Ecobee won't work

Ok this is part question, part rant.

I spent 300 freaking dollars on my Ecobee 3 premium and the shit doesn’t work.

Sure, it integrated into HA and I can see everything (mode, temp, humidity). But I can’t control a damn thing from HA. This isn’t HA’s fault (I’m guessing). If I change the preset mode (home, away, sleep), it changes right back in a few seconds. If I change the temp, it returns right back in a few seconds. Nothing I set from HA will stick. And it’s so aggravating because I can’t make automations or anything work.

My question: I’m reading a few people say to set it up with Homekit integration. I hardly understand that and I’m anti-Apple so I have zero apple products in my house. Can I still use the Homekit integration? I’m confused, one place said I needed an Apple TV as a hub. I tried to install the Homekit device integration, it said "no devices found). I tried doing the bridge, it wants me to scan some code in my Apple Home software (which I obviously don’t have).

I feel like I really wasted $300 because this Ecobee is borderline unusable.

Thoughts?