Is the blue tooth option worth the extra money?

[Beerfloater]

I was about to purchase the Warrior SE from Marina Pool, and Spa. Then I was reading that they offer a $50 rebate, so I was thinking of upgrading to the warrior SI. only difference from the SE is blue tooth for an extra $50. So was thinking since I will get the rebate I can get the SI with blue tooth for the same price as the SE. Does anyone here have the blue tooth model, and is it worth it?

 

[JJ_Tex]

I have bluetooth on my Pentair version of the robot. For $50 it may be tempting, but it is certainly not a function I regularly use. Besides playing around with it, I have only legit used it a couple of times:

- One time I used it to pick up a rock that was bugging me that the robot kept missing and I couldnt get it with the net
- A couple of times I have dropped the robot into the spa and drove it around to clean up the grit at the bottom.

 

[Katodude]

For $50 sure, and in your case for free even better. Any more than that probably no. I use mine occasionally when I need the robot to go to a very specific spot in the pool. In my case the main drain at the very bottom where stuff accumulates.

What I use the Bluetooth for mainly is to program a delay in my cleaning cycle. When I go golfing on the weekends I put the robot in choose the 3.5 hour clean cycle choose a 3 hour delay. That way when I come back in about 6 hours the robot is just about finished cleaning and I get into a pristine pool. That is worth $50 for me. Much more than that meh.

 

[RMcGirr83]

I used it once. Problem is you have to be standing pretty close to the, in my case, caddy/controller (I have a dolphin) for it to work and it isn't as easy as driving a car or a drone (there is lag).

 

[Arizonarob]

I know someone who has it and likes it. Hang tight. @JoyfulNoise

 

[RMcGirr83]

I know someone who has it and likes it. Hang tight. @JoyfulNoise

Oh boy. Bet he gets into chemical composition stuff and the effect of mono-whatevers on the physical properties of plastics (or something like that).

 

[TheSadClown]

I have a M600 and it has blue tooth and wifi, I think the wifi is the best thing because I can be at work and tell my robot to clean the pool

 

[JoyfulNoise]

One reason to have the Bluetooth option on a Dolphin Robot (I have the S300i) is that there are additional cleaning and scheduling features that can only be accessed via the Dolphin App. So when I go on vacation, I program the days I want the Dolphin to turn on and the time of day as well. There are also cleaning features, like UltraClean, that can only be set through the App.

The MyDolphin App is terrible in my opinion - very poorly designed and not well supported. So whatever you gain from adding remote access you lose with a terrible user experience. Given how much the robots cost, you’d think Maytronics could do better but they don’t even try.

 

[TheSadClown]

One reason to have the Bluetooth option on a Dolphin Robot (I have the S300i) is that there are additional cleaning and scheduling features that can only be accessed via the Dolphin App. So when I go on vacation, I program the days I want the Dolphin to turn on and the time of day as well. There are also cleaning features, like UltraClean, that can only be set through the App.

The MyDolphin App is terrible in my opinion - very poorly designed and not well supported. So whatever you gain from adding remote access you lose with a terrible user experience. Given how much the robots cost, you’d think Maytronics could do better but they don’t even try.

Id like to see a comparison between the MyDolphin App and the MyDolphin Plus App.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Id like to see a comparison between the MyDolphin App and the MyDolphin Plus App.

This is a PERFECT example of what’s wrong with Dolphin product management and why they are a frustrating company to deal with! They have a hugely fractured product line with multiple robot names/models that all basically do the same thing. And now they have two Apps that do basically the same thing. There should not be two apps - one for Bluetooth and one for Wifi. That’s ridiculous. They should have one app that does it all.

Honestly, from a business/product-development perspective, it’s one one of worst run companies I have ever seen. They totally gamble everything on their market dominance saving them. Eventually a good competitor is going to come along with better customer service and a cleaner & simpler product line and they are going to eat Dolphin’s lunch.

 

[TheSadClown]

This is a PERFECT example of what’s wrong with Dolphin product management and why they are a frustrating company to deal with! They have a hugely fractured product line with multiple robot names/models that all basically do the same thing. And now they have two Apps that do basically the same thing. There should not be two apps - one for Bluetooth and one for Wifi. That’s ridiculous. They should have one app that does it all.

Honestly, from a business/product-development perspective, it’s one one of worst run companies I have ever seen. They totally gamble everything on their market dominance saving them. Eventually a good competitor is going to come along with better customer service and a cleaner & simpler product and they are going to eat Dolphin’s lunch.

I use the Dolphin Plus app and I can control my robot with wifi or bluetooth with it.

 

[grywlfbg]

Agree with @JoyfulNoise on the additional cleaning modes. I don't use the scheduling function but I love being able to change the cleaning mode. I can set it to floor-only when I have the solar cover on, or ultra clean (causes it to drive slower) after the kids have been going back and forth between the sandbox and pool.

 

[BowserB]

What Rich said. I bought the M500 over the M400 for the Bluetooth remote. It is easier to create a program, although I just use the standard program at 3.5 hours--press the On button on the power supply to start it. In terms of "driving" the robot, for me that's little more than a feature designed for demos. I messed with it a little in the beginning, but I finally gave up on directing it. Which way is forward, back, left, and right when it is moving away or toward or at right angles to you? Sounds easy, but... Also as Rich mentioned, there is a delayed reaction to inputs. I decided that time it would take to master that skill could be put to better use. Besides that, I don't leave the thing in the pool. That machine costs too much to leave it soaking in a chlorine water environment 24/7. I run a cycle every three days or so. Then take it out, clean the filters, hose it off inside and out, including the cable, then put it back on the caddy under the patio cover to dry. After drying, I put a chair cover over the whole rig so any hillbillies peeking over the fence don't see it and guess it might be worth stealing.