Smart Home Vendor Wink Tells Customers: Pay Up or Lose Access to Devices

UPDATE 5/12/20: The harsh response from customers has prompted Wink to extend the deadline to opt into the company's required subscription plan — but only by a week. 

"We’ve received a lot of feedback regarding the announcement of our subscription service," the company in a tweet on Tuesday.

"We're grateful for those that have shown support.

We can appreciate that some customers may need additional time so we have extended the deadline to subscribe by an additional week until 5/20."

Original story:

Smart home provider Wink has some bad news for existing customers: Unless they opt into a new $4.99 monthly subscription plan by May 13, customers will basically lose internet access to their Wink products. 

The company announced the mandatory subscription plan to keep it financially afloat during the pandemic.

“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 company wrote in a Wednesday blog post.  

The same post then adds: “Should you choose not to sign up for a subscription you will no longer be able to access your Wink devices from the app, with voice control or through the API, and your automations will be disabled on May 13." 

Not surprisingly, the news is sparking outrage among customers.

“You announce this one week before cutting off service? This is not acceptable,” one user on Twitter. 

Wink’s business model had previously relied on the one-time fee customers pay for its smart home products to cover the company’s operations.

This includes the costs of running Wink’s cloud servers, which enable customer smartphones to control Wink products over the internet.

For $199, you can buy Wink’s “Lookout” package, which bundles the company’s main product, a smart home hub.

The device is capable of connecting to a wide variety of smart appliances — including light bulbs, electrical outlets and security cameras —offering customers easy access to manage them all.   

But now Wink is threatening to disable the hub's main functions unless owners buy into the $4.99 subscription plan. “This fee is designed to be as modest as possible,” the company added in the blog post.

“Your support will enable us to continue providing you with the functionality that you’ve come to rely on, and focus on accelerating new integrations and app features.”

Perhaps the only good news is that the company says it's refusing to sell or monetize customers' data to offset the costs.

However, many customers on Twitter say they plan on ditching the company.

“1 week notice?  I will spend $200 on a new hub before giving you one more nickel,” another user.

Wink is owned by i.am+, which is best known as a tech company founded by rapper Will.i.am.

Last year, The Verge reported that i.am+ was running out of funds, resulting in some workers at Wink not getting paid. 

For alternatives to Wink, you can consider our guide on smart home devices. 

UPDATE 5/12/20: The harsh response from customers has prompted Wink to extend the deadline to opt into the company's required subscription plan — but only by a week. 

"We’ve received a lot of feedback regarding the announcement of our subscription service," the company in a tweet on Tuesday.

"We're grateful for those that have shown support.

We can appreciate that some customers may need additional time so we have extended the deadline to subscribe by an additional week until 5/20."

Original story:

Smart home provider Wink has some bad news for existing customers: Unless they opt into a new $4.99 monthly subscription plan by May 13, customers will basically lose internet access to their Wink products. 

The company announced the mandatory subscription plan to keep it financially afloat during the pandemic.

“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 company wrote in a Wednesday blog post.  

The same post then adds: “Should you choose not to sign up for a subscription you will no longer be able to access your Wink devices from the app, with voice control or through the API, and your automations will be disabled on May 13." 

Not surprisingly, the news is sparking outrage among customers.

“You announce this one week before cutting off service? This is not acceptable,” one user on Twitter. 

Wink’s business model had previously relied on the one-time fee customers pay for its smart home products to cover the company’s operations.

This includes the costs of running Wink’s cloud servers, which enable customer smartphones to control Wink products over the internet.

For $199, you can buy Wink’s “Lookout” package, which bundles the company’s main product, a smart home hub.

The device is capable of connecting to a wide variety of smart appliances — including light bulbs, electrical outlets and security cameras —offering customers easy access to manage them all.   

But now Wink is threatening to disable the hub's main functions unless owners buy into the $4.99 subscription plan. “This fee is designed to be as modest as possible,” the company added in the blog post.

“Your support will enable us to continue providing you with the functionality that you’ve come to rely on, and focus on accelerating new integrations and app features.”

Perhaps the only good news is that the company says it's refusing to sell or monetize customers' data to offset the costs.

However, many customers on Twitter say they plan on ditching the company.

“1 week notice?  I will spend $200 on a new hub before giving you one more nickel,” another user.

Wink is owned by i.am+, which is best known as a tech company founded by rapper Will.i.am.

Last year, The Verge reported that i.am+ was running out of funds, resulting in some workers at Wink not getting paid. 

For alternatives to Wink, you can consider our guide on smart home devices.