Tado app return to 0.1° granularity for setting manual temp

Very frustrated to find I have lost the ability to set a temp of 20.8° in the app.

20.5° too cool, 21° too warm - but those are the only options now.

Why has this been changed?! It worked fine before!
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  • There has also been conversation about this in below post - but it seems to be advocating for less granular control strangely.

    Even if Tado only keeps the temp within a 0.5° window, being able to set the 'target' temp in 0.1° increments is still preferable. I'd rather set it to 20.8, and have the temperature vary around that point (depending on the threshold for turning on/off), than target a temperature that's too high/low.

    Currently my workaround is to modify the schedule every time I want to manually tweak the temperature target, as the app has removed the functionality to do so.



  • GrayDav4276
    GrayDav4276 ✭✭✭
    edited June 2021
    @LouisaKing

    Many more users will (soon) 'realise' that Tado have reduced the functionality of setting the 'set to' temperature on their wall mounted devices (not the Smart Radiator Thermostats......SRT's) As you have noticed Tado have altered the incremental changes from 0.1 degrees to 0.5 degrees.

    I have already raised this as a 'complaint' and also requested information from Tado regarding the latest run of App updates and device Firmware updates......unfortunately Tado have not responded with any clarity regarding these imposed 'updates'.

    Unfortunately @LouisaKing ......I think that the boat has already sailed with reference to the 'new' incremental changes for our devices because Tado has already carried out the Firmware and App updates, and I don't see any possibility of Tado backtracking on the work that they have forced on us.

    I should say that the SRT's are now adjustable in 0.5 degrees (above 15 degrees) within the App (previously 1.0 degrees)......I haven't tried it physically/manually on the SRT yet.
    So there does 'appear' to have been a 'small' positive change for the better.
  • macladd
    macladd
    edited June 2021

    I don't want 0.1 or 0.5 increments, I find it makes using the slider in the app a real pain to hit a whole number easily. I see some people want 0.1 and some 0.5. My suggestion is for Tado to offer 3 options of 0.1, 0.5 and incremental temperature OFF in the app settings. Cant see any reason why they could not do this. Win Win for everyone.

  • I am quite upset by this change to my wireless thermostats. Suddenly I lost the ability to set the room temperatures to my liking, as a step change of 0.5 degrees Celsius is WAY too much. This is a really clumsy and not properly thought-through change. I am sure I am not alone in saying that you solved a problem that did not exist and by doing so, have seriously undermined the added value of the Tado thermostats to people like me. For 30+ years I have been able to set room temperatures to 0.1 degrees precision - as this was possible back in the old days of analogue thermostats and the first generations of 'digital' thermostats.

    As macladd sad: please please give us an option to set this step change to our liking!!!

    (If you really want to address something that bothers users, then focus on improving the 'bar-style' control in the user interface to one that allows for more easy fine-tuned adjustments. You typically needed a few tries to increase the temp from 19.7 degrees (=our winter default in the evening) to e.g. 20.2 degrees.)

  • cbd20
    cbd20 ✭✭✭
    edited June 2021
    It's interesting how for many people this issue has only been highlighted since tado announced an update to the user interface. The ability to change in 0.1 degree increments actually disappeared from the app around a month or so ago. I appreciate that the weather has got warmer, so people will typically be accessing the app less, but surprised how few people noticed until now...

    That being said, elsewhere on the forum (can't find it now) there's an implication that the finer granularity never really triggered anything anyway and that the system only really reacted on 0.5 degree steps.

    Probably an unpopular opinion, but personally I don't miss the 0.1 degree increments, but am happy they have introduced 0.5 degree granularity to the SRTs. I agree that there's definitely room for improvement for the interface, particularly on font sizes for the current temperature and humidity.

    I also appreciate that there seems to be an increase in focus on adding new/ improving features recently, which has been a big criticism of tado for the last couple of years. Of course they won't all be a hit, but at least they seem to be a bit more proactive now, so I expect this to evolve over the summer months based on user feedback ready for when the weather gets colder again and the app usage increases.

    In the last 6 months alone they've released:

    1. Improved battery monitoring for the VA02 SRTs and the ability to use certain rechargeable batteries.
    2. Child lock for SRTs.
    3. 0.5 degree steps for SRTs.

    To me this shows a big improvement in development rate when compared to the previous few years, and they've finally delivered things that we've been asking to have for ages. They are typically also asking for user feedback when releasing things now, which didn't happen before, so there's still hope.
  • @cbd20 - admittedly I've been slow at raising this point. I did notice it when first introduced, and have been working-around it since (manually updating the schedule instead). But only with the latest 'room improvements' change did I get round to leaving feedback.

    Considering that they spec the wired/wireless smart thermostats of being accurate to 0.01°C, limiting it to only be controllable in 0.5°C increments is very misleading.

    https://www.tado.com/gb-en/wired-smart-thermostat-specifications-overview

    I agree the UI change is more obvious, and with it being summer less people are likely to need to manually adjust the temp, so possibly gone mostly unnoticed. Glad to see there has been some recent updates to the system though. Hopefully it does continue, as there are some much needed improvements which seem to have been ignored until this point.

  • As I said in another post, if the UI is the problem, that is using the slider bar, then surely what is required is a fix to that. Not to reduce the granularity!
  • I can easily adjust the brightness of my smart light bulbs from 0% to 100% - no problem selecting the precise percentage on the first attempt. It’s easy because the smart lighting app uses a circular slider, rather than a vertical slider that has limited range. Tado could do the same and give back the 0.1°C granularity that established users are accustomed too.

  • To the Tado app designers,

    Please understand that the app is not a marketing tool or a "user experience". It is a control for a heating system.

    Every time you change the design you are messing around with users who don't care about how nice it looks or what new features it has, they just want to change the temperature in the room. It should require the same amount of thought as turning on a light switch.

    Every time you deviate from this, you make a nuisance of yourselves. So please, stop it!

    The latest update is just another example. Now I suddenly need to re-learn the sequence of steps for changing the room temperature for no apparent reason. Worst of all, I have a visual impairment and you have decided to remind me about my disability every time I open this app, because the fonts are now too small to read. Why do you have such a big slider control and such tiny fonts at the top and bottom?

    Recently I lost the ability to change the temperature in 0.1° increments. I had this ability when I bought my first room thermostat, I liked it and bought more. And now I've lost this.

    I will repeat the message because it clearly isn't being received: stop moving my controls around! This is my heating system, I bought it and I want to enjoy uninterrupted usage of it. If you want to make a new app, go right ahead. I'm sure users will love it. To be honest, if it's well designed and accessible to all, I'll probably enjoy trying it out when the time is right. But it's not accessible to all, and the right time for playing with new stuff is not when I'm busy and just want to change the temperature quickly.

    If you still don't get the message, try to image going to your kitchen in the morning and finding the microwave is where the kettle used to be, and now you have to press two buttons to open the fridge door.

    Just stop it. Now.

  • Sorry if this turns into a duplicate post. I tried to edit a small typo on the first one and it vanished. I think the forums software is glitching out anyway.

  • Incidentally, I realise I could stop the app from auto-updating, but I think bug and security fixes should be applied (hopefully won't be needed often).

  • Hi @odat

    I fully understand where you're coming from with your comments/complaints. I also turned off my auto-update within one of my Android devices for a while to "retain" the ability to keep the 0.1 degree incremental changes. However at this time of year the CH is not really switched on......so it's almost impossible to see the "true" difference of the updated App.

    The problem is that often the App update is to align and accommodate the device Firmware updates that have already been applied to our equipment, plus we cannot halt/stop/delay the Firmware updates.......so if we don't have the latest App update......I'm unsure/unclear if our systems might become unable to operate correctly while "retaining" our old App version.

    Maybe someone who is more of a "techy" could expand on my/our points ??🤔

  • What do people generally feel about it? Personally I found the original the best, then I just got used to the second one and now we have another update. I mean they all work but the latest one is a step backwards in ease of use in my opinion. The call for heat symbol, which is quite important, has been shrunk in size and there is no longer a save or tick icon so it is not clear if you have permanently made the change. All cosmetic and was it really worth the cost and effort?

  • davidlyall
    davidlyall ✭✭✭

    I agree with these comments.


    Look at what Sonos did when they wanted to introduce new features. They brought out a new S2app but the older S1 is still available to those who want it

    Although it would be more work for Tado, I believe they should be able to have a new app for major updates. The modules that cover security will likely be shared between the different apps so security updates should be possible without having to take the new "look and feel". This way, users have the ability to continue with what they're used to and also have time to try out the new features

    Perhaps also a beta program would be helpful so the new app can be tried in the field by volunteers before it's put on general release

    I don't doubt that Tado's job is hard at times but I think they're making things harder for themselves by releasing updates that don't fit for everyone. An alternative would be to allow more personalisation of the interface so we could all have what we want to see on the app

    FInally, this won't please everyone but I would personally be happy to pay a small (say £20 annually) subscription fee for the Tado app. I'm concerned that their business model is not sustainable as selling hardware that might last several years is not going to fund development of the app and devices. Alternatively, make it a complete subscription service for the hardware and app so there's no big initial purchase (my 3 bed house cost around £600 for the purchase of Tado) but the funds keep coming in to pay for updates

  • cbd20
    cbd20 ✭✭✭
    @davidlyall tado did have two apps last year, one for those on V3 and older, and one for those on V3+. However they aligned all users last year, which I suspect was for ease of development. Personally, I think it was the right thing to do - look at all of the features and improvements they've added since going down to maintaining one app.

    As far as I know they do already have a beta program which you can sign up to in the app. I 100% agree that this look and feel should've been tested in the beta app first. My main gripe with it is the font size, but I think that's ultimately an easy fix and could've been easily picked up in a beta test.

    I'm not particularly fussed about the granularity change as I didn't tend to deviate from the schedule much anyway, and most of my rooms are controlled by radiator thermostats, so I've actually seen a granularity improvement - previously they could only be adjusted in 1 degree steps. That being said I do like that the current room temperature on the main screen now goes down to fractional degrees even for those rooms only controlled by radiator thermostats, as my home screen now looks more consistent.

    In terms of subscription, again there already is one for those users that decide to sign up to Auto Assist.

    In short, from my perspective, fix the font size and I'm happy.
  • hugbilly
    hugbilly ✭✭✭

    All my SRVs have moved to 86.1 now, jolly good, the system works . . .

  • davidlyall
    davidlyall ✭✭✭

    @cbd20 I think you've missed my point. I was really meaning to have new versions of the app if Tado is making major changes so existing users could choose to stay on the older version or run both until they'd worked out the dfiferences.

    The subscription element you mention is for one feature. Not really ideal. I'd prefer to have the entire system on subscription to avoid the big outlay at the beginning. Or, at least have the app on subscription to fund changes and proper support

    Finally, you mentioned about not being bothered about some of the functionality changes. That's the whole point of this thread though. Some people are bothered about it but don't get a choice. A user configurable user interface would be a far better proposition.

  • @davidlyall ,

    I agree with some of your comments......but, there are many long term Tado users who have seen Tado slowly "degrade/downgrade" the system from what they had originally.

    Also, I understand that Tado should continue to improve the systems that we (the users) have. And while Tado supposedly reacts to a user request for a specific improvement.......if Tado agrees with a certain user request, and implements it, this can be entirely detrimental to many other users. But as has been stated, we (the users) do not have much of a say in the "new system" being "thrust" upon us.

    If Tado allowed the User Interface and associated Tado devices to be "USER CONFIGURABLE" then when a new Firmware update or App update is "offered" by Tado, then the user could decide on whether to apply the update or not........having said that I'm sure that Tado will state that it is not possible to achieve this level of user functionality.

    And my last point is this.......I personally don't consider it to be a good idea to mention that the system could be made a purely subscription service.

  • Germán
    Germán | Admin

    Hello all,

    There were several threads about the same topic so all of them have been merged to this thread (the first one, and the one that had the more votes). If you hadn't voted to this one, please do, so your vote can be counted while the comments remain.

    In this case, there's a side topic mentioned which is how the font sizes are affected. I just wanted to point out or developers are already considering this from the accessibility point of view and working on it.

    Regarding the main topic, the granularity, please bear in mind that every decission we make, we base on feedback and usage study. And we appreciate the post implementation feedback as well. So we're looking forward to receive in this thread your comments and/or use cases we might not have seen reflected on the usage of the manual setting when it was available.

    As a footnote, just a reminder that 0.1º granularity for settings in the schedules is still available.

    Thank to you all for sharing your feedback,

    Best regards,

    Germán

  • So will we never see an adjustment to this? The 0.5 stop increments are far too large in my home, often too cold or too hot, making the entire system useless. Can we not have the option of 0.1 or 0.5 in a setting? So for those who prefer 0.5 can still have that…?
  • rafm5
    rafm5 ✭✭✭

    @ohmz Tado° wont even kick in to fire your boiler if the temp difference is < than 0.5º To me it makes no sense to have the old option back really...

  • I'd like the option to make 0.1 changes back as well. It makes no sense that the granularity of the schedule differs from the granuality for the direct temp setting.

    @rafm55, Tado keeps my room within 0.1 of the set temperature, using the modulation control of my boiler.

    This is no firmware issue since I can still use the 0.1 granularity with my custom software talking directly to the API, so the thermostat still accepts 0.1 granularity. But obviously most people can't develop their own User Interface software, so the Tado site and app should offer this control. I'm sure UI designers can come with a user friendly way.

  • With the winter coming soon, we only just noticed this change - we don't use the temperature control during the summer - and I do not like it.

    The 0.1 granular control was definitely working in combination with the modulation of my boiler, and for me personally it was a huge benefit over my old thermostat. This feature has now been taken away, without an option to go back to the old system. At the very least, this should have been a setting.

    I can say that the slider system was a bit difficult to use at times, but removing features because you can't get the UI right is not the way to go.

    It is a priority for me to get this feature back before winter and I hope this feedback gets taken seriously.

  • rafm5
    rafm5 ✭✭✭

    The temperature sensor accuracy according to tech specs is 0.01°C.

    Now I can insist to have 0.01°C accuracy, because I paid for it? Why not?

    To me the current range is a balance between comfort and keeping the boiler in good condition. My main concern is however that tado° doesn't maintain same accuracy for each device or platform.

  • @rafm5 are you in any way affiliated with Tado? If no, can you refrain from antagonising statements just because you disagree with another user?

    I am looking forward to an updated statement from a representative of Tado.

  • rafm5
    rafm5 ✭✭✭
    edited October 2021

    @Edwin_S

    Yes, they sent me a box full of German Sausages from Bavaria for positive comments ;-)

    I actually feel very comfortable talking about this subject since I spent plenty of time in the past investigating this issue. The evidence I found suggests that this is actually good change (see my previous posts) although not all million users will agree.

    Only pure feedback based on my experience with tado° devices / platform.