Tado X - first impressions
I have installed Tado X system replacing my legacy Tado setup and wanted to share some feedback. Keen to hear what other early adopters have to say too.
There seems to be quite a few teething problems - hopefully they will be addressed.
The GOOD:
- matter (if it works)
- local (offline) routine storage
- Thread support
- TRVs much more quiet than the old ones
- rechargeable batteries in TRVs (but not in thermostats)
The BAD: - Quality - not as good as the older systems. Squeaky fittings, thermostats mounted on a backplate are loose at the bottom. I had to replace one thermostat as the pins were not soldered properly. Exposed part of circuit board in one of the temperature sensors covered in glue or other substance. TRVs feel cheap and plasticky (particularly the dials)
- not possible to select which device in the room is used for temperature measurement.
- Matter VERY iffy - sometimes takes multiple attempts to be able to generate Matter credentials for other apps (I had to add and remove one device 20 times before the Matter option appeared).
- Limit of 5 Matter controllers
- not possible to add multiple temperature sensors and/or thermostat[s] to the same room - it wasn't the case in the old system
- system topology differs between Tado app and Matter controllers - defying the very reason for Matter (compatibility and interoperatibility). Tado app follows the "room" concept whilst exposed to Matter it is "device" concept. It will be a major issue for everyone who had more than 1 radiator with TRV in the room. More about that in the separate thread:
- Wireless Temperature Sensors are "read only" devics in Matter - rather pointless as they can't be controlled - links witht the above issue.
- no "dazzle" mode
- no built in or separate presence/occupancy sensor to complement the routines.
The UGLY: - much bulkier than the previous generation
- black with white frame is standing out on the wall whilst the previous ones blended in nicely (Matter of preference, but still)
- Smart Radiator Thermostats have weird shape now - that makes them not fit in all places - whilst you can obviously twist them sideways it may mean that you can see the display easily. The old "traditional" design in my opinion was significantly better
- displays on thermostats and temperature sensors look cheap when lit up (a clear "frame" is visible). Similar issue with TRVs but less prominent
- still no multi home support
- Physical buttons look cheap and clunky compared to the capacitive design of older generations
I'd be keen to hear what other early adopters think and what are the plans from Tado to address those issues.
Comments
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Thanks for providing the feedback on X - It will be interesting to see what the early adopters views are. X launches in the UK in the autumn.
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Interesting (and useful!) feedback. I know certain mentioned missing features are coming and we are aware of and are dealing with some of the criticism on the hardware (mostly the wired/wireless thermostat). Also the Matter integration is a point of interest, partly because Matter itself is still such a young protocol. There are some 'new' or very rarely mentioned things in your list as well, which is interesting.
I know I'm repeating myself, but this kind of feedback is something I value and tend to save (to quantify) and forward to our developers. It will help making our products even better. I am not sure how my words on a screen are interpreted by others, but I mean this sincerely and without any kind of sarcasm.
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Hi @Rob ! Thanks for your response.
Would you be able to share which of the features/issues are being worked on?
With regards to Matter I think there should be a way to use it the "Tado way" - e.g. using the Tado topology and "rooms" concept - even if exposed via Matter. Or "device" concept - if Tado app is not used at all.
I think this could be simply achieved by emulating the exposition of the woreless sensor to Matter as a thermostat rather than sensor. I have ordered additional wired thermostat to test the approach (e.g. installing it without wiring - similarly to how in the legacy setup you could put the thermostat in a sensor mode). So far when I tested 2 TRVs in the same room - changing temperature setting of one seems to sync with the other (heat request).
I am happy to discuss any of the points further if this is something useful.0 -
Hi @Rob! I was wondering if there are any updates - particularly with regards to the wireless temperature sensors? I ordered additional wired thermostat just to test the approach and it (partly) works.
I was able to expose the additional wired thermostat (that is not wired to anything) via Matter. It allows then control of the entire room (similarly to the legacy setup). But it can be assigned solely to another zone controller (it can only be one of two controllers - which is a bit pointless). Lastly it does the clicking noise when closing/opening the circuit - which is again not necessary as it is not wired to anything.0 -
I heard a week or so ago that newly produced temperature sensors X will be seen by Matter as thermostats. I am not confident this is also true for existing ones. If it is as simple as a firmware update we will certainly apply this update. But honestly, the whole integration part into Matter is not my expertise.
For the (wired) Smart Thermostat, I don't think we can switch the relay (clicking noise) off from our end as there is no interface configuration for X. It auto-detects if there is an Opentherm connection. If it detects an Opentherm connection, it automatically deactivates the relay. When no Opentherm is detected, the relay is activated. We (support) cannot manually change anything there, like we could for V3+ and before as those had no auto-detect function.
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Ok. So I have 10 or so temperature sensors which seem to be obsolete soon. I think I still can return them to Amazon for a few more days. Would you be able to confirm whether the current ones will be upgraded or not and if not if there is any chance of getting them exchanged?0
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I upgraded my Tado Heat Pump Connector to the Tado HPO-X a few weeks ago.
Whilst I managed to get it working in my Matter/Thread Network pretty easily, the Thread connection and the Wifi connection were exactly unstable for the first few days. Since then it seems to be working better but I don't know whether this is due to new Firmware or just random chance.
Also, there are still features that were promised with the old HPC that are only now starting to trickle in, and often seem quite unpolished or simply don't work at all.
The recent "energy overview" always shows 0 for everything, the just launched "Solar Integration" only allows one array to he created which is silly since 90% of the Solar systems here are at least facing two different directions, often even 3.
So...there is a long way to go and who knows if Tado won't lauch a new lineup of Hardware before even half the Features have been implemented on the current one...🤷♂️1 -
@K_T
I think I was not very clear. I blame this on English not being my first language. My point is that I don't know with 100% confidence that the way these devices are recognised by Matter can be changed with a FW update. I presume it is no problem. I am merely not entirely sure.Okay, it has been made more clear to me. Apparently there is a limitation in an authentication key of Matter devices, in the sense that you cannot change the value of the key so they are detected as a different type of device. Wireless Temperature Sensors X (as in; wireless thermostats that do not have wiring terminals) produced before before a certain date will thus remain temperature sensors in Matter, while similar devices with a more recent production date will be seen in Matter as thermostats. This does not affect how these devices function in the tado app, but can have an effect on other platforms. For most people this is still of no consequence. However, when this causes issues for your use case (like @K_T described), then please contact our support so we can handle it on an individual basis.
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