Hive Hub, “reached end of life”!

superjuz

I don’t doubt it’s in the terms and conditions, somewhere. Will be hidden away under subsection 86d. I understand the app will need maintaining but imo this should be via a clear subscription cost or modelled into the cost of new customers. This all feels very underhand, verging on racketeering. 

Reed_Richards

matt_drummer said:

I assume they don't charge a subscription so they need to generate funds somehow, otherwise they would go out of business and then the hub would certainly not work.

But they could make money by selling their products to new customers, not by making existing customers pay for the same thing again.  And they might put off prospective new customers with these sorts of shenanigans.   

matt_drummer

Reed_Richards said:

matt_drummer said:

I assume they don't charge a subscription so they need to generate funds somehow, otherwise they would go out of business and then the hub would certainly not work.

But they could make money by selling their products to new customers, not by making existing customers pay for the same thing again.  And they might put off prospective new customers with these sorts of shenanigans.   

It is a competitive world, not everything can be free forever.

Customers are not buying the same thing again, they bought something that would work with an app for an amount of time. That time is up and the app will no longer work. The original customers only need to pay again if they want to continue to use the app. They are offered a 50% discount.

They are not paying again for the same thing, they have had what they originally paid for and if they want access to the app for another period of time they have to pay again.

They still have the piece of equipment that they originally paid for and it still works. It is just that remote control from an app won't work as it is at the end of it's supported life. But, they have had the remote app control for the amount of time they were quoted and paid for.

Nobody has been cheated and they got exactly what they paid for.

Many, many things we buy or subscribe to work like this.

If their product works for 10 years and then you need to replace it at a cost of around £30 for another 10 years it's not that bad.

What else can you buy for around 30p a month?


The reality is that they may not be able to sell to new customers and if that is the case they will go bust. If they go bust the product still won't work.

superjuz

matt_drummer said:

Reed_Richards said:

matt_drummer said:

I assume they don't charge a subscription so they need to generate funds somehow, otherwise they would go out of business and then the hub would certainly not work.

But they could make money by selling their products to new customers, not by making existing customers pay for the same thing again.  And they might put off prospective new customers with these sorts of shenanigans.   

It is a competitive world, not everything can be free forever.

Customers are not buying the same thing again, they bought something that would work with an app for an amount of time. That time is up and the app will no longer work. The original customers only need to pay again if they want to continue to use the app. They are offered a 50% discount.

They are not paying again for the same thing, they have had what they originally paid for and if they want access to the app for another period of time they have to pay again.

They still have the piece of equipment that they originally paid for and it still works. It is just that remote control from an app won't work as it is at the end of it's supported life. But, they have had the remote app control for the amount of time they were quoted and paid for.

Nobody has been cheated and they got exactly what they paid for.

Many, many things we buy or subscribe to work like this.

If their product works for 10 years and then you need to replace it at a cost of around £30 for another 10 years it's not that bad.

What else can you buy for around 30p a month?


The reality is that they may not be able to sell to new customers and if that is the case they will go bust. If they go bust the product still won't work.

With all due respect, Sir - absolute nonsense… 

matt_drummer

Most of us here have or have had jobs.

Most of us won't want to work for nothing for extended periods of time, if at all.

Why is it that so many people expect others to work for nothing or very little just because they are a big company?

There's is no guarantee that large companies make large profits and even if they do it is not a crime.

Expecting to receive a service forever at no cost is not realistic in my opinion.

Gerry1

matt_drummer said:

Reed_Richards said:

matt_drummer said:

I assume they don't charge a subscription so they need to generate funds somehow, otherwise they would go out of business and then the hub would certainly not work.

But they could make money by selling their products to new customers, not by making existing customers pay for the same thing again.  And they might put off prospective new customers with these sorts of shenanigans.   

If their product works for 10 years and then you need to replace it at a cost of around £30 for another 10 years it's not that bad.

If you bought a detached house in 2013 you might be a bit peeved if you were now told that it had been merely a 10-year lease...

matt_drummer

Gerry1 said:

matt_drummer said:

Reed_Richards said:

matt_drummer said:

I assume they don't charge a subscription so they need to generate funds somehow, otherwise they would go out of business and then the hub would certainly not work.

But they could make money by selling their products to new customers, not by making existing customers pay for the same thing again.  And they might put off prospective new customers with these sorts of shenanigans.   

If their product works for 10 years and then you need to replace it at a cost of around £30 for another 10 years it's not that bad.

If you bought a detached house in 2013 you might be a bit peeved if you were now told that it had been merely a 10-year lease...

It is not the same situation.

If you had bought a 10 year lease on a house and after 10 years you were asked to renew the lease or move out would you still be peeved?


I believe that Hive stated in their original terms and conditions that the app would only be supported for a certain amount of time.

They haven't broken the terms of a contract as you are suggesting in your house example.

To liken it to your example, the HIve app came with a 10 year lease and was never sold as a freehold purchase.

lohr500

matt_drummer said:

Expecting to receive a service forever at no cost is not realistic in my opinion.

Absolutely agree.

In my opinion if you purchase a technology product for a one off cost with no ongoing subscription then you have to accept that at some point it will no longer be supported. No different to the various iterations of Windows, Android phones, Apple phones, Google Chrome devices, Sonos audio systems, anti-virus software, Kindles, tablets, digital cameras, printers, etc, etc, etc. I should know. I have cupboard full of end of live equipment!! 

If Hive are offering a 50% discount on purchasing a "New" hub , then that is better than nothing.

At least they haven't disabled the system completely so it can't be controlled localy.

matt_drummer

lohr500 said:

matt_drummer said:

Expecting to receive a service forever at no cost is not realistic in my opinion.

Absolutely agree.

In my opinion if you purchase a technology product for a one off cost with no ongoing subscription then you have to accept that at some point it will no longer be supported. No different to the various iterations of Windows, Android phones, Apple phones, Google Chrome devices, Sonos audio systems, anti-virus software, Kindles, tablets, digital cameras, printers, etc, etc, etc. I should know. I have cupboard full of end of live equipment!! 

If Hive are offering a 50% discount on purchasing a "New" hub , then that is better than nothing.

At least they haven't disabled the system completely so it can't be controlled localy.

It is happening now with 3G smart phones.

superjuz

Of course everything has to be funded, no one is denying that, but there are ways and means that would seem less unreasonable, for example, Ads on the app (and paying to remove), subscription costs for new / additional features, a bump on cost of hardware for new costumers, etc. 

with regards to, “it was in the original T&c’s” I doubt a single person ever made it that far when scanning over them at time of purchase. It’s just not practical (deliberately) to read and take on board every detail. I can’t imagine anyone ever thought the system would be remotely rendered useless in x years time. 

As I said before, it’s not about the money, it’s the principle, to the point I’d rather, at this moment, rip the whole lot out and pay £200 for a Nest system than give BG another 30 quid…