SofaBaton X1 Universal Remote - All in One Smart Remote Control with Hub Customize Activities Compatible with Alexa

Product Information

The sender/receiver hub has a fairly long range, and the remote connects to it without a problem, it does come with those extension cables though if placement is an issue, have not had to use it yet. The other annoying thing is that the remote has a sync time of completely random times, meaning when I am already in bed trying to sleep sometimes the remote lights up fully syncs and turns off, small annoyance but nothing I can do about it. The hub is also where you can teach the system to learn commands for devices not currently in the database. For example, when you need to “learn” a command, the Sofabaton will direct you to point the IR sensor of your device’s remote at the circular icon on the top of the hub and press the button for 3-5 seconds. I will be honest and say that I could not get this to work for me. I tried it with my LG B9 and my Pioneer Elite CD player and could not get either to register a command with the Sofabaton.

I have some 3rd party IR blasters I use with my Harmony remote which are compatible with the SofaBaton. These blasters work fine with the Harmony, so I plugged them into the SofaBaton to see how things worked without having to move the blaster heads. No dice - the blasters work fine, but the signal is just too weak to work from the blaster positions. Unfortunately, Logitech Harmony, a reputable industry leader, has announced that it has abandoned the universal remote control business. Sofabaton, a group of hardcore fans of audio-visual products, decided to step forward as the new leaders of remote control devices and provide users better features, more convenience, and ultimate control for their components.The setting up procedure is pretty straightforward like my harmony except you are using your mobile phone instead of your computer with an APP. You need to spend a considerable amount of time entering your devices correctly or else you will waste more time looking through the data base for an equivalent. Another limitation I disliked is that the SofaBaton X1 has very limited support of IP-controlled devices. My Sony television is IP-controlled and can do IR if needed. The X1 will not control that TV via IP, and the documentation shows IP support for just a few devices. So, it’s been a full year with the Sofabaton. I am sure you are curious if I still have my Harmony Elite in the loop. Well, I do, but not so much for me. My wife still prefers the Harmony remote. It’s not that she doesn’t understand or can’t “get” the swing of the Sofabaton. It’s more that she is accustomed to the Harmony and doesn’t see the need to go to another remote. If I disconnected the Harmony and all we had was the Sofabaton, she would be able to navigate it all. Nice review, Andrew! I’m pretty sure you and I are in agreement about pretty much everything with this remote. Lots of potential, quite nice to use once you actually have it fully set up, but the setup process is not for anybody who is impatient! Not yet.

So the million-dollar question. Do I recommend the Sofabaton X1 as a worthy successor to Harmony? As I said before, yes. It is not as polished as the Elite. But this is Sofabaton’s SECOND remote control. That’s right, folks. They are probably 90%+ of the functionality of the Harmony Elite after their second remote. I expect that there with be a Sofabaton X2 or X1 (ver 2) that will give you a touch screen or some other enhancements. Plus, I am certain that they will get all the bugs worked out. Broadly defined, a universal remote is a device that can control all of your home entertainment devices — your TV, soundbar, streaming device, cable box, A/V receiver, and so on.As mentioned last month,our X1 remote V9 and Hub V13 are ready to use now.By the way，for WiFi version，due to the firmware database did not include WiFi version before，that's why you only can see the version keeps as 0.0.0,but it will not effect your using no matter which WiFi version is，thanks for your attention.We will focus on the WiFi upgrading next time to be 2.0.8，thank you for your understanding.The image I showed you is the one for our test ，but the version did not finally release，thanks for your patience. We has been involved in technology research and development for more than 10 years, and our Boss is well aware of the common flaws of universal remote control products currently on the market. Motivated by this,he created his own brand: Sofabaton and dedicated himself to exploring, developing, and improving this industry to create a better experience for users. Every independent developed and produced remote control retains the form and combination attributes of traditional remote controlunder the premise of extremely simple. In consideration of the functionality of our products, the new remote control X1 is equipped with 2-inch display with wireless Hub which support to customize any activity,which make your home entertainment life to be simple. Customer Always Comes First

Have not had to use the "learning" functionality as the library SofaBaton has seems to be almost endless and everything worked with 1 tap on new devices. But its great to have the learning functionality for the odd device that just does not behave. If the user is someone who just wants to choose one Device at a time to control, they’d be better off with Sofabaton’s other, cheaper remote, the U1. So I wish Devices on the X1 screen could just be hidden entirely. All of the customization of buttons and choosing which commands show up on the screen is really only in Activities, anyway. Short and long-press options for the hardware buttons only exist in Activities. So it’s an Activity-based remote, for sure. One thing not mentioned in your review: there is no Help button right on the face of the remote like there was on Harmony remotes. But there is a “Fix” function within the “Set” menu. But when I tried to use it, it was not at all intuitive! scrolling a rollerball and pressing it, and a list of advanced controls for every device can be foundHi all, I wanted to share my experience with the SofaBaton X1. I am a long-time Harmony user, and have had a Harmony Elite for years. I decided to give the X1 a try and had a pretty negative experience. We also take into consideration the feel of the remote in our hands, as well as the ease with which we can reach all the buttons. More from Tom's Guide Sofabaton spares no effort to research and develop electrical remote control to compatible with various of devices.

The app device add/repair button is synchronized to the remote control, and the remote control will display one more button； To treat people with sincerity, handle things with faith and justice, respect the facts, and do what we say in society, customers and employees. Preserve PassionOk, so the remote is still not perfect. I still don’t have any support for Google Home, and Philips Hue support is still nada. But, Sofabaton has explained that they are actively working on the solution and hope to have a fix in the coming months. So if Sofabaton can get Google Home integration working, I would be willing to unplug my Harmony Hub and move to the Sofabaton X1 full-time! You heard me right. The Google Home integration is the last hurdle (for me) that Sofabaton needs to meet for me to be content with the remote as a whole. Other Considerations/Quirks As far as the skipping goes, remotes like these often have an option for how many times the command is repeated per button press. If you are finding number or direction commands double-tapping, you should be able to dial it down to 1 or 0 repeats, depending on the limitations of the software. I have vowed to use only the Sofabaton X1 for the next month so that I can give it a test. So far, I like it. Once I had the Activities set up correctly, no issues arose. Devices started, and inputs switched correctly. I know that some people hate the fact that you have to wake the remote with a button press, but for me, I find that scrolling the wheel is an intuitive motion, so it’s a non-starter for me.