Flair Puck Wireless Smart Thermostat for Flair Smart Vents or Mini Split Control

**UPDATE** 8/29/24 – was about to return it, tech support called me directly and helped me – WiFi
My original review is below below the line break. But I wanted to update this since buying a second one and using the first one now for a few months. I still haven’t tried to connect to my Google home system. Just being able to use the app alone is enough for me. I really hate “talking” to my google home speaker more times than I have to. Every light switch and outlet in my home now is practically google home enabled. So it gets tiresome and most times I’d rather just use the app to push a digital button and know what I chose for an option is going to be executed.As I said, the first one I installed works great. Setup should NOT be done through the app. Go to their website to do it. Sign up for your account there, log in, and add the device via your web browser. (Use a laptop or desktop THAT HAS WIRELESS – if you don’t have one, borrow one from a friend just to get the setup done. After that, the app works great). This was no different with my 2nd puck being added. I used my laptop and set it up without a problem. I created a new room, and I created a new mini-split, then added that mini-split to the newly created room. Tested and verified the new puck controls the mini-split without issue.I did notice one small flaw, and it’s not likely to ever be corrected regardless of firmware updates and such. While my first Flair puck responds within 3-5 seconds of choosing settings on the app (or in the browser), the 2nd Flair puck I installed takes nearly 30-40 full seconds to respond. Having a background in both computers and RF I think I know why this is happening. Your first puck is set up as the “gateway.” (Unless you purchase the specific gateway device from them that’s not a puck – which isn’t needed.) Every subsequent puck you add after that is just a “puck” device and it’s only way to get the commands sent to it is from the 1st puck acting as the gateway. This adds quite a bit of delay to 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. pucks added when you make changes to the settings. 30+ seconds for your mini-split to get the command you put in the app is pretty lengthy. I wonder if adding the 2nd puck as yet another gateway would fix this – though that might not work, or even create issues having more than one Flair gateway running at a time. Either way it does work and if there’s some more seconds between remotely turning it on/off I don’t care as long as it actually does it. So long as it doesn’t become 5-10 minutes! As I said in my original review I planned on buying more of these. I have 5 mini-split head units total. I have 3 more to go and they will all get one eventually. I just hope the company doesn’t go under because all communication requires their backend system remain up and running, and WITHOUT charging you. If they do go belly up, I ask that they please release an API so that people can still use their very expensive equipment with “Home Assistant” which is a self-hosted smart home software that’s free and can run on even just a cheap raspberry pi. I had a “wink” branded system years ago that was sold through Home Depot. I bought light switches, outlets, even 3 deadbolt door locks all on their system that promised “NO FEES – EVER.” Well, they reneged on that 2 years into my using it. Wanted to start collecting $15 a month subscription. I ripped every single outlet and switch out of my wall and torched the equipment on my driveway with a blow torch I was so angry they pulled that carp.And again, if you cannot get it connected… it’s NOT the equipment. It’s you.#1 – DO NOT USE THE APP for setup, regardless of included instructions.#2 – Use their website for setup (see my original review text below for it, or google it)#3 – Stop looking at the strangely low rating here on this, and the negative Nancy’s who say it’s garbage, it most certainly is not!_____________________________________________________________________________________________I’m no rookie when it comes to RF or Wi-Fi networks. I have been involved in this technology for 25 years for work. No matter what I did I could not get this Puck to connect to my Wi-Fi. bottom line is the app sucks for setting it up. Skip the entire setup process within the app. set up via the web instead. first, make yourself a flair account. afterwards go to my.flair.co (NOT .com) And log in there. do this on either a laptop or a computer with Wi-Fi. The device must have Wi-Fi as you will need to temporarily connect to a temporary Network that the flair puck creates for the purposes of setup. once you get to the point where it wants you to search for the flare puck, it will instruct you to make your computer Wi-Fi connect directly to the flair Puck temporary Network. once you do this, a pop-up window will come up and search for wireless networks. here you pick the wireless network you want to connect to and enter the password. once you are done, it will direct you to reconnect your computer to your normal Wi-Fi and continue the setup process. again, do not use the app on your mobile device to do the setup. You’re asking for frustration and failure. If you don’t have a laptop, borrow somebody’s! I am happily sitting under my Mitsubishi mini split which I can control now from the app. I have not yet tested Google home speaker integration. however, my son likes to make his bedroom like a bear cave with full blast fans speed and the lowest temperature. now I can simply open an app after he’s fallen asleep and lower The fan speed and put the temperature at a more reasonable 67 or 68°. once the puck is set up. it works flawlessly. I have five mini splits all by Mitsubishi. I absolutely will be buying at least two more of these. I’m just waiting to make sure it works well for a week first. eventually I will have one puck per mini split. Mitsubishi makes a direct control module that plugs into a daughter board inside each mini split, but it has terrible reviews and does not work very well. Thank you flair .