Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat Review

About Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat

• Price: $53.99
• Type: Smart
• Compatibility: Conventional/Heat pump (up to 2 heat, 2 cool conventional or up to 2 heat pump, 1 cool heat pump with electric backup)
• Power: Corded electric, C-wire required (24 Volts AC)
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 2.4 or 5 GHz (802.11 b/g/n)
• Smart Home capability: Google, Alexa, Apple Home, Matter
• Dimensions: 30"D x 8"W x 6"H
• Weight: 0.39 Kilograms
• Includes: Smart thermostat, UWP wall plate, decorative accent pieces in gray and white, literature

How we tested

Like all products I tackle for Reviewed, it’s best to go through the setup and usage process as if I were a regular customer—and without any assistance from the company that sends us the gear to test.

As such, the Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat was unboxed, along with its 24-page manual. Smart thermostats do everything older ones do and more, plus they do it more efficiently. However, depending on what you currently have in your home, installation can range from plug-and-play to requiring the addition of a C wire.

One of my home’s existing thermostats had the “old-school” 8-pin horizontal connector (and with double-A batteries above that, for power), but thankfully, we had a second thermostat in the home, with the dual 8-pin vertical alignment in the back, already connected for power and Wi-Fi, and perfect for snapping in this new Honeywell Home thermostat.

Otherwise, I would have had to experiment with the jumpers and possibly purchase a C-wire power adapter, sold separately, to test this device. Before I realized I didn’t need to do anything of the sort, I called Honeywell Home customer service, and they were happy to walk me through what was necessary.

Once the thermostat is on the wall, you have the option to set it up via the First Alert by Resideo app (iOS, Android) or by following the on-screen instructions. Either way, you’ll connect the thermostat to your Wi-Fi network, sync it with the app, and then assign a name to the location for easy access.

The process was mostly smooth, although my existing Resideo app couldn’t find the thermostat, so I had to download the (admittedly more robust) First Alert app and set up an account again. This was annoying as I already had a Resideo app on my phone for a different Honeywell Home Smart thermostat in the home.

Once up and running, over the course of a week, I tested the smart thermostat to gauge how well it worked on its own to tweak temperature (more on this shortly), adjust settings at home and on the go, and see if less power was used to save energy and thus, costs.

What we like

The Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat may be missing a few features found in pricier models, but for just over $50, there’s a lot to like about this unit.

Easy setup and smart home integration

While I lucked out to already have the proper wiring in place, some people, particularly those with older homes, may not. However, Honeywell Home supplies a comprehensive manual to follow, a QR code that leads to a YouTube video, and free customer support that answered quickly and thoroughly, even on a Sunday.

The app and Energy Star-certified thermostat are easy to use, featuring an illuminated screen, large numbers, and clear sections that can be accessed with the side buttons.

Out of the box, this thermostat works with several smart home platforms for additional integration and voice control (via a smart speaker), including Google Assistant, Alexa, and Apple Home, as well as support for Matter, an increasingly popular standard for smart home devices. Matter-certified devices are easier to set up, either by QR code (which is what I used) or numerical code matching. Matter products work seamlessly together with other products, regardless of the brand or ecosystem, and generally offer faster response times and better reliability. This thermostat also worked with less popular smart home platforms, such as Samsung’s SmartThings.

As part of my research, I read about Matter support issues from previous shoppers, but the complaints were from about a year ago, before firmware updates and an app refresh, which seemed to address these concerns.

For monitoring and controlling your HVAC equipment, this particular model is compatible with up to two heat and two cool appliances (furnaces and AC units) or up to two heat and one cool heat pump.

For its core functionality, it worked about as well as any other smart thermostat I’ve tested over the years.

It offers good, reliable performance

It may be a bit of an adjustment for those with regular thermostats, but the Honeywell Home X2S is great because it can decide when to turn heat or A/C on and off, make adjustments based on whether anyone is home or not, and works with most HVAC systems like furnaces and air conditioners, or heat pumps.

Using a smart speaker, you can say something like “Alexa, raise the temperature by 3 degrees,” or simply “make it warmer,” or you can say “Hey Google, what's the temperature inside”? This is ideal for those who may have dexterity challenges or mobility issues.

Because the thermostat works with the Resideo First Alert app, it can detect when you leave home, reducing your HVAC system’s energy consumption to save you some cash. More on this shortly.

As opt-in features, the app also allows you to receive reminders to wash or change the air filter, schedule programming (in various day- and/or week-long increment options), and access information about indoor humidity and indoor air quality (IAQ).

It (kinda) knows when you’re not at home

Although the Honeywell Home X2S doesn’t work with occupancy sensors like other smart thermostats do, it automatically detects when you’re not at home, enabling the “Away” mode until you return.

It does this via the First Alert app on your smartphone. Using geofencing technology, the app detects when all users have left a designated area around your home, triggering an energy-saving temperature setting. Therefore, your furnace (in the winter) or air conditioners (in the summer) don’t need to work so hard if no one is home. It then understands that you’ve returned, turns on the “Home” mode, and adjusts the temperature back to a comfortable setting. It’s customizable, and if you have pets, you may not use this feature at all, which we’ll get to in the next section.

What we don’t like

You really can’t beat the price of the X2S Smart Thermostat, and it’s loaded with useful features, but there are a couple of issues.

Multiple Resideo apps make setup frustrating

After my issues in using the wrong app to set up this thermostat, I looked at several online comments complaining about the same thing. Why are there multiple Resideo apps? Instead, we’d rather see everything consolidated into one, leaving you to simply choose your model.

It unnecessarily complicates the setup process, and as a result, you risk customers packing it all back up and returning it.

No motion sensors

Many other Wi-Fi thermostats, such as those from Google Nest, Ecobee, and some Honeywell Home models (T9 and T10 Series), include and/or support small occupancy sensors that can be placed in various rooms.

By communicating wirelessly with the thermostat, these infrared sensors help prioritize heating and cooling by room, improving comfort, and automatically reduce energy use by detecting when a room (or the entire home) is unoccupied.

The Honeywell Home X2S doesn’t have sensors at all. And so, the temperature being gauged is where the thermostat is located, which could be, and often is, in a hallway.

It can guess when you’re not home, as you (and anyone else registered with the First Alert app) aren’t home, but what about pets? Alas, you must manually account for your pets before you leave or simply disable “Home/Away” presence sensing altogether.

It looks a little bland

I know design is subjective, but compared to the cool-looking, circular Nest thermostat and high-tech Ecobee models, the Honeywell Home X2S is as plain as it gets. In fact, it looks like any other “non-smart” thermostat.

The rectangular thermostat features thick bezels and lacks a touchscreen, presumably to keep costs down; therefore, it requires buttons along the side to navigate through the menus.

That said, you do get both a white and a gray base “bar” to snap in under the unit, so you can use whichever one you prefer.

Warranty

The Honeywell Home X2S includes a 2-year limited warranty.

Should you buy the Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat?

Yes, it's an outstanding value buy that can compete with premium models

If you’re tight on cash or don’t need a pricier model with additional features, like room sensor support, the Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat (available at Amazon for $71.98) is a great find for just over $50.

Hopefully, you have the right wiring to replace your existing thermostat with this smarter one easily. However, Resideo does a good job of helping you get started, with the manual, instructional videos, and free customer care phone access.

It may not have every last feature you want, and it’s not much of a looker, but between its home-away automation, support for multiple smart home platforms (and speakers), and versatile First Alert app, it’s a smart device with a smart price.

Our Expert

Marc Saltzman is a prolific tech expert with one simple goal: to “break down geek speak into street speak.” For the past 30-plus years (yikes), Marc has been a freelance journalist for dozens of publications, contributing to many prominent outlets, including Reviewed.com, USA TODAY, Reader’s Digest, Yahoo/AOL, Costco Connection magazine, AARP, and Postmedia. Marc is also a 17-time author (including “Apple Watch For Dummies”); a regular on several TV shows as a tech expert and analyst; and host of the syndicated Tech It Out radio show and podcast. Marc specializes in consumer electronics, interactive entertainment, smart home tech, automotive innovations, and future trends.