Top critical review
1.0 out of 5 starsUnexpected major problem with multiple user with Auto-Open function.
Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2018
2 Month use review (Jan 2019): There is a serious flaw with the way the system is designed when it comes to Auto-open function. I have my own account in my phone and my wife has shared account on her phone. Both are set up to auto-open. Auto-open has been working fine for us, unlike some of the users. When either of us are the only one in the car, there is no issue. When both of us are in the car, this has created really dangerous situation. When the system senses one of our phone, it will auto-open the garage. When it senses the 2nd phone, it will trigger the system again, causing the door to close. System doesn't recognize the fact that the door is open or opening when the auto-open from second phone is triggered. It is as if you pressed the garage door opener twice, causing the door to open and then close. If your wheels are not near the garage door safety sensor, garage door will come down on you!
Auto-open function triggered by the second phone should not cause the door to close after auto-open is triggered by the first phone. After testing out why sometimes the door would auto-open and close, I figured this is to be true. I would consider this to be a MAJOR FLAW. If one of our Nexx app is logged out and we are in the same car, auto-open functions as it should.
Below is the original order after week of use, which I gave high rating: Installation was not much of an issue and syncing with the Nexx App was also a breeze. Only issue with installation that I had was with the Nexx App showing reverse of the door open and close in the initial run. I had the garage door closed, but Nexx App showed that it was open. If I pressed the button to open the door, Nexx App would show that garage was closed. Sensors were within 1/4 in as suggested. This was fixed by having the door open and re-registering the machine.
My disappointment is with Alexa and Google Assistant/Home integration. It is true that you can use Alexa or Google Assistant/Home to open and close the garage door. You can set up the code requirement for both Alexa and Google so that people from outside can't just open your garage by asking the door to open. This is a must! If you don't do this and have either Google or Alexa in the garage, people from outside can yell to open the garage.
Here is what I found with Alexa:
1. Skill set exists, but you have to say "ask Nexx to open the door."...or something like that. It's not a native way to talk. I found this to be the weak point of Alexa ecosystem overall and another reason to use Google Home since they are now compatible with more devices.
2. Nexx Garage DOES NOT show up in device list in Alexa. Alexa won't recognize it, but if you have the Nexx skill installed in Alexa, you can control it. Only issue I see with this is that I can't create routine in Alexa that involves Nexx garage door. For example, when I say "I'm taking out the trash" as a routine, I wanted the garage light to come on and garage door to open. There is no way to make this happen since Nexx garage does not show up as a device that I can add into routine set up.
3. Other than opening and closing the garage door, you can ask Alexa if the garage door is closed or open. You just need to remember to start the command with "ask Nexx garage...."
Here is the issue with Google Home/Assistant:
1. Nexx Garage does not show up in the device list either. In the list of App/device to add, Nexx garage does not exist. Once you set your Nexx App to use Google Home/Assistant, it will pick up the device.
2. You can speak natively to open the garage door such as "hey google, open the garage door."
3. Google Assistant/Home Routine can be set up to include Nexx garage, unlike Alexa. In routine section of Google Home app, create your command in "When I say.." Click on "add action." Click on "Or choose popular actions." Click on "custom responses" box and then the gear icon. Type in "open garage door." For my set up I included garage light to come on and garage door to open. This works well. I couldn't make this routine to work in Alexa, despite the fact that both App does not show Nexx garage as a device.
4. Google Home/Assistant can't seem to do anything more than opening or closing the garage door. In Alexa, I can ask if the garage door is open or closed. In Google, it won't recognize the question.
So, bottom line is that Alexa and Google Home/Assistant integration is limited. Alexa can be used to check the status of the garage door, but Google can't. Routines can be created in Google with Nexx, but can't with Alexa. Both don't show Nexx Garage as a device. I hope that this will change so that Nexx will show up as in the device list for both platform. Personally, I prefer to use it with Google Home/Assistant because I can use Routines. No Apple Home Kit integration.
I'm not sure if other brands have better integration, but Nexx Garage does have its limitation with both platform. Advantage of this is that there is no monthly subscription as with some other brand. IFTTT has only 2 commands available with Google integration. So far, it has been working well.
For auto-open function, 50m setting seems to be the sweet spot. As soon as I'm about to turn into the driveway from the street, garage door opens. Less than 50m either caused door to not open or it opened when I'm literally in front of the door. We have TP-Link smart switch for garage light, in which you can use IFTTT to turn on/off as the garage door opens/closes.