New shipment date for Homey?

brinkie

Emile said:

You couldn't be more right We continue shipment when most bugs are fixed!

You do understand this also delays app development for those developers who missed the geek batch?

fuzzybear

brinkie said:

Emile said:

You couldn't be more right We continue shipment when most bugs are fixed!

You do understand this also delays app development for those developers who missed the geek batch?

Yes this is a bit dissapointing taking this approach. Would it not be more appropriate to ask the people who have paid if they are happy to receive their homeys in a beta stage. I think we have been waiting patiently long enough. 

kasteleman

fuzzybear said:

brinkie said:

Emile said:

You couldn't be more right We continue shipment when most bugs are fixed!

You do understand this also delays app development for those developers who missed the geek batch?

Yes this is a bit dissapointing taking this approach. Would it not be more appropriate to ask the people who have paid if they are happy to receive their homeys in a beta stage. I think we have been waiting patiently long enough. 

I would not mind either, but understand Athom approach

Vincent

I think shipping in batches is a great solution to raise the quality of Homey with every release. If this was properly communicated from the beginning, expectations would have been more realistic. But for a startup, I think they are doing okay. Right now they should be communicating the next step: how many bugs, how many expected releases, expected timelines (with margin for error).

But when I read about all those failed kickstarters, I'm quite content.  

Reflow

Wouldn't mind to receive my Homey with bugs as well. So I finally can test the apps I'm trying to make (ATV4, Harman Kardon control) and of course help to search for current bugs.. But I do understand you need the man power to solve the current bugs for the happy lucky Homey owners. If I knew about Homey earlier then I'm sure I was a geek backer as well haha..

Athomey

Reflow said:

Wouldn't mind to receive my Homey with bugs as well. ...

Don't worry, software ALWAYS has bugs. There will be a few left for you.  

Reflow

Athomey said:

Reflow said:

Wouldn't mind to receive my Homey with bugs as well. ...

Don't worry, software ALWAYS has bugs. There will be left a few for you.  

Whoho I love smashing bugs 

fuzzybear

All of the current domotica controllers on the market have bugs. Some worse then others but they are all improving over time. When I first got the fibaro hc2 it was complete chaos on the forum, but slowly it is becoming a good and stable system and the forum has calmed down. What i noticed was the more users and developers the quicker this process goes.

Athomey

fuzzybear said:

All of the current domotica controllers on the market have bugs. Some worse then others but they are all improving over time. When I first got the fibaro hc2 it was complete chaos on the forum, but slowly it is becoming a good and stable system and the forum has calmed down. What i noticed was the more users and developers the quicker this process goes.

See @Reflow , you've got nothing to worry about. There will be plenty of bugs left for you.  

MennoVanGrinsven

I am geek but not a geek that needed the additional geek stuff  
I flash my android devices a couple of times a week with my own experimental ROM builds. Flashing Homey when the firmware gets messed up is not something that worries me  

Personally i would not mind receiving my Homey asap and try out experimental builds.

Reflow

I'm not sure if Athom stopped the production of the Homeys but if they didn't why not open an option for people to sign up for a experimental Homey (with more bugs then usual!)?

Athomey

Reflow said:

I'm not sure if Athom stopped the production of the Homeys but if they didn't why not open an option for people to sign up for a experimental Homey (with more bugs then usual!)?

Because they get enough feedback after shipping hunderds of devices, and must focus on that feedback. Not create more feedback for now. My 2cts. (Though I _do_ understand your wish........I'd have the same wish....)

PimBliek

I wouldn't mind having it now either, helping finding bugs. But I do understand Athom's choice really. They have to be able to cope with it. Adding another 1000 Homey's in the field might overwhelm them. I understand Athom's approach. 

However, I do agree that they should have thought of this strategy months ago and should have communicated this. Who remembers the promises around X-Mas?

ReneBoeije

I really wonder what we would have gotten if all the hardware issues would not have happened and it was shipped last may. I mean 8 months extra time on software development and the software is still so experimental. And the type of bugs that arise with new versions is also worrying me. Like IR not working anymore, homey does not answer anymore, voice training does not work (Or at least not at an acceptable level.) KAKU is the standard demo, but only for the newer generation apparently. So far I could not do anything useful with it. (Well click on test in the flow to turn lights on and off, but that was not the idea.)
Not to speak about some basic information in a central place, like meaning of led ring colors, basic commands. You can find it, but it is all scattered around the forum.

p0nts

they will not stop production, they just stopped sending them. (its software bugs not hardware)

so as soon as the bugs are fixed, allot more will get their homey straight away.

DaneeDeKruyff

Lot's of speculation again. It would be nice if @Emile can inform us about what's going on besides the fixing of bugs. Did production continue? Is it on schedule? 

WernerHellinghuizer

I've tested my homey with a z-wave product and this is working. I can add my tv remote (after seeing the YouTube example). I can't send something to the TV, but I can use, for example, the colored buttons on the remote to switch on the z-wave lights. The speaking is stil not working well, but this will be better in the future. So everybody be patient, the software is still Beta. The flow control works very nice. Ofcourse I want more features, but first we need a good working homey. Give them time to develop.  hopefully the hardware is working fine, so than wait for new software releases. 

Bumblez

Well, I can understand Athom's point on this very well. It's sad to see that even some people who specifically purchased the Geek edition, don't have the patience to wait until the bugs are fixed, and are already selling their Homeys again.
So yeah, I can very well imagine that this effect would be 10 times as bad once the next batch goes out the door... even more so once we hit the regular pre-orders stage. Sure, there is the occasional geek in those batches as well, who would love to have his Homey early and doesn't mind the bugs. But those will surely be a minority.
Also,  all those Homeys being up for sale this early after release, does not help Homey's reputation.

Vincent

Bumblez said:

It's sad to see that even some people who specifically purchased the Geek edition, don't have the patience to wait until the bugs are fixed, and are already selling their Homeys again.

To be honest, it was never communicated during the kickstarter that we would receive a beta product. And I understand why it is that it is, but there has been a change from the original kickstarter and that should be communicated properly. I get why people are selling their Homeys. For me, I can't wait to get mine. But I also don't mind to wait an update (or two).  

kitkat

I am one who bought it from another geek backer and I can say that Athom is taking the right approach. Nobody knows if it's a hardware issue or software issue because some people can't even get "hey homey" to work and others can.

latscht

Hi @Emile ;;, although'm just pre- order but I have next week birthday. Maybe the time for a birthday present  and the postman reaches over bring me my Homey 

  

Maartendd

Same here got the pre-order as a birthday present. Hopefully i have it by my next birthday.

But reading all the problems i stil get the feeling to stop coming to this forum and read all the problems. It do's not give me a good feeling that the product will be for what i sold for. (i am a pre-order) sow i buy i final product that lives up to the selling point. If not i will return the product and ask my money back like the dutch law gives me. we will see.

jorden

Just wait and see. Right now is probably the hardest moment yet in the existence of Athom... all that can go wrong, is probably going wrong now. As a website developer I know this feeling/moment All 'kinderziektes' must be experienced (and fixed) now.
The only thing I am worried about right now is the long time that it takes for Homey to recognize speech. But still, I am happy they are going through a server which probably means that the recognition will improve in time, instead of 'we have builtin speech recognition software that works 50% of the time'.

By the time the preorders  (including mine) will be delivered, I think that the product will be much better than it is currently. With each iteration the product seems to improve a lot, for as far as I've been reading here.

Bumblez

@latscht
Advance happy birthday to you. But next week? Highly unlikely (and probably very unwise as well) that they can send you a Homey in time for your birthday. Just give them the time to improve the software and deal with the current flood of test results.

@Maartendd
Patience is all I can recommend. The hardware is finished now, so now the focus is shifting to the software. When you receive your Homey next month (or so), don't expect it to be a 100% complete package where everything is working like a charm. If that's what you're expecting, then you might as well cancel your pre-order right now, because you're going to be disappointed. But if you can give it a few more months, so the people (both Athom and the community) have the time to improve the software, then I think you will see that Homey can indeed live up to all expectations...

MarcoF

My birthday is on 9-11 (11 of September).......
What to expect?!

  

Maartendd

Bumblez said:

@Maartendd
Patience is all I can recommend. The hardware is finished now, so now the focus is shifting to the software. When you receive your Homey next month (or so), don't expect it to be a 100% complete package where everything is working like a charm. If that's what you're expecting, then you might as well cancel your pre-order right now, because you're going to be disappointed. But if you can give it a few more months, so the people (both Athom and the community) have the time to improve the software, then I think you will see that Homey can indeed live up to all expectations...

Totally true, i hope it comes to the final product as they are selling.

But reading all these issues i can only hope its only software because i have a lot of plans using homey for. Sow its more of i believe in the idea of one central controller and thats why i want homey to succeed. 

But i can't ignore a lot of people talking about home (here on the forum, tweakers, ext) that there a re a lot of things not working. This can be totally correct looking at that this proces is a learning curve. But then i would suggest some better communication about these problems how are solving these problems ext.. Its something its already been said like a miljoen times, but i don't see the learning curve here. (its more like, een ezel stoot zich in algemeen maar 1 keer aan de zelfde steen). if communication is your weak point don't let it be, i need to be convinced  as a customer that all these problems or lets say 75% of these things are solved when entering to the pre-order customers. And how they plan to make it a 100% like they are selling at the own website. i am not a geek or a kickstarter. i am a customer that pre-orders a final product. 

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

DaneeDeKruyff

Beer followed by a headache? 

MarcoF

@DaneeDeKruyff ;
+1 & "I love forums"!!!

latscht

As long as it is software error can you send me Homey. It makes me fun  to see  and perhaps to help that Homey grows up.  

RoelCollignon

I've got a mac and a soldering iron. Ship those basterds 

But... I still think February is not in scope right now. I first expect a sw update and one week of field testing....
This is what @Emile hinted on...