SmartHalo2 review: Update

Since I published my two-part review of SmartHalo 2 back in the beginning of October, there has been a bit of a development – and not in a positive way. The SmartHalo team has made a long post over on Kickstarter, announcing that whoever hasn’t gotten their device won’t get it, and that they are shutting down their servers. In their own words:

After countless production issues amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, SmartHalo has run out of cash and won’t be able to keep operating. We apologize for the lateness of this update; we wanted to explore all options before going there. Today we do not see any way forward. 



Since we are not able to pay for server and maintenance costs, SmartHalo 1 and 2 devices have stopped working properly. For those who have devices, you should know that you can always use the front light and the alarm in offline mode, without the app.

Xav and Gab, SmartHalo

I suppose I should count myself lucky to have received anything at all. That said, I would speculate that they are looking to sell the entire company, IP and all. If not, I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t release the software as open source. At any rate, this is a sad development.


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4 responses to “SmartHalo2 review: Update”

  1. Jostein

    How do I change the light mode and use the alarm without the app? Terrible to have a Halo2 that for me now is pretty useless

    1. Good question. I’m guessing they’re referring to the option to use the tap code interface in order to activate such features.

  2. russnelson

    I’m disappointed that they haven’t released the code as open source. You’d think that we could run our own private servers for whatever backend service is needed. This is a disappointing end. Maybe they’ll find a buyer for the produce who can restart it?

    1. Disappointing indeed. While we can always hope, I wouldn’t hold my breath.

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