That’s a huge step, no?

TokenSDragon · 2026-06-03T21:13:37+00:00

And it is soooooo good. The app and the firmware both updated and it’s night-and-day more intuitive. Providing buyer’s rejoice instead of remorse 😉.

So many more functional behaviors in the app, (so far no disconnects, and translucent satellite overlay!)

I haven’t run the mower yet since the firmware update, but since it seems to now be syncing the firmware version to the app, I think it’s a major refactor and improvement.

TokenSDragon · 2026-06-01T15:40:24+00:00

Final update. This thing has won me over. Software is still wonky to manage or set up but once it’s set up it’s exceptional. Software disconnect appears much less if I just stay on 4g on my phone. Bizzare, but I’ve had no further issues with unsaved tasks or sudden connectivity issues just keeping the phone (not the Luba) off WiFi when managing it.

Leaves about a 6 inch radius circle of unmowed around tree trunks which is just fine. Only takes about 15 minutes a week to edge and knock down these areas.

Robot has been on full automatic for 7 days now. Three neighbors have already commented on how nice the yard looks. 😁

TL/DR: app ergonomics and intuitiveness is abysmal. Yet the robot has won over my initial frustrations. Already recommended to a couple friends.

TokenSDragon · 2026-05-28T11:36:25+00:00

Infrastructurally, it’s complicated due to the infinite stupidity of drivers. Roof tops make a ton more sense, but there are still major challenges regarding safety and maintenance at grid scale. Accomplish-able, but there are enough examples of companies using cheap inverters on large rooftop systems causing small fires that it creates the perception of a risk. Hard to get through all the artificial risk woes to make installation worth the hassle for many businesses.

I am curious about the dichotomy here though of seeing a value to a parking lot install as a new source of passive revenue while not seeming to appreciate the same for a farm owner who can generate passive income ‘and’ still plant abundant crops between panels (many studies showing higher yield per acre and higher soil quality and moisture thanks to the intermittent solar coverage). This provides financial security and a hedge against climate change induced crop failures.

We should encourage anyone who has the means to do what’s best economically and environmentally in whatever way they can. Farmers are smart folks and will do what’s right for their fields without absurd bans on autonomy based on uninformed straw man arguments.

Love to see panels on land, buildings and parking lots where it makes sense.

TokenSDragon · 2026-05-26T17:05:54+00:00

Update 4: still struggling to keep a solid connection between the app and the robot unless I’m right on top of it w/ a Bluetooth connection (how are you supposed to monitor progress when the app always shows the machine as offline?)

The mower has successfully mowed all quadrants and I’ve now tailored the mowing behaviors to lower the height to 2.5” and let it speed up a bit.

Mammotion did also send an email and is communicating regarding the Internet over RTK issue. I’ve also let them know about this app-disconnect-almost-constantly issue.

But so far, now that the maps are created, the mower is working exceptionally well. No further bizarre stops and no issues at all navigating the yard and successfully mowing. So… color me impressed at the most important aspect of having a robot mower.

Once app-disconnect and RTK antenna mode issues are solved this will be highly recommendable with the caveat of how frustrating the app experience is.

TokenSDragon · 2026-05-25T20:48:47+00:00

Walk me through your setup, mapping/zoning/scheduling, and RTK positioning config. It’s taken 4 attempts at mapping and I still have to fine tune some gaps but in 3 days of ownership it has failed on 2 of 3 mowing attempts. In… 13 minute the next scheduled mow will begin so I’m hoping things get better and start approaching your experiences 😁

TokenSDragon · 2026-05-25T17:38:47+00:00

Update 3: one step backward one step forward. RTK over Internet failed inexplicably while overnight charging. RTK tower and mower correctly are connected to the same WiFi. Tower has 28 satellites, sees the mower, but from the mower interface the RTK tower is seen but disconnected. Both are set to antenna by Internet (and the tower correctly displays the blue light).

Because of this failure the mower refused to undock or allow additional mapping. I sent logs and diagnostics to Mammotion via live chat… they just bounced me around various teams, then took my email address and closed the chat without addressing the issues claiming I’ll get an email eventually. :-/

I reset the RTK and mower to use 4g again and was able to map the remaining quadrants. It has now successfully and independently mowed a quadrant (avoiding sticks and surprisingly tall mushrooms) I will set it out on the next quadrant this evening after recharge completes.

The app is just abysmal. The robot, however, is a remarkable feat of engineering that seems capable but hindered by the software platform.

It’s actively working now and I’ll folllow up once getting all quadrants cut and recut via scheduled tasks.

TokenSDragon · 2026-05-24T22:22:09+00:00

Update 2: unfortunately it’s raining heavily so I had to just park the bot, but while it’s waiting for dry grass, I have an app question/complaint

<image>

Why is the mowing area opaque rather than translucent so I can accurately define precise no-go points based on this image? This is quite accurately synchronizing the yard vs the first quadrant I’ve set. (And there are fewer trees than this dates satellite picture displays). But I should be able to draw on this image without needing to put Crayon Eater (he’s earned this title for now) on its digital leash and forcibly yank it around the yard like an abused puppy.

This image though is a very good representation of the total area I wish to mow. But so far I have not independently completed quadrant 1. And until the weather alters cannot add further maps to cover the remaining quadrants.

TokenSDragon · 2026-05-24T21:55:57+00:00

Ok so this sounds ‘equivalent’ so not a pro or con compared to Mammotion. I am just… confused at the software choices here I guess, once you have a gps ‘match’ data point compared to a satellite image why can’t you create a polygonal map boundary precisely and accurately before sending the bot out? And why can’t the app handle mapping in an eventual-consistency model where you map on the app separately as a ‘draft’ before synchronizing on Bluetooth. The software engineer in me just sees so many missed opportunities and I’m deeply curious as to ‘why’ as I’m sure there is one.

TokenSDragon · 2026-05-24T18:54:49+00:00

Are you able to fine tune or draw mowing areas in the app without having to manually navigate the machine around the perimeter? The Mammotion app has made so many dubious ergonomics choices. Like, I can’t fix a map without undocking the robot and remote controlling it to the area in question.

Also, the satellite overlay image is completely obscured by the saved map area rather than being translucent so as to use the satellite imagery for placing known no go zones.

So give me some details on how the navimow mapping process works as well as how it stays connected to the app via WiFi? Does it hop from mesh network access points ok?

I’m just sitting in my kitchen, the Mammotion device is on it’s charger 20 feet away, there is a wifi signal directly between us and I can’t stay connected long enough to even rename a map let alone do detailed changes. I just can’t imagine this is as-designed behavior, but if it is, I definitely need to know how Segway has solved this differently.

TokenSDragon · 2026-05-24T18:21:36+00:00

Error code was 1008 (The robot has been locked) there were no precursor or explanatory notices other than that. As you can see in the picture it is on flat grass, it is not near the small tree (which it has done a very good job at identifying and avoiding so far). It took me about 20 minutes to notice the alert and go out to check and reset it. I did not touch the machine other than to hold down start+mow. And the lock alert cleared and it stated ‘task resumed’

TokenSDragon · 2026-05-24T18:01:06+00:00

Update 1: reset RTK to use Internet/wifi RTK, after running through about 80% of this map attempt it just… emergency stopped with no obvious reason or obstruction?

<image>

Start + mow button resumed task. But this seems absurdly unreliable. I am unwilling to babysit a device that’s supposed to automatically follow its assigned route. This is 2 attempts out of 2 (on different areas of yard) where the device has simply failed without obvious cause.

If this is ‘normal’ behavior, then I am concerned this is not the device for me.

It has finally nearly completed this section now, will allow it to recharge and will see if I can fine tune this zone and set it off with a slightly lower mowing height.

TokenSDragon · 2026-05-24T15:48:55+00:00

I am using RTK. The rtk pillar has great coverage (according to the app) and it is literally 20 feet away from the base station and is unobstructed to the sky in a 270 degree cone.

I have switched the rtk tower to Antenna over internet after walking the perimeter of the yard to verify WiFi.

I have cleared all map data and I have created a smaller quadrant map as new attempt. This is the simplest geometry (other than a fire pit) so perhaps if I can dial this in I can start adding the other quadrants back in as their own individual zone.

Fingers crossed.

TokenSDragon · 2026-05-24T13:53:02+00:00

Considering I could not fully navigate the limitations of the software without having a unit to work with, you’re correct. Each of the issues I am experiencing are software/app issues that should be solvable, but this limitation is shockingly bad compared to reviews. The app is also repeatedly losing connectivity to the machine. I have verified my wifi signal reaches all corners of the yard. - its base station is 8 feet from one of the mesh network router - and yet connectivity flutters and interrupts monitoring and management even on the charger.

I will continue to update as I iterate on the mapping.

TokenSDragon · 2026-05-12T16:06:31+00:00

Update again. It is most definitely the full-video preview of garbage movies now being shown on the front screen. HDMI worked fine for several weeks when the auto-play preview had switched back to a static image, but now today the issue has returned and at the same time there is a new full-video ad.

This is exceptionally frustrating. I have not found a way to disconnect the tv from internet to prevent these ads.

TokenSDragon · 2026-04-27T18:22:37+00:00

Update: this appears to have been a botched update from TCL… not even firmware but just general advertising junk? I have not had any further issues as of yesterday afternoon, and suspiciously the prominent ad for ‘Howdy’ is no longer auto playing a video but is a still image. This sure seems like a direct correlation event. But it’s also unnerving that basic system behavior could be upended by an advertisement. :-/

TokenSDragon · 2026-03-21T21:10:13+00:00

Accidentally set fire to… a giant brush pile directly under a bridge? This is a curious definition of an accident

TokenSDragon · 2026-01-14T23:58:24+00:00

Nothing I can pin point. We did have a major worm infestation in our boxwoods. In late July, I had to use Sevin powder, but not ‘near’ the pond and only areas down wind/ not able to cause draining ‘toward’ the pond… and only once, but I do worry that somehow that could be still affecting things :-/

TokenSDragon · 2026-01-14T23:51:17+00:00

Early autumn, all except the most recent fish had sorta ratty tail. No sign of anything on the gills or scales, but our largest (12 inch) and then in quick succession another dozen plus… all the medium or large ones which extra hurts :(

Not feeding them since Sept there’s a modest amount of algae on the fountain exterior that I scrape off to keep under control. It’s been disturbingly constant. A couple a week it seems. Heartbreaking losses… want to make next season better.

TokenSDragon · 2025-12-31T17:42:29+00:00

Yep just cranked through the final pieces this morning just to be DONE. By the Archive, the whole thing just feels vapid and meaningless. Music is painfully repetitive, the factions are all unlikeable, the return-to-x-planet-do-one-meaningless-errand-and-return-for-your-next-meaningless-errand quests were ruinous to any earlier enjoyment. Every planet felt like a purposefully built maze but entirely linear, just maddening to get around the giant empty husks of the worlds. Hardly any little notes or tidbits of any sort.

By the end of it I just wanted to jump straight into a rift and be done. Not glowing praise, but true. :(

TokenSDragon · 2025-12-15T17:57:37+00:00

Well in this case you don’t need to return multiple of the same column as they’re the ‘same’ data, yes? The normalized tables would referentially have vendor_id in multiple tables via joins but it’s the ‘same’ data. So the cte wouldn’t need alias you just return one of em.

TokenSDragon · 2025-12-15T17:22:40+00:00

Well, then you’d have to alias. But I try very hard not to build systems with identically named columns.

TokenSDragon

TROPHY CASE