2015 Aquabot Icon Xi REVIEW

[IPvFletch]

Ok first off, it's easier to just post all my pics here:

PHOTOS: iCloud Photo Sharing

Here's the Mfr's info:
Aquabot Icon Xi - Pricing, Features, & Manuals | Aquabot
http://www.aquabot.com/PageFiles/2355/2015_IconXi_SellSheet_web_MSS0054.pdf

Overall, I'm thrilled with the packaging, and craftsmanship. I don't know how it will be in 10 years, but right now everything is perfect on it -- EXCEPT I can't get the Wi-Fi to work. Maybe it's just me. *shrug* I will get back to that later on down below..

As for the cleaner itself, the unit looks like a million bucks. It is every bit as cool as the website shows it to be. It has a supplied power box (which I never did see on their website - my iCloud pics of it are above). It does get hot after it runs for a few hours. It seems well made. I would have opted for larger rubber feet (and may find some to put on it) to help further keep it off my cement patio and to improve cooling underneath it. One nice feature - I love how quiet this thing is.. It is nothing like my noisy Polaris booster pump!! Ugh!!

The clean has a filter and lid which are easily removable. The setup is nice and very stealth. It looks awesome and feels awesome opening it. The filter cover lid fits snugly in and the filters look good, but may be hard to clean properly w/out spraying out. More to come there tomorrow..

The power cable to the cleaner is very heavy duty. It has a swivel which seems to work fine. There is only one float but that's all it needs because it has 3 foam floats too, and they work great. The cord is really tangled but a few days in the sun it will soften up a bit.

It does climbs walls, even does a little hang-ten there and then goes back down. It kind of scrubbed the edge of my swim-platform and just barely had a wheel sticking out of water. It kind of drags and spins the top scrubber as it slides down, seems like it is really scrubbing. My walls have NEVER got this kind of love before! In the deep end it struggles (it's mostly 85-90% vert all around my deep end). I put both the floats in. I don't think they made a difference. *shrug* I'm not sure if it will get on my lower steps underwater or not yet. More to come there but it hasn't thus far.

It kind of hangs on drains, but eventually works around them. It seems like it drives around with purpose, like it knows how to map out my pool - but I'm pretty confident it doesn't.

I have a TON of debris in my pool since we had some bad storms (lots of dead worms) and since my Polaris 380 died. I know it will take a few cycles to get everything. It already sucked up some of the thin long glow sticks from my daughter's birthday party. Yeah, I don't know how it did it, but it got 2 of them (I think there's one more down there in the deep end).

Sometimes it goes up a wall and goes back up it again. Sometimes it goes across the pool to the other side. This makes it get all over the place. I feel like it is missing lots of spots, but like I said, I have a LOT of debris and it's only been running a 3 hours at this point. I'm going to let it cool down and run it again at midnight. Then again real early in the morning. Like I said, it's dirty, and also I believe in thoroughly testing any electronic equipment when I buy it.....

Which brings me to Wi-Fi not working!! *grumble*

Seemginly one of the cooler features of this product is it's Wi-Fi connectivity and App for iOS/Android. I ran through the process several times now and it just won't connect to my SSID. There's some LEDS hidden under a black cover which act as status/error indicators which is helpful, but it's just not working. The idea is you hold the Wi-Fi button and it turns on it's own internal SSID in the power supply. You join and then have to go to http://169.254.1.1/ - The web page loads, and detects other nearby SSIDs. You pick yours, type in the password and hit Join. So now it will connect to and use YOUR SSID to get to the internet. It has an ID and I think it calls home to their SaaS servers. The app on your smartphone does the same (you log into an account and register the ID) and it finds the device with the same ID (based on MAC ID of unit). But mine never seems to connect to my Wi-Fi. I think that is where it is getting stuck. After I hit the Join button, it does go Green, but eventually begins blinking red again. I emailed their tech support to get some more ideas on what to check, but I am thinking it may not support WPA2-PSK - though that is pretty standard these days... *shrug* I know my Wi-Fi works fine and it's really close to my base station. I have new devices join all the time (friends, etc..) so I know that part is working.

Anyways, that is my review.. I'll keep you posted on what happens with it next and how it cleans and how the filters work, etc.. More pics coming too!

 

[IPvFletch]

Update... bad news!!

This morning I ran the cleaner again and it ran for about an hour then the power supply shut off and blinked both blue LEDs. I turned it off, and turned it back on. I started it, and it immediately went back off and flashed both blue LEDs again. I let it sit for a bit. The instruction manual says to make sure the cleaner isn't clogged. I cleaned it out real good and sprayed out the inside. I also submerged it w/out the filter just to let anything else float out. I didn't find anything which could have clogged it. I can see in the middle where the two propellers are, and nothing appears to be blocking them.

I tried it again, and now it turns off right away and flashes NO LEDs.

I think the Power Supply might be toast. Maybe it got too hot? I hear a faint buzz which fades away after a few seconds of powering it on.

This power supply seems like all of the others from Aquabot - anyone else have problems like this before?

Thanks!

 

[IPvFletch]

Anyone have any ideas?? The Aquabot tech I spoke to didn't know how to troubleshoot it, and send back back to Corporate. I left a VM and also sent an email. So far nobody has gotten back to me. The retailer said they didn't know how to troubleshoot these yet either, as they are too new. So much for knowing how to successfully launch new products. Losing my faith in Aquabot by the minute...

 

[Ehan514]

Hi there
I work at the company please mail me and I will call you back. I would like to help.

 

[kameshward]

Dear IPvFletch,
I am a tech from AquaProducts and I would like to extend my help in resolving the issue you are having. Please kindly email me at [email protected].
Thanks and I am extremely sorry for the service you received so far.

 

[IPvFletch]

I am working with Kamesh on this.. An Engineer from Aquabot.. will post another update later. You guys are ARE awesome! Raphael from Aquabot QA also contacted me, but I told him I'm working with Kamesh right now, so I think I'm set just waiting to hear back on next steps.

I must say, I am blown away how awesome Aquabot support is. No wonder I bought this brand!

As an Engineer myself, I too get on the forums and interact with customers. It goes a long way. Thanks guys!!

Update: I now have an RMA return shipping label and will be sending it back for analysis, and they will ship me out a new one.

 

[tourofrooms]

I was wondering what the outcome was with this new cleaner. I was in the market for a cleaner after 10 years of using an Aquabot Turbo T4RC. I pretty much lost all faith in my Aquabot and wanted to find a better option because of the constant gouging each year with rebuild kits and such. I'll be honest, I really like the new style cleaners. I did not know about this one until now but I tell ya, a local dealer authorized to sell several brands, who also is certified to repair them, told me the Maytronics S300i or Active 30i is one sweet device. They gave me one to take home today and use for a couple days just to see how I liked it and I loved it. The Dolphin S300i also has support for android and iOS but what makes a Maytronics unit so good is that it's modular. It has only a few components and each dealer who services them will have a device supplied by Maytronics and all they do is plug and test each of the modular parts and replace what is faulty. Then reassemble. You never wait more than 10 minutes for ANY repair. Not to mention the repairs are not even frequent on these units.

Anyway, I used it today. A 2 hour cleaning cycle and my pool has been without a cleaning for about 2 weeks. I have an 18 X 36 X 8 foot pool. There are alot of killer options on the phone app a nd everything went off without a hitch. My Aquabot Turbo T4 has a stronger pump but the instability of how the drive train performs on those belt driven units cause it to be inconsistent with the way it tracks the pool. I could have bought at least 5 high end pool cleaners just from doing 10 years of rebuilds and repairs on it. And what bugz me most is that I thought this was normal and Aquabot never offered to take it back to find out why the correct parts didn't even seem to fit or function properly even when authorized service personell worked on it from local pool houses. I felt I was entitled to something but they watched me squirm with my unit phone call after phone call and never offered me even a small concession. The unit never proved itself reliable. It was constantly costing for repairs.

Well, it was designed to gouge the consumer and it left such a bad taste in my mouth. Now that I see what a good cleaner is like, I am not sure if I could ever buy another aquabot. This unit reviewed here it is very much like the one I am using as far as technology. I think I would consider it had it not already failed. It's worth forgiving when we get a defective unit. It happens. This new Aquabot model looks pretty sharp. But so far, it isn't performing correctly to show it's true colors. I'd like to get a really good video review of this. I was able to see a good honest video review from one owner of the new Dolphon S300i. Just a dream. Alot of these have sold this year. Dealers cannot keep them in stock. Aquabot needs to get this unit at the same price point in order to compete because no matter how cool it looks, I would only give it a shot if it was competitive at the same price point, as well as performance. I think some of the things mentioned in this review were not positive but maybe the replacement unit will prove to be alot better. I really hope so. It would be nice to build some faith in Aquabot again.

Anyway, I wanted to know if there were any updates on this review because the unit I got on loan was so impressive and I've seen all the top contenders at work. The S300i blows them all away. And what shocked me was that it does not even have a tangle free mechanism for the chord. It doesn't even need one. The review here stated that the cord was tangled up alot but then said a day in the hot sun would soften it up? what on earth does that mean? If a new unit, that SHOULD have some effective way of remaining tangle free, but is NOT? what a waste. All this time and finally Aquabot wants to give a chord that won't be a hassle with tangles and already this unit is tangled. No hot sun is gonna make that issue stop. This just means the chord has a tangle free mechanism that doesn't work. Very disappointing. But, very aquabot. Although I was highly impressed with the power and suction of my Aquabot T4, I HATED the chord due to how badly it twisted all the time. Like I spent more time fixing/maintaining my aquabot and no time in the pool. THE IRONY. It was supposed to make it so I COULD enjoy the pool more. Many tech support conversations with Aquabot directly, and bringing my unit to dealers and still my Aquabot was a complete failure most of the time. It never worked right because the belts never had enough tension. It always slipped even after $250 yearly tune up kits. I mean, come on, $200+ yearly to maintain the unit? Not to mention major repairs like pump and/or motor failures which I personally repaired just to save money. I think I was out close to $4500 after 10 years. I think I'd rather toss a cleaner in the trash and get a new one once it fails out of warranty.

I'd like to see Aquabot prove they can make a unit designed to work as good as the Turbo T4 without all the maintenance and inconveniences. Show that saving the consumer time & money is a priority and not the other way around. I've lost my faith even though all my tech support with Aquabot was great. None of them could make a unit work because the unit was junk. But they sure gave it their best try. Just no way to make junk into high quality. Although I have to say, for a device built with the most inferior parts, the Turbo T4 sure performed when it worked. But they are raping people on the cost of it. It's not worth even half the cheapest online price. It's a really poorly designed or cleverly designed. Because they sure madke alot of money on the sale of parts too. Even Tomcat saw the big pie and started to manufacture the parts to spec and now they are getting a piece of that pie too.

Well, these new machines do make more sense. But I don't think the flashy sportscar look will fool too many people. The Maytronics line is and always has been the better choice. They are just leagues over an Aquabot. Mainly due to the way they have managed to keep the end user happy by making sure they don't experience much downtime and they do it right. You shouldn't have to RMA a new unit like this. You should be able to get a functioning replacement in the same day. No RMA. No shipping label. The Maytronics dealer would have a Dolphin back in your pool within the same day no questions asked. That really says alot about a manufactuer. They prepared all their dealers to make that possible. Aquabot should be following these types of guidelines so they can disassociate themselves with high maintenance on high priced units that cause alot of inconvenience. Once you have been treated like royalty, you'll never settle for anything less than a Dolphin. More than that, you'll never buy an Aquabot