Lenovo Smart Clock

Lenovo Smart clock – I Bought the Lenovo smart clock a few years ago. Initially i was so impressed i bought 3 more units from JBHIFI They worked quite well for a while.. But then I began to notice the adaptive lighting screen was dimming even when set to 100% brightness.. There is almost non existent documentation available for the list of commands.. Following a… Read more

router upgrade to AX6 I am getting regular.. Device is not set up responses from the devices.. Sadly what was a game changer product has now become a left behind end of service life device.. The clock still works.. And the alarm is great.. and weather.. But you might as well get a google home puc.. and just use that for home automation as unplugging and plugging the lenovo smart clock is too much of chore to do every other day ...

Piece of junk for charging – What a piece of junk this is. At first examination it looks really good but try and charge your phone and your in for a heap of frustration. When I put my iphone on it to charge I get no response at all most of the time. Then sometimes it responds and the green circle indicating charging lights up for about 2 seconds and then goes out. Not once… Read more

have I been able to charge my phone. The trouble shooting info by Lenovo does not even go close to helping with a solution.

I have socks that are smarter than this “Smart Clock” – When my old alarm clock radio stopped working I thought I’d upgrade to a smart clock so I could listen to spotify etc. Instead of to the radio. I quite liked the way the Lenovo smart clocks looked so bought one of those. Very quickly I realized the “smart” in smart clock most likely refers to the expectations about the owner as setting one up… Read more

needs multiple attempts downloading a myriad of apps and setting up all sort of accounts etc. for which a degree in IT wouldn’t go amiss.

When I finally succeeded I noticed the complete lack of buttons looks great but is very user unfriendly…… not to mention confusing if you don’t use it often. Did I have to swipe left, down, diagonal….. or ask Siri/Alexa/Google….. cannot remember which one does what again (neither of them listen very well so no big deal). Not sure how someone came to the conclusion this swiping business is better than a simple “on” button.

What did it for me is that all of a sudden the time was shown incorrectly as well. What’s worse is that when googling how to get it back to correct time dr. Google suggests it has to do with the timezones….. I am curious to know which timezone is one AND A HALF hours behind AEST……

In short this thing had ONE job………

I wish this thing could feel pain – Hardly ever responds when I prompt it, the only thing I really use it for is to play music, but the music stops and starts again sometimes minutes later. There are days when it works fine, but I shouldn't have to hope it will do what it's meant to do

Screen flickering problem – After about 6 months of use the screen started to flicker when dimmed at night. I have to turn off the screen completely which ruins the reason I bought it as my bedside clock. Do not recommend if you use it as a clock and not as a toy to play (which you can always do with your smart phone anyway)

Lenovo pile of snot alarm clock – Do not waste your time, money or effort. Just wanted an alarm clock. These idiots want you to sign up to apps, download apps, change router settings, use 2.4ghz connection dont use 2.4ghz, use 5ghz. 2 alarm clocks, couldnt get either working. Save yourself, Buy something decent. Best use is a paperweight. Show details

They had a good idea – The 'smart clock' seemed like a good idea at the time. Unfortunately being part of the internet of things it seems to be plagued with problems. The unit randomly appears to go offline and then reconnects, I have gone through testing to ensure that our wifi network has an adequate signal strength etc... Thankfully I didn't purchase this unit as it… Read more

was supplied using Telstra points. Just another nail in the coffin for the internet of things as far as I'm concerned. The audio quality and the display screen are nice fine if only the implementation was improved. Better of buying a decent clock radio that doesn't require an internet connection!

Not Syncing with Alexa app yet. So not worth a buy on the "alexa built in" version – I love jbhifi because of their range of products, customer friendliness and service. This time, the only not so good was the product “Lenovo Smart Clock with Alexa built-in” that I purchased from them. The product looked good from the exterior and no concerns on that. The problem started when I tried to sync the smart clock in my Alexa app.… Read more

Whenever I open the app, I can see a popup coming up saying “Lenovo Smart Clock is ready for setup” with a “Cancel” and a “Continue” button. When I click on the “Continue” button, the Alexa app screen goes blank except of the bottom default icons of the Alexa app. It doesn’t do anything and I have to close the app and reopen again and repeat. This happened for several times nothing it did to sync the smart clock.

I called up Amazon Alexa customer care and spent 4 hours of call time with them to diagnose and get the issue sorted. We tried all sorts of troubleshooting starting from doing a soft reset and a hard factory reset. We also tried adding the smart clock by clicking on the “+” icon in the devices section of Alexa app. The smart clock doesn’t appear in the devices list. When all is done, I asked the representative on what could be the issue. This is what he said.

Sometimes, the retailers would get a product which is launched in other countries and hence they might not work in the country where they have been imported. That’s the reason why the Lenovo smart clock option is not coming up on the Alexa app for selection. So finally they gave me two options:

1. Go back to Jbhifi, return the product and get a replacement product and try to see if it works. 2. Call Lenovo customer support and explain the issue and see if they can help.

I thought of picking the 2nd option as till now, I was keen in keeping this product and get it working along with my Alexa devices.

I couldn’t reach Lenovo’s customer support number so I searched for their twitter hash. Got their twitter account and tweeted my issue to them. They asked me to DM back. So DMed the entire conversation I had with Amazon Alexa customer centre. After few hours of waits for them to respond back, they replied back saying that we are looking into the issue… Meanwhile we will setup a repair for this product… so please let us know your address so that we can arrange for the product to be picked up for repair and we can diagnose. I was like WHAT THE HECK. I bought a product less than a day ago and it didn’t work. These guys say it has to be repaired. NOT FAIR. These guys didn’t give any other option. So I am left with a choice.. either to get it repaired by taking it to JBHIFI or get any other branded product by return this Lenovo Smart clock back to JBHIFI.

I wanted to try my luck one last time, so I returned this smart clock to JBHIFI and got a replacement then and there. The customer support were kind enough to understand my problem. I took the LENOVO smart clock back home and tested it. And yes you would have guessed it right… it DIDN’T WORK as expected.

So took the product back to JBHIFI and returned it. Told them the situation and they were kind enough to accept.

So if you guys are planning to buy a LENOVO SMART CLOCK with ALEXA BUILT-IN, Please ensure it syncs with the Alexa app.

I had an option to take a store voucher or buy another product. So I choose to buy another product “AMAZON SHOW 5”.

I took it home, it easily synced along with my other Alexa devices. And it was the BEST PURCHASE ever.

Music - good. Alarm - useless – My children love the Google voice commands and music elements but the Alarms are USELESS. Neither of my children wake to the soft tone alarms (even at max volume). There is no ‘beep beep’ style alarm on these clocks. Customer service are useless - contacted them to ask if a ‘beep beep’ alarm is possible. They wasted my time for ages when they… Read more

should have just said no. So now my children both have alarm clocks that they don’t wake up to! What a waste of money.

Great when it works, otherwise it can be so frustrating! – Edited review: Apparently I should be able to have photos from a chosen google album show as the clock background. Except, after choosing the album, the clock showed only the first photo, then reverted to showing only stock images. Since then, any attempts to re-load the album results in a message “unable to connect to album, try again in a few… Read more

minutes”. Hours later, the problem remains.

Apparently I can play music through the smart clock, and I can confirm that it does start playing… and after 10 minutes, it stops. So every 10 minutes, you have to ask it to start playing again.

Added: So I fixed the goggle photo/album issue by telling r clock to “change photo frame” (by voice), and then choosing which album from the options on screen. When there’s two users, and even if the album is shared, the clock doesn’t want to choose the album if it doesn’t know who is making the request - so it needs voice.

The music stopping issue has disappeared, not entirely, but it’s now infrequent. I think it could be a combination of internet, music stream, and google listening when it think it heard you call it.

I’ve since added other smart stuff to my home (lights, etc), and it’s actually great once you get used to saying “google, turn on my light” (instead of fumbling for the switch).

Headache Maker – Got it with Telstra Plus Points. Just a device to use up your data through WiFi and Bluetooth connections and track your life. Better off with a 50 year old wind up alarm clock and a Crystal Set. Show details

Ok but limited clock faces and poor display – I bought this for $125. Setup was easy. However I wear glasses and so depend on really good contrasting numbers on a clock. The cheap lcd display on this unit it not fit for purpose as it’s contrast ratio is very poor and background to the clock numbers remains bright even when the display is dimmed. There is a poor selection of clock faces, in… Read more

particular none that have red numerals and no option to download any from the internet. This clock fails the visual accessibility test.

Okay product, not a great design – Hello, I'm just getting really annoyed by this "Please try again in a few seconds." feature. I understand it's for a good cause, but it does nothing more than just annoy people. I think it should be removed or at-least limited as a button to turn on/off... Show details

As a simple bedside clock it's ok, but it's a very overpriced and very poor performing Google device – The Lenovo Smart Clock with docking station worked fine for a week or so, then it started having connection issues, now it rarely allows to me access the radio, which was the reason I bought it as a bedside clock radio. I had to take it back to the Goodguys, Nigel was wonderful, he did a factory reset and connected my phone and mobile modem.… Read more

Again, it worked fine for a week or so, but soon reverted to answering every simple request with "Mmm, there is a glitch, please try again in a few seconds". I gave up after trying every few seconds, minutes, hours and days, as well as opening the Google Home App and turning power off and on, all this achieved was raising my blood pressure and wasting so much of my time. This product is not fit for purpose, I will return it, and the three other sets I bought for X-mas presents, and request request a full refund. My first and last Lenovo product.

Purchased in October 2021.

Simple digital clock & radio – I bought the Lenovo Smart Clock from JB Hi Fi on special for $49 (November 2021). It took a few goes to set it up, as my Google Home app couldn't find the clock. It works fine now, but I have only been using it for a few days. I am using this clock in my treatment room (I'm a physical therapist). I needed a bright screen with time and some background music/radio. Will see hot it goes. Show details

Buying this clock is like buying a lottery ticket – Worked fine for a while. Then it started having intermittent connection issues. Currently it is next to the router under close watch. Some days it works fine. Other days it randomly disconnects from wi fi and refuses to reconnect. This is hardly the sort of reliability needed for an alarm clock function. There are quite a few threads out there… Read more

with other owners having this problem. Lenovo seems to have offered no solution that I can find. If you buy one, it may work for you. And then again it may not. That is why its a lottery ticket. Look elsewhere.

Don’t waste your money – Clock looks cool and is a pretty basic set up but is riddled with gremlins as described by other reviews. Just like the other reviews, the clock worked great for the first two weeks, but now every five minutes the screen changes to ‘no internet connection’. I have ‘reset’ the clock a dozen times and it will work great for a short period and then… Read more

regular ‘no internet connection’ messages start to appear again. I have reviewed Levono’s trouble shooting and FAQ information which is useless. I had to laugh as one of their suggestions was to move the (bedside) clock closer to the router. Kind of defeats the whole purpose of it being (and marketed as) a bedside clock. Besides, we have numerous other wifi devices we use in exactly the same location that have no trouble with the wifi signal. Very frustrating and very expensive paperweight. I recommend you don’t waste your money.

It's annoying me to no end! – So at first I absolutely loved my Lenovo smart essential alarm clock. That is until 2 days ago. The set up was extremely easy, it's very user friendly. The sound quality is even pretty decent. I can even deal with not being able to figure out why the time gets bright for a few seconds-minutes then dims itself or how to fix it. Connecting to… Read more

YouTube music via Hey Google was a breeze until 2days ago. Now it just keeps telling me to log into my Google home app and I am already logged in. I never yelled at inanimate object before, well I'm yelling now. There's no info on how to fix this PLEASE help someone anyone.

Display too Bright – Have had this Smart Clock Essential model just over a week now and ready to throw it out. The display is so bright even on the dimmest setting. When instructing it to dim to a certain percentage only minimally changes it and I have woken up in the middle of the night twice now and the display has gone back to full 100% and the room is lit up… Read more

like a Christmas tree. Tried a factory reset and to use the night feature on the app but you can only select dim in-between the hours of 10pm and 6am and the screen is still far too bright. Have had to place cardboard in front and can't see the clock at all that way. There are hardly any manual buttons on the unit and you have to "Hey Google" to do the majority of it including streaming the radio. The radio often cuts out as well and I have to ask it again to stream it. Clock is decent for the price I paid for it, is compact in size, and has a lot of features via the Google Home app, but its not completely functional and I prefer something with at least some manual button options over a fully robotic one. The sounds of the radio and music streaming apps apps is clear, but no bass. Prefer the JBL clock radio I had before which had a good speaker and sound to it and a better night light (though more expensive). On the look out for another clock.

Perfect little bedside clock – For the money the Lenovo CD-24501F Smart clock does everything that the Google home does. It's compact design means it takes up very little room, but is still easy to read. Setup took seconds, as it sincs with the Google Home ap. Show details

Fantastic, love it - but one problem – This clock is fantastic. It’s simple, straight forward and just simply works. Now before I go more in depth I want to firstly say that unfortunately after one day the screen has started to die, it has burns in the display, where at higher brightness levels it has purple lines through the display, and in the last hour or so it has developed a… Read more

flicker as well as white lines both vertical and horizontal. Now I can only assume this is a factory defective model due to how quickly this happens - it was fine in the morning but broken when I got home after work. I will be returning it on the weekend and getting a replacement one.

As for the review of this product. It’s great, it’s simple but intuitive.

The build of this clock is solid, for its size it is quite weighty, which gives the whole unit a premium feel, despite the cheap cost(got ours for $99 which included a smart RGB bulb and plug). The body is covered in a fabric sleeve which helps keep costs low but maintain that premium feel, it really does feel like a luxurious item and I really like the choice of fabric over a plastic body rather than leaving it bare. The display is quite good(when it’s working) and isn’t high pixel density however it’s something you read from far away enough to not notice any sharp edges where they should be rounded. It is multi touch and has a nice feel to it, however it is a bit of a finger print magnet by any stretch, so keep a microfibre cloth handy after you’re done setting the alarms. It has quite a thick bezel around the screen however it’s not really out of place, keeping in mind it’s still a clock. On the rear you get a USBa port - this is for charging only, so if you like a minimalist look and don’t want a power board, you can charge your phone with the clock. There is also a physical microphone switch, so you can turn it off completely if you don’t want google listening in and a - disappointing - barrel charger port. I really hope one day USB-c becomes the standard for stuff like this, there’s no reason for it not to be aside from greed.

Now into the user interface, you’ve got swipe down which gives you short cuts to alarms, sleep time and play music as wel as a cool little night light function which lights up the room with 4 different colours of choice, a useful way to get to the toilet in the night. Although most will just use their phones and the fact that it’s a swipe down then switch function makes it not very *sleepy* user friendly, a little button on the screen when the screen is fully dim would be nice, however I can also understand the wish to keep the UI simple. Swipe up and you’ve got a few more shortcuts, brightness, volume, do not disturb and settings. I won’t delve too far into the features but my personal favourite is the bed time button from the swipe down menu. This triggers a series of events, first the screen dims, then google asks you what time you’d like to wake up, in which you give google the time, google will set the alarm and then proceed to play sounds of nature to help you to sleep. This can be turned off but honestly Lenovo did such a good job with this I will actually be keeping it on, once I get my replacement unit. The speaker is not fantastic, but they rarely are in these home personal assistant devices, which is what this essentially is - a google home with a screen. But the speakers are more than adequate for its nature sounds and for listening to a podcast or some news etc. just don’t expect a banging sound experience. The clock faces are customisable, however you are limited to styles and that’s it, so if you want weather to display on your screen well you MUST choose the clock face with the dynamic weather background, if you want an analogue clock then that’s all you get. It would be nice to see a bit of customisation there as there are some clock faces I prefer but being able to wake up and see the weather before you even go on your phone is super convenient for me. Being a google driven device it works with google home and has all the same functionality as well.

All in all I love this thing, despite the dodgy screen it’s easily my favourite device of 2020.

I will also report back if my next unit also plays up, however I am lead to believe this is a rare problem with these.

EDIT: A few days on since getting our replacement unit, it has been fine, snappy and responsive and the screen is perfectly fine with no issues, looks like it was just a factory defect.

Very Difficult to Operate & Poor Service – Difficult to configure. Randomly goes bright in the middle of the night, the radio wouldn't switch off, connection constantly drops out. No back up service. Ended up asking for money back & bought a clock radio. Show details

It's a google home mini with a screen, that works – A google home mini with a screen Eveything a google home mini can do it can The screen can get super dark at night time (adjusts with a sensor) so it won't keep you awake but still be able to be viewed. has a high powered USB on the back means my phone can be charged from it over night too rather then having anouther plug in the wall the only… Read more

thing you cant do is stream video to it (dont know why you would with its small screen)

Would recommend it for anyone looking to upgrade their bedside clock and are within the google ecosystem or have google home devices already

Needs improvement – This product does what it claims to do in general. However, the screen of the unit I received keeps going black and becomes non-responsive. I had to unplug and plug in again every time to fix it. Not sure if it’s a common problem. Show details

Great smart clock – This smart clock is my daily used to control smart devices as well as listen to music. It does what it advertised. I like the size as it is not filling up my side table. I also like the fact it doesn't have camera for privacy. Also USB charger feature is a bonus. Show details

Great addition to our smart home collection – All 3 devices are very useful for me. I had a bit of trouble connecting them using old Link app. But once upgraded through that, I downloaded latest link app which was much convenient.They all works as expected for me. I used all of them to set up bedroom devices. Ability to show your google photo albums gives a small picture frame, a nice clock… Read more

with weather, and alarm function to wake up in the morning with updates and news,etc. Turning on/off my humidifier via the smart plug made it much convenient for me. Bedside lamp can be remotely turned on/off with color changes. All these are great additions to our bedroom.

Perfect little alarm clock – When searching for an alarm clock there were some very poor options. This was my first google assistant device. I was so happy after trying it that I bought another one immediately while it was on sale. The design is subtle. The kids enjoyed asking google questions. The alarm just works, just check that it gets the AM or PM right. The music… Read more

options are also just right. The USB port is another plus to charge devices without needing another plug. It doesn't play videos but that's not what we bought it for.

A great little smart clock that does exactly what I need – Upfront this is a fairly inexpensive item but it does what it says really well. I wanted a google assistant alarm clock, radio, etc. The smart bit is pretty good. Setting alarms, listening to the radio, spotify, etc is easy. The sound quality is fine for such a small unit. The alarm options are good and it is easy to use. I did my research… Read more

and this provided what I wanted at a good price. This is not a full home hub (and does not claim to be). Very satisfied.

Not so smart – The lenovo smart clock works fine as a clock with quiet a few faces to switch between also can give you weather conditions, but do not try to use this as a smart hub, you have to say commands several times to get it to do what you wanted (ie:turn things on off) in connection with smart plugs. As a clock yes as a smart hub thats a BIG NO