For feedback and inquiries, please email sesame@candyhouse.co.
APOLOGY
We would like to start off our blog post with an apology. We know that over the past few months, we’ve been doing a poor job of communicating delays, of responding to your inquiries, of fulfilling our promises, and of delivering your orders in a timely manner.
We apologize for letting many of you down, and we want to make things better. We know it may be too little too late for many of you, but we are committed to doing a better job of communicating and following through going forward. We understand how important honesty and transparency are to you and we apologize that there hasn’t been enough. We are going to be honest with you about what we can do for you and what difficulties we’ve been facing.
WI-FI ACCESS POINT UPDATE
Many of you have written to us for a status update on the Wi-Fi Access Point, and we apologize that we did not provide an updated delivery timeline earlier. We know we had previously given several target dates, from February to March to April to June. As it turns out, these dates were rough timelines based on optimistic estimates, and unfortunately we were not able to meet these timelines because we are dividing our limited resources between two versions of the Wi-Fi Access Point: the version with the two-pin plug and a version with the USB plug seen below. We apologize for the lack of clarity on this matter and for the continued delays due to working on multiple versions of the Wi-Fi Access Point.
We’ve created the USB version so that international customers can use the Wi-Fi Access Point without needing an adapter specifically to convert the two-pin plug to the plug used in their country, which reduces electronic waste. Simply plug the Wi-Fi Access Point into your country’s USB power adapter and you’re good to go!
Here’s a preview of how the USB version of the Wi-Fi Access Point will look:
Specifications:
- Voltage: 4.75V~5.5V
- Dimensions: 32.8 mm W x 32.8 mm L x 27.6 mm H (including USB plug)
We are committed to designing a quality product that both performs well and meets our standards for minimalism and aesthetics. We had encountered some difficulties with the RF unit, resulting in additional delays of the USB Wi-Fi Access Point, but this month we will be resolving the issues surrounding Wi-Fi and BLE connective stability and finalizing the design.
Again, we’d like to apologize for the delay and lack of communication. Much of the delay was due to our ambitious plan to work on both the US and USB versions of the Wi-Fi Access Point simultaneously. We wanted to make both versions available to our customers at the same time, but unfortunately, dividing our limited resources between two Wi-Fi Access Point designs resulted in significant delays on both versions as the workload was essentially doubled for our team. We understand this is not sustainable, so going forward, we will be prioritizing one version for delivery to our customers. We chose the USB version so that both US and international customers can get a Wi-Fi Access Point that will work for them, and this is the version that will be sent to both US and international customers who have already placed a pre-order. We will still work on the US version with the two-pin plug, but we will wait until the USB version is complete and available for all customers before producing the US version.
Here is our current estimated timeline for shipping the USB version of the Wi-Fi Access Point:
The timeline above is our best estimate for the Wi-Fi Access Point as of today. As you can see, this puts our estimated time for delivery of the Wi-Fi Access Point in the second half of this year for all customers. However, if you are willing to be a Wi-Fi Access Point beta tester, please let us know and we can send you a test unit when they become available in June.
We know this is a significant delay, and we apologize deeply for the long wait. We will be as transparent about the current situation as possible and provide regular timeline updates for the overall production of Wi-Fi Access Points.
In addition, as we are still a few months from the estimated date of delivery, there is still a chance that there will be additional unforeseen delays in production. As we proceed through each stage, we will be able to provide a more accurate forecast of when the Wi-Fi Access Points will be available. We are committed to regular updates on the status of the Wi-Fi Access Point and will be very upfront on any difficulties we are facing in each update, and provide our best estimate given the circumstances.
If you haven't yet pre-ordered the Wi-Fi Access Point yet, it's not too late! You can still make a pre-order for the Wi-Fi Access Point.
IMPROVEMENTS & NEW FEATURES
Our engineers have been hard at work fixing bugs and bringing new features to Sesame! A big thank-you to everyone who wrote to us to tell us about existing bugs, suggest new features, and share your experiences. We value your feedback and have a long list of features we’d love to bring to Sesame. We’re particularly grateful to those who noticed the improvements we’ve been making - your kind words mean a lot to us!
We know we’ve been focusing primarily on the iOS app, but going forward we will be investing more into Android development. As mentioned in the last update, two talented Android developers have joined our team, and they will be working hard to fix bugs, optimize the app, and introduce new features.
Take a look at some of the new bug fixes and features since the last update:
- iOS improvements
- Widget unlock bug fix: previously, unlocking with the widget will cause Sesame to unlock again after a few minutes, but this has been fixed as of version 1.08 thanks to Ricky Romero, who sent us this video
- History log bug fix: bug fix for incorrect dates on history log
- Virtual Station stability improved: connection stability and speed should be much better!
- Knock function bug fix: bug fix for Virtual Station interfering with knock function
- Manager role introduced on iOS: Managers can add/remove guests, connect via Wi-Fi, and view the log
- Android improvements
- Support for Android 4.3+: now users running Android 4.3+ can also use Sesame!
- Improved app stability
- UI improvements
- Firmware security fixes and history bug fixes
- Increased server stability and security
Coming Soon!
- Low battery notifications for iOS and Android
- Login with Facebook & Google for iOS and Android
- Manager role feature for Android
- Web API to be made available for developers, partners, and tech-savvy DIYers
- IFTTT integration beta testing
- You’ll be able to use Sesame with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and other smarthome systems
- Program your own rules for locking & unlocking Sesame
- Receive unlock and low battery notifications on Facebook, Twitter, Slack, and more
Want to try these features for yourself but don't have a Sesame yet? Buy your own Sesame today!
CONTACT US
If you have any questions or feedback for us, the best way to contact us is via email at sesame@candyhouse.co. We know that, for a period of time, our response rate was very low and we deeply apologize for this. We’ve revamped our customer service team and there should be a faster response rate now. During the transition from one customer service team to another, there was a gap that resulted in a large backlog of unanswered emails and messages. We’ve done our best to respond to much of the backlog from 2017, but it’s very possible that some inquiries have slipped through the cracks. If you believe this is the case, or if you wrote us previously and didn’t receive a response, please write to us again and we will do our best to help you with your question.
We apologize that we haven’t been as active on our forum and social media platforms as we would like due to prioritizing email inquiries and Kickstarter messages. We will likely be able to get back to you faster if you email us than if you leave a message or comment on Kickstarter, Facebook, or other platforms, so please email us at sesame@candyhouse.co for any inquiries about your order. We’ve grown our customer service team over the past few months to better serve the large number of inquiries we receive, so please send us an email and we will be happy to help.
THANK YOU
Lastly, we’d like to to thank all of you. Thank you for taking a chance on us, thank you for putting up with the continued delays, thank you for your earnest feedback on all the ways we can (and should) do better. We appreciate that you’re willing to take your time to share your thoughts with us, and we’ve taken your suggestions to heart. We recognize how important it is to communicate better with you and to take the initiative in reaching out to you regarding issues that affect your order.
Maybe some of you have written us off completely, and we don’t blame you, but we believe it’s never too late to start improving. Thank you so much to those of you who continue to support and encourage us - your kind words never fail to brighten our day and they mean more to us than you can know. Thank you to those of you who are willing to take the time to write to us about our blind spots and give us suggestions on how to become a better company. Thank you to those of you who are willing to give us another chance to make things right for you, even if you have doubts about our ability to follow through.
Going forward, we will strive to make customer service a top priority. We know that we have a long way to go and that we will not be able to fix everything in a short period of time. Nonetheless, we are willing to listen to your feedback and do what we can to improve. We aspire to provide the best quality products and services for our valued customers, and we are committed to vision of improving your life and evoking a sense of magic and wonder.
This blog post is just a tiny part of the changes we’re committed to making at CANDY HOUSE. We want to be honest with you about the difficulties we’re facing, our plans to resolve them, and what you can do to help us. In light of this commitment, we will be adhering to a more regular update schedule to keep all of you updated regarding the production status on Wi-Fi Access Points, bug fixes, and new features. We will be posting an update at least once a month, so you can expect our next blog post on or before June 10th, 2017.
Thank you again for supporting the Sesame smart lock (although our creator believes it’s more than just a smart lock, it’s your smart robot doorman!). We could never be where we are today without you, and we are endlessly grateful to all of you. Thank you for the honest feedback, for the tough love on what we need to do better, for the uplifting encouragement despite the many mistakes we’ve made. We will be working hard to improve and live up to your hopes for CANDY HOUSE.
Warmly,
CANDY HOUSE, Inc.
sesame@candyhouse.co
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