Software Improvements Requested – Flair
- 4 years ago
I click "I'm ready to update" and its like it doesnt even register I clicked it. The update never happens, the dialog box never goes away, and I never get an email saying that the update has been completed.
Seriously flair, hire some software engineers. This is ridiculous. There is no monitoring the battery voltage so we never know if we need to replace batteries or if the vent has just disconnected, again, for some random reason. Even the names we assign to the vents dont show up on the GUI, it still uses the unique ID Flair assigns. We have to go into setting, flair devices, and then click the drop down for that room to get the name. I have rooms with 4 vents in them, if one disconnects, I cant easily see which one it was because there is no way seeing the name. There is no way to see what vent is connected to what gateway puck. I have 16 vents, 2 gateways, and 1 IR blaster and the system never works as intended. And yes my wifi is fine, I am a network engineer, I have 5 ubiquiti APs throughtout my house. I still have 9 more vents I need to convert over and I am not pulling the trigger until flair fixes their software. Seriously, FIX THE SOFTWARE. I dont even get notifications when my devices disconnect. And since the vents are so poorly designed, there is no way to do a reset for it to reconnect unless you remove 4 screws to pull the battery cover.
Also, it would be really nice to be able to pick which vents are priority for opening for back pressure relief. The main reason I started doing this setup is to make sure my young children's rooms are comfortable, but because flair decides which vents to open for back pressure relief, my 2 year olds room gets so uncomfortably hot while my 500 sqft grandroom has all its vents closed and is barely even above setpoint. Seriously, bedrooms should be the last place to open vents for back pressure relief. Common areas make more sense since they are larger and less affected by additional air. But alas, there is no way to accomplish with the current software.
I am just venting at this point. But after having this system for multiple years I am seriously In shock that the person leading software development still has a job. I cannot and will not recommend flair until their software is more robust, user friendly, and more customizable.
You guys are seriously losing out on sales. I had a guy on reddit give me 3 vents, not sell, but give me, because he was so frustrated at the lack of attention to the software.
PLEASE FIX THIS ASAP
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4 years ago
Hi CJ,
I feel your pain. Since day 1, I was hesitating to jump onto the train but it is not like there were many alternatives out there when you're desperately trying to fix a problem. So I've started with one unit to see how it went. Then a couple more (6) months later and now, (1) year later, completed my small system. The back pressure logic also threw me away.
On top of the "weaknesses" you've outlined in the software I saw others of my own. Like how come a powered puck will still display 22.5C when the actual reading is 21.6C? I always found it strange that 22.5 just happened to also be my set point. How convenient for a user to see 22.5C when he's asking for 22.5C. To me it looked like one of the simplest thing to correct but after working on this with tech support, nothing happened in a year.
IMO Flair is sitting on a gold mine but just refuses to dig the surface in order to access.
Michel.4 years ago
Hi Michel,
When this happens with the Puck, does the Flair app show the correct set point?
All the best,
Finn4 years ago
Hi Finn,
First, when I first showed some interest for Flair I registered to this forum with my "generic" e-mail address and later used my day-to-day e-mail address for setting-up and support. Sorry about that. Therefore, take a look at ticket #20909 covering more than this topic, with some others resolved, but pay attention mainly to images called "Puck..." and "Case..."
Short answer to your question: Yes.
Let me know if you need more info.
Michel4 years ago
Hi CJ,
We're a small team and can be generally very responsive. If you need immediate help with your system, writing in to our Support Team will get you the fastest response: flair.co/contact
Thanks for all the great feedback. Tickets have been created to address some of the items you mention, and I have some info for other items (see details below).I click "I'm ready to update" and its like it doesnt even register I clicked it. The update never happens, the dialog box never goes away, and I never get an email saying that the update has been completed.
This has been ticketed. You're right, this can definitely be improved.
There is no monitoring the battery voltage so we never know if we need to replace batteries or if the vent has just disconnected, again, for some random reason. ... there is no way to do a reset for it to reconnect unless you remove 4 screws to pull the battery cover.
Low battery alerts can be enabled for your Flair system. Go to the Account Settings menu and scroll to the Notifications section to receive email or SMS alerts. You can also monitor battery voltage via the app in the Home Statistics menu.
Once you go through Setup, you really shouldn't need to reset the Vents. The best way to prevent devices from going offline is to get low battery alerts and ensure Vents have good signal strength. You can monitor signal strength via app in the Home Statistics menu.
These articles explain more:
Notifications
Statistics: Signal Strength, Set Point, Room Temperature
If you do need to reset the Vent for some reason, you can alternately insert a paper clip into the tiny hole beside the top battery cover and press down on the "button" inside. If you go the battery removal method, make sure to wait at least 30 seconds for the capacitors to drain before reinserting the batteries.
the names we assign to the vents dont show up on the GUI, it still uses the unique ID Flair assigns.
This has been ticketed. I hear you on this one. One of the considerations is space in the room tile. We may have to play around with the layout a bit to get a good format.
it would be really nice to be able to pick which vents are priority for opening for back pressure relief.
I'd recommend creating a schedule where you set rooms Inactive that you're not actively using. This article explains how it works:
Using Active/Inactive Rooms Effectively
All the best,
Finn
4 years ago
Hi Finn,
Thanks for the reply. Just to make sure I got this right, I will re-phrase that in my own words, in regards to the powered puck (Gateway):
"The temperature value from a sensor located on the puck internal circuit board will be updated to the e-ink display on that same circuit board, only when there is a 1F difference, in order to reduce internet traffic. However, if I want to see the exact temperature, I need to check the graph using the internet application..."
Translating that to a Tesla would mean: "The speed indication is updated only when there is a 5 mph difference in order to minimize cellular traffic to our servers. However I could check my real speed using the Tesla app. Also, the displayed speed is the average of the last 5 miles." I suppose that would be logical.
I also need to refresh my math basics about how to calculate an average because looking at the following picture, I can't seem to be able to come-up with 22.5 when the temperature never reaches above 22.3 between 14:30 and 16:13.
Michel4 years ago
Hi Michel V,
I realize the information I gave you is outdated. Please refer to this article for how Flair temperature displays work:
Why is the Temperature on the Puck Different than the Flair App?
All the best,
Finn4 years ago
Finn,
Thanks for replying (5) months later. I now really feel important as a customer.
Thanks also for sharing the link to this updated description but that still doesn't jive. On my posted picture the graph temperature has been under 22.26C (22.5C rounding threshold) for a good (60) minutes. This puck is a Gateway and the only temperature sensor in that room. According to your Why is the Temperature on the Puck Different than the Flair App? the Puck should display 22.0C. Even the API agrees as shown under the time of my marked-up screen shot in my previous post.
So we're at quo status.
Michel.
Note: You have a typo in your Temp. description page. I think you mean 1.1C