Home > Consumer Reviews > Logitech Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote Control

UPDATE: I've just upgraded to the Harmony 1000, and talk about fantastic. Nice, easy to read screen and hard buttons, especially if you need glasses to read. Well worth the added price (since the RF receiver isn't bundled with the 1000).

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3 years ago, I purchased my first Harmony remote, the 768. At the time, I wrote that it was the best universal remote, bar none. I've since purchased a Harmony 668 for another setup, and have recommended various Harmony remotes to my friends. It was now time for me to update my home system.

Based on the numerous reviews, many over a year old, I was hesitant to give the Harmony 890 a try. I'm glad that I did! With the latest Harmony Software and firmware updates (which are automatically installed the first time you connect your devices), my experience has been excellent. And Amazon's price is outstanding - the same that local "discount" chains are selling the non-RF capable model.

I have had no problems configuring both the 890 remote and RF wireless extender under Mac OS X (Intel and PPC) and Windows XP clients. Clearly this is a different experience from the early adopters who bought this a year ago.

Some background - I'm an electronics geek and audiophile. My system is complex, and with more components (12) than the average home setup. In my opinion, if the Harmony can be configured to control all aspects of my environment, then it should handle any configuration as long as you have the patience to work through Harmony's setup wizards and lack of adequate documentation.

Initial setup is easy - install the Harmony software, connect and register, connect your devices (firmware will be automatically updated) and then specify what components you have, and what activities you want them to be in. If that's all you need to configure, there's not much work.

In my instance, I wanted all aspects to be controlled - changing sound modes on the amplifier depending on input source, switching to the optimal input on the TV monitor, controlling all component functions on the remote. This takes some time, and some learning through the sometimes quirky Harmony wizards. But in time, I was successful.

As I've mentioned in my past review of the 768, one of the real differentiators of the Harmony remotes is their ability to intelligently understand the STATE of various devices, and what commands are needed to establish a setting. For example, they will remember if your TV was last ON or OFF, what input it was set to, etc. For some devices, without separate settings for On/Off, or for selecting inputs, this is a lifesaver. And if the remote ever gets out of sync, you can just hit the Help button and it will prompt you through.

The included RF wireless receiver is great capability, allowing you to control devices in separate rooms without a line-of-sight from the remote to the components. However, I would recommend against using the RF receiver at first. Instead, configure the remote for all of your devices using the IR commands. Then, add the RF receiver and change your inputs. (See my separate review of the Logitech Harmony RF receiver for complete details).

Although the screen isn't very large, it is easy to read, providing 8 selections per screen. I prefer the Harmony 890's use of physical buttons to the touchscreen-only approach of other remotes, which force you to look at the screen each time.

Also a nice touch, the Harmony 890 has a motion sensor that will turn on the backlight when you pick up the remote.


There areas that could be improved:

> The included documentation is almost useless. Logitech attempts to be user friendly but in the process it ends up being so oversimplified it is of little use.

> Some remote commands (for example, the sound mode settings on my Sony receiver) cannot be learned except in "RAW" mode. This is not the standard Learning mode, and I only found it by searching various online forums.

> The Mac OS X client software can sometimes lose "focus", where it will stop responding to the keyboard (for example, for naming a learned command, renaming an activity, etc). It is easily worked around - just quit and restart the Harmony client software.

> The Harmony client software has a resizeable window, but the actual content doesn't adjust to fit the window size. this is annoying when setting up custom button settings.

> Once you add the RF receiver to your configuration, you must always plug it in and update it, even when you make a minor change that shouldn't affect the RF receiver. I'd recommend placing it (and plugging it to a power source) where it is easy to disconnect/reconnect from your system.

> You can only define 16 favorite channels for a TV activity. This would seem to be an easy change for Logitech (the remote itself is not limited to 2-screenfuls of information).

> The buttons are laid out for appearance not ergonomics. If you have trouble reading without glasses, it may be tough to read the labels on this remote.

Even with these limitations, I still give this a 5-star recommendation, and would recommend it without reservations.


Some tips:
1) Make sure you let the Harmony software update the remote AND the wireless RF receiver to the latest firmware

2) Remove the RF receiver from your initial setup, and configure for IR only. Once you're satisfied with all your settings and configurations, then it is simple to add the wireless RF receiver.

3) Configure the RF receiver to send commands to a specific channel (there are 4 different channels with 2 IR emitters on each wire) to minimize interference and improve performance. But, make sure if you do this that you label the IR emitter wires!

4) Harmony now has a Media Center device profile for the AppleTV. The trick is that you need to assign Volume Up to the Direction Up key, Volume Down to the Direction Down key, and Play to the Select key. When you do, the Harmony can control the AppleTV, even with the RF receiver, properly repeating commands to accelerate through the AppleTV menus. The profile is even smart enough to send the PowerOff sequence (hold down Play for 5 seconds).

5) If a learned command doesn't work, click on the "Custom" button at the bottom of the Learn IR screen, and then try to learn the command in "RAW" mode.

6) If you search the internet for "Harmony Remote icons" you can find several sites where people have gone through the work of creating custom icons for the Favorite Channels. This is something that Logitech should provide themselves, but they don't.

UPDATE: I have changed out the following components Receiver, TV, DVD player, and added an XBox. I had an issue with the craptaculor operation of the cable box ( powering it on and off was difficult due to DVR settings: late night recording ) so I sent an email off to customer support. Two days later (could have been faster) and they fix was there under devices. Just leave it on all the time. It has codes for things factory remotes don't do!!!! All the Internet Radio stations can be accessed directly and there is a last server command. Essentiall it's made the system more pleasurable to with. I may even buy a spare JIC someone breaks this one!!! Incredible experience!!!

I read all the negative review and became VERY wary of purchasing. I decided due to the price and no clear runaway reason to go with another Universal remote to give this one a try. Boy am I glad I did that because it's GREAT once you get it programmed. There are 4 caveats!

#1 The CD included is a travesty wayyyyyyyyyyyy out of date. Don't bother with it just go the the Logitech site and download their software/drivers. It's slow and you need a fast connection because the firmware update is 50mb and you need to update both controller and base station before programming.

#2 IMO you don't need to be that computer savy but Mac users seem to have more issues than PC users I believe because Mac support is poor.

#3 This is simply a two day process. The remote needs to charge over night before getting started. This is NOT well explained (if at all) in the instructions. The remote can not be powered by the USB connection so it has to be charged. I tried using a different mini-USB cable BAD IDEA!!! use the included cable.

#4 Updating/reprogramming the remote requires that you update BOTH the base station and the Remote Control. If you're doing a big install be patient don't hide the base station at first and if you can get the programming down with the base as an IR blaster first before using the 4 prs of IR emmitters. getting to the Base that often would be tedious.

After all that why 5 stars? It's perfect after that. Simply perfect and WAYYYY cheaper than a cusom Pronto or Universal Remote (that'll set you back 1k with programming) from some expensive High End shop. My fiance had lost the remote to her television and now we have the remote back (it downloads ALL the remote codes. I don't know what to say to the folks who've struggled with the update process. It may have something to do with having an older PC. My machine is only 2 years old and I recently rebuilt it.

Well that's my experience in a nutshell. My fiance can now use the system, we have 1 remote and everything is hidden. I'm ecstatic.

We recently reviewed this unit on Big Picture Big Sound, and I felt an Amazon review was merited in order to offer an updated/alternative perspective from earlier Amazon reviews. Although we did run into a couple of glitches during configuration, once the model 890 was properly set up, it offers the excellent usability and ergonomics of the Harmony model 880, but with the additional benefit of RF controls so that it can operate devices in other rooms or behind solid cabinets. Plus, the RF feature is very useful for guests and family members, as it can control complex multi-step home theater operations simply, without the remote having to be pointed in any particular direction during the potentially lengthy power-on/input switching process.

It seems like Logitech has definitely improved the set-up operation of the 890 in its latest firmware as our writer had far fewer, less dramatic installation issues than those described by earlier reviewers here.

If you're looking for a simple, family-friendly remote to operate complicated entertainment systems and home theater gear, and particularly if you're comfortable with using a computer for the set-up process, then the Harmony 890 is definitely worth a look. You can read the complete review on Big Picture Big Sound.

This remote was plagued with many problems initially:
- RF receiver lock ups
- remote lock ups
- firmware update procedure flakey
- initial s/w install on PC touchy; if it can't connect to logitech at initial install there is no way to update to a working version
- completely dead out of the box, 100% doorstop
- No documentation/help 890 specific, non-obvious to upgrade from 880

IMO it was barely beta quality as released in Jan. I've had very good response from support however and clearly they're trying to fix this thing. The versions of the firmware at this writing (1.4/1.4) are performing much better and the device is actually useful.

My remaining complaints are intermittent lockups of the remote itself (with new firmware promised 'soon'), and sluggish performance (key presses take a long while to transmit from the RF extender intermittently, as long as 5 seconds sometimes).

I see no good RF alternative; I was forced to RF to combat severe IR noise from a new Samsung LCD TV. Previously I used an 880 and was happy with it, you would expect this is as good as the 880 and it certainly has the potential to be.

Unless you really need RF right now and are willing to spend a few hours getting this working I would not recommend it quite yet. If they continue with their focus and bring it to late beta or release quality before moving on to the next thing it will be a great product.

I was a little skeptical, but after reading some online magazine and user reviews, I decided to give this remote a try. Like others have said, it takes time to get the remote set up. I spent the better part of an afternoon setting everything up and testing and changing the settings numerous times. But once it's done, it's a great remote. I would have to say the included instructions did not provide me with too much useful information. Out of the box, you'll need to install the lithium-ion battery in the remote and then charge using the included charger.

I took others' advice and just installed the latest Harmony software from the Logitech site. Upon opening the software (which connects to the internet), you'll have to initially set up a username and password. The remote and wireless rf extender use the same included usb cable to connect to your pc. After signing in and connecting the remote, an online firmware update was found which prompted a download and update of the firmware (same when connecting the wireless rf extender).

When setting up the remote, you are prompted to enter the brand and model number of your components (one by one). If the brand and model is in the online database, the commands will be stored in the remote. I've added 8 components for control so far (Sony Widescreen RPTV; Denon A/V receiver; Denon DVD; Pioneer DVD; Sony DVD Recorder; Scientific Atlanta HD Cable Box; DirecTV HD Receiver; and Sony VHS). I'm currently not using the wireless rf extender (I guess I could have purchased the Harmony 880 instead???). The Sony vhs and dvd recorder were the only components not fully recognized initially. The software prompted me to use the original remotes to send some commands to the Harmony before they were fully added as components. There's also an option if you don't have the original remotes as well as being able to manually specify a remote action.

After adding your components, you'll need to define `activities' such as "watch a dvd" or "listen to a cd," etc. Once you're done adding components and setting the activities and saving them, you'll then need to transfer/update these settings to the remote using the connected usb cable by pressing the `update remote' button on the home page of the remote software.

There is much flexibility in setting what components turn on and also in choosing a setting for the component. For example, when choosing what I defined as my "watch denon dvd" activity, the tv, dvd and a/v receiver turn on; the tv changes to input 7 (dvi) and the receiver changes to its dvd input. This all happens with a press of one button as these were the actions that I defined for this activity in the software setup. If I subsequently press the activity button for "play vcr", the remote turns both the receiver and dvd player off, turns the vcr on and sets the tv input to channel 3. You define and name your activity. Once the activities are set up, the remote is relatively simple to use. In other words, your spouse/family members/friends can actually turn on and use your tv without you having to explain multiple remote controls.

There is also the option of controlling a specific component by pressing the `device' button on the remote. Depending on the component and how the commands were stored in the remote, you can use either or both of the commands displayed in the lcd portion of the remote or the command buttons on the lower part of the remote. There is also a global `off' button that can be used to turn all components off. The remote also seems to be motion activated, e.g., the backlight turns on when you move the remote. Very handy in the dark.