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Honeywell Lyric Round Review

Yaro

October 10, 2017

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In our previous review, we have discussed the Honeywell Lyric T5, and we have mentioned that the Lyric T5 is one of our favorite picks for smart thermostats, especially for its affordability. Now, we will review the T5’s more expensive brother, the Lyric Round, which is positioned as a direct competitor of the Nest Learning Thermostat.

Being a significantly more expensive model than the Lyric T5, we can, of course, expect richer features. First, while we disliked the overall design and build of the Honeywell Lyric T5, that is not the case with the Lyric Round. As the name suggests, the Lyric Round took a circular design for its shape, equipped with beautifully designed glass display and control wheel. It is relatively bigger than the Nest Thermostat, yet wouldn’t occupy that much space.

As we have mentioned in our Lyric T5 review, the Lyric Round is compatible with a wider range of HVAC devices, including humidifiers and dehumidifiers. The geofencing feature we really liked from the Lyric T5 is also intact. While in our opinion geofencing is fairly limited compared to Nest’s built-in motion sensors, it is still a very decent feature.

So, let us begin this Honeywell Lyric Round 2nd generation review by discussing its key features.

Key Features

Geofencing

As with the Lyric T5, geofencing is a major feature of the Lyric Round. Also, this is a key difference if you are considering between the Lyric Round and Nest Learning Thermostat. As we have mentioned, the Nest Thermostat relies mostly on its built-in motion sensors. On the other hand, the geofencing feature of the Lyric Round uses your phone’s location-tracking to determine whether your HVAC devices should be on standby or fully operational. You can customize the area size of the geofencing, so that the HVAC devices can start-up before you reach home, for example.

Third Party Integration

In our Lyric T5 review, we have discussed that it has a fairly limited third-party integration. That’s not the case with the Lyric round, which is compatible with Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThings, IFTTT, and almost all the popular smart home hubs out there.

Easy Installation

As with the Lyric T5, the Lyric Round is very easy to install and setup, significantly easier than the Nest Thermostat. However, although the steps required to install the Lyric Round 2.0 is fairly easy, you might encounter some issues getting it connected to your Wi-Fi network (more on this below).

Fine Tune and Smart Cues

With the Fine Tune feature, the Lyric Round will automatically adjust the HVAC devices based on the humidity. This is also a feature of the Lyric T5, but it is much more advanced in the Lyric Round, For example, the Lyric Round can detect the humidity and temperature level of your outdoor area, making it easier to auto-adjust to your exact needs and preferences. With the Smart Cues, you will get notifications of your HVAC system status, like when your air conditioner requires a filter change.

Our Honeywell Lyric Round Thermostat Review

As mentioned, installing the Lyric Round Wi-Fi S is a fairly simple process, especially when you compare it to the Nest Thermostat.

hen we reviewed the Honeywell Lyric T5, we have mentioned that connecting the C-Wire of your HVAC system is a must, which can be a hindrance for users without technical experiences. With the Lyric Round 2.0, connecting the C-Wire is not a necessity, although we will still recommend connecting the C-Wire for more accuracy.

The instruction manual included in the package is pretty comprehensive and should help you install the physical unit of the Honeywell Lyric Round 2.0 in no time. Then, as usual, you will need to download the Lyric app on your iOS or Android device. Although the steps to connect your Lyric Round to your home Wi-Fi is fairly simple, we did encounter some issues. The Lyric Round 2.0 first creates a temporary network that will connect to your smartphone/tablet, and we suspect this is the culprit. When we tried to connect to the Wi-Fi network from the temporary one, we have to repeat this step several times before it was finally connected. It was a minor issue but took a little bit of the fun.

Thankfully, after that step, we didn’t find any issues in connecting our HVAC system. The app allows six different time slot for temperature changes, compared to only four found on the Lyric T5. As you first set up the HVAC devices, setting each temperature ranges can be a hassle. However, in the long run, you can forget about manually adjusting each device. Unlike the Lyric T5, however, there is no touchscreen on the unit, so you will need to use the dial knob to change settings from the Lyric Round Unit.

We tried to pair the Lyric Round 2.0 with several home hubs, namely the Wink Hub, Samsung SmartThings, and Amazon Echo. We found no significant issues with the integration processes, so it’s a major plus.

The geofencing feature sometimes doesn’t work just as intended, as it will largely depend on your phone’s cellular reception. There are two issues with this: First, the Lyric app will need to run in the background processes of your phone, which can be a major battery killer.

Second, Losing signal inside your house might activate the geofencing.

Pros and Cons

Bottom Line

The Honeywell Lyric Round 2 is a worthy competitor of the popular Nest Thermostat, bringing very similar features with a little more affordable price tag. It is also significantly more powerful than its younger brother, the Honeywell Lyric T5.

If you are using a smart home platform besides Nest, the Lyric Round is a much better choice, offering you a wider range of third-party integration and rich features at a more affordable price.