Unreliable and full of bugs
I have GE Sync bulbs in over 50% of my home’s socket; inside, outside, accent lighting, you name it. They are great… When they function as advertised. Unfortunately; you’ll be lucky if they do so half the time. Yes, they still produce light. Quite a bit of it, actually. And in (nearly) what ever color you please. Do you want to use the “smart” features, however? I wish you luck. And I hope you have the patience of a Sage.
Despite my home having a near GB per second wifi connection, the GE sync bulbs are more often than not unresponsive to the GE application. I *sometimes* get lucky by killing and restarting the app, though there have been more than a handful of occasions where the app was just downright useless and unable to connect to a Sync light, despite an actively strong wifi connection.
Additionally, routines are difficult to setup, and also unreliable in their scheduled activities. Overall, I would say that the GE Sync hardware is great, but the software is mediocre at best. I would hope that the future brings much needed updates.
Despite my home having a near GB per second wifi connection, the GE sync bulbs are more often than not unresponsive to the GE application. I *sometimes* get lucky by killing and restarting the app, though there have been more than a handful of occasions where the app was just downright useless and unable to connect to a Sync light, despite an actively strong wifi connection.
Additionally, routines are difficult to setup, and also unreliable in their scheduled activities. Overall, I would say that the GE Sync hardware is great, but the software is mediocre at best. I would hope that the future brings much needed updates.
Show less
Great lights, buggy app
I really enjoy the full spectrum bulbs—it’s nice to be able to change them to match the light outside, give a room a mood, or even balance out coloring while on a Zoom call to help you look less washed out.
The app itself is not great. The interface is intuitive enough once you get used to it, but I constantly have to exit and reopen the app to get my lightbulbs to respond. It’s a small thing, but it gets annoying having to do it day in and day out. Months ago the lights stopped responding to my app at all. Cync customer service was great and talked me through the (hilariously tedious!) process of resetting each bulb—this crazy sequence of turning them off and on for a specific amount of time five times in a row, and eventually the solution was to delete the “Home” with which the lights were affiliated and make a new one, adding each bulb again. When I did that, the app was more responsive for a bit, but I’m back to having to close and reopen the app to get the lightbulbs to respond. It probably takes no more than ten extra seconds, but when you’re walking out the door and just want to shut your lights off, it’s a real pain!
The app itself is not great. The interface is intuitive enough once you get used to it, but I constantly have to exit and reopen the app to get my lightbulbs to respond. It’s a small thing, but it gets annoying having to do it day in and day out. Months ago the lights stopped responding to my app at all. Cync customer service was great and talked me through the (hilariously tedious!) process of resetting each bulb—this crazy sequence of turning them off and on for a specific amount of time five times in a row, and eventually the solution was to delete the “Home” with which the lights were affiliated and make a new one, adding each bulb again. When I did that, the app was more responsive for a bit, but I’m back to having to close and reopen the app to get the lightbulbs to respond. It probably takes no more than ten extra seconds, but when you’re walking out the door and just want to shut your lights off, it’s a real pain!
Show less
Response from developer
Thank you for taking the time to update your review! It means a lot to us and we are glad to hear that our support team was able to get you taken care of. If you need anything don't hesitate to contact us in the future and we hope you enjoy life in Cync. -Cync Support Team
Lacks a widget
Overall the app itself isn't bad. The UI is pleasant and, most importantly, device setup was pretty easy. That said, the color control is not intuitive and needs some work. When you tap the arrow to the right of a light or group, it expands a list of options that lacks a button for plain white light. You actually have to tap the button for the rainbow color picker—white light is nested underneath. While functionally these options are the same, most people conceptualize them as two different things and so they deserve separate buttons. This adds up to a discouraging number of click-throughs and memorization in order to perform basic tasks.
As of this review there seems to be no widget available which is an oversight for an IoT smart home device. People with voice assistants probably don't need it, but not everyone is willing to allow those devices in their home so tech companies can listen to their every private conversation 24/7.
As of this review there seems to be no widget available which is an oversight for an IoT smart home device. People with voice assistants probably don't need it, but not everyone is willing to allow those devices in their home so tech companies can listen to their every private conversation 24/7.
Show less
Annoying but works
Edit: okay I abandoned trying to use the sunrise/sunset feature and just set the schedule to specific hours, so now that function is working to my liking. After utilizing some patience and playing with the app for a few days I have figured some other things out. I do still think the app should walk you through the options better though, and also not freeze up periodically. I never did contact support, but I’m glad they cared enough to respond.
I love the bulb and connecting it was easy, BUT the app is so buggy I can hardly make it do anything. I tried to set a schedule but it keeps getting stuck on the naming screen and won’t let me finish. The UI is terrible as others have mentioned and I’m surprised this app made it past the testing phase. Like I said, connecting the bulb was a breeze, but controlling it through the app should have been the easy part. Now I have to get on google and figure out how to make the app the work before I can make the awesome smart bulb do anything awesome.
I love the bulb and connecting it was easy, BUT the app is so buggy I can hardly make it do anything. I tried to set a schedule but it keeps getting stuck on the naming screen and won’t let me finish. The UI is terrible as others have mentioned and I’m surprised this app made it past the testing phase. Like I said, connecting the bulb was a breeze, but controlling it through the app should have been the easy part. Now I have to get on google and figure out how to make the app the work before I can make the awesome smart bulb do anything awesome.
Show less
horrid app
i have no idea how a company could release such a buggy, useless, poor quality service. i wouldn’t recommend this app or products to my worst enemy. i hope the company goes under.
I’m glad my lights are so secure…?
I got a string of colored LED lights to put atop a bookcase for ambiance. After my purchase I learned I had to download an app to operate the lights… fine… Then I was required to create an account complete with a password- just to turn my lights on or off. Slightly less fine and much more annoying but… okay I guess. The app works fine and I’m able to turn my lights on and off, select which color I want and create much more elaborate timing schedules than I ever dreamed of wanting- kinda cool? But then I open the app to turn the lights off and I have been automatically logged out. So of course we begin the multi step dance of remembering the specific email and password I used to create my account. (Why would you remember such things- it’s a LIGHT.) Rinse and repeat every month or so and I’m losing my patience. Why is there more security to turn my fancy lights on than required for my bank account? At least my bank app will take my Face ID and not log me off periodically. GE, please gain some perspective and tone down the high security- for a LIGHT. I don’t put padlocks on my light switches for a reason.
Show less
When it works it’s great otherwise MEH
My family has been using 2 lights with this app for over a year. There were hiccups here and there but they was so infrequent it didn’t really cause a problem. However, after the last few updates these issues have become more and more frequent something seems to happen almost everyday. Desync happens all the time now were before it was once in a blue moon. Before it was the timer that was off between 30mins-2hrs. Now I am lucky if the scene changes at all. From making scenes all the way down to just trying to change 1 light everything is slow to respond. I have to pick a color or scene 5-6 times and it still takes 30secs-1min to update. There is absolutely no excuse for what this app has devolved into. I looked at just the most recent reviews and a large amount are having the same issues I am followed by your crappy corporate copy and paste ‘We’re sorry’ response. Telling everyone to go to support doesn’t help when the issue is on your end not ours.
Show less
Better hurry up and cover up this review guys
Complete garbage I bought this one light bulb and thank god tried it out before i wasted anymore money. I figure if they were able to screw up something as simple as a light bulb it would be dangerous to own all of their products and have them operating in your home at once. Like I’m not even joking it would have to be a hazard. Plus you would get sick of not being to control anything every time you leave the room or god forbid your house. Be like welcome to my home come on in. (Other person) why is it so dark in here its dirty isn’t it thats why you have the lights off. ( self ) no no its just these new lights i got i can control them with my phone just give me a sec i might have to reset them all or delete and repair i got this ( other person ) Its been like 15 mins and all you have accomplished is getting one bulb at the end of the hallway to flash a couple times Im outta here enjoy being with your hand tonight loser.
One smart thing this company could do is start selling trash bags because as long as they keep making products like this people will need plenty of trash bags.
One smart thing this company could do is start selling trash bags because as long as they keep making products like this people will need plenty of trash bags.
Show less
Needs some updates and fixing.
For about a year now I’ve used Cync’s LED strip lights in my bedroom. I wouldn’t say it’s the best on the market, but at the same time it’s gets the job done. I’ve been able to create perfect mood lighting on various occasions with these lights with only a few issues in that time.
Recently, I’ve bought an indoor smart camera, and I’ve had more problems with just setting it up than I have ever before with this company. I was pretty disappointed.
To start off, the camera didn’t want to set up. At all. It took about 10 minutes and a few times going through the reset process to get the blinking blue light you need to even begin setting it up. I then went to add my boyfriend to my home so he can also have access to the cam (we bought one to keep an eye on our cat while we’re away) and to my surprise, guests aren’t allowed to view the camera feed! I just have to say that if I didn’t trust someone, then I wouldn’t put them on my Cync app where they could access most of my house if they wanted to. It’s just common sense. While I know this may be a security precaution, many people besides myself also see this as a drawback.
Overall the quality or the products themselves have been good, but my interaction on the app and with the company has only been mediocre at best.
Recently, I’ve bought an indoor smart camera, and I’ve had more problems with just setting it up than I have ever before with this company. I was pretty disappointed.
To start off, the camera didn’t want to set up. At all. It took about 10 minutes and a few times going through the reset process to get the blinking blue light you need to even begin setting it up. I then went to add my boyfriend to my home so he can also have access to the cam (we bought one to keep an eye on our cat while we’re away) and to my surprise, guests aren’t allowed to view the camera feed! I just have to say that if I didn’t trust someone, then I wouldn’t put them on my Cync app where they could access most of my house if they wanted to. It’s just common sense. While I know this may be a security precaution, many people besides myself also see this as a drawback.
Overall the quality or the products themselves have been good, but my interaction on the app and with the company has only been mediocre at best.
Show less
Response from developer
We are upset to hear that your Cync experience has fallen short of your expectations. You make a great point! We understand your feedback and want you to know that it has been shared with our Development Team for further consideration. We appreciate you taking the time to relay your thoughts. A member of our team would love to assist if you find yourself running into any issues, as you did with setting up your camera. Additionally, we would like to know what we could have done to make this review worthy of the full five stars! We are available to speak Monday-Friday 9:00AM-9:00PM and Saturday-Sunday 10:00AM-7:00PM EST. We are grateful for your business and value your feedback! -Cync Support Team
App keeps freezing and losing connection to bulbs
Replaced 75% of the light bulbs in my house with the Cync multi-color bulbs and they look really good with the colors and are bright when I need them to be. However, the app itself has been lousy. I have certain bulbs grouped together with the timers to turn on and off, which has worked ok, some bulbs are not responding to the timers I set. Also, when the bulbs come on with the timers, I can’t adjust the brightness or color. The app literally freezes. I’ve been deleting the app and reinstalling it from the App Store and thankfully the bulbs keep there setting and I’m able to use the app as it supposed to work but after a day or so everything freezes again and I have to delete and reinstall. GE, please fix this issue. I check my phone for updates everyday just to make sure the app is running with the latest iOS, so I don’t think it’s that. I’m open to suggestions for fixing it on my end if anyone knows solutions. Thank you.
Show less
