Home automation company Wink under fire for surprise subscription mandate [u]
Wink customers will soon have to pay a monthly subscription fee to access any of the smart home hardware that they have purchased.
Wink's Smart Hub
Wink claims that the move is necessary, as the one-time cost of buying a Wink product is incapable of sustaining their business. The company will require all users to pay a $5 a month subscription fee by May 13, which gives users less than one week of notice.
Wink primarily makes smart home lighting and home security devices but also allows users to connect other brands' devices to their Wink Hub. Wink has partnered with Amazon, Google Nest, Honeywell, Ring, Philips Hue, GE, Sonos, iHome, Sylvania and many others.
They cite recent economic events -- likely the ongoing coronavirus pandemic -- and long-term costs as the reason for the transition.
"Wink has taken many steps in an effort to keep your Hub's blue light on, however, long term costs and recent economic events have caused additional strain on our business," the blog post reads. "In order to provide for development and continued growth, we are transitioning to a $4.99 monthly subscription, starting on May 13, 2020."
The company tells customers that should they not pay the fee, they'll lose access to all Wink devices in the app, including voice controls and all automations.
The transition will not allow users to be grandfathered in on a legacy plan. If a customer has spent a significant amount of money outfitting their home with Wink lightbulbs or a Wink security system, they'll be expected to begin paying a monthly fee on May 13.
Understandably, Wink customers were outraged. After Wink posted the update to their Twitter page, customers began airing grievances in the reply section.
This isn't the first time Wink has disappointed its customers, either. In 2019, many users discovered that second-hand Google Nest Cam Indoor models connected to Wink hub would send images of their home to the device's previous owner. Google quickly rolled out a fix, but users were understandably upset.
Update May 12, 2020: Wink in an email to customers on Tuesday said it has extended the subscription deadline to May 20, 2020, giving users an additional week to sign up for the service.
Wink's Smart Hub
Wink claims that the move is necessary, as the one-time cost of buying a Wink product is incapable of sustaining their business. The company will require all users to pay a $5 a month subscription fee by May 13, which gives users less than one week of notice.
Wink primarily makes smart home lighting and home security devices but also allows users to connect other brands' devices to their Wink Hub. Wink has partnered with Amazon, Google Nest, Honeywell, Ring, Philips Hue, GE, Sonos, iHome, Sylvania and many others.
They cite recent economic events -- likely the ongoing coronavirus pandemic -- and long-term costs as the reason for the transition.
"Wink has taken many steps in an effort to keep your Hub's blue light on, however, long term costs and recent economic events have caused additional strain on our business," the blog post reads. "In order to provide for development and continued growth, we are transitioning to a $4.99 monthly subscription, starting on May 13, 2020."
The company tells customers that should they not pay the fee, they'll lose access to all Wink devices in the app, including voice controls and all automations.
The transition will not allow users to be grandfathered in on a legacy plan. If a customer has spent a significant amount of money outfitting their home with Wink lightbulbs or a Wink security system, they'll be expected to begin paying a monthly fee on May 13.
Understandably, Wink customers were outraged. After Wink posted the update to their Twitter page, customers began airing grievances in the reply section.
Bye bye @TheWinkApp. It's bad enough you trying to come back and get more money from loyal customers (your products aren't exactly cheap) but to only give us 1 week is ridiculous.
-- Chris Bentz (@cbentz83)
Less then a week's notice for long term customers of yours? No real incentive to keep it. I love my Wink but this is not the way on such short notice. You just dug your own grave on this one.
-- Adam (@Frayne182)
This isn't the first time Wink has disappointed its customers, either. In 2019, many users discovered that second-hand Google Nest Cam Indoor models connected to Wink hub would send images of their home to the device's previous owner. Google quickly rolled out a fix, but users were understandably upset.
Update May 12, 2020: Wink in an email to customers on Tuesday said it has extended the subscription deadline to May 20, 2020, giving users an additional week to sign up for the service.
Comments
It would be like buying a car outright, then 6 months later the manufacturer getting into financial difficulty, going back to its old customers and saying "oh by the way we didn't tell you at the time but we're struggling financially so you need to pay us $$ per month to continue using the car you already paid for". Uh, nah.
Did Wink believe they could sustain the business through selling advertising?
Not only, as we see here, does it open one to extortion but it destroys any concept of privacy you might have.
For the rest of the real world, it is the best thing that has ever happened to make the 1000-fold increase in demand for software almost profitable.
They probably didn't believe it. They were just pressured into doing it by the entire market which thinks everything in high quality software is supposed to be free.
They've now found out, like the rest of the entire software industry, that software is not sustainable as a business unless it is a subscription service. And there is nothing wrong with that.
Unfortunately this fast and desperate move by Wink will be viewed as just that, even if it is the right thing to do.
Wrong. It may rub people the wrong way and result in losing customers, but there is nothing illegal about raising prices.
Even if there was a contract that guaranteed the service would be free for life (there isn't), that would be breach of contract, not a crime.
Get a grip on reality.
Here is the federal extortion statute so you can answer your own question:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1951
They didn't RAISE prices. They sold devices that worked for FREE, and now they are sticking on a $4.99 monthly FEE to use a device you already paid for and was using for FREE as it was sold that way. I'd be pissed myself and pull any of their devices I had.
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