Wink's delayed smart home subscription plan kicks in July 27th

Wink can’t put off launching its subscription program any longer. The smart home company has announced that it will start charging customers $5 a month on July 27th, which means users who refuse to get on board will soon have to make do with limited functionality. Wink announced that it was moving to a subscription model back in May due to “long term costs and recent economic events” (i.e. COVID-19) after years of relying on one-time fees derived from hardware sales. It only gave users a week to decide whether to pay or not, though, angering customers and ultimately forcing the company to delay its move.

We have adjusted our timelines since our initial announcement on May 6th and will now begin our Wink Subscription on July 27th. For an update on these changes, and to learn more about Wink without a subscription, please visit https://t.co/zWYdv6HavN.

— Wink (@TheWinkApp) July 8, 2020

In a new post on its blog, the company explained that those who don’t pay for a subscription will lose access to voice and remote app controls, third-party integrations, groups, robots, shortcuts, activity and advanced settings. Further, they’ll no longer be able to add devices, as as well as view, add, delete and rename user codes. They’ll only be able to retain local control over select devices, such as Z-Wave connected locks.

Those who want to keep using their Wink hubs and devices as usual will have to visit the company’s official subscription page to sign up. They also have to use the same email they use with their hubs if they have one.