Announcement: Harmony Remote Manufacturing, Service and Support Update
Pinned Answered
Hello folks,
We have been getting questions from the community surrounding the future of Harmony, and we’re here with an official update.
While Harmony remotes are and continue to be available through various retailers, moving forward Logitech will no longer manufacture Harmony remotes.
We expect no impact to our customers by this announcement. We plan to support our Harmony community and new Harmony customers, which includes access to our software and apps to set up and manage your remotes. We also plan to continue to update the platform and add devices to our Harmony database. Customer and warranty support will continue to be offered.
We thank all members of the Harmony community, for allowing us into your living rooms and entertainment stacks. Please visit the Q&A below for further information.
-Will from Harmony.
_________________________
Is Logitech selling/closing/discontinuing Harmony? Logitech has made the decision to discontinue manufacturing Harmony remotes. Remaining Harmony remote inventory will continue to be available through retailers for new customers, and support will continue to be offered.
Does this mean Logitech is no longer innovating on Harmony and designing new Harmony products? Yes. Remaining Harmony remote inventory will continue to be available through retailers for new customers and support will continue to be offered.
Does this mean Logitech will no longer be maintaining the Harmony database and software? No. Logitech plans to continue maintaining the Harmony database and software.
What’s the last day we can buy/find a Harmony? As supplies last at your retailers.
What happens to my warranty? The decision to end manufacturing does not change your Harmony’s warranty - https://www.logitech.com/footer/terms-of-use?id=3101.
What does the future hold for Harmony? Logitech plans to continue service and support for Harmony remotes.
Can you keep the service on so my remote will still work? Yes. Customers can continue to enjoy what they’ve always enjoyed about Harmony: a powerful universal remote control in a world with many devices connected to the TV.
I use my Harmony with Alexa and Google, will the integrations with 3rd parties change? This decision only impacts the manufacturing of new Harmony remotes. We plan to continue to offer service and support.
Will my Harmony remote be impacted? When? There should be no impact with existing Harmony customers, we plan to continue to offer service and support.
How long will you keep the service and support going really? Our goal is to keep service running as long as customers are using it.
When you say I’ll continue to get service and support, what does that mean? We plan to continue to make updates to the Harmony desktop software and Harmony apps for Android/iOS. Our support team will continue to be available, and we will continue to offer resources such as FAQs on support.myharmony.com.
I just bought a Harmony, can I get a refund? Please refer to the return policy from the place of purchase. No exceptional refunds will be given as the Harmony service and customer support are not impacted.
Will Logitech do anything for me for my inconvenience? We do not expect your Harmony experience to be impacted as a result of this decision.
-
Wow. I don't get shaken up by much but this has rattled my home theater cage. I've been using Harmony remotes for 20 year because they are, hands down, the best universal remotes out there. Period. I have two Harmony Companion setups in the house. Nothing comes close to touching the user experience they provide.
Is this really the end? Please tell me we're there's some future for the Harmony hardware line. Please! -
Hi Logitech,
Why are you discontinuing these products? I love my Harmony Elite and integrating with the Hub for automations. I also still love my Squeezebox products. Now left with just a keyboard and a mouse from your brand (which I also love by the way, but just not as much).
Maybe we are not enough A/V enthusiasts for this market. While streaming is the new normal by now, people still have equipment to control, at least one more device than the TV for many people - for example an A/V receiver or advanced soundbar. While most people may be abandoning Blu-ray players, streaming devices are needed when the "Smart TV"'s are a few years old and not getting updated anymore with apps for streaming services. Not everything may be IR controlled, but you can also integrate with network devices (if you wanted to).
I use my Elite for controlling lights and blinds also. Smart lighting and motorized blinds are becoming increasingly popular, so this is also the future. The Elite introduced a few buttons for this, and you have provided Hunter Douglas and Philips Hue integrations. The is not a thing of the past.
So why?
Best regards,
Jacob Laursen
-
Does this include the actual Harmony hub too? Such a shame & a massive mistake, not everyone likes using their phone as a TV remote! I hate apps on phones, maybe I am showing my age but what I was really hoping for was that Logitech would make a remote that had the Harmony One form factor, Elite functionality plus the addition of voice control for things like Alexa or Sony TVs. Guess that's never going to happen now. Such a terrible shame and a wasted opportunity!
-
Wow, I have to say I only registered so I could express my frustration regarding this decision. Harmony was the best product on the market, there is no real alternative really... I use mine to control my TV, home cinema, Chromecast, lights, blinds, etc... Please at least make it open source, it is an amazing product!
-
This is aweful. There are literally no alternatives out there and the Harmony product line was great.
Please release a version of the Harmony configuration software which makes the devices operable without any cloud servers, so people can continue to use the product as long as they would like. Or even better, make the software Open Source!
-
Any chance to open source the sofware behind Harmony (hub firmware, configuration apps, devices database)? I guess there would be many enthusiasts who would be willing to further support this great product, add new devices or expand functionality if this only be possible. Obviously this would be somehow short term solutnion, valid as long as our Harmony remotes continue to works...
-
This will hit everyone who plans to buy a HIFI amplifier and ditch it's original remote.
Cause let's be serious, not everyone buys sound bars for their TVs.
I think I'll go and buy an used remote control and hub and keep them as spares. I will definitely not bring back the remote control of my amplifier.
-
This is really a shame. I really enjoy my Harmony remote control. The remote control ensures that all entertainment devices from different manufacturers can be started up and operated without any problems. Even devices from the same manufacturer (Sony) cannot be started up and operated with one remote control ... Are you sure you will stop? The Logitech remote is the most used device in my house and always works thanks to its high quality!
-
To anyone asking “why” I imagine the answer has to do with profitability and demand. I doubt this was a haphazard decision.
I do love my companion remotes. I’ve been using harmony stuff for 15+ years now. Sad to see it go but I’ll buy a couple replacements just in case.
Logitech still makes cool stuff like the MXErgo and the spotlight. Hope they reconsider this.
-
Quelle horreur !
Un produit aussi performant et aussi facile d'utilisation, il est vraiment impossible de croire que tout cela va cesser. Si vous êtes attaché à la satisfaction de vos clients, nous vous demandons de réviser votre décision et de continuer à produire ce type de produits que seules quelques rares fabricants comme vous sont capable de proposer au grand public.
-
Seems like the smartest thing to do would be to open source your software and let others take the reigns. It will extend the life for your hardware users - take the pressure off future updates and let boutique developers make moves in the space on with a head start. You’d also be heroes rather than heart breakers.
-
Such terrible news to hear,
Harmony remote are a unique market it's true, but having two setup in different home I would not change for anything. Even if nowadays streaming services are booming, accessing those multiple service is still a pain.
The harmony remote was here for that, being able to switch from Apple TV to cable for a streaming service is what we are all here for.
And talking about product availability it's been tough to get access to a unit since a few month here in Europe. Had a hardware issue on a remote a month ago and I couldn't get any replacement other that through second hand.
Hope there a future for this product, maybe one day.
-
Let me clarify my "Why" question, because I know the obvious answer is "because it isn't profitable" or "looking forward, we don't see a market for it". My "why" is towards these obvious answers.
Why haven't you been able to make profit of these products, and why do you think new investments wouldn't pay off in the future?
You have a unique position in the market with no direct competitors, at least that I know of, and with the same possibilities.
For enthusiasts, you have been able to sell expensive products without any advertising - it was from mouth to mouth by just releasing cool products.
Maybe you have missed the low-end market? I have never seen an advertisement for Harmony 350 or any other Harmony products.
One reason I'm very sad, and have been using a word like "love" is because this is not only a product. Like with Squeezebox, this is an eco-system with integrations in and out. I have spent time automating stuff like turning on the TV and pausing the news on weekdays when I'm at home. This was possible by using the openHAB binding which was just massively updated last year by community developers that had to implement WebSocket integration after XMPP was disabled.
I even chose Luxaflex blinds (Hunter Douglas) over Somfy in part because Harmony integrated with Hunter Douglas. Maybe some more partnerships would have been possible for this kind of mutual benefit? I mean, Harmony adds value to Luxaflex motorized blinds, and Luxaflex motorized blinds added value to Harmony.
So much time and effort by communities and developers is now wasted. Perhaps not immediately, but starting now.
You promise to keep updating the platform, does that also include integrations with Hunter Douglas, Philips Hue, etc. in case firmware updates will break something, or new gateways are introduced needing some work to be compatible?
-
Well, now I see more people are pointing to Harmomny within home automation... I have my 2 Harmony remotes integrated into Home Assistant and this opens a new way of interacting with my home. Perhaps this is an opportunity to save the brand and evolve it to something that would be more future proof? While indeed, we are changing our habits of consuming media and we probably use less components that need to be controlled and tehse are anyhome more integrated together, but there is whole new area to deal with and integrate into - home automation/internet of things. I recalll Logitech tried once with creation of Harmony Extender, that should extend hub products functionality, but I think it was only available on US market and served only Z-Wave devices. Having possibility to use single device to controll all functions on my hone, not only media devices is already appealing to me, even if now, via Home Assistant, it is very limited. Perhaps opening up for such possibility could retain brand profitability?
-
I will tell you "why".
There are two types of companies.
One, these that find pride and happiness in bringing great products to the world. Money is welcome but not the primary goal. They sometimes are successful, sometimes they are not. But they usually leave a mark in the world. They can even be extremely successful: Apple is a great example.
The second type is not much about giving, but receiving. Money is the primary goal. Everything else comes second.
I thought that Logitech was the former type. The Harmony line was superb. I am a long time customer and I was just waiting to upgrade to the next model whenever it appeared with great anticipation.
But this move means they are the second type.
Which is great to know, so I can weight that into future purchase decisions of any other product from them that I may need.
Note taken.
Sad.
-
As others said. Please consider open sourcing the server side and make it possible to change the end point to our own instance (i.e. docker container).
Own 3 hubs with 2 Elite remotes and have been using it for many years.
Whoever made this decision internally isn't realising the potential of this product. My entertainment flows in my home are all built on Harmony. My mancave went from 8 remotes to 1 with Harmony activities initiating all additional (custom) actions. Including lights and climate control. No other physical remote achieves this in such a robust way.
-
This is so....so....so....disappointing. Logitech had a great opportunity to leverage the remote hub ecosystem with Alexa and Google. You van do amazing things with the combo. I have added voice control via harmony to legacy devices and systems that no other product could do. What a lost opportunity. I am g.ad to see support will still be there but what about when the device breaks? No replacement hardware available at some point.
BJBBJB
-
I get why people aren't excited for a $300 remote, even if it's beautiful and controls "all the things". However, the Companion (remote, hub, app) at under $100 or so on sale is just incredible. I've loved mine, and helped friends and family buy and set up. It's very disappointing to see Logitech stop making Harmony devices, even if the plan is to still support them for some time. There are no serious competitors.
I guess there just aren't enough people that have even semi-compex home theater setups (receiver, HTPC, etc), or are geeky enough to spend time setting up Harmony. That's a shame. There's a learning curve, as there is with everything worth learning, but it's only become easier over the years, and once it's set up, it's magnificent.
-
Here’s a thought - open source Harmony so that Apple, Google, and Amazon can create their own Harmony devices that are interoperable. That would keep the technology alive and flourish. Who knows - you may discover it worthwhile to re-enter the Harmony community at some point once you realize how ubiquitous it can be.
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
244 comments