Sensibo Air Smart Air Conditioner Controller

The unit I ordered from Amazon never got to me, due to a bizarre Amazon fulfillment error, so I reordered directly from the manufacturer. I am impressed by the Sensibo Air. Setup was smooth, and was completely guided by the app. I was able to configure the device to work on my customized network, which walls off Internet of Things (IOT) traffic. The Sensibo app recognized my air conditioner's somewhat elaborate remote control from a single press of the remote's on/off button, and the app can do everything that the remote can do. The Apple HomeKit integration does what I need it to do, allowing me to turn the air conditioner on and off, set the temperature, and select fan-only mode, whether I'm at home or away. Notes: • The Sensibo app will not operate without continuous Internet access. After initial setup, it should be possible to use basic features of a home control app without external Internet access. Controlling the Sensibo Air through Apple HomeKit is a work-around. • I haven't checked whether the Sensibo Air complains if its external Internet access is revoked. Hopefully the device doesn't "phone home" unnecessarily. (I prefer to let Apple HomeKit broker commands when I am away from home, because HomeKit's security policy is well established.) I will update my review when I've tried tightening the firewall rules for my Sensibo Air. • The privacy implications of Sensibo's built-in geofencing feature (which can turn the air conditioner on when you arrive at home, and off when you leave) are unclear. The Sensibo app needs access to Location Services during the initial setup of the Sensibo Air, but works fine without location access after that (provided that the built-in geofencing feature is turned off). I will update my review when I've tried to create arrive/leave automations for the Sensibo Air at the Apple HomeKit level. (Here again, I prefer to let Apple HomeKit handle my location data, because HomeKit's privacy policy is well established.) • There's a silly user interface mistake in the Sensibo app. During setup, when you link the Sensibo Air to HomeKit, the Sensibo app displays a HomeKit QR code, as well as a manual setup code. Unless you have another iPhone or iPad, you can't scan the QR code. The manual setup code cannot be selected and copied, so you'd have to write it down on a piece of paper, switch from the Sensibo app to the HomeKit app, and manually type the code. In closing, the security and privacy concerns I've raised are common to most home control devices, and they shouldn't deter you. Setup was easy, the Apple HomeKit integration works, and the Sensibo Air is a major convenience. I'm looking forward to using it this summer!

Wow works with my Carrier hvac that normally has no smart capabilities. This is so helpful and a game changer. The app is easy for simple commands. Very easy to setup, took 10 minutes. Thank you!!

I bought two of these to control our Daikin multi-split HVAC units (one outdoor unit, two indoor ducted units). We moved from a place where we had Nest thermostats controlling central HVAC, and having to control the heat and AC with remote controls at our new place was a real drag. Now we can set the heat to come on in the morning before we get up like we could at our old place! We can also adjust the temp for our pets while we’re away. The Sensibo controllers were easy to set up and the app is more or less intuitive. There is no need to get the paid version of the app - all the basic functions including scheduling are available in the free version. As others have mentioned, it’s annoying that it seems to be converting temps from C to F, so you can’t set the temperature to 69, for example - only 68 or 70. There are other similar gaps. There is also one function that only seems to be accessible through the web interface for some mysterious reason - if you need to calibrate your sensor to what the room temp is, that can only be done on the web. Why? Overall, I would recommend these to anyone who wants Nest-like functionality for their remote-controlled HVAC units. Nest is the gold standard, and these are not quite that, but they’re a huge improvement over the remotes.

Game changer! It made my Friedrich wallmaster AC programmable and wifi compatible. Now I can see what temp is my living room from anywhere.

This is a great idea but is not well baked yet. Only recommended if you're a tinkerer who enjoys spending hours manually controlling your automation gear, or if you're a 'set it and forget it' kind of person who knows that a couple of scheduled temperatures will do the trick 24/7 across the season. The '60-second installation' only covers taking the device out of the box and plugging it in, your time in the app and troubleshooting the configuration will exceed this by orders of magnitude. In all fairness, it is a cool device, the hardware is great-looking, it does what you expect it to do (before you actually think what you *need* it to do), and if you figure out a simple configuration that works for you it will feel like magic. Unfortunately, it does not remove any complexity from your life if you are an advanced user or expect sophisticated automations. I do not want to bash Sensibo, just hope to provide information that I didn't have before buying and I sincerely hope that this product becomes all that it could be. My negative feelings come from their annoying attempts to charge for a subscription that you don't need (read on) and from the app's poor user experience. My fair rating for the device is more like 3-stars, but the unfair pricing scheme and negative feelings make this review a 1-star. First, note that the device doesn't know anything about the state of your AC, it simply hopes that it is still doing the last thing you set it to. This is ok if everyone in your household knows not to control the AC manually with the appliance buttons or the remote. However there are some actions that still make it go out of sync. For example, if you accidentally set a temperature beyond the range of the AC (or if Siri mishears you) the device will try to go to that setting and fall out of sync so any further temperature adjustments will be off. The app has a feature(?) that allows you to sync the power state in case the appliance is off while Sensibo thinks it's on, that works but is more a red flag than a feature and it does not cover any of the other settings (operation mode, fan speed, temperature, basically everything else) so you have to sync the settings manually. You might as well sync the power state manually too and save yourself a few minutes of suffering opening the app. The Sensibo app does a million things but it is not easy to navigate or elegant, and it has ads all over the place asking you to pay. You are expected to pay for a subscription to use half of the features the app offers, but there is no reason why you should have to pay as the device could do those things without talking to the Sensibo servers. Considering what they charge for the device, you're being charged to unlock features that you already payed for. If you are a tinkerer, you can make a device like this with $20 (ESP-32, IR diode, etc) then you can control all your IR remote appliances, not just your AC (idea for the Sensibo's next subscription upgrade?). And then there is the web app, which fortunately you don't need for most things because it is an eyesore and a pain to use if you're not sitting at your desktop. If the mobile app's setup workflow doesn't configure your IR remote correctly, you need to go to the web app because you cannot do this with the mobile app (perhaps they should have built real features instead of all the subscription pay walls). When you find the remote configuration menu in the web app, you are presented with a long list of obscurely named options like 'pink rhinoceros 21' and it is very slow and annoying to find the one you need because there is no useful information about each option so you need to do trial and error and then go to the AC controls and mess with it to see if that works better. Sensibo: it would be more useful to present the user with a table of the different features of each configuration, or some filters to narrow them down based on what the user's AC can do. The HomeKit integration is there but it is limited and confusing, although in Sensibo's defense this might be a shared HomeKit problem. I bought this device in July 2021 and am using the iOS app version 3.4.26

The Sensibo works once it's configured, but getting there was far more frustrating than it should have been because the setup instructions leave out a critical step. During installation, you must go into your phone's Wi-Fi Settings, connect to the temporary Sensibo Wi-Fi network, and then tap the Sensibo network again to open the device's configuration page. This is where you assign your home's Wi-Fi network so the controller can complete the setup. The instructions never clearly explain this, and I only got it working after figuring it out on my own through trial and error. The app also has some confusing behavior. When using Fahrenheit, the temperature changes in 2°F increments, while switching to Celsius allows adjustments in 1°C increments. This makes it difficult to fine-tune the temperature in Fahrenheit. Another issue is that the temperature displayed in the Sensibo app will not necessarily match the temperature shown on your air conditioner. The app's setpoint is translated by the Sensibo to whatever IR command your specific AC understands, so don't expect the number on your phone and the number displayed by the AC to always be identical. It would be helpful if the documentation explained this behavior up front because it can make you think something is configured incorrectly when it isn't. Once everything is finally configured, the hardware performs well and does what it's supposed to do. However, the incomplete setup instructions, the awkward Fahrenheit temperature adjustment, and the confusing temperature display behavior keep me from rating it any higher than 3 stars. These are software and documentation issues that should be easy for the manufacturer to address.

Purchase 2 devices. Configured to app easy. However the device need to be installed on the opposite wall at the same height as the AC and most importantly plugged in to work. If your AC is 10 feet up on a wall. The device on the other wall needs to be 10 feet. These is only a 20 inch power cord to the sensibo device. There are 3 options to fix this 1. purchase a 10 foot long power cord from amazon and the cost got higher 2. Install a new outlet up higher even more costly 3. Have an ugly extension cord/power supply going up the wall. Also please note to have access to all of the Sensibo features on the app there is an additional monthly fee. Which makes this device very expensive to purchase and to operate. This device came highly recommend but I am now regretting my purchase of over $250 for both devices. If you contact support for help. You will get a few answers to fix the issue. I have also been told you can install and plug the sensibo device directly under the AC. Not sure at the point what is the correct install for the sensibo device.

It works SIGNIFICANTLY better than the WiFi interface (Airzone) that came with my Daikin dual zone mini split. Setup was very easy, it immediately recognized my remote, and had more controls than the Airzone system. Setting up schedules was easy, and It works great with Home Assistant ! I already had a Sensibo Sky that I used on a different system, I reconnected it to my new systems second Mini split with no problem. The price point was about half what the Airzone for the Daikin cost.

Works great!

The app was buggy and had issues recognising the air conditioner. It refuses to read/learn the signals from the remote controller. After setting up, most of the useful features are only available with monthly subscription even though you bought this expensive device. Without the subscription, you can only do basic stuffs like switching on/off, changing temperature/fan speed, etc. It works sporadically.

El producto ha llegado a tiempo, bien embalado y estado perfecto. No hay muchas instrucciones, en teoria debería ser simple ponerlo en marcha. Yo he tenido problemas en sincronizar con la wi-fi, finalmente lo he tenido que hacer manualmente. En la sección de ayuda de la aplicación explican como hacerlo. El sistema funciona bien, permite el control a distancia desde el movil y sobretodo permite programar periodos de marcha y paro. No cubre todas las funciones del aire acondicionado, pero si las principales (Tengo un split LG antiguo). En Resumen: muy util.

Très bon produit. Installation très facile : connexion immédiate avec la Clim existante. Depuis quelques mois que c'est installé, fonctionnement sans souci. S'il fallait faire une critique, je ne suis pas toujours pleinement certain de l'information de la température. Mais rien de grave.

Easy to connect and does exactly as promised. Allows me to prepare my house for arrival winter or especially summer.