- Some Tado customers received a message about a new subscription
- The message claimed that the Tado app will soon cost £ 1 per Month
- Tado says it was part of a marketing survey and that no users are charged
Some owners of Tado -smart thermostats feel warm under the collar after the company has run a marketing survey that suggests its app may soon require a subscription. A handful of users and potential customers shopping in the Tado Web Store, so recently a message said there would be a monthly fee to use the Tado app – though those who clicked on a checkbox to confirm that they understood was informed that it was only a test.
The pop-up message, which has been shared on Reddit and the company’s support forums, says app users will soon be charged £ 1 (about $ 1.20 / AU $ 2) per Household per Month “To continue to offer you innovative features and top-notch service” and to offset rising business costs.
According to the alarm, the fee would take effect from May 1, but using Tado devices through Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Apple Homekit devices would still be free.
Tado App Monthly Charging from R/Tado
When Techradar contacted Tado for a comment, a spokesperson said: “As it is typically in the industry, Tado makes marketing studies and research, and looks at customer feedback every day. The involved in this study on paid apps preserved full access to the Toa app without a fee and the tests are now complete.”
Free or fee?
So will Tado really start charging a fee? We don’t know. It certainly looks like an option, but at this point it could go both ways.
Tado already has a subscription service called Auto Assist, which allows users to automate their household heating and cooling and unlock extra features. For example, rather than just sending a review, if a window is left open, the Auto Assistant automatically adjusts the heating to avoid a waste of energy. It can also use geofencing to turn out your warm -up automatically when no one is home and turn it back on when the first person comes back.
Some Tado owners have said they don’t mind the idea of paying a fee to use the app if it comes with Auto Assist, which is also rolled in to sweeten the deal.
Comment from R/Tado
The problem is that other customers bought tado hardware in the belief that the basic app would remain subscription-free, and many users on the company’s support forums and on Reddit are dissatisfied with both the idea and the way Tado hid the fact that it conducted a marketing survey until users clicked through.
We will have to wait and see what the company decides to do with the information it is gathered and whether it goes on with a subscription or holding the free model with Auto Assistant as an optional paid addition.
Do you own a Tado Smart Thermostat and would you be willing to pay to use the app to check it? Tell us that in the comments.
