Learning Curve of expectation
For some, central heating is something they need to feel happening in order to feel warm.
I personally struggled for years with schedules and an on/off based boiler control as I’d always overheat no matter how much I tinkered with schedules and trying to be aware of radiant temp curves when you set the boiler off.
After persevering with the vsmart for a year I can honestly say that my house is comfortable and never too hot, once you know how old modulation is working combined with the weather compensation I just trust the vsmart to do its thing. It’s clearly saving gas usage.
It took until late 2022 to update the app to work brilliantly without the bugs it used to have.
I’ve looked into hive and nest and although they are good, they have caveats with vaillant boilers that are not opentherm/boiler plus standards. Hive does not work and nest does, but vaillant in uk is not opentherm and requires retrofitting with a module that is not intended for uk market.
If the app developer for vaillant included an auto-locating ‘away’ function like other systems incorporate, I would rate this app/thermostat for vaillant boiler owners as essential as my gas usage figures have lowered quite a bit since installing it.
I personally struggled for years with schedules and an on/off based boiler control as I’d always overheat no matter how much I tinkered with schedules and trying to be aware of radiant temp curves when you set the boiler off.
After persevering with the vsmart for a year I can honestly say that my house is comfortable and never too hot, once you know how old modulation is working combined with the weather compensation I just trust the vsmart to do its thing. It’s clearly saving gas usage.
It took until late 2022 to update the app to work brilliantly without the bugs it used to have.
I’ve looked into hive and nest and although they are good, they have caveats with vaillant boilers that are not opentherm/boiler plus standards. Hive does not work and nest does, but vaillant in uk is not opentherm and requires retrofitting with a module that is not intended for uk market.
If the app developer for vaillant included an auto-locating ‘away’ function like other systems incorporate, I would rate this app/thermostat for vaillant boiler owners as essential as my gas usage figures have lowered quite a bit since installing it.
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Response from developer
Hi, thanks for taking time out to leave us a great review! Please recommend our app to your friends, and don’t hesitate to shoot us a note at app-support@vaillant-group.com if you have any questions.
Works ok now
Worked brilliantly until the unnecessary update early 2022 which hasn’t actually added any functions. I had to delete all my programs and start again to get it to work properly. I have not figured out the graph yet , the bar sizes are wider than they were and seem to go into the future. Some instructions regarding the graphs in the app would be useful.
The quick access to the main screen to increase/decrease temperature or set to away is useful.
The quick access to the main screen to increase/decrease temperature or set to away is useful.
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Response from developer
Hi, sorry to hear you are having issues within the vSMART App. Please contact app-support@vaillant-group.com to assist you
Randomly turns the heating on in the night
I’ve had this app for years and it’s always been fine. Whatever you’ve done to it over the summer has ruined it, it now ignores my schedule and randomly turns the heating on during the night. Could this be any worse with the cost of gas now?? Are you trying to send me into fuel poverty? The heating supposedly goes off at night and the screen says that it will be 10 degrees until 7:30 in the morning. HOWEVER, when I look at the info graph it says the desired temperature has been 19 degrees all night and has diligently maintained it while I sleep!!! I have no way to override this so I’ve had to switch to hot water only and can’t have a heating system which comes on in the morning to get the house warm. You’ve taken away the most basic function of a heating system. Before you tell me to send you an email, I already have and I’ve had no response whatsoever. You need to fix this major issue quickly.
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Don’t waste your Money
I was talked into getting this device by a Valliant installer - it was rather temperamental setting it up, but once it connected, it was wonderful. Then all of a sudden, a year later, it disconnected itself for no reason, and now it is near impossible for the thing to recognize the WiFi it had been connected to for the year! I’ve tried reinstalling the app, rebooting my wifi, everything humanly possible to get it working again and nothing. Wasted a fortune on a system I can no longer control! I just don’t know what to do apart from advise others not to waste their hard earned money on this seriously flawed system. I would give zero stars if I could!
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Response from developer
Hi, sorry to hear you have had a problem with the connection from the app to your boiler. Please contact technical@vaillant.co.uk who can assist you with this
New app is worse then the old one
What happened to the summer setting? The new app doesn’t have the button to switch from winter to summer which basically disables the heating. Seems instead to have a hot water only button which is not the same. The summer setting allowed a manual timed heating switch on for use during chilly evenings. When I tried to use the manual button in hot water mode the heat doesn’t switch on, you have to revert back to regular heating which uses the schedule previously set for winter… not good if you just wanted a quick finite warm up. Today I tried to switch back from hot water only and the stat and app are out of sync. I set the app to heat but the stat didn’t register the change. The heating stayed off until I upped the stat temperature. Now I can’t get app and stat to match at all seems to be broken. Please fix asap.
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Response from developer
Hi, sorry to hear you are having issues with the updated vSMART App. Please contact app-support@vaillant-group.com for further assistance
Useless update
I’ve had my vsmart for about three years and worked well on all devices until a month ago when it went faulty and had to be replaced, all was working fine then the app was updated, now I cannot get the heating gateway to connect to either of our iPads or smart phones (which are all working on the latest update). I cannot control the boiler functions without this app, the engineer who changed it over again for another new one cannot fathom out what is wrong, we have tried everything to get it to work, there’s nothing wrong with the router as WiFi is a good speed and working on all devices. It must be the update, please, please sort this out Vaillant!
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Response from developer
Hi, sorry that you are having issues connecting your boiler to the vSMART App. Please contact technical@vaillant.co.uk
Avoid this!
Don’t get this VSmart controller, it’s extremely temperamental and inefficient! They have recently updated the app which is supposed to be more user friendly and easier to use! What a joke! There was no warning of the update or instructions to use it! I know I’m technically savvy - but it takes all my insights and endurance for this app, and it still gets the better of me! If your not a technically savvy, then forget it!
The trouble shooting guide is next to useless and their support non existent! When you get the VSmart system installed - you can over-ride it to manually operate it, so if the technology goes wrong….your up the …… without a paddle!!
The trouble shooting guide is next to useless and their support non existent! When you get the VSmart system installed - you can over-ride it to manually operate it, so if the technology goes wrong….your up the …… without a paddle!!
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Response from developer
Hi, sorry that you are unhappy with the recent vSMART App update. Please contact app-support@vaillant-group.com who can assist you
So much better just missing some features
Love the new overhaul the app has had, looks much cleaner and works so much faster now! Hats off to the app developers. Just would love to see some features like a button just to turn off the heating (unless I’m missing it already in the app) and would love to see the app have a function show how much you are using coinciding with how much it costs as well. But other than this, I love the app now!
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Response from developer
Hi, I am delighted that you have found the updated vSMART App improved. To turn off the heating you can use the Away function which is located in the Quick Actions menu. Thank you for your suggestion, we will pass it to our Development Team. If you have any other suggests please contact us at app-suppport@vaillant-group.com
Don’t get vSmart
The learning/smart features don’t work well. It takes 30 days to “learn” about your home, so if it then doesn’t work well, you have to figure out how to reset it (not intuitive) and have it re-learn (only to not learn and keep heating inefficiently). If you switch over to manual, you can set up a schedule via an unintuitive user interface that is easy to get lost in. If you set manual override to last 2 hrs before it returns to the regular schedule, beware that… it won’t return to the regular schedule. Customer service acknowledged this and suggested I try to setting it to 5 mins instead. But who wants their home 1-2 degrees warmer for 5 mins??? Also, be prepared that unlike Hive, Nest and virtually all other systems, the vSmart cannot get power from the boiler. It needs a power outlet. If you don’t have power outlets in your boiler closet, budget for an electrician or get ready to have extension cords running along your floor. I asked Vaillant for a refund because their app/tech simply doesn’t work. They said they don’t get involved in “3rd party disputes” and that I should have my fitter get a refund from the supplier they got the thermostat from. Dodgy! This is a company used to dealing with other businesses but not customers directly and it shows. In fairness, my boiler itself is great. I would recommend a Vaillant boiler 100%. But get Hive or Nest. Don’t be an idiot like me.
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Response from developer
Hi. I'm sorry to hear that you are having problems with the programming features. Throughout February we are updating the vSMART App to give our customers a more user friendly experience. If you continue to have issues after the update please contact app-support@vaillant-group.com.
Breaking changes
The app recently became unusable in summer mode. A breaking change was released to the gateway API disallowing requests to manually set the temperature in summer mode. The iOS app was not updated to handle this. It simply says it may be due to bad network connection. The UI is extremely poor and for me the only practical way to use it is to leave the system mode on summer and manually change the temperature setpoint. Now this is not possible. Tools that allow customers to control their energy consumption and spending are vital, both for personal budgeting and limiting CO2 emissions. Big dereliction of duty from Vaillant.
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