Mobius

[jokiin]

The manufacturer's warranty is not applicable if it fails to comply with UK/EU consumer protection law. The contract is between the retailer & customer, not between manufacturer & customer. The retailer is legally liable.

JooVuu sell the Mobius for nearly 50% more than eletoponline365 pricing, so they should be able to afford the cost of a replacement battery.

I'd bet their costs are much greater than eletoponline365 also, I know the pricing on some of the product @JooVuu sells and there's not a lot of margin, I don't think what someone can afford is the issue, maybe there's more to the story

Consumer protection there sounds much like the system in Australia

 

[iahim]

JooVuu sell the Mobius for nearly 50% more than eletoponline365 pricing

If I purchase from China and I would not lie to authorities (so that I pay the taxes correctly) then I would get almost similar prices as from JooVuu.
JooVuu : 59 GBP
eletoponline365 : 69 USD + taxes = 42 GBP + taxes = 52 GBP

For me, the price difference is for having the product in few days (with no other taxes) and also for being able to easily return it in case of issues in first 30 days. I have never returned something to China, but from forums I can see that it is not so easy/fast.

Getting better price by avoiding some local customs/taxes is a different story. It is up to buyer to decide what to choose...
Anyway, do you get better warranty from eletoponline365 ?

 

[Isoprop]

The manufacturer's warranty is not applicable if it fails to comply with UK/EU consumer protection law. The contract is between the retailer & customer, not between manufacturer & customer. The retailer is legally liable.

JooVuu sell the Mobius for nearly 50% more than eletoponline365 pricing, so they should be able to afford the cost of a replacement battery.

The problem is that the life of these batteries really does depend how they are used. I don't think anyone uses them under ideal conditions. I know that I often forget my cameras are connect to my PC or leave them in a drawer for weeks on end.
I have never considered that a battery should have a warranty. Well, maybe a week or two, but certainly never a year. For that reason I would never buy a smartphone where you can't easily swap the battery. I always carry a spare battery with me and have had too many battery failures to count. And if a battery fails, how are you expected to prove that it wasn't abused by using an underrated power supply, for example? In the old days, I 'destroyed' my car's battery simply by leaving the lights on overnight - more than once! I didn't expect a new battery under warranty.
I am also aware of the costs which would be needed to guarantee, say, one year for these cheap batteries. It just isn't feasible and I don't think it would be in the interests of the majority of people - price-wise. I prefer a camera with a good and fair price and accept that I have to buy one or two spare batteries. I always buy spares for all my electronic gadgets. It may not be very ecological, but I like the reassurance of having a backup.

 

[russ331]

I'd bet their costs are much greater than eletoponline365 also, I know the pricing on some of the product @JooVuu sells and there's not a lot of margin, I don't think what someone can afford is the issue, maybe there's more to the story

Consumer protection there sounds much like the system in Australia

Leaving aside the legal issues, I think it's poor practice for Mobius to sell a product with a battery life of only 6 months (approximate).

Worse still is that the Mobius is not user-friendly when it comes to the practicalities of battery replacement. With such a short lifespan, a more appropriate design would be something akin to the Sj1000, in which battery replacement is a simple matter of open battery compartment cover, slide out old battery, slide in new battery, close cover, job done.

When deciding which camera to buy, had I known about this aspect of Mobius ownership, it would have influenced my purchase decision. I want a 'fit & forget' dashcam. My Mobius has delivered up till now, however, not for much longer, apparently.

I just can't wait for the fun of taking the case apart, trying not to disturb the fragile lens module cable... ffs.

 

[jokiin]

If you're using it as a dashcam that could possibly contribute to its early demise, no idea how the person in question was using theirs, perhaps using the wrong type of charger, who knows

This is all hypothetical though isn't it or has your battery actually failed?

I do understand what you're saying the about warranties versus reasonable use and consumer protection, things aren't always cut and dried

 

[Isoprop]

Leaving aside the legal issues, I think it's poor practice for Mobius to sell a product with a battery life of only 6 months (approximate).

Worse still is that the Mobius is not user-friendly when it comes to the practicalities of battery replacement. With such a short lifespan, a more appropriate design would be something akin to the Sj1000, in which battery replacement is a simple matter of open battery compartment cover, slide out old battery, slide in new battery, close cover, job done.

When deciding which camera to buy, had I known about this aspect of Mobius ownership, it would have influenced my purchase decision. I want a 'fit & forget' dashcam. My Mobius has delivered up till now, however, not for much longer, apparently.

I just can't wait for the fun of taking the case apart, trying not to disturb the fragile lens module cable... ffs.

If it's any reassurance for you, my first Mobius battery is still running strong. I've had it since the beginning of April last year and it's been used a lot and the battery has been abused but never overheated.
BTW, it's terribly easy to replace the Mobius battery! Remove two tiny screws, remove the cover, pull the plug, remove the battery, replace the battery, connect the plug, put on the cover and replace the screws. I haven't timed it, but I would think it's possible to change the battery in under a minute.

 

[russ331]

If you're using it as a dashcam that could possibly contribute to its early demise, no idea how the person in question was using theirs, perhaps using the wrong type of charger, who knows

This is all hypothetical though isn't it or has your battery actually failed?

I do understand what you're saying the about warranties versus reasonable use and consumer protection, things aren't always cut and dried

The person in question posted on RCGroups, so is probably an RC AIrcraft fan. My battery is currently fine, however, it's been in daily use since October so, by Tom Frank's expectations it doesn't have much life left in it.

Meanwhile, the £2 no-name Chinese battery I bought off eBay to replace the 7 year old original battery in my ancient Nokia phone, is still going strong after 3 years.

 

[jokiin]

I think the comments made were inappropriate at best, throw away comments like that do little to help

 

[russ331]

I think the comments made were inappropriate at best, throw away comments like that do little to help

If you mean Tom Frank's comments at http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=27252115&postcount=6247 then sorry but if he said it then it's likely to be fairly accurate.

Tom Frank probably knows more about the Mobius than anyone outside of the Developer. Isoprop may also have a claim on that title. Add in therau2000, & you've probably got more accumulated Mobius wisdom than the rest of us here & at RCGroups combined.

If Franks says typical battery lifespan is 6 months or so, then he's probably not far wrong. Of course he sees it from the perspective of RC Aircraft modelling. Maybe average lifespan is greater in a DashCam environment with external power source. I hope so.

I wonder if Innovv cameras use similarly cheap batteries? If not, it's a competitive edge they will doubtless exploit.

 

[jokiin]

batteries are typically rated for 500 charge cycles, if 6 months use is less than that there perhaps they are using something of lower specification than what is normally used, how that compares with what Innovv use I don't know

again without knowing the circumstances of how the product was being used it's hard to say if it was being used with the right type of charger etc

 

[Isoprop]

batteries are typically rated for 500 charge cycles, if 6 months use is less than that there perhaps they are using something of lower specification than what is normally used, how that compares with what Innovv use I don't know

again without knowing the circumstances of how the product was being used it's hard to say if it was being used with the right type of charger etc

I would think the batteries for all these types of cameras are of the same quality but their life can be influenced by the charging circuitry built into the camera. Also, the quality of the batteries can vary from one batch to another. IMO, they are too cheap to warrant an extensive QC. The charging circuitry plays an important role in how long the battery lasts. If you look back to the #11 / #16 days, both cameras used the same battery but those used in the #11 had a much shorter life than those used in the #16!
At first there were complaints that the #16 took too long to charge, but then people realized they preferred longer charge times and longer battery life than shorter charge times and shorter battery life.
The charging circuitry in the Mobius is optimized for long battery life instead of fast charging.

 

[bosseye]

So when did you say we'll have that capacitor ready!?

there is the link https://www.joovuu.com/gb/accessories/95-mobius-super-capacitor-.html

 

[bosseye]

Mine died whilst off in the car after a 5 minute journey and when i came back 2 hours later it was RIP im afraid. It was about 45-48 degrees in the car before i started the journey and had the air con on.

Im in the UK, we aren't exactly a tropical climate.

https://www.joovuu.com/gb/accessories/95-mobius-super-capacitor-.html

 

[russ331]

@DashCamMan I cannot find the Mobius vs Other DashCams Video Comparison thread ... has it been moved?

Edit. Found it ... must use 'Search' facility better in future ... it's in http://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/mobius-vs-other-dashcams.3062/

 

[mezcar]

A request for Jim:

Kind sir, sorry for hijacking the thread - it's your most recent haunt, so here goes: please post a picture of your Mobius installation. Seems exactly what I am looking to do. Thanks

 

[FredfromJupiter]

batteries are typically rated for 500 charge cycles, if 6 months use is less than that there perhaps they are using something of lower specification than what is normally used, how that compares with what Innovv use I don't know

again without knowing the circumstances of how the product was being used it's hard to say if it was being used with the right type of charger etc

I agree. And it is not only a question of battery life time as more as a question of product safety (and maybe of the re-sellers life time). There are a lot of European norms for electronic products and for batteries. To pass a CE test the minimum test requirements, as example for battery cycle life:

Cycle Life : The cycle life shall be conducted as the following procedures：
Step 1: charge the cell with the standard charge; Step 2: discharge the cell at 0.5C to 2.75V, Step 3: repeat Step 1 and Step 2 for 500 times. The capacity after 300 cycles is expected to be equal to or more than 80% of the rated capacity. The capacity after 500 cycles is expected to be equal to or more than 60% of the rated capacity.

 

[Jazzist]

JooVuu is just going to have to send a new battery to the German chap. It's the law. If he paid on credit card he might still be able to dispute the transaction. Resolving something like this easily should be one of the main reasons for choosing a European reseller.

 

[JooVuu]

JooVuu is just going to have to send a new battery to the German chap. It's the law. If he paid on credit card he might still be able to dispute the transaction. Resolving something like this easily should be one of the main reasons for choosing a European reseller.

Dear Jazzist,
I am sorry to disagree with you but I feel I must correct you. Under what law do we 'have to' send him a new battery? The Distance Selling Act? The EU directive 1999/44/EC? This EU directive has not been implemented within Britain and therefore not applicable yet. Furthermore, even if it had been applicable it is only valid if the customer can prove the goods are faulty and not damaged through usage or abuse etc. Now you may read this article here http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1677034/Two-year-warranty-EU-law.html and read this bit here:

But the EU rule does not require the buyer to show the fault is inherent in the product and not down to their actions.

And think what I'm saying is clearly a lie. However, this is in direct contradiction of British law regarding guarantees/warrantys etc, and as we have not adopted this EU directive, British law still stands.

Also, there is another EU directive/law along with British law that changes the rules again for batteries. We have looked into this matter extensively, and contacted Trading Standards - Stockport (please contact them they take about 3 days to reply), and we are NOT under any obligation to replace this battery after 6 months. However, we did in this case because we are nice people.

Kind regards,

JooVuu

 

[Jazzist]

Sounds like you did the right thing eventually
Good news.

 

[JooVuu]

Sounds like you did the right thing eventually
Good news.

Dear Jazzist,
We did, and by eventually I hope you mean 3 hours later.

Kind regards,

JooVuu