Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 21, 2017
I have read through the negative reviews and notice a pattern that folks have been super critical and either haven't been clear with the Revolar team about what's happened - which negates any opportunity for the issues to get resolved - or have submitted complaints and were able to return the device. In the first case, the issue couldn't be resolved because there was no complaint made directly to the team, and in the second, it sounds like the team has been really responsive and willing to accept responsibility for whatever was going on. This feels like the mark of a new business that is still working out kinks in the system but actively wants to improve their product...which feels like the best and most respectful way for a start-up to operate. So please don't be swayed against Revolar in general just because reviews have been back and forth.
That said, here is my experience:
I have chronic Lyme disease which resulted in neural damage, including epilepsy. I was infected for twenty years before we figured out what was going on, and I have been in treatment for ten years with not a whole lot of progress. Needless to say, my partner and I have had to work out some systems for me to communicate about where I am when I'm by myself because I have been alone and seized and woken up in an ambulance or a hospital and not been able to remember my name or figure out what happened or who my partner was or how to contact them. I do have a phone, of course, and we are in contact via text throughout the day, but I also have a service dog which leaves me with only one free hand when I am out and about. I'm bad at texting in general but my phone also happens to be busted so it's extra hard/sometimes impossible to text with one hand, which means that when I am getting off the bus and have to walk somewhere, I need to find somewhere to stand and hold my dog's leash under one arm or under a foot so I can get my phone out and text to confirm that I made it off the bus, and then suit back up and walk wherever I'm going.
So, seriously? When I discovered that Revolar exists I literally cried. It is SO rare that anyone takes a minute to make something that is accessible for demographics that need a boost in order to be functional and safe. Like, never. That never happens. Lots of people take the ease of text messaging for granted because it's so easy to pull out your phone and send a few words' worth of a text to someone and let them know you arrived just so they don't worry or so they have an idea of where you are. That "ease" doesn't exist when you don't have a second hand available to get your phone out of your pocket but really just need to send a quick "I'm still alive" note to somebody/ies that would like to know it.
When I wrote to the folks at Revolar to talk about my situation and ask if there was a way to try to get a sponsor because I couldn't afford a device, they were generous enough to send me a refurbished 1st generation device. I was floored at their kindness, which is a large part of my frustration with the negative comments on other reviews. They were timely in responding to me, very open to working with me and my needs, and *always* sweet and friendly in their emails. I can't speak highly enough of them, and they will honor any return as long as it is within their return term limits (though I suspect that they will be open to other issues brought to them as well), so please reach out to them if you have questions before or after a purchase or an issue at any point.
So, review of the actual product:
- It took me a minute to figure out how to set it up on my phone (probably partially because my phone is garbage) and then another minute to figure out how to set it up on my partner's phone so they could get the updates when I sent them out. Once I got it set up, though, it was fine and worked as far as I could tell.
- I expected the button to feel clicky like the button to unlock a car, and it more feels like...some kind of cross between a flat microwave "button" and a mouse button (either on the actual mouse or one of the buttons below the keyboard on a laptop). So I had to spend some time feeling it out to be able to tell if I was actually pressing on the right part with the right amount of pressure. It was definitely frustrating at first but after messing around with it for a while I got a sense of how to operate it correctly
- The app is really cool in that it's simple and only has a few options, and each option is clear and useful.
+ When you first open it, it tells you immediately when the last time was that your Revolar checked in with the app
+ The option on the left is your list of contacts (you can have up to 5, I only have 1) and which of them have been confirmed
+ The option on the right is your settings
- Under "Account" you can: update your profile (literally just your first/last name and your email address), change your PIN, sync a
Revolar other than the first one you synced, and use the "find my Revolar" function (only available on the Instinct model)
- Under "Customize your Revolar" you can:
+ Customize your messages (the messages that go out when you click one/two/three times - my messages are "safely
wherever"/"got held up or something is weird, i will tap 3 times or call if something happens"/"please call me, something
happened"), set up "Ring Me" (will make your phone ring if you issue a yellow alert (two clicks) so you have an "out" of
whatever is happening), or use step tracking (Instinct model only)
- Update your app
- Under "Customer Care": contact Revolar or Log out
So, yeah. App is simple and to-the-point, and it's really clear how to use it alongside the device. Also, when you open up the app there's a big circular Revolar logo that doubles as an extra device, so if you do have your phone open and want to send a quick "I'm ok" (or a more serious one), you can do it there instead of pulling out the Revolar itself.
Complaints/concerns:
- You get two cases with the device, one for a keychain and one that can clip on to your coat or pocket or whatever. I used the one that attached to my keychain. I was worried that the device was going to pop out of either case it was in but I worry about everything all the time, so it was probably excessive. And when I mentioned this to the folks at Revolar, they immediately offered to send me a new case.
- I wanted the button to be more clicky so that I could know for sure that I had pushed it hard enough and in the right spot, but, again, I think that probably improves the more you use it and the more you get accustomed to how to properly operate it.
- I wanted it to be a tad smaller to fit better in my pocket (I wear jeans with mostly tiny pockets).
- It does seem like it doesn't work at first. This is because it is hard to tell when you've clicked it or not, NOT because it doesn't work. Super important point. Super important. You have to know how it works to make it function, and my complaint isn't that it's not working, it's that it's hard to tell when you've pushed the button hard enough and how many times you've pushed it.
After experimenting with the Revolar v1.0, I decided to try the Instinct (v2.0) because:
- It has a vibrate option so you can feel when things successfully go through,
- It is a bit smaller and looks like it will fit my physical needs better
- Most importantly, it has a "find my Revolar" tool on the phone app, and I lose my belongings constantly so this is a pretty good option.
Overall, Revolar is a really huge idea and a good product. Don't expect it to be like a cell phone - that's not what it is, and that's not what it's supposed to be. It's a safety device, and like any new device you get, you have to play around with it for a little while before you break it in/figure out all of the nuances. And, I can say from significant experience, the folks that made it WANT it to work for you, so if it's not working for you, talk to them. They're there to help.
Thanks so much for reading all of the way through this. I'll write a review of the Instinct once I get one. :)
