It’s official, pHin is discontinuing its service. Everyone is looking for a pHin alternative. A few app developers are trying to hack the current machines while other Pool Tester providers are pushing their product.
Acquired by Hayward in 2018, pHin offers a smart solution for swimming pools and hot tubs. Active for a few years, the pHin app is now completely shut down. They posted a very clear (though abrupt) message about their service stopping on their official website phin.co.
pHin alternatives you should consider
When you have used a smart connected water analyzer, it’s really hard to get back to manual test strips. Hopefully, pHin is not alone in this market and other solutions exist. We have listed and compared them in a specific article: The 6 best-connected probes for swimming pools and spas in 2022.
Be careful, if you are in the US, all the alternatives aren’t available in your country. Good to know: iopool ships the EcO floating monitor from its US Headquarter in Auroral IL. 👼
pHin vs EcO by iopool
pHin and EcO by iopool have nearly the same features and benefits. Both measure water pH, disinfection potential (chlorine, bromine), and water temperature 24/7. Complimentary test strips measure Total Alkalinity, Total Hardness, and Stabilizer (CyA). They are connected to a mobile app available on Play Store (Android) and Apple Store (IOS). Both apps provide recommendations for adjusting water chemistry and give dosing instructions.
Based on users reviews, we can also say that the iopool batteries seem to be lasting longer. The pHin has a recurring problem with the energy consumption and its life expectancy. Also, it seems that the Treatment Products are cheaper on iopool from what we’ve saw.
Here is where they differ:
EcO is:
- much smaller and discrete than pHin (and other pool smart sensors);
- compatible with active oxygen;
- using Bluetooth Low Energy while pHin is using WiFi.
Eco isn’t:
- compatible with salt treatments.
What makes the difference ?
Well, first, THERE IS NO SUBSCRIPTION with iopool! NEVER, NADA!
You’re free as fishes in the ocean. 🐟
iopool has been working tirelessly on their state-of-the-art, a free mobile app providing a performant, ergonomic, and simple interface, understandable by everyone.
Also, we offer in-app retail services that allow customers to order their chemicals and accessories from the iopool webshop, delivered at your door.
Contact us if you have any questions about the iopool EcO probe, we are here for that.
Special iopool action for pHin users
If you were a pHin customer and you want to exchange your obsolete pHin device with an EcO from iopool right now, you can benefit from an exceptional discount of 25 USD. To get the discount, you can simply email the iopool team at [email protected]. Provide us a proof of payment (the invoice you received when you bought your pHin) and the iopool team will give you a custom discount code.
How can you get (partial) pHin refund ?
As indicated on their website, if you are a subscriber of the service, you can get a partial refund, proportional to the remaining portion of your current subscription. Unfortunately, there is no information about free users, so we (unfortunately) could assume the company hasn’t planned any compensation for them.
Here is the link to the step-by-step process to get your partial refund.