The original smart thermostat is about to get dumb

Pop quiz: Which company released the world’s first smart thermostat? Nope, it wasn’t Nest. 

In fact, it was Ecobee that put smart thermostats on the map, announcing its Ecobee Smart way back in 2008, barely a year after the first iPhone arrived. (The Nest Thermostat wouldn’t make its debut until three years later.) 

With its touchscreen display, Wi-Fi connectivity, and smart heating and cooling settings, the Ecobee Smart was light years ahead of its contemporaries.  

This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart thermostats.

But 15 years after its early 2009 ship date, the Ecobee Smart is showing its age, and Ecobee has announced that it’s yanking online support for the aging thermostat. 

According to an Ecobee support page and emails sent to the last remaining Ecobee Smart users, both the Ecobee Smart (model EB-STAT-02) and the Ecobee Energy Management System (a smart HVAC control panel for commercial use) will lose internet connectivity on July 31, 2024. 

Once Ecobee cuts off cloud support for the Ecobee Smart and Ecobee Energy Management System, the devices will lose the ability to connect with Ecobee servers and won’t receive any more firmware updates, the Ecobee support message says. 

The Ecobee Smart and EMS will still be able to control HVAC systems and run on a schedule. However, features that rely on online connectivity will stop working, such as the ability to control the units via the Ecobee web portal, smart integrations, HomeIQ and System Monitor reports, and any functionality that requires weather details pulled from the internet. 

Reached for comment, an Ecobee spokesperson supplied the following statement to TechHive:

At ecobee, we are proud of the longevity of our products; they are designed and built to last. We have continued to support our Smart and EMS thermostat models since they debuted in 2008. At this time, we must unfortunately discontinue support and connectivity for these two early models. This difficult decision was made based on evolving technology standards and the challenge of supporting older hardware.

We recognize the frustration this may cause and are actively exploring ways to assist affected users. Rest assured, these devices will still function as thermostats and be able to control customers’ heating and cooling systems, enabling them to make temperature adjustments, system mode changes, and update configuration settings from the device on the wall.  

Ecobee will hand out discount codes to “affected customers” good for 30-percent off any of the company’s newer thermostats, with each discount code good for up to 15 units, the Ecobee rep added.

The Ecobee Smart and EMS thermostats are only the latest victims of smart manufacturers pulling online support for their products, rendering the devices either partially or (in other cases) completely disabled. 

Indeed, there are calls for a boycott over at the Ecobee subreddit—understandable, given that the original Ecobee Smart cost a cool $385 when it was first released. 

Then again, 15 years is an eternity when it comes to the smart home, and frankly, it’s amazing that the 2009-era Ecobee Smart is still working at all. 

Ecobee has released several new generations of thermostats since the original Smart. The most recent includes 2022’s flagship Smart Thermostat Premium ($250), which offers a redesigned zinc body, a glass touchscreen display, and integrated Siri support (with help from a nearby HomePod). 

There’s also the pared-down Ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced that drops some Premium features (including a built-in air quality monitor and integrated Alexa and Siri) in exchange for a cheaper ($190) price tag.  

Still, the loss of online smart features for the first Ecobee Smart thermostat marks the end of an era, along with yet another reminder that your smart devices likely won’t be smart forever. 

Updated shortly after publication with a statement from Ecobee, as well as details on discount codes for owners of the older Ecobee thermostats.