Does NOT work outside
I bought this for indoor use, as the BBC recommended regular oximeter readings as a way to catch Covid early. It arrived at my doorstep 5 days ago and the packaging made this look like a very sharp, neat, and professional product.<br /><br />Immediately upon opening the package and observing the device, I noticed that the plastic was severely scuffed on one side, as if someone had dropped it with some significant momentum onto concrete or asphalt. This has lead me to strongly believe that this is NOT a condition-new oximeter. Further review of the product's page here on Amazon shows that there is no guarantee that the product bought would be new. So, I am 99.9% certain that I received a refurbished (and still slightly albeit cosmetically damaged) unit. Either that, or their Quality Control simply doesn't care about superficial damage. Regardless, I am deducting 1 start from my review for this alone.<br /><br />The other two stars are deducted for a pretty significant issue with the device's function. It straight up does not work outside under moderately-bright sunshine. For the past 5 days, I've been using it indoors with no problem. In fact, when it works, it's great! There's a visual graph showing your pulse along with all the numbers that you would expect from a pulse-oximeter. However, on two separate occasions today (separated by a couple of hours), this device proved to simply not work when exposed to sunlight. I live on the coast of California and it has been somewhat overcast/foggy all day. I tried using it in my local supermarket's parking lot, and the device simply refused to acknowledge that there was even a finger in it, displaying flatline metrics and quickly returning to its powered-down state. Worked fine inside the store. Later, while out for a walk, I tried it again outside and again it failed to register the presence of my finger. And again, after returning home and trying it inside, the thing works fine.<br />So... if you're looking for a pulse-oximeter for your indoor activities (at home, inside a gym, etc), I'd say that this is a pretty good product. If you're looking for something you expect to use outside, however, this is NOT FOR YOU.<br /><br />Finally, this product is made in China, which is something I didn't consider when I hit that "Buy Now" button. This alone would have been enough to keep me from buying it if I had realized beforehand. No use crying over spilt milk now; but if you are conscious about that sort of thing, consider seeking out a different brand.
Rating: 2 stars