Review: Logitech Harmony Hub - "Alexa, Turn On The TV!"

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Gained early experience with automation technology in the private and industrial sector, can turn his living room into a movie theater with one voice command and is the owner of this website. He is happy to share his accumulated experience with every new article.

What is the Logitech Harmony Hub?

With the Harmony Hub, you can connect and control all your devices in your entertainment system with only one remote, your smartphone or with Alexa.

The connection is made via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or infrared signals.

These three connection options allow you to connect almost all devices to the hub.

The integration into a Smart Home System makes this product really interesting for me. By connecting all devices and being compatible with Amazon Alexa, for example, you can talk through an Echo* or other Alexa devices with your entertainment system and control it via voice command.

You won’t have to use five different remote controls anymore, just say “Alexa, play Game of Thrones!”.

In addition to the connection to Alexa or Google Assistant, the Harmony Hub allows you to operate the whole system with a mobile device. Your smartphone or tablet becomes a universal remote control.

Harmony Hub Features

In contrast to the first devices of the Harmony Smart Hub series, the new Harmony Hub has improved tremendously.

If you want to control your entire entertainment system with only one remote, your smartphone or via voice command, you should definitely get the Harmony Hub*!

The most important features of the Harmony Hub are summarized here:

App control: The app (compatible with Android and iOS) lets you use your smartphone or tablet instead of the Harmony remote to control your entertainment system. There are models of the hub that include the remote control* and one that includes only the hub*.
Programmable: You can program individual commands with the Harmony Hub. Programming is a pretty big word for it, actually. The creation of such commands is very simple and also well explained. For example, you can program a “turn on the TV” command that automatically turns on all relevant devices without having to operate multiple remotes.
It can control devices behind a cabinet: You can place the separately sold small infrared sensor* inconspicuously on your entertainment system. This small sensor receives all commands and forwards them to the hub and thus to all other devices. This means that you can leave your devices hidden in the cabinet, as they no longer need to be in sight of the remote control. That way you won’t see any wires or a bunch of electronic devices. Your entertainment system will look slimmer and more elegant than ever!
Smart Home Integration: The Harmony Hub is compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google home. This allows you to control your entire entertainment system via voice command. A genuine Smart Home must also be able to turn on the TV on its own. And with the Harmony Hub, this is 100% possible. It’s a great feeling when you tell Alexa to turn on your favorite TV show and do nothing but lie down on the couch!
IFTTT (IF This Then That): With IFTTT you can program intelligent events with the Harmony Hub and connect it to other Smart Home devices. There are endless possibilities for what combinations you can create. For example, you can also specify in the command “switch on the TV” that the sunshade is to be lowered and the light dimmed at the same time.

Harmony Hub Installation and Setup

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The Harmony Hub* comes with a USB cable and a power cord. The Mini Infrared Sensor* is not included.

For entertainment systems that are hidden in a cabinet, the small infrared Sensor is definitely worth it. With this transmitter, you can operate the devices even if they have no visual contact with the remote control.

When I bought and set up my Harmony Hub, I thought the installation would be quite complicated with all the features you get. In fact, the opposite is true! Installation and setup are amazingly simple.

Here are the steps to correctly install and set up your Harmony Hub:

Power the device.
Download the Harmony App and install it on your smartphone or tablet (alternatively, you can use the Harmony desktop software to control it from a PC).
Once you’ve downloaded and installed the app, all you have to do is turn on Bluetooth. Make sure you are connected to your wireless network.
Within the app, you can now start the installation and setup of the hub by clicking the button at the bottom of the screen.
The Harmony Hub and your smartphone now connect via Bluetooth. Then the hub wants to connect to your Wi-Fi. Of course, you have to enter your Wi-Fi password.
After that, you have to create a Harmony account.
After you have created your account, you will get a brief introduction about the device through the app.
Now you can search for all compatible Wi-Fi devices the Harmony Hub can connect to at the touch of a button. These are added automatically. All other devices must be added manually. (Even though this process is very simple, it was the part that took me the longest, because I still have many old infrared devices.)

Using the Harmony Hub

Now that you have connected all the relevant devices to your Harmony Hub, you can start using it.

The first thing you should try is whether you can control the individual devices via the app. Turn them on and off, change the volume and so on.

The Harmony Hub will suggest a few pre-programmed activities to each device you add. You can try them out or edit them.

Editing or creating new activities is possible with the Harmony desktop software. You can probably guess, but these activities are created with IFTTT (IF This Then That).

IFTTT is a great system to automate your Smart Home. On the internet, you can find many existing activities on the IFTTT website that you can test out in your Harmony Hub. But creating your own is also very easy.

For example, I automated my entire home theater system. As soon as I switch on my TV by voice command, the lights in my living room change automatically.

With my Philips Hue smart light system* I can combine different events with different light colors, intensities, and brightness. I created my own cinema command. It gets darker and the speakers are turned up a little higher than usual 😉

What Types of Harmony Hubs are there?

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There are three different types of Harmony Hubs:

The normal Harmony Hub is the cheapest and the Harmony Elite the most expensive.

The normal Harmony Hub is the basic unit without remote control and without the infrared sensor.

The Harmony Companion includes the Harmony remote control as well as the hub.

The Harmony Elite includes the normal hub and remote control with a touch screen.

So if you want to control your entertainment system with the app and a smartphone, all you need is the regular Harmony Hub. But if you want to have your own remote control for your entertainment system, you can choose between the Companion or the Elite package, depending on how good the remote should be.

Review Results: The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Harmony Hub

Now that we have been using this device for some time, here are the strengths and weaknesses we found.

Harmony Hub – Strengths:

All you need is one remote control or none if you use the app with your smartphone. We haven’t used a remote since we bought the Harmony Hub. The living room table is much tidier and the control of the devices is much faster than before.
If your Smart Home is already equipped with many compatible devices, setup will be very easy.
With the Harmony Hub, you can completely clean up your entertainment system and beautify your living room. By the separately available infrared sensor*, all devices and the hub itself can be controlled by this small sensor. This means that the only device that must have visual contact with your smartphone or remote control is this sensor. So you can hide all the other devices in the closet and keep your entertainment system elegant and slim.
Using the app to operate all devices is extremely intuitive and simple. Once the installation is complete, you can control all devices via the app. The Harmony Hub is a good way to get started with home automation. And an entertainment system, perhaps coupled with a smart lighting system*, is ideal for practicing home automation.
Smart home integration and creating activities is extremely convenient. The possibilities of combining different Smart Home devices are limited only by your creativity. By operating an entertainment system with an Amazon Echo* you actually feel a little more in the future than before. The only thing better than turning on your entire home theater system with one button is no button at all!

Harmony Hub – Weaknesses:

If you have mainly older devices with infrared, and rather fewer that can be connected with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, the setup of the Harmony Hub will take a little longer, as you will have to manually connect all the infrared devices. We hope that in the future Logitech will make the installation of infrared devices as easy as Wi-Fi devices.
Since the system is cloud-based, the hub will only work if you have a stable internet connection. If your Internet should fail, you can no longer operate your devices. This should no longer be a problem today but can lead to problems in very remote, rural areas.

Bottom Line

Is the Harmony Hub* worth it? Absolutely!

The biggest advantage I have gained from this ingenious device is that I can control my home theater system via Alexa. A home theater system can be quite complex.

Setting it up the way you want it to be for your movie can take a few minutes. By programming an activity once with the Harmony Hub, I can completely bypass this and set everything with a single voice command with Alexa.

My “Cinema” command allows me to turn on my TV with a single voice command from Alexa, turn up the speakers and adjust the lighting in my living room for a nice cinema atmosphere.

But even if you don’t want to go that far and want to program your own commands, this device is always worthwhile. The advantage of only needing one remote control to operate all your devices makes this device very interesting.

So all I can do at the end of this review is to advise you to buy it.

Here you can check the current price on Amazon*.

Attention: When installing electronic equipment, please be sure to observe the manufacturer’s safety instructions. You have to take care of your own safety. The information on this site only helps you to learn.
Disclosure: This website is the property of Martin Lütkemeyer and is operated by Martin Lütkemeyer. Martin Lütkemeyer is a member of the Amazon Services LLC Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to enable Web sites to earn advertising revenue through advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Links marked with * are affiliate links.