Withings Aura Connected Alarm Clock with Wake-Up Light & Sound System

Good design, finish and functionality.

Lasted exactly 2 days past when I can return it. So a month and 2 days. Turned it on tonight and it’s going haywire ! Just blinking on and off and not connecting. Can control it at all can’t turn it off. Turns back on on it’s own blinking on and off. Did a bunch of trouble shooting deleted app, reset while light, nothing worked just went back to blinking.

Pros: I like the way the light and sounds gently nudge me awake, and the box that it comes in is nice. Sturdy, thick cardboard with a magnetic lid closure.Cons: Almost everything else.I was really impressed with the box that the Aura came in. The box is a pretty blue color, it is very sturdy, and it has a molded plastic insert that hold the Aura securely. But everything went downhill after opening the box....1. There are paper instructions that come with the Aura, but the instructions were wedged between the side of the box and the rigid plastic insert that holds the Aura. The plastic is glued to the box so I had to get a tweezers to fish the instruction booklet out.2. The instruction booklet points you to a web site that gives a link to the App that controls the Aura. I download the App from Apple, but I was a little shocked at the horrible reviews. FYI: A single App controls all of the Withings devices, not just the Aura.3. The App installed fine on my phone, but then the App couldn’t find the Aura device through the Bluetooth connection. I must have tried to connect ten times. Finally I went to another Amazon review and found the tip about plugging/unplugging the Aura 5 times to "reset" the device.4. The "reset" seemed to work and at this point the Aura device showed up in a list designed to show all nearby Whitings devices. BUT once I selected the Aura device, the App showed that the phone and the Aura couldn’t sync. The phone was right next to the Aura but the two wouldn’t connect. After five minutes still no connection. In frustration I walked away, and then suddenly the two synced.5. At this point I was able to finish the install of the App, allow the App access my Wi-Fi, update the firmware on the Aura, and go through some tutorials in the App. Next I set an alarm and play around with the different alarm sounds. Everything looked good.6. Then I got a text message and switch to read it; when I came back to the App I found that the App could no longer see the Aura. At this point I had to go through the whole setup process again! Select the device from the list, sync with the phone, allow WI-FI access, etc) I thought it was a fluke, but a few minutes later when I took a call and then went back to the App I found all the connection dropped once again. I didn’t connect a third time because I wanted to see if the alarm would work without the Aura being connected to the App.7. The next morning the alarm DID go off at the correct time even though the Aura device wasn’t connect to the App or the phone. The soft light and gentle music nudged me from sleep. Then I tried to turn the darn thing off and I couldn’t get the wave sounds and the light to shut off.So I can’t say I’m impressed with the Aura so far. The connection issues are beyond frustrating, and I dislike that everything has to be controlled from the App. The Aura is also kind of strange looking. It reminds me of a periscope on a submarine. The Aura does have a clock on the front, but the number are dim and on the small side. I can read the time at night, but once the lights are on I can no longer see the time. And while the Light/Soothing Wake-Up Alarm is nice, I’m afraid to depend on it because the Aura doesn’t have a battery backup. What happens if the power goes out? And will the Light still wake me up if the alarm is set for after sunrise and my room is already filled with light?Hopefully Withings will fix the issues with the App and the inability of the Aura to stay connected to the App. If they can fix all the problems, it might be an interesting device to have.Update: On Saturday morning when I get to sleep past 4:00 am, the light and sounds did wake me up even though the room was fill with morning sunlight.

Very difficult to set up - still not working properly. That being said, it's fabulous …1. Falling asleep to the diminishing red light and crashing waves is very relaxing. I definitely fall asleep faster than I did listening to music.2. Waking up to the intensifying white light and whimsical music is far less abrupt than the radio or buzzer and is quite effective.

I like this. I'm slowly getting used to this system. The secret is setting it all up well in your smartphone app. I have an iphone, and the app works well. It also has a readily accessible "how to" reminder for using the tapping system that turns the lights and alarm on and off--Smart decision!Because I keep my phone near me, and I don't want the light in my face all night, I rarely use the clock function.I do like the included sleep sound options and especially like the slow wake-up function. I've owned this for over a month. I think this new gadget is helping me sleep well again, by gently nudging me to bed on time, and giving me a gentler wakeup call. Good product. Because it takes up bedside real estate, I would like a smaller footprint, but it's not a dealbreaker.

Bought for my nursing student daughter. She and her roommate love it. Helps wake them up for the 5am shift on a cold Michigan morning. Did not purchase sleep pad. She thought it was creepy.

Such a good concept; such poor functionality.

This is a great alarm clock! I've been curious about alarm clocks that combine noise with light to wake you and while this is certainly effective I'm really looking forward to using it after daylight savings time ends and it's darker out in the mornings!It does take up a fair amount of space on your nightstand but it's pretty easy to set up and we haven't had any issues using it at all!