Maytronics Dolphin M600 - Failure and Repair

[rreeves]

I wanted to share an experience I had with Maytronics.

I was fairly disgruntled after the M600 I purchased in November 2019 failed (completely dead) in January of 2023 of course just after the 3 year warranty expired! I disassembled the unit after being told it was out of warranty and discovered that the motor unit showed signs of having moisture in it and I believed the circuit board was ruined due to the moisture it had been exposed to.

After searching for a new robot I began getting ads on social media about Maytronics. I started commenting back with negative comments advising people not to purchase their product and I wasn't alone.... One of their reps asked me to send them a personal message and explain my situation. I explained a prior negative experience I had while trying to use their warranty service as well as my disapproval that a unit cost as much as it did and only lasted slightly longer than the warranty period. After much discussion they offered to repair the unit for free IF it was indeed the motor unit. I wasn't sure it was worth it, but I reassembled the unit and mailed it to their service center. They pretty promptly looked at the unit and said that it was the motor unit and also needed new tracks and climbing rings. I had to pay for those, but for only a little over $100 it seemed worth it. The unit was sent back and is working perfectly!

I also noticed that if you look on their site now, the M600 has a 4 year warranty instead of the 3 year it had when I purchased mine. I think if I get another 3-4 years out of it then I'll be much happier about the money spent on it! I'm very pleased with how the M600 works as long as it's working! It is a HUGE improvement over the Polaris 280 that I had been using since my pool was built.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I wanted to share an experience I had with Maytronics.

I was fairly disgruntled after the M600 I purchased in November 2019 failed (completely dead) in January of 2023 of course just after the 3 year warranty expired! I disassembled the unit after being told it was out of warranty and discovered that the motor unit showed signs of having moisture in it and I believed the circuit board was ruined due to the moisture it had been exposed to.

After searching for a new robot I began getting ads on social media about Maytronics. I started commenting back with negative comments advising people not to purchase their product and I wasn't alone.... One of their reps asked me to send them a personal message and explain my situation. I explained a prior negative experience I had while trying to use their warranty service as well as my disapproval that a unit cost as much as it did and only lasted slightly longer than the warranty period. After much discussion they offered to repair the unit for free IF it was indeed the motor unit. I wasn't sure it was worth it, but I reassembled the unit and mailed it to their service center. They pretty promptly looked at the unit and said that it was the motor unit and also needed new tracks and climbing rings. I had to pay for those, but for only a little over $100 it seemed worth it. The unit was sent back and is working perfectly!

I also noticed that if you look on their site now, the M600 has a 4 year warranty instead of the 3 year it had when I purchased mine. I think if I get another 3-4 years out of it then I'll be much happier about the money spent on it! I'm very pleased with how the M600 works as long as it's working! It is a HUGE improvement over the Polaris 280 that I had been using since my pool was built.

This is typical across most of the Maytronics line and seems to be where the industry is at in general. You can only expect 3-5 years of useful life and then the motor dies. It’s not worth repairing outside of warranty and so these robots are basically consumable items. Since there doesn’t seem to be any positive correlation between price and longevity, it is sensible to buy the cheapest possible robot that fits your needs. Many of the features that drive up the cost are simply unnecessary and so if you can live with a cheaper model, you’ll be better off. It’s just how they make their money and keep their customer base hooked.

I went back to using a suction cleaner in my pool. I’m done with robots as they simply cost too much in my opinion.

 

[mrkropp]

I wanted to share an experience I had with Maytronics.

I was fairly disgruntled after the M600 I purchased in November 2019 failed (completely dead) in January of 2023 of course just after the 3 year warranty expired! I disassembled the unit after being told it was out of warranty and discovered that the motor unit showed signs of having moisture in it and I believed the circuit board was ruined due to the moisture it had been exposed to.

After searching for a new robot I began getting ads on social media about Maytronics. I started commenting back with negative comments advising people not to purchase their product and I wasn't alone.... One of their reps asked me to send them a personal message and explain my situation. I explained a prior negative experience I had while trying to use their warranty service as well as my disapproval that a unit cost as much as it did and only lasted slightly longer than the warranty period. After much discussion they offered to repair the unit for free IF it was indeed the motor unit. I wasn't sure it was worth it, but I reassembled the unit and mailed it to their service center. They pretty promptly looked at the unit and said that it was the motor unit and also needed new tracks and climbing rings. I had to pay for those, but for only a little over $100 it seemed worth it. The unit was sent back and is working perfectly!

I also noticed that if you look on their site now, the M600 has a 4 year warranty instead of the 3 year it had when I purchased mine. I think if I get another 3-4 years out of it then I'll be much happier about the money spent on it! I'm very pleased with how the M600 works as long as it's working! It is a HUGE improvement over the Polaris 280 that I had been using since my pool was built.

My Dolphin Quantum robot died after 4 years. I purchased a Maytronics Dolphin Advantage Ultra in April 2023 and it died this week. This about these robots is that they have a simple design and I can disassemble the whole thing in 2 minutes. If they would sell individual parts like motors and motor bearings I could easily repair it myself. But they don't. They have agreed to repair my robot under warranty, but the pool season will be over here in Ohio by the time it get it back from the shop. Will be looking at other robot brands next time and trying to find one with availability of parts.