So last year the app worked really good and the camera focused just fine to take the pictures of the test strip. Well I just bought a new kit this last Saturday because I opened my pool and we’re trying to get all of the levels correct so we can start swimming. We went through 4-5 strips and did everything exactly the way the kit says and we could never get the camera to focus right for it to take the picture and get the levels of everything. We really liked this app because it reads the test strip and then gives us a breakdown of what we need to do. So I’m not really sure on what we need to do?

The app always interpreted its own pictures inaccurately, even when it worked. And let’s not even talk about how often certain squares on the strips don’t seem to react at all, because that’s a problem unrelated to the app. (And my strips are supposedly good until 2025…) But as a whole system this fails spectacularly in every possible way. The newest update is unable to auto capture, at the distance required to put the top and bottom squares into the required spots. The picture is completely out of focus. So you need to move the camera further away and then pinch to zoom. Fine. I can do that. But it still doesn’t auto-capture. The app actually crashes instead of taking a picture. It can’t read manual shots either, even if they’re perfectly aligned and in focus. That leaves manual entry. And just tapping that option immediately crashes the app. Every. Single. Time. Did anybody test this update at all?

Brought a bottle of AquaChek test strips and downloaded the App hoping to save time over using drop chemical testing (knowing test strip are just a very broad “guess-a-mate”). What a waste of money and time. The App never read a single strip (11 attempts). Every attempt gave the results that the test strip could not be read and I needed to align the first test pad and black square properly. Not rocket science and the alignment was correct. Next, used 4 strips to test water and compared to color chart. I had just completed a detailed testing of the same chemicals with an industry leading liquid drop testing kit (Taylor K-2006). Some of the AquaChek test strip chemicals (pH, Total Alkalinity) were within the acceptable range, while others (Chlorine, Hardness, CyA) were completely off compared to the liquid drop results. So, lesson learned is just take the time and use the liquid drop test so the pool looks and feels great year round.

I bought a house with a pool, and sketchy instructions from the old homeowner. I have been making things up as I go. For the most part, it has been an ‘OK’ experience. This year, my water got cloudy, and I couldn’t fix it. I finally broke down and got the test kit, and in two days, my kids were swimming in crystal clear water! It has been soooooo easy to keep up, now that everything is in the range it should be, and the app takes all the guess work out of what I need to add to balance! This is just so much better!