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Roborock S6: the best robot vacuum for hard floors, long hair and messy kids

November 28, 2019 by M.B. Grant Leave a Comment

This summer, we bought a Roborock S6 robot vacuum to help keep up with the messes our baby and toddler make. We love our children very much, but damn – the daily struggle against crumbs and dirt was intense.

We did a lot of research and read tons of reviews before choosing the Roborock S6, an intelligent, app-powered autonomous floor vacuum (official site). We’ve had it for 4 months now and have definitely given it a workout.

In short, this vacuum is amazing. It has relieved us of a ton of sweeping and mopping duties and elevated the overall standard of cleanliness in our home by cleaning places we didn’t (or couldn’t) regularly clean and doing a better job of it.

Before we got it, everyone was telling us to just lower our standards (and then lower them again) but our floors were getting super gross and I was really tired of trying to keep up. Plus, I love a clean home, and I didn’t want to relax my standards – especially with a baby crawling on (and eating off of) the floor!

Thanks to the Roborock S6, we didn’t have to lower our standards at all. Quite the opposite, actually – my standards are now higher than they were before.

We named it Jeff.

Note: Like all products we review here on HomeUpgraded, our Roborock S6 vacuum is something we bought ourselves and have put through extensive use before writing about it. Everything in this article is our own research and opinions.

Roborock S6 features at a glance

The Roborock S6 vacuum is an app-controlled, Internet-enabled smart vacuum for hardwood, tile, and carpet. It is circle-shaped, so you might be wondering how it reaches into corners. The vacuum has a little spinning “arm” that collects dust and dirt from corners and edges – places my traditional upright vacuum cannot reach without an attachment.

It’s both a vacuum and a mop (you decide which mode it runs in) and you can operate it either from the smartphone app or via buttons on the vacuum itself. You can even use the app when you aren’t home. It docks and undocks all on its own, but you have to empty its dustbin yourself. The dustbin looks dinky compared to what we’re used to seeing on canister and upright vacs, but it’s large enough for a full sweep of our 2700 sq. ft home. We empty it between runs.

It takes about 110 minutes and most of a full battery to do our 2700 sq. ft. home, but we often target specific rooms with the app that lets you draw no-go zones and designate room boundaries.

See the Roborock S6 on Amazon.com

Why we love our Roborock S6

We had heard of the Roomba by iRobot, but we had also heard the complaints that the Roomba sorta of drunkenly zig-zags around your house in a crazy-making way and saw someone suggesting the Xiaomi Roborock S6 as an alternative because of its mapping and stricter line-by-line approach to cleaning rooms.

That’s how we got going down the research rabbit hole and ended up picking a vacuum that lacks the name recognition of Roomba but has nonetheless made us very, very happy we picked it.

✔ Our floors are cleaner than they’ve ever been – and that’s saying something, with two messy children, my own long hair, and plenty of foot-traffic around the house. I love walking barefoot around my house again. Honestly, this thing raised the bar on cleanliness since it goes under things and into places I only scrubbed occasionally. I’m actually a little embarrassed because I thought I was doing a good job, but this vacuum finds everything.

✔ Run the vacuum from anywhere. You don’t have to be home! You can start the vacuum from anywhere you have an Internet connection. I usually run it when I’m away from home because I don’t want to be in its way, but it’s not a huge nuisance if you do run it while home.

✔ It fits in corners and goes under furniture. Let’s be honest, I rarely moved furniture or push things out of the way for vacuuming. Fortunately, Jeff has no problem gliding under our king-size bed, dining room chairs, or our bathroom vanity.

✔ Does not suck up drapes. We have long drapes that end just above the floor in multiple rooms. I used to tie them up or drape them over nearby furniture but Jeff just eats around them.

✔ Works on hardwood, tile, and carpet. Our home is mostly hardwoods and tile, but we have a number of rugs of varying thicknesses and types. Jeff handles everything from our door mats to the oversize carpet samples we use in the children’s rooms. (We have not tried it on bath mats, we pick those up before running the vacuum.) It has not chewed any corners, left any rugs curled up, or otherwise bothered them. It mounts even our thickest rug (1/2″).

Jeff works on our low-pile rug, switching between tile and rug as he traverses the room.

✔ Easy to empty and easy to clean the brush. I’ll go into detail more on this later but basically emptying out my upright vacuum always squicked me out because I had to reach into it and pull the globs of dust and out of the canister with my hand. I’m happy to say that the dust and dirt just falls out of the Roborock’s bin, and the brush is easy to snap in and out of place for the occasional de-hairing.

✔ Goodbye, tedious chore. With two small kids, sweeping and vacuuming was consuming a small part of my life. I was vacuuming and sweeping after every meal and snack and I was just really tired of it.

How it works: using the Roborock S6

Preparing to vacuum

We pick up any toys, laundry, shoes, cables, etc. from around the floors and then start the vacuum using the app. We don’t move furniture for it, but if you do, it’ll figure out the room has changed and adapt to the new layout.

Note: You can also carry the vacuum to the room you want it to vacuum and push a button on the vacuum to run it.

Using the Roborock app

The app is easy to use and [as of October 2019] lets more than one person “own” the vacuum and manage it via their own smartphones. This lets both my husband and I start, stop, or view the vacuum’s current progress.

You don’t have to be on your home WiFi to use the app or control the robot. To start the vacuum, open the app and tap “Enter robot” to see the current map of your home.

Here, you can pick rooms to vacuum, have it clean the whole house, or define a box-shaped area for it to vacuum. You can set no-go zones (shown here as red boxes) and partition rooms. You can also access settings and drop a “pin” to tell the vacuum to vacuum a particular location.

Mapping

The robot generates and saves a map of your house the first time you run it. You can generate a new map at any time, and you can save up to 3 separate maps. You can divide spaces into separate rooms, set no-go zones, and more. A saved map retains its no-go zones. Saved maps are useful for bringing the robot to a different floor. You have to pick it up yourself and take it to the new floor, but it should figure it out from there. [Note: We live in a one-story home and have not tried this feature.]

I usually target a specific room to vacuum. This is because some of our rooms get dirty at like ten times the rate that other rooms do. The app makes it easy to pick a room and start the cleaning cycle. The robot leaves the dock on its own and heads to the room(s) you picked.

In this map, the Roborock S6 just returned to its dock (middle of the lilac-color room) after vacuuming our kitchen/dining/family room area. The red regions are “no go” zones I set up manually and saved. These are areas with lots of cables and hazards like toys.

The rooms don’t have to be adjacent to each other. When it’s finished, it plays a recorded announcement and returns to its dock.

The whole process is completely hands-free and can be monitored in real-time through the app.

3 side-by-side screenshots from the Roborock app, showing how the robot first traces the room and then fills it in, going line-by-line and pivoting around the legs of chairs and tables.

You can use the app from anywhere you have an Internet connection. Yes, this means you can run the vacuum while you’re at work or out running errands. I usually run it when I’m out with the kids so they don’t interfere with it. Coming home to a clean home is the best.

October 2019 update: They just updated the app to allow more than one person to operate and monitor the vacuum! This was, by far, the biggest problem with the app (the fact that only one person could “own” and manage the vacuum) so I look forward to sharing the responsibility of running Jeff with my husband, haha.

Vacuuming

It runs quietly enough that you can have a (somewhat loud) conversation in the same room as it, but it’s also loud enough that I wouldn’t run it while trying to watch a movie or while someone is sleeping. Ours goes cu-clunk, cu-clunk as it passes over the grout between our large kitchen floor tiles, and it becomes noticeably louder when it’s working on carpet, but overall I would describe it as less noisy and intrusive than our upright vacuum.

It’s definitely slower than I am with an upright, but it’s also way more thorough and goes places I don’t bother with.

When it’s done with the area(s) you assigned it to, it finds its dock and puts itself back on its charger. The whole process is very hands-off, but you do have to dump out the dust bin yourself.

The Roborock S6’s cleaning capabilities and maintenance are covered later in this review.

Jeff finds his dock, lines up, and scoots into position for charging.

Scheduling the robot vacuum with “Timer”

You can schedule the Roborock S6 to run at a set time, which is called “Timer” in the app, and you can also tell it when not to run with “Do Not Disturb”, but we have not used the scheduling feature because our floors are constantly covered in a smattering of toys that we have to manually pick up right before running the vacuum.

However, I will say this – everyone in the house is eager to pick up “for the robot”. Before we got this robot vacuum the floors only got picked up maybe once a week (by me, moments before I vacuumed the room myself). Now, since we run the robot vacuum basically every day and since not that much clutter has accumulated since the last time we ran him, the floors stay a lot less cluttered overall, and I no longer have to pick up so much clutter from the floors myself! HUGE WIN!

Cleaning capability

I am astonished at how much dust our Roborock S6 picks up in just one run. I’m actually a bit embarrassed, because I thought I was doing a good job with the sweeping and mopping.

Our home has these wedge-shaped HVAC registers that our traditional upright vacuum cannot without using an attachment. The Roborock handles these corners with ease.

My biggest resistance to getting a robot vacuum in the first place was I assumed it wasn’t as powerful as my upright vac, but we run it far more frequently and it’s way more thorough than I was and it reaches into little places I wasn’t, so maybe it wasn’t power that mattered so much but overall meticulousness. Either way, I have zero complaints about its power.

It picks up glitter, leaves, Cheerios, corn flakes, dried rice, dried Play-Doh and other annoying-to-sweep things so I’m very happy with its ability to keep up with our kids.

Meticulous vacuuming

The Roborock’s methodical, line-by-line approach to cleaning is what initially drew us to it. First, it outlines the room, then it goes “line by line” down the room, like an inkjet printer. (It uses its saved map as a “starting point”, but it doesn’t follow the map blindly – if your furniture has moved that’s fine, it’ll figure it out.)

We moved into this house in July and got Jeff a month later and as we set it up I thought, There’s no way the house can even be that dirty yet – but it came back from its maiden voyage packed with dust and dirt. I think I could sweep and mop before running the vacuum and it would find loads of things I missed.

Some of this is because Jeff goes places I don’t or can’t, such as under the bed and some of our furniture, but some of it is also because it goes slower and more methodically than a human. It also doesn’t seem to kick up much dust as it goes, so maybe that helps it capture more as well.

The Roborock S6 vacuums somewhere I rarely did – under our IKEA Hemnes. (It also has no problem navigating around larger random things left on the floor, even if they weren’t there during the initial mapping.)

Either way, it’s clear that the Roborock S6 does a way better job than I do with a traditional upright vacuum and mop.

Mopping mode

We use vacuum mode as our default and only switch to mopping on occasion. (If you’re wondering whether you even need vacuuming if your home has no carpet in it, yes you do. The vacuuming takes the place of sweeping in that case, and you definitely need to sweep before you mop.)

The mopping mode is for “light mopping”. I’m not sure how light is “light”, and we haven’t truly put it through its paces yet. (I’ll report back once we’re through a winter with this thing.)

The Roborock S6 comes with two reusable mop pads and several disposable mop pads.

Rugs and irregular objects

The Roborock S6 seems to have no problem going from our hard floors to our rugs. It doesn’t curl the edges or get trapped.

Our rugs include:

  • Rubber-border “utility” rugs by our service door and front door
  • Carpet sample style rugs in our children’s rooms and play areas
  • Vinyl anti-fatigue mat at the kitchen sink
  • Decorative rugs under the master bed and living room sofa
Clockwise starting at top left: our children’s thin play rug, our service door utility mat, the oversize carpet sample in our daughter’s room, and a decorative rug in our living room. The Roborock S6 navigates all of these with ease.

Here’s a weird place in our house that I didn’t like to vacuum myself – the baby jail on top of one of our rugs. It’s also crumb central. The vacuum had to switch between tile mode and rug mode as it worked its way around the baby jail, but it managed to get all of the crushed Cheerio dust that bedazzles this general area.

The baby jail has moved a few feet since Jeff last mapped it, but the Roborock S6 adapts on the fly.

Furniture

Tables and chairs – The Roborock S6 pivots around the legs of tables and chairs to get every last crumb from under the table. I just love not having to move the chairs to vacuum like I used to.

Beds – I didn’t fully appreciate the Roborock’s short stature until I realized it was going under our bed every time it vacuums our bedroom. Let’s just say I almost never vacuum under the bed. Now, the space under the bed is getting vacuumed all the time. I love it.

Kitchen cabinets – This is another place that tends to get really gross because it’s harder for me to clean it (or even see that it’s dirty). Jeff fits in the space under the cabinet faces and vacuums up every crumb from in front of the toe kick without scratching or damaging the wood.

Roborock S6 fits under our kitchen cabinet faces for extra cleaning goodness.

What about small stuff left on the floor?

I feel like the “hazardous item” size threshold is about that of a toddler sock. Anything smaller or shorter than a small sock and the Roborock S6 is either going to roll over it and try to suck it up or get trapped on it somehow.

Obviously, we haven’t tested this exhaustively (we don’t want to break our robot), but we have had a few mishaps…

Phone charge cable – I once found Jeff trapped, unable to leave our room because my phone’s charge cable had wrapped around the brush and was holding him in place. He kept trying to turn around, run the length of the cord back to its source and then try to leave again, but the cord kept him tethered. He was stuck in a loop trying to free himself.

Sound machine cable – We set Jeff loose in the baby’s room, forgetting about the white noise machine under her crib. The machine has a very fine, thin cord, which Jeff pulled it hard enough to unplug it from the wall and dragged it a few feet from its starting position. Fortunately, the cord itself was perfectly fine, despite being thin and delicate.

Toddler-size sock – Jeff pushed this small sock around a bit but did not consume it.

Puzzle piece – This foam puzzle piece gave Jeff some trouble. The vacuum mounted it and switched to carpet mode in effort to suck it up. We were present and able to pause the robot and pull it out. The puzzle piece and the robot were both fine.

Sheet of paper – A sheet of paper got wrinked as Jeff pushed it into the table legs but there no damage to the vacuum.

Crayons – Another time, we found a half-chewed crayon that was had gotten worn down by Jeff’s brushes. (The vacuum itself was fine, but the crayon looks pretty wild and seems to have some bristles stuck to it now). Crayons are definitely a hazard to the Roborock.

Jeff ate a crayon 🙁 Luckily, he was fine.

This is basically why we don’t use the Timer (schedule) feature – we need to manually clean up the floors before running our Roborock S6, because while it’s pretty good at avoiding hazards and hasn’t gotten into any real trouble yet, it’s not perfect, and our kids leave everything on the floor.

What’s in the box?

The Roborock S6 comes with its dock, power cable, instruction manual, two reusable mop pads, a small stack of disposable mop pads, and a replacement air filter.

Vacuum maintenance

Like any vacuum, the Roborock S6 needs periodic maintenance and part replacement. The app tracks the vacuum’s usage and suggests maintenance of various components every so often. Note that this isn’t based on the actual degradation of the components, just an assumption of their state after X hours of use.

We’ve run ours for a grand total of 33 hours so far, and we’ve got a long way to go before we need to replace anything. (I left the sensors one at 0% so you can see what it looks like when it gets to zero on something.)

The Roborock S6 app’s Maintenance page displays the remaining life of various vacuum parts.

Replacement parts and accessories are inexpensive. They’re typically sold as a bundle on Amazon. You get multiples of each part (two brushes, six spinning feet, four filters, etc.) in the bundle.

Roborock S6 replacement parts on Amazon.com

Emptying the dustbin

Emptying the canister on my upright vacuum was a disgusting experience: I often had to reach into the canister to loosen the jammed-up dust and hair wads using my fingers. (Barf.)

So far, the Roborock has not made me touch any of the crud it picks up. It falls out of the dustbin with a few knocks against the inside of our trash can.

I cannot believe how much crap this vacuum finds even though we run it every other day. We must have been living in absolute filth before we got this robot vacuum.

Cleaning the roller brush

We’ve only had to clean the main brush twice in 3 months of owning it so far and I’m not sure if that’s a normal cadence or exceptional or what. I have hair that reaches about halfway down my back and I’m losing it at a rate that indicates I should be bald by this time next year, so my hair tends to be a challenge for any vac we own.

Fortunately, my long hair doesn’t seem to jam the Roborock and since the brush can be lifted out of the vacuum it is easy to clean the roller (at least, compared to my upright vac where the roller is not removable, so I get down on the floor with some scissors to cut my hair off the roller).

Removing the main brush: push the two slider buttons toward each other.
Close up view of the main brush. You can remove the yellow cap to pull hair and string off the brush.

Washing the mopping pads

When it’s time to mop, you attach a mopping pad. There are disposable mop pads and reusable mop pads. We’ve only used the reusable mop pads so far. The mopping pads are supposedly machine washable but we have elected to hand wash ours.

Here’s a brand new pad vs. a pad after one mopping. You get two of these with the Roborock, so if you do a lot of mopping you could have one in use and one in the laundry.

Roborock S6 reusable mop pads – before and after one mopping session.

The bottom line

So that’s it – we love our robot vacuum! It took a daily chore I was sick of doing and turned it into something I could automate and have done when I wasn’t even home. Before we bought our Roborock vacuum were considering a cleaning service, but those run about $75/week where we live. We quickly “broke even” on this vacuum purchase, and it’s still going strong after 4 months of regular use (we run it about every other day). I’ll come back and post an update if the vacuum ever fails or requires a major repair, but so far we are thrilled with it.

We recommend

Roborock S6 Robotic Vacuum Cleaner

Smart and efficient

Workhorse smart vacuum that keeps up with kids, long hair, and daily messes. Works on tiles, hardwood, and carpet, and manages the transitions with ease. Control it from anywhere with an easy to use app.

Buy the Roborock S6

Filed Under: Appliances, Reviews Tagged With: automation, roborock, robot vacuum

Google WiFi Review: Finally, strong signal everywhere in our thick-walled home

December 8, 2017 by M.B. Grant 1 Comment

Our Google WiFi rating: 5/5

Say goodbye to antennas and hello to strong, uninterrupted WiFi

The days of a lone router barfing WiFi signal in every direction from a corner of your house are over!

In a home full of smart bulbs, voice assistants, cameras, streaming TV, music and more, a strong WiFi network is the backbone. This month, we made the jump from 3-year old “antennas and a black box” router to Google WiFi, a mesh network system. Yes, it’s more expensive up front than renting a modem/router from your ISP, but it’s an investment that instantly paid off in terms of reduced frustration and faster response times on all our smart home systems and high tech toys.

What is mesh networking?

A mesh WiFi network is like a router + repeaters. The “mesh” part refers to how the signal is spread further and more evenly throughout a space. Your device is automatically and seamlessly “handed off” from one WiFi point to another, so you’re always connected to whichever one will give you the strongest signal.

It’s still a normal WiFi network – you can name it, put a password on it, secure it, and your devices won’t be able to tell the difference.

Mesh networking equipment for the home has exploded in popularity (and plummeted in price!) over the last couple of years. These systems include Google WiFi, Eero, Netgear Orbi, Linksys Velop, and more. Prices range from a couple hundred to over $500 for a starter kit, but the general idea is the same. One “node” or “point” acts as your router, the rest exist to spread the signal further.

WiFi points pick up WiFi signal from other nearby points and repeat it with minimal degradation to signal strength.

Mesh networking systems come with built-in QoS (quality of service – ie: sacrificing your PC’s download speed so your Netflix stream doesn’t buffer all night) and are designed for loads of devices making demands simultaneously. This innovation is well-timed, because home automation enthusiasts (like us) spent those same years packing their networks with Hue bulbs, smart speakers, voice-activated assistants, and streaming devices.

Why we switched to mesh

We just moved to a new house, an 1800-square-foot single-story house with the router at one end and all our computers and WiFi-hungry devices at the other end.

Network congestion and signal degradation with our not-that-old Netgear router made it so we couldn’t dim our lights if our Playstation was downloading updates, printer jobs randomly disappeared, our baby monitor camera took ages to connect to, and our voice-activated assistants (Echo and Google Home both) were having trouble communicating with WeMo and Hue.

Basically, our old router was no match for whatever our 1980’s-era walls are made of, and pretty much everything we own sits between our router and our WiFi devices.

It was time to get meshed up!

See the Google WiFi system on Amazon

What is Google WiFi?

Google WiFi is a replacement for your home network’s router. Pick one of these (they’re all the same) and use it in place of your router. Place the other two elsewhere in your home (more on that later) to extend the signal.

Open Google WiFi box with 3 WiFi points inside.

What’s inside the box: three identical Google WiFi points, cords, and simple setup instructions.

The “satellite” nodes only need a power cord, no additional wires, to repeat the signal. Instead of multiple side-by-side networks like you get with WiFi extenders and many modern routers that split the signal into two bands, the Google WiFi network has one name. Both the 2.4ghz and 5ghz band are combined under one name, and devices automatically connect to a suitable band.

TV screen, sound bar remote, and Google WiFi point sitting on our TV stand.

One of our Google WiFi points next to our TV and sound bar remote for scale.

Each additional node you add to your “mesh” carries the signal further. By default, a single WiFi point can carry the signal about 1000 feet.

If you’ve dealt with flaky WiFi repeaters in the past, these are effortless by comparison. There are no antennas to point and setup is fast since the “extenders” are designed to be a part of the network by default.

Who is Google WiFi for?

  • Homes with lots of “always on” devices such as Hue bulbs, Amazon Echo, smart thermostats, Google Home, etc.
  • Homes with Philips Hue bulbs can take advantage of the on.here feature for easy access to lightbulbs on/off and colors
  • Households streaming from multiple sources simultaneously
  • Online gamers 
  • Parents who want to control when kids’ devices can access the Internet
  • Huge houses – even the starter kit with 3 WiFi points is supposed to cover a 3000-4500 square foot home

Google WiFi installation and setup

Google WiFi in its long box.

Unboxing Google WiFi

Inside the hotdog-shaped box are three WiFi nodes, three power cables, one Ethernet cable, and one page of instructions.

Google WiFi unboxed: three nodes, three power cables, one Ethernet cable

Google WiFi unboxed: 3 interchangeable WiFi points and all the cables you’ll need.

Installing Google WiFi

To complete setup, you’ll need to download the Google WiFi app, which available for iOS and Android (unfortunately, you must use the app to do the installation).

Installation took us about 40 minutes. That includes opening the box, taking photos, removing the old router, putting the Google WiFi in its place, placing the two additional WiFi points, and patting ourselves on the backs.

Installation was easy.

Any node can become the primary WiFi point (the one that replaces your old router). Take the Ethernet cable that runs from your modem to your router and plug it into the Google WiFi point instead. Plug in the power adapter.

My hand holding a Google WiFi point, with Ethernet cables and setup information displayed.

Setup network name and QR code are on the bottom of every WiFi point.

The power cables and adapters are one unit – alas, not USB (in case you have one of those nice USB power strips). However, the adapters are relatively slim and probably won’t hog too much space on your power strip.

Good news for crowded power strips: the Google WiFi point adapters are slim and relatively small.

There’s just one “outgoing” Ethernet port. We used it to connect to our Philips Hue Hub.

The rest of the installation takes place in the Google WiFi app, using a Bluetooth connection to the WiFi point. WiFi points are added by scanning their QR codes.

Scanning the WiFi point's QR code to add it to the network.

Scan the WiFi point’s QR code to add it to the network.

I was dreading a scenario in which we had to individually re-add every single Echo, Google Home, Philips Hue lightbulb, camera, etc. to our new Google WiFi network. That didn’t happen, because we used the same network name and password for our new network. Most of our devices hopped over on their own. The only devices that had to be manually re-connected to the network were the devices that had been set to only use the 5ghz band of the old network.

Physical design

The overall design and attention to detail on the WiFi point hardware itself is excellent.

The units feel durable, with a good weight to them. They have thin rubber “feet” in two arcs on the bottom to help them stay in place. The power cords are generous in length – maybe 5 feet each.

The light strip around the center can be dimmed or completely turned off. With the lights turned off, our toddler doesn’t seem to notice them (which is a relief – she was fascinated by our old router and all its blinking lights).

On the back/bottom is a cut-out for wires, so you don’t end up with wires sticking out in every direction from your primary WiFi point.

How we arranged our Google WiFi points

The conventional wisdom seems to be that the WiFi points should be in a straight line through your house. We found that impractical for our house’s design, so we put ours in a triangle shape instead.

Internet signal comes in near the garage and gets boosted all over the house by the three WiFi points

To give you a sense of how powerful a single point is, the Yi camera in the baby’s room keeps putting itself on the primary WiFi point in the living room. The primary point emits a strong enough 2.4ghz signal that the baby’s room WiFi point is unnecessary for the camera.

However, the Yi camera is a 2.4ghz device, not a 5ghz device. 5ghz is stronger, but doesn’t travel quite as far, so devices that can use the 5ghz network (such as our phones) still benefit from the node placed in the baby’s room.

Each point spreads its signal somewhere between 500 and 1000 feet, according to Google. Actual performance varies due to building materials, presence of walls, and other factors.

What’s improved now that we’re on Google WiFi

Here’s what got better for us:

  • Stronger signal in the master bedroom
  • Faster download/upload speeds in the master bedroom
  • No more micromanaging which devices are on which network bands (2.4ghz or 5ghz)
  • Instant connection to our Yi camera streams
  • Hue bulbs don’t become “unreachable” while downloading – with our Netgear router, we often lost connection to our Hue bulbs while downloading game updates
  • Devices no longer seem to be dropping off the network randomly
  • Music streaming no longer cuts out randomly (this was a problem with both Spotify and Amazon Music)
  • Better insight into which devices are using bandwidth, and how strong their signal is
  • “on.here” URL lets anyone on our network control our Hue lights, even if they don’t have the Hue app (great for when the baby’s grandparents are over)
  • 5ghz band everywhere! It used to taper off right around where we have our TV and computers

In the near future we’ll be setting up Google WiFi at my parents’ house, which is considerably larger, with 2 stories plus a basement. We will update this review after we see how it performs in their home.

Check current Google WiFi price and stock on Amazon

The Google WiFi app is sweet, too

If you have an old-school router you’re probably used to going to 192.168.0.1 (or a branded URL or similar) to access your router, and then having to log in with credentials you forgot about 2 minutes after you set them up.

That’s all gone now – just open the Google WiFi app and there’s everything you need.

Open the Google WiFi app to view your WiFi points, connected devices, set a priority device, view network usage, and more.

On the left: more shortcuts to network features. On the right: setting one of our gaming consoles as a priority device.

It’s easy to add other people as “managers” (through their Google account), too, so you don’t end up in a situation where only one person can (or knows how to) get into the router.

Here are just a few of the things that are easy to do in the Google WiFi app:

  • Set a priority device for X hours
  • View all the connected devices, by name (which you can easily customize)
  • Pause WiFi access per device and/or by groups of devices
  • Set up a Guest WiFi network so your grubby guests can be quarantined
  • Perform a network test
  • See “patch notes” from recent updates to the app and firmware

This meets our needs fine. If there’s any feature we miss, it’s being able to micromanage QoS (quality of service) by setting certain devices as higher priority than others. (This was a feature we liked on our ASUS Wireless-AC1900, the router we set up at our weekend place and our parents’ homes.)

Google WiFi’s advanced networking features

Google WiFi strives to be “set it and forget it” but it’s still got many useful “advanced” features, including:

  • DNS – set to Google’s 8.8.8.8, your ISP’s DNS, or a custom DNS
  • WAN – chose from DHCP, Static IP, and PPPoE
  • LAN settings – set LAN address, subnet mask, DHCP address pool start IP and end IP
  • UPnP (Universal Plug n Play) – toggle on or off
  • IPv6 enable/disable
  • DCHP IP reservations
  • Port forwarding rules – add, delete
  • Device mode – switch to Bridge mode to resolve a Double NAT problem, with some caveats

Google WiFi app screenshot of the Advanced networking page

Google WiFi offers some advanced features for special situations

Device Sharing gives easy access to Philips Hue (and other systems)

The Google WiFi network comes with a neat feature called Device Sharing – just type on.here into your browser’s address bar on your phone or computer to get access to some home automation devices on your network.

Philips Hue is integrated with Google WiFi. You can turn lights on/off and change their color through this web portal, no additional credentials needed.

What doesn’t Google WiFi do?

Google WiFi is a powerful “set it and forget it” system, where features that we now expect (such as 2.4ghz and 5ghz bands) come standard, but with fewer micromanagement opportunities.

You no longer have to (get to?) pick between the 2.4ghz and 5.0ghz bands. Your devices will automatically choose which one to be on. If you want to be really strict about which device(s) go on which band, you won’t have that level of control with Google WiFi.

With Google WiFi, you can only set priority to one device – and it expires after 4 hours. We can’t set both our computers or PlayStations to be high priority devices at the same time. There’s no granular QoS exposed to the user.

On the bright side, since upgrading to Google WiFi we haven’t seen the QoS-related problems we were having with our Netgear router while simultaneously streaming music and downloading game updates.

A few more things: There’s no dynamic DNS or auto-renewing dynamic DNS with Google WiFi. There’s also no VPN (you’d have to get a separate piece of hardware to support VPN.)

The bottom line

The Google WiFi router-replacement system is excellent. We love it. It fixed our quality of service issues – no more Spotify cutting out, no more lost printer jobs – and brought WiFi to the far end of our house. Setup is a breeze and the WiFi points take up very little space. Best of all, we’ll never fiddle with router antennas again.

See the Google WiFi system on Amazon

Filed Under: Home networking, Reviews, Routers Tagged With: Google WiFi, Google WiFi review, mesh networks, mesh router

Our 2nd bed from the Internet: cheaper than the competition and super comfortable

November 18, 2017 by M.B. Grant Leave a Comment

We’re back from hiatus! We’ve moved to a new home, in a new state, and we have a brand new bed from the Internet!

Just like our first bed from the Internet, the bed frame, mattress, and mattress toppers are all from Amazon.com. 

Unlike the first bed, though, this time our bed is king size, with a memory foam topper and a new style of bed frame (this time with a headboard). After two months of sleeping on it, we are happy to recommend this awesome bed. Here’s the bed everyone in my family wants to lay on and never get off of.

Meet our (2nd) bed from the Internet:

(from top to bottom)

  • SafeRest premium hypoallergenic waterproof mattress protector
  • Alveo gel memory foam mattress topper
  • Lucid 3″ plush topper
  • Signature Sleep Contour 10″ mattress
  • Zinus platform bed frame

All told, we spent just under $800 on this bed, which includes everything you see below (bed frame, mattress, plush topper, memory foam, and waterproof mattress protector).

Here’s what it looks like with no covers – everything fits perfectly right up to the edge of the mattress. There are no gaps or misaligned layers. In 2 months, nothing has shifted.

About us

We’re both 5’8″, but I’m a squishy female with wider hips (I weigh about 185 lbs) and my partner is a lean male (he’s about 150 lbs). I prefer a soft bed, he prefers a firmer bed.

My most common complaint about beds is that I “bottom out” – my butt and/or hip bones dig into the mattress past whatever cushioning layer is present. I also dislike mattresses typically described as “firm”.

How the bed feels

I think we’ve managed to find the perfect bed: it’s soft and luxurious on top, but it’s still supportive. I love laying on it. This stuff is subjective but I’ll try to explain why I think this bed is so awesome, starting with the base and working our way up.

Zinus platform bed review

See the Zinus platform bed frame on Amazon.com

Aside from general sturdiness, our requirements for a bed frame were that it include a headboard and that it be a platform design (so that we didn’t need to buy a box spring). Prices on frames/headboards are all over the place, but we quickly ruled out the $800-$2000 bedframes/headboards at our local furniture based on price alone.

The Amazon search results for bed frames and platform beds were dominated by a company called Zinus. I didn’t like how squat and short the headboard was but I was unable to find a suitable taller headboard at our price point so we accepted its squatness and ordered it.

It arrives with all the parts packed inside the headboard itself. Simply unpack, follow the instructions, and the assembly process is about 30 minutes start to finish.

Here is our Zinus bedframe assembled. It is sturdy and it looks good.

I do wish the headboard was a couple inches taller but oh well, it wasn’t a dealbreaker and everything else about the Zinus bedframe is great.

When I was researching bed frames/headboards I initially did not like the Zinus bed frame because the headboard is so short. I found it hard to verify the height, and I wondered if my pillows would be fully contained within its height. As it turned out, there is about 15″ worth of height between my mattress (10″ mattress, 3″ pillow topper, 2″ memory foam layer) and the top of the headboard. My pillows are contained by it.

The sleeping surface of the mattress/topper/memory foam ends up about 25″ off the floor.

Support is an important thing to get right, as we discovered with our previous bed. We had our queen mattress on a frame that supported the mattress with rows of springs. This frame was fine for us until I got pregnant and gained 50 lbs. My weight approached 220 lbs near the end of my pregnancy, and at 220 lbs, I could feel the mattress and frame sagging too far down. We put the mattress on the floor and the problem was gone, which suggested to me that the frame wasn’t actually supporting us that well.

We had a hard time deciding on a bed frame so we ordered the mattress first and used it on the floor in the meantime. It felt quite good there, and it felt just as good once it was put on the Zinus’s slats.

10″ king size Signature Sleep Contour mattress review

See the Signature Sleep Contour mattress on Amazon.com

The first thing to know about ordering a mattress online is it’ll probably arrived rolled up, vacuum packed in a box. That’s how the Signature Sleep arrives at your front door. Oh, and the box is heavy.

The box is made of a very thick cardboard and was quite difficult to cut open and remove. On a scale of 1-5, 1 being a wet paper bag and 5 being Dwarven mithril, this box is a 10.

We knew from previous experience that once you cut the vacuum seal, the mattress is going to literally explode out of the packaging (or try to, anyway).This mattress enters the world with a BOOM.

We cut the packaging, which caused the mattress to instantly triple in size while still partially contained in the wrapping. Cue panicked rush to get all the plastic off so the mattress can take a more traditional mattress shape.

The mattress looks pretty bad at this point, uneven, curving toward the ceiling, lumpy. At this point, the mattress should be left undisturbed for 48 hours so it can slowly take its final form.

48 hours later, the mattress was puffy and laying flat on the floor.

There’s no denying it: this is a very low-priced mattress. Anyone feeling skeptical that this mattress feels good is right to feel that way.

When I got my first Signature Sleep Contour 2 years ago for our weekend place, I went into the whole experience with low expectations, but I was totally blown away. I came to prefer this inexpensive mattress over my apartment’s $1200 name-brand mattress.

Best of all: it’s surprisingly comfortable all by itself. I would describe it as a firm mattress, but that’s okay – we loaded it up with a pillow topper and a memory foam layer because we like our beds soft.

One thing that’s great about this particular mattress: you can flip it! We like to flip and rotate our mattress every 4-6 months (ish) to help prevent butt dents from forming.

3″ Lucid plush topper review

See the Lucid plush topper on Amazon.com

We put the 3″ Lucid plush topper directly on top of the mattress.

Manufacturer’s photo of the Lucid bed topper. It is plush and snuggly.

This is my third Lucid plush topper – I buy them for every bed I sleep on regularly. It’s like the pillow-top layer that mattress manufacturers sometimes add to beds, except you can remove it, fluff it, flip the mattress, wash it, etc.

My previous bed had this exact mattress topper on it for 2 years (in queen size) and I didn’t notice any flattening, which was a concern when I first bought it. I figured it would be a pancake in a month, but – impressively – it kept its thickness.

It doesn’t shift around, thanks to the elastic corner straps and its general weightiness.

It has no smell and never developed any bunching or unevenness, even after a trip through the washer. (I still have my queen-size Lucid topper – I use it to make our IKEA sofabed more comfortable for guests to sleep on).

Alveo Gel Memory Foam Mattress Topper review

See the Alveo gel memory foam topper on Amazon.com

We put our 2″ thick Alveo memory foam layer on top of our Lucid plush topper.

The Alveo memory foam topper features little “gel” dots to help keep it cool.

Memory foam is a polarizing thing, apparently. If you read the reviews on any memory foam topper or bed you’ll see people who hate it and people who love it. I wanted to try memory foam because so many of my friends recommended it, but no one could recommend a particular brand or manufacturer so I was on my own for that part.

Amazon has dozens of memory foam toppers on offer, but I went with Alveo because it was relatively lower priced and had no negative reviews at the time I bought it. Some common complaints about other memory foam toppers were complaints about crumbliness and odor.

My Alveo topper arrived in a somewhat smallish box, considering it is a king size topper:

Box was smaller than I expected (baby for scale).

Out it comes! Overall, it was very easy to open up and unpack. It weighs 23 lbs.

I didn’t know how fragile it would be, so I wanted it mostly “in place” before I broke the vacuum seal.

I broke the plastic seal, removed the packing, and let the Alveo topper fluff up. I didn’t lay on it for 2 days. The creases and dents you see here went completely away within the first day of “fluff up” time.

I think it has a pleasing “give” to it – when I’m laying in bed, I like to press my hands and feet into it just to feel its satisfying squish. It had only the faintest odor when it came out of its packaging, and no noticeable odor once the mattress protector and sheets were over it.

Some of the memory foam detractors complain of it “sleeping hot”, but I haven’t noticed any temperature problems. We got ours in September, during the last heatwave of the summer, and we both slept fine on it. (For whatever it’s worth, I think I tend to “run cold”.)

Memory foam is sold in layers of 2″ thick, 3″ thick, and sometimes 4″ thick. I had no good metric for which thickness to go with so I picked the cheapest option (2″) and I think that was a fine choice.

As it turns out, the memory foam is pretty tough and survived being moved to the master bedroom just fine. We didn’t drag it, we gently rolled/folded it up a bit and then carried it. It held up perfectly at the corners. Under normal use, it is the top layer and held in place by its own weight and by our SafeRest waterproof mattress protector.

Should the plush topper go on top or should the memory foam layer go on top? Surprisingly, I couldn’t find many people talking about this online, so we tried it both ways. We strongly preferred the memory foam layer on top. With the plush topper on top, the memory foam’s effect felt diffused, and the plush topper felt poorly supported.

SafeRest waterproof mattress protector review

See the SafeRest waterproof mattress protector on Amazon.com

We put the SafeRest mattress protector over everything else (and under the sheets).

This is my go-to mattress protector. I prefer it over other designs that are made of thicker/noisy plastic (this one feels like cloth with a thin waterproof membrane backing) and I like that it fits like a fitted sheet. It’s deep enough to fit over the 10″ mattress, 3″ plush topper, and 2″ memory foam without being too tight or too loose.

On my bed, the protector goes over everything but the sheets. The sheets go directly on top of the protector. Since it fits like a fitted sheet, the mattress is not fully encased in the protector (it’s “open” on the bottom side) but it also means I can easily remove the protector to wash it.

Sheets, pillows, comforter, etc.

Sheets: We got our sheets as a gift, they are Home brand Egyptian cotton from Meijer

Pillows: a mix of pillows we’ve had for a few years, most of them from Bed Bath and Beyond (the Isotonic Indulgence is my favorite)

Comforter: by Nate Berkus from Target

Nightstands: IKEA Hornsund (we left the feet off)

Why buy a bed online?

We started looking for a bed online because, basically, mattress stores are no fun.

We visited a couple stores before buying our Signature Sleep mattress from Amazon. We were actually hoping to lay down on a Casper or a Purple, but neither of those online mattress sellers had in-store models to try, and most of the “brand name” mattresses were outside our price range. The one mattress model we did like enough to consider buying from the store was discontinued, and the salespeople were overly pushy in trying to steer us toward a model that was nothing like it.

Buying a mattress online is great for reasons other than getting to skip the mattress store, too.

For one, you get the mattress in a portable box. If you’re getting the mattress delivered to one location before you have to move it somewhere else (such as a dorm, your new apartment that you don’t have keys to yet, your weekend place in the woods), it arrives in a (somewhat) portable rectangular box that may fit into your car (our queen size Signature Sleep fit into our Subaru Forester).

Our particular mattress is great because it’s just a bare-bones, quality mattress that you can customize to your liking with toppers. You can add as many bells and whistles as you want to (or none at all). Most, if not all, of the mattresses we found in physical stores were deluxe models with all the trimmings. There was no “basic” mattress, just expensive ones with lots of extras.

Generally speaking, the mattresses you find online are cheaper than the in-store models. Presumably there is less overhead involved with selling mattresses online (I imagine any markup is going into marketing right now). Even the “name brand” online mattresses are two-thirds to half the cost of the mattresses we found at our local mattress stores.

And, if you aren’t sure you know what you want – this “mix and match” approach to building a bed makes it easy to try different things. We weren’t sure if we were going to like sleeping on memory foam, but we figured we could send the topper back if we didn’t like it (rather than have it be a permanent, built-in part of our mattress like mattress store models).

The only major downside to buying online is it’s difficult to return a mattress purchased online. Since the mattress arrives rolled up and vacuum sealed, there’s no way for you to get it back in the box. You’d have contact Amazon or the manufacturer of the mattress for help with a return. (Some of the other online mattress retailers have their own promises regarding returns – it depends who you buy the mattress from.)

Why not buy a Casper, Purple, Leesa, etc.?

If you’ve searched for mattresses online you’ve undoubtedly already heard of Casper, Leesa, Tuft and Needle, Purple, etc. – they’re easy to find with a Google search and they’ll fill up your Facebook feed with ads for months.

We were tempted to try one of them, but we couldn’t figure out which one to place our bet on. Negative reviews seemed to complain of them being overly firm. Finally, after literally hours of watching reviews on YouTube and reading reviews on Amazon and blogs, we came to three conclusions:

  • they were all probably too firm 
  • they all cost more money than we wanted to spend
  • they are all heavy (100+ lbs)

We were done with our bed by the time this article came out, but it confirmed another thing we were starting to suspect: some of the reviews we had been reading were not exactly “unbiased”.

The bottom line

We love our “internet bed” – and we recommend this way of buying and assembling a mattress to everyone who asks. It’s cost-effective and you can easily mix and match parts to build your dream bed in a way you can’t at a mattress store.

Here’s what we used to build our new bed, frame included, for well under $1000:

  • SafeRest premium hypoallergenic waterproof mattress protector
  • Alveo gel memory foam mattress topper
  • Lucid 3″ plush topper
  • Signature Sleep Contour 10″ mattress
  • Zinus platform bed frame

Filed Under: Beds and bedding, Reviews Tagged With: affordable bed, affordable mattress, Alveo, Alveo memory foam review, buy a bed on Amazon, buy a mattress online, DIY bed, Lucid, Lucid pillow topper review, Signature Sleep mattress, soft bed 2017

Nest Cam vs. Yi camera – Yi puts Nest to shame as the superior baby monitoring camera

October 15, 2017 by M.B. Grant Leave a Comment

We compare the pricey Nest Cam with paywall features to the inexpensive Yi camera that comes with everything included

Our Yi Dome Camera 1080p HD  rating: 5/5

Yi camera: loads of bang for your buck

It all started when Mr. Homeupgraded’s brother got a Yi camera for watching his betta fish.

At the time, we had a Nest Cam pointed into our daughter’s crib for stealthy baby spying. But, after being on the receiving end of a bunch of high quality fish videos and snapshots, we realized that a Yi camera, which retails for about 1/3rd the price of a single Nest Cam, would make a much better baby monitor than Nest Cam.

Since we’re not rich (see: baby), we don’t shell out $10/month for Nest Aware, which is the only way to review footage from earlier or save clips from your Nest Cam.

However, Yi lets you do all that and more – for just the cost of the camera. It saves clips to an optional SD card (which you buy separately) so you can review clips and pick which ones you want to save to your phone. You can also share the stream, and it’s easy to take snapshots with a single button touch – all features that the Nest Cam either doesn’t have, or locks up behind Nest’s $10/month Nest Aware subscription. (Yi offers a cloud service, too, if you want off-site backup and more footage than you can fit onto the SD card.)

Basically, the fish had a better camera than our baby. There was only one thing left to do: we bought a Yi Dome Camera and put it to the test as our new baby spy cam.

TL;DR: The Yi camera put Nest to shame. I think I’m going to eBay my collection of Nest Cams and start over with Yi.

See the Yi camera on Amazon.com

Yi Dome Camera at a glance

  • 1080p HD video (there’s also a cheaper 720p version with the same features)
  • Complete 360° coverage – 112° wide-angle lens, 345° horizontal & 115° vertical rotation range for that you can navigate manually (through the app) or set up to automatically scan the room – you can also get a Yi camera that doesn’t rotate or pan but the price is the same
  • High quality night vision (up to 3 meters in pitch dark) thanks to 8 built-in 940nm infrared LED beads, with no LED glare (some cameras have a brighter red ring of LEDs for night vision)
  • Crying baby sensor sends a “Crying baby” alert to your phone
  • 2-way audio sounds about as good as being on speakerphone
  • Optional SD card storage – supports up to 32GB card (here’s ours) so you can save videos to the camera
  • Optional cloud service – for a monthly fee, store unlimited camera footage in Yi’s cloud

Yi Dome Camera unboxed

What’s in the box

  • Yi Dome Camera itself
  • White micro USB power cord, with micro usb on one end and usb on the other
  • USB adapter
  • Mounting base and screws for mounting the camera on a wall or ceiling
  • Setup instruction and a couple advertisements for other Yi products

The cord seems to be about 5′ long, which is great for running it behind the baby’s dresser.

Nest app vs. Yi app

Both apps look nice, but if you compare feature sets it’s no contest: Yi beats Nest, hands down.

On the left, you’ll see our Nest Cam app offers very little beyond viewing a live stream of footage. If you pay Nest’s $10/month subscription fee, you’d get little thumbnails representing stored video clips. If you don’t pay their fee, you get half a screen of wasted space and no way to look back in time.

On the right is the Yi Home app, with buttons for useful actions. You can toggle audio muting, record video from the live stream, turn the microphone on/off, take a snapshot that gets saved directly to your phone’s photos, and switch to full-screen mode. There’s the timeline you can navigate to see recent events, and those same events are saved in a list elsewhere in the app. You can adjust whether the camera streams in high definition or standard, and even view its transfer speed with your WiFi.

Here’s a little guide I made for the Yi control menu in the center of the screen. There are even more options, but these are the ones I use most of the time when checking on my baby.

Look at all the things Yi can do!

Yi gives you “premium” features for the cost of the camera – no monthly fee

These features are all available for free on a Yi camera.

There is no free Nest equivalent. Seriously, none – if you want to grab a pic of what you’re looking at through your Nest Cam, you have to take a screenshot with your phone. (And you probably have to turn on device rotation and actually turn your phone 90 degrees if you want the screenshot to be full-screen.)

If you want to see what happened an hour ago, you’re out of luck – unless you’re a Nest Aware subscriber. If you want to save video as something is happening live in front of your camera, there’s no way to do it – unless you’re a subscriber.

Basically, Nest charges $10/month for features you get for free with a Yi camera, and a Yi camera costs about 1/3rd what a Nest Cam does.

More things to love about Yi camera

There’s a full-screen mode in the Yi app and it’s accessed via button in the Yi app. You don’t have to turn off the portrait orientation lock on your phone itself. This makes it very fast to get into full-screen mode and take advantage of every inch of your phone’s screen.

Event timeline or continuous recording

The timeline of events makes it easy to review recent clips by dragging your finger around in the timeline. These events are also saved to the Alerts tab of the app, where you can review and download clips.

Alternatively, you can set the camera to constantly record. It records in a loop and automatically overwrites old footage to record new footage. I’m not sure yet how much footage it holds – I turned on continuous recording 5 days ago and it still hasn’t started overwriting old footage. With a 32GB SD card, it holds at least 5 days worth of footage.

My Yi camera is set to continuously record, which lets me scrub around the timeline to review the past 5+ days worth of footage.

Save clips is easy

If you’re reviewing footage and you see your kid doing something cute, it’s easy to drag the timeline to where you want the clip to begin and record off the recorded footage. The clip gets saved to your phone.

Compare this to Nest Cams, which are really only for live streaming unless you cough up a monthly $10 fee per camera for their cloud backup storage. It’d be nice if Nest would let me back up to an SD card or my local network storage, but no, it has to be their expensive cloud solution or nothing at all. :\

Yi cameras also offer live video recording. If you see something interesting happening, you can tap a button and start recording instantly. This video is saved to the camera’s SD card and your immediately downloaded to your phone.

Share your stream

It’s easy to share your camera’s stream with family or friends. Just have them create a Yi account and then invite them via email. (You can also revoke access just as easily.)

Alert log and crying baby alert

Crying Baby alert. It lags behind the actual cry by about a minute, but so far it has correctly identified cries (and only occasionally mistaken other noises for cries).

The notification comes with an awkwardly formatted timestamp. This cry happened at 12:24pm.

If you want to review all the recent crying baby alerts, they get saved into the Activity Alerts tab for quick review.

A variety of cloud backup options. If you need the extra peace of mind granted by uploading your footage to a cloud, then Yi’s cloud service has several options to pick from.

The most intriguing option is the uploading mode, where you can select to upload only motion detected videos for up to five devices or you can upload a 24/7 stream from one camera. If you have five Yi cameras, that’s a screaming deal compared to what it would cost to have Nest Aware on five Nest Cams. You also get the first month of Yi cloud for free.

Yi’s subscription plans are available in the app itself:

We don’t have the subscription, since we only use the camera to see if the baby’s awake or just making sounds in her sleep. We like to review footage from the past night, but we don’t have much need to monitor her crib 24/7 or make backups of her sleeping.

Yi vs. Nest hardware

Both our Nest Cams and our Yi camera are 1080p. The image quality is great in both daylight and nighttime.

There is, however, one very noticeable difference between the two cameras: the Nest has a ring of red LEDs around its lens when it’s in night vision mode, but the Yi camera does not have these red LEDs.

This is fantastic because our baby would stare at the Nest Cam in the dark, probably because the red ring catches her attention. We haven’t found her staring at the Yi camera in the dark. Whatever Yi did to avoid the red ring of LEDs in the dark, I’m glad they did it.

Also, you can even disable the Yi’s little blue “on” light (through the app) to make the camera completely invisible in the dark.

Things we don’t love

The Yi camera is awesome enough to reward it 5 stars, but there are just a couple things we hope they improve:

The camera can’t look “down” enough to see into a crib without some assistance. Even though the camera has a huge range of motion, it couldn’t look “down” enough to see into a crib that it’s about 2 feet away from. We had to slide something under our camera to get a good view of Peach’s crib. We will probably mount the camera on the wall, eventually, but for now… it’s gotta live on the dresser…with a book halfway under it.

The camera snapshot shown on the app’s main page is stale. It might be hours out of date when you open the app. (It seems to display whatever you were last looking at, or where you left the timeline.)

You have to tap the preview to get an updated image. I suspect this stale image problem is a bug that might get fixed in the future.

The bottom line

It’s like getting all the stuff Nest charges you a monthly fee for, for free – and that’s after you buy a camera that’s 1/3rd the price of a Nest Cam. Even if you need a cloud backup, Yi’s plans are more reasonably priced, especially for multiple devices.

We love the dome camera’s ability to pan the room, and at the time we got it, the dome camera was priced the same as the stationary Yi camera. Heck, you can even get a 4-pack of Yi cameras for less than the price of a single Nest Cam.

Best of all, we think it’s a fantastic baby monitor. The image quality is excellent – even in the dark and through her crib slats, we can tell which way she’s facing, if she’s still got her pacifier in, and listen for her breathing on the microphone. The cry alerts are useful, too.

If you need a great baby or home surveillance camera, get a Yi camera and a 32GB SD card. You won’t regret it.

Shop for the Yi camera on Amazon.com

Filed Under: Baby, Home surveillance, Reviews Tagged With: affordable home security camera, best home security camera, camera with onboard storage, yi camera, yi vs nest

Review: Shush the world with these affordable white noise machines

January 1, 2017 by M.B. Grant Leave a Comment

I blame summer for my box fan addiction. My parents started it – rather than run the air conditioning, they’d stick a box fan in my bedroom window. The first night with the fan was noisy, but then I’d get used to it. Come September I’d turn the fan off and be instantly reminded of all the noise around me: cars starting, lawns getting mowed at 7am, the TV in the living room below me, someone snoring in the other bedroom. I started running the fan year-round. (The Lasko Wind Machine was my fan of choice for many years.)

A year ago, I finally decided to get civilized retire my box fan and invest in a white noise machine. No more big fan eating up precious space in my bedroom, no more blades to clean, no more clickety-click sound after a couple years, and – best of all – I could take the machine with me when I traveled.

My three white noise machines: a HoMedics Sound Spa, a LectroFan Jr., and a LectroFan (full model)

I’ve now got three white noise machines: a HoMedics Sound Spa (my first white noise machine), a Lectro Fan, and a Lectro Fan Jr. How do they stack up? Which white noise machine is best? Read on to find out!

Why use a noise machine?

During the week, we live in a city apartment. Our friends and family from suburbia are always like, isn’t it loud there? We don’t live over a nightclub or anything ridiculous, but there is a hotel across the street, and that street is a flat stretch of road that attracts loud cars with loud stereos. There’s a construction site adjacent to my building that fires up at 7:30 on the dot six days a week, and a whole lot of random neighbor noises.

But… it’s easy to forget all of that when my white noise machines are running.

Most people probably discover white noise machines while searching for help with insomnia or sleep quality, but they’re useful all day long. It might seem counter-intuitive that adding sound makes it easier to relax and sleep when all you want is some peace and quiet, but the brain is quick to adapt to the steady whooooosh.

The white noise becomes the “new quiet”and irritating noises fade away.

What’s great about a white noise machine: 

  • It covers up intermittent sounds. Neighbors starting cars, snoring from the other room, electric heater cycling on/off, people in the unit above you stomping around – these things get lost in the white noise.
  • Better sleep. I definitely sleep deeper and wake fewer times with mine running (it also works on babies).
  • No fan blades to clean! Or I suppose you could just never clean them, and live with the knowledge that your dirty fan blades are disgusting. Or you could buy a new fan every so often, but those costs add up.
  • It’s compact and portable, so you can bring your whooosh with you and enjoy the same sound in every hotel bed and guest room you travel to.
  • Get some daytime peace and quiet. Even if you aren’t sleeping, a white noise machine is good at covering up conversations, TVs, music, etc. coming from nearby areas or adjacent rooms so you can work, read, or have a semi-private conversation with someone near you. My baby is napping on the other side of the room as I write this, unbothered by my quiet conversation and typing.

There are virtually no drawbacks. The only times I turn my white noise machine off are to watch TV in the same room, have ordinary-volume conversations, or for the benefit of my father, who has enough trouble hearing even without the white noise.

Overall best white noise machine: LectroFan Jr.

4.5 / 5 stars

The LectroFan Jr. is my favorite white noise machine. If you’re not sure which one to get, get this one. It’s the jack of all trades white noise machine, reasonably priced, and durable.

A fantastic white noise machine in a compact package.

It makes a pleasing white noise, gets more than loud enough, offers a variety of “whooshing” sound options, and can be found at a surprisingly reasonable price. It’s also small – a bit larger than the palm of my hand – so it travels well.

But wait! Isn’t this the “junior” version? What do you miss out on if you go with this model instead of the full version – the one simply called “LectroFan”?

LectroFan Jr. vs. LectroFan

Bizarrely, there’s a lot of misinformation about the LectroFan Jr. vs. the LectroFan out there on the interwebs and Amazon reviews. (I’m guessing most people don’t own both and are speculating as to what the differences are.)

So let’s set a few things straight:

  • neither one plays “ocean” or “nature” sounds
  • neither one has a battery
  • neither one offers a headphone jack

(If you do want these features, check out the LectroFan Micro which has a battery, ocean sound, and doubles as a Bluetooth speaker. If you want lots of nature sounds and a headphone jack, check out the Sound+Sleep.)

The LectroFan Jr and LectroFan have exactly the same body design and number of buttons. 

They weigh the same, feel the same, smell the same, taste the same – and do pretty much the same thing except the LectroFan Jr. has 18 lullaby songs plus 12 fan / white noise sounds and the LectroFan has 20 fan / white noise sounds to pick from. Playing the lullabies is completely optional.

On the Jr. model, the horizontal button does lullaby songs (left) and white noise + fan sounds (right). On the LectroFan, the horizontal button does fans (left) and white noises (right).

LectroFan Jr. lullaby demo

LectroFan Jr. comes with 18 songs and you can set it to play all the songs in shuffled order or play one song on repeat. Here’s a 1-minute video previewing some of the LectroFan’s 18 lullabies (as best my iPhone can capture them).

If you leave it playing lullabies, it will play them in random order and then shuffle them once it’s played them all. You can use the 60 min timer with them (press the 60 min timer multiple times to “stack” the timers, creating a 2-, 3-, 4-, etc. hour-long timer). The machine remembers what lullaby you left it on, even after you turn it off and back on. Note that you can’t play lullabies and white noise at the same time from the same machine.

For whatever it’s worth, my 3 month old baby doesn’t particularly care for the lullabies (or lullabies in general), so I don’t know if the songs are that big a selling point.

But that’s okay – the songs are kind of a side dish to the meat function of this white noise machine, which is the fan and white noise sounds.

LectroFan Jr. fan and white noise sound demo

The LectroFan Jr. puts “fans” and “white noises” on the same button. That’s fine – most people can’t tell a “fan” from a “white noise” anyway, and it’s not some huge loss that you have to step through fans to get to white noises. The machine remembers what you left it on, even if you turn it off and unplug it, so it’s pretty much “set it and forget it” once you pick a favorite.

The first couple “fan noises” sound great to me and I just leave it on one of them all the time (maybe I’m just not much of a noise connoisseur). Some of the higher pitched fan noises are kind of annoying, to be honest. But with 12 to pick from, I’m sure there’s one for everyone.

The LectroFan (full model), by comparison, has 10 white noises and 10 fan sounds to pick from. But do you really need 8 extra? They’re even the same sounds across both models – it’s not like the Jr model got the recording of the squeaky fan and the full model got the good fan.

LectroFan Jr. color options

Here’s a fun extra: the Jr. comes in three color options. You can get it with a white, pink, or blue speaker grille (it’s hard plastic, not cloth).

They also make one that’s black with grey buttons, but only for the full model: here’s the LectroFan in black.

I bought all of mine in white because I’m boring.

LectroFan Jr. / LectroFan USB power adapter

Both the Jr. and not-Jr. have the exact same USB / AC adapter plug. You can power the white noise machine via USB (ie: plug it into your computer or laptop and it pulls power from there – seems useful for travel, maybe) or plug that USB plug into the AC adapter and power it from a wall outlet.

Here’s the other end of the power cord. Note that it’s removable, suggesting that you could replace the cord without replacing the entire unit, if needed.

To recap:

LectroFan Jr. Pros

  • Cheaper than the LectroFan with no real drawbacks
  • 18 lullabies
  • 3 colors: white, pink, blue
  • Compact design and it travels well
  • You can stack the 60 min timers to make a 1-, 2-, 3-, etc. hour timer
  • It remembers your sound choices when you turn it off and back on
  • No LEDs to cover up or be annoyed by
  • No discernible loop

LectroFan Jr. Cons

  • Can’t play lullabies and white noise at the same time
  • A couple of the higher-pitched white noise options are unpleasant to the point that I wonder why they even exist

LectroFan (full version)

4/ 5 stars

More sounds, no lullabies: the original LectroFan offers more sounds but is it worth the higher price?

Just like a Jr. but without the lullabies and 8 more noise options.

The LectroFan (full version) is pricier than the Jr. with 4 more “fan sounds” and 4 more “white noises”. As a slight convenience, the sideways button in the middle separates the “fans” (on left) from the “whites” (on right). Still, I’d argue that once you’ve found your favorite whoooooosh, you won’t be toggling it much (if ever).

The only reason to get the full version LectroFan is if you’re convinced you need 20 sounds to pick from instead of 12.

That’s not to say I don’t like it. The LectroFan is fantastic machine and I use mine every single night and often leave it running for days, so maybe I’m just cheesed that I found the LectroFan before I found the Jr.

When I bought my first one, I incorrectly assumed the Jr. wouldn’t be nearly as good a machine, but the Jr. model really does everything I need (generate white noise) at a significantly lower price.

LectroFan white noise machine demo

Watch me click through the various fan sounds and white noise options on the LectroFan!

LectroFan Pros

  • 10 fan loops/ 10 white noise
  • There’s a black version!
  • Compact design and it travels well
  • You can stack the 60 min timers to make a 1-, 2-, 3-, etc. hour timer
  • It remembers your sound choices when you turn it off and back on
  • No LEDs to cover up or be annoyed by
  • No discernible loop

LectroFan Cons

  • Nothing special about it vs. the Jr. model

HoMedics Sound Spa Relaxation Machine

3 / 5 stars

It’s inexpensive, I’ll give it that.

The HoMedics Sound Spa was my very first white noise machine. It’s cheap (you can usually find it for under $25) but its cheap construction is readily apparent, especially once you’ve traveled with it a bit and it starts to wear out. The volume knob is fiddly – it works, but sometimes it defaults to REALLY LOUD until you spin it around, which seems to reset it.

“Rain” and “white noise” are my favorite settings on this machine, and I used them for months until one night I was laying awake and realized I could hear the rain sound looping. It’s a short loop, like 3 seconds long, which is ridiculous – and I can’t unhear the loop. Picking up on the repetitive sounds kind of ruined the machine for me but my infant daughter doesn’t seem to be bothered by it, so sometimes I use it for her.

The HoMedics Sound Spa is kind of junky and I don’t recommend it when you can get a sweet LectroFan Jr. for not much more.

But, if you really want a cheap rainstorm generator, this is the machine for you. After all, it took me a long time to identify the loop, and people I’ve pointed it out to don’t really pick up on the loop so maybe it’s not as apparent as I think it is. The white noise option is good, too, and doesn’t have as easily a discernible loop.

Here’s a demo of its various sounds, as best my iPhone can capture them (they sound better in person):

HoMedics Sound Spa Pros

  • Probably the cheapest sound machine on the market
  • 5 realistic soundscapes (thunder, ocean, brook, etc) are great until you find the loop
  • Three timer options

HoMedics Sound Spa Cons

  • The sound loops are literally three seconds long and if you’re laying awake long enough, you can pick up on the loop pretty easily
  • Flimsy volume knob
  • Even on its lowest volume, it can be too loud – we sometimes throw a shirt over its speaker
  • Bright green LED has to be covered if you’re bothered by lights in the dark

If your budget is really tight and you really want the soundscapes, go for it – otherwise, you’ll probably be happier with a LectroFan Jr for whoooshy white noise or an Adaptive Sound Technologies – Sound+Sleep, which is pricier but higher quality and also does soundscapes.

More white noise machine options

There’s more than just LectroFans and Sound Spas out there. Here’s a quick rundown of some other white noise machines.

Marpac Dohm-DS All Natural Sound Machine

Marpac has a 50+ year history in sound machines

Unlike many sound machines (including the LectroFans), the Marpac Dohm-DS sound machine is mechanical. There’s an actual spinning fan inside and you can adjust its volume and pitch by turning the chassis. (And even though it’s a fan, it doesn’t generate a breeze. Such witchcraft.)

Marpac, the company behind it, has been making sound machines for over 50 years and this particular machine was chosen as the Official Sound Conditioner by the National Sleep Foundation.

Reviewers from around the web compare its sound to that of a bathroom fan or a computer tower fan. I don’t own this machine so I can’t comment on its sound myself, but here’s a video review that demos what it sounds like running:

The most common complaints I see about the Marpac Dohm-DS are about mechanical failure (the fan starts clicking or stops running altogether) and about the volume (hard to be more specific, though – one person’s jet engine is another’s too-quiet hum).

I debated this machine vs. the LectroFan for a while and ultimately went with the LectroFan because I’m somewhat susceptible to hearing the “mechanics” (clicking, whirring) of mechanical things and prefer an electronically generated sound.

Marpac Dohm-DS Pros

  • Mechanical fan sounds more realistic to some listeners
  • Hands-on control of pitch and volume
  • Small size, so it travels well
  • 7.5 foot long cord
  • Three color options: white, black, tan

Marpac Dohm-DS Cons

  • Some users compare unfavorably to bad PC fans and the like
  • Mechanical fan can develop clicks or whines more readily than an electronic sound

Adaptive Sound Technologies – Sound+Sleep Sleep Therapy System

I don’t have one of these, but I wish I did! This is one deluxe noise machine.

The Sound+Sleep machine is made by ASTI, the same Silicon Valley-based startup that makes LectroFan. The big difference (aside from price) is the variety of “sound stories”, such as “meadow” or “ocean”. With this little machine, you can fall asleep to the sound of rain instead of just a white noise whoooosh.

If you want more than white noise, check out the Sound+Sleep’s 10 soundscapes

Adjustable richness adds layers, variety

Like LectroFan, this machine can be used to play white noise. However, the Sound+Sleep also plays a variety of “sound stories” such as ocean, meadow, rainfall, and more. Some are a little odd, like the train option. (I grew up near a train station and I can’t imagine who would want to listen to trains at night, but there you go.) You can hear samples here on Sound+Sleep’s website (with some dude yapping over them).

This chart from the manufacturer explains it:

Click to enlarge

Adaptive feature adjusts to your environment

The Sound+Sleep’s Adaptive feature uses the unit’s built-in microphone to listen to your environment and dynamically adjust the volume based on how noisy it perceives your environment to be. (Note that this isn’t like the technology inside noise-canceling headphones, it’s not working to “cancel out” audio from your environment, it’s just adjusting the volume to suit the environment you’re using it in.) You can toggle this feature on or off.

White noise machine with a headphone jack

Everyone’s asking for it – this machine’s got it. You can also use an aux cable to hook the Sound+Sleep up to the “line in” on an external audio system. This might be useful if you’ve got a sweet multi-speaker setup or just want to pipe the sound to both sides of your bed.

4 white noise options

For white noise, use the three richness settings of the “white noise” sound story and the lowest setting of the waterfall sound story.

Sound+Sleep Pros

  • 10 unique “sound stories”
  • Richness feature adds optional additional sounds to the “stories”, such as seagulls to the ocean
  • No detectible looping – the soundscapes are 30+ mins long and “evolve”
  • 3″ high fidelity speaker
  • 4 timer options if you don’t want it to run all night
  • Adaptive feature (toggle on/off) to adjust volume to suit your environment
  • Headphone jack for private listening
  • Can connect to an external audio system’s “line in” using the headphone jack
  • Turn off LEDs by toggling Display button (so you don’t have to throw a towel over it at night)

Sound+Sleep Cons

  • One of the priciest sound machines out there
  • Not a lot of white noise variety – this machine is more of a sound machine than a white noise machine
  • LEDs come back on for 15 seconds if you adjust a setting while Display is turned off

They also make a “mini” version with fewer sound stories and an overall smaller body design.

LectroFan Micro

Finally, there’s the LectroFan Micro – an ultra portable version of the LectroFan that sacrifices very little and adds Bluetooth pairing capabilities.

The LectroFan Micro packs in 5 fan sounds, 4 white noise sounds, and 1 ocean sound.

Battery-powered white noise machine lasts through the night

Playing its own sounds, the battery lasts about 16 hours. Streaming music or sounds over Bluetooth, the battery lasts about 6 hours. (Or you can just keep it plugged in via its USB charge cord and run it indefinitely.)

Smallest white noise machine

It’s ridiculously tiny – like, I think makeup comes in bigger containers. Reviewers say it has a lot of oomph despite its small size, and the manufacturer says it gets just as loud as the full LectroFan models. I’ve never seen a smaller white noise machine.

Another interesting feature: the speaker can twist up and point anywhere you want.

You can angle the speaker!

LectroFan Micro vs. LectroFan Jr.

They’re similarly priced, so why not get the Micro instead of the Jr.?

Well, they’re not similarly priced once you account for the possibility of having to buy a longer USB charge cable and USB/AC adapter so you can run it overnight. I don’t like to fiddle with battery charging except for when I travel, so I’d want to just leave it plugged in 24/7.

The Micro adds Bluetooth speaker capabilities, but your mileage will vary on how useful that is to you. Personally, I already have a few Bluetooth speakers, so for me the Bluetooth functionality is not a huge selling point for day-to-day use. For travel, there’s some appeal in having a combo white noise machine / Bluetooth device, but I only travel a couple times a year and it’s not a big deal to go without a speaker. For home use, I’ve come to prefer WiFi enabled speakers over Bluetooth because I don’t like my phone’s audio capabilities being tied up the way they are when paired to Bluetooth.

The LectroFan Jr.’s buttons are simpler, easier to understand than the Micro’s. On the Micro, all the buttons serve multiple functions and they’re very small with tiny non-text labels. On the Jr., they’re plainly labeled and every button does just one thing. This sort of usability and accessibility is more important to some users than others, of course, but I think the Jr. comes out ahead in terms of how easy it is to operate the device.

The Micro does have something else the Jr. does not: an ocean sound! 

LectroFan Micro Pros

  • 10 built-in sounds: 5 fans, 4 white noises, 1 ocean
  • Seriously tiny
  • Battery powered for extra portability
  • Angle the speaker out towards you
  • Just as loud as full-size LectroFan models

LectroFan Micro Cons

  • No USB to AC wall adapter included, so you’ll have to use one you already have or buy one
  • Comes with a short USB cable – to keep it plugged in 24/7, you might have to get a longer one
  • No headphone jack, so you must use it with the speaker attached to it

The bottom line

If you’re not sure which white noise machine to get, go with the LectroFan Jr. It’s got “set it and forget it” simplicity and a sturdy, easy-to-use design.

If you’d rather fall asleep to the sound of ocean waves, skip the cheap HoMedics and go straight for the Sound+Sleep machine.

Happy sleeping!

Filed Under: Reviews, White noise machines Tagged With: best sound machine, best white noise machine, homedics sound spa review, lectro fan review, white noise machine, white noise machine comparisons

Review: Keystone KSTAP14B portable AC kept us cool during Seattle’s 2016 heatwave

August 26, 2016 by M.B. Grant 1 Comment

Last updated: 8/26/2016

Our Keystone KSTAP14B portable AC rating: 4.5/5

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It’s roasting here in Seattle, Keystone portable AC saved us from melting

It’s HOT here in Seattle, but our Keystone KSTAP14B portable AC unit arrived just in time for yet another 90 degree day.

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It’s about the size of a mini fridge and it vents hot air out your nearest window while expelling cold air into the room. Depending on your room size, it maintains anywhere from -6 degrees to -15 degrees difference from the ambient temperature of your home. How fast it does it also depends on the room size, but you should feel a difference within 10 minutes in a bedroom-size room and in about 25 mins in a bigger room.

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Pros

There’s a lot to love with the Keystone portable AC:

  • It’s portable! Or at least, relatively easy to move around compared with other styles of air conditioners thanks to its wheels and upright design. (However, at ~80 lbs, it is not a travel air conditioner.)
  • Cools a bedroom fast and effectively
  • About as loud as a box fan on high, and the noise is smooth and consistent so I found it easy to sleep in the same room
  • It has a remote! And that remote has all the same buttons as the AC unit itself
  • Caster wheels for easy re-positioning
  • Flexible exhaust tube is generously long, ~6 feet total
  • Runs on normal 115V outlet (just be careful not to run too many other things on the same circuit, it does take most of the circuit’s power)
  • No water pan to empty (on AC mode and fan mode; dehumidifier mode requires some emptying)
  • No protrusion from the window, so it looks nice from the outside
  • Washable mesh filter
  • Programmable 24-hour on/off timer so you can set it up to cool your place before you get home
  • Move it from room to room in under 10 minutes, like you might a box fan, since you have to redo the window kit. We moved it from our living room to our bedroom at nighttime, though, and we had the whole thing up and running again in about 8 minutes.

Here’s a video showing how it doesn’t “cycle” or rattle or sound annoying like a lot of in-wall AC units do.

Cons

  • Heavy! But this is true of any portable AC unit
  • Included window kit only works with windows that slide sideways or up and down
  • Exhaust hose is very warm, countering some of the cooling effect. I wish it came with better insulation (supposedly you can get an insulated sleeve for it)
  • At 48″, the included window kit isn’t quite tall enough for our windows (we solved this with a piece of cardboard)
  • Adjusting the temp makes it beep, which might not be ideal in the middle of the night

Here’s a video I made of how the beeping sounds when you change the temp or mode:

Where it really shines

Bedrooms

Even though it’s been somewhere between 77-84 degrees in the rest of our apartment as we went to bed every night this week, the AC unit brought the bedroom temp down to 65 and kept it down there until the daylight heat returned.

It’s the difference between sleeping uncovered and uncomfortable vs. cozying up under an actual blanket and not feeling like the other person in the bed is trying to roast you with their body heat.

The AC unit is about as loud as a box fan running on high. If you can sleep through a hotel air conditioner, you can sleep through the Keystone. We are used to sleeping with white noise and box fans, so this wasn’t a big deal for us, but people used to sleeping in silence may find it loud. It’s a consistent loud, though – it doesn’t cycle or stutter like hotel air conditioners and some window air conditioners. It just runs steady, and that makes all the difference in terms of this AC unit’s “sleepability”, in my opinion.

Apartments

This AC is basically designed for small spaces. It did pretty well in our 500 sq. foot living room/kitchen (we live in a 1 bedroom apartment now), though not as well as it does in the bedroom. We’ll tolerate a warm living room as long as there’s a nice, cool bedroom waiting for us at bedtime, so putting the AC in the bedroom made more sense for us.

Is it worth it for a Seattle apartment? We think so. I don’t know who convinced Seattle builders that we don’t need air conditioning in our homes here, but July – September can be brutal (and 2016 was one such year). We see lots of window ACs and exhaust tubes in windows around our neighborhood, so it’s not just us being wusses about the heat.

That room that never gets cool enough even though you have central air

Even in homes with central air, I could see this being useful for lofts or rooms that just never get cool enough. A lot of two-story homes struggle to get the 2nd floor bedrooms and living spaces cool enough in the hottest parts of summer. A portable air conditioner might save you having to move your mattress downstairs or staying out of that loft area you enjoy during the cooler months of the year.

Homes with strict community rules

Portable AC units are almost invisible from the outside. It doesn’t protrude from the window at all and its “in window” footprint is small. This should please your HOA, landlord, or busybody neighbors.

No DIY required

Just plug it in and go – no holes to drill, no insulation to stuff into cracks, no wiring. Much better than some of the alternatives out there…

ugly_window_AC

Photo credit: uglyhousephotos.com

Keystone portable AC unboxing

The Keystone portable AC unit arrives in a large, two-piece cardboard box with a plastic strap holding the halves together. With the plastic strap removed, you can easily separate the two halves of the box, but you shouldn’t separate them until you’ve got the AC unit inside your home or apartment.

Heads up: it’s heavy

It’s about 80 lbs and pretty big so plan on wheeling it into your place and having a helper for stairs unless you are a muscle god.

Not much assembly required!

The exhaust tube and collar parts are on the top and separated from the AC unit itself with a block of packing Styrofoam. I expected to have to put a lot more fiddly bits together, but this is about as pre-assembled as Keystone could’ve made it.

keystone_portable_AC_review_unboxing

Lift them out and remove the Styrofoam  here’s the AC unit itself. Fortunately, you don’t have to lift the AC unit out of the box or cut the box off from around it. The box is already in two parts, so all you do is lift the cardboard box up and the unit is left sitting on the other half of the box.

keystone_portable_AC_review_unboxing_AC_unit_by_itself

The AC unit is on casters, so it’s (relatively) easy to wheel it into place once you’ve unboxed it.

Keystone AC on-unit controls

You can operate the Keystone AC with the remote or the on-unit controls. They’re pretty self explanatory, but some notable things here are Swing (which causes the lid to lift and lower so air isn’t just emitted straight out of the unit) and Sleep (which gradually shuts the unit off after 30 minutes).

keystone_portable_AC_review_top_panel_controls

keystone_portable_AC_review_top_panel_buttons

Remote

The “Follow Me” feature is a nice touch that separates this Keystone portable AC from some of the similarly priced competition. When it’s on and the remote is pointed at the unit, the remote sends a temperature reading to the mothership AC unit every 3 minutes.

This is a nice little touch that helps you get the room to the temperature you actually want it, not the temperature the AC unit thinks it is from a reading taken at the unit itself.

Other than that, the great thing about this remote is it duplicates all of the same buttons that exist on the unit itself (because the last thing anyone wants to do in this heat is get up again).

keystone_AC_Remote_closeup

Window kit appearance, dimensions

That plastic piece that holds the hose up to the window (the “window kit”) is, at minimum, 26.5″ tall. At maximum, with both pieces in position, it’s 48″ tall. You’ll need a window that slides horizontally or vertically to hold it in place. Our windows slide horizontally, so our kit is placed vertically.

Here’s what it looks like from the outside:

keystone_ac_outside_the_window

Cost to run

This AC unit uses about 1580 watts as it runs. At 10 cents a kilowatt hour (your utility costs may vary), that works out to about $3.80 day to run it for 24 hours a day, which you probably won’t.

It’s probably closer to $1/day with typical use. (So worth it) 

How noisy is the Keystone portable AC unit?

As stated earlier in this review, it’s about as loud as a box fan running on high. However, it’s a consistent noise, a lot like a white noise machine might generate. It doesn’t cycle on/off like some AC units, beep, click, or anything annoying like that.

From the manufacturer:

  • 55 dBA on high (close to a dishwasher or clothes dryer)
  • 52 dBA on medium
  • 49 dBA on low

Why we chose Keystone over competitors

Basically, it had the best BTU to cost ratio we could find.

The more BTUs, the more powerful the AC. Our budget was firmly “under $500”, so we wanted the most bang for our buck. The reviews on Amazon were great and we were dying in this heatwave, so we ordered it and we love it!

The things that really sold us on the Keystone portable AC:

  • Best BTU to cost ratio (14,000 BTUs at a better price than this similarly featured 12,000 BTU Honeywell AC unit)
  • Don’t have to empty a water bucket like you do with cheaper portable ACs, unless you use dehumidify mode
  • Remote control
  • Excellent Amazon reviews in a tough category; many competitors have noticeably fewer stars

BTUs matter

Portable air conditioners vary in terms of BTU. Generally, the more BTUs, the more cooling power and the larger a room the AC unit is recommended for.

The Keystone KSTAP14B is rated at 14,000 BTUs, and the manufacturer states that this is suitable for a 700 sq. ft room. Meanwhile, this well-rated and less expensive EdgeStar model is rated at 12,000 BTUs, which doesn’t look like that much less until you see that the manufacturer only recommends it for a 425 sq. ft space. That’s a pretty big difference in the amount of space cooled, and it’s a pretty big difference in how effective two different AC units might be in the same room. We figured we were best off getting the most BTUs and beating back the heat with raw cooling power, and that strategy seems to have worked.

Generally speaking, portable AC manufacturers pair these BTU ratings with these sq. footage recommendations:

  • 14,000 BTU : 700 sq. feet
  • 12,000 BTU : 425 sq. feet
  • 8,000 – 10,000 BTU : 350 sq. feet
  • 5,000 BTU : 150 sq. feet

Keystone KSTAP14A vs. Keystone KSTAP14B

Shopping around a bit will reveal that there are two Keystone models with similar names. The only difference as far as we can tell is the body styling; the A looks straight out of the 80’s and the B has a sleeker body design. The rest is the same.

The bottom line

Summer 2016 in Seattle shall be remembered for its hot, record-breaking heat. I’m also 9 months pregnant as I write this, so this summer has already felt like trying to medal in the misery Olympics. I hadn’t had a decent night of sleep in over a month when the Keystone KSTAP14B portable air conditioner arrived and transformed our ability to sleep through the night. You can’t go wrong with this AC unit!

» See the Keystone KSTAP14B on Amazon.com «

Filed Under: Appliances, Reviews Tagged With: best portable AC unit 2016, Keystone portable AC, Keystone portable AC KSTAP14B review, KSTAP14B, portable air conditioning review

Review: Wacom Intuos Pro is a professional tool at an affordable price

August 24, 2016 by M.B. Grant Leave a Comment

Last updated: 8/24/2016

Our Wacom Intuos Pro (small) rating: 5/5

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Wacom makes the best tablets in the industry; this is yet another one

I got a new tablet! This review is specifically for Wacom’s latest Intuos model, the Wacom Intuos Pro.

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How I use a Wacom tablet

I use my tablet almost exclusively for illustration and digital painting in Photoshop. 

If you want to use an affordable, professional grade tablet to draw, color, or paint on your computer, this review is for you!

Wacom Intuos Pro (small size) features

  • Ambidextrous design – the buttons can be on the left or the right
  • Wired or wireless! Charge the battery during wired use, then go wireless
  • 6 customizable hotkeys
  • 1 big touch ring – slide to smoothly adjust brush size or zoom level
  • Small size is plenty big, fits in lap or on desk

Things it won’t do:

  • Teach you color theory, anatomy, lighting, etc
  • Put in the thousands of hours of practice it takes to be a decent artist

(Just throwing those last two out there, since a lot of people seem to think having a tablet automatically makes you a way better artist. Boy, I wish…)

My particular tablet is a “certified refurbished” model from Amazon, but it hasn’t got a scratch on it, smells brand new, and came packaged in all the plastic wrap and twist ties you’d expect in a new tablet. I’m suspicious as to whether it’s actually seen any use at all.

Unboxing the Wacom Intuos Pro

Wacom Intuos Pro comes in a nice cardboard box with a plastic carrying handle. I doubt it’s intended to be like, a regular tote for the tablet, but it’s a nice touch that gives the product a more upscale presentation and keeps it safe during transit.

wacom_pro_unboxing_refurb_ships_in_new_box

Inside the box: 

  • Wacom Intuos Pro tablet
  • Wacom Intuos Pro pen
  • Pen holder
  • Extra plastic pen nibs (inside the pen holder)
  • Micro USB cord
  • Battery (this goes in the tablet itself)
  • Wireless adapter (this goes in the tablet itself to enable wireless use)
  • USB Bluetooth dongle (for using the tablet wirelessly)
  • Startup booklet and CD
  • Three extra little plastic rings for customizing your pen (white, grey, red)
  • A postcard (that black “Welcome” rectangle is actually a postcard)

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Below: the Wacom Intuos Pro in “small” size. I think the small size is plenty big, even though I’ve owned and used the “medium” size.

You can orient the tablet either way (buttons on left or right). If you remember the buttons-on-both-sides design of the Intuos 3, you’ll notice your hand now gets to rest on a smooth (not button) surface.

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Unlike earlier Wacom models, the USB cord is now detachable.

Intuos small vs. medium size

If you’re debating a small Wacom vs. a medium Wacom, here’s my opinion: I think Wacom’s medium size tablet (the entire thing is 14.9″ x 9.9″) is unnecessarily big, and I think the largest Intuos Pro size is just crazy overkill huge.

  • Small Intuos Pro: 6″ x 4″ working area (see it on Amazon)
  • Medium Intous Pro: 8.8″ x 5.5″ working area (see it on Amazon)
  • Large Intuos Pro: 12.8″ x 8.0″ working area (see it on Amazon)

Reasons why I like the smallest tablet size:

  • It’s easier to make space for on your desk or in your lap
  • Larger tablets require broader motions, which become tiring after hours and hours of drawing/painting
  • You can zoom into your digital canvas for more precision, you don’t need more physical real estate to get more precision
  • It’s the most affordable

Don’t believe anyone who tells you bigger size = more professional; I’ve worked as an artist and in offices with dozens of artists, and the vast majority happily used the small size Wacom (some had Cintiqs).

Sure, get a bigger size if you really want it and are confident it’s right for you, but I don’t think you’ll feel constricted by the small size.

How it feels

The drawing surface is awesome: slick and smooth with no skips or lag. Wacom has always made quality tablets so there’s no surprise that the pen responsiveness is spot-on.

The real difference between this tablet and its predecessors (and other tablets in Wacom’s lineup) are the customizable hot buttons down the side of the tablet. I work so much faster with my buttons set up the way I like them, because I can hold the tablet with my left and right hand and never waste time lifting my arm to the keyboard. This is also much easier on my shoulders and upper back, which are prone to repetitive stress pain if I sag my left hand over the keyboard for hours on end.

Configuring the Wacom Intuos Pro

You can configure the tablet, pen, and button shortcuts on a per-application basis. If you plan to use your new Wacom with Photoshop, hit the + button on the right and add Photoshop as an application, then do your customization there.

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Most of these settings are self-explanatory and everyone kind of has their own preferences, so try a variety of mappings if you aren’t sure what you like. I like to map the rocker button on the pen to “i” and “b” so I can sample a color from my canvas (i) and switch back to brush (b) quickly in Photoshop. I like to map the wheel to [ and ], which decrease and increase the brush size in Photoshop, respectively.

My Wacom history

I got my first Wacom in 2003 (Intuos 2), my second one in 2007 (Intuos 3), and the Pro is my third Wacom tablet. The 2 got passed on to my sister and the 3 is still going strong (I now use it at my weekend place).

All of my Wacom tablets survived years of heavy use. The plastic nibs have worn out but the surface and tablet hardware itself have remained strong, and Wacom has continued to support (with drivers) even my oldest tablet. Because of this, I’m convinced Wacom tablets are more or less immortal, and I feel confident buying yet another one from their brand.

Why I don’t recommend Cintiq 

Research Wacom tablets long enough and you’re bound to feel tempted by the Cintiq, a large monitor/tablet-in-one. The appeal, of course, is that you don’t experience the separation of hand from “canvas” with a Cintiq like you do with an ordinary tablet.

 

wacom_cintiq_tablet_monitor_in_one

Some people swear by them, but I’m not one of those people.

  • A sharp pain developed in my upper back and no matter how I positioned it, the pain persisted and worsened
  • I didn’t like my hand blocking my work
  • I felt guilty about “using it up” any time I used it as a normal monitor for say, gaming or writing
  • It was heavy (newer models are lighter) but I only have an IKEA desk and I was convinced I’d come home to find my expensive Cintiq on the floor surrounded by a pile of particleboard
  • I couldn’t bring it anywhere with me

Basically, the Cintiq felt like a step back from the small, comfortable Intuos tablets I can place in my lap and bring with me. This is why I don’t really recommend Cintiq. Your mileage may vary, but if you’re curious, most of the professional artists I know and have worked with are content to work on an Intuos.

If you’re in the Seattle area and wondering what to do with all the cash you saved getting an Intuos over a Cintiq, go to a TLC Workshop – these workshops are awesome and well worth the money!

Wacom’s new Intuos naming scheme

The first thing I noticed when shopping for my next tablet was that Wacom now offers a bewildering selection of entry level and mid range tablets.

These “entry level” tablets are the Intuos Draw, Intuos Art, Intuos Photo, and Intuos Comic. Prices vary because their feature sets and bundled software vary by tablet. They feature a dotted black drawing surface and four buttons at the top:

wacom_intuos_draw_photo_comic

Wacom really diluted their line with these tablets, which I think mostly serve to confuse potential customers and add more research time to a Wacom purchase.

Even though these tablets are marketed towards a particular purpose (“draw anime!”, “edit photos!”), you’re not actually going to be limited to “just drawing” or “just photo editing” if you choose one of these tablets over another.

If you already have the software you want to use and you want to get one of these tablets, just buy based on color or features (such as the Intuos Art’s touch feature).

Intuos Pro vs. Intuos Draw, Intuos Art, etc

These are cute, but I think most artists will outgrow them quickly. If you intend to use your tablet regularly, it’s worth the extra cost to get an Intuos Pro.

Here’s why:

  • The Intuos Draw, Art, etc buttons are in an awkward location near the top. Also, you only get 2 per side, not six like you do with the Pro.
  • There’s no touch wheel on these lower end tablets, and the touch wheel is awesome. You can map the touch wheel to a number of things, including brush size adjustment, which I’d be really lost without.
  • The bundled software doesn’t do much for me either, since I use Photoshop. I think it’s better to buy an Intuos and then buy whatever software you want to use with it.

Artist Aaron Rutten has an excellent 5 minute video comparing these tablets, which is where I learned enough to know that I wanted a Pro instead.

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If you really need the cheapest tablet imaginable, go with the Wacom Intuos Draw.

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This is the tablet I’d get for someone if you aren’t sure that person will actually stick with a digital art hobby and just wants to give it a try. I’d definitely consider this tablet for a kid or a pre-teen. After all, it’s hard to argue with that price.

If your ambition is to become a professional artist, though, and you’re already working towards that goal and/or are in art school, I think it’s worth it to invest in the better tool and get the Intuos Pro instead.

Who should get a Wacom tablet

If you think you’d be better/faster with a tablet, you should seriously consider getting one. Illustrators, cartoonists, animators, photographers doing retouching by mouse would all benefit from a tablet.

I rarely use my tablet for “layout” work (like, I don’t use it if I’m making a mockup of what a website might look like) but I do use it for anything I would otherwise freehand.

My tablet completely replaced my old “draw on paper then scan” workflow, which was nice – saved me a lot of paper, pencils, eraser dust all over the place, and let me get rid of my scanner.

The bottom line

The Intuos Pro is awesome; I’m thrilled with it and happily using it to sketch and paint in Photoshop. This tablet is the best of Wacom’s current offerings: a step up from their low-end Intuos line (Intuos Draw, Art, Comic, Photo) in all the right ways, but not bank-breaker like the Cintiq.

If budget is a concern, check out Amazon’s refurbished version of the Wacom Intuos Pro. Mine came packed just like it was new from the factory and has no signs of use.

» See the Wacom Intuos Pro on Amazon.com «

Wacom Intuos Pro – Small

Wacom Intuos Pro – Medium

Wacom Intuos Pro – Large

Filed Under: Computer accessories, Reviews Tagged With: best wacom tablet 2016, Wacom, Wacom Intuos Pro, wacom intuos pro review, wacom recommendation 2016, wacom review

Best router 2016: ASUS (RT-AC68U) Wireless-AC1900 Dual-Band Gigabit Router is an unstoppable WiFi beast

July 26, 2016 by M.B. Grant Leave a Comment

Last updated: 7/26/2016

Our Asus RT-AC680 router rating:

stars_5

It’s awesome! Easy setup and 3 bars of WiFi everywhere, even in huge houses.

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Today we’re gonna look at our favorite router, the Asus RT-AC68U, also called the Asus Wireless-AC1900.

We got one for our house in January, both of ours parents got this router at our recommendation, and my sister and her techie husband also upgraded to this router this year.

Suffice to say, we’ve gotten pretty familiar with this router and we’re convinced it’s the best bang for your buck right now in wireless routers.

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Here’s why you might want to upgrade your router:

  • You have WiFi dead zones in your house
  • You’re not getting the speeds you should be (test your connection at speedtest.net) unless you’re right next to your existing router/modem
  • You have a lot of wireless devices on your network (say, 10 or more)
  • You want a guest network that exists in parallel to your real one, for guests to use without gaining access to the rest of your network
  • You have a bleeding-edge device or network card that supports faster data speeds than your current router supports
  • You’re tired of paying your ISP a monthly fee for a junky router

Asus AC68U Router Review

TL;DR: it’s excellent, we love it, and we recommend it to everyone who asks us for router recommendations.

If your home is home to a few laptops, desktop computers, a TV streaming device like Roku or Chromecast, a couple gaming consoles, a bunch of mobile phones, and perhaps a smart thermostat or Amazon Echo (like ours is), this is the router for you.

It’s the best balance of price and specs and won’t be obsolete anytime soon.

Asus AC68U Router Highlights

  • Outstanding range – the AC68U eliminated dead WiFi spots in and immediately outside of even the largest home we tried it in
  • Several on-router technologies to lock signal on devices and help certain kinds of traffic (like streaming TV shows) flow uninterrupted
  • Easy setup and user-friendly control panel – my 70-year-old dad breezed through it 😀
  • Supports PPTP VPN – log into your home computer from somewhere else (your workplace, your hotel, your phone, etc)
  • Adaptive QoS – prioritizes traffic and lets you see which device is using the bandwidth. You can also set priorities on devices – keep your PS4 high priority and Netflix lower priority, so TV gets buffered while gaming doesn’t get lagged
  • Awesome speeds – we get what our Internet provider promises, everywhere in our test houses
  • Web filtering – see what sites are accessed, block them if you want
  • Guest network – set up a separate network to give guests Internet access, but not access to your local network
  • NAS support – hook up a hard drive and access it from anywhere on your network and/or over VPN into your network
  • USB 3.0 support (good for NAS)
  • Web security – all the latest and greatest, plus regular firmware updates

Key specs

  • Wireless Type: 802.11ac/b/g/n
  • Wireless Speed: Up to 1900 mbps
  • Wireless Frequency: Dual-band (5GHz @ 802.11ac & 2.4 GHz @ 802.11n)
  • Wired Connectivity: 5 x LAN, 1x WAN gigabit Ethernet port
  • USB Ports: 1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0
  • Warranty: 2 Years
  • Dimensions: 6.3″ long x 3.3″ wide x 8.6″ tall

What’s in a name?

The “AC-1900” refers to the router’s max bandwidth. You can get a connection at 1900 megabits per second (just a wee bit short of 2 gigabit/second) if you have the right hardware.

If you have a network card that supports it, it will combine the 802.11AC(1300Mbps over 5G) + 802.11N(600Mbps over 2.4G) signals to get your computer to 1900. If you don’t know what any of this means and you know your hardware is just average, you could save a few bucks and get the 1750 version of this router instead.

Homes we tested the Asus AC68U in

We have four of this router in our lives. They’re in:

  • a 3,300 sq ft two-story standalone home built in the 1980s (my parents’ home). The router is on the 2nd story at the far end of the house.
  • a 3,500 sq ft three-story standalone home built in the 1990s (my partner’s parents’ home). The router is on the first floor at a far corner of the house.
  • a 1,300 sq ft one-story attached ranch built in the 1990s with basement (my sister’s home). The router is on the only floor, at one end of the house.
  • another 1,300 sq ft one-story duplex ranch built in 2011 (our house). The router is on the only floor, located roughly centrally in the home.

These setups are not textbook ideal. Because of where the cable comes in, the two biggest homes in our sample have the router placed up against a wall at a far end of the house. Both of these houses (our parents’ houses) were notorious for dead zones in like 1/3rd of the house, dropped WiFi connections, weak WiFi connections, and lots of pausing/buffering while streaming before they upgraded to the Asus.

In my sister’s 1,300 sq ft home, the router is on the first floor (along an outside wall) but the computers and gaming systems are in the basement below. Even in this case, the WiFi signal is strong.

However, despite all these “less than perfect” setups, all four homes have a strong WiFi signal everywhere inside the houses and even some more signal out in the yard. That’s how awesome this router is.

These four houses vary in construction materials, broadband supplier, the number of WiFi networks nearby, and the demands placed on the network, but the signal strength is excellent in all four.

In short, this router is awesome for big houses, even if you can’t position it somewhere “ideal”. 

What’s in the box?

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  • Asus RT-AC68U dual-band gigabit router
  • Power cord
  • Ethernet cord
  • Setup booklet
  • Setup CD

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Router setup

It’s so fast and easy, I didn’t bother to document it. It’s like a 6-step wizard and the hardest part is naming your network (pick a good one – but just in case you don’t, you can easily change it later).

Regular security updates

Firmware updates come about once a month and contain security updates, bug fixes, UI improvements, and even new features like the recently-added traffic analyzer.

This regular support keeps the router up to date against newly discovered security vulnerabilities, and helps the router’s feature set stay competitive with new competitor models. Also great: Asus accepts bug fixes from the developer community, meaning there’s even more people scrutinizing the router’s capabilities and security features.

See some of the recent Asus 86 RT-AC86U firmware updates here.

Good control panel design

Once you’re all set up, visit 192.168.1.1 in your browser to access the control panel.

From here, you can view connected devices and their bandwidth usage, change the network’s name, password, and security type, and adjust a variety of settings.

I’ve managed a lot of routers over the years and this interface is definitely my favorite.

asus_rt_ac_68u_router_control_panel

Connected Devices (“Clients”)

See a list of all currently connected devices.

asus_rt_ac_68u_router_connected_devices

Guest Network

Use the “guest network” feature to give your visitors an “Internet only” version of your network. This is an excellent security feature, as it lets your guests surf the web without also getting access to any computers, files, or equipment you might have otherwise have available over the network.

Traffic by app, traffic by client

This is another cool feature of the Asus RT-AC86U: use it to see where your bandwidth goes, by app and by client (user).

asus_rt_ac68u_traffic_by_app asus_rt_ac68u_traffic_by_client

PPTP VPN

One of the biggest reasons we chose the Asus RT-86U over its competitors was for the PPTP VPN connection capabilities.

With Open VPN (which is what a lot of competitor models have) you need third party software to log into your network (which may or may not be available for your OS).  With PPTP VPN, the VPN software is basically in the router’s OS, and you can VPN in from anything (your Android phone, your Macbook, etc), with no need for third party software.

If you’re never going to use VPN, this probably isn’t something you care about, but if you’re hoping to make use of VPN, this is a great feature to have at your disposal.

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Asus AC1900 vs. the Asus AC1750

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You might have noticed there’s a “1750” version of this router, also called the Asus RT-AC66U. They look pretty similar: same black plaid body, three antenna, same ports in the back.

What’s the difference?

The only real difference between the 1900 and the 1750 is the maximum possible throughput. As explained earlier in this review, the only devices that hit the full 1900 throughout are those that can combine the two separate signals – 802.11AC(1300Mbps over 5G) and 802.11N(600Mbps over 2.4G) to make 190Mbps.

We found only a negligible price difference between the 1900 and the 1750 when we were router shopping, so we went with the 1900 to be a bit more future-proof with our purchase.

Asus AC1900 vs. Netgear AC1750

Astute readers might recall that we have a Netgear AC1750 in our city apartment. The Netgear AC1750 is still an excellent router. The only reason we chose the Asus AC1900 over another one for the house (which is 100 miles away and we only get to on weekends and holidays) was for the Asus’s stronger VPN support, which we use regularly.

Why buy a router when you can lease one from your cable company?

You might already be leasing your router from your cable company (it might even be the kind of device that’s both router and modem in one). Maybe that’s working for you, but you might be having one or more of the following problems:

  • WiFi dead zones in your house
  • intermittent loss of WiFi signal to devices
  • interruptions to streaming (pauses in Netflix, lots of YouTube buffering)
  • disconnects during online gaming
  • interference from other networks and/or Bluetooth devices
  • a pang of regret every month as you pay another $10 towards renting a device when you could buy a much better one

Just a few years ago, the only people who really wanted or benefitted from a better router than the one you could lease from your cable company were gamers and people pirating media by the truckload. Nowadays, everyone and their mother is streaming, gaming, and surfing the web simultaneously on one home network.

If you’re in a heavy use household, and you have any of the above problems, then a better router would probably make a big difference. You’ll also get features like traffic analyzer, the ability to prioritize certain types of traffic higher than other types, parental controls – all features that are usually absent from ISP-provided routers.

Some important things to keep in mind

These things are true about any router, not just this one.

Your download speeds are still limited by your Internet connection

It’s not going to turn your crappy rural DSL into a blindingly fast downloading machine, but it will make the most of what you give it and spread it far and wide.

Upgrading to wireless AC should cut down on interference

You might be familiar with the ever-changing alphabet soup of router letters. For a while, it was wireless B, then wireless G, wireless N, and now wireless AC.

AC is the newest technology, and it operates on the 5Ghz band. Most routers are still wireless N, which is on the 2.4Ghz band (as are Bluetooth devices). If you live in a dense area with loads of neighboring WiFi networks (or you make use of Bluetooth music players, keyboards, mice, etc in your home) you might see a big improvement in signal quality just from getting off the crowded spectrum.

Click here for a good rundown of the differences between wireless b, g, n, and ac.

Antenna orientation matters

As with any router, you’ll need to orient the antennas. They don’t “blast” signal out their tips – it’s more like they make a flat plane of signal that’s parallel to the antenna itself. When in doubt, point one straight up and one perpendicular to it (that is, parallel to the floor).

This short Lifehacker article explains ideal antenna orientation.

The bottom line

We put this router through hell – we subjected it to online multiplayer gaming, streaming to a PSVita 100 miles away from its parent Playstation 4, streaming YouTube videos, huge downloads, and more (most of it simultaneously).

We ran speed tests all over our parents’ houses, both of which are over 3,000 sq. feet, and neither of which have the router in an “ideal” location (both just stuffed it up against the wall where the cable came in), and found little to no drop in signal strength.

This router is a beast, we totally <3 it – you can’t go wrong with this router!

» Check Amazon.com for current price and buyer reviews «

Filed Under: Routers Tagged With: Asus AC68U router review, Asus Wireless AC 1900, best 1900 router, best router 2016, best router for big house, best router for streaming, best router under $200

Ultra-quiet Kenmore Elite 41582 washer and 81582 dryer hands-on review

May 30, 2016 by M.B. Grant Leave a Comment

Researching new washing machines taught me two things:

  1. Every machine has bad reviews from a certain percentage of owners
  2. Most reviews don’t talk about the things I really care about in a machine, like noise and capacity

I chose the Kenmore Elite 41582/81582 pair because they seemed to have the most positive reviews for their price tier and because Sears had a good promotion on them this Memorial Day weekend.

So, here we go: now that these machines are in my house and I’ve put them through a dozen loads, I feel comfortable telling you how awesome they are!

Kenmore Elite 41582 (washer) and 81582 (dryer) my laundry room right after Sears set ’em up:

2016-05-27 19.35.01

(I was not paid or perked to review these machines, and I have no relationship with Sears or Kenmore. I bought these machines myself.) 

Kenmore Elite washer (41582) & dryer (81582) at a glance

  • Super quiet
  • Laundry comes out clean
  • Nice interface extras: “time remaining” countdown, interior light, set beep volume (OFF is also an option)
  • Lots of modes for different types of loads
  • Big drum capacity: 4.5 cu feet (there is also a 5.2 cu feet model)
  • You can pause a load and add more to it if you just started the cycle

See the Kenmore Elite washer on Amazon (this isn’t my exact model, it’s bigger but has the same interface)

Kenmore Elite washers are REALLY quiet

This washing machine is quiet. It also has a button for toggling the “done beep” volume: loud, normal, and off (this is also true of the dryer).

The first few times I ran the washer I could not even believe it was running. My machines are in a room (with a real door, not a louvered door) next to my living room, so I had ample opportunity to hear (or not hear) them in action. I made these videos to demonstrate just how quietly these machines run.

Washer washing a pillow

The vast majority of a cycle is just washing/tumbling the load.

Notice the machine doesn’t get thrown off balance by the uneven load, and the amount of water/soap is appropriate for the size of the load (a normal size pillow, two pillow cases, and four shirts).

My previous machine was a HE top-loading agitator-less machine that would make a repetitive grinding noise as it cycled laundry in and out of the water, so this gentle hum seems very quiet by comparison. It’s even quieter with a normal load (not a pillow flopping around).

Washer doing its spin cycle

Washer doing the last 2 minutes of its spin cycle

The last 2 minutes of the spin cycle is the loudest thing I’ve heard this machine do, and honestly, I think it comes off louder in the video than it does in real life.

Dryer doing normal drying

While I was researching machines, it was hard to find information on how noisy various machines are, or how annoying those noises might be.

My previous home had a set of 2010-era Maytag Bravos machines (top loading HE washer) and the washer was so loud and annoying. It went vrrm vrrm vrrm vrrm vrrm as it moved laundry in and out of the pool of water at the bottom of the wash basin, and the repetitive noise drove me nuts. I often started laundry and the left the house for some errand so I wouldn’t have to listen to it.

Drum capacity: huge

The drum capacity is 4.5 cu feet on my model, and there’s also a larger version (5.2 cu feet). My big plushy queen-size comforter fits inside both washer and dryer with room to spare.

My city apartment has a compact washer and dryer, so it’s pretty nice to blow through a ton of laundry in just a few big loads. You don’t have to do big loads, though – there’s a setting for “small load”, too.

Interface design: excellent

Washer interface

The buttons on this machine are straightforward: rotate the knob to select your load type, toggle any settings you want to be particular about, and hit the play button.

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Use the buttons at right to set temperature, spin speed, soil level, and beep volume. The “—” is where “time remaining” for the current load displays.

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Dryer Interface

Same idea as the washer, turn the dial to choose a mode.

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Without “Static shield” on, the first couple loads came out really clingy. Once we turned this setting on, that problem went away.

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Performance: Excellent

The comforter challenge

I have had a particular big, fluffy queen-size comforter for at least 15 years and I’ve washed it in more machines than I can remember. I sent it through a wash and a dry cycle in the Kenmore Elites.

It was pretty dry at the end of the washer’s spin cycle and didn’t throw the machine off balance or reach the end of the cycle with suds still in the tub (both common problems I’ve had with other washing machines in the past). It took just one dryer cycle to dry it, not two or more like some older machines have required.

The pillow challenge

Likewise, I have a large fluffy pillow that I’ve had for a few years now. It is notorious for throwing agitator-style washing machines off balance, but the Kenmore Elite handled it just fine (I washed it on “Bulky”). The washer even did a good job of spinning most of the moisture out of it. It took one and a half dryer cycles to dry it (I ran it on “Bulky”).

The bottom line

These are fantastic laundry machines. It’s hard to know how many years you’ll get out of a newly purchased appliance, but if I run into any trouble I’ll come back and update this review.

Kenmore changes its line frequently, but if you’re reading this from the future there’s a good chance that the Kenmore Elite line has only gotten better since this article’s creation in May 2016.

 

Filed Under: Appliances, Reviews Tagged With: 41582, 81582, dryer, Elite, Kenmore, quiet washing machine

Hue Pro app (aka “best Hue app ever”) now available on iOS!

April 6, 2016 by M.B. Grant 2 Comments

Hue Pro app icon

Get the most out of your $60 lightbulbs with this 99 cent app!

Hue Pro – the go-to Philips Hue app on Android for over a year now – just arrived on Apple’s iOS! Philips Hue / iPhone users, rejoice!

Hue Pro is awesome. This little 99 cent app from a third party developer is everything the official Philips Hue app should have been. It’s been the Android Hue app of choice for well over a year, but there was no good equivalent on iOS. Some apps could do a few things well, but none seemed to have complete mastery over the Philips Hue ecosystem the way Hue Pro did.

Here’s what’s great about Hue Pro:

  • Easy to make presets
  • Color-picker goodness for each individual bulb
  • Create and manage groups of bulbs with ease
  • Rename lights
  • Cool extras like like lava lamp (lava lamp just makes bulbs gradually shift hue for an ever-changing lighting effect)
  • Geofencing
  • Schedules

Make presets with ease! First thing you see in Hue Pro is a list of all your presets. This makes it super easy to instantly change the color of your bulbs. Add your own preset by tapping the + in the upper right corner. Modify each bulb to your liking and save.

Color picker! Instead of selecting a photo and picking colors out of it to create your Hue light palette (it’s as terrible as it sounds) you can just pick colors out of a color picker. It’s so easy in Hue Pro! Pick a lightbulb, pick a color, save, repeat.

hue-pro-ios-color-picker

Good preset palettes. Hue Pro comes with some excellent color palette presets, and it’s easy to add your own (click the + button). My favorite presets are Blue Rain and Love Shack, but most of ’em are pretty nice. At the bottom is one of my own presets.

hue-pro-ios-app-color-savings

Manage all your bulbs. See how there are three colored boxes next to each preset name? Each one represents a bulb attached to this location’s Hue hub. (In other words, I’m in my apartment where I have 3 Hue bulbs.) Over at my house, I’ve got 7.

This screenshot is from the Android version of Hue Pro.

hue-pro-android-multiple-lights

You might notice that some presets don’t even include all the bulbs. That’s because you can toggle the “HS” slider to keep some bulbs off when using a particular preset. Below, I’ve made a preset that only lights the desk lamp.

hue-pro-ios-just-one-light

Great menu design. Over in the hotdog menu (tap the 3 parallel bars in the upper left) you’ll find quick links to the various sections of the Hue Pro app: your presets, bulbs, schedules, settings, and more. Clean and simple – awesome!

hue-pro-side-menu

The settings page offers tons of tweaks and ways to manage your Hue lights. Hue Pro does more than just change bulb colors: you can adjust your bridge settings, manage geofencing, make backups of your settings, and more.

hue-pro-ios-app-settings

I’m so happy to see this app land on iOS – great job, Prismatic LLC – what a happy surprise for this iOS user who was wishing for a better Hue app!

Filed Under: Lighting Tagged With: best iOS Hue app, best paid Hue Pro app, Hue Pro app, Hue Pro app review, Philips Hue, Philips Hue apps

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