I just received my 2nd unit. This one again has glue residue over the entire screen. I again tried to use the recommended method and again the residue is just not coming off. Am sending this one back, too. The question is whether it's worth trying for a 3rd unit? *sigh*
They said that a "small number" of early units were affected by the glue residue issue, yet I see more than a few people in here posting about theirs being one of them; mine included. A self-serve remediation was recommended but it may not solve everyone's issue. It also appears that more than a few of those affected needed (or wanted) to return their units for a replacement; mine included.
I'm curious how many of us received one of these affected units. How many of those received units were able to be restored properly and thus were kept versus sent back? If anyone who has sent their unit back has received their replacement unit. And lastly, confirmation that the replacement unit is OK as-is.
As mentioned above, my early unit was affected and after numerous attempts to clean it using the recommended methods, I ended up opening a support ticket and sent my unit back for a replacement. My replacement has not yet been shipped as of today.
I'm no CPA, but I've been in Vine (and other similar programs) long enough to be hit by the taxation surprise when it's time to reckon with the IRS. Remember that everything you select has an estimated tax burden associated which is typically the reference retail price. Some items have no taxable burden such as food items which means they really are "free", but everything else you select for Vine review will accumulate a taxable burden and at the end of the tax year, Amazon will send you a 1099-MISC (or similar) which essentially adds to your reportable Income. Most people "withhold" their federal taxes from each paycheck so when it's time to file with the IRS, they more-or-less have already "paid" their taxable burden on their income.
Vine items count as earnings/income for the year but since no income taxes have been withheld for those items, that will typically increase the amount of money you owe the IRS. If you're a Gold Vine member, you may relish those high-ticket items but remember that you will owe Income Tax on them. As a simple example, a Federal Income Tax bracket of 24% means the $500 item you requested from Vine will cost you about $120 in unpaid income tax that will figure into whether you get a tax refund or have to make a tax payment.
A "good" year of Gold Vine hunting might yield you upwards of $10,000 in taxable burden which at 24% Income Tax would mean you'd owe the IRS an extra $2,400 in taxes. That amount will either eat into your refund or be money you have to pay when you file.
Again, this is all very simple calculations and everyone's taxable situation is different. Consult a CPA for real details for you, but remember that for most people, getting an item from Vine for "free" will most likely cost you when you file your taxes. Check the "Estimated Taxable Value:" before you hit that "Request product" button.
To find out your current estimated taxable burden, log in to your Vine account, then go to the "Account" tab at the top" and scroll down to "Vine tax information" and check the estimated taxable value.
We all enjoy getting our free stuff from Vine, but be aware so you're not surprised when you file your taxes.
My yard in South Florida is mostly St. Augustine grass with some patches of sand where the grass has died off. In this particular corner of the yard, the combination of shade and roof rain runoff has killed off the grass and resulted in a patch of sand that my A3000 now enjoys repeatedly digging in.
To avoid having to "help" him out of the hole he keeps digging there, I thought I should create a No-Go Zone. However, in the app, the only way to create one is to manually drive a circle around the bad area. Since this sandy patch is in a corner at the perimeter of the yard, that means that I have to drive it /through/ the sand pit so I can encircle it.
My robot vacuums not only auto-create no-go zones for areas where they frequently get stuck, but also allow me to draw new no-go zones directly on the map. To get this new zone created for my A3000, I had to use one hand to drive it via the on-screen joystick in the bluetooth-connected app while pushing the goat from behind to enable it to plow through the sand pit and finish the no-go zone's circle.
Ecovacs - you should do better. Please.
Hi All!
New here but not a new robomower. My first was the Friendly Robotics mower about 20 years ago. Anyway, my current mower is the Goat A3000 Lidar. It is mostly doing OK except for 2 persistent issues that I cannot figure out and Ecovacs support has been unable to assist.
My back yard and front yard are separated by a fence with a gate. The charging dock is in the back yard and the gate is normally closed to keep the family dog contained. Both areas are properly mapped (via auto mapping) and the separation line between these two areas matches where the fence is. When it's time to mow the front yard, I manually open the gate and instruct the mower do the front yard area. It leaves the dock, traverses the gate opening and mows that front yard - great! After mowing, it then attempts to return to the dock at the midpoint of the fence which is not where the gate is so it usually just sits there "stuck" during the docking process until I manually drive it back to the gate and then send it to the "Dock" manually. The map editor won't let me create a path between the two areas because they are adjacent and the separation between is just the distance of the fence thickness. Any suggestions?
Here in South Florida, we have St. Augustine grass that doesn't seem to grow at uniform heights. Whenever the mower is done (claims "100% complete"), I notice lots of small patches of unmowed lawn where the grass left uncut was taller than the rest (what I call "mowhawks"). I have it set to the least sensitive object avoidance and to the tallest grass setting. It's really annoying to have to go out there and manually drive (via my phone and bluetooth) to get each of the dozen small clumps of taller grass that it skipped. Any suggestions for this?
