The Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat is smart heating made simple
SOURCE:TechRadar|BY: Karen Freeman
The X2S Smart Thermostat is an easy-to-use Energy Star certified thermostat. It’s not the most modern-looking device, but it does the job.
While I needed a professional to handle the physical installation, setting up this smart thermostat was straightforward with the First Alert app. Easily set up specific daily, weekly, vacation, and auto away temperature controls. This thermostat works with Amazon, Google, and Apple smart home ecosystems.
Pros
Easy to use
Works well
Flexible
Works with Amazon, Google, and Apple
Cons
-
Not easy to install
-
Requires app download
-
Voice control ineffective for me
-
Not yet available outside North America
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The Honeywell Home X2S Smart Thermostat is an easy-to-use Energy Star certified thermostat. It’s 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).
(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 isn’t 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.
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This model, otherwise known as RTH2CWF/U X2S Smart Thermostat, replaces Honeywell Home’s RTH6580 WiFi 7-day Programmable Thermostat, which retailed for a similar price. It’s not as fancy-looking as some of the models you’ll 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 I’d 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. It’s 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 you’re 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 didn’t take the professional long at all. Installation does require a C-wire (24 VAC), which my home didn’t have. Honeywell Home does sell an adapter kit in case your home doesn’t 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 Home’s 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. You’ll need to download Resideo’s First Alert app on your smartphone in order to set up the thermostat. It’s also the easiest way to control the thermostat. But once you’ve 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 don’t need to waste money heating or cooling your home unnecessarily when you’re away. Set up the thermostat’s 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. It’s not unattractive, but it doesn’t look particularly modern either. You can fully operate with the buttons just like you could in the 'old days', but you’ll have to go through a lot of menus to do so. It’s 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 didn’t 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 68°F/20°C during the day and 63°F/17°C at night. Since my husband and I both often work from home, I didn’t 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.
You only want to pay to heat and cool your home when you’re 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 phone’s location and Vacation Settings as needed.
You want a flexible smart thermostat
The First Alert app is very easy to use, but you can also control the thermostat with your home’s ecosystem of choice. You can also go old school and use the buttons on the thermostat itself.
Don't buy it if
You don’t 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 home’s ecosystem assistant or the buttons to control it.
You’re not handy and don’t want to pay a pro to install it
My husband is pretty handy (I’m not) but we ended up having to pay a pro to install the thermostat. Your mileage may vary.
You prefer to use voice activation
I had no trouble using Control Center on my iPhone to control the thermostat, but Siri’s voice activation didn’t work for me.
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 doesn’t require a C wire, which may make installation easier. However, it’s not compatible with Apple HomeKit.
This one is compatible with Alexa, Google Home, and Apple HomeKit. You can also use the Hive app if you don’t have any of them. The thermostat has a clear touchscreen display instead of buttons and it makes home heating more efficient.
Karen is a world traveler, writer, teacher, family woman, and occasionally a movie extra. She has been writing about Apple, consumer tech, and lifestyle products since 2010 for various publications including TechRadar, CNET, Tom’s Guide, iMore, Macworld, AppAdvice, and WatchAware.
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