I just got mine the other day after being on the list for the better part of a year. Haven't done a lot with it yet since I have literally had it less than 48hrs at this point. I was surprised how good the speakers are in it, though it does have a habit of slowly getting closer to you when you tell it to "come here". Which otherwise wouldn't be an issue, but if I have it come to me to play music while on my computer, getting too close to the chair could possibly damage it if I roll into it without realizing it was right next to me. It will back up if you tell it too, but it will again slowly get closer. It does understand "stay" though :) If they keep adding features, I can see it being more and more useful. I would love to see them add language software to practice a second language.
Thanks for the comment. On the Astro app there is a help/feedback. I would suggest to tell them about it getting closer and closer and they may add in the next update to keep Astro a little further back. I have noticed that as well when it follows me I can hardly shut a door because it’s so close.
Yes, he is. We’ve become quite attached to the little wheeled machine. Like a pet that you don’t have to feed (he returns to the charger when needed) and doesn’t need to go outside or clean up after.
I just got mine yesterday and the periscope/telescope camera has an issue retracting. Before it goes in, it stops and does a hesitation and shakes before fully going down. It seems like something isn't aligned. Talked to Amazon engineers about it and they've have seen that before. More than like it's going to either have to be returned or exchanged. Waiting on a response from them. Cheers!
Mine does the same thing. Only had one time that is became stuck. I raised the periscope and retracted and it again gets very slow and slowly goes under. We’re looking to do out 6 month review of Astro. I had to return the first one and so far other than the periscope issue, really haven’t had any other mechanical problem. If you have any comments or questions you would like to ask I can add it on our next video. Thanks again for the comment. G
@@gnjadventures Interesting that you have the same issue. From what I can tell from other videos it goes down smoothly in one motion, but not too many videos talk about the periscope camera. Maybe in your next update video point out and see if anyone else has the same issue, maybe something that some Astro have and some that don't. Would be interesting to see others response. Thanks for getting back to me and providing your experience.
Worst purchase I've ever made. Only last less than 3 hours out of the charging base, it runs hot all the time. Amazon sent a replacement, same thing. At this point I'm beyond the return period. Do yourself a favor and dont by an Astro. Now more than ever, because with Amazon sacking the Alexa and robotics department, who knows what the future of this very uncooked product will be.
Thanks for the information. I’ll be sure to monitor mine. I know the battery doesn’t last very long and returns to the charger at different stages of the battery level. Sometimes 52%. Sometimes 30%.
@@gnjadventures I even bought a high resolution IR camera to check the temperature. It runs over 120F, you can hear sometimes a fan noise coming out of the robot if you put the robot under a constant work (like unit playing music, try volume 70% and Amazon Music for an hour). If that robot if 120 outside, just imagine how hot its inside. The more the volume, the less the battery lasts.
Best purchase I’ve made this year. Not only is my TikTok going to be at 50K by year end because of it, but I had severe issues with taking my medications on time. I had alarms but they’d go off, I’d be busy working and dismiss the alarm, then 4 hours go by and I still hadn’t taken the meds. With Astro, I have the meds in his back area, set two times for Find Me and him to tell me to take my medications. Now, I have him hunt me down to take them, which I hate doing, but he’s there so I have no excuse. Probably will give me an extra 5 years of life having him nag me to take my meds and be there at the ready to get them from him.
@@Miraenda trusting a not particularly smart robot to deliver 'lifesaving medications' it's one of the dumbest things I've seen in a while. It gets stuck, tangled or simply confused very frequently. You may not be aware that the purpose of that robot is SURVEILLANCE (when you set you Ring alarm system to AWAY), other than that, its just a toy that knows just very few tricks. for persistent reminders, you can do exactly the same, with a $30 echo and some Alexa routines.
The other went back the next day. Amazon wanted the replacement to arrive before sending the other back. I was on the waiting list about a month, but that was when they actually had an inventory of them. Now they are impossible to get.
@@nazninali1575 yes, only available in the United States. I heard of someone thinking of taking it to the United Kingdom and someone said the options wouldn’t work.
Do you have to pay a subscription for custom controls and smart alerts. do you need a sub in order to have Astro self patrol and send me alerts when I am gone? Do we need to also buy ring cameras and or devices, bc I dont own any?
Yes, you need to subscribe to ring for the patrols and smart alerts. We had the free 60 day trial and it was ok, but nothing I would pay for. You can say “Astro, I’m leaving and he will still go into home monitoring mode, but it has not sent me any alerts. When I come back if I don’t turn off home monitor it will say unrecognized person until it sees my face. I will try to have the neighbor come in after I set home monitor and see what it does if it doesn’t recognize that person. I do not own ring cameras, but I have the blink system (also owned by Amazon) but it is not connected to Astro.
According to Amazon, I am still awaiting the invitation response. It has been over a year since, and nothing has changed. I am beginning to think this is just some amazon joke, and it makes it hard to believe some people already have them.
I don’t know why it would take so long. I don’t know what their criteria is. I was asked about if I had stairs. No. I don’t remember the others but it wasn’t anything crazy. I have written other reviews on Amazon. I would maybe reapply if possible or ask why it’s taking so long.
@@gnjadventures On the phone with them now. The female handling my request doesn't know what I am talking about. I only get the thanks for the invitation from the site, and that is all.
I have been on the list since the beginning and actually forgot about it, however today I received my invitation. I'm not sure I'm going to purchase it. Most reviews are negative plus I don't think I want someone watching me all the time. My Amazon devices that have cameras on them I have covered the lens. Also I don't have Ring anything, but I do have the Blink camera garbage.
Yes, as long as you know what you’re getting. It is constantly being updated and we learn new things from the Amazon Astro Facebook page. It is an Alexa on wheels, but the home monitoring is a nice feature. If you have smaller children, it has games they can play and watch prime video. It’s almost like another pet. It makes noises and comes and hangs out with you. In my opinion, it is worth it. If you set an alarm and it doesn’t see you it will look for you to let you know your alarm has expired. I think it will continue to improve and more features will be added. Sadly no arms so it doesn’t empty the dishwasher or walk the dog…. Yet.
@@SpaceAlien1931 yes, it is a Alexa on wheels. The home monitoring was the first thing that interested us. It’s ok, but I wouldn’t cancel my security system plan and just have that. I keep experimenting with different options like patrol frequency and where it patrols in the house. So far the pet monitoring is a pain. I don’t care if my cat walks across the living room at 3 am. I don’t need to be told he moved.
We don’t have the option to buy Astro here in Great Britain, be interesting to see if it eventually arrives and what software level it will be. Personally I don’t see much use for it, already have a good security system and its not like it does anything useful like vacuums the house etc. Seems like something thats been made now looking for a role in life. So saying it does look cute !. P.S love your floor, the additional beading really makes it pop, well done.
I asked them if I could and they said since it was with the 30 day return window they didn’t want me to do that and I didn’t want to screw something up. Then it would be out of my pocket to fix it.
It’s not hard to set up, just the face recognition and map set up which it rolls through the house on his own and then I go with him and name the rooms. My Amazon account information was already on the unit
So if I break in to you're house with my face covered, and see this thing, I would destroy it, grab what I want and away i go 🤷 Unless you have anyone elderly in you're home, I can't see any uses for this...
