{"id":471581,"date":"2022-07-07T19:41:56","date_gmt":"2022-07-07T16:41:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/why-are-people-still-paying-review-geek\/"},"modified":"2022-07-07T19:41:56","modified_gmt":"2022-07-07T16:41:56","slug":"why-are-people-still-paying-review-geek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-are-people-still-paying-review-geek\/","title":{"rendered":"#Why Are People Still Paying? \u2013 Review Geek"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af6d65092181\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af6d65092181\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-are-people-still-paying-review-geek\/#%E2%80%9CWhy_Are_People_Still_Paying_%E2%80%93_Review_Geek%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Why Are People Still Paying? \u2013 Review Geek&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-are-people-still-paying-review-geek\/#Why_Is_Wink_Down\" >Why Is Wink Down?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-are-people-still-paying-review-geek\/#Customers_Are_Still_Paying_for_Wink\" >Customers Are Still Paying for Wink<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-are-people-still-paying-review-geek\/#Its_Time_to_Give_Up_on_Wink\" >It\u2019s Time to Give Up on Wink<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CWhy_Are_People_Still_Paying_%E2%80%93_Review_Geek%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Why Are People Still Paying? \u2013 Review Geek&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div id=\"article-content-area\">\n<figure style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage size-full wp-image-42048\" data-pagespeed-no-defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/p\/uploads\/2020\/05\/eacd2187.jpg?width=1200\" alt=\"A trash can full of Wink products, which were discontinued in 2019.\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\">Josh Hendrickson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For what seems like the thousandth time, Wink smart home hubs are out of commission. The company\u2019s servers and website went down on July 1st, and evidence suggests that Wink failed to pay its bills. So, why the hell is Wink still charging customers a monthly fee?<\/p>\n<p>According to posts on the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/winkhub\/comments\/vopbnq\/winkcom_is_down\/\">r\/winkhub subreddit<\/a>, the Wink servers went down on July 1st at around 1 AM GMT. Minutes later, Wink published a note on its <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/status.winkapp.com\">status page<\/a> stating that \u201cthe issue has been identified\u201d and that employees are working on a fix.<\/p>\n<p>The message on Wink\u2019s status page may be automated. But the company has manually published <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheWinkApp\">several Twitter posts<\/a>\u00a0explaining that an \u201cissue\u201d is impacting its servers. Wink hasn\u2019t shared any other information with customers, though it claims that local Wink Hub functionality should continue through the outage.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Is_Wink_Down\"><\/span>Why Is Wink Down?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>This is a total repeat of Wink\u2019s previous outages, including the 10-day outage that occurred on February 1st of 2021. And it seems that Wink is suffering from the same stupid problem\u2014it failed to pay its bills.<\/p>\n<p>Wink\u2019s former parent company, called Quirky, went bankrupt in 2015 after dumping a stupid amount of money into R&amp;D and accidentally\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/2015-04-19-wink-home-automation-hub-bricked.html\">bricking a ton of Wink Hubs<\/a>. The Wink smart home brand was then acquired by Will.i.am\u2019s company, the flatteringly-named <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iamplus.services\">i.am.plus<\/a>. And Wink floundered. It couldn\u2019t maintain <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/409925\/why-we-cant-recommend-wink-hubs-anymore\/\">a supply of new hubs<\/a>, couldn\u2019t bring on new investors, and began charging customers a monthly fee for cloud-based services.<\/p>\n<p>The poor financial situation of Wink is a constant point of discussion for Wink users. It\u2019s also an \u201copen secret\u201d among the smart home community at large. Many people believe that the 2021 outage was a result of Wink failing to pay hosting fees, and this week\u2019s outage seems to reinforce that narrative.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Reddit<\/a> user jam905 ran <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/winkhub\/comments\/vopbnq\/winkcom_is_down\/ieg4fzq\/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web2x&amp;context=3\">a basic DIG command<\/a> to check the status of Wink\u2019s servers. All of the servers\u2019 DNS records are gone. This isn\u2019t something that h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ens during an outage; it\u2019s what happens when a hosting service hasn\u2019t received its money.<\/p>\n<p>Note that, like the 2021 incident, this week\u2019s outage occurred on the first of the month. It\u2019s also marked by the same lack of transparency from\u00a0Will.i.am and i.am.plus, indicating that the company doesn\u2019t\u00a0<em>really<\/em> know when it can get Wink back online.<\/p>\n<p>I should also mention Wink\u2019s <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glassdoor.com\/Reviews\/Wink-Reviews-E830707.htm\">GlassDoor reviews<\/a>, in which former employees claim that they weren\u2019t paid for months at a time. We cannot verify whether these reviews are true, though.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Customers_Are_Still_Paying_for_Wink\"><\/span>Customers Are Still Paying for Wink<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-113355\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/p\/uploads\/2022\/03\/237f5de4.png\" alt=\"a pile of credit cards\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/credit-card-visa-master-617054912\">Theethawat Bootmata\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It appears that Wink isn\u2019t paying the bills. But customers are still being charged for their monthly Wink subscription, which costs $5 a month. And until Wink gets back online, you can\u2019t do anything to cancel this service.<\/p>\n<p>Once again, I\u2019m referring to the r\/winkhub subreddit. Several users in this community claim that they <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/winkhub\/comments\/vseesw\/i_hate_ive_had_do_do_this\/\">were charged by Wink<\/a> despite this ongoing outage. Canceling Wink requires visiting the company\u2019s website, which is currently impossible.<\/p>\n<p>Those who want to cancel Wink <em>today<\/em> need to do so through their bank. Just bear in mind that most banks will replace your debit or credit card when you call in a fraudulent charge. But hey, replacing your card might be easier than badgering Wink for a refund.<\/p>\n<p>In the future, I suggest using the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=204a528a336ede4177fff0d84a044482&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fprivacy.com\">Privacy service<\/a> for subscriptions. It generates unique card numbers for subscription services, allowing you to quickly see what you\u2019re paying for and cancel at any time.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Its_Time_to_Give_Up_on_Wink\"><\/span>It\u2019s Time to Give Up on Wink<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-75277\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/p\/uploads\/2021\/03\/29f971c8.jpg\" alt=\"The Hubitat hub on a kitchen counter.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve said this since 2019; you should ditch Wink. The company offers a valuable and effective service, but its products are outdated. And unless Wink gets acquired by a more effective owner, it may never recover from its many years of stagnation.<\/p>\n<p>Now\u2019s the time to migrate your smart home. That may mean buying a Hubitat or SmartThings hub or succumbing to the much more straightforward (but less flexible) world of Google Assistant, Alexa, and HomeKit.<\/p>\n<p>Since you\u2019re used to using Wink, I strongly suggest going with Hubitat. It\u2019s a popular option among former Wink users, it works with your Z-Wave and ZigBee products, its subscriptions are totally optional, and it allows you to set up a private, secure, local smart home.<\/p>\n<div class=\"product-box  \">\nAdvanced Automations<\/p>\n<div class=\"product-img \">\n<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" role=\"presentation\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B07D19VVTX?&amp;tag=reviewgeek-20\" onclick=\"fbq('track', 'Buy Button'); if (fb_t_convert){fb_t_convert();}\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/31jWNLK1oxL._SL160_.jpg\" height=\"147px\" width=\"150px\" alt=\"\" role=\"presentation\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><br \/>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"product-add\">\n<div class=\"product-add-button\">\n<div class=\"product-share-links\">\n<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Shop for Hubitat Elevation Home Automation Hub - Compatible with Alexa, Google Home, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Lutron\" aria-label=\"Hubitat Elevation Home Automation Hub - Compatible with Alexa, Google Home, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Lutron - Amazon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B07D19VVTX?&amp;tag=reviewgeek-20\" style=\"text-decoration:none\" onclick=\"fbq('track', 'Buy Button'); if (fb_t_convert){fb_t_convert();}\">Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"product-price\">$109.95 <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"12\" width=\"42\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/wp-content\/themes\/lsm\/img\/amazon-prime.png\" alt=\"\" role=\"presentation\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><br \/><small><del>$119.95<\/del> Save 8%<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"product-box  \">\nA Cloud-Friendly Smart Hub<\/p>\n<div class=\"product-img \">\n<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" role=\"presentation\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Samsung-SmartThings-Extender-Functionality-Whole-Home\/dp\/B07FCRCD93?&amp;tag=reviewgeek-20\" onclick=\"fbq('track', 'Buy Button'); if (fb_t_convert){fb_t_convert();}\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/21dakVBejIL._SL160_.jpg\" height=\"147px\" width=\"150px\" alt=\"\" role=\"presentation\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><br \/>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><script>\nsetTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n  fbq('init', '1137093656460433');\n  fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/122521\/wink-smart-homes-are-broken-again-why-are-people-still-paying\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Why Are People Still Paying? \u2013 Review Geek&#8221; Josh Hendrickson For what seems like the thousandth time, Wink smart home hubs are out of commission. The company\u2019s servers and website went down on July 1st, and evidence suggests that Wink failed to pay its bills. So, why the hell is Wink still charging customers a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":471582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/p\/uploads\/2020\/05\/eacd2187.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-471581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=471581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/471582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=471581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=471581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=471581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}