The Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat is smart heating made simple

Date:
Sun, 11 Jan 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Description:
The X2S Smart Thermostat is an easy-to-use Energy Star certified thermostat. Its not the most modern-looking device, but it does the job.

FULL STORY ======================================================================

The Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat is an easy-to-use Energy Star certified thermostat. Its not the most sleek or modern-looking device, but it does the job.

The Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat is compatible with up to 2 heat/2
cool conventional, up to 2 heat/1 cool heat pump with electric backup, hot water heat, forced air (gas, oil, or electric.) It isn't compatible with electric baseboard heat (120-240V).

This thermostat comes with detailed installation instructions, but we found
it beyond us and ended up hiring a professional to do it. Installation does require a C wire, though Honeywell Home does sell an adaptor kit if your home lacks one. Once the thermostat was physically installed in my home, I had no trouble at all setting it up with the app and getting it working. And it
works beautifully.

Youll need to download the First Alert by Resideo app initially to set up
your schedule. You can create a 5-1-1 day cycle, 5-2 day cycle, 7-day cycle, or set up one-week increments. You can also create a vacation schedule, even after you've left. Toggle on the Auto Away feature to allow the thermostat to update automatically based on your phone's location. You can also have the
app send you filter change reminders. The First Alert app can also control
any of their other home devices you may own, such as CO2/smoke alarms, security cameras, air quality filters, water leak sensors, and more. (Image credit: Future)

Don't like using a separate app? You can also control the thermostat with
your ecosystem of choice, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, or Apple HomeKit (Matter certified.) I'm an Apple user, and I did not find that Siri voice control worked properly. However, Control Center worked just fine.

You can also manage the thermostat the old-fashioned way, toggling through
the menu with the six buttons next to the display. (Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future) Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat: Price and availability

The Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat was announced at CES in January 2025 and was released for sale in the US and Canada in the spring of 2025. As of this writing, it retails for $79.99 in the US but isnt for sale yet outside
of North America. You can find it at Amazon, Walmart, and tons of other major retailers online and in brick and mortar stores.

This model, otherwise known as RTH2CWF/U X2S Smart Thermostat, replaces Honeywell Homes RTH6580 WiFi 7-day Programmable Thermostat, which retailed
for a similar price. Its not as fancy-looking as some of the models youll
find on our roundup of the best smart thermostats , but it gets the job done. (Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future) Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat: Design

Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat comes in just one colorway. Honeywell
Home calls it white, but Id call it dove gray and off-white to be more specific. It measures 3.44 in/87 mm high, 5.13 in/130 mm wide, and 1.188 in/29.5 mm deep. It has a basic black-on-gray LCD display that lights up when you press a button. When dormant, the thermostat screen shows Mode, Current Temperature, Set Temperature, Status Display, Fan, and Time. Its much easier to read when lit up, but it can be read when dormant as well.

The thermostat comes with detailed directions, so you can install it yourself if youre fairly handy. I ended up calling a professional to install it, since I was unable to do it myself and I was having some other work done as well.
It didnt take the professional long at all. Installation does require a
C-wire (24 VAC), which my home didnt have. Honeywell Home does sell an
adapter kit in case your home doesnt have this wire. You also need to have WiFi 2.4 or 5GHz (802.11 b/g/n) in order for the smart features to work properly. Once you install Honeywell Homes UWP wall plate, future upgrades will be easier, since you can just change the thermostat without redoing all of the wiring. (Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future)

The Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat is Energy Star certified. Youll need to download Resideos First Alert app on your smartphone in order to set up
the thermostat. Its also the easiest way to control the thermostat. But once youve set it up, you can control it manually on the thermostat itself, or
with Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, or Google Assistant. The thermostat is Matter-certified.

The thermostat is compatible with up to 2 heat/2 cool conventional, up to 2 heat/1 cool heat pump with electric backup, hot water heat, forced air (gas, oil, or electric.) It does not work with electric baseboard heat (120-240V).

You dont need to waste money heating or cooling your home unnecessarily when youre away. Set up the thermostats schedule for a 5-1-1 day cycle, 5-2 day cycle, 7-day cycle, or one-week increments. You can also set up a vacation schedule. Toggle on the Auto Away feature to allow the thermostat to update based on your location. (Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future) Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat: Performance

The Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat was only released months ago, but it looks like something from an earlier time. Its not unattractive, but it
doesnt look particularly modern either. You can fully operate with the
buttons just like you could in the 'old days', but youll have to go through a lot of menus to do so. Its easier just to operate it within the app. (Image credit: Future)

I hate to put yet another app on my iPhone, but this one, First Alert by Resideo, is important for the best experience with the Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat. I did try controlling it from Control Center on my iPhone, but features are limited there. I also tried voice commands to Siri, but it didnt work well. The thermostat definitely 'heard' me and changed the temperature, but it did not go to the temperature I said.

Using the First Alert app, the Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat works great. I set it to heat my home to 68F/20C during the day and 63F/17C at night. Since my husband and I both often work from home, I didnt set a
daytime away temperature, though I could. I did take a nine-day vacation and set up a special vacation schedule, which worked beautifully. I checked multiple times on my vacation to make sure my home was only heated enough to avoid the pipes freezing. My home was comfortably warm when I returned on a particularly cold January day. (Image credit: Future)

The Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat is compatible with Apple HomeKit (Matter enabled), Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa. The First Alert app makes it easy to change the temperature, set up a daily/weekly schedule, turn your fan on and off, switch from heat to cool, and create vacation settings. You can also track your HVAC runtime in the app. You can also run other First Alert products via the app, such as air filters, smoke/CO2 alarms, security cameras, and water leak/freeze detectors.

I found that the Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat worked quite well in heating my home to my specifications. I like being able to set the schedule
to my precise daily needs, and being able to set up vacation mode even while already away on vacation. I feel like there is a lot less wasted HVAC use, as the thermostat makes it easy to set up a tailored schedule. Should you buy
the Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat? Buy it if

You want a reasonably-priced smart thermostat

While not the cheapest option on the market, there are certainly pricier ones out there. You can find this one well under the retail price if you shop around. View Deal

You only want to pay to heat and cool your home when youre in it

Set up granular daily and weekly controls tailored to your schedule. Plus you can set up Auto Away so the thermostat updates based on your phones location and Vacation Settings as needed. View Deal

You want a flexible smart thermostat

The First Alert app is very easy to use, but you can also control the thermostat with your homes ecosystem of choice. You can also go old school
and use the buttons on the thermostat itself. View Deal Don't buy it if

You dont want to deal with another app

Yes, you do have to install the First Alert by Resideo app to get the thermostat set up. However, you could delete it later and just use your homes ecosystem assistant or the buttons to control it. View Deal

Youre not handy and dont want to pay a pro to install it

My husband is pretty handy (Im not) but we ended up having to pay a pro to install the thermostat. Your mileage may vary. View Deal

You prefer to use voice activation

I had no trouble using Control Center on my iPhone to control the thermostat, but Siris voice activation didnt work for me. View Deal Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat: alternatives to consider

If you're in the market for a smart thermostat and you're not sure Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat is the one, here are some others you might consider checking out.

Google Nest Learning Thermostat (Gen 4)

This one topped our Best Smart Thermostat list due to its great looks, automatic heating schedule creation, and the fact that it compensates for outdoor temperature. It doesnt require a C wire, which may make installation easier. However, its not compatible with Apple HomeKit.

Read our full review: Google Nest Learning Thermostat (Gen 4) View Deal

Hive Thermostat (2024)

This one is compatible with Alexa, Google Home, and Apple HomeKit. You can also use the Hive app if you dont have any of them. The thermostat has a
clear touchscreen display instead of buttons and it makes home heating more efficient.

Read our review: Hive Thermostat (2024) View Deal Image 1 of 4 (Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future) Image 2 of 4 (Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future) Image 3 of 4 (Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future) Image 4 of 4 (Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future)



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/home/smart-thermostats/honeywell-home-x2s-smart-ther mostat-review


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)