New Air Purifier App Symbol?

I am not confident of everything it considers, I just know that it is definitely not solely based on time or mine would have all hit 0% at the same time and had the same percentage the entire time. Since that is not the case, then there are definitely other things involved.

Honestly, I am a little surprised so many people are talking about the filter lifespan. Vaccums rarely have a filter life timer, most furnaces don’t have some kind of smart filter algorithm, my swimming pool pump doesn’t have any smart timer. For almost every other filter in the world, people either swap them out when they get too dirty/used (totally subjective) or they swap them out after so much time. We can just do the same thing here. If a person has generally good AQI and they think their filter is still good, then they can leave it in there longer if they want, just like you can do for your vacuums or for your furnace or whatever else you are supposed replace filters for occasionally. The “how long the filters last” is not really any different than deciding how long to keep a furnace filter. You can replace it on time, you can replace it more often or less often and decide on your own when it’s too used or dirty. Wyze is simply giving their recommendation for best use (as does every device or appliance that uses a filter), not their requirement. I like the filter estimator to give me an idea of how much that air purifier is doing stuff and reminding me to maybe go vacuum the filter out to remove the big particles and use it for just a little longer. I’ll probably vacuum mine out when they hit 0% then reset the timer and replace them after the second or third time hitting 0%…but that’s just what I’m thinking for myself. I accept it may not function at 100% by doing that, but it will still function at a level I am happy with, removing a lot more than if I didn’t have one.

If anyone is concerned, I’d say to just consider treating it similar to how you would treat your furnace filter and how you decide to replace that. If you do it based on time, then great, do this based on time. If you do it based on when it’s dirty, then great, do that with this one. The smart notice is just a tool, not an absolute. That’s how I view it. I am not panicking that my kitchen filter shows 0%…I’m going to vacuum out that filter soon, put it back in the air purifier and reset the filter life and let it run again for a while. :man_shrugging: I’ll replace it later this year or next year.

I’m assuming some of what the air purifier pulled in was water particles (steam, humidifier, etc) and not all dirty stuff, so I think it’s still got a good amount of life left (any particulates in the air count toward AQI, including water particles from steam, humidifiers, shower steam, whatever)…the laser only looks for particles, it can’t identify what KIND of particles it detects.

Well I’m concerned because it seems like this is just another method for Wyze to suck money out of us at every chance they get , as much as I would love to be buying 4-5 filters every year . I would like one that is built for the long term , and meant to last

This is different , my furnace filters have a 90 days use . So I know after 90 days to replace them , what we’re worried about is , is it with it to be constantly be buying air filters ?

Nevertheless like you’ve and others said it all depends on the air quality , the usage , fan settings , etc so the filters depend on that more than time.

It’s just a bit confusing because other filters usually tell you how long they last in the packaging and Wyze saying “6 months” when users filters life is at 0% in only less than 6 months is concerning but we know what determines that.

September can’t come quick enough , I want a unit sooo bad now

Your furnace filters do not “expire” after 90 days, nor does an air purifier filter expire after 6 months. It depends on use. If you replace your furnace filter every 90 days with no regard to actual life remaining, the answer is… your air purifier filter should be replaced at least every 6 months. I’d rather determine if the filter needs replacing earlier or later than a blanket time spec. There exceptions to the time rule… it depends on filter type. Activated carbon filters, etc.

2 Likes

I never said they expire after 90 days , the packaging recommends to change them after 90 days …

And Wyze recommends changing every 6 months. Part of that value is based on the effectivity of activated carbon over time. Will your filter last longer than 6 months? Yes! But how effective will it be? I’m running a few long term tests and the results so far don’t look good with respect to ability to filter gas and micro-particles. For example, I have one unit running a filter that has been recycled 3 times. The 1st cycle consistently filtered AQI to an average of 5-20. The 2nd 20-50. This 3rd cycle won’t filter AQI below 100. Also running a “can it be cleaned/rinsed” test (although that won’t help with gas filtering as the carbon is wasted).

2 Likes

Awesome tests! :+1: I look forward to you sharing your results and conclusions.

I agree it is exactly the same as furnace filters. They have a recommended time, but I’ve had some that end up having to be changed in one fifth of their recommended life cycle because of our shedding little cats causing extra clogging. :man_shrugging: The HVAC guy came to our house and said the filters were getting clogged up faster than expected and we have to change them more often. They didn’t last anywhere near what they were supposed to at that house. In other places the filters lasted way longer. So I’ve seen that it totally depends and their recommendation is just an average, and often recommended on the low end just so you’ll replace them more often or to ensure it’s always working best.

2 Likes

I guy up the street is a commercial and residential property inspector. He lets me borrow his VOC/HCHO meter for my monthly readings. :+1:

3 Likes

I love this! I can’t wait to hear more from you on it at some point in the future.

1 Like

Well I can only speak for myself , but what I’m worried about is how good the filters are ?

Wyze says 6 months , but I understand that it all depends on the usage , the room measurements, fan settings , etc that come into play that reduce the effectiveness.

My concern was that , I feel like this is another way for Wyze to get us to spend money on new filters all the time.

Nevertheless , I’m still gonna get a unit in september when they are back in stock

2 Likes

Your concerns are great ones. :+1: All I can say is, for my needs and based on decades of filtering experience, this unit kicks butt. My main concerns were filtering ability (pollen, dust, cats, cooking odors and cigar smoke) and noise. Both are the best that I’ve experienced. Even if your indoor AQI is poor (which I doubt based on your HVAC filter replacement diligence), one unit should drop your AQI well below the standard within a few days and keep it that way for at least 6 months for 1,000 ft². Of course, your mileage may vary depending on things like your house’s air leakage rate and outdoor AQI, cleanliness of HVAC ductwork, amount of open air kitchen oil frying, location/height of your unit, etc. Also need to take into account HVAC blower rate/cycling. I have my blower set to drop down to continuous 1/3 speed when AC/Heat is not active for constant air recirculation. As far as the unit’s filter-life-remaining calculation, for the main floor of 3 in my house, the calculation appears accurate. For the other 2 floors, it’s slightly pessimistic.

3 Likes

Cool tests, interested in the results!

2 Likes

Yes, Wyze stated that the Air Purifier app is working at intended. So by them showing an advertising picture that is not how the app works, is nothing short of false advertising! One of the main reasons I bought this product was because it seems like a good feature to see an hourly graph of the AQI. But you’d think that Wzye would have at least taken down that picture showing the app doing something it doesn’t do.

Talk about arrogance, maybe they don’t understand that it’s illegal to advertise a product doing something it doesn’t do! And what is even more frustrating is that the graphing on the app doesn’t even work as Wyze had intended. Most days my graph has no dots, no matter what the AQI is on my machine. Other days it might have one or two dots at an AQI below 10.

1 Like

I have 2 of them and they work the same way as yours. I also feel the same as you, I want to see a graph of what it was throughout the day not just when it reaches a predetermined bad level. Most days I have no dots, I think the most I have had is 3. Last I heard it should be working with the full graph of hourly reading on the 2.35 app release.

2 Likes

Yes, but you are missing my point. Wyze has falsely advertised this product from day one! I’m seriously thinking about contacting the FTC and filing a complaint if Wyze doesn’t take down that advertising picture showing hourly AQI dots on the app. It was never designed to do that and should not be advertised as such.

Oh and I’ve gotten AQI dots on the graph when the AQI was zero, so there is no redetermined bad level.

Wish I had a guy up the street who could loan me those. :slight_smile:

But glad you can get some real readings, if needed

3 Likes