Logitech is going to brick Harmony Link devices, turning them into expensive paperweights.
However, owners shouldn't get their pitchforks out just yet, as the company is giving them a free upgrade to the Harmony Hub — after the backlash that took place, that is.
Previous Terms
Before this development, Logitech announced that it will kill off Link units on March 16, 2018, through a firmware update.
To keep things in check, it offered users a free upgrade to Hub if their Link were still under warranty, while those who have had theirs expired already were given 35 percent off the $99.99 Hub, according to Bleeping Computer.
As everyone can imagine, that's a pretty tough deal to swallow for some, considering that the Link is six years old, after all.
Fortunately, Logitech now sees eye to eye with disgruntled customers, extending the free Hub offer to all of them.
"I made a mistake. It was an honest mistake. Mea culpa. We're going to do right by our customers, and do the right thing," Rory Dooley, Logitech Harmony chief, tells Wired.
The Issue
Deliberately bricking a device that consumers paid for is naturally frustrating, but the thing is, Logitech didn't exactly stop promoting and selling Link or even put out a warning that it's going to cease support for the product.
That's despite its decision to no longer renew the "technology certificate license" that the Link heavily relies on, which is the root of this whole kerfuffle.
From the look of things, the company seems like it's going with a more profitable route instead of continuing with the aforementioned license: Get users to switch to the newer Hub rather than keep the older Link alive.
However, Logitech has explained why this is the case, saying that the move is to prevent users from being exposed to vulnerabilities.
"Because the certificate that's expiring relates to security, we would be acting irresponsibly by continuing the service knowing its potential/future vulnerability."
Incidentally, this is an example of one of the many downsides of cloud-based services.
In short, the take away here is that, if you're an owner of a Link device, regardless of whether or not it's still under warranty, you're entitled to get a free smart home Hub from Logitech.
Logitech will either reach out to you to finalize the replacement, or you can get in touch with the company by filing a support ticket.
