Siri on Ecobee SmartThermostat review: Apple's smart assistant invades your home

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Ecobee has become the first third-party product to integrate Siri into its smart speaker and we've been testing it out with our Ecobee SmartThermostat for the last several days. Here's how it works, how to set it up, and what it can do.

Siri and AirPlay 2 comes to Ecobee SmartThermostat
Siri and AirPlay 2 comes to Ecobee SmartThermostat

What you need

To get started, you'll need Ecobee's current SmartThermostat. This thermostat has worked with HomeKit since launch and is now only getting more capable with this update. Existing owners will fortunately not need to buy a new device.

The SmartThermostat needs to be running firmware version 4.7.5.352 or later and HomePod mini needs to be on software version 15.

A HomePod mini is also required (check latest prices). To protect user privacy, third-party speakers with Siri merely route your requests through HomePod mini. HomePod mini has much more processing power and is more secure than competing assistants.

As long as both devices are set up and on the same network, you're ready to set up Siri.

How to set it up

Setup is as easy as it should be. If you're setting up the thermostat for the first time with HomeKit, it will appear as one of the cards during the onboarding experience. If you already have the thermostat connected, it is slightly different.

Adding Siri to your Ecobee SmartThermostat
  • Be sure your Ecobee SmartThermostat is up to date

  • Open the Home app

  • Setting up Siri on Ecobee
    Setting up Siri on Ecobee SmartThermostat

    An alert should appear at the top of the Home tab. Tap Use Siri

  • A card will animate up from the bottom of the display explaining how you can speak to Siri

  • Tap Turn On
Once enabled, there will be a new Siri section of your Ecobee SmartThermostat's settings.

Ecobee SmartThermostat settings
Ecobee SmartThermostat settings


From this setting's panel, you can toggle "Hey Siri" on and off, turn on "touch and hold for Siri," as well as turning the light and sound on or off. Siri's voice can be set and personal requests can be enabled or disabled.

This is also where your Siri history can be deleted.

What it can do

With Siri added, you can use your SmartThermostat very similarly to how you use your HomePod mini. You can ask Apple's assistant your usual queries, control your smart home devices, and adjust media playback.

Intercom is supported on the SmartThermostat so you can more easily communicate with your family, as are timers and alarms. Timers and alarms are both displayed within the Home app, same as HomePod and HomePod mini.

If you have a HomeKit doorbell or video doorbell camera, it can chime your Ecobee SmartThermostat as well.

Circling back to those media controls, Siri wasn't the only feature added with this update. It also brings support for AirPlay 2, albeit in beta.

AirPlaying audio to Ecobee
AirPlaying audio to Ecobee SmartThermostat


This can be enabled from within the SmartThermostat's Home settings, just like everything else. You can then cast audio from nearly any Apple device to the SmartThermostat. It shows in your AirPlay menu alongside your dedicated AirPlay speakers, HomePod, Smart TVs, and Apple TV.

You can summon Siri with a tap on the display, or you can just use your voice. Say "Hey Siri" within earshot of your SmartThermostat and it will come to life.

Light appearing as you talk to Siri
The light appears when you talk to Siri


A light will appear at the top in similar colors to what display atop a HomePod to let you know Siri is listening. You can then make your request as normal.

Thus far, we've been very impressed with the integration. It has worked exactly as we expected. Our biggest concern was that we'd start to have too many Siri devices around that it would be confusing. We have our HomePods, Apple Watch, iPhone, and iPads with Siri "Hey Siri" support, yet nearly every time, the correct speaker would awaken for us.

At times we'd have multiple speakers wake up, but then the rest would revert and only one speaker would become the actively listening one. There were a few times we stood in front of the Ecobee SmartThermostat and our HomePod mini in the other room chimed in instead, but it was still close enough for us to easily here so it wasn't much of an issue at all.

How useful this all depends on your home. In some ways, it is akin to getting an additional HomePod mini without needing to devote counter space or money towards it. If you have your Ecobee SmartThermostat in your living room or kitchen, this is huge because you don't need to find a place to plug in and place your smart speaker. It's mounted to your wall.

Siri and AirPlay 2 comes to Ecobee SmartThermostat
Siri and AirPlay 2 comes to Ecobee SmartThermostat


The speaker aspect is fun too. As an AirPlay 2 speaker, it can be set up for multi-room audio. Have sound coming from every room in your house during a party or just during a massive spring cleaning session. The speaker here isn't amazing though. It's capable but not as good as a real HomePod mini or larger dedicated speaker. For listening to music or an audiobook while cooking, it's just right though.

There are differences between this and just buying another HomePod mini. HomePod mini, as we mentioned, is still the one doing the processing. It also is what runs your smart home. It acts as your Home Hub and a Thread border router. It also has the lovely HandOff experience utilizing the U1 ultra Wideband chip.

Still, it remains that Siri coming to the Ecobee SmartThermostat is nothing but great. This has long been our HomeKit thermostat of choice and now there is even more of a reason to recommend it.

When we originally reviewed the SmartThermostat from Ecobee at launch, we said there was only one thing missing -- AirPlay 2. Now that that is here, alongside Siri, there's no reason this isn't a full five-star device.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Where to buy

Pick up Ecobee's SmartThermostat now from Amazon for $219.

Apple's HomePod mini retails for $99 and can be ordered at B&H Photo or from Adorama.com.

Read on AppleInsider
mkrayewsky

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 20
    Unless one has a giant hole in their wall, there’s no need for that obnoxiously huge back plate behind the unit. Definitely takes away the sleek look of the thermostat itself. 
    robotStrangeDayswilliamlondon
  • Reply 2 of 20
    Admittedly it works extremely well with HomeKit  BUT I would argue that it’s only a 4 star device due to it’s ugly design and it’s touch screen slider controls that are incredibly hard to adjust with finesse.  If only NEST would integrate better with HomeKit and also had the follow me mode….
    docno42StrangeDayswilliamlondonols
  • Reply 3 of 20
    You cite the Mini in every case; might I presume the original Home Pod (big one) will work as well?
    peterhart
  • Reply 4 of 20
    dasjetta said:
    Admittedly it works extremely well with HomeKit  BUT I would argue that it’s only a 4 star device due to it’s ugly design and it’s touch screen slider controls that are incredibly hard to adjust with finesse.  If only NEST would integrate better with HomeKit and also had the follow me mode….
    And if only the NEST wasn’t from Google, causing me to always wonder what it’s listening to and where my data is being sold. But agree the NEST has a superior UI. 
  • Reply 5 of 20
    Andrew_OSUAndrew_OSU Posts: 573member, editor
    peterhart said:
    Unless one has a giant hole in their wall, there’s no need for that obnoxiously huge back plate behind the unit. Definitely takes away the sleek look of the thermostat itself. 
    I *have* that giant hole in my wall from the previous person who installed the thermostat. The hole showed with just the thermostat mounted so I had to use the skirt. I agree, doesn’t look as good but you dont need it if the hole is small enough.
    williamlondonMrBunside
  • Reply 6 of 20
    docno42docno42 Posts: 3,755member
    dasjetta said:
    Admittedly it works extremely well with HomeKit  BUT I would argue that it’s only a 4 star device due to it’s ugly design and it’s touch screen slider controls that are incredibly hard to adjust with finesse.  If only NEST would integrate better with HomeKit and also had the follow me mode….
    Yes, I didn't realize how much I used and didn't even think of adjusting the temperature on the Nest thermostats until I replace them with the Ecobee.  It turns out touch only designs really, really suck.  

    And capacitive touch doesn't work well for everyone.  My parents are older and something in their skin, particularly with my mom, leads to touch displays often not picking up her fingers.  We had to leave a stylus with a capacitive pad on top of the thermostat for her to be able to always interact with it.  

    There's lots I like about the Ecobee over Nest (including NOT being from Google as others mentioned) but the utter lack of physical controls is one of the things I like the least about it.
  • Reply 7 of 20
    Andrew_OSUAndrew_OSU Posts: 573member, editor
    dasjetta said:
    Admittedly it works extremely well with HomeKit  BUT I would argue that it’s only a 4 star device due to it’s ugly design and it’s touch screen slider controls that are incredibly hard to adjust with finesse.  If only NEST would integrate better with HomeKit and also had the follow me mode….
    I think it looks great! I love the look of it though I don’t like having to use the plastic skirt but the hole in our wall is too large. I dont use the slider controls too much but dont have issues when I do.
    williamlondon
  • Reply 8 of 20
    Andrew_OSUAndrew_OSU Posts: 573member, editor
    You cite the Mini in every case; might I presume the original Home Pod (big one) will work as well?
    Believe so, yes. But since discontinued we don’t talk about it much.
  • Reply 9 of 20
    docno42docno42 Posts: 3,755member
    robin huber said:
     the NEST has a superior UI. 
    Only for quickly changing the temperature - because there is no on screen UI needed, you just twist the physical ring.  The rest of the Nest UI pales in comparison to the touch UI of the echobee.  They still managed to clutter it up and complicated things WAY more than is needed, but once you figure out the layout it's far quicker and easier to make changes with the Ecobee than scrolling, scrolling, scrolling with the Nest ring.  
    williamlondonMrBunside
  • Reply 10 of 20
    docno42docno42 Posts: 3,755member
    Andrew_OSU said:
    I *have* that giant hole in my wall from the previous person who installed the thermostat. The hole showed with just the thermostat mounted so I had to use the skirt. I agree, doesn’t look as good but you dont need it if the hole is small enough.
    I believe the Ecobee plate is paintable, like the Nest plate.  I did paint the Nest plate to match the wall color and it made a significant difference, helping it blend in.  If you happen to have some of your wall paint around it's well worth it.  Reminds me - need to paint the Ecobee plate to help it disappear!  
    edited October 2021 StrangeDayswilliamlondon
  • Reply 11 of 20
    docno42docno42 Posts: 3,755member
    dasjetta said:
    Admittedly it works extremely well with HomeKit  BUT I would argue that it’s only a 4 star device due to it’s ugly design and it’s touch screen slider controls that are incredibly hard to adjust with finesse. 
    I just had a thought - I wonder if there is a homekit or other home automation enabled knob out there.  If so I could mount it near the thermostat and just use it for quick temperature controls.  The other physical control I miss is a switch to lock the fan on.  Again I see Homekit or other home automation coming to the rescue there too.  Perfect!   

    Heck the temperature knob could be anywhere; doesn't have to be near the thermostat.  I'm sure there is something like that out there somewhere or if not something could be hacked up with a Pi or Arduino and interfaced with Homekit.  Wish I would have though of this before!
  • Reply 12 of 20
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,821member
    dasjetta said:
    Admittedly it works extremely well with HomeKit  BUT I would argue that it’s only a 4 star device due to it’s ugly design and it’s touch screen slider controls that are incredibly hard to adjust with finesse.  If only NEST would integrate better with HomeKit and also had the follow me mode….
    And if only the NEST wasn’t from Google, causing me to always wonder what it’s listening to and where my data is being sold. But agree the NEST has a superior UI. 
    Agreed. And the Nest UI is good because the original founders and product people were ex-Apple, they had the skills.
    williamlondon
  • Reply 13 of 20
    dasjetta said:
    Admittedly it works extremely well with HomeKit  BUT I would argue that it’s only a 4 star device due to it’s ugly design and it’s touch screen slider controls that are incredibly hard to adjust with finesse.  If only NEST would integrate better with HomeKit and also had the follow me mode….
    If you have Nest devices in your house that you'd like to make compatible with HomeKit, check out the Starling Home Hub. I just purchased one 2 weeks ago, and it's working great. I use it to make my Nest Protect smoke detectors HomeKit compatible.
  • Reply 14 of 20
    If you have Nest devices in your house that you'd like to make compatible with HomeKit, check out the Starling Home Hub. I just purchased one 2 weeks ago, and it's working great. I use it to make my Nest Protect smoke detectors HomeKit compatible.
    I don't have any Nest products but have a few devices I would like to add to HomeKit (Ring, etc). I've been looking at using the Hoobs (hoobs.com), but this Starling Home Hub looks a bit simpler to set up/use. I see it's only for Nest Products though.

    Has anyone here used the Hoobs device before? Secure, etc?
    MrBunside
  • Reply 15 of 20

    As of Oct 14, I'm not seeing this firmware update on my Ecobee SmartThermostat or the Ecobee app. Likewise, the support page states the current firmware to be 4.7.5.250 (which is my device's version). I guess it's an incremental rollout.

  • Reply 16 of 20
    Just to be correct, this is not the first HomeKit thermostat to be used with Siri. Ecobee makes a thermostat for a carrier called the Carrier Cor thermostat which is HomeKit compatible and I do control my 2 Carrier Cor thermostats every day with Siri.
  • Reply 17 of 20
    cr8tiv1 said:
    Has anyone here used the Hoobs device before? Secure, etc?
    I’m a HOOBS user and advocate. Previously was running homebridge on a Synology server which worked OK, but a few things were flaky (the Ring plugin for some reason was quasi functional in that install).

    paid for the HOOBS device and it’s been solid. I integrate Ring devices, Kasa (TP-Link), and a plug-in that pulls weather info from Darksky (damn near worth it just for this feature if you don’t have your own weather station). In total, about 50 devices that are pulled in through HOOBS to HomeKit. I have automations that include native HomeKit devices and HOOBS devices. No problems.  Works surprisingly well.  

    Support is great. The developers respond quickly to questions and actively monitor the HOOBS Reddit channel. 
  • Reply 18 of 20
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,312member
    I’m a gadget enthusiast but I’ve resisted the impulse to buy a smart thermostat - so far, because I want to know what happens if there is a connectivity issue, loss of internet service, or the software/firmware on the device crashes or otherwise goes off the rails. The ideal solution for me would be for all “smart” thermostats to have a “dumb” thermostat fallback mode that would revert the thermostat to manual mode if the smart controller fails, I.e., a fail safe or failover mode.

    Yeah, I know that we rely on lots of software driven necessities these days, but for HVAC systems I’d very much like to know that if something short of a total power failure, which can be mitigated with a whole house generator, I’d really like to know that a minor software/firmware glitch isn’t going to cause major chaos. Talking with a HVAC maintenance guy who’s dealt with multiple failed “connected” thermostats definitely gives me pause.
    edited October 2021 ols
  • Reply 19 of 20

    I integrate Ring devices, Kasa (TP-Link), and a plug-in that pulls weather info from Darksky (damn near worth it just for this feature if you don’t have your own weather station).
    I understand Apple purchased DarkSky and will soon kill it. 
    williamlondon
  • Reply 20 of 20
    I understand Apple purchased DarkSky and will soon kill it. 
    thanks
    williamlondon
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