New EVO 614i Robot Pool Cleaner Review

Greg,

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your question..

I have the same F/W as you do and it was updated about a month or so after I got it.. the update added the schedules

I don't think there has been any other updates..

I would not get too excited about updates... :mrgreen:

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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For those who've experienced issues with the robot...sometime during the last quarter of last year it had the issue I've seen posted here where it would go forward a few feet, rotate (I think 180 degrees...it's been a minute) than go forward a few feet and repeat. I took it to Leslie's and explained it was a polaris and they "fixed it". Seemingly replacing all the parts. It worked for a few months and then started throwing a communications error code 10. Took it back in, they fixed it again (not sure what parts this time). And within a few weeks was throwing that code again.

I called Flurodia support and they asked me to take it to a different Leslie's to run a diagnostic. They did mention that if it isn't put back together just so it can have problems (I assume that's not unique to this robot). This new Leslie's told me their diagnostics were somewhat limited as to the motor block but could tell the control box and cable were bad. Called Fluorida, they agreed to send me a new EVO 614iQ. Then got a call from them a few hours later saying that it had/was being discontinued but that they'd send me a Polaird EPIC 8642iQ. Will hopefully arrive in the next week or so and get back to work. Other than the inlet being too small for the acorns I'm unfortunately cursed with, when the robot ran properly I thought it did a good job.

 
Another first day positive review for the 614iq

First - the pool was more of a mess than I realized. I knew it was dirty, but I hadn't done anything to it in about 3 weeks, back before our cold snap and 9 degree weather. However, both skimmer baskets had floated (rarely happens in this pool), the skimmer boxes had leaves in them and hence the basket at the pump was packed full. Got that cleaned up and made sure both skimmer lines were clear and got to work with the new robot.

The old Pentair Racer (pressure side cleaner) had not been doing a good job of cleaning in months, maybe a couple of years. It didn't cover the whole pool, would get stuck near the steps, needed a new brush and the pump started making a noise so I knew it was time. To be fair the pool is going on its 10th season and I've had to do very little to it. I should also note I don't own a vacuum of any kind. The cleaning has been the Racer and an occasional brushing.

I brushed the deck and put the new 614iq in and let it go to work. It got every leaf in the pool the first 2.5 hour cleaning. That was impressive. As others note it won't clean the tanning deck (7" of water) but it has climbed up on the "Seat" that is built in at about 18" deep. So it has the capabilities if your seats and steps are wide enough for it, or if the tanning ledge were likely 12-14" I think it would climb up and clean.

To say the least I'd wondered if shutting the pump off to let things settle to the floor would be the way to go while it was cleaning and I did so for the first cleaning. I've already decided against that for the future. After dark and with the pool lights on I could see all of the fine debris it had stirred up, but not captured, I was very surprised at how cloudy the water was and what was stirred up. So I know running the pump while that is stirred up with help filter it out.

I was going to put the "Fine" filter in today and run a couple of cycles with the pump on to get the water back to crystal clear, but unfortunately opening the fine filter, it was broken during shipment. I'm sure Marina will take care of me tomorrow for that fix.

Emptying the cleaner basket I was once again impressed. All the leaves, but then also the fine debris it had picked up was impressive. The pic below shows about half of it. I had already tapped the basked to empty and about half of it fell out. I didn't realize so much silt was below the leaves when I first looked in.

As others note, the bot is slow to respond to app commands. I'll likely learn to not press the buttons too long and be able to control it to face the wall and then climb for removal. That's not the end of the world, but with today's technology you'd expect a little quicker response. My old Roomba vacuums didn't do much better in the house.

If it will perform like this for many years to come and I get the fine basket in it, I'd say I'll be a happy camper.

View attachment 630431

View attachment 630432 View attachment 630433
My old pentair warrior SE broke after 3 years at the end of last season which I felt was a little short. It was fine except it got stuck on the main drains within 10 minutes of starting a cycle (I bought covers which reduced getting stuck to once every few weeks) and the cable shredding was annoying. It was working fine, then I pulled it out of the pool to clear it, put it back in and it wouldnt run. I kept meaning to try to fix it, but never got around to it.

I bought a betabot to skim the surface and I dont feel like it really did anything. The basket is mostly empty and the skimmers were completely full. Lots of leaves in the bottom of the pool.


Decided to try the new hot thing suggested here. I ordered my 614IQ from marina pool and spa last week. Came within a few days. Set it up last night and ran a cycle and it ran another cycle automatically this morning. I included the pictures from the post Im replying to as my basket looked pretty much like that too. Lots of very fine mud and all the leaves except 2. The total mud was about a cup.

I brushed the benches just now and am running another cycle to see if I can get the rest of the dust.

I dont have the fine filter in and will probably buy one.

For whatever reason we get a lot of dust in this pool compared to our last pool.
 
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For those who've experienced issues with the robot...sometime during the last quarter of last year it had the issue I've seen posted here where it would go forward a few feet, rotate (I think 180 degrees...it's been a minute) than go forward a few feet and repeat. I took it to Leslie's and explained it was a polaris and they "fixed it". Seemingly replacing all the parts. It worked for a few months and then started throwing a communications error code 10. Took it back in, they fixed it again (not sure what parts this time). And within a few weeks was throwing that code again.

I called Flurodia support and they asked me to take it to a different Leslie's to run a diagnostic. They did mention that if it isn't put back together just so it can have problems (I assume that's not unique to this robot). This new Leslie's told me their diagnostics were somewhat limited as to the motor block but could tell the control box and cable were bad. Called Fluorida, they agreed to send me a new EVO 614iQ. Then got a call from them a few hours later saying that it had/was being discontinued but that they'd send me a Polaird EPIC 8642iQ. Will hopefully arrive in the next week or so and get back to work. Other than the inlet being too small for the acorns I'm unfortunately cursed with, when the robot ran properly I thought it did a good job.

Very interesting - Marina doesn't show to sell the 8642iq, but it may be the reason the EVO 614iq is on sale. They may be liquidating inventory. The two robots look very much alike when you compare their operating parts - just a different shell.

I will try not to have any regrets if I just bought one that is being discontinued for two reasons. First Marina was truly good to work with. Very friendly on the phone, I believe it was Jeremy I spoke with. Quick shipping and when I called them about the "fine" basket that I had reported arrived broken, they promptly got another sent my way which I received yesterday.

On to the second reason I'm happy - for the reasonable robot price for the 614iq - I'm impressed with the cleaning a week in. If you ever questioned whether you needed the fine filter, just know that you definitely do. There are 3 pictures here. First is the "normal" filter which I show just as it came out of the bot from a cleaning last night. Then picture 2 and 3 are using the "fine" filter on cleaning 2 and 3 after. The amount of sand and silt that it captures is crazy compared to the normal filter. I knew the pool had stuff in it, but still would have never guessed that it would be this much. We had a lot of high wind a week ago, some of it may have just come from that. To say the least I figure I've got a few more cleanings to still get it all. Just know I'm very happy with the ability of this bot.

Cleaning with normal basket:
IMG_8299.jpeg

Immediate follow on cleaning with the new "fine" basket
IMG_8300.jpeg

Second cleaning with the "fine" basket.
IMG_8302.jpeg
 
Another first day positive review for the 614iq

First - the pool was more of a mess than I realized. I knew it was dirty, but I hadn't done anything to it in about 3 weeks, back before our cold snap and 9 degree weather. However, both skimmer baskets had floated (rarely happens in this pool), the skimmer boxes had leaves in them and hence the basket at the pump was packed full. Got that cleaned up and made sure both skimmer lines were clear and got to work with the new robot.

The old Pentair Racer (pressure side cleaner) had not been doing a good job of cleaning in months, maybe a couple of years. It didn't cover the whole pool, would get stuck near the steps, needed a new brush and the pump started making a noise so I knew it was time. To be fair the pool is going on its 10th season and I've had to do very little to it. I should also note I don't own a vacuum of any kind. The cleaning has been the Racer and an occasional brushing.

I brushed the deck and put the new 614iq in and let it go to work. It got every leaf in the pool the first 2.5 hour cleaning. That was impressive. As others note it won't clean the tanning deck (7" of water) but it has climbed up on the "Seat" that is built in at about 18" deep. So it has the capabilities if your seats and steps are wide enough for it, or if the tanning ledge were likely 12-14" I think it would climb up and clean.

To say the least I'd wondered if shutting the pump off to let things settle to the floor would be the way to go while it was cleaning and I did so for the first cleaning. I've already decided against that for the future. After dark and with the pool lights on I could see all of the fine debris it had stirred up, but not captured, I was very surprised at how cloudy the water was and what was stirred up. So I know running the pump while that is stirred up with help filter it out.

I was going to put the "Fine" filter in today and run a couple of cycles with the pump on to get the water back to crystal clear, but unfortunately opening the fine filter, it was broken during shipment. I'm sure Marina will take care of me tomorrow for that fix.

Emptying the cleaner basket I was once again impressed. All the leaves, but then also the fine debris it had picked up was impressive. The pic below shows about half of it. I had already tapped the basked to empty and about half of it fell out. I didn't realize so much silt was below the leaves when I first looked in.

As others note, the bot is slow to respond to app commands. I'll likely learn to not press the buttons too long and be able to control it to face the wall and then climb for removal. That's not the end of the world, but with today's technology you'd expect a little quicker response. My old Roomba vacuums didn't do much better in the house.

If it will perform like this for many years to come and I get the fine basket in it, I'd say I'll be a happy camper.

View attachment 630431

View attachment 630432 View attachment 630433
I currently have a warrior that's 5+ years in service and am wondering if I should keep repairing or replace. My biggest issue that I have is live oak leaves clogging the cloth inlet valve. Is the design of the 614iq different so that this isn't an issue? I have only used the fine filters for this robot and the one I had before this one, it sounds like there are mixed opinions. If you don't have a fine filter, then you rely on the robot kicking up the fine particles and running through the main filter?

I'm a bit confused about the 614iq and how scheduling works, can someone help me understand? With the warrior, I can cycle power at the power supply and then it will clean every day for 5 days. Does the 614iq offer something that's just as easy?

Maytronics robots are so easy to repair, I've probably spent $75 to extend the life of this robot by almost 3 years. One of the biggest issues with the maytronics robots is that they use brushed motors. The warrior is so easy to take apart I can replace the brushes in the motor in under an hour and save $300 on a new unit, but if they used brushless motors this wouldn't be a problem. Has anyone had to replace the motors on this unit? I'm concerned about repairability down the line. Of course if it lasts longer then I'd gladly accept that as well.
 
Dog,

EVO motors use brushes... We will just have to wait and see if they have the same issues as the Dolphins..

Scheduling is done via the app, so you need the 614iQ to get scheduling.. It is much better than the Dolphin, as you can set a weekly schedule day by day, at whatever times you want. Then it will just keep repeating that schedule over and over..

I have taken many Dolphins apart, I have yet to take my EVO apart.. I have no idea how hard or easy it is..

The additional extra fine filter is worth the money in my opinion.. It captures all the fine dirt that gets blow in, or carried in by the wind.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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Does anyone elses droid lid feel like it's going to snap everytime you close it? Am I doing something wrong.
 
Uh,

Every time I close the lid.. :mrgreen:

You are not doing anything wrong, just takes a little effort to close the lid.

Thanks,

Jim R.
Yeah, have had it for over a year now with no issues and no snapped lid but everytime I do it I expect something to break.
 
I currently have a warrior that's 5+ years in service and am wondering if I should keep repairing or replace. My biggest issue that I have is live oak leaves clogging the cloth inlet valve. Is the design of the 614iq different so that this isn't an issue? I have only used the fine filters for this robot and the one I had before this one, it sounds like there are mixed opinions. If you don't have a fine filter, then you rely on the robot kicking up the fine particles and running through the main filter?

I'm a bit confused about the 614iq and how scheduling works, can someone help me understand? With the warrior, I can cycle power at the power supply and then it will clean every day for 5 days. Does the 614iq offer something that's just as easy?

Maytronics robots are so easy to repair, I've probably spent $75 to extend the life of this robot by almost 3 years. One of the biggest issues with the maytronics robots is that they use brushed motors. The warrior is so easy to take apart I can replace the brushes in the motor in under an hour and save $300 on a new unit, but if they used brushless motors this wouldn't be a problem. Has anyone had to replace the motors on this unit? I'm concerned about repairability down the line. Of course if it lasts longer then I'd gladly accept that as well.
I have been using the 614IQ for about a week now. My warrior died, i kept meaning to take it apart to diagnose, but just didnt get around to it.

Bought a betta bot, that basically did nothing.

The 614IQ works great. i had two problems with the warrior - getting stuck on the main drains in year 2 and shredding of the cable.


So far the 614IQ isnt getting stuck on main drains and I can even use it in the spa where it crosses the drains over and over. Cable shredding would be next year.

Im using the standard filter and it picked up about 1-2 cups of dust. Ill get the fine filter and try it out as well.

I also used a zwave outlet to control my warrior. I would much prefer to do this over the 614IQ app, but the app does work. The app only allows one scheduled time to run per day, which is fine for me. The run time is also 1.5 (floors only) or 2.5 hours (floors+walls). You can set it to run daily, but like the warrior, you technically arent supposed to leave it in the pool full time.

You connect via bluetooth to the box, then use the app to connect the box to wifi. I havent tested it, but it seems like the robot should still be able to run on a schedule if the wifi connection is down, but you never know.
 
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Uh,

Every time I close the lid.. :mrgreen:

You are not doing anything wrong, just takes a little effort to close the lid.

Thanks,

Jim R.
Interesting thing about the polaris replacement is that I no longer feel like I'm going to break the lid when I close it. Otherwise it's exactly the same. Except the replacement came with a caddy, which was a nice bonus.
 
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snip…

4. Filter basket. The EVO’s filter basket is about half the size of the Dolphin basket. It has a one-piece screen-like filter vs. the Dolphin which has a 4-piece pleated filter. I initially thought this would be an issue, as I have always used the pleated Dolphin filters. But, after many cleaning cycles, I’m beginning to like the screen filter better. I think my dislike of the screen filters is because I used them on the Dolphin and they lasted about a month before they got holes in the them and became useless. As much as I like the Dolphin’s pleated filters, the EVO’s screen filter was much easier to clean. Although the Dolphin has a much larger basket, I am not sure it matters as I doubt the Dolphin can fill the basket due to its inlet design.



Jim R.
I need to replace my pentair920 which I believe is basically the same as the a20 or s200. I like the idea of the evo 614i for WiFi, and especially the dual motors, seems like the 920 often got stuck on the main drains.

However, I always ran the fine pleated filters, unless I just wanted it to grab a few leaves. Is the screen on the evo finer than the dolphin mesh? I assume you are still good with that aspect?

How does the evo do picking up leaves? How about large sycamore leaves (nothing does great on these anyway)?

I thought the dolphin did good at the waterline, and liked seeing it there as it chugged sideways along the waterline. How does the evo do there?

Thank you,
Michael
 
About a month ago I needed a new robot pool cleaner and I contacted Margaret at Marina Pool and Spa. My initial goal was to buy another S200 "style" robot as I have been happy with them so far.

Margaret suggested that I might want to look at a new line of robot cleaners that Marina is now carrying, the Aqua Products EVO. I was intrigued and so I opted for the EVO instead of the Dolphin robot. I have been using the EVO for about a month now and here are my initial thoughts...


The New Robot in Town

I recently had the opportunity to use an AQUA Products EVO 614i Robot Cleaner. It looks like they are under the Zodiac Pool system brand.

I have been a faithful Dolphin robot user from many years, but I thought I’d give the EVO a chance to show me what it’s got.


View attachment 495237

On the surface it appears that both the EVO and the Dolphin S200 are about equally matched. In this initial review, I point out some of the notable differences. Not really a good and bad situation, just where I noticed different engineering.

1. Dual Drive motors. The EVO has a left and right drive motor. These drive motors can run forward or reverse. This means the EVO can spin on a dime, when the two motors are going in opposite directions. You notice this instantly when the robot makes its first turn.

2. Two Active Brushes. The EVO has Dual active brushes, while the Dolphin has one active brush.

3. Large Brushes with wear indicators. The EVO’s brushes are larger and appear to be much more robust than the ones that the Dolphin uses. Because there are two drive motors the brushes are split between the left and right sides. The brushes in the front are the same size as the brushes in the back. The Dolphin has a smaller brush in the back.

View attachment 495238

4. Filter basket. The EVO’s filter basket is about half the size of the Dolphin basket. It has a one-piece screen-like filter vs. the Dolphin which has a 4-piece pleated filter. I initially thought this would be an issue, as I have always used the pleated Dolphin filters. But, after many cleaning cycles, I’m beginning to like the screen filter better. I think my dislike of the screen filters is because I used them on the Dolphin and they lasted about a month before they got holes in the them and became useless. As much as I like the Dolphin’s pleated filters, the EVO’s screen filter was much easier to clean. Although the Dolphin has a much larger basket, I am not sure it matters as I doubt the Dolphin can fill the basket due to its inlet design.

View attachment 495239

5. Water Inlet Differences. The Dolphin sucks up debris into the center of their basket, through an open-ended cloth bag. The bag is to prevent the debris from leaking back into the pool when you pull the robot out of the water. It certainly helps contain the debris, but it does not stop everything. It has a negative side in that it can get clogged with large debris and then nothing can get sucked up into the basket. The EVO does it differently. It sucks up the debris through a tube and into the top of the robot and then drops the debris into the basket. When you pull the EVO out of the water, none of the debris go back into the pool.


View attachment 495243


View attachment 495246

6. Filter Area Design. The EVO has an almost water-tight area with the suction motor and impeller along with the filter basket. Not sure if this a plus or not. It does make the EVO harder to sink as it acts almost like a boat. You lower it into the water with the rear brushes pointing down. Where you can just throw the Dolphin in the pool, and it just sinks on its own. Edit.. To be clear the EVO sinks on its own, it just take a little longer than the Dolphin.

7. The Power Cord. The cord on the EVO is much larger in diameter and stiffer than the Dolphin’s cord. I had great hopes this would mean that the cord would not tangle. I was wrong. I have not had it long enough to know what will happen as it gets broken in, but running the EVO several times in a row, without removing it from the pool, induced the same basic tangle that I have seen in all my Dolphin robots. Edit. If I run the robot, like I normally do, and clean it after every run, the cable does not tangle.


View attachment 495247

8. The Swivel. The EVO has a much more robust looking swivel compared to the Dolphin. The EVO combines the cable float and the swivel in one device. Neither swivel seems to swivel enough to keep the cable from tangling.

View attachment 495248

9. The Power Supply Connector. The only thing on the EVO that appears a little out of place and rather cheap is the connector on the power supply end of the cable. It just plugs into the Power Supply with two little snaps. Maybe I’m just used to military cannon plug style connectors, but I like the Dolphin’s connector better. The EVO’s connector does appear that it could be replaced easier, while the Dolphin is more molded in place and does not look to be easily replaceable. Not sure I have ever seen bad one.

View attachment 495249

10. DIY Repair. I have some experience with the assembly and disassembly of the S200 style Dolphins and it is very easy. At first glance I don’t see how to disassemble the EVO or if repair parts are even available. Not something I plan to investigate until the EVO is out of warranty.

11. Water Line Cleaning. When cleaning the water line tile, the Dolphin moves sideway because a gate turns and causes water to shoot out of a vent on the sides of the plastic housing. This forces the robot to move along the tile line for about 2 or 3 feet at a time. The EVO does not have any directional vents, but does move along the tile line. It appears to me that the robot floats at a slight angle and while the brushes clean the tile line, they also cause the robot to move along the tile line.

12. The Power Supply. The EVO’s power supply allows you to select either floor only, or floors and walls/tile line. The cycle time is 1.5 hours for floor only and 2.5 hours for everything. Both the EVO and Dolphin power supplies are water resistance. The EVO’s power supply has a Power Light that is on anytime the power supply is plugged into AC power. You would assume when you pushed the Start/Stop button that it would light up, but it does not. The Power light flashes once when you push the Start button. I find that odd as it is hard to tell if the Robot is on or off. If you have the EVO 614i, then the Power supply has a Wi-Fi button. Edit.. It appears the idea is to use the app to start or stop the robot.. It works fine from the power supply once you understand the start stop button does not light up.

View attachment 495251

13. Wi-Fi Control. The EVO 604 and 614i are the same basic robot, but the 614i has Wi- Fi control. Not that it actually controls much. I am not sure what the App is for other than when you sign up for the iAquaLink app you need to give them just about everything including location of any birth marks. Quite invasive for what you get. The plus side is that it came right on line and connected once I entered the 80 pages of personal info. The app lets you change the cleaning mode from floors to floors and walls, and lets you start or stop the robot, but it does not allow you to ‘drive’ the robot around. It appears the drive mode is an option for the more expensive models. The app displays a big spinning clock showing how much time is left in the cleaning cycle. I pushed stop and it stopped. I pushed start and it did not return to work, it just started over. It does give you some info on the robot itself, like how may total hours run, S/N, F/W installed and other such info. I don’t see the value in what the app does, but it came with the unit. Edit... I'm told that the app for the 614i will be updated in the next few weeks to include the ability to drive the robot and to make it drive itself to the surface at a wall so it is easy to remove from the pool. I guess time will tell if this happens or not.

14. Warranty... Both the EVO and the Dolphin have a Two-year warranty.

15. Unknow life expectancy. Dolphin 3 to 5 years. Edit. This is key in my mind, but we won't know how reliably the EVO is for several years...

16. Main Drain Hang Ups. So far, I have run the EVO for about 50 hours and it has never hung up on the main drain. The Dolphin would hang up on the main drain about 10% of the time. I believe that because of the dual drive motors, that the EVO will not have this issue, but time will tell.

17. I did not find anything that would keep me from buying this unit again. See #18

18. I assumed you could run the unit on weekly schedule, but I now realize that is not an option. For me that is not an issue as I normally only use the robot two or three times a week, but it will not work for a lot of pool owners. You’d think it would be an easy App fix. I also do not see where you can control it from an automated electrical outlet. Edit. The app is supposed to be update (automatically) but my understanding is that the timer option is not part of this update. This makes no sense to me, but we will see.

Thanks,

Jim R.
Love this review and about to order. Are you still pleased?
 
Jim, u should be getting a commission from the EVO people……just convinced me I need the 614IQ robot. 😂 I’ll be calling Margaret in the morning to order one with the fine filter. Do they have an extra fine filter or do u know?
 
Richard,

The only 'commission' I get is the satisfaction of knowing I'm sending people to someone that I know will take care of them.. :mrgreen:

Over the years, I have bought several robots from Marina.. I also use them when I need parts.

Not sure if it is still the same today... But the EVO comes with the standard filter, and I had to buy the extra fine.. It was worth the $50 bucks and it is the only one I now use.

Marina is not a huge place and they are sometimes hard to get on the phone.. I found it best to call right at 10 am Colo time..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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Has the latest app for EVO 614i enable scheduling/timer features? The older comments refer to this being a shortcoming, and possible reason to go with Dolphin over EVO if leaving in the pool on a schedule, but i also saw at least one mention that EVO updated the app.

Trying to understand the current differences between timer/scheduling features. . . similar now? anything better/worse comparing the latest versions. - Thanks!
 
GP2,

Scheduling is done via the app.. This means you would need the 614iQ and not the 604..

The scheduling was added to the app a month or two after I first got my EVO...

It allows you to schedule individual days and times... it maintains this schedule and just keeps repeating, unlike the Dolphin which you have to set once a week.. And... The real downside to the the Dolphin programming is it will only run at the time you set it up.. So, if you want to run it at 2 am, you have to stay up until 2 am..

Some Dolphins have a 'smart" plug setting where you can connect them to a smart outlet and you can let the outlet turn the robot on or off... As far as I know, the EVO's do not have this option.

You should buy whatever works best for you... I know what works best for me.. :mrgreen:

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Finally picked up the fine filter after using the standard for over a year!
Makes a big difference in my pool..wow!
2-3 cycles and it’s spotless

I also inspected and cleaned the impeller ..it had large amounts of landscaping (muhley grass) and hair wrapped into it. Cut and cleaned that off ! Just a tip to monitor

Still pleased with this machine !
 
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