Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Cheap Venstar ACC0454 Skyport Wi-Fi Key for ColorTouch Thermostats

Venstar ACC0454 Skyport Wi-Fi Key for ColorTouch Thermostats
Customer Ratings: 5 stars
List Price: $113.89
Sale Price: $54.00
Today's Bonus: 53% Off
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Functionality:

I just had the T5800 Color Touch thermostat installed yesterday by my HVAC person and I love it. I love that the mobile app and website utility allows me to control my thermostat away from home, see usage info, send a message to be displayed on the thermostat screen, and other features. One suggestion I do have for the user interface is that while the mobile app/website utility allows you to turn vacation mode on or off, it does not allow you to set the start date and end date for your vacation. Setting up the start date and end date is something you have to do at home. I'm not sure if on/off feature for vacation mode from the mobile app bypasses any dates that might be stored in the thermostat and turns it on/off, or if the dates that are already setup are taken into account. It would be nice to know that. As a user and being busy with packing for my trip and such, I'm thinking that I might forget to setup the vacation schedule before leaving home and would want to do that later on after I leave home.

Internet Connection:

In regards to the internet connection, I was able to successfully set it up and test the mobile app to verify it was working. However, later in the day, I noticed that the internet connection was not working. I was not able to login with the mobile app and I saw a red X in the upper right hand corner of the thermostat screen, indicating that the internet connection was not working. I don't know what caused this; perhaps it's due to the nature of wifi, such that wifi tends to be intermittent and goes on/off at times. I tried repeatedly to make it work, but couldn't. I tried pressing the reset button on my wireless router and trying the setup process on the thermostat, but did not have success. I then tried power cycling the thermostat by removing the front part of the thermostat and putting it back on again, and running through the setup. But it could not connect. The Accessory Info screen seemed to indicate that it could not connect to skyport. The following morning, I then tried to reboot my wireless router again by clicking a button within the web interface for my router on my computer. I also tried to login to my venstar account on my computer to see if that worked, and it did. I then went through the wifi setup process again on the thermostat and finally it worked! I just hope this connection issue doesn't happen anymore. One other comment regarding the wifi connection is that I saw on the box that the wifi key came in, indicated that it's compatible with 802.11b/g. The wireless router I have is 802.11n, which seems to work fine. But, 802.11n has been on the market for a while and I'm surprised that the wifi key was not designed to also take advantage of that.

FirmWare Updates:

I have one comment in regards to how firmware updates need to be made. You have to use the Color Touch Assistant software to save the firmware settings to an SD card and import it, by plugging it in the SD slot on the thermostat. Considering that this device is wifi capable, you'd think that you it would be able to download the firmware update wirelessly and install it, when selected by the user. I have other devices that already do this.

Product Support:

The product support at Venstar is very fast and good. Whenever I emailed Venstar support for questions or issues, the responses were pretty quick and they were helpful.

I will provide future updates as necessary.

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I have a vacation home in Maine that I go to most weekends. During the colder months, it is always so chilly in the house when I arrive on the weekends because we leave the heat set at a lower temp to save on fuel when we're not there. But, after installing this wifi key and the Venstar T5800 colortouch thermostat...I can now adjust the heat up to a comfy temperature long before I arrive. It's fairly easy to set up the unit (as long as you have all the correct wires) and the online account is easy to use from my iphone, ipad, or laptop.

No more waiting for the house to warm up each weekend...

Best Deals on Venstar ACC0454 Skyport Wi-Fi Key for ColorTouch Thermostats

Its a little bit big for just being an antenna, however, it sometimes does not do what it is suppose to and I had to re-set 2 times so far for it to pickup my Wi-Fi signal, though, my router/transmitter and this unit is quite far from each other. Otherwise, its a nice thing and allows for remote control of the Thermostat.

Honest reviews on Venstar ACC0454 Skyport Wi-Fi Key for ColorTouch Thermostats

I love the ability to pickup my iPhone and modify the settings on my home thermostat while away. This allows for better conservation while away but also a warm home upon return.

Unfortunately, the Wifi Key utilizes the same connector as a backup SD card. Therefore, if one chooses to backup with a SD card the wifi password with have to be reentered into the Wifi Key upon reinsertion.

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The Skyport WiFi key is ESSENTIAL with the purchase of the touch screen Venstar thermostat. Easy to configure. Easy to install. AMAZING product!

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