Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Hive Active Heating Thermostat Without Professional Installation

There are 0 reviews and 0 ratings from the United States

Andrew M

Smart heating with no fuss

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 23, 2021

I thought long and hard before settling on the Hive, it was a toss up between the Hive, Nest and Honeywell's EcoHome. Hive won out in the end because it seemed good value and I want a system that I'm in control of (not Google!) and didn't break the bank.

I self installed my Hive, it's simple enough if you are familiar with your central heating system and are competent with electrical work. Mine was a straight swap for my old non-smart system, but I rewired just to modernise everything and bring it up to standard.

Setting it up was simple, plugged in the Hub and let it update while I was fitting the relay control, the update completed without any issues and the relay connected fine. Powering up the thermostat started the wizard for setting the timing schedule as expected. The only issue I had was that setting the schedule on the thermostat itself wasn't very user friendly. In the end I did it in the phone app, which is much more straight forward.

Some of the documentation is weak, self installation for example, and adding additional users when you have set up Apple Home, but it's a popular product and there is plenty of information on the web to help.

I've had the Hive installed for a few weeks now, so the novelty has worn off and now I'm using it just as smart heating system. I think 'Smart' is a misnomer; there's nothing really smart about a wireless heating system, but it's very convenient to be able to control your heating and water from a phone app, wherever you are. Everything just works, and it's very quick and responsive. No complaints so far.

Overall I'm happy with the Hive, it does exactly what I wanted it to. It's extensible, and I can add smart TRVs at a later date, but these do add to the cost significantly. Recommended.

Russ

Easy to Configure Once Installed

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 25, 2020

Verified Purchase

I installed this myself for a warm air central heating system that originally took a pair of low voltage control wires from a thermostat. The biggest part of the job was adding a 3A fused spur to supply power to the receiver as well as tidying up some old wiring. I mounted everything on 30mm surface pattress boxes inside the boiler cupboard. Fitting the receiver and its plate on to the pattress was a bit fiddly but got there in the end. I wired the pair of control wires to terminals 1 and 3 in a single channel receiver.

With the receiver installed, I plugged in the hub, put batteries in the wireless thermostat, installed the hive android app and created a hive account. Once I rebooted the hub, everything worked like a charm. Easy to control and set up a heating schedule.

I also created an IFTTT account linked to hive and used this to turn the heating off when I leave the house and back on when I return. It uses phone location to know when you are in and out. You can turn heating on and off from the phone app, but nice to have it done automatically so you don't forget.

I was worried about it cycling the boiler excessively but the hysterisis seems just right at 0.5 °C either side of the set point. The hub is upstairs by my router, receiver in brick boiler cupboard downstairs, thermostat on other side of brick wall downstairs. No problems with wireless connection so far.

I got it on offer for £122, so absolute bargain. Wish I had done this years ago.

2 people found this helpful

Old Hui

Installation is easy but can be easier.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 2, 2018

Verified Purchase

I have a combi boiler with an internet-enabled control (Hive 1?) but it doesn't get all features of Hive. Upgrading to Hive 2 is relative easy on the hardware part. However, you still need to swap out the hub, receiver and thermostat as British Gas has changed everything.

My old receiver is a British Gas WR1 which has a compatible backplate with the new Hive receiver. Just power off, take out the old receiver, and put the new one onto the old backplate. That was easy.

The new Hive 2 thermostat is also super easy to set up.

Changing the hub takes some effort. First, the new Hive hub takes a while to get to the flashing amber light. The green light must have flashed for 5-10 minutes. Just be patient. However, the really trouble is linking the new Hub to the Hive app/account. There is no easy way to unlink the old nano hub from my existing Hive account, and thus no way to input the new hub ID. I have to phone Hive technical support to do the swap over. Basically they removed the old hub from my account and that initiates the Hive app to ask for the new hub ID. Hive could have made this easier! The support line works 7 days until 9:00pm, which is good. But I still waited > 11 min to get someone on the phone.

One warning on Google Home integration: Although Google Home claims to work with Hive, the integration is buggy. "Turn heating off" leaves the Hive thermostat in "schedule", not off, but sets the target temperature to lowest. "Turn heating on" does nothing: Hive is left in schedule mode, with no change in target temperature. That means heating won't come back on. I chatted with Google Home's support and they confessed that the features are not working yet. How disappointing? *** However ***, IFTTT comes to the rescue. IFTTT can really turn heating between off and schedule. The shame is that you cannot ask Google Home "what is my home temperature".

In conclusion, the weaknesses above are not with the Hive thermostat. It is either British Gas' or Google's problem. The product is very good.

3 people found this helpful

Ryan

One of my favourite purchases in the last year

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 13, 2016

Verified Purchase

For those who don't want to read the whole review, this is a beautifully-presented system that has proved to be reliable and is saving me money, compared to my old system. That's it. Buy it and enjoy the benefits. .....But for a slightly longer review, read on.

There are three components to this system; the thermostat, the receiver and the hub. This might sound like a complicated system, but the instructions are straightforward and aside from the installation of the receiver, which may require some tinkering with your home wiring (please don't tinker!), the rest is very simple.

The biggest decision for me was whether I needed to pay extra for the receiver installation or not. In hindsight, I'm glad I didn't pay the extra, as it was a very simple install, but the safe and responsible answer is to pay for the installation by an expert. The last thing you want is to find things aren't working and you have to wait days without heating for someone to come and fix it. In my case, the receiver replaced an existing timer/programmer, with an identical backplate. This meant that the installation was as simple as turning off the power to the programmer, removing the old programmer, attaching the new one to the plate, and testing it. I did replace the backplate, which wasn't strictly necessary, but the old one was cracked, so it made sense to use the new one. If you do the same, just label the wires and make sure they go back in the same places.

Each part of this system has a different purpose and set-up; The receiver is to be wall-mounted and wired to your home wiring; the hub plugs into a spare ethernet socket on your broadband router and is powered by a regular household socket; and the thermostat is battery powered (batteries included), making it perfectly mobile around the house. Just make sure all three components are within your wireless network, as the one thing that can let this system down is a weak signal at any end of the system. In my house, all three elements are within 8 feet of one another, so this isn't an issue. Long distances or solid walls separating the parts might just make life difficult.

Some have suggested that the ability to turn your heating on and off remotely, via the app is just a novelty, but as someone who doesn't work a set pattern of working hours, I can tell you that it has been a real blessing to be able to turn the heating on before I leave work and know that the house will be warm when I get home. Also, if I'm working late, I can leave the heating off a little bit longer to save a few pennies. Certainly in comparison to my old timer-only system (with no thermostat), this WILL save me money in the long term, although it may take a year or two to pay off the initial investment of buying the system!

The iPhone App, like the thermostat itself is simple and well presented. It didn't take long for me to figure out how to use it. You'll probably spend the first week tweaking the settings and changing the timings, so you'll be an expert by the end of the first week or two! Boosting the system (when you need an extra hour or two of heat) is very easy from either the App or the thermostat. One or two presses and you're soon warming up. The holiday mode is also a neat little feature. Just let it know when you're leaving and returning, then you can travel knowing that you won't be wasting money on heating you don't need AND that the frost protect will try to keep your house above the 'danger zone' where pipes can freeze and burst. Having suffered a burst pipe due to freezing many years ago, I know the chaos this can cause, so the automatic frost-protection is a genuine relief.

As an Apple fan, I would love to see this integrated with Apple's Home Automation system and Siri (so I can tell my Apple Watch to "turn the heating on" without even picking up my phone or searching for the App!) but at the moment this isn't an option. However, there's no reason why it couldn't appear at a later date.

19 people found this helpful

Bill Lomas

Great Product. Crap Customer Service.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 1, 2022

Verified Purchase

I bought this product via Amazon. Thermostat, Hub and Service Box and had it professionally fitted, as per the instructions. My immediate next door neighbour bought his Hive at the same time but bought his at Screwfix.
It all worked fine until about 3 weeks ago when I returned home after a couple of days away, to find that the system was “offline” and wouldn’t connect or run from the thermostat. I went into the restart procedure on the App, then went through it again and went through it again, I chatted with my neighbour and he was having the same problems with his system.
So, having failed to get it working, I then contacted the customer service on the 0333 number and ended up with a call centre in South Africa, talking to a young lady whose first language was definitely, not English. A difficult 50 minutes then ensued which culminated in a still failed system. However, I could operate my central heating by pushing the button on the service box.
By the next morning,the system had still not restarted and I went through the restart procedure again, 3 times, all to no avail. I then contacted the call centre again and went through another agonising 50 minutes with a young man whose first language again, was not English. By now, tempers were becoming frayed and a sense of humour failure was on the cards. By the time we had finished, I requested to talk to a Supervisor, but told there wasn’t one available. So I recorded a complaint, but my system still wasn’t working.
I went through a third frustrating day of a 50 minute call to the 0333 number and recorded another complaint. But still my system wasn’t working and my neighbour was having the same problem as me. The call centre had not returned my call or registered my complaint.
I then waited 3 days, operating my system by pressing the central heating button on the service box. Eventually, I received a call back from the Supervisor and we went through the reboot procedure again. But, this was their call, so I was little more tolerant, but not by much.
That day culminated in my system being suspended, while they did some remote work on the hub. 24 hours later, I received another call from the same lady who confirmed that the Hub had been a fault from the outset, resulting in a failure of communication between The Hub, The Thermostat and The Service Box. We went through a complete reboot and the system fired up, including connecting with my Alexa. As a matter of fact, my neighbours system connected without him having to make a call, which suggests that our systems were linked through the Hive server.
Both systems are working fine and so far, we have not had any further problems.

The system, when it works is brilliant. I can’t fault it and the convenience of using it via an App or Alexa is brilliant. My only gripe is the Customer Service Centre based in South Africa and no option to talk to an English operator or connect with an call centre based in UK. The 3 x 50 minute phone calls cost me £65 and I have not received any offer from Hive to offset that cost.

So, by all means, go ahead and buy the equipment. I can’t fault it, when it’s working. However, keep your fingers crossed that it doesn’t fail and you’re forced to call “ The Call Centre” 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫. If you’re forced to call them, take a big dose of “sense of humour”, because you will need it.

Ciao ciao 4 Now.

7 people found this helpful

Lewis

A great solution - don't underestimate installation

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 10, 2016

Verified Purchase

A fantastic device and simple enough to install so long as you're competent and careful.

I've had mine for about two weeks now and am very happy with my purchase. The Hive 2 ticked all the right boxes - the thermostat looks good and is properly wireless (powered by 4 AA batteries) meaning I have the option to put it _anywhere_ in my house, even where there isn't a power socket nearby; the same cannot be said of Nest which was initially on my wish list. While the Nest can work wirelessly, it's for a few hours at most and needs to be positioned near to a socket. Imagining the location of most people's thermostats, I don't think they would want an extension cable and a USB adapter dangling off the wall - that isn't pretty anywhere.

The installation was not without its troubles - I was replacing an existing wireless thermostat wired in to different terminals than a 240v thermostat in my boiler so I don't mind admitting I asked someone for guidance. If I'm honest (and to make myself feel better), the main reason I had to ask for assistance was because the boiler's wiring diagram wasn't crystal clear. Asking for assistance can be a mine field. My boiler front cover is lined with foam and held on by a single 10mm bolt and two steel clips at the bottom (Vaillant 2013 model) - it is not a complex undertaking to remove it and replace it properly but some gas safe engineers insist on telling you only they are capable of removing and replacing something like this safely. Legally they're correct but replacing a 10mm bolt and two steel clips does not require a degree in mechanical engineering - just know what you're doing and if in doubt, speak to a pro. That said, if you are capable but don't have an existing 240v thermostat or the ability to interpret a wiring diagram, get a pro to do it.

When you first put batteries in the Thermostat you'll be asked whether you prefer comfort or energy saving, this determines the initial temperatures and schedule but these can be changed easily on the Hive website so don't agonise over the question too much. Once all the hardware is installed, you need to use the little booklet with a scratch off section at the back to get a code to use on the Hive website. This code is entered in to the Hive website at the URL provided in the bookley and then, once registered with your email address, you're on and customising. Get the app for your phone from your respective app store and use the username and password you created when registering on the Hive website to log in to that.

Shameless plug - if you're a Windows user and know what PowerShell is, I've abstracted the Hive API to allow control of the Hive (and therefore your heating system) using scripting (which you can schedule on a Windows computer of course). I call the project PoSHive and it's on GitHub. You can set the temperature, boost, switch to manual/auto/off and get properties like current temp.

11 people found this helpful

fred brubaker

Excellent

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 18, 2018

Verified Purchase

Excellent and easy installation. The box contains the Hub, the Thermostat and the control box. I purchased this to replace a hard wired gravity fed system with Drayton controller for the heating and water.

Our system is quite straight forward so installation was without issue.

After unboxing I just followed the instructions, connnected the hub, just remember that the hub has to be hard wired to the WiFi box with the supplied Ethernet cable and needs a separate power source.

The control box fits directly over the standard British Gas cradle, which is standard on most controllers, but make sure you follow the wiring if you replace the cradle with the new one supplied. I did and you get sticky labels to mark the wires. Please remember that if you have a gravity fed system with a mid position value you will NOT have wire 2 - Heating off. If you have a hard wired thermostat you will need to bypass the wire - simple connector block to the two wires or you can do this in the main wiring station usually fitted around the cylinder location.

Once this is done the set up is really easy- all in all from old to new it took me about 1 hour and I was taking my time .

I have noticed straight away that he thermostat is so much more accurate than the old Manila one and the temperature is much better controlled.

I am quite happy in tackling DIY stuff and it is nothing complicated - There’s plenty of videos and online help - all I needed tool wise was a pozi and flat bladed screwdrivers and multi meter - to confirm the lives in the thermostat and to make sure that the power was off.

If you are not sure then please don’t do this yourself, buy it with installation or get a plumber or electrician to install it- you will come in to contact with 240v and it hurts — a lot .....

So all In all very impressed - especially with the current deal I got a free a Alexa Dot

Darren Wright

Easy to fit, stylish and intuitive to use - great bit of kit!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 7, 2018

Verified Purchase

As someone who is away from the house a lot with work and very erratic finish times, the ability to have the heating switched on from my phone whilst on the way home and to come home to a house that is already warm is a bit of a game changer!

Also, the annual winter worry of being away from the house when the temperature drops and not being there to turn it on for a while meant that I either carried that worry all weekend or left the heating on a timer heating an empty house when it may not have always been necessary. This unit puts and end to all of that and I'm loving it!

I fitted two of these in two different houses, one replacing an old timer clock on an oil condensing boiler (the sort where you moved coloured plastic buttons round a circular clock face to set the on and off times) and one replacing an already wireless (but not "smart") Honeywell thermostat. In both cases it was a doddle to fit the controller unit to the existing wiring (with some changes needing to be made on one of the fittings) and once you understand the wiring, it's nothing that a semi-competent home DIY'er couldn't tackle themselves. As always, be careful when working on electrics and be doubly sure that you have isolated the supply before tackling it.

Highly recommended, works like a charm, all the pieces self-connect and "find" one another once fitted and the convenience is superb - love it!

My top tip is to create a new email address that you don't care about and that you will only use for the heating and setting up your Hive account (I used a free Gmail one) - this way, if you ever move house, you don't need to change any details on your account, you can leave the hub behind and just give the new homeowners your log-on details so they can use the system with all of its features and essentially "take over" your online account without causing you an hassle.

11 people found this helpful

Bloodbuzz459

Amazing Product. Just Make Sure You Use It To Its Potential!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 7, 2016

Verified Purchase

The second I heard of Hive as a gadget nut it was instantly on my never ending want list much to my missus’s dismay who quite sternly declared a normal thermostat is more than sufficient given that your never more than a minute away from it in the house and you can set timers for when you’re not. Given her resistance, the price and the fact our boiler was 20+ years old it fell way down my list.
That was until our boiler packed in a week later and presented the opportunity to have a new one installed and Hive at the same time. With some persuasion and convincing that we would be able to turn off the heating should we forget to and go out and we could turn it on just in time for us getting in etc. it was given the go ahead!
IMPORTANT: It is a bit easy to be misled by the two options “Heating” or “Heating & Hot Water” I presumed wrongly that one allowed you to operate hot water and one didn’t when actually both do but it depends on your boiler as to which one you need. Some boilers have one heating output that does both and some have two separate outputs. Fortunately I picked the right one as I ordered without installation so my plumber could install it at the same time as my boiler but just double check before ordering which you need. (I think the one with both can actually work with either but if you just get heating and need to dual one you’re stuffed).
Anyhow, I can’t comment on installation as I didn’t do it but it is worth noting that it does actually have several components not just the fancy thermostat in the pictures. One needs to be wired to your boiler and fuse spur, another connects to your internet router and needs a power socket and then obviously the thermostat which runs on batteries. (I think it can be hardwired). None of these are particularly huge but just worth bearing in mind.
OK, in terms of operation mine worked absolutely seamlessly from the start and no problems encountered thus far. Using my iPhone I can control my heating and hot water from anywhere. The thermostat on the wall looks great and is very easy to work (it’s quite big though). Being battery operated it also gives you the chance to easily relocate it. The app is simple to use and very straight forward absolutely no complaints from a design point of view.
The whole point of it is brilliant my biggest problem is remembering to use it to its potential. I still walk out leaving the heating on and forgetting to check the app or I frequently leave work without turning it on for when I get home. Even when I’m in the house I still walk to the thermostat rather than use my phone, I sound lazy I know but it does kind of defeat the object. It could do with a setting to send you notification to your phone prompting you that your heating has been on so long or something of the like. It’s all too easy just to end up using it like an old thermostat.
I do love it and when you use it to its potential it will save you money and provide no end of convenience but you have to use it.

3 people found this helpful

Cheatin Jockey

Stylish, easy to use and very toasty!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 12, 2017

Verified Purchase

I love the Hive system, I'm so glad I got it. I did quite a bit of research up front, also looking at Nest and decided the way that tried to be clever about location etc. was asking for trouble.

The Hive smartphone app works really well and is really easy to use and very intuitive, though the way the web interface works for scheduling is a little confusing to start with. Even for the folks that aren't smartphone users, the way you can send a really simple text message is very useful. Also useful if you can't get a good data signal. I'm not mad about having a hub on all the time, but as a wired device (to access the internet, control is of course wireless) it does make it more secure than a normal wifi connection.

The device itself looks great - kinda retro in its own way but again very clear about what's going on. I've not tried to program using only that though, I'm sure the online web page or phone apps are simpler for that, but at least yo can if you need to.

The only reason I've given it four stars is really down to getting it installed and the information you can get up front, and the overall experience. I'm pretty handy with electrics and wiring, though I don't have a professional qualification. I looked on the Hive un-supported boiler page, and our Worcester Bosch boiler wasn't listed but a lot of models with really similar names/model numbers were (ALL incompatible boilers were Worcester Bosch when I looked). I found some Youtube videos of installation on similar boilers (by Worcester Bosch themselves), but nothing quite the same . In the end I decided to get the install done by British Gas by calling Hive. They were really helpful even though I'd bought a self install version, and arranged fitting for about £80; I told them the boiler model and they assured me that if it wasn't actually on the un-supported list I'd be fine. The lead time for fitting was nearly six weeks though, which I thought was quite a long time.

On the day of fitting, I got the usual good service with a courtesy call just before British Gas arrived, but the guy that came took one look at the boiler and told me he couldn't install it due to the gas being needing to interfered with on my model, and he's was just an electrician, and not Gas Safe registered. So when I said the model at booking time, it was ignored. They managed another appointment a week later, but I was pretty annoyed as I'd moved things around to be at home for the fitting and had to do that a second time.

So if you get the install yourself kit, be aware. If you can't be completely sure what's involved with your boiler up front (other than checking that one list of incompatible boilers) think twice and get the installation. For such an important (and dangerous) piece of kit in your home, it is worth the money IMHO. And just in case you're wondering, my boiler is a Worcester Bosch combi; a Greenstar 30Si MK IV.

Installation apart, I'm really very happy with the operation and the way to works - that bit is five star. It's REALLY great to come back to a warm and toasty home!

6 people found this helpful

5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star

Hive Active Heating Thermostat Without Professional Installation -...

›

Customer reviews

Customer reviews

Hive Active Heating Thermostat Without Professional Installation - Compatible with Alexa

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

From the United States

From other countries

Questions? Get fast answers from reviewers

Hive Active Heating Thermostat Without Professional Installation -... › Customer reviews

Customer reviews

Hive Active Heating Thermostat Without Professional Installation - Compatible with Alexa

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

From the United States

From other countries

Questions? Get fast answers from reviewers

Hive Active Heating Thermostat Without Professional Installation -...

›

Customer reviews