Logitech Harmony 890 Remote Control - Refurbished
by Logitech
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List Price: Our Price: $279.00 You Save: $20.99 (7%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $250.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech Harmony 890 Remote Control - Refurbished
Customer Review: Fantastic Remote - WAY too exspensive
Summary: 4 Stars
To be clear, this review is for the refurb version of the Logitech Harmony 890.
There's not much to say about this remote outside of what has been said in countless reviews on this site already. Simply put; it's amazing. It does everything you want and probably more. While it's not the best choice for grandma to program by herself, it's much easier to setup than other high-end remotes. With that said, it's just too darn expensive... even at the refurb price. I have wanted this remote for years but could never justify 300+ dollars for it. It's a friggin' remote control! When I saw this "cheap" refurb unit, I jumped on it immediately. Again, I am happy about saving a couple of hundred dollars, but seriously, who is Logitech kidding? It's a remote. This was a huge gift to myself. It's something I've coveted for a long time and I am happy with my purchase. I just cannot recommend this device to someone who simply needs to unclutter their coffee table of single device remotes. If you need a universal remote, there are much cheaper ones to be had. It you need an RF remote, there are much cheaper ones to be had. If you need an easy-to-setup remote with a color screen, there are still cheaper ones out there. But, if you are specifically looking for a Logitec 890 then you already have your list of reasons, as did I, and there is no substitute. It's a great and functional toy for the home theater enthusiast.
One other note I would like to make is about the ability to control home automation equipment (lights, fans, ect.) I assumed it would work with all RF controlled devices as it is "programmable" and "universal". Well, it doesn't. I had to replace all of my remote lighting equipment with Z-Wave products (all of which are sold here on Amazon) Not a huge problem, but it was an additional 100 bucks I didn't count on spending. It might control other RF devices, but you might want to make sure before you solidify your home theater plans.
Customer Review: Custom performance at retail price
Summary: 4 Stars
I've tried a couple of other fairly sophisticated all-in-one remotes before, and this is the winner hands-down. It has worked well with (almost) every device I have. (the one exception is the Sony PS3 - but there's a fix, more on that below)
The system uses RF to transmit to a small module which then sends out the actual IR commands to your devices. The beauty of this is, you no longer have to point the remote at each device. My equipment is installed in a cabinet behind a solid door, and with a single click on the remote, every device turns on with the correct settings.
How good is it? I never, ever, ever, have to dig up the original remote for any of my devices.
The drawbacks:
1. There's a lot of "stuff". The unit comes with various cables, emitters, and power dongles. Expect to spend an hour or so figuring it all out the first time.
2. The range of the wireless is a little unpredictable. It always executes every command it sends to the base, but sometimes I find that I need to move the remote a foot or so before it will respond.
3. It requires two power outlets. Granted, it pulls only a tiny bit of power from them. And the charger/base doesn't have to be installed with your equipment. Mine is installed in a storage compartment next to my favorite chair.
4. The only device it wouldn't work with directly is the PS/3 - because the PS/3 doesn't have an IR reciever. There is a fix - get one of the $15 IR remotes for it, which come with an IR reciever that plugs into the front of the PS/3. The only thing it won't do is power the unit on. Maybe someone has found a workaround for this too.
Overall, the only time I have seen this kind of integration and ease-of-use before is in high-end professional systems such as AMX (don't even look unless you've got $2k to spend). It's not absolutely perfect, but it comes really close, and at a price mere mortals can afford.
Customer Review: Poor documentation
Summary: 3 Stars
This device was purchased refurbished. When it arrived the remote would not power on, so I plugged in the charging cradle and set the remote inside. A test screen displayed, then the battery charge bar started blinking, then the screen went black. I allowed it to 'charge' for a couple hours, removed it from the cradle and .. nothing, still no charge.
I determined that I could get the screen to stay active while it 'charged' in the cradle, by pressing OK after the initial test screen displayed. Figuring maybe this was the trick, I let it set 'charging' in the cradle for another four hours. Still nothing.
The most frustrating thing was that there was not a scrap of documentation on how to charge the unit. There was a huge folded sheet of paper that described connecting the rf device to a pc, in 5 languages. But nothing on initially charging the remote. I found some instructions on the internet but they did not address the issue I was having.
I figured the remote must be damaged, and went through the return for refund process with Amazon.
Right before repackaging the remote in the box, I took another look at it. Pressing and pushing the underside revealed a battery compartment .. that was EMPTY!
Crimeny.
So the long and short of it is my refurbished unit was shipped without a battery. Something I could have determined in the first few minutes if there had been the barest of documentation on how to charge the unit. Just an arrow, pointing to a labeled battery compartment, would have helped solve this problem sooner.
3 stars because it may work perfectly WITH A BATTERY! I don't know. The enclosed instructions were useless though. Maybe the real instructions were also missing from my refurbished unit. It's hard to believe the very first step to getting the device to work (charging the device), would have no enclosed instructions for accomplishing this task.
Customer Review: Good if the extender worked.
Summary: 2 Stars
First off, this is a good remote. It is packed with many features. It has been reliable the past few weeks I've used it and for it being refurbished, it looks and works like new. As for ergonomics, compared to my Logitech 720, I like the feel of the 720 more. The buttons are smaller on the 720, but they are spaced apart to where I do not accidentally press the incorrect button like I do on the 890. The 890's buttons are just too close to one another.
The main reason I bought the 890 was because of the wireless extender. I have my receiver and blu-ray player in a cabinet and I bought the 890 so I would not need to have the door open when I operated them. I tried configuring the wireless extender, but I kept getting a checksum error and that the data received by my wireless extender is corrupt. I contacted Logitech for support, but all they said was that the code for the extender was deactivated and they could not do anything about it. They told me that I either buy a new extender or contact Amazon for a resolution. I contacted Amazon, they offered that I return the product and they would give me a full refund. I told them I would think about it because I was happy with the remote, but I just wanted a wireless extender that worked. I was pleased with Amazon's support.
As for Logitech's support, I am extremely disappointed with them. This refurbished product is supposed to work like new. The packaging itself said, "Refurbished by Logitech." I guess they failed to do a QA on the wireless extender. As for the tech support, the person I spoke to quickly put the blame on the previous owner and responsibility on Amazon. Not that perhaps Logitech sold a refurbished product which is suppose to work like new, but is not. Just based on this purchase I do not plan on buying anymore refurbished products from Logitech.
Customer Review: Remote and RF extender both defective
Summary: 1 Stars
I purchased this remote shortly after Christmas. The RF extender was defective right out of the box; the screen on the remote went blank 2 months later. Details follow.
Both the remote and the extender use software for setup and updates. When I tried to set up my extender, I got the error: "Step failed updating region. The data received by the wireless extender is corrupt. The checksums generated by the software and wireless extension do not match." After searching the forums on Logitech's website, I discovered that this error appears with defective, refurbished wireless extenders sold through Amazon (PIDs ending in R and beginning with LZ841, LZ917, LZ918, or LZ919). Customers must contact Logitech for a replacement. I had a lot of difficulty working with Logitech support, primarily because their "Tier 1" reps are only authorized to answer basic tech-support questions; I had to go through an escalation process and wait several days before I could speak with a rep who was authorized to ship my replacement.
The replacement RF extender worked great; however, the screen on the remote went blank 2 months later. The remote controlled my devices, and the backlight came on, but no images would appear on the screen. I did more research and discovered that this is yet another common problem with this product. I contacted Logitech first and was told they provide no warranty on refurbished remotes. I contacted Amazon, which provided a 90-day warranty, and the customer-service rep immediately sent me an RMA to return the remote for a refund. I appreciated their excellent service, but I am extremely disappointed that all this happened. I don't think I'll be replacing this remote with the same product, or anything from Logitech for that matter.