Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I really like the idea of smart home products. Unfortunately I've had so many issues connecting this thermostat to my Wi-Fi that I've been forced to use it as a dumb device. Let me start off by saying that I've worked in IT for about 10 years and by day-to-day job is designing, configuring and installing wireless networks. So I feel like I have a little knowledge in this area. I currently have a couple of TP-Link smart plugs and an Orbit smart sprinkler system controller which all connected to my wireless network without issue. This thermostat is an exception to this and I have wasted several hours and contacted Emerson support multiple times in an attempt to get it to connect. When I was finally able to get the thermostat to connect to my network it was more by luck than anything else. I didn't do anything differently compared to my several dozen other attempts. It just happened to work that time. Things were great for about 2 weeks until the battery indicator went from showing fully charged one morning to almost dead by the afternoon and the Wi-Fi had disconnected. After replacing the batteries I'm now back to my original problem of attempting to get the device to connect to my network. At this point I'm not sure if I have the heart to spend hours trying to get it to reconnect. Based on the many positive reviews for this device I'm left to wonder if I have a defective unit or if there's something specifically about my network that it doesn't like. As a dumb thermostat it works fine and the $75 rebate from my local utility company meant I got a pretty good price, but I can't recommend this device to friends or family. If for no other reason than I'd be the one they call for help if they can't get it to connect.