I thought I'd be as thorough as possible so I'll break this device down into parts. It's very much worth the buy if you want to replace those old garage door opener remotes and give your garage door openers some intelligence and automation. I currently have it connected to two garage doors and it's been working phenomenally the past week. I will update long term if I have any issues.
Comparison to competitors:
I bought this after a lot of research into Chamberlain MyQ products and control panels,and playing with a neighbors equipment. I found that they all have severe failure points, the control panels had a capacitor that would fail and leave the door randomly opening at night 2 years after install, the myQ hub had issues with connections, it's wireless door sensors failing and random intermittent hardware issues. Both have horrible app design and speed issues, and lacked any free automation. I noticed tailwind was using wired sensors and had a decent reviews all around the board so I decided to plunge on it.
Installation and Hardware:
This device as a whole seems properly designed by an engineer. It uses molex connectors for all the connections, the wires are properly sheathed for protection and the system it self simply piggybacks and actuates the garage door motors by replicating the way a switch/door button would connect to the system. It's also using what seems to be an ESP 32 chip-set which is a well known and reliable in the Arduino community, it also means it should be able to handle all temps. Much better than the MyQ hub which tries to emulate the radio signal of the garage door openers. Also the door sensors being wired is great, although it takes a bit of extra planning you never will have to worry about batteries and so far they've been 100% accurate.
It took me only took me 1 hour 30 minutes to fully install everything, the majority of the time is spent figuring out where to place the sensors and where to manage the cabling, following there YouTube video made it easy, all I did was zip-tie and route all the wiring along the existing optical sensor wiring. As for mounting the sensors I attached the one non wired side to the door via 3m adhesive and the other of course was using there bracket to the rail. After that everything is just plug and play and following the instructions on YouTube. I will eventually drill the holes to screw them in properly if I run into an issue in the future or if they fall off, although they seem quite sturdy
Software:
The software is absolutely better than the competitors. It's fast and easy to set up. It's been spot on automation wise, unlike the others where you have to pay a fee to get a geo-fencing sort of setup, this one is completely free. It asks during setup to calibrate your location so it can figure out exactly where the garage doors are located. Then you simply add in the vehicles you've connected to Bluetooth with, as well as enable settings in your phone to let it properly run in background quietly. Once you choose the vehicles Bluetooth name you set the distance in feet at which you want the garage door to open or close. This feature has been really accurate for me, it's really nice to not have to do anything and have the garage simply open on it's own as you approach. It's using the Bluetooth in the car to confirm the vehicle using that garage and then using the phones navigation style gps to pinpoint location it seems. Manually opening the doors from the app is very fast as well, I've seen less than 5 seconds delay in pressing open on the phone to get the garage doors to close or open. Much faster than the competitor equipment. Also the night mode feature is awesome and will auto close the doors if they're open within 5 minutes in a time period that you set. I also like the ability to update the firmware on the controller itself, this opens up its features and reliability immensely by allowing software patches for the foreseeable future.
Conclusion:
This device is well worth the buy, the time spent during install for wired sensors adds to it's reliability and it's absolutely amazing seeing your garage door open itself and close itself as you come and go. I can't wait to see what the developers have in store for itself next or what other smart devices tailwind will release in the future, this literally fixes all the issues previously seen with smart garage door openers, and I have no regrets purchasing it.
UPDATE 2/4/2019:
So it's been around two months since the whole family started using it and it's been a blast and everyone is loving not using the garage door openers and not having to do anything when approaching the house. We are no longer using the Garage door opener remotes and they've been left at home. I set up IFTTT integration and they've been opening the garages like clockwork at 7 am automatically which is really useful if you want to remote start the car on a colder morning as our two garages are unconditioned. Also there has been one software update since install that increased the accuracy of the auto close and open as of this weekend. Also they added a widget that responds super fast and updates the status of the doors without opening the actual app, and can be used to open and close the garages. As far as the hardware components are holding up, they've been through some record breaking cold weather and the adhesive included has not been effected at all and nor has the device itself. The door sensors are miles more reliable than the MyQ sensors and hub I had before, at this point there batteries would've died, but with tailwind I have yet to have a software or hardware error.
I also upgraded my network a bit as my house is soon to have gigabit internet. The tailwind seems to work better with a faster higher range Ubiquiti AP AC-LR. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the fact most of the family now has an internet connection as they leave and drive off from the garage and down driveway meaning the communication from the phones is that much quicker due to less of a handover from wifi to 4g lte. It's a pretty cool accidental advantage I noticed of having this powerful of an access point. If there was one gripe, I really wish the Tailwind had some sort of 5GHz support. As of right now the only equipment on my network running 2.4ghz is a soon to be replaced network printer and the tailwind. It was kind of annoying to reset the tailwind and adjust the beam-forming settings on my access point to force my phone to 2.4ghz as I use the same SSID for both 2.4ghz and 5ghz frequencies so the tech in the house can choose the fastest connection on their own. However, I know as a techie that the esp32 doesn't support that and that espressif (makers of that chipset) are planning to release that in another chipset soon, so maybe the next gen tailwind will actually support 5ghz if they upgrade to that chipset.
Other than that this thing is amazing, I'm so happy I finally have a working smart solution to my garage. I will make my last update in a few months unless something seriously fails.
UPDATE 07/10/2021:
So it's been around 3 years and the thing has functioned flawlessly, it appears it's no longer sold on amazon though which seems like a shame. The only issue it had was after the absurd heat we've been getting this summer the power supply cable seems to have failed. I have ordered a new usb power supply to test it and have been in talks with support throughout the process. At it's low cost it has been well worth it for 3 years of flawless remote garage usage
| Manufacturer | Tailwind |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 1.39 pounds |
| Package Dimensions | 7.24 x 5.31 x 3.31 inches |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Size | No Vehicle Sensor Included |
| Color | Black |
| Item Package Quantity | 1 |
| Special Features | Ergonomic |
| Batteries Included? | No |
| Batteries Required? | No |
| Description Pile | Lithium |
