Wed Sep 30 '20 Announcement
over 3 years ago
– Wed, Sep 30, 2020 at 03:18:21 PM
(continued from Update from the Mila Team [Part I])
Mila unit experience: 4.5 / 5
Most of you have found the on-screen experience to be intuitive, which is ?. The biggest ask is for some work around keeping curious fingers and paws outside of Diagnostics Mode :) We've made some changes to make it harder to enter into Diagnostics Mode, which you'll see in a firmware update in the next two weeks.
Another concern we’ve seen is the cricket noise that about 6% of you have reported on — which is far more than where we would like to be. We’ve isolated the issue to a power supply that was susceptible to failure if it was bonked around hard during shipping. The route from the factory to the container to sea freight is very secure and designed to specifically safeguard against this, so we think there may be something happening in that last mile with boxes getting bonked around in the back of a truck. We are addressing this in a two fold way: 1) we are actively working with our shipping partners to see how we can have carriers handle these with more care and 2) we are working with the factory to replace the power supply with a stronger unit that’s less susceptible to this type of shock.
You also shared feedback on the ability to rename a room without having to go through the pairing process again — this is something we’re working on introducing in a future app update. This also means having the ability to set individual settings for each Mila, so be on the lookout for that!
App experience: 3.7 / 5
You all had lots of thoughtful feedback to share here :) The biggest issue we’ve seen in this area was around connectivity, which we’ve been working hard to beef up in the last month. In the early weeks, we were seeing a record number of Milas coming online for the first time, which was putting significant stress on our servers. We’ve since increased our server capacity by more than ten fold, and you should now be seeing a much smoother in-app experience.
Other feedback you shared:
- Clearer instructions that Sleep Mode is only applicable for Milas set to bedrooms
- A better onboarding experience with the option to show your WiFi password
- Option to set individual Mila settings
- Improved Android UX
All good feedback that we have either implemented or are in the process of implementing in an upcoming update.
Overall experience: 4.2 / 5
Overall, most of you have already noticed a change in your air, and just as importantly, have learned more about your indoor air quality. We have truly enjoyed reading every single note you’ve sent us and are actively incorporating that within the different parts of the Mila-verse. Your favorite modes have been Sleep, Housekeeping, and Quiet.
Communication and Housekeeping
As we go into the final stretches of shipping from Indiegogo, we just wanted to also take a moment to say “thank you” to everyone who has written in and contributed to the campaign — as we move forward, we’ll be consolidating our communication channels (and you’ll continue to see more from us on this front!) with two main areas right now:
Questions about your Mila: Please refer to our Help Center at https://help.milacares.com and email our Care Squad at [email protected].
Connecting with your fellow air breathers: Join the Mila Facebook group! Led by Jovan W., one of our OG Kickstarter backers turned Care Squad member ?, this will be the new home for Mila discussions (similar to the Indiegogo comments section!)
Thank you for being a part of this journey —
The Mila Team
Wed Sep 30 '20 Announcement
over 3 years ago
– Wed, Sep 30, 2020 at 03:18:00 PM
Dear fellow air breathers —
First, we hope you are all staying safe and well. ❤️ With wildfire season coming earlier than ever on the West Coast (also Mila’s home base), we’re reminded of just how far-reaching the effects these fires can have, particularly on our air quality. So many of our Mila air breathers up and down the coast have shared their stories, and we’re humbled to have been able to help bring some clarity to your indoor air quality and the air you breathe under these smoky skies.
Here’s just a few notes that you have shared with us.
“Boy are we glad to have Mila now!! She’s working overtime though, keeping our inside AQI around 90-100 while outside is in the upper 300s ??, and being moved upstairs (near bedrooms) at night, downstairs during the day. Why didn’t we get two!?!”
“When the California wildfires started, she seemed more exasperated with the air quality changes than we did - demonstrated by her furiously working day and night to keep us within acceptable AQI levels!”
“I have four Mila units across my home and they’ve all replenished the air in my home, allowing my toddler to play comfortably indoors when the worst of air quality (wildfire smoke) was seeping into my home.”
And some others that had us ROFL :) Some of your Mil'ebers crack us up. ❤️
"It's not legal to marry an air purifier in my state.... Yet. But when it is...."
"I love the way Mila tucks me in at night. This is the experience I’ve been missing since I was a kid." ❤️
"My Mila is awesome. It ranks above family and is closing in on passing my dog as favorite in the house."
Shipping Update
We wanted to give a quick update on shipping as we start shipping Batch 2, which applies to *all* orders for the US and Canada, and any perks finalized in Backerkit before July 31 outside of US/Canada.
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US/Canada: All units are currently in transit making their way to our Chicago and Los Angeles area warehouses. While they were estimated to land today, due to unexpected last minute delays at sea, Milas will now be landing October 6 and 12 in Chicago and Los Angeles, respectively, and undergo the process of customs clearance and warehouse receiving before making their way to you. If you have placed a perk here on Indiegogo, you’re guaranteed one of these units!
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Europe/Australia: Delivery for this batch will be by air, and all units have been handed over to an air freight agent, which means that they’ll be arriving by air in a couple days as soon as we have clearance. We expect to have tracking numbers for these the week of October 12 (if not a little earlier) and we will be in touch shortly to lock down your addresses.
Fellow Air Breather Feedback
We also wanted to share some feedback from 600+ early users. As you probably know by now, we’re big fans of specificity (and sharing — some may call it oversharing ?) and we wanted to give a quick recap of the feedback we’ve heard from you so far:
Delivery experience: 4.6 / 5
Most of you have (more than 76%) had five-star delivery experiences, which we’re glad to hear! We’re continuing to work with our regional shipping partners to improve the experience, and have recently transitioned to a new shipper within the US. The biggest areas we’ve heard for improvement were around (1) having tracking numbers available sooner and (2) having extra filters ship together with your Mila.
We are making improvements internally and with our partners on both fronts, are growing our operations team, and hope to have a more streamlined process for those cases where tracking numbers may have gone out later than we would have liked. On the second point, due to the size of the Milas, while we do our best to have boxes ship together, there may be instances where they will still be delivered separately.
Unboxing: 4.7 / 5
We love all the love for the Mila box — and all the creative uses for it from building Mila forts to upcycling/recycling for holiday gift wrapping. We’re also glad more than a few of you noticed and appreciated our efforts to save on paper with in-flap instructions :)
Due to Indiegogo's character limit, please see Part II for the continuation of early user feedback
Sat Aug 22 '20 Announcement
over 3 years ago
– Sat, Aug 22, 2020 at 12:55:08 PM
(continued from Shipping Update and Onboarding Tips [Part 1])
Tips For Getting Your Mila Online
With all the new Milas onboarding at once, the servers back on the Mila Mothership are experiencing extremely high loads and processing over 4,000,000 commands per hour. This has caused some latency and outages in this first week — we've made some major improvements over the past week, with more to come. Please see below some tips and notes to help you get online (pro tip: even if your Mila is "offline" for a short period of time, know that it's still working hard in the background. You can still adjust your Mila using the on-display controls. Mila does not require WiFi to operate (it just is more automagical with it :))
- Where can I see what the latest status of Mila's servers are like?
Get the latest scoop on the Mila Mothership status at http://status.milacares.com ?
- I'm having some trouble getting my Mila online — what should I do? I already have a Mila account set up.
Please see below a handy 15-point guide to get you set up if you're experiencing any pairing issues.
1. Delete your Mila(s) from the app by scrolling to the bottom of the room page and clicking “delete this device”
2. Log out/in of your app
3. Reboot your Mila by turning off/on the switch in the back.
4. Open your Mila app and press the + button in the middle of the dashboard to add a new Mila.
5. Make sure the Mila is powered on, and finished with its initial "Calibration Phase." Press and hold the “O” menu button in the middle of the Mila display until your hear it beep and a “Ready To Connect” a screen pops up.
6.Then, press “Join Mila Air Purifier” when it pops up on your app. Make sure you wait for the loading "spinner" to finish before you press the green "Next" button. (Note: If you see an error "Failed to connect to Wifi AP" it means you didn't press the O menu button on your Mila display to put your Mila into pairing mode. In some cases, you may also need to manually select the "Mila Air Purifier" network from your WiFi networks.)
7. Next, you will be asked to choose a room where to place your Mila. (Note: If you don't see a list of rooms, it means your phone is older and has a tiny screen ? But, Mila loves all phones equally so we are releasing an update soon that will improve things for the tiny phone display folk.)
8. In the next screen it will ask you to “Connect to Wifi.” You will see a list of all WiFi networks your Mila can see. Click on your home network name. If you don't see any networks listed here, then place your Mila closer to your base station during the setup process. (Note: Mila can only connect to 2.4ghz wifi networks, so make sure that is active if you have a dual band network).
9. Now type your WiFi password - carefully :) Important: after you enter your password make sure you hear the tri-tone “happy beep” indicating your password was correct. If you hear a flat-tone single “sad beep," it means your password was incorrect.
(This is important because there is a scenario when using an iPhone where you could enter your password incorrectly, you will hear the sad tone from Mila meaning it failed, but ... your App will still show you a success screen. It's related to an iOS security restriction.)
10. Follow the remaining steps to finish pairing. You will hear another tri-tone happy beep once you press "Finished".
11. After this, wait up to ~1-2 mins for a single beep. This indicates your Mila has successfully connected with the Mila Mothership.
12. Then wait to see your Outdoor AQI on your Mila display go from “--” to the correct number. This may take a few minutes after you hear it beep.
13. If your Mila has not updated to the 1.01 firmware yet, you may soon see your screen say “Firmware Update” and then hear a single beep, followed by your Mila rebooting. This means it successfully updated to the 1.0.1 firmware. You can check by rebooting your Mila again and looking at the lower right corner of the your "Hi" boot screen.
14. Now check your app to see if its showing your Mila as online. This may take 15-30 mins if the servers are experiencing a high volume of activity from a lot of Milas onboarding at once. You can hard reset your app every few minutes to force it to refresh quicker.
15. Once your Mila shows up online you are all set! ? Remember we will continue to have some latency and wonkiness in the app until we finish our upgrades to handle the heavy loads from a lot of Milas onboarding each day. You can check in on the status of Mila's services at https://status.milacares.com.
- I followed your 15-point guide above but am *still* having trouble getting online — can you help?
No problem! Please send us a note at [email protected] and someone from our Mila Care Squad will take care of you. Please try to note which step you got stuck on (screenshots and pictures are super helpful!) so we can zero in on the potential issue. Please note that the Mila Cares Crew is currently working through a large number of inquiries at the moment and will get back to you as quickly as possible.
Thanks again for welcoming Mila home to keep your air fresh and clean.
— The Mila Team
Sat Aug 22 '20 Announcement
over 3 years ago
– Sat, Aug 22, 2020 at 12:53:25 PM
Dear fellow air breathers —
It’s been a crazy first couple of weeks here on the Mila Mothership! Our Mila Cares Squad has been working around the clock to get 500 Milas a day settled in at their new homes.
We are loving all the notes, thoughtful feedback and love we’ve been getting from backers on how Mila has helped keep that air so fresh and so clean. We feel the <3
As more of you get settled in over the next couple weeks, we wanted to share some helpful tips and answers to some of your most frequently asked questions and give an update on shipping.
Shipping Update
Batch 1: for those who finalized their Backerkit survey before April 30
- US/Canada: We now have all units out the door with 20 left in "processing." This means that most of you have either received your Milas, or are on your way to getting your Milas any day now. If you ordered extra filters in addition to the ones you have pre-installed in your Milas, we purposefully held some of these back as our original shipper wasn't able to ship both out at the same time, resulting in some backers receiving their add-on filters significantly earlier than their actual Milas. We're currently in the process of transitioning to a new 3PL (?) and will start shipping these out as soon as we have this transition complete in the next couple of weeks. Please stay tuned for additional e-mail communication from us if you're part of this crew so we can keep you posted and make sure we have the latest info on file.
- Europe: Addresses were locked down on August 10, and all orders are currently undergoing warehouse receiving in London. UK tracking numbers have gone out, and our shipper in Europe expects to start sending out packages beginning next week to the rest of Europe, and we'll send out tracking numbers as soon as we have them. <3
- Australia: Your Milas have started shipping! We have sent out all tracking numbers except for 11 of you who had PO boxes or parcel lockers as addresses (these needed to go by another courier and will take a couple extra days to get sorted).
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China/Hong Kong: These Milas have been shipped out and you should have received tracking info from us.
Batch 2: for those who finalized their Backerkit survey after April 30
If you finalized your Backerkit survey after April 30, you'll be part of the next batch out, which will be leaving Mila's factories in China next week (week of August 24). From there, it'll be about a month to land in their respective ports, and we'll be back with more updates come time. If you need to change your address, please feel free to do so in Backerkit at https://mila-igg.backerkit.com/. Addresses will remain open until it's closer to shipping.
Tips For Setting Up Your Mila ?
- Any notes I should keep in mind as I unbox my new Mila?
Please note that your filter is pre-installed in Mila itself. Please make sure to remove the plastic wrap from your filter before use (otherwise, it'll make some funny noises). Your Mila also comes with a quick start guide and handy instructions on the flaps of your Mila box (we're all about doing right by the environment and saving trees and minimizing waste) — in case you need it, you can find a digital copy of it here.
You may also experience a smell of "freshness" during the first few days of using your Mila; while we try to prevent any of that "new purifier" smell it can be present if you have a finely tuned nose. This will normally dissipate in a few days.
- I'm getting reports of high CO2/CO/VOC right when I set up my Mila — is this normal?
Your CO2 and CO sensors require a 48hr "burn-in" time, and your VOC sensor will take about 20 minutes to settle in. During this period they can act wonky. In the app (v. 1.0.1 and up), we have placed labels on these sensors values during that calibration period. This will automatically be cleared once it’s finished.
On your Mila screen itself you should NOT be seeing any CO and CO2 alerts for the first 48 hours. And you should not see any VOC alerts for first 20mins after it boots up.
If you are seeing either of these we suspect your device did not get the 1.0.1 firmware update when it first booted up. You can check which version you have on the boot up “Hi” screen in the bottom corner.
- How can I set my Bedtime Schedule?
You can set your Bedtime Schedule under "Profile" in your app. Note that this ONLY works if you have your Mila set in a bedroom type room (e.g., Master Bedroom, Guest Room, Kids' Room). It will not work in other room types such as Living Room, Home Office, etc. Associated Automagic settings tied to the Bedtime Schedule include: Whitenoise, Sleep, Turndown Service.
- Can I use Mila in offline mode (without WiFi)?
Yes! Even if you're offline, your Mila is still working in the background to keep your air fresh and clean. You can always control Mila from the buttons on the on-screen display (+ , - , o) to switch between Automagic and Manual Modes and adjust fan speed when in Manual Mode.
Due to Indiegogo's character limit, please see Part II to on tips for getting you online
Wed Jul 22 '20 Announcement
almost 4 years ago
– Wed, Jul 22, 2020 at 12:06:26 PM
Dear fellow air breathers —
Milas have officially started arriving for all US/Canada-based backers! Pop the bubbly and get ready to welcome your newest housemates — tracking numbers are currently going out and our shipping partners expect to complete delivery of all 3,315 Mila units to US and Canada-based backers by end of the week. Please note that these tracking numbers will be coming by email independent of Backerkit (look for the “Your Mila is on the way ?” subject line!).
For those who want to get a head start, you can download the Mila app in the App Store or in Google Play.
For US/Canada backers: If you don’t receive your tracking number by Monday, July 27, and you filled out your Backerkit survey before the April 30 cutoff date, please send us a note and we’ll look into it for you!
If you filled out your Backerkit survey after the April 30 cutoff date, please hang tight awhile longer — your units will be shipping out from our factories towards the end of the month.
Thanks to everyone for your patience — it’s taken us a few extra days to get all our orders processed once they landed at the warehouses than we would have liked as we sort through setting up inventory and processes for the first time.
Global Shipping Timelines
Delivery will follow closely behind for all backers outside of the US/Canada with the latest timelines below. You will receive your tracking numbers when they are handed off to local couriers for that last mile delivery (usually within one to two weeks after landing to account for customs and warehouse receiving). Please note that the same April 30 cutoff date for filling out your Backerkit survey also applies below:
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China/Hong Kong — We expect to finish delivery for China / Hong Kong by early next week.
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Australia — units are currently en route and are expected to land in Sydney next week (week of July 27).
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Europe — all units are still on track to land in London on July 28. From there, it will take one to two weeks for customs and warehouse receiving.
We know there’s been a lot of excitement brewing — and we can’t wait for you to meet your Milas. As we go into these final stretches of shipping, we’ll continue to post minor updates in the comments section of the campaign and will be back with another update as we get closer to getting tracking numbers out in Australia and Europe.
Thanks again for being part of this ride and the Mila crew!
— The Mila Team
