SofaBaton X1S Universal Remote with Hub, Universal Remote Control with One Touch Activities, Customize SofaBaton APP, Compatible with 60 Devices, Compatible with Alexa Google Assistant, Raise to Wake

I was previously her user of the old Logitech universal remotes. I had several different versions and they all worked pretty well, but died over the years. I found Sofabaton when looking for replacement.This is the newer version of the X1. There's no visible difference that I can tell, but I think it's upgraded under the hood.The biggest difference seems to be scroll wheel which feels a little tighter on this one. On the X1, I had to spray electronics cleaner every couple of months to keep it working well. After a month, with the X1S this one is still working smoothly.It lights up when you pick it up.The biggest thing with these remotes is programming. The Sofabaton X1S is a very extensive library and had pre-programmed commands for all of my devices.The trick to get it working smoothly for me was to make custom power on and power off commands. I added a delay attached to the power command rather than as a separate delay after pressing power. The nuance there, is that you don't have to wait once the power is on to switch activities.Maybe it's because I have cheaper gear, but it takes a long time for my TV to come on and for my receiver to turn on. So I always had problems with it trying to switch inputs before the devices were fully powered up and ready to receive commands.Previously, I had the delays as part of the activity, but then once it's powered on, you end up waiting every time you want to switch inputs. This setup has solved that.Programming is easy via the app, and I saw that they just released a new version that allows you to back up and restore from the cloud, which would be really helpful to upgrade in the future. I don't know if it supports back up and restore from the X1 to the X1S, but honestly, that was my only complaint. There was no easy way to transfer from the X1 to the X1S without recreating everything. But that seems like a pretty rare process for most users.The only thing that seems to be missing is a voice control similar to the Alexa remote. Not sure if that's possible to implement or some proprietary thing. Only used it occasionally on my Fire remote, but sometimes I need that feature and have to grab the original.Overall, I'm very happy with the unit and would recommend it to anyone looking for a universal remote. The price is fair and the build quality is solid. It comes with IR extender cables so that it will work with units inside your cabinet.Note: I received a discount on this unit as an upgrade from my previous unit, for which I paid full price, in exchange for an honest review.

I purchased the X1S in September of 2024. This is the second Sofabaton X1 I've had; I bought the first X1 version a little more than a year ago, and I have been very, very pleased with both models. I use the X1S for our main sound and video system, and the original X1 with an auxiliary TV. The codes for operating several hundred thousands of devices from several thousand brands are easily download from Sofabaton's data base, or the codes from your original remote controls can be learned by the X1S. A relatively simple scripting language lets you control and operate multiple devices with one operation or "activity", so the multiple remote control devices that you would normally have to use with the various devices in your A-V setup can all be consolidated and run on one remote, the X1S, with the press of one button. The setup is relatively easy. The device is well made and feels solid in your hand. After the X1S was configured and programmed, it has operated flawlessly for the past seven months -- this has also been the case with my original X1. The X1S remote controls your various A-V devices by communicating with a "hub" using RF signals, so the remote does not have to be pointed at the device; it can be pointed anywhere, and it has an impressive range. I recently did a major equipment and carrier switch involving one of my A-V setups, replacing several Comcast cable boxes for internet, phone, and tv, with one Xfinity unit. I simply added the Xfinity box to the main "activity" I'd programmed into the X1S, which automatically included the new device into the existing program and continued to function normally with no further requirements. I am sincerely impressed with Sofabaton's products. I could ask for the moon, I suppose, but I really can't think of much more I would want in a remote control device. Having said that, I do have one suggestion that I think would make the X1S an even more flexible device, which is to add an If-Then construct to the scripting language. Here's an example of how such a construct might be used: you can easily switch input sources from within an Activity, for example, from cable tv, to Netflex, or Youtube, etc. However, depending on your equipment, the key bindings for doing things like navigating up, down, right, and left, for example, may use different codes for different devices -- the arrow keys used when watching cable TV may use one set of codes, whereas if you switch to watching Netflix within the same Activity, there is no way to also automatically switch the navigation key bindings from those used by cable TV, to those needed by Netflix. The workaround is to create separate Activities for live cable tv and streaming sources. This is a wish list item; it would be nice to have, but it doesn't impact my general satisfaction with this product.