Wifi access point beta

[esung]

Hi
So I opted to get beta unit of wifi access point. It's a tiny USB device that you plug into a usb power brick. I used iPhone's 5w charger.

I followed the setup process video and it worked on the second time. First time AP couldn't find my sesame. I had the virtual station app running on my phone, so I tried with virtual station removed and AP found the sesame. I'm not sure if VS app stopped AP from connecting to Sesame, but if that's the case it should be documented in the setup process or fixed as a bug.

As for the operation it seems to work very well. Overall my phone connects to sesame (via wifi) faster because sesame is already connected to the AP, while features that require direct BT connection such as Auto Unlock seems to work about the same rate so I haven't noticed any penalty from switching between hosts. My only question now is if and how Wifi AP's constant connection would affect Sesame's battery life, but I suspect that developers must've counted for that.

But before the connection is established, sesame app quickly flashes through 'busy' and 'sesame discovered' screen. I think the app should lower the threshold for those pop message so that the app doesn't look so busy hunting for the connection and freaking out about busy signal. If whole thing happens that quickly, simple 'connecting to sesame' would be fine. Only when busy signal lasts longer than certain length you can perhaps tell users what's going on. And 'sesame discovered' sounds more like pairing and initial connection stage message.

I haven't tried a true remote operation while I was away from home. I'll report how well it works, which I expect it to. But so far I am happy with the wifi AP, and after a long wait sesame is finally ready to become what it was meant to be to begin with - a truly connected device.

My wish for the Sesame / Wifi combo as a whole package is integration to bigger smart home platform. I'm still awaiting HomeKit integration, and others like Alexa and smartthings. I am hopeful they are coming.

[cim]

Thanks so much for the detailed feedback!

1. Yes, the Sesame can only be paired with one Wi-Fi bridge, so if it's currently paired to Virtual Station, it will need to be unpaired before it can be paired to the Wi-Fi Access Point. We've updated our instructions to note this, thanks!

2. Sesame's battery life won't be affected! Both the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections will be powered by the Wi-Fi Access Point, which is why it needs to be plugged in to an outlet. Also, the Wi-Fi AP won't be constantly connecting; it'll only connect when you open the app.

3. We appreciate your feedback and will see what we can do. Sesame can only be connected to one device at a time, so if you're switching connection methods the "Busy" message will show while Sesame recognizes the previous connection has disconnected. If Sesame is open when you attempt to connect via Wi-Fi, the "Busy" message shouldn't appear. The "Sesame Found!" message means that the Wi-Fi Access Point was able to find the Sesame but not yet connect, and sometimes it can take a few seconds for the AP to connect after locating Sesame. If everything is cycling quickly, that's a good sign! It means you're connecting quickly.

4. Thanks so much, we're glad the Wi-Fi Access Point is living up to your expectations so far! Let us know if you have any further questions or notice any other issues. We really appreciate your contributions and feedback and will be working hard to continue improving Sesame. We're currently working on the integrations and expect to make Alexa integration available soon, so stay tuned! - CANDY HOUSE

[tjshee2]

The UI of the wifi access point connection show connection failed during pairing time but when it reboot to attempted connection to access point, it work and flash blue light and then breathing pattern in blue LED.

I try connection over wifi and turn off Bluetooth and it was around 1-2 sec lack which is acceptable to me.
However, the UI of the connection page for sesame door lock seem a bit misleading as it show either wifi connected or bluetooth connected and make u wonder whether u can have 2 connection on the same time.

Understand that sesame can only establish one bluetooth connection at a time, the UI should just show connection type (wifi/bluetooth) and also change the main screen wifi/bluetooth icon from grey to bluetooth as iOS user is more familiar with blue icon = turn on, grey icon = turn off analogy.

[cim]

Thanks for the feedback! Yes, the failure screen just means the connection wasn't established within 60s, but it's possible it took longer for the Wi-Fi Access Point to connect to the router, and that it was able to establish a connection eventually. We will see if we can make this clearer and less confusing to users.

You can leave both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on and Sesame will just connect with whichever method is faster, but you're right, only one connection can be made at a time. We appreciate your feedback regarding the UI and will pass your suggestion to the product team! Happy holidays! - CANDY HOUSE

[esung]

One thing that strikes odd to me is how wifi dongle (or virtual station) panel in sesame app is on the parallel level as sesame door locks. Unlike the door lock those wifi devices should be a background element, stay hidden unless users need to do something with it. I think they should be part of a settings section of the app.

To be honest I think Sesame app might be the weakest point of this product line, with odd design choices of placement of features and wording. I hope one day the app would get a complete overhaul one day.