Logitech Harmony Elite Remote w/ Hub

Logitech Harmony Elite Remote w/ Hub

I have one of these for the living room absolutely LOVE it!

I had just been looking at this model to replace my out of date URC system. But the Logitech forums cannot seem to tell me if they will support my Lutron Radio-Ra 2 lighting system… I’d really like to continue to be able to control the lights with my remote… does anyone know if this is compatible?

Also, anyone have good/bad experience with factory reconditioned from Logitech?

Radio-Ra uses RF, and the Logitech can communicate via IR or wi-fi only, so I’m thinking no on that one.

I have had 2 reconditioned Harmony remotes in the past. Both worked fine, though one of them did have some battery longevity issues after about a year. Hard to say if that’s connected in any way. I still use it, so it’s otherwise good to go.

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Do you have the full “RA2” or just “RA2 Select”?

It looks like the Select is compatible, along with Caséta, both via the Lutron bridge.

I’ve used my Harmony hub with Caséta lights fine. Not often, but it does work.

Thinking about getting the bigger remote, but not sure if it’s worth it for how I use it. I like the simple companion remote.

I’m so torn on this. I’m a long time Philips Pronto user and still love it. Even bought an extra one off ebay after Philips stopped manufacturing them. But it’s getting harder to program (doesn’t work well with 64-bit Windows) if I need to make changes. I’ve almost jumped on previous sales/deals of the Harmony Ultimate, but ended up deciding that I wanted to hold out for the Elite if it ever had a good deal. This seems like a heck of a deal though for the Elite. (best price I can find elsewhere is $268 brand new on sale right now).

I just hate to throw away my beloved Pronto when it otherwise still works well, and wonder how hard it’ll be to get used to a different remote.

  1. As always, remember that if you don’t need the hub, you can order a Harmony 950 and get the same primary unit. Getting it from US retailers can be tough, but it looks like Best Buy has it on sale for $200 right now. Amazon Germany (where I got mine) has it for about $180 after currency conversion, though you’ll have to bug Logitech for a US wall plug (they sent me one for free).

  2. If you do choose to go without the hub, I don’t think the IR blaster on this unit is as strong as some of their previous models (specifically the 880). I used to be able to aim my old one almost anywhere in my media room with no issues, but the Elite/950 requires me to point to a pretty specific spot from above a certain height to work correctly.

Other than that, the Harmony portal and software are great like always, and the battery life on my 950 seems to be fine after just under three years of daily use. I only use it for home theater components, and it does a very good job overall.

This is a fantastic deal. You can also link Alexa and Phillips Hue to the remote.

What does linking Alexa do for you exactly? We’ve have a Harmony One right now that I’m always tempted to upgrade, but the Elite has always seemed too expensive. I’m also worried that it’ll be a huge pain to set up since now Logitech uses a new portal and software to configure the remote so I cannot just sync my current settings over to this one from the old Harmony Desktop software like I did coming from the 880 I had before this.

How hard is it to setup this remote, and is there any way to bring in devices/activities from older remotes?

Edit: apparently not too hard:

If you have Echo’s you can control your system with your voice.

“Alexa turn on the TV”
“Alexa, turn up the volume”
“Alexa, turn on the Firestick”
“Alexa, turn off the TV”

Comes in handy if the remote isn’t next to you and you don’t want to get up.

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“Alexa, tell Harmony to change the station to CBS”, etc. (these sorts if commands take a bit more configuration but are handy.)

Honestly, very little beats having Alexa turn off, pause, etc. the TV when a guest is over. Alpha-geek.

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