I was wondering if there was a roadmap for 2025/2026? Didn’t know if one was out there and I missed it or do we just call this year a freebie… I mean with the way things are going… we can just take a pass! Ha
If they committed and executed in mmwave updates I’d be delighted but don’t know if it’s in the cards.
I get the feeling but don’t know that this is a side project for these folks. That’s alright, we all get busy but feels like their attention has been taken by other stuff rather than planning too far forward.
@celery It is not an attention issue. The MMWave is a fairly complex switch. We had to switch chips and manufacturers because things that were promised but were not possible. While firmware was written for the most part the tooling took more time partly because a new chip being introduced. This is in no way a “side project”. Certifications took way longer than hoped due to issue outside of our control. The FCC required some modifications before production could start. Our other switches currently in development are also complex. The features that Inovelli has brought to our firmware and market are industry leading (Bleeding Technology) and set the benchmark for what switches are and should be. This also does not come without some growing pains in the products and firmware. Eric has been very open with all that has gone on. It can be a double edge sword if you will with providing updates as so much is beyond the control of Inovelli. @Eric_Inovelli and @EricM_Inovelli have consistently delivered outstanding devices. I have been using them since released and started working for Inovelli 18 months ago because I am so confident in the products offered.
Eric has stated in other posts that the focus as of right now is to get to market the switches in development. @Eric_Inovelli is ALWAYS innovating and coming up with ideas and each and every member of the community contributes to what Inovelli has created.
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Seems like you are part of the squad and know where projects are at. I’d suggest posting more of these updates to the project threads where people are begging for updates, info, and consistent follow through when updates are promised.
The last update says production resumed Oct 9. No one knows if we are days, weeks, or months from delivery.
It’s not personal like I think you took it. It’s customer service and communication. People gave thousands of dollars and a lot of patience on the project, low expectation would be frequent communication with active supporters even if it meant delays. It would show the complication in delivery.
Understood and we do like and appreciate all feed back. Nothing that I posted has not been posted in the relevant posts here in the community. And, I did not take it personal. We all want these new switches in your hands. @Eric_Inovelli has said it many times Inovelli would not be what it is without the support from you and the rest of the community.
Given the way many people here bitch about no updates, what’s in the updates, the fact that the updates don’t come every day, I can’t imagine why Inovelli would provide a new roadmap at this point. If they share their thoughts about the future and miss it by even an hour, folks will scream about it. It certainly feels like it might be easier to just build products and then put it on the web site when there are units to ship. It doesn’t feel like how they want to interact with their customers, but it would certainly cause them less grief.
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I thought I’d chime in here as well as I can see both sides of the coin and yes, it is a challenge to keep everyone up to date while also making sure I put on my bullet proof vest every time I come into the community.
On one hand, it is exciting to see everyone so passionate about smart home products. We share the same passion and built a company around the community, so I can certainly understand the feedback and frustration when we don’t give an update or are as actively engaged as we once were (mostly me).
On the other hand, I think @pkscout summed up my sentiment nicely. I want to have these engaging conversations and try to keep people up to date on things, but the moment I miss something, we’re blasted on Reddit, blasted in the community, blasted via tickets, etc. Again, I’m not arguing the fact on if it’s justified or not, but the increased volume of negativity has serious ramifications, both from an SEO standpoint (new people finding Inovelli and seeing the negativity), and from an increased volume for our customer service team to respond.
I’ve worked for a Fortune 500 Company that keeps their innovation under wraps until it’s basically launched and while I know they do it more for stockholders and reporting, I can see why they wanted to not share anything. This is not how we want to operate as again, this is not how we’ve built our community and our company, but at the same time, I feel like we’ve created a monster in that if we miss something, we’re accused of selling vaporware, stealing money, my personal favorite which is that we’re making money off of pre-order money, and treating certain projects as side-projects.
The main issue is that we can’t control all the variables that go into a project. It’s impossible to know when a project will be released and while I try my best, I’m only as good as the information given to me. I try to share why there’s a delay, but it’s usually met with criticism. Again, it’s not necessarily the criticism that I get worked up about as I understand that’s mostly emotions. It’s the accusations listed above that get to me.
Eric and I don’t sit around and think, “how can we piss off the community and our customers today?” We are two guys who are learning as we go. Sometimes we make mistakes and it sucks, sometimes we hit home runs. At the end of the day, we try to treat others as we want to be treated, but that’s also subjective as everyone has different expectations.
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I realize we can do better and I’ve mentioned it in a few other threads the steps we’re taking to improve and I’ll make a post separately and pin it. But we are aware that we can improve and we’re actively working on it. I’ve been working on a company-wide ERP system for the past 8 months that will solve a lot of the communication issues. It won’t solve the delays we experience, but it will at least be a more formalized method of communicating.
Anyway, enough rambling for me, I just wanted to chime in and say that yes, we certainly feel the pressure, we certainly understand there’s room for improvement, and yes, we would love to meet everyone’s expectations. But there will have to be some give/take on both our ends.
I’d like to understand, from those frustrated, what the realistic expectations are for a company of 5 people. I’ve seen everything from once a month, regardless of if there’s an update or not, to I need a weekly summary of what you’ve worked on and how you plan to fix it (yes, this is a real message that was sent).
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Thanks for the thoughtful reply, and I sympathize. If “once a month regardless of if there’s an update or not” is on the table as a baseline minimum, I think that would be great. That’s probably a bit more than I’d ask for at a company-wide level, frankly, and definitely more than I’d demand, but about right for what I’d appreciate. More often would of course be fine with me, but I don’t really think a weekly status report would be helpful.
(That’s a general company-wide roadmap sort of thing; individual projects are probably different. I’d suggest brief weekly updates on the mmWave production status, for example.)
That said, I get the feeling that the biggest pain point the community has with outgoing communications is when an update is promised by a particular point and then there’s radio silence. I don’t think the content of whatever update is given at that point matters as much as knowing that you’re not dead and haven’t forgotten about us. (When there’s nothing posted I personally worry that it might be because you’re overwhelmed, depressed and spiraling. I’ve done the whole startup thing before; I know it can be a pressure cooker and I worry.)
Oh man, I did not mean to kick a hornets nest. I just was navigating the new forum and didn’t see a roadmap. By all means, I am just a humble and grateful customer!
I want to apologize for the chaos. If I can say one thing the product line is amazing and thanks for sharing what you can.