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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2016
Do not buy this unless the shipment is serviced by Amazon. These items are too risky in quality. I had three of the ESKY branded mini i8 remotes (older version). They all worked almost flawlessly for what they were. There were no reception issues. Over time my dog ate two of them. The third one had an issue almost a year after the purchase. The battery stopped charging. I charged it fully the day it was received without any trouble. It ran fine without needing a new charge for literally a few months. Then when it finally died I swapped in the partially charged batteries from the other models the dog ate. This, in my mind, is the advantage of the removable battery. When the third battery was finally depleted and it wouldn't charge, I just tossed it after a bit of troubleshooting. These things are cheap enough.
Now back to Rii. Before purchasing the third ESKY i8, Rii undercut the price by a few dollars in the same ESKY advertisement, and the purchase therefore defaulted to them. I had nothing but issues with the received Rii i8 and sent it back as not working, I was really pissed since it was not what I ordered. The thing literally would not work even with the remote only a few inches from the receiver. The inputs to the screen were all over the place, key inputs were not made, and other key inputs would sent a stream of letters across the screen that need to be deleted. This is not the button sticking, but if a button is pressed and the remote loses connection to the receiver, the result is as if you are holding down the key until the connection is re-established.
After my third ESKY remote needed replacing, I came back to Amazon looking for another of the same model. Unfortunately it seems to be gone. I saw this new version from Rii, the i8+. I figured for $20-ish I'd give them another shot. The back-light feature is nice, but honestly I never really NEEDED it with the other models. The light from the screen in the living room from the TV is plenty, and I sit on the couch about 15 feet from the TV. I do think you're losing a feature with the internal, non-serviceable battery, even though they pitch it as a new feature. Look and feel is just about the same as the older i8. The textured backing is really a don't care for me. When I received this new i8+ from Rii, I let it sit and charge fully. When attempting to use it, I immediately had the same problems with the Rii i8 I sent back previously. Same crappy connection, to the point that the thing is not usable and just frustrates you when trying to do simple tasks like type the name of a movie or TV show. Once again I sent the Rii back as junk. The key here is to be sure to buy something serviced by Amazon. The no-hassle return and refund is VERY important when purchasing these things.
I still need a remote and am trying this next: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KF9IVKC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00
I did at least read one honest review from someone who said they had nothing but issues with the Rii i8+ and their replacement iPazzPort model works just great. Mine is in the mail and my fingers are crossed...
Now back to Rii. Before purchasing the third ESKY i8, Rii undercut the price by a few dollars in the same ESKY advertisement, and the purchase therefore defaulted to them. I had nothing but issues with the received Rii i8 and sent it back as not working, I was really pissed since it was not what I ordered. The thing literally would not work even with the remote only a few inches from the receiver. The inputs to the screen were all over the place, key inputs were not made, and other key inputs would sent a stream of letters across the screen that need to be deleted. This is not the button sticking, but if a button is pressed and the remote loses connection to the receiver, the result is as if you are holding down the key until the connection is re-established.
After my third ESKY remote needed replacing, I came back to Amazon looking for another of the same model. Unfortunately it seems to be gone. I saw this new version from Rii, the i8+. I figured for $20-ish I'd give them another shot. The back-light feature is nice, but honestly I never really NEEDED it with the other models. The light from the screen in the living room from the TV is plenty, and I sit on the couch about 15 feet from the TV. I do think you're losing a feature with the internal, non-serviceable battery, even though they pitch it as a new feature. Look and feel is just about the same as the older i8. The textured backing is really a don't care for me. When I received this new i8+ from Rii, I let it sit and charge fully. When attempting to use it, I immediately had the same problems with the Rii i8 I sent back previously. Same crappy connection, to the point that the thing is not usable and just frustrates you when trying to do simple tasks like type the name of a movie or TV show. Once again I sent the Rii back as junk. The key here is to be sure to buy something serviced by Amazon. The no-hassle return and refund is VERY important when purchasing these things.
I still need a remote and am trying this next: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KF9IVKC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00
I did at least read one honest review from someone who said they had nothing but issues with the Rii i8+ and their replacement iPazzPort model works just great. Mine is in the mail and my fingers are crossed...
