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Sengled: Difference between revisions

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Complete overhaul of article. I've done what I can, but someone much more familiar with smart home lighting would be good.
 
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{{InfoboxProductLine
{{CompanyCargo
| Title = {{PAGENAME}}
|Description=
| Release Year =  
|Founded=1997 <!-- Could not find information that agreed on the founding year, so I went with the year as provided on their US website domain. — Sojourna -->
| Product Type =  
|Industry=Lighting products
| In Production =  
|Logo=Sengled.png
| Official Website =  
|ParentCompany=
| Logo =  
|Type=Private
|Website=https://us.sengled.com
}}
}}
{{Placeholder box|Sengled


Sengled is a Chinese smart lighting manufacturer who promises affordable, Alexa- and Google-compatible smart bulbs. However, systemic issues with their business model, specifically, dependence on proprietary cloud services, has led to widespread consumer backlash. The Sengled app was removed from the Alexa app when Sengled's cloud servers repeatedly offline without a statement or comment from the company. Soon after companies like Home Depot Canada stopped offering the sale of the device on their websites. As of August 2, 2025 there has been no comment from the company and even control of the bulbs through their own app has stopped working.  
'''Sengled''' is a Chinese{{Citation needed}} smart-lighting manufacturer that focuses on affordable smart light bulbs to consumers that are compatible with [[Amazon]]'s Alexa and [[Google]]'s Assistant.


Consumer Impact Summary
==Consumer impact summary==
 
'''Always online:''' Their products rely on proprietary cloud services. This means that should something render the product unable to access the server(s), the consumer cannot use features — such as voice activation and smart home automation — or even so far as to be left with essentially {{Wplink|electronic waste}}.
Sengled’s smart bulbs can no longer connect with Alexa and Alexa has removed the Sengled app from its platform. There has been no statement from the company on the problem. The Alexa Skills Store still lists the Sengled skill as unavailable as of July 2025. (Amazon Alexa Skills Store)
 
This removal means users no longer have voice control functionality. Sengled has issued no formal public explanation and has failed to communicate with their customer base.
 
As for August 2, 2025 the Sengled app is no longer working and the Sengled Smart Bulbs cannot even be controlled from the company's own application. Again no statement has been released regarding the state of Sengled cloud servers.
 
Consumer Impact
 
Loss of Functionality: Thousands of consumers have lost functionality to their Sengled Smart bulbs without explanation. The smart bulbs purchased for Alexa integration have been rendered entirely inoperable for smart home automation.
 
No Official Support or Communication: Sengled’s customer support channels provided no clear answers or estimated timeframes, leaving consumers in the dark. (TechHive, June 2024)
 
Violation of Reasonable Expectations: Consumers purchasing smart bulbs marketed for Alexa compatibility have a reasonable expectation that core advertised features will remain available for the product’s useful life.
 
Lack of consumer recourse when service disruptions occur
 
Conclusion


Sengled’s failure to maintain its Alexa integration, without warning or effective customer communication, highlights the need for stronger consumer protections, transparent product lifecycles, and open standards in the IoT industry.
'''Requires downloading app:''' Sengled uses its own application software to manage the product(s).


References
'''Change without notice:''' "We reserve the right at any time to modify or discontinue the Services (or any part or content thereof) without notice at any time."<ref name="ToS">{{Cite web |title=Terms of Service |url=https://us.sengled.com/pages/terms-of-service |website=Sengled |date=2025 |access-date=26 Aug 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250429110946/https://us.sengled.com/pages/terms-of-service |archive-date=29 Apr 2025}}</ref>


Sengled Support: Sengled Smart Products Are Cloud Connected
'''Additional costs may apply:''' "You acknowledge and understand that certain Services may be provided for a fee. In that case, you shall pay all applicable fees in connection with the Services selected by you in accordance with the Sales Terms.<ref name="ToS" />


TechHive Report (June 2024): Sengled Alexa Skill Removed
'''Sharing performance/function evaluations of services with third-parties:''' "You may not release the results of any performance or functional evaluation of any of the Services to any third party without prior written approval of Sengled for each such release."<ref name="ToS" />


Amazon Alexa Skills Store Listing: Sengled Skill Page
'''Arbitration:''' It is unknown whether Sengled uses [[forced arbitration]] for resolving disputes, as there is no dispute resolution policy displayed on its website(s).
 
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Report (2023): Your Smart Home Devices Shouldn't Break Just Because a Company Went Out of Business
 
}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Williams |first=Ashley |date=June 21, 2025 |title=How Sengled's Recent Outages Are Leaving Their Customers in the Dark |url=https://www.serenitysmarthomesnj.com/2025/06/21/how-sengled-left-their-users-in-the-dark.html |url-status=live |work=Serenity Smart Homes |pages=3-4}}</ref>
 
==Consumer impact summary==
{{Placeholder box|Consumer Impact
 
Loss of Functionality: Devices that consumers purchased for Alexa integration were rendered partially or entirely inoperable for smart home automation.
 
No Official Support or Communication: Sengled’s customer support channels provided no clear answers or estimated timeframes, leaving consumers in the dark. (TechHive, June 2024)
 
Violation of Reasonable Expectations: Consumers purchasing smart bulbs marketed for Alexa compatibility have a reasonable expectation that core advertised features will remain available for the product’s useful life.
 
}}


==Incidents==
==Incidents==
This is a list of all consumer protection incidents related to this product. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{PAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Patterson |first=Ben |date=Jul 31, 2025 7:10 AM PDT |title=Amazon yanks Sengled’s Alexa skill after a series of service outages |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/2864586/amazon-yanks-sengleds-alexa-skill-after-a-series-of-service-outages.html |url-status=live |work=PCWorld |pages=1-2}}</ref>
===Removed from Alexa (July 2025)===
 
As of 31 July 2025, Sengled's app is no longer available on Alexa. Amazon cited its removal as being due to repeated sporadic outages the preceding few months that had remained unresolved by Sengled. Although some smart light bulbs may be able to use Alexa directly through other means such as {{Wplink|Zigbee}} and {{Wplink|Bluetooth}}, for the most part customers that relied on Alexa-compatibility have been left with {{Wplink|Brick (electronics)|bricked}} goods.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Patterson |first=Ben |title=Amazon yanks Sengled's Alexa skill after a series of service outages |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/2864586/amazon-yanks-sengleds-alexa-skill-after-a-series-of-service-outages.html |website=PCWorld |date=31 Jul 2025 |access-date=26 Aug 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250802073937/https://www.pcworld.com/article/2864586/amazon-yanks-sengleds-alexa-skill-after-a-series-of-service-outages.html |archive-date=2 Aug 2025}}</ref>
{{Placeholder box|In June 2024, multiple tech news outlets reported that Sengled’s Alexa Skill — the service enabling Alexa control — had been removed from the Amazon Alexa Skills Store. (TechHive Report, June 2024)
 
This removal resulted in users losing voice control functionality overnight. Despite the severity, Sengled issued no formal public explanation and failed to communicate effectively with their customer base. The Alexa Skills Store still lists the Sengled skill as unavailable as of July 2025. (Amazon Alexa Skills Store)}}
===Example incident one (''date'')===
{{Main|link to the main article}}
Short summary of the incident (could be the same as the summary preceding the article).
===Example incident two (''date'')===
...
 
Incidents affecting all of the product line/company's products can be found in the product line/company article: [[Product line title]]/[[Company article title]]
 


==See also==
There still has been no statement from Sengled on the matter as of 26 August 2025. Despite the removal, its Amazon store page<ref>{{Cite web |title=Amazon.com: Sengled |url=https://www.amazon.com/stores/Sengled/page/835A951E-D6BB-46D3-94CD-11070A540E81 |website=[[Amazon]] |date=26 Aug 2025 |access-date=26 Aug 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250826234414/https://www.amazon.com/stores/Sengled/page/835A951E-D6BB-46D3-94CD-11070A540E81 |archive-date=26 Aug 2025}}</ref> and both their EU and US websites still advertise compatibility with Alexa.<ref>{{Cite web |title=sengled: Home |url=https://eu.sengled.com/en/ |website=Sengled (EU) |date=26 Aug 2025 |access-date=26 Aug 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250827000307/https://eu.sengled.com/en/ |archive-date=27 Aug 2025 |quote=''Stream music from your smartphone or via voice control with Amazon's Alexa.''}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Smart Lighting Expert |url=https://us.sengled.com/ |website=Sengled (US) |date=26 Aug 2025 |access-date=26 Aug 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250826235723/https://us.sengled.com/ |archive-date=26 Aug 2025 |quote=''[...] allowing for convenient voice or app control with Amazon Alexa''}}</ref>
{{Placeholder box|Link to relevant theme articles or products with similar incidents.}}


===App itself becomes inoperable (Aug 2025)===
The Sengled app has stopped working since 2 August 2025, leaving customers with non-functioning smart light bulbs.{{Citation needed}} Again, no statement was released by Sengled as of 26 August 2025.


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
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