources that Honeywell has could develop the most amazing set of products. It's a real shame.

    My suggestions:

    - Simplify and standardise the product line
    - Sort out pairing (current system is absolutely ludicrous)
    - Make communication bi-directional so that everything requires confirmation (i.e. controller to valve: set yourself to 21C; valve: confirmed)
    - Hire a UX team to design a best of breed family: devices, controllers, apps, websites.
    - Engage with the community to iron out all the trivial bugs that continue to annoy us
    - Work with the boiler manufacturers to come up with an OpenTherm that actually works; and while that happens, Honeywell could easily code a bunch of exceptions for known brands/models of boilers so that things worked with existing boilers

    I would happily replace my almost £1,000 system with something that had clearly been re-designed from the ground up. I am very happy with EvoHome, and it has been one of my best purchases ever because it has made a huge difference in the comfort of my home. But it does feel very fragile (maybe just from following this forum?). It's just a little frustrating and tantalising knowing what could be possible.

  5. #5
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    I used to think my Evohome system was fragile (it's about 7-months old) but now I have it all programmed and have solved the problem of it trying to run the boiler every 10-mins when there is no demand by having staggered zone off times, I have to say it is reliable and does everything I need it to do. I initially had an installation issue with the BDR91' being too close to each other and got many communication errors but when I moved them further apart those problems have been solved. Installation is not straightforward, almost at near expert level and of the two heating engineers who have visited to service our boiler in the last 6-months (I changed service provider) both noticed the system straightaway and had to ask me how to turn on the boiler to test it via the controller, they clearly did not understand how the system worked, so not an everyday product and probably never will be.

    All that said the increased comfort level is great, even today when outside temperatures were relatively high it was heating our cloakroom which is notoriously cold even in summer and that was the only zone on, which I don't mind it's working correctly. Yes it could do with a programmable/user set economy mode so that if I choose to lower all zones by 10°C it does rather than its almost arbitrary 3°C reduction I'd be really happy and would welcome a firmware update for that.

    As our neighbours house is near identical to ours (same heating system but not Evohome) I have been surreptitiously monitoring their gas consumption versus ours and whilst not strictly scientific, it tells me we are using about 20% less gas across a wide range of temperatures and over the last 5-months of monitoring, so I'm also pleased that it's showing more efficiency, I think!

    Inevitably in design terms, Evohome must be reaching the end of its design life by now and I assume a updated product is in the design phase; but maybe it isn't, we shall probably never know until one is launched as the system becomes quietly obsolete.

    BTW I just checked the Wi-Fi Firmware version an mine has been updated to:

    Application Software Version: 01.00.03.00

    WiFi Software Version: 01.00.07.00

    The latter has increased in revision state from 01.00.03 when I purchased it.
    Last edited by g6ejd; 11th April 2017 at 10:54 PM.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by g6ejd View Post
    All that said the increased comfort level is great, even today when outside temperatures were relatively high it was heating our cloakroom which is notoriously cold even in summer and that was the only zone on, which I don't mind it's working correctly.
    Now that we're seeing warmer weather I notice the boiler going off completely for most of the middle of the day without me touching a thing with the schedule, so pleased with that. Our original programmer + very crude wall stat would not have done that without manual fiddling with the adjustment. (As it had such a large hysteresis)
    As our neighbours house is near identical to ours (same heating system but not Evohome) I have been surreptitiously monitoring their gas consumption versus ours
    With a pair of binoculars ?
    Inevitably in design terms, Evohome must be reaching the end of its design life by now and I assume a updated product is in the design phase; but maybe it isn't, we shall probably never know until one is launched as the system becomes quietly obsolete.
    The problem I see is that they can't really add any more functionality to the satellite devices like HR92's or increase the communications reliability (and security! since there is no authentication between devices) without a complete redesign of the over the air protocol - which means breaking compatibility with nearly 15 years worth of devices.

    Rameses II has had its time and is now an outdated protocol that isn't flexible, reliable enough or secure enough for tomorrows applications. The fact that the devices like HR92 can't be firmware updated means that existing hardware can't be updated to a new protocol either.

    At some point Honeywell will need to rip the plaster off and start with a new more modern protocol that breaks with backward compatibility but includes a proper message acknowledgement and retry mechanism as well as encryption and cryptographic authentication.
    BTW I just checked the Wi-Fi Firmware version an mine has been updated to:

    Application Software Version: 01.00.03.00

    WiFi Software Version: 01.00.07.00

    The latter has increased in revision state from 01.00.03 when I purchased it.
    Interesting. I'll check mine tonight!
    Last edited by DBMandrake; 12th April 2017 at 04:17 PM.

  7. #7
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    There is no doubt that a new protocol is needed. We are well and truly in the age of hacking, and a protocol with no encryption and authentication is no longer fit for purpose.

  8. #8
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    FYI, firmware updated this morning, approx 1:30am to:
    App 01.00.07.01 (was 01.00.03.00)
    WiFi 01.00.06.10 (was 01.00.02.00)

  9. #9
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    Haha Honeywell spiting us for opening this thread.

  10. #10
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    I was reliably informed that a firmware update was to be expected shortly. Glad to see it happening. Would love to know what has been fixed. Apparently no new features in this update. Only bug fixes.

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