Instapark Betta review

[grunky_peep]

Had a Betta 2 in my pool for 2 weeks, and then it got stuck in Stranded Mode.
Shipped it back to them for repair August 31.
Received my "repaired" Betta 2 (same S/N) back today, after being gone for a whole month.
It's still stuck in Stranded Mode. WTF.
Just called them and they instantly offered to just ship me a completely new unit.

Don't need a 3-year warranty if it breaks instantly!

Also, the only person that would answer emails or calls was Maria. She sounds like she's working from home, but driving down the highway @ 80mph with her windows down. So hard to hear her!

 

[tcat]

What's stranded mode?

 

[Orion7319]

What's stranded mode?

When it flashes red and green. It means something’s jammed usually.

 

[DanF]

Well, my Betta 1 is on its way back for its second service call. No prop movement, and a solid blue light flash follow by no flash. Paddlewheel was moving on/off however. I called the company and was told they are no longer offering the $279 trade-in for a Betta 2, mainly because they don't have enough of the 2s.

Since mine is out of warranty (purchased 7/21) I was told I could have it serviced for $60, which includes free shipping. Last service (under warranty) was 3/22. Hoping I can get a couple of years, but not optimistic.

 

[wireform]

The common denominator of all these betta reports is it's simply an expensive consumable.

 

[Orion7319]

The common denominator of all these betta reports is it's simply an expensive consumable.

If they weren’t honoring their warranty, then yeah. They offer a 3 year so you can expect to get 3 years out of it (albeit it will go to the shop quite a bit) but what pool cleaning robots would you expect to get 3 years out of? The Maytronics stuff usually lasts about as long. Now if they start making it difficult to get it repaired then it’s a different story. Bottom line, only buy these if you have a real reason and need for one, but expect it to break down a lot, but at least they repair them when under warranty and so far don’t seem to try and blame the consumer for the failures. The moment they quit doing that then I wouldn’t recommend these at all, but the competition doesn’t seem much better.

 

[Bam Bam]

Well, my Betta 1 is on its way back for its second service call. No prop movement, and a solid blue light flash follow by no flash. Paddlewheel was moving on/off however. I called the company and was told they are no longer offering the $279 trade-in for a Betta 2, mainly because they don't have enough of the 2s.

Since mine is out of warranty (purchased 7/21) I was told I could have it serviced for $60, which includes free shipping. Last service (under warranty) was 3/22. Hoping I can get a couple of years, but not optimistic.

We are in the same sinking Betta boat. My first repair this summer didn’t survive 2 months. I just emailed them about returning it. I asked and was told that the warranty resets after repair. You may want to follow up with them. In my haste to empty my inbox I deleted the email! I mentioned it in today’s email. Standing by for their reaction.

I got 9 months of constant use before the first failure so I guess I’m luckier than most! And I saved the shipping box thanks to y’all’s advice.

 

[grunky_peep]

I was just notified that my new blue unit has a 45-day wait to be restocked, so they’re shipping a white instead.

This company, man. It’s always something.

 

[Bam Bam]

Just got email from Ged who asked me to check that there was no dirt, hair, etc, wrapped around the paddle and the propellers. I guess he doesn’t know how involved us TFPers with our equipment. For giggles I checked and took pictures for him. In the process I discovered that the propeller marked R doesn’t spin as freely as the L with hand twirl. Asking me to check for crud turned out not to be a bad recommendation. I’m waiting to hear back...

 

[grunky_peep]

Updating my saga:

8/12/22: Received Betta 2
8/31/22: Shipped back for repair due to being stuck in Stranded Mode
9/30/22: Received same "repaired" unit back (same S/N). It was still constantly stuck in Stranded Mode. Called and they offered to ship me a brand new unit. They made me switch from blue to white since the blue units were on a 45-day lead time.
10/6/22: Received tracking info for new unit
10/11/22: No update on tracking info. Contacted them and they said they won't have any units, blue or white, until Nov 10.

So, I had my original unit for just over 2 weeks and it'll (allegedly) be almost 2.5 months of waiting for shipping/repairs/a new unit. This is silly and I'm tempted to just ask for my money back. I'm not going to be pleased if I have to go through this junk every year.

 

[Bam Bam]

Updating my saga:

8/12/22: Received Betta 2
8/31/22: Shipped back for repair due to being stuck in Stranded Mode
9/30/22: Received same "repaired" unit back (same S/N). It was still constantly stuck in Stranded Mode. Called and they offered to ship me a brand new unit. They made me switch from blue to white since the blue units were on a 45-day lead time.
10/6/22: Received tracking info for new unit
10/11/22: No update on tracking info. Contacted them and they said they won't have any units, blue or white, until Nov 10.

So, I had my original unit for just over 2 weeks and it'll (allegedly) be almost 2.5 months of waiting for shipping/repairs/a new unit. This is silly and I'm tempted to just ask for my money back. I'm not going to be pleased if I have to go through this junk every year.

They must be swamped with repairs. I got this notification about my return which gives new meaning to the word immediately.

“We will start immediately on repairs, and this will take about 7-15 business days.
Please wait this amount of time, before checking the return tracking number on ups.com
Once it is shipped back to you, the tracking number will start to track on ups.com”

 

[DanF]

They must be swamped with repairs. I got this notification about my return which gives new meaning to the word immediately.

“We will start immediately on repairs, and this will take about 7-15 business days.
Please wait this amount of time, before checking the return tracking number on ups.com
Once it is shipped back to you, the tracking number will start to track on ups.com”

I got the same notification. Wondering how I'm supposed to check the tracking number before it ships? I'm hoping they will at least notify me upon return shipment.

 

[Orion7319]

I got the same notification. Wondering how I'm supposed to check the tracking number before it ships? I'm hoping they will at least notify me upon return shipment.

They never seem to. I always just check the tracking periodically, it will update the status once it ships.

 

[Rich D]

8/12/22: Received Betta 2
8/31/22: Shipped back for repair due to being stuck in Stranded Mode
9/30/22: Received same "repaired" unit back (same S/N). It was still constantly stuck in Stranded Mode. Called and they offered to ship me a brand new unit. They made me switch from blue to white since the blue units were on a 45-day lead time.
10/6/22: Received tracking info for new unit
10/11/22: No update on tracking info. Contacted them and they said they won't have any units, blue or white, until Nov 10

Hmmm... The white ones were available on 9-10-22 when I ordered one.

9-10-22 Ordered
9-12-22 shipped
9-19-22 delivered......

My new Best friend "Scoops"




He needed a few mods. Extended legs for my step hight and he kept getting stuck on a particular rock in the cave so he needed a bumper as well...

So far I he is doing a terrific Job. He runs until about 4:00 AM most nights with green lights then keeps on trucking in his red (sun seeking ) mode for a few more hrs. Almost a 24hr continuous operation with a very low northeast sun. I will only need him for late fall and early spring so Hopefully we can avoid the repair shop for a few years...

 

[grunky_peep]

Acorns are wrapping up and oak is starting to drop leaves. Still another couple weeks til the replacement ships. This sucks.

 

[tcat]

Cloudy/rain here causing lots of cr@p falling from oaks. Betta2 just sitting on red waiting for sun. Aquabot and manual net keeping up.

 

[DanF]

After reminding Ged that my repair referenced in post 344 exceeded their 15 business day service level, my Betta 1 arrived home a few hours ago.

I immediately stuck her in the pool. She must have been charged up upon arrival as she is still moving about after dark. Fingers crossed!

 

[Bam Bam]

After reminding Ged that my repair referenced in post 344 exceeded their 15 business day service level, my Betta 1 arrived home a few hours ago.

I immediately stuck her in the pool. She must have been charged up upon arrival as she is still moving about after dark. Fingers crossed!

I’m about to send Ged the 15 business day ”where’s my Betta 1” email. How’s yours doing? Do you have any idea what they did? Last time I asked and was told upgrade. Well upgrade it wasn’t because it crashed within a month! I hope GED is more forthcoming.

 

[DanF]

I’m about to send Ged the 15 business day ”where’s my Betta 1” email. How’s yours doing? Do you have any idea what they did? Last time I asked and was told upgrade. Well upgrade it wasn’t because it crashed within a month! I hope GED is more forthcoming.

Hey Bam Bam. Mine ran until about yesterday afternoon, then she started flashing her red lights. I am chalking it up to unseasonably cloudy weather yesterday and today, which is supposed to pass tomorrow. Then two hours ago I went out and turned her off and on and she started back up. Is this required? I am assuming that she was flashing red because of a lack of charge, but thought that she would then automatically start back up.

I would definitely send Ged the "15 day email" - generally in an environment of constrained resources (which I think describes Betta/Instapark) the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

I did not receive any information about what was wrong or what they did, which is disturbing, especially after paying $60 for the repair.

 

[grunky_peep]

5 days after their supposed new ship date and still nothing. This company... does not impress me at all.