HOBO Data Loggers & InTemp Monitoring SolutionsReviews of onsetcomp.com

We've been having many more issues (sensor & logger failure) with Onset equipment, to the point that it is causing issues for our remote arctic work.

I wanted to get an online chat because I had an immediate need for information and had to wait for an email reply. The response I eventually received was good but I needed the information two days earlier

Ordered a replacement data logger & it did not come with a usb cable so it was unusable until I could order one.

It took two weeks to determine that there was a problem before a new part was shipped.

a) Inexpensive, Easy to Set Up Wireless Sensor Network: Seems great, but the wireless sensors are of poor quality and often fail. In my mind it would make logical sense to make soil moisture and rain gauge sensors water proof, but I have noticed moisture intrusion multiple times. Also, the data being recorded with the soil moisture probes is highly variable and the rain gauge’s plastic construction seems flimsy and does not help protect against needles and other debris. b) Cloud Data Storage with an API: I really liked this idea, but both the API and online data download interface are clunky. The API has super low limits when it comes to how much data it can pull (1-day at a time basically) and has virtually no support. The Hobolink webpage offers exports but is also limited in the number of records it can export. If a sensor is ever unplugged and replugged it shows up as a new data export column and needs to be manually reselected during export. Also, I noticed some truncation issues with significant figures in exports especially in regards to rain gauge data. I am showing 6 that have permanently gone offline for one reason or another since February 2020 (out of ~35) - its Sept 2020 now. I believe all of them have failed for different reasons. We had one that wouldn't hold a charge for more than a week, one that was reading the same soil moisture reading regardless of soil moisture, one that was unable to connect to the logger out of the box, one that had a faulty seal and let moisture in, one that lost its connection and never recovered, and I believe the 6th was a similar connection issue. This list of 6 doesn't include ones that we have been able to fix through resetting or reconnecting. My biggest complaint, however, would be long wait times on hold with customer service, emails that have gone ignored, and promises to get back with me that have gone unfulfilled, the biggest example would be the sensor that we got in yesterday was from a case I opened at the beginning of August. When I have be able to talk with someone, they are always helpful and willing to send replacements under warranty but getting a voice on the other end of the line, or an email response is often difficult.

Merchandise arrived on time, however I nearly paid for expediting shipping because it took 1 week for my order to ship. Merchandise was out of stock at the time of my order but I was not made aware

Lots of room for improvement. Bought multiple 4 channel loggers on different occasions and in each batch was a faulty probe. Turn around time for calibration is very long regardless of time of year, a minimum of a month at least. Customer service is slow to respond. One positive is that their HOBO stainless steel loggers are practically indestructible making them ideal for shipping data.

I ordered the product a week ago and still haven't seen it.