<s>
Wink	B-Application
is	O
an	O
American	O
brand	O
of	O
software	O
and	O
hardware	O
products	O
that	O
connects	O
with	O
and	O
controls	O
smart	O
home	O
devices	O
from	O
a	O
consolidated	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wink	B-Application
,	O
Labs	O
Inc.	O
,	O
which	O
develops	O
and	O
markets	O
Wink	B-Application
,	O
was	O
founded	O
in	O
2014	O
as	O
a	O
spin-off	O
from	O
invention	O
incubator	O
Quirky	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
Quirky	O
went	O
through	O
bankruptcy	O
proceedings	O
,	O
it	O
sold	O
Wink	B-Application
to	O
Flex	O
in	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
2016	O
,	O
the	O
Wink	B-Application
software	O
is	O
connected	O
to	O
1.3	O
million	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2017	O
,	O
Flex	O
sold	O
Wink	B-Application
to	O
i.am+	O
for	O
$59M	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wink	B-Application
,	O
Labs	O
Inc	O
.	O
was	O
founded	O
at	O
Quirky	O
,	O
an	O
incubator	O
program	O
for	O
inventions	O
that	O
relies	O
on	O
crowd-sourced	O
product	O
ideas	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wink	B-Application
,	O
Labs	O
was	O
originally	O
created	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
collaboration	O
with	O
General	O
Electric	O
to	O
control	O
co-branded	O
smart	O
home	O
products	O
like	O
air-conditioners	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
spent	O
twelve	O
months	O
working	O
with	O
fifteen	O
electronics	O
manufacturing	O
companies	O
to	O
offer	O
about	O
60	O
Wink-compatible	O
products	O
by	O
July	O
2014	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wink	B-Application
was	O
spun-off	O
from	O
Quirky	O
in	O
June	O
2014	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Quirky	O
,	O
Wink	B-Application
products	O
were	O
in	O
300,000	O
homes	O
by	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2015	O
Wink	B-Application
experienced	O
a	O
security	O
problem	O
that	O
made	O
many	O
of	O
its	O
smart	O
home	O
hubs	O
go	O
offline	O
or	O
break	O
,	O
forcing	O
the	O
company	O
to	O
issue	O
a	O
recall	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
recall	O
caused	O
a	O
several-month	O
inventory	O
backlog	O
and	O
subsequent	O
shortage	O
of	O
the	O
Wink	B-Application
hub	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
financial	O
difficulties	O
,	O
due	O
in	O
part	O
to	O
the	O
recall	O
,	O
Quirky	O
began	O
looking	O
for	O
buyers	O
to	O
sell	O
Wink	B-Application
to	O
in	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
November	O
,	O
after	O
Quirky	O
went	O
through	O
bankruptcy	O
proceedings	O
,	O
it	O
sold	O
Wink	B-Application
for	O
$15	O
million	O
to	O
Flextronics	O
(	O
now	O
called	O
Flex	O
)	O
,	O
to	O
whom	O
Quirky	O
owed	O
$18.7	O
million	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Flex	O
was	O
Wink	B-Application
's	O
primary	O
supplier	O
of	O
firmware	B-Application
and	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
2016	O
,	O
1.3	O
million	O
devices	O
were	O
connected	O
to	O
Wink	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
27	O
July	O
2017	O
,	O
in	O
its	O
First	O
Quarter	O
Report	O
,	O
Flex	O
announced	O
that	O
it	O
had	O
sold	O
its	O
interest	O
in	O
Wink	B-Application
for	O
$59	O
million	O
,	O
representing	O
a	O
$38.7	O
million	O
gain	O
on	O
the	O
balance	O
sheet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
May	O
6	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
Wink	B-Application
announced	O
that	O
they	O
would	O
be	O
updating	O
their	O
platform	O
from	O
being	O
free	O
from	O
monthly	O
fees	O
to	O
charging	O
a	O
monthly	O
service	O
fee	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
continue	O
using	O
the	O
Wink	B-Application
app	O
,	O
hub	O
and	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
were	O
notified	O
that	O
they	O
had	O
until	O
May	O
13	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
after	O
which	O
Wink	B-Application
devices	O
would	O
be	O
inaccessible	O
from	O
the	O
app	O
,	O
and	O
all	O
voice	O
control	O
,	O
API	O
and	O
automations	O
would	O
be	O
disabled	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
25	O
,	O
2021	O
,	O
Wink	B-Application
suffered	O
a	O
wide	O
spread	O
outage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wink	B-Application
resumed	O
operation	O
on	O
February	O
3	O
,	O
2021	O
,	O
posting	O
on	O
their	O
blog	O
that	O
customers	O
would	O
receive	O
a	O
25%	O
discount	O
on	O
January	O
and	O
February	O
's	O
monthly	O
dues	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wink	B-Application
connects	O
with	O
third-party	O
smart	O
home	O
devices	O
associated	O
with	O
the	B-Operating_System
Internet	I-Operating_System
of	I-Operating_System
Things	I-Operating_System
,	O
such	O
as	O
thermostats	O
,	O
door	O
locks	O
,	O
ceiling	O
fans	O
,	O
and	O
Wi-Fi-enabled	O
lights	O
,	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
single	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
on	O
a	O
mobile	O
app	O
or	O
via	O
a	O
wall-mounted	O
screen	O
,	O
called	O
Relay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
mobile	O
app	O
is	O
free	O
,	O
while	O
consumers	O
pay	O
for	O
a	O
Wink	B-Application
Hub	I-Application
,	O
or	O
Wink	B-Application
Relay	O
,	O
which	O
connects	O
with	O
smart	O
devices	O
in	O
the	O
home	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wink	B-Application
integrates	O
with	O
software	O
from	O
automated	O
home	O
device	O
brands	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Canary	O
,	O
which	O
markets	O
an	O
app-controlled	O
home	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2016	O
,	O
new	O
features	O
were	O
introduced	O
to	O
allow	O
Wink	B-Application
to	O
operate	O
on	O
the	O
local	O
network	O
,	O
in	O
case	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
internet	O
connection	O
is	O
down	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2016	O
,	O
compatibility	O
with	O
Uber	B-Application
,	O
Fitbit	B-Application
,	O
and	O
IFTTT	B-Application
,	O
was	O
added	O
to	O
the	O
Relay	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
second	O
generation	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Wink	B-Application
Hub	I-Application
was	O
released	O
in	O
November	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compatibility	O
with	O
Uber	B-Application
has	O
long	O
been	O
abandoned	O
as	O
of	O
January	O
2021	O
;	O
as	O
has	O
the	O
Wink	B-Application
Relay	O
and	O
sales	O
of	O
its	O
standalone	O
Wink	B-Application
Hub	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
second	O
generation	O
Wink	B-Application
Hub	I-Application
supports	O
most	O
smart	O
home	O
devices	O
with	O
Zigbee	O
,	O
ZWave	O
,	O
Lutron	O
Clear	O
Connect	O
,	O
and	O
Kidde	O
protocols	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wink	B-Application
2	O
also	O
added	O
Bluetooth	O
Low	O
Energy	O
,	O
5GHz	O
Wi-Fi	O
radio	O
,	O
an	O
Ethernet	O
port	O
,	O
and	O
512MB	O
of	O
memory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2017	O
,	O
the	O
Wink	B-Application
Lookout	O
home	O
security	O
system	O
was	O
announced	O
,	O
consisting	O
of	O
open/close	O
sensors	O
,	O
motion	O
sensors	O
,	O
a	O
siren	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Wink	B-Application
hub	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Wink	B-Application
Lookout	O
,	O
released	O
on	O
October	O
31	O
,	O
2017	O
,	O
was	O
the	O
last	O
major	O
product	O
released	O
by	O
the	O
company	O
as	O
of	O
January	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
2014	O
competitive	O
review	O
comparing	O
Wink	B-Application
to	O
SmartThings	B-Application
,	O
CNET	O
said	O
Wink	B-Application
was	O
cheaper	O
and	O
supported	O
more	O
wireless	O
standards	O
,	O
but	O
had	O
fewer	O
and	O
less	O
reliable	O
sensors	O
to	O
support	O
automation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
article	O
recommended	O
SmartThings	B-Application
for	O
tech-savvy	O
users	O
and	O
Wink	B-Application
for	O
general	O
consumers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
an	O
August	O
2014	O
review	O
,	O
CNET	O
gave	O
Wink	B-Application
a	O
7.7	O
score	O
out	O
of	O
10	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
January	O
2015	O
review	O
of	O
Wink	B-Application
by	O
Tom	O
's	O
Guide	O
rated	O
the	O
product	O
a	O
7/10	O
,	O
"	O
very	O
good	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
reviewer	O
criticized	O
the	O
application	O
for	O
not	O
giving	O
as	O
much	O
control	O
over	O
individual	O
smart	O
home	O
electronics	O
as	O
their	O
own	O
apps	O
,	O
but	O
praised	O
Wink	B-Application
for	O
providing	O
"	O
an	O
easy	O
way	O
for	O
people	O
to	O
dip	O
their	O
toes	O
into	O
smart	O
home	O
systems.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
review	O
in	O
PCMAG	O
of	O
the	O
Wink	B-Application
Hub	I-Application
2	O
said	O
it	O
was	O
easy	O
to	O
use	O
and	O
compatible	O
with	O
many	O
devices	O
,	O
but	O
had	O
no	O
battery	O
backup	O
or	O
USB	O
ports	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tom	O
's	O
Guide	O
gave	O
the	O
Wink	B-Application
Hub	I-Application
2	O
7	O
out	O
of	O
10	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
July	O
2022	O
customers	O
reported	O
their	O
Wink	B-Application
hubs	I-Application
off-line	O
,	O
Wink	B-Application
app	O
not	O
able	O
to	O
connect	O
to	O
their	O
accounts	O
,	O
and	O
many	O
of	O
their	O
Wink	B-Application
connected	O
smart	O
devices	O
that	O
rely	O
on	O
the	O
hub	O
and/or	O
app	O
to	O
control	O
were	O
no	O
longer	O
accessible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
confirmed	O
by	O
Wink	B-Application
in	O
a	O
post	O
to	O
their	O
official	O
twitter	O
account	O
that	O
they	O
were	O
experiencing	O
technical	O
difficulties	O
that	O
they	O
were	O
working	O
on	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Subsequent	O
to	O
the	O
early	O
reports	O
the	O
Wink	B-Application
website	O
became	O
unreachable	O
,	O
the	O
phone	O
lines	O
advise	O
that	O
"	O
calls	O
are	O
not	O
being	O
accepted	O
,	O
"	O
and	O
there	O
have	O
been	O
no	O
further	O
posts	O
or	O
response	O
to	O
customer	O
complaints	O
on	O
twitter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
Wink	B-Application
having	O
become	O
a	O
subscription-based	O
service	O
many	O
customers	O
have	O
complained	O
on	O
social	O
media	O
that	O
Wink	B-Application
charged	O
them	O
their	O
monthly	O
subscription	O
fee	O
for	O
July	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
the	O
service	O
nearly	O
immediately	O
went	O
off-line	O
.	O
</s>
