Hive Active Heating and Hot Water Thermostat Without Professional Installation-Works with Amazon Alexa

Plug in and play. Any competent plumber or electrician can install within 10-15 minutes. No complicated setup required. Very easy to use, works on any heating and water system without any additional parts required. The portable thermostat controller is ideal for anyone with vision problems as the display is nice and bright, and very eligible. Personally I would prefer a smaller and neater controller, as it is quite big and bulky. The table top stands available from the manufacturer, are quite pricey for what they are. But there are plenty of other non genuine compatible options available. If you don’t have multiple smart devices this is ideal for you. If you want a fully automated system controller I would recommend a more compatible matter system

I had previously purchased a Drayton Wiser control as this had wireless TRVs. However I had soooo many problems with it such as signal strength, programming, lack of Google Home compatibility, I ended up returning it. I had previously looked at Hive so despite some bad reviews, bit the bullet and ordered it. Self install option. Given that I had a standard back plate it was very simple to install. I had to link out my fixed thermostat but that's not hard. If you have rudimentary electrical skills - you really won't have a problem installing it. The hub setup was quick and simple as was the controller and thermostat. The only slight issue was mine had a registration card with a scratch off panel. It advises you to phone the number shown with the uncovered code. However, the phone number was no longer in operation! As it turns out, you don't need this at all so unclear what that was all about. You can register your hub online and that was straight forward too. Once installed, it works really well. I have a long house so was concerned about signal strength given some of the reviews. However, no problems at all. Pretty much full signal. The thermostat is a pleasure to use and is very functional and intuitive. The app is a little clunky but works very well. Google Home works well. There doesn't seem to be a published list of commands you can use but again, fairly intuitive. ie: set the heating to 21, or turn on the hot water. Hive tell me they are going to update their website with GH command soon. All in all, very please and I'd recommend this product.

I bought this product via Amazon. Thermostat, Hub and Service Box and had it professionally fitted, as per the instructions. My immediate next door neighbour bought his Hive at the same time but bought his at Screwfix. It all worked fine until about 3 weeks ago when I returned home after a couple of days away, to find that the system was “offline” and wouldn’t connect or run from the thermostat. I went into the restart procedure on the App, then went through it again and went through it again, I chatted with my neighbour and he was having the same problems with his system. So, having failed to get it working, I then contacted the customer service on the 0333 number and ended up with a call centre in South Africa, talking to a young lady whose first language was definitely, not English. A difficult 50 minutes then ensued which culminated in a still failed system. However, I could operate my central heating by pushing the button on the service box. By the next morning,the system had still not restarted and I went through the restart procedure again, 3 times, all to no avail. I then contacted the call centre again and went through another agonising 50 minutes with a young man whose first language again, was not English. By now, tempers were becoming frayed and a sense of humour failure was on the cards. By the time we had finished, I requested to talk to a Supervisor, but told there wasn’t one available. So I recorded a complaint, but my system still wasn’t working. I went through a third frustrating day of a 50 minute call to the 0333 number and recorded another complaint. But still my system wasn’t working and my neighbour was having the same problem as me. The call centre had not returned my call or registered my complaint. I then waited 3 days, operating my system by pressing the central heating button on the service box. Eventually, I received a call back from the Supervisor and we went through the reboot procedure again. But, this was their call, so I was little more tolerant, but not by much. That day culminated in my system being suspended, while they did some remote work on the hub. 24 hours later, I received another call from the same lady who confirmed that the Hub had been a fault from the outset, resulting in a failure of communication between The Hub, The Thermostat and The Service Box. We went through a complete reboot and the system fired up, including connecting with my Alexa. As a matter of fact, my neighbours system connected without him having to make a call, which suggests that our systems were linked through the Hive server. Both systems are working fine and so far, we have not had any further problems. The system, when it works is brilliant. I can’t fault it and the convenience of using it via an App or Alexa is brilliant. My only gripe is the Customer Service Centre based in South Africa and no option to talk to an English operator or connect with an call centre based in UK. The 3 x 50 minute phone calls cost me £65 and I have not received any offer from Hive to offset that cost. So, by all means, go ahead and buy the equipment. I can’t fault it, when it’s working. However, keep your fingers crossed that it doesn’t fail and you’re forced to call “ The Call Centre” 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫. If you’re forced to call them, take a big dose of “sense of humour”, because you will need it. Ciao ciao 4 Now.