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SOLIOM |
B0BRM3SCS8 |
RGPOIH2C46CMF |
Verified Purchase |
Niles508 |
1.0 |
Solium gives free cloud service only to those who give Positive reviews. I DO NOT PLAY THAT GAME. |
The good:The feeder holds a fairly good amount of seed.The camera does record 10 second videos each time the camera is triggered.The camera does allow for a Live View on your phone. Past (saved) videos are only available if you subscribe to the cloud service. (In order to view videos saved on your SD card, you must remove card from camera and view on your pc.)The video quality is good.The feeder is sturdy, made of steel, should last a long time.The feeder can be mounted on a pole (the best method) or mounted to a flat surface (this method allows squirrels to easily access the feeder)The bad: There is a lot bad-1) The feeder does not come with the “bird mount baffle”, a $10 item (when purchased on Amazon). The feeder is DANGEROUS and unsuitable without this protective baffle. Small birds can get trapped inside the feeder if there is not a protective barrier to keep them from entering the bottom slot. The slot where the birdseed flows from the feeder is too large (high), allowing small birds to accidentally enter and get trapped. You can read other reviews where users have experienced this unfortunate occurrence. I did not experience it, but I purchased the baffle to avoid it. If it has happened several times (as evidenced in the reviews), it is by definition: DANGEROUS. I would automatically give this feeder a 1 star review, just based upon this inherent lack of safety for the birds. THE MANUFACTURER SHOULD ONLY SELL THESE FEEDERS WITH THE BAFFLE INCLUDED.2) The instructions are simply awful. They are so bad, that this is reason #2 that would automatically cause a rating of 1 star. Unexcusable.3) I am using the “1-month free” subscription to the cloud service/AI recognition. The AI recognition did not work at all for the first two weeks. I emailed the company, and also asked questions on Amazon re: How to get the AI to work. I did not get much good info from either place (FYI). But, the AI started to work suddenly on April 4, 2024. I have no idea why it was not working before. Maybe I changed a setting?4) The AI identification of birds is a joke. It does not work most of the time. The identification of birds is often wildly “off”. When it says “A Bird Detected” below your library video (it apparently DOES NOT WORK ON THE LIVE FEED – another thing that is not mentioned anywhere in the instructions ) -- you are supposed to then tap that Notice. (This instruction is not even given in the ”Detailed App Instructions! WTF?) The tap will then bring up 1,2, or 3 possible bird species, with a % confidence level (again: this is my surmise, as the app does not tell you anything about what the % means). This is all well and good –except that many times – 25% of the time--, when it says” a bird is detected”, there will be no ID provided when you tap the notice.5) The AI will often give a notice that says “A person has been detected” or “A person is wandering around”. This has proven to be completely bogus. The AI is just providing random wrong information, misidentifying a bird as a person.6) The manufacturer does not provide up-front cost information about the cloud/AI service, and it does not provide clear information about the advantages or disadvantages of subscribing to the cloud service. This seems to be a purposeful “trick” to get users to subscribe to this service. It surely would be very easy to provide the cost “up front” (online or in the printed instructions). But, no, you cannot find the cost structure anywhere until you download the app onto your phone and search around in it. Even questions on Amazon get varied answers re: this aspect of the feeder. This is ridiculous and unacceptable.7) HERE IS THE ACTUAL COST INFO (FYI): The Basic plan: 15 day cloud recording/ $7 per mo or $60 per yr. Plus Plan: 30 day cloud recording/ $10 per mo or $90 per yr. Pro Plan: 60 day cloud recording/ $13`per mo or $130 per yr. The “Bird Fans Plan” apparently refers to the AI recognition of birds, and it comes with any of the above three paid plans. But, IF YOU DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO ANY OF THE 3 PAID PLANS, the AI function DOES NOT FUNCTION at all.. The AI is so poor that it really does not matter if you get it or not. But, apparently, if you do not subscribe to one of the plans, you can only access your recordings by physically removing the SD card and playing it on your PC.8) The instructions do not show anything re: removing the top and adding birdseed. This normally would be something obvious, not need explanation. But, for my unit—it became an important issue. Why? My unit came with the roof inserted wrong – so that the roof could not be removed! The front of the roof seemed to be caught on something when I tried to lift up the rear of the roof– I couldn’t see what – and I thought maybe there was some spring mechanism that had to be released. But—no mention in the instructions of anything dealing with the roof removal. No online videos, either. I eventually lifted the rear of the roof up high enough to clear the rear of the main feeder, trying not to bend whatever it was up front that was holding the roof in place. Once I freed the roof from being trapped by the rear edge of the main feeder, I was able to slide it back and remove it. But, WOW, what an ordeal! The roof on my unit had been assembled wrong, with the edge of the roof inserted so that it could not slide backward.9) Functional aspects that are not clear about this device:a) If you do not subscribe to the $7/mo cloud service, you apparently lose all bird identification ability and you lose all ability to view your saved videos from your phone (I think)b) Does the AI work without the cloud service? (I know, it doesn’t really work even with the cloud service. But, apparently, it is completely nonfunctional if you do not pay the $7/m for cloud service.)c) Are you able to access your recordings from your installed SD card? It seems that you must remove the card to play the videos if you do not subscribe to their cloud service. This fact is not made clear – certainly not on Amazon.The unit is best mounted on a pole. You are provided with two mounting options: a pole mount or a surface mount. A surface mount will always be problematic with squirrels – so, I do not recommend this at all (unless you want to also feed squirrels). The pole mount will allow you to use a standard squirrel baffle to prevent the squirrels from climbing up the pole to access the feeder. A 4 x 4 post could be installed in the ground and used as a surface mount area. But, you still will need a squirrel baffle (very expensive to buy a baffle for a 4 x 4 post. You can look it up on Amazon.)11) Stuff that you need to know for working the app:a) Once you follow the (clear) instructions for installing the Solium Pro app – NOT the Solium+ app – you will see a Live feed when you press the Home button (at bottom of screen). BUT, it will not be LIVE until you press the > arrow. Then, it will connect, and you will see a notation at the top left that says “Live” [THIS IS NOT IN THE INSTRUCTIONS.]b) The “USER” button (at bottom, right of screen) brings you to a page that has information about “Solium Pro Awareness Plus”: It will show you the date that your free subscription ends, or the date that your paid subscription ends. “Device Management” is the only button of any importance here. Press “Device Management”, then press “Smart Camera Feeder” on the next screen. {THIS IS NOT OBVIOUS.] This will bring you to a screen that allows/requires you to set various options. The “Notification Settings” button brings you to a screen that has “Bird Fans” at the top. There are no instructions, but I believe that you must make sure the Bird Fans toggle switch is moved to the RIGHT (so that it shows a heavy black dot). To the right (I believe) is ON. (But, THERE ARE NO INSTRUCTIONS). And, below that Bird Fans line, there is a line that says “notification”. I touched this to place a check in the circle. But, I don’t actually know what “notification” means (since there is no explanation). I think it might allow your phone to chime when a bird is noticed. [NONE OF THIS IS IN THE APP INSTRUCTIONS!!]c) There are other buttons on the notifications page that do not seem to do anything. And if they do something, it is not clear what they do. So, I won’t discuss. But, let’s just say that this app is not ready for prime time.12. The video feed does will only feed to a phone. It will not feed to a laptop pc. This is an unfortunate detail.13. Seems to be a company that wants to trick users into a $7/month subscription, which is not described on the Seller’s Amazon page.14. Seller sent me a Special Offer: Take screenshot of my review, submit it, and get a free cloud/AI subscription for 1 year. Caveat: "If you withdraw or change your comments to the negatives, the service will be stopped". This blackmail/ bribery offer is reason enough to rate this product as a 1-star product. This is definitely illegal and violates FTC regulations and Amazon rules. So, I doubt very much that I will be getting my free 1-yr cloud service. But, I can live with myself -- knowing that I will only provide honest reviews. |
2024-04-10 |
2024-06-09 12:15:42 |