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Author Topic: Almond+ is disappointing (Editorial)  (Read 23376 times)

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Offline revoman

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Re: Almond+ is disappointing (Editorial)
« Reply #30 on: May 28, 2015, 01:15:34 am »
...  Has everyone totally blanked out on how fun it is to call DLink or Netgear support?  I've never successfully resolved an issue with either company. 

My previous router was a Cisco e4200 running the Tomato Shibby firmware.  One developer does a pretty good job with firmware updates.  Also, Wifi Range was double what my Almond+ is, all other considerations made, unfortunately I just sold it. 

On the other hand, I will say the Almond+ has some awesome features that I wish to exploit more.   ;D

Offline tacain

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Re: Almond+ is disappointing (Editorial)
« Reply #31 on: May 29, 2015, 01:26:48 pm »
Have to agree with the trend here.  Had high hopes for the A+, but, it doesn't really seem to be going anywhere.  Development that we hear about seems to be in the corner features while we're left with an ancient version of OpenWRT.  I cannot understand how you could go into the commercial sales arena with such an ancient base.  I understand that different users have different needs and expectations, but, my development direction would be to solidify the core and then focus on the edge features.

Offline razzfazz

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Re: Almond+ is disappointing (Editorial)
« Reply #32 on: May 29, 2015, 05:01:30 pm »
From what I understand, getting the base OpenWRT version updated is something that would have to be done by the makers of the hardware platform on which A+ is built, Cortina Systems. The parts of Cortina that were directly relevant to A+ were acquired by RealTek earlier this year (after the rest of the company had already been acquired by InPhi last year). Who knows if the hardware platform will continue to be supported post-acquisition?

Offline Ohiomedic

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Re: Almond+ is disappointing (Editorial)
« Reply #33 on: May 29, 2015, 07:39:12 pm »
I think I remember them posting something about this. I think they mentioned they had to wait for the takeover to be over before they could work on an update.

Edit:

Found it - http://forum.securifi.com/index.php/topic,1374.0.html
« Last Edit: May 29, 2015, 07:46:08 pm by Ohiomedic »

Offline razzfazz

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Re: Almond+ is disappointing (Editorial)
« Reply #34 on: May 30, 2015, 05:52:56 am »
The CS7542 chipset used in the A+ is also almost four years old at this point; frankly, I would be very surprised (albeit pleasantly so) if RealTek is spending significant engineering resources on it at this point.

Offline BFH

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Re: Almond+ is disappointing (Editorial)
« Reply #35 on: June 01, 2015, 03:59:06 pm »
Realtek should opensource the blobs, then, and someone else can update it. Rediculous.

Offline utrph77004

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Re: Almond+ is disappointing (Editorial)
« Reply #36 on: June 01, 2015, 06:13:55 pm »
For all those here complaining, I think you all need to do a bit of tinkering in the channels if you are having WiFi problems. I live in an all Apple household:

2 iPhone 6, 2 iPad Air, a MacBook Pro, a Mac Mini, and a 3rd gen AppleTV.

I have a 50 Mbps down, 5 Mbps connection up from Comcast in Houston, Texas.  On the 5 GHz band, I routinely get 50-55 Mbps, and 6-7 Mbps up, which was a HUGE speed increase from my previous router, which was a dual band Belkin.

I don't experience any of the WiFi issues, except if it goes more than 30 days without being rebooted, thus I put both my A+ and my cable modem on a wallplug timer, and they both reboot weekly at 3 AM, and that has resolved all issues that I ever see.

I stream Netflix and Amazon Prime frequently without hardly any delay or buffering.  I routinely use 275-290 GB of data each month from Comcast.  Thank goodness for unlimited!

As far home automation goes, perhaps there are better solutions out there, but I never tried any of them prior to the A+. I currently have 11 Z wave/ZigBee devices connected and they function nearly flawlessly 95% of the time.

6 GE light bulbs
2 Thermostats
1 Schlage dead bolt lock
2 motion detectors

I use the motion detectors + built in rules to turn certain lights on/off and they work flawlessly. I was so excited.  Maybe many people had extremely high expectations for this product, but for me, it has met or exceeded my expectations with time and firmware updates. 

Yes there definitely are app interface issues.  Yes, the development team has put Android development ahead of iOS development (which is kinda rare). Yes, it would be nice if there is a public roadmap, but this is a "smallish" company, not Netgear, Linksys, Cisco, etc., so I've decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure their staff resources aren't as deep as one of the big boys.  This is David, not Goliath.

I'm attaching screenshots of my WiFi speeds for all of you who already think I work for Securifi.  If you want to find me on social media, I use the same handle here that I am on both Twitter and Instagram.
« Last Edit: June 01, 2015, 07:05:35 pm by utrph77004 »

Offline SecureComp

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Re: Almond+ is disappointing (Editorial)
« Reply #37 on: June 01, 2015, 08:58:55 pm »
Almond+
Comcast
throttled to 12 Up




My WiFi in has been plenty stable since receiving the A+. Mix of Apple/Android/PC's etc. High use network, some hard wired devices, 2.4/5 networks active along with guest networks. Streaming video full time from multiple cameras, 4 sensors, a couple bulbs and everything works if working is defined as connected.

Rules, automation, bugs with the Apps both Android and IOS, beyond problematic.
General problem resolution and progress with automation, disappointing and unsatisfactory.

Haven't given up, but I need more out of Securifi in the way of problem resolution. Basic light bulbs not working is beyond frustrating, it's embarrassing. I cannot recommend this product to family and friends and I want to be able to do that.
« Last Edit: June 01, 2015, 09:13:53 pm by SecureComp »
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Offline BFH

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Re: Almond+ is disappointing (Editorial)
« Reply #38 on: June 14, 2015, 10:48:45 am »
The Almond+ is still disappointing, and we still don't have a roadmap.

Offline matt

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Re: Almond+ is disappointing (Editorial)
« Reply #39 on: June 14, 2015, 08:24:19 pm »
I agree on both sides to some extent. I also get ~120Mbps down on lan and almost that on 5GHz (although I can't be far, as is often the case). 2.4Ghz is quite a bit slower (also somewhat expected), in a *nix/windows/android household (and apple when my girlfriend visits, although I do think her devices have caused some issues). I do have to power cycle it on occasion though.

For me, I was looking forward to tinkering, adding features not present (for me primarily interfacing with X10, cheap network-based devices, and arduino-based sensors, but also interfacing with other control systems), but as anyone who has been to the dev forums knows, most things aren't really possible, nor does support seem on the horizon. It seems a little silly to me to build up all this rules/scenes code when so many other products exist to do this, ones with much wider support, but hopefully they'll at least add some tie-ins to other major services.

Offline d.kiran

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Re: Almond+ is disappointing (Editorial)
« Reply #40 on: June 15, 2015, 07:22:23 pm »
I was going through Almond+ reviews in Amazon and it looks like most people are using it as a router. Looking at that, I am fairly certain that HA features are not something that is a high priority to Securifi. I believe it is time to move on.

Offline Ohiomedic

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Re: Almond+ is disappointing (Editorial)
« Reply #41 on: June 15, 2015, 07:59:02 pm »
I was going through Almond+ reviews in Amazon and it looks like most people are using it as a router. Looking at that, I am fairly certain that HA features are not something that is a high priority to Securifi. I believe it is time to move on.
I hate to say it, but it looks like it might be for some. Lucky for me as of right now my setup is simple with some bulbs, and a couple door sensors, and switches. Hopefully they pick it up with getting features out.

Offline SecureComp

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Re: Almond+ is disappointing (Editorial)
« Reply #42 on: June 15, 2015, 08:10:53 pm »
I was going through Almond+ reviews in Amazon and it looks like most people are using it as a router. Looking at that, I am fairly certain that HA features are not something that is a high priority to Securifi. I believe it is time to move on.

Securifi will deliver on 'some' home automation eventually. Sad thing is, they are quickly losing an opportunity. Google's Brillo, Apple's Homekit, Smart Things Hub and more are doing or will do a solid home automation job. Not to mention the bunch of other products that require a little more effort.

I expect, as with so many things, it's a money thing. Securifi released the Almond15 as a lower less capable product compared to the Plus and they did it before the Plus had fulfilled it's promise to Kickstarter Backers. 

What is most unfortunate is that so much more is possible with the Plus. Providing a more robust SDK with better documentation would make a lot of difference. Some github work maybe.

I am not giving up, in fact I am doing some SDK work and looking forward to several more firmware updates. Would be nice to hear communication from Securifi staff about what's in the pipeline and when it's headed our way.
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Offline Ohiomedic

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Re: Almond+ is disappointing (Editorial)
« Reply #43 on: June 15, 2015, 10:11:49 pm »
I'm not giving up either, but starting to wonder what's up. The said they were going to be posting a road map a couple weeks ago, and as far as I know they still haven't.

Offline chevyman142000

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Re: Almond+ is disappointing (Editorial)
« Reply #44 on: June 15, 2015, 11:35:18 pm »
I just picked up an Asus RT-AC68U and absolutely love it. Speeds are great and I don't have to hack at it to get it working the way I want. No weird slowdowns or other issues I encountered with the Almond+. It is now collecting dust, till a possible future date when there is better firmware available.

 

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