Dead harmony

[PaulyT]

Well, my cheapo harmony 670 seems to have crapped out. The buttons light up and things seem to function ok, except nothing at all is shown on the little screen. I tried changing batteries, resetting through the PC software, no luck. I'm not sure I want to spend so much on a One, but maybe... anyone got a lead on some good prices for other harmony models? I'm gonna start poking around amazon, ebay, etc.

 

[mzpro5]

BB has the One on sale for $159 but just yesterday and today.

Amazon has it for $169.

Whatever you do DO NOT buy an 880 they are horrible.

 

[PaulyT]

Thanks. Yeah, I remember various discussions of the 880 not being so great. Am I right that the One has its own built-in battery? Not sure how I feel about that as those custom batteries never seem to last... I like the 670 I have now because it uses regular AAA, of which I have a bit store of rechargeables.

I don't really need the fancy screen and such of the One, though I suppose it's one of those things one can't live without after experiencing it? I never felt that the simple 670 was lacking, it did everything I needed. My system is not that complicated.

 

[PaulyT]

Amazon is out of stock on the One...

 

[Flint]

I have never heard anything good about the Harmony quality.

 

[Huey]

I have never heard anything good about the Harmony quality.

? I have never heard anything bad about the harmony quality. I've had my one for two years now and it is still in fine condition, although the battery does not hold a charge like it used to. I also have a 659 that is somewhere around 4 years old and still going strong.
Rob

 

[mzpro5]

I have never heard anything good about the Harmony quality.

I can only figure you are playing the role of the contrarian this morning.

Like Huey my experiences, with several Harmony remotes I have setup for myself, family and friends, is that they work very well and survive over time.

My only bad experience was with the 880 and that was a design issue, not a performance one.

 

[-B-]

Aside from the Harmony One refurb a friend recently purchased I have had zero problems with any others I have sold, recommended and setup or the one I own. I have the Harmon Kardon branded (it's like a 570 with a rechargable battery) I've been using it since 06'.

I have heard a decent amount of stories regarding failures and most of them end up with decent help from Logitech.

Cue Matt B's Harmony rant in 3...2...1...

 

[Flint]

Now I have heard something good about Harmony's quality.

I ranted off quickly, but the return rate on Harmony Remotes at certain companies based on a claim of the unit being defective is pretty high. Of the people I know in real life with Harmony remotes, all of them have had to take advantage of the warranty, under which Logitech happily replaced the units. The Harmony One I gave my dad last year failed under warranty, then the refurbished unit failed under warranty, then that replacement stopped charging out of warranty, so we gave up. My neighbor came to me for advice after his fifth Harmony failed in two years. My boss went through three before the current unit kept running for 9 months now. I have two co-workers who got Harmony units as door prized at this year's Christmas party and both have are failed, one has two buttons that don't respond and the other won't hold a charge.

Sorry, I hear more about their poor quality than I do about their ruggedness.


Just the same, they appear to work great and when they don't break, people who use them appear to be extremely happy with them.

 

[Rope]

I've purchased and programmed 5 Harmony One's, 3 new, 2 refurbished. Mine is 2 years old, the rest various ages. Never a hicup, failure, or complaint.

Pauly -

Watch for a refurbished "One", they go for around $119.00 - $129.00. You won't regret purhcasing a "One".

Rope

 

[Batman]

I'm sure timing has a little to do with it, but I have seen piles of refurbed Ones at CompUSA on more than one occasion...

 

[PaulyT]

So Flint, what are the alternatives? Anything else that's workable, without spending $1k?

 

[Towen7]

FWIW... I have been using URC remotes since suffering through the Harmony 880. To be fair I switched because I needed more sophistricated controls than the Harmony line offered. But they are a lot less attractive and a little less programmer friendly.

 

[Flint]

I hear good things about URC remotes. I absolutely adore the Philips Pronto line, but no one wanted to learn how to use them (once programmed, nothing is better, in my opinion) so Philips got out of the business. There aren't many choices for self-programmed remotes anymore.

All I keep hearing is "I know it is crap, but it is my only choice so I am buying one anyway." Well, as long as we act that way we'll never get a wide selection of good remotes.

 

[MatthewB]

Aside from the Harmony One refurb a friend recently purchased I have had zero problems with any others I have sold, recommended and setup or the one I own. I have the Harmon Kardon branded (it's like a 570 with a rechargable battery) I've been using it since 06'.

I have heard a decent amount of stories regarding failures and most of them end up with decent help from Logitech.

Cue Matt B's Harmony rant in 3...2...1...

My rant B is only with their remotes that have the "rechargable" battery. None of them work well and the batteries have to be replaced after about a year. Not a good design for such an expensive remote. I love their older design like the 659 which work great for years and though do need batteries replaced about every 4 months, batteries are cheap, easy to obtain and you don't have to jump through circles like with Harmony Batteries. I think if you spend over 250.00 on a remote that Harmony on your anniversary should send you out a free battery for five years.

 

[Randy]

Wow, I hated my Pronto. It is now used to control volume on my receiver upstairs and not much more. My brother and I both attempted programming the needed macro to get my Sony Wega to go into "enhanced widescreen mode" and no matter what it would not work. It eats batteries and will probably be replaced by another Harmony. The Harmony 1000 I have downstairs is amazing.

 

[Flint]

Wow, I hated my Pronto. It is now used to control volume on my receiver upstairs and not much more. My brother and I both attempted programming the needed macro to get my Sony Wega to go into "enhanced widescreen mode" and no matter what it would not work. It eats batteries and will probably be replaced by another Harmony. The Harmony 1000 I have downstairs is amazing.

That is exactly the opposite experience I've had with the four Prontos I've owned. All of my Prontos are still going strong with the original batteries, and the youngest is over 4 years old. I have also managed to program every single macro and IR remote code I've ever used into them without any issues. I love the ProntoEdit interface and the uder community who shares their brilliant UI ideas for all to use. LOVE THEM!

But, oh well, they are off the market now. So, my dreams of upgrading to a newer Pronto have been left for naught.

 

[Rope]

Aside from the Harmony One refurb a friend recently purchased I have had zero problems with any others I have sold, recommended and setup or the one I own. I have the Harmon Kardon branded (it's like a 570 with a rechargable battery) I've been using it since 06'.

I have heard a decent amount of stories regarding failures and most of them end up with decent help from Logitech.

Cue Matt B's Harmony rant in 3...2...1...

My rant B is only with their remotes that have the "rechargable" battery. None of them work well and the batteries have to be replaced after about a year. Not a good design for such an expensive remote. I love their older design like the 659 which work great for years and though do need batteries replaced about every 4 months, batteries are cheap, easy to obtain and you don't have to jump through circles like with Harmony Batteries. I think if you spend over 250.00 on a remote that Harmony on your anniversary should send you out a free battery for five years.

I best order a battery, I'm a one battery behind. I've never had one issue with recharging my Harmony One, and one charge lasts a week. Friday night is recharge night, cordless phone, mobile phone and Harmony, drop it in the craddle, three hours latter it ready to rock for a week.

Rope

 

[Randy]

Well Flint, we establshed a long time ago that you are smarter than me, so will you program my Pronto for me so I can quit bitchin? :angelic-green:

 

[Huey]

I looked last week at Amazon for batteries, and I swear I saw a couple of them in the 12-14 range. Prices seemed to have jumped over night. There is a couple in the 17 range, but it seems sketchy and they are a different brand of battery. I'll get 4-6 hours out of a charge, which works for now, but like Rope, remember when I could get a week off of one charge.
Rob