Warrior SI Bluetooth issues and doesn't clean well?

[deus1978]

I've purchased a Warrior SI based upon the positive feedback on this form but I'm a little perplexed about the glaring reviews....

1) The Bluetooth won't work on either my phone or IPad, I reached out to Pentair for support and they send me a doc to help troubleshoot, nothing works. Does anyone here know the Bluetooth pairing code to try it outside the app? (all 0's doesn't work). I have spent hours trying to get it to connect and nothing works, when you manually enter "pairing mode" the Bluetooth light will illuminate on the power box.

2) The cleaner doesn't really pick up small pebbles (I'm hesitant to say "pebbles" as they are very very small). I can watch it drive right by them all day long and it skips right over them. They come off when I roll back my auto cover and it's one of the reasons I purchased this. It's brand new, clean basket, just seems like the suction isn't very strong. When I use the suction vacuum it picks them up with no issues.

At this point I'm a little disappointed in my purchase but everyone else seems to have better luck, maybe I got a dud? Pentair wasn't very helpful with support.

 

[TO116]

I also just got a Warrior SI, on Saturday actually.

1) Not sure if there is any code, i opened the app and it connected right away without any input from me. Both the power supply and the robot itself popped up. You're sure you have the right app, it should be the "Prowler 930" one.

2) How big are the pebbles? I get some sand/silt in my pool and this picks it up much better than my manual vac. The machine seems to move a lot of water to me, so I would think pebbles would be no issue.

The only complaint I do have with mine is that the delay start feature doesn't seem to work. Does yours?

 

[Jimrahbe]

Deus,

How big are these pebbles?

I have not tried to suck up any actual pebbles, but if you can move it by moving the water with your hand, it should suck them right up.

My S200 does not have blue tooth, so I have no idea about how it works.

There has never been anything in my pool that the cleaner has failed to pick up..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[deus1978]

Yeah I found the Prowler 930 app. No matter what I try, it sits on "searching for robot" then times out. I have location turned on and reset everything multiple times. If someone knew the pairing code I could try that but Pentair support was no help.

I haven't tried the schedules yet.... I have just been dropping it in and manually selecting the full cycle run each day. I'll let you know when I try the delay....

The pebbles are maybe 1 - 3 mm in size. My manual vac has no issues.

Are there any tweaks to make the suction a little stronger? Or maybe in the filter? I tried expanding the black mesh opening around the white tabs on the vacuum thinking it might make the opening stay open better but that didn't seem to do anything.

Are there other support channels? Think I got a bad robot? I see the water moving on the top of the pool so it's pulling.....

Also, from my understanding, these are supposed to "learn" the pool and clean efficiently. It seems to just go wherever with no rhyme or reason, it will hit the same spots multiple times and will completely miss areas of the pool (18 x 36) even after doing multiple cycles.

 

[TO116]

Obviously the power supply is on and you’re close by while trying to pair?

I think it should pick up that debris no problem, but I could be wrong.

As far as other support, do you have a Pentair dealer near you? They might be able to help.

Also, as far as I know this vacuum doesn’t “learn” or scan or anything like that. I’m not sure if any really do.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Deus,

The idea that the robot learns your pool is more marketing hype that actual learning. It has to "learn" each time you turn the robot on, but it does have some type of basic routine that, in theory, helps it clean the whole pool.

If you got your robot through Marina Pool and Spa, you should talk with Margaret, and I am sure she will take care of you.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[deus1978]

Yeah I am right next to the power supply (and it's on) when trying to pair.

I did get the Robot from Marina Pool and Spa, I'll give them a call, I might have just got a dud, but so far, I'm not impressed at all and I was really looking forward to giving one a shot to save me some time cleaning the pool, and everyone else seems happy so I must be missing something.

It misses about 25% of the pool ground surface and goes over the same spots over and over.

 

[steevo]

Have you tried pairing with another device like your phone? Just to rule out the Ipad you are using? It should connect easily. What type of pool surface do you have?

 

[Jimrahbe]

It misses about 25% of the pool ground surface and goes over the same spots over and over.

Do you really have that much "stuff" on the bottom of your pool where you can see where it has been???

I have been using robots for about 12 years.. All Dolphins... None of them have ever missed picking up anything off the bottom of my pools.. But, I have to admit, that I have no idea if they cover 100% of the pool, as I can't see where they have been, I can only tell that nothing that I can see, is left on the bottom of the pool.

Something is just not right.. Not sure if it is a bad robot, your pool shape, or ????

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[deus1978]

I've tried an iPad and my phone to rule out a problem with the device. They both pair to other Bluetooth devices just fine.

My pool only gets dirty (very small amount) by the auto cover when you roll it out on one side, some dirt will hang on it and go into the water.

I'm not talking a huge amount here and I don't have a disgusting dirty pool, but there are little pockets where I will watch the robot go right over and not pickup anything it goes over.

When I try to grab the little sand pieces it misses I can't because the water moves them around so I can't grab them, they disperse and move around my hand.

My pool is really clean minus the areas where the dirt drops off the cover and even that is a small footprint. My concern isn't the cleanliness of my pool, it's that the robot skips over sand that is to small for me to pickup by hand and my suction vacuum has zero issues getting this, which is what I am trying to replace.

I'm saying it misses alot of the pool because I watch a cycle and it doesn't do an entire corner area, I'm not saying that corner is filthy, it doesn't even reach it to try to clean. It will drive straight towards it, stop and go backwards. It's very inconsistent. I don't have a large pool. The cord has plenty of slack so it's not getting "pulled" up to stop and reverse.

Also Margaret never called me back after leaving a message.

 

[deus1978]

Here are a few photos. Do I have unrealistic expectations in thinking that a pool cleaning robot should be able to pick up the debris shown in the photos below? The robot will just go right over all this.

 

[tfpc]

I just got my Warrior SI in the mail yesterday from Margaret at Marina Pool and Spa. I’m having a similar issue with not being able to connect to Bluetooth. I'm using the Prowler 930 app and it's not finding the robot. Yes, I'm standing close to the device; I've turned bluetooth on/off, restarted the phone, reinstalled the app, unplugged/plugged in the robot, and used a different device (phone is android and also tried Apple iPad). One troubleshooting step I performed was to install the MyDolphin+ app by Maytronics. That device sees the robot - S/N matches the S/N on the box - but when I try to connect I get a message saying this model is only compatible with the MyDolphin app (i.e. minus the "+"). And, the MyDolphin app doesn't see the device, similar to the Prowler 930 app.

I've submitted a ticket through the "Contact Us" link on the app. We'll see what happens. The app hasn't been updated since September 2019 and I'm wondering whether there's a filter built into the app that looks at the serial numbers to keep non-robot bluetooth devices from being listed as devices in the app - and if so, maybe some of the newer robots have serial numbers outside of that filter string and so are not being shown as valid devices.

 

[tfpc]

Quick follow-on to the Bluetooth issue - I just went through the online product registration process through Pentair's website and their website linked the serial number for my device to the Pentair Prowler 920 instead of the Pentair Warrior SI. The Prowler 920 does not include Bluetooth connectivity. The box the robot came in indicates a Warrior SI and the sticker on the robot itself indicates the same. Maybe a mix-up somewhere in the process? I'd be curious what others are seeing during the product registration process for robots where bluetooth connection hasn't been a problem.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Deus,

My S200 does not leave anything behind... I've said this before... If I have a single dime sized leaf on the bottom of my pool, it will be gone when the cleaner is done, 99% of the time.

Unfortunately, I have no idea why yours is not working well..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[JJ_Tex]

I have the 930, and rarely use the bluetooth feature.

A couple of times I have noticed that mine will start doing a bad job at picking stuff up. It picks up some stuff, just takes 2 or 3 times back to back to get all of the leaves and stuff. When I notice it doing that, I have taken off the cover for the impeller and cleaned out hair, lots of hair, from around the impeller. Its an easy 5 minute job with just a phillips screwdriver, and works like a charm afterwards.

 

[deus1978]

tfpc,

Interesting about your serial number pointing to a non-bluetooth bot. I was trying to find a pairing code to see if I can pair it outside the app as I can get the Bluetooth light to light up so I know it's talking to my phone so your theory sounds solid about it being an app issue . I tried to submit a ticket through the app and it kept saying "invalid serial" so that compliments your findings!

JJ_Tex,

I will try to clean in the impeller but it's done this since day one so unless Crud was in there from the factory, I'm not very hopeful.

Side note:

I am still waiting for a call back from Margaret, 3 weeks now and two phone calls, I don't think they really care about support after they get the purchase but we'll see, I'll remain hopeful but she has yet to call back, even after multiple tries.

Thanks for the additional feedback, we might be getting somewhere on the Bluetooth issues.

 

[nousername]

I just got my Warrior SI in the mail yesterday from Margaret at Marina Pool and Spa. I’m having a similar issue with not being able to connect to Bluetooth. I'm using the Prowler 930 app and it's not finding the robot. Yes, I'm standing close to the device; I've turned bluetooth on/off, restarted the phone, reinstalled the app, unplugged/plugged in the robot, and used a different device (phone is android and also tried Apple iPad). One troubleshooting step I performed was to install the MyDolphin+ app by Maytronics. That device sees the robot - S/N matches the S/N on the box - but when I try to connect I get a message saying this model is only compatible with the MyDolphin app (i.e. minus the "+"). And, the MyDolphin app doesn't see the device, similar to the Prowler 930 app.

I've submitted a ticket through the "Contact Us" link on the app. We'll see what happens. The app hasn't been updated since September 2019 and I'm wondering whether there's a filter built into the app that looks at the serial numbers to keep non-robot bluetooth devices from being listed as devices in the app - and if so, maybe some of the newer robots have serial numbers outside of that filter string and so are not being shown as valid devices.

Interesting. I am in the same boat. I got my Warrior Si from Marina Pools yesterday as well. I have the same bluetooth connection issues with the Prowler 930 app not finding the robot. I tried on android and iphone and neither worked. I was close to the device and tried the usual trouble shooting that you tried. I did not try the other apps you mentioned. I was able to only get the bluetooth light to light up when I tried to manually pair it with my android device.

I did send an email to the support for the app this morning but no response yet.

If anyone has ideas I would be very interested.

 

[tfpc]

tfpc,

Interesting about your serial number pointing to a non-bluetooth bot. I was trying to find a pairing code to see if I can pair it outside the app as I can get the Bluetooth light to light up so I know it's talking to my phone so your theory sounds solid about it being an app issue . I tried to submit a ticket through the app and it kept saying "invalid serial" so that compliments your findings!

JJ_Tex,

I will try to clean in the impeller but it's done this since day one so unless Crud was in there from the factory, I'm not very hopeful.

Side note:

I am still waiting for a call back from Margaret, 3 weeks now and two phone calls, I don't think they really care about support after they get the purchase but we'll see, I'll remain hopeful but she has yet to call back, even after multiple tries.

Thanks for the additional feedback, we might be getting somewhere on the Bluetooth issues.

FWIW, I went a week just trying to place an order with a voicemail and email and no follow-up. I tried a couple days in a row calling right at their 10:00am opening time and finally connected. I think they're a small shop and seem to have found a niche with the TFP forum - lots of good reviews, so really hoping they come through. Not to mention, before I ordered with them I called every pool store in the Minneapolis metro area, in particular those highly rated on Pentair's retailer list and nobody had these in stock or would even special order them - even stores that carried the Maytronics Dolphins and carried Pentair products. The real problem is with Maytronics - I mean seriously, they manufacture the same robot and use the same power supply, but then enable/disable features and put other brands stickers on the same machine - literally cheap stickers - I mean, it would be hilarious if the starting price wasn't several hundred dollars.

Someone should help the good people at Marina keep up with a ballooning business and should develop a decent pool robot without the BS.

 

[deus1978]

I just attached a doc that I received from Pentair support a few weeks back. It did not help me and when I followed up telling them that, they stopped helping (meaning they have no clue how to fix this issue), but it might help someone.

Supposedly it came from a Maytronic engineer. At a minimum, it will show you how to reset your robot.

 

[mknauss]

I am still waiting for a call back from Margaret, 3 weeks now and two phone calls, I don't think they really care about support after they get the purchase but we'll see, I'll remain hopeful but she has yet to call back, even after multiple tries.

@MarinaMargaret