Great hardware, but the app is holding it back
I initially assumed the limited functionality was a hardware constraint, but it turns out the system is capable of a lot more.
The official app really should be showing real-time details like upper and lower tank temperatures and whether the compressor or heating elements are active. More importantly, we should be able to schedule specific temperatures for different times of the day instead of being stuck with basic "modes." It’s a real shame that Bradford White hasn't prioritized these updates despite the clear potential and user demand. The fact that the hardware is already sending this data but the app won't display it is a major missed opportunity.
The official app really should be showing real-time details like upper and lower tank temperatures and whether the compressor or heating elements are active. More importantly, we should be able to schedule specific temperatures for different times of the day instead of being stuck with basic "modes." It’s a real shame that Bradford White hasn't prioritized these updates despite the clear potential and user demand. The fact that the hardware is already sending this data but the app won't display it is a major missed opportunity.
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Almost useless
App fails to connect most of the time. Cannot change modes or temp setting. Usage data has long gaps from constant disconnects. Only logs 3 months of usage and you cannot download data.
The water heater is excellent, the app is broken
The schedule feature often fails to work properly due to a time zone synchronization issue. It also does not appear to understand daylight saving time.
There also is no way to adjust the temperature in a schedule. Some people would like to “charge” their tank overnight to take advantage of lower electricity rates, but this important feature is missing.
The Daily usage section of the app is nonsensical. It appears to use data from the past 24 hour period, and then plots it on a graph where the day begins and ends at midnight. Thus, it gives the appearance that part of yesterday’s usage has occurred in the future. Additionally, there is no way to view usage older than 24 hours ago.
The app requires restarts several times per week due to “error code 401”
There also is no way to adjust the temperature in a schedule. Some people would like to “charge” their tank overnight to take advantage of lower electricity rates, but this important feature is missing.
The Daily usage section of the app is nonsensical. It appears to use data from the past 24 hour period, and then plots it on a graph where the day begins and ends at midnight. Thus, it gives the appearance that part of yesterday’s usage has occurred in the future. Additionally, there is no way to view usage older than 24 hours ago.
The app requires restarts several times per week due to “error code 401”
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Wish this worked
As others have said, this app feels like it’s in the early beta stages. In particular:
* the app lets you adjust target water temperature (even warning you of your select a high/dangerous value), but while it appears to work, the value snaps back when you leave the screen. Reading deep in the FAQ it appears that the max temperature is whatever you have entered manually on the heater. So I guess I should go set my heater to max temperature, then use the app in that range? Weird. Bad. Regardless, please TELL ME that you are doing this (eg, “cannot set temp above currently-entered 130°”).
* attempting to set the mode (heat pump only, hybrid, electric, etc.) also appears not to stick. No idea how to fix that one.
* the app doesn’t display what temperature the water IS, only what you want it to be. Please show me the current temp!
* the screens for daily/weekly/monthly electricity usage frequently show blank or “no data available” messages. Force-killing and restarting the app often fixes this.
* what does setting a TOU schedule do? Apparently this makes my heater go into weird modes (like “vacation” from 4-9pm? I guess because it is trying not to use ANY electricity?), but with absolutely no visibility into any of the changes. It just says “can’t show schedule; TOU is enabled.” Please tell me what and when you are doing things!
Guys, seriously — check out the Trane Home/Nexia app, or the mySolarEdge app, for ways to actually make a useful app for your customers.
* the app lets you adjust target water temperature (even warning you of your select a high/dangerous value), but while it appears to work, the value snaps back when you leave the screen. Reading deep in the FAQ it appears that the max temperature is whatever you have entered manually on the heater. So I guess I should go set my heater to max temperature, then use the app in that range? Weird. Bad. Regardless, please TELL ME that you are doing this (eg, “cannot set temp above currently-entered 130°”).
* attempting to set the mode (heat pump only, hybrid, electric, etc.) also appears not to stick. No idea how to fix that one.
* the app doesn’t display what temperature the water IS, only what you want it to be. Please show me the current temp!
* the screens for daily/weekly/monthly electricity usage frequently show blank or “no data available” messages. Force-killing and restarting the app often fixes this.
* what does setting a TOU schedule do? Apparently this makes my heater go into weird modes (like “vacation” from 4-9pm? I guess because it is trying not to use ANY electricity?), but with absolutely no visibility into any of the changes. It just says “can’t show schedule; TOU is enabled.” Please tell me what and when you are doing things!
Guys, seriously — check out the Trane Home/Nexia app, or the mySolarEdge app, for ways to actually make a useful app for your customers.
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Mountain View, CA
This app is an aberration.
It barely displays daily usage.
But once it did it shows considerable consumption for a day when the power was down.
For monthly consumption it routinely shows 20 Kw when we mostly out of town (vacation) mode an 5Kw when we are back and back to normal use. I wonder if it’s using some proprietary way to keep track of time. 🤔
I am not even mentioning how rudimentary the functionality of the app is and how sometimes it took me factory reset just to reconnect to my phone.
It’s a disgrace to the otherwise good product.
It barely displays daily usage.
But once it did it shows considerable consumption for a day when the power was down.
For monthly consumption it routinely shows 20 Kw when we mostly out of town (vacation) mode an 5Kw when we are back and back to normal use. I wonder if it’s using some proprietary way to keep track of time. 🤔
I am not even mentioning how rudimentary the functionality of the app is and how sometimes it took me factory reset just to reconnect to my phone.
It’s a disgrace to the otherwise good product.
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Abomination of an app
Schedule doesn’t seem to work. TOU works but that’s it. Periodic disconnects. No stats. What’s the purpose of this app?
Limited functionality
Limited functionality and doesn’t work 95% of the time. For example I changed the temperature on the heat pump water heater from 120 to 130. When clicking okay to confirm, I get a message saying it’s changed. When I go check the unit. It will still say 120 and the app upon refresh would say the same.
Similarly the app is so limited. Can’t tell how much water I used, can’t have multiple schedule (eg 12-6am heat pump only, 6am-4pm hybrid, 4pm-9pm heat pump only and 9-12 hybrid).
Please the developers should download your competitors app (eg Rheem) to see why they are rated so highly.
Similarly the app is so limited. Can’t tell how much water I used, can’t have multiple schedule (eg 12-6am heat pump only, 6am-4pm hybrid, 4pm-9pm heat pump only and 9-12 hybrid).
Please the developers should download your competitors app (eg Rheem) to see why they are rated so highly.
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Limited Functionality often loses connection
There are many features that the water heater has that the app just doesn’t display like actual reading from various sensors and setting a vacation hold for a number of days. But my biggest complaint is that it disconnects every week. Also I does not follow the tou schedule and I cannot set its time zone or adjust for daylight savings. It basically just does what it wants whenever it wants. The water heater works great, a little loud but manageable.
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Can’t set a schedule
The save button overlaps the end time setting so I ca t set an end time. Just terrible…
Remote control does not work
Giving two stars only because the furnace itself can be set to vacation mode. The app is pretty much useless. I have to enter everything manually on my furnace.
Basic app, lots of improvements needed
At the current stage, this app provides basic access to your BW water heater. Including setting modes, scheduling, and showing usage statistics.
Here are my suggestions to the developer
1. Show temperature sensor(s) data in the app. If you can access the data or other info using the water heater panel, users should be given the same info in the app. Currently my heater is running out of water quickly and it would be very helpful to get all these stats on the app when troubleshooting with BW or my plumber.
2. Scheduling: the scheduling works but the interface is outdated. Also allow electric scheduling for more than the set 2 days. During the winter months, the recovery is abysmal and I would like to make sure hot water is present when I want it and not wait for the heater to decide which mode to run.
3. Usage statistics are mediocre at best. They sometimes appear and disappear. Some days shows usage and others don’t. Restarting the app can help but this seems like a simple application function that is currently subpar.
Here are my suggestions to the developer
1. Show temperature sensor(s) data in the app. If you can access the data or other info using the water heater panel, users should be given the same info in the app. Currently my heater is running out of water quickly and it would be very helpful to get all these stats on the app when troubleshooting with BW or my plumber.
2. Scheduling: the scheduling works but the interface is outdated. Also allow electric scheduling for more than the set 2 days. During the winter months, the recovery is abysmal and I would like to make sure hot water is present when I want it and not wait for the heater to decide which mode to run.
3. Usage statistics are mediocre at best. They sometimes appear and disappear. Some days shows usage and others don’t. Restarting the app can help but this seems like a simple application function that is currently subpar.
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The water heater is excellent, the app needs work.
The Daily usage section of the app is nonsensical. It appears to use data from the past 24 hour period, instead of a day beginning and ending at midnight. Thus, it gives the appearance that usage has occurred in the future. For example, if you open the app in the morning, the graph will show usage for 6-9am (today) followed by 3-6pm (yesterday?). This data carries over to the Weekly view, incorrectly attributing part of the usage from, say, Monday on Tuesday.
It would be very useful if the app showed *real-time* information such whether the heat pump or resistance elements are actively running.
There does not appear to be a way to set the temperature in a schedule. Some people (especially those with mixing valves) like to “charge” their tank overnight to take advantage of lower energy rates, but this important feature seems to be missing.
The app requires frequent restarts, due to “error code 401” or because “…energy data is not available.”
The app allows a user to enter their Cost per kWh but it forgets this entry every time the app restarts.
Bradford White, please give this app some attention to make it as excellent as your water heaters.
It would be very useful if the app showed *real-time* information such whether the heat pump or resistance elements are actively running.
There does not appear to be a way to set the temperature in a schedule. Some people (especially those with mixing valves) like to “charge” their tank overnight to take advantage of lower energy rates, but this important feature seems to be missing.
The app requires frequent restarts, due to “error code 401” or because “…energy data is not available.”
The app allows a user to enter their Cost per kWh but it forgets this entry every time the app restarts.
Bradford White, please give this app some attention to make it as excellent as your water heaters.
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Constant headaches.
The app itself is mediocre. Maybe 3 stars. But there’s a bigger problem underneath.
The app talks to an Amazon server. That works most of the time. But you’re just using an app to communicate with a web server. It’s thousands of miles away from your water heater.
How does your water heater know that you changed a setting on a web server far away? Your water heater is connected to the internet via an adapter box. And that adapter is painfully unreliable. It might go offline for a few hours or days or weeks. The recommended fix is to reboot it. How do you know if it has failed and needs to be rebooted? You don’t. The Connect app won’t tell you. It will just pretend like your water heater actually did what you asked.
So the net result is an app that appears to control your water heater, but you don’t know whether that’s actually happening or if it’s just ignoring everything behind the scenes.
You don’t get reliable feedback
The app talks to an Amazon server. That works most of the time. But you’re just using an app to communicate with a web server. It’s thousands of miles away from your water heater.
How does your water heater know that you changed a setting on a web server far away? Your water heater is connected to the internet via an adapter box. And that adapter is painfully unreliable. It might go offline for a few hours or days or weeks. The recommended fix is to reboot it. How do you know if it has failed and needs to be rebooted? You don’t. The Connect app won’t tell you. It will just pretend like your water heater actually did what you asked.
So the net result is an app that appears to control your water heater, but you don’t know whether that’s actually happening or if it’s just ignoring everything behind the scenes.
You don’t get reliable feedback
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Poor execution
The concept is great, but since I installed the app and heat pump 9 months ago it has been almost useless. I’ve connected and reconnected I don’t know how many times since installation and it continues to disconnect. To monitor your electrical usage, it’s been sporadic at best. I now look at my SoCal Edison usage every day to estimate usage. What I liked best when it did work was the ability to change settings on whether to use more ambient air or electrical to heat our water. Now I have to go into the water closet every time I need to change settings. Not convenient! Fix it or delete from the play store and stop wasting your customers’ time.
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Terrible app for an expensive water heater
I try to adjust the temperature and it takes 20 attempts to actually respond.
It shows power usage but loses the data every few months, now it doesn’t even show it at all.
I try to change modes (heat pump water heater) and I literally was unable to 50 times. Finally I went downstairs and did this manually.
I’ve tried restarting the network device, restarting the app, rebooting the phone, and power cycling the water heater itself. Nothing works. This app is badly in need of an update. It was one of the selling points for me to go to a BW water heater but if this app doesn’t work soon I’ll likely never buy this brand again. PLEASE FIX THIS APP
It shows power usage but loses the data every few months, now it doesn’t even show it at all.
I try to change modes (heat pump water heater) and I literally was unable to 50 times. Finally I went downstairs and did this manually.
I’ve tried restarting the network device, restarting the app, rebooting the phone, and power cycling the water heater itself. Nothing works. This app is badly in need of an update. It was one of the selling points for me to go to a BW water heater but if this app doesn’t work soon I’ll likely never buy this brand again. PLEASE FIX THIS APP
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Disconnects make this app almost useless
I got this water heater at a second home because we're not there all the time. The main goal of the BWConnect app and device was to be able to remotely turn on and off vacation mode so I could put it in heat pump mode a couple of days before going so I could save energy and still have hot water when I arrive. However, the device randomly disconnects from the internet and cannot reconnect without me physically going to it and connecting with Bluetooth. This is unacceptable for a "smart" device. It needs to automatically reestablish its connection to the internet when it loses it. There's a Hotspot close to it, and I have many smart devices and no others have this problem. There are other problems with the app and device, but this one makes the whole system not reliable enough to be usable.
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Just don’t bother
Bradford white, do yourself a favor… just retire the app and come back when you can develop an working app! The basic function … the changing of the heating mode is buggy… when you change it it goes back to the original mode (I think it never changes the mode successfully in the first place although the ui says it did and when you go back to tab it shows the original setting) This is not that hard! For now please retire the app!
/update @developer response: you have had so many of this exact same feed back about not changing the mode… for months now… instead of the canned response. fix it…
/update @developer response: you have had so many of this exact same feed back about not changing the mode… for months now… instead of the canned response. fix it…
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Absolutely horrible engineered application
Rarely worked. Always lose WiFi connection. Once the connection lost, to reconnect this adapter using its Bluetooth is like mission impossible. Whoever designed this adapter and this mobile app deserved to be relieved duties immediately.
App is flaky
Time of Use works some days .,.others not -seems random
Response from developer
Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback. We strive to ensure our customers have the best experience with our products as well as the tools and resources we offer. To help us better understand your concern, can you please email us at iot.app@bradfordwhite.com so we can take a closer look at the issue. We look forward to hearing from you.
App is flaky
Time of Use works some days .,.others not
-seems random
-seems random
