FYI - Ecotech: Unauthorized Product in Asia Market

[khuzdul]

I bought a used Ecotech XR15-FW from somebody a week and a half ago from Rochester NY (I am in NYC). After the mount finally came in, I set it up using the connection manager. Ecotech kindly informed me that they suspect that my light was "purchased from an unauthorized retailer" and that my ecosmart account is now disabled. I can't tell if they also disabled any functionality of the light, as my account is disabled, and the programming just before my account got disabled was set to end the photoperiod by now. I can manually change modes / light intensity, though it will not remember it after an auto-power-switch turns the outlet off and on. Reseting the light requires the use of the connection manager...

 

I searched and found this link on Ecotech:

 

http://ecotechmarine.com/news/unauthorized-product-asia-market

Anyway, I totally understand that if there is some dubious products that they would not provide support, but it is pretty upsetting that my ecosmart account is now disabled and ecotech might have decided to "remotely disable any and all features of the products rendering them unusable" of my "new to me" light. I already have have two WXMs for two tanks, four MP10ws with QuietDriver upgrades on order once they come back in stock (though thanks to the WXMs they do not need the ecosmart account to run those that I know of). However I just orderd a reeflink controller and another pump to set up a freshwater tank with the now possibly partially bricked XR15-FW.

 

If you get a "good deal" and are buying a recent product from someone you do not know, it wouldn't hurt to run the serial number through the "unauthorized product in Asia Market" site. It would have been nice if that particular news release had been more widely distributed.

[Steensj2004]

Wow, bummer ! That seems messed up, I understand they want to protect their brand but that's harsh to screw to hover without any way for you to explain. Good luck man!

[Horerczy]

Wow that's kind of a d*ck move.

 

Could always strip out the Ecotech components sans the led PCB and power supply then run ldd drivers with a bluefish mini. At the very least Spencer won't remote brick your light.

[tibbsy07]

Wow, that's horrible of them. Also NOT a way to get someone to buy their products.

[HarryPotter]

Maybe it's an automatic thing though, I'm sure they'll unlock it.

 

Try to add a sketchy light and it gets automatically banned- annoying but I guess it's a broad block for Ecotech to cover everything. Hopefully they get back to you soon!

[Halo_003]

They should offer to take that one off your hands and send you a brand new one at 25% of the brand new price.

[xmas_one]

Who did you get the light from? It's possible it is a stolen item and Ecotech blacklisted it. I almost bought that same light from some sketchy kid on eBay, all of the items he was selling were somewhat suspect (all high dollar items, shopliftable in size, all categorically unrelated.

[khuzdul]

They had a link to "report" the product within three days to have the suspension reviewed, but it had a required field of the distributor you purchased it from. Since my purchase was a private sale and I don't have an address for the guy, I put in N/A or the like for much of what I could, I will see what their response is.

 

The only other reference that I could find was on some Singapore reef club from December, so it may have been a "grey market" issue there. Subsequently Ecotech just announced a new Singapore distributor just this March... Even if it was a Singapore issue, if someone has a load of unsold product, it should have been predictable that it could/would go worldwide eventually

 

I'm not coming down too hard on Ecotech for trying to defend their IP (if it is just an "authorized distributor" thing and not an IP thing then ...), but it sucks that it might mean that an innocent end-user may get hurt bad - reserving the right to brick equipment bought innocently seems a little harsh, even if it is just an threat that they are not acting on (is that even legal?) I can't return the light, and I can't sell it / pass it on in good conscience, so I may be just writing off my benjamins.

 

I can live without the "cloud" account since I have other options, but I am seriously reconsidering any gear that I can't get full functionality out of entirely offline (i.e. anything where full functionality can be "revoked" after purchase). It harshed my mellow for the week, but I have a lot of gear so I can get over it pretty easily. It might be more devastating to others who might for instance be selling/trading their only light to get a "great deal", hence the FYI warning thread and not an ecotech bashing thread. I like their products, but I no longer like their cloud service. At least with AI I(now same company as ecotech) I have a controller for the hydra advanced functionality without going on-line (though I did just buy an AI director that I'll probably be unloading.)

 

edit - changing conscience instead of conscious

[dorky08]

wow that just crazy and very rude. i would be furious if it happen to me.

[gulfsurfer101]

Sell it to someone willing to mod it out. Get some kind of coin back out of it.

[khuzdul]

Just an update - I threw a webcam onto the tank, and it appear to be working according to the last programmed schedule, so it seems that Ecotech did not brick anything. Just no access to Ecosmart Live. Running it long term with the current schedule or with just "basic" functionality and an outlet timer works for me... Their legal department needs to tone down the rhetoric! I will hopefully have time to call the customer support about the account later today.

[Sunstar]

DRM is not always good. I understand the desire to protect, but screwing a person over is not the way to make a sale or promote sales. Because, I will consider avoiding them in future.

[tjwaggoner]

So the only way to use their lights is by going through their website with an account? Forgive my ignorance, I thought when I read about them being wireless control I assumed it was akin to the programming of that AI prime fixture which from what I see on videos goes on totally in your phone.

So you have to log into an account on the Internet to adjust your light? Are the vortech pumps this way too? I have been shopping for one of them but if that's the case I'll stop looking now.

[HarryPotter]

So the only way to use their lights is by going through their website with an account? Forgive my ignorance, I thought when I read about them being wireless control I assumed it was akin to the programming of that AI prime fixture which from what I see on videos goes on totally in your phone.

So you have to log into an account on the Internet to adjust your light? Are the vortech pumps this way too? I have been shopping for one of them but if that's the case I'll stop looking now.

 

No, thats not the case. From my phone or the unit itself you can adjust it.

To access the WIRELESS INTERNET based programming via interweb, you need an account

[tjwaggoner]

Oh ok.

[khuzdul]

The radion has buttons on it, so you can do basic settings directly on the unit. If you have a Reeflink, it acts as a bridge to the Ecosmart Live cloud, and you can do advanced programming via a wifi connection. If you do not have a reeflink, than you can connect the light to a computer via USB, and use their Connect software to connect both you and the light to the Ecosmart Live cloud and configure advanced programming from your computer. If your Ecosmart Live account is suspended, then you cannot use the connect software to program or reprogram the light directly via the computer. I do not have a Reeflink, so I don't know how that works vis a vis the Ecosmart Live account. Since I have a WXM, I can probably bring the light to it and do advanced programming via that without an Ecosmart Live account through an APEX system.

 

Basic programming on the Radion is choosing between a number of pre-set lighting schemes and setting light intensity in 1% intervals.

 

Advanced programming is cycling between the lighting schemes and intensities based on a timer (eg brighten in the morning, change to full specturm at higher intensity around noon, lower light and turn reddish in the evening, change to blue light at dusk and get really dim, then turn off, etc.

 

The Vortech pumps allow you to do most of the programming via rubber buttons on the front. Choose what flow type you want and intensity. Establish a master/slave relationship with other pumps.

 

Advanced programming via Reeflink or WXM (no connect software for the Vortech that I know of) will allow you to cycle through different wave patterns and intensities through the day on a schedule.

 

I did not have a chance to call Ecotech before 5:00pm EST, but I may be able to tomorrow evening.

 

Personally I will NOT be avoiding Ecotech in the future, I am going to proceed with my QuietDrive upgrades. I will be avoiding their Ecosmart Live cloud services, mainly because I'm currently locked out. Since I can't provide the original distributor that the original buyer bought it from so Ecotech can go hassle them, I don't know if my Ecosmart Live account will get unlocked, but it very well might be in the future once I get a chance to talk to them. I did pay for the light with Paypal as payment for goods/services, so I started a dispute there. I don't need Ecotech to "make me whole" regarding the light, and I don't expect them to!

 

Ecotech is not a good entity or a bad entity in this situation. Just an entity trying to deal with a crappy situation with their distribution chain. Unfortunately I'm downhill and that's where stuff rolls.