david.w.johnson
Registered
I had been out of diving for years. I knew the computers had taken over, but never owned one. I found a good deal on a new Epic with wireless transmitter. My idea is that I can ditch my console and save some extra hassle with my kit. I've gone to a secondary regulator / BCD inflator, so I am thinking about ditching the octopus for the same reason. I like as little equipment as I safely can get down to.
The set arrived and I was pretty excited. On top was a card that said if I registered with the Aeris site, I would get a free online course on how to use my computer. Pretty awesome, right? So, I went to the site and registered myself and my new computer...and nothing happened. The site was supposed to send me an email with a code to use. I searched the site and came up empty. I used the function on the site to send Aeris an email. A couple of days later, I searched the site for a customer service email and wrote them at that address. Several days later, I received an email telling me the card that came with my computer was wrong. There is no online training. A PDF of the user manual was attached. Later, I realized that was nice to have. The computer doesn't come with a manual.
While playing with the computer, I noticed there was a battery status indicator that showed the battery at half strength. Then, in the literature that came in the box, I noticed there were instructions on how to activate the watch. It seems the watch was supposed to be in 'deep sleep' mode when I got it to keep from draining the battery. I was supposed to wake the computer up, but it was already awake. I didn't worry about it because it came with a spare battery and the tool to take the back off. Besides, the battery was only at half strength, right? So, I did a couple of dives with the computer while retaining my console. I like to get used to equipment before I depend on it. I did a night dive and could not get the backlight to work. When I got home, I called up the instructions to find out why. I found out that the battery status symbol I was seeing wasn't supposed to be showing. That symbol only comes on when the battery is low. When the battery is low, backlight doesn't work. Fair enough. Time to change the battery.
Changing the battery was simple. Very simple. The only catch is that when I changed the battery, the 'mode' button stopped working. ??? I hooked the computer up to my laptop and synched it. I had synched it minutes before so I wouldn't lose the data from the dives I had done with the computer. (I rather like the software and synched data) But synching to the laptop didn't help. I pulled the battery and left it out for a while, then put it back. The 'mode' button still didn't work. Rats.
I called Aeris. A very polite lady with a heavy accent (Indian?) seemed to be reading from a script, but she very efficiently got me to the end solution...send it back. She gave me an RMA and told me to send a copy of my receipt with the computer. The only problem is that I threw the receipt away. I thought registering the computer with the Aeris site would cover me. I guess it did nothing. So, I contacted the seller and got a replacement receipt. I put the computer, receipt, RMA, and letter explaining the problem in the mail. When the tracking number told me the computer arrived, I called to confirm. I think it was the same nice lady to answered. She confirmed that my watch had arrived. She got someone in customer service to talk to me and tell me my watch was being serviced and would be sent out Thursday.
On Monday after the Thursday I was cited, I received an email with a tracking number showing my computer was expected to go out on Tuesday. Ah well. No problem. It is Tuesday now and the tracking number (USPS) reports Aeris hasn't quite gotten my computer in the mail yet, but I'm hopeful.
So, I have had the computer since February and used it four times before having to send it back. There was no free training course as promised. Customer Service wasn't really prompt on email response, but not bad either. The lady who answers Customer Service calls is friendly and efficient. If my computer is back in time, I'll play with it some before taking my Nitrox course in a week and a half. I will likely use the dives related to that course to test out the wireless transmitter as well. I haven't attached it to my first stage as yet. We'll see how it goes.
I'm still pretty positive about this computer. It's a bit large for an everyday watch, but not noticeably so. With three lines of information across the screen, the characters are a bit small for my taste, but I'm over 40 and wearing reading glasses, so others might not mind. I've had to get a bifocal mask to make sure I can read the watch. It comes with a band extender so you can wear it with your wetsuit on. It also includes a thick protector for the face. It looks like it will be a good bit of kit if the service guys worked out the problem with the 'mode' button.
More to follow...
David
The set arrived and I was pretty excited. On top was a card that said if I registered with the Aeris site, I would get a free online course on how to use my computer. Pretty awesome, right? So, I went to the site and registered myself and my new computer...and nothing happened. The site was supposed to send me an email with a code to use. I searched the site and came up empty. I used the function on the site to send Aeris an email. A couple of days later, I searched the site for a customer service email and wrote them at that address. Several days later, I received an email telling me the card that came with my computer was wrong. There is no online training. A PDF of the user manual was attached. Later, I realized that was nice to have. The computer doesn't come with a manual.
While playing with the computer, I noticed there was a battery status indicator that showed the battery at half strength. Then, in the literature that came in the box, I noticed there were instructions on how to activate the watch. It seems the watch was supposed to be in 'deep sleep' mode when I got it to keep from draining the battery. I was supposed to wake the computer up, but it was already awake. I didn't worry about it because it came with a spare battery and the tool to take the back off. Besides, the battery was only at half strength, right? So, I did a couple of dives with the computer while retaining my console. I like to get used to equipment before I depend on it. I did a night dive and could not get the backlight to work. When I got home, I called up the instructions to find out why. I found out that the battery status symbol I was seeing wasn't supposed to be showing. That symbol only comes on when the battery is low. When the battery is low, backlight doesn't work. Fair enough. Time to change the battery.
Changing the battery was simple. Very simple. The only catch is that when I changed the battery, the 'mode' button stopped working. ??? I hooked the computer up to my laptop and synched it. I had synched it minutes before so I wouldn't lose the data from the dives I had done with the computer. (I rather like the software and synched data) But synching to the laptop didn't help. I pulled the battery and left it out for a while, then put it back. The 'mode' button still didn't work. Rats.
I called Aeris. A very polite lady with a heavy accent (Indian?) seemed to be reading from a script, but she very efficiently got me to the end solution...send it back. She gave me an RMA and told me to send a copy of my receipt with the computer. The only problem is that I threw the receipt away. I thought registering the computer with the Aeris site would cover me. I guess it did nothing. So, I contacted the seller and got a replacement receipt. I put the computer, receipt, RMA, and letter explaining the problem in the mail. When the tracking number told me the computer arrived, I called to confirm. I think it was the same nice lady to answered. She confirmed that my watch had arrived. She got someone in customer service to talk to me and tell me my watch was being serviced and would be sent out Thursday.
On Monday after the Thursday I was cited, I received an email with a tracking number showing my computer was expected to go out on Tuesday. Ah well. No problem. It is Tuesday now and the tracking number (USPS) reports Aeris hasn't quite gotten my computer in the mail yet, but I'm hopeful.
So, I have had the computer since February and used it four times before having to send it back. There was no free training course as promised. Customer Service wasn't really prompt on email response, but not bad either. The lady who answers Customer Service calls is friendly and efficient. If my computer is back in time, I'll play with it some before taking my Nitrox course in a week and a half. I will likely use the dives related to that course to test out the wireless transmitter as well. I haven't attached it to my first stage as yet. We'll see how it goes.
I'm still pretty positive about this computer. It's a bit large for an everyday watch, but not noticeably so. With three lines of information across the screen, the characters are a bit small for my taste, but I'm over 40 and wearing reading glasses, so others might not mind. I've had to get a bifocal mask to make sure I can read the watch. It comes with a band extender so you can wear it with your wetsuit on. It also includes a thick protector for the face. It looks like it will be a good bit of kit if the service guys worked out the problem with the 'mode' button.
More to follow...
David
