Yeah, support in general can be frustrating, especially since we’re already in a frustrated mood before we contact them, so our levels are already elevated.
SUPPORT EXPLAINED:
Most companies make their support agents follow set scripts, sometimes nearly exact responses they have to give and sometimes that may make it feel like they didn’t read/listen to you, when they did, but they have to say it anyway. Don’t let it get to you too much, they just have to follow the procedures as close to exactly as possible or they get low scores on their quality control, which can affect raises, etc. Some companies allow more flexibility and discretion, and while that helps in some cases, it often causes more issues in other cases. It’s a hard balance, and it doesn’t matter too much…just work your way through the things they tell you to do even if you already told them you’ve already done it. If it’s something you absolutely know doesn’t matter and you’ve already done it, just respond politely that you did as they requested and that it didn’t work. They probably know you already did it, and they probably know it is pointless, but they HAVE TO ask you to do it anyway. besides, sometimes there are people less competent that simply misunderstood something, so they have to ask people to try again just in case. Even though it doesn’t apply to your situation, if you’ve ever worked in IT or helpdesk situations, you’ll know that 99% of issues are what we call an ID-10-T error.
ID-10-T: There was an error in the keyboard-chair interface. Please replace with valid user and press any key to continue.
The fact that you do not fall into this category, and the loop isn’t your fault in any way, doesn’t mean they don’t still have to walk through all the steps because even people who make mistakes never believe that’s the problem either, and 99% of the time basic troubleshooting scripts solve the issue when done in the same order every time…so now all support departments require their employees to walk through everything anyway, even if the people say they’ve already done it and the agent already knows you already did it…they still have to tell you to do it, and it looks like they ignored you, when they’re just following their mandatory scripting because companies found it usually works. Just roll your eyes, take a deep breath and understand it’s just the way things are almost everywhere because of too many other people who aren’t as tech savy as you, so realize you’re just going to have to placate them because they’re just saying what they are required to. Some agents for some companies may not even fully know what they are asking you to do, they’re just following their script. You have to get through it though. Once you do, then they’ll either pass on your situation to someone with more expertise, send a replacement, or whatever else is needed…but step 1 needs to be completed first…just get it done. Many years ago I used to work in this field doing training, QA, supervisory situations, etc…and often the agents are simply bound by the policies and scripts and they’ll get in trouble if they don’t follow them exactly even if they know it will upset you…and half the time they don’t even know how to answer you about WHY something they’re asking you to do is supposed to help, they just know a script asks you to try it.
WORK AROUND SOLUTIONS:
1 reason why they are suggesting you set up a virtual wall in an open room is because that has solved some people’s issues with this exact situation. I’ve had discussions with people where their vacuum got stuck in a cycle for whatever reason. It may have been the pattern on the floor or many other things bugging out the firmware, but when they put a tiny virtual wall right in the middle of that cycle area, it could no longer continue on in that cycle, and so it had to restructure the planned route in a totally different way and suddenly the vacuum worked correctly with a new pattern that stopped looping because the loop was blocked. This is simply one work around while they figure out a better solution in the long term. There are other less optimal solutions (put a strip of black tape in the middle of the loop area and it works just like a wall too). If you divide that big room into 2 separate “rooms” it will have the same effect. Now in the map, it will view and calculate the route everything differently, but still clean the entire area. You won’t really notice much difference functionally, but it will kill off the loop problem.
You aren’t the only person to have looping issues…but he really is telling you the best ways to resolve the loop without making physical changes to your house. Yes, it is a bug in the firmware that they need to isolate and fix…but I assume you don’t want to wait MONTHS for the devs to figure out what coding conflicts are causing the weird loop issues…you want your vacuum to work NOW! Those are your best options…interrupt the loop. divide that room into 2 rooms on the virtual map, with the division right in the middle of the loop area, breaking up the loop. Or add a small virtual wall. Or put down some black tape in the middle of the loop area.
If your flooring has a lot of dark lines or patterns on it, that could also be the problem. Dark flooring triggers the cliff sensors to spazz out and think there is a cliff (like stairs). This is another reason they may have asked for a video, to see if this is the problem. You can cover the sensors by taping shiney foil over them, and then it will never spazz out over dark patterns, but then you have to make sure there is nowhere they could fall down because it will no longer sense places it could fall.
Sorry for your frustration. Though it is rare, you aren’t the only one having looping issues, though we haven’t yet received any explanation as to what is causing it, all we know are a few workarounds and those are the things he was trying to help you try out (since those have worked for others). I hope some of the above helps in some way. Worst case scenario, you can always try to return the vacuum for a refund.
Best of luck.
(Also, I don’t work for or represent Wyze in any way, just trying to help with my experience and what I’ve read from others in similar situations who were able to fix the issue)
there are some real sharp folks here, welcome.