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Been a while since I've posted here - I've been riding a new bike and neglecting my XS11's, however this company is so horrible I feel a duty to spread the word.
My overall review is 'DO NOT BUY, AVOID THIS COMPANY, Eyelights, AT ALL COSTS!'
I posted about this device a while ago when the kickstarter campagn was starting. A few photos at the bottom, along with links to the product page. I've held off on posting any sort of review because I believe in giving a vendor every possible chance to do the right thing, before making such a bad review public.
I'll preface all of the below by saying that I backed the crowdfunding campaign. I accepted that my money was 'gone' the moment I clicked 'ok'. I have never asked them for a refund, nor have I ever suggested to anyone else who backed them that they are entitled to a refund. This seems to be sore spot for many. The nature of crowd funding is that you are giving up your money to support something you like the idea of, no different than donating to a charity, or investing in a stock, or investing in a business - you might get something back, and you might not.
First I'll give the positives:
1. It was kickstarter - the company actually delivered something, many do not.
2. The screen is clear and easy to read.
3. It does display android auto apps.
4. Installation isn't too hard, if you can install an intercom in your helmet you can install this.
Next the 'negatives':
1. The promise was 'all day' battery life. What we got was about 2 hours battery life. This makes it basically unsuitable for any sort of 'touring' where you actually want GPS guidance, or for listening to music, or for use as an intercom. You can 'plug it in' either directly to bike power or to a portable battery pack, but it isn't really designed for that, and its a hassle.
2. The company advertises that the device works with 'Android 9 or higher'. Many of the backers (myself included) have found that it actually only works well with android 11. Depending on your device it may work or it may not. It depends on wireless android auto, which was a 'dev' feature in earlier versions, and also for your device having support for using mobile data while also connected to wifi. A 'fix' for this was promised but has yet to be delivered, and they still advertise the device works with android 9. I can not comment on Iphone support.
3. Using the device depends on you having a data connection when you connect to it at least once every 30 days. There is no logical reason why the company needs you to 'check in' with their servers, other than it grants them the ability to 'turn off' your device when they choose, and possibly allowing them to collect data on you that they can then sell or whatever.
4. There is no way to 'navigate' options in the HUD. I'm not sure how this works with apple, but on android there is a built in assumption that when you connect android auto to a device, that device provides some way to navigate the menus and such. For instance if you want to enter a new address for GPS guidance, there is no way to accomplish this. If you want to adjust 'volume' - also can't be done. Want to switch from Pandora to Spotify - nope, can't do it. I've no idea how they could have done any amount of testing and not realized this was a major problem. They have just introduced a 'gen 2' button that allows for this - but you have to buy it as an add on - for $100 - even though the unit is basically crippled without it.
The following items might be forgivable if this were only a 'kickstarter' project and not an actual company now selling the same device retail.
4. The support is awful. It isn't unusual for support requests to go completely unanswered. If they do answer it is usually to say that either they do not know how to fix the problem, or to promise that a fix is 'coming soon' with no delivery date and no follow through. A few have had actual hardware issues (dead screens, batteries that will not charge, non-working units) and the company has not replaced any of these devices.
5. The company 'eyelights' actively seeks out and attempts to punish anyone who does not give them glowing reviews and sing their praises.
To sum all of that up....I think the device itself is ok, and future iterations might actually be quite good. The company EyeLights based in France, who builds the device, should be avoided at all costs. If you give them your money you should be ashamed of yourself for supporting such a wholly awful group of people.
If you think you want to try one of these 'eyeride' devices please contact me via PM - I can put you in touch with one of the many people who would gladly sell you an open box barely used unit at a significant discount, and you won't be supporting horrible human beings by buying it direct.
My overall review is 'DO NOT BUY, AVOID THIS COMPANY, Eyelights, AT ALL COSTS!'
I posted about this device a while ago when the kickstarter campagn was starting. A few photos at the bottom, along with links to the product page. I've held off on posting any sort of review because I believe in giving a vendor every possible chance to do the right thing, before making such a bad review public.
I'll preface all of the below by saying that I backed the crowdfunding campaign. I accepted that my money was 'gone' the moment I clicked 'ok'. I have never asked them for a refund, nor have I ever suggested to anyone else who backed them that they are entitled to a refund. This seems to be sore spot for many. The nature of crowd funding is that you are giving up your money to support something you like the idea of, no different than donating to a charity, or investing in a stock, or investing in a business - you might get something back, and you might not.
First I'll give the positives:
1. It was kickstarter - the company actually delivered something, many do not.
2. The screen is clear and easy to read.
3. It does display android auto apps.
4. Installation isn't too hard, if you can install an intercom in your helmet you can install this.
Next the 'negatives':
1. The promise was 'all day' battery life. What we got was about 2 hours battery life. This makes it basically unsuitable for any sort of 'touring' where you actually want GPS guidance, or for listening to music, or for use as an intercom. You can 'plug it in' either directly to bike power or to a portable battery pack, but it isn't really designed for that, and its a hassle.
2. The company advertises that the device works with 'Android 9 or higher'. Many of the backers (myself included) have found that it actually only works well with android 11. Depending on your device it may work or it may not. It depends on wireless android auto, which was a 'dev' feature in earlier versions, and also for your device having support for using mobile data while also connected to wifi. A 'fix' for this was promised but has yet to be delivered, and they still advertise the device works with android 9. I can not comment on Iphone support.
3. Using the device depends on you having a data connection when you connect to it at least once every 30 days. There is no logical reason why the company needs you to 'check in' with their servers, other than it grants them the ability to 'turn off' your device when they choose, and possibly allowing them to collect data on you that they can then sell or whatever.
4. There is no way to 'navigate' options in the HUD. I'm not sure how this works with apple, but on android there is a built in assumption that when you connect android auto to a device, that device provides some way to navigate the menus and such. For instance if you want to enter a new address for GPS guidance, there is no way to accomplish this. If you want to adjust 'volume' - also can't be done. Want to switch from Pandora to Spotify - nope, can't do it. I've no idea how they could have done any amount of testing and not realized this was a major problem. They have just introduced a 'gen 2' button that allows for this - but you have to buy it as an add on - for $100 - even though the unit is basically crippled without it.
The following items might be forgivable if this were only a 'kickstarter' project and not an actual company now selling the same device retail.
4. The support is awful. It isn't unusual for support requests to go completely unanswered. If they do answer it is usually to say that either they do not know how to fix the problem, or to promise that a fix is 'coming soon' with no delivery date and no follow through. A few have had actual hardware issues (dead screens, batteries that will not charge, non-working units) and the company has not replaced any of these devices.
5. The company 'eyelights' actively seeks out and attempts to punish anyone who does not give them glowing reviews and sing their praises.
- They have a face book group for 'members' - people who participated in the crowdfunding campaign to provide feedback and suggestions for future improvments. Myself and many others have been banned from the group. I myself was banned after posting a similar review to this one on another site. I've never been disrespectful, rude, or violated any of their terms.
- They have reported myself and several others to twitter, trying to get our accounts banned there after sharing honest reviews like the one above on twitter.
- They will 'disable' your account on their server, basically bricking a device that you paid for and making it unusable. This hasn't happened to me yet, but I suspect that is only because I do not use the same email account & name for online identities as I used when registering their device. I also did not share my 'contacts' with their app, so they haven't yet been able to figure out which account belongs to me.
- They purposefully do not sell their devices outside their own website where they claim to have a '4 star' rating. It is easy to achieve '4 starts' when you only publish reviews that are 4 stars or better. If you go to their site take a look and see if there is any way for you to even submit a review - there isn't.
- They tried to up-sell the kickstarter folks with a 'handlebar mounted control' for $50. The control is actually a 'flick' Bluetooth button that can be purchased retail anywhere for about $15. Not Cool.
To sum all of that up....I think the device itself is ok, and future iterations might actually be quite good. The company EyeLights based in France, who builds the device, should be avoided at all costs. If you give them your money you should be ashamed of yourself for supporting such a wholly awful group of people.
If you think you want to try one of these 'eyeride' devices please contact me via PM - I can put you in touch with one of the many people who would gladly sell you an open box barely used unit at a significant discount, and you won't be supporting horrible human beings by buying it direct.
Nice report on a useless item before someone is XS land buys one,,,,havent seen you since a rally awhile back, good to see the pyscoreefer still riding....Mike in San DIego
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