Setting up Alexa with the Smart Control was a semi-involved process that involved downloading the Alexa App and enabling the My Harmony skill. The Smart Control is also compatible with Amazon Alexa through an Alexa-enabled speaker like the Amazon Echo or Amazon Dot. And even though RF signals were at work, the remote would sometimes lag, not respond at all, or seemed to work best when pointed directly at the device we wanted to control. long press commands-you often don’t have a choice over whether a long press or short press would launch a function, meaning you don’t know which is necessary. There’s also the poorly implemented short vs. On the other hand, having to rely on the MyHarmony software to control the rest of the remote is cumbersome. We appreciated how handy it was to assign activities to devices straight from the app and quickly launch them. When we successfully configured an activity, the remote was quick to respond and straightforward to use. That said, once we successfully paired the two, the remote and the app were very responsive. The Harmony App let us know what we needed to do in the NVIDIA gaming console to pair to the Harmony Keyboard, but locking in a connection took several minutes. The NVIDIA SHIELD was more difficult to set up because it requires a Bluetooth connection to the Harmony Keyboard in order for the Harmony App and the remote to be able to interact with it. This was especially true when we returned to regular TV from the Roku device. When we launched Roku with the Smart Control, we sometimes noticed a delay of a few seconds. We were able to set up a smart TV, Roku, Fire Cube TV, and NVIDIA SHIELD TV Gaming Edition with the Harmony Smart Control with relative ease, but almost every device connection involved a bit of editing and finagling. Lifewire / Yoona Wagener Performance/Software: Good but not always consistent There is also a USB cord available to connect the Hub directly to your computer to enable syncing, if necessary. Luckily, even though these steps need to be completed in the software, a simple sync in the Harmony App ensures that the remote and hub and app are on the same page. To gain full access to all button controls including activities with multi-step sequences, you have to use the MyHarmony software, which you can download for PC or Mac. It’s worth noting that while the quick activity shortcuts located at the top of the remote are customizable through the Harmony app, these are the only buttons you can set via the app. We encountered some errors with devices not powering on even though the activity was launched, which required significant troubleshooting and reconfiguring. And this is not a seamless or speedy process. Even though we carried over activities (Logitech’s name for macros or the controls manually assigned to buttons) associated with another remote, we were still guided through setting up and testing all the activities and devices. This is a very helpful feature to have if you’re upgrading Harmony remotes or you’re adding another remote to other entertainment centers in your home. Given the lengthy initial connection process, we opted to copy over activities we’d already established in another Harmony remote. Only after we reset the hub a couple of times were we finally able to connect, after 15 annoying minutes. While we expected to see the hub detected in the app, the search icon just keep spinning. Once we plugged in the hub and waited for 30 seconds as directed, we downloaded the Harmony App for iOS, which is where the setup process is managed. Setting up the Smart Control is not overly complex at first glance, but we ran into hurdles the entire way. Lifewire / Yoona Wagener Setup Process: Relatively simple but not without hiccups The Hub also connects to the Harmony App via Wi-Fi for complete smartphone control as well. The Hub uses RF, or radio frequency signals, from the remote to communicate with your devices and equipment through IR, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi, which means you can easily reach items behind cabinet doors or in media consoles. The other complement to the remote is the Harmony Hub, a semi-square-shaped block powered by an AC adapter and supplemented with two infrared mini blasters. The front of the remote is made from a glossy reflective material which is prone to smudging, but the buttons are easy to press and don’t collapse with pressure. The back of the remote is made of a smooth and sturdy rubberized material and features a subtle groove in the middle. 7 inches, it’s not at all overwhelming in the hand. While some remote controls can feel heavy or a little too big, the Harmony Smart Control is actually quite compact and comfortable to hold. Lifewire / Yoona Wagener Design: Streamlined and straightforward
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