Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Sigh. This is another example of a "half product" -- the hardware part is wonderful. But even a ceiling fan today requires software, and the software for this product (and all of the connected Haiku Home / Big Ass Fans) absolutely stinks. The hardware is beautiful, whisper-quiet, and apparently well-made. The fan is a marvel, and would be worth the very substantial premium over simpler fans, were it not for the software. In order to use most of the fan's functions, notably the room monitor sensor, "winter mode", and several others, one must control it from an app on your smartphone or tablet. The required "Haiku Home" app (I tested the Android version) is so bad that it's laughable. Setup took me hours, and I have spent several decades in the computer and networking business. The fan won't connect to a network unless it has a WPA/WPA-2 password. The fan won't find networks if you have more than one. The app will tell you the fan is connected when it's not. It will tell you it's not connected when it is. The app repeatedly fails in trying to update the fan's firmware -- but doesn't give an error message. In short, the software is a poorly-engineered mess. The "SenseMe" mode doesn't work either -- the fan spins whether there's someone in the room or not -- likely also a software error. The customer support for Big Ass / Haiku is polite, but unable to provide any real "technical" support, other than to say "Well, keep trying!" One can turn the fan on and off and adjust the speed from the (provided) IR or RF remote control, without using WiFi -- if you want the modern design of this fan and don't care about the additional "features" provided by the software, then you'll be OK. But if -- like me -- you decided to spend 2x or 3x the price of a comparable product, then you'll be frustrated. As far as Haiku Home goes, shame on you for foisting this product on the world. Decent software design, engineering, and test is not rocket science -- spend some money and get it right.