SofaBaton Update X1S Universal Remote Control with Hub and App, All-in-One Smart Universal Remote Control with Customize Activities, Works with Bluetooth/WiFi Devices/Alexa/Google Assistant

The media could not be loaded. This is an excellent Harmony replacement, and a good quality product!I think a lot of the reported problems are just down to not putting enough time into programming it properly. For instance, you need to make sure you add delays in sometimes, to ensure your TV/streamer etc have time to catch up. Watch carefully as a macro runs, and see if the TV is caught up with all the commands you send.I even managed to add my Projector screen remote, which operates on 433mhz radio, not IR, so I can finally open/close the screen (and other blinds) on radio frequencies!It would be amazing to see a Matter hub added into this, which would allow modern home automation from the remote, but that's just a small thing as you can do all those things with an Assistant (and run the scenes you've created in Sofabaton from your Assistant too).I had no problems setting it up (a bit of patience needed), and it works flawlessly (no problems with IR commands being sent across a large room). The screen is high quality, and so are the backlit buttons.Tip: Remember that it creates scenes in your Assistant, not switches, so you run a scene to do things on the Sofabaton from Alexa or Google etc. This all works flawlessly once added.To summarise, this is a very competent product, and I look forward to additions to this in the future. Bye-bye to the old Harmony remotes finally!

Great product, I replaced 5 remotes with this and it has a user experience that normal people can wrap their head around. The app take a little time to wrap your head around, but once you do its smooth sailing.

Had this up and running in about 30 minutes. Replaced my Harmony with no issues. A couple of my devices had minimal entries in the database and required learning from the existing remotes, which was easy and intuitive. App is very straightforward. Battery life is incredible. Range seems good. Ergonomics are an improvement over the Harmony. Illumination is instant upon picking up the remote. My setup is receiver, TV, Roku, Blu-ray and media PC. Works fluidly with zero issues so far.

Not a bad universal remote and it works well for my devices (Nvidia Shield, smart TV, soundbar, Virgin TiVo). Programming the remote is a little tedious but that was expected and once done, it doesn't require dealing with again until a new device is added to the mix. However, it is too expensive for what it is even when on sale. Its main competitor is the (discontinued) Logitech Harmony series which remains excellent. Sadly, though, my Harmony remote - after many years of use - has become flaky; buttons have become spongy and inconsistent. The X1S is no upgrade. If anything it's the opposite. It misses many features that exist on Harmony and have for years: screen is basic and under-utilised; no touchscreen; no number pad potential (although there are workarounds but would require using the scroll wheel and would be a major annoyance); no charging cradle; companion app is fairly rudimentary; Google Home integration is very poor. That said, I rarely used the numpad screen on my Harmony remote; battery life on the X1S far exceeds Harmony (because of the unsophisticated screen, no doubt) so a charging cradle is unnecessary; I only used the Harmony companion app when the remote ran out of battery; Google Home isn't that great to begin with. The X1S is well built and for what it does, it is OK. It is a shame that they didn't opt for an OLED screen, especially given its price, but perhaps that's a bit risky given the static nature of what it displays; burn in after just a short time would be unacceptable.To sum up, the Sofabaton X1S is over-priced and average. If Logitech still supported Harmony and were producing new models, I would never have considered this. I don't regret the purchase but only because alternatives in the same price range, similar feature set, and have continued support just don't exist.

Like many others I bought this to replace my ailing Harmony Elite. And after watching and reading a lot of positive reviews, I thought this would not only be a replacement, but an overall improvement... I was so wrong.Ok, out of the box the remote is light and easy to hold. The screen is LCD but it's good quality, the overall build quality of the remote and base are high... There ends the positives.The screen is basic text with a very limited number of device/activity icons. It does not have a charging base or a built in IR blaster. The base is the way your devices receive IR signals so you have to be very precise where you place it. An IR blaster in the remote would eliminate the constant missing of commands on some devices.The app is reasonably easy to follow, but everyday devices like my EE TV Box and my Hisense projector where not found in the 500,000 device catalogue they boast. The EE Box uses a Bluetooth remote and whilst Bluetooth is compatible there is no way to learn commands from the original remote. There is thankfully a cloud based user catalogue, where I found something similar to my EE TV and the Hisense C1 projector, but they didn't map all of the buttons.I have an amp, blu-ray, soundbar, TV, EETV, Projector, Google TV Streamer, a Manhattan DVR and a HDMI switcher, so I knew there was a bit of work to be done. But after spending the best part of 2 days (yes 2 days) programming this it was the most frustrating experience ever. As every time I tested an activity, something would either not switch on/off or select the correct inputs. I had to add delays, duplicate commands and be creative to get things to fire in the right order. Heaven help anyone who is not tech savvy. Once I believed it was all working, I tidied it all away and put the hub centrally in place, only to find it let me down when going live for the first time with the setup I had rigorously tested. Good job I had my huge bundle of remotes nearby to fix the issues. It's incredibly unreliable and I believe it's down to its poor IR firing and range, even with the extenders.The remote has a 'back' key at the top that takes you back to the previous screen to select devices or activities. It's awkwardly placed and you have to press it a lot to make selections, so it becomes a pain doing hand gymnastics trying to reach it with one hand. There are a lot more key presses involved to make something happen compared to the Harmony.For the money I paid, this is a major disappointment. I was able to set my Harmony up in a couple of hours and it never misses a command. It has a better screen and more customisable options when programming. If it wasn't for the failing battery I would carry on happily. For now the Sofabaton needs considerable more work to take the multi-remote control crown.UPDATE: The remote is now freezing every now and then. You have to reboot the hub to get it working again. This is a known issue, mentioned on community forums. I have now returned this item.