Smart Space Heater S - Critical Issue

[Atill80]

Hello All,

I have a few functionally related questions about the Smart Space Heater S that I was hoping you might be able to help me with.

I purchased 2 pcs of this heater yesterday in the Official Xiaomi shop, Debrecen, Hungary (230V; EU plug).
I set up the heaters in the Xiaomi Home app successfully and start using them.
During the operation, I discovered several & similar malfunctions in the case of both heaters. Based on the product datasheet, I believe those aren’t normal and expected.
These malfunctions do not depend on the way how I’m using/operating the heaters (by application or by manually).

1, The heaters do not switch off when reaching the setup temperature in the constant temp mode. They still operate with a ~800W power (I measured the power consumption with a smart plug) without decreasing it or turn off.
I stopped them manually when the tested room temperature reached 28 celsius. It seems the digital thermometer or the regulator circuit does not work properly.

2, When I turn off & on the heater it starts working with the highest power ~2000W regardless of the set temperature. If I modify the constant temp, it will switch back again to ~800W and stay there until I power it off manually.

I believe these unexpected habits have to be fixed somehow because it can cause fire, therefore in this state the products are dangerous! In addition, it does not make any sense the six different temperature ranges and a lot of other features. I also found comments on different social platforms (Youtube, Facebook) where the users experienced the same issues.

Do you know or experienced similar issues with Smart Space Heater S?
Is there any chance to fix these somehow (a firmware upgrade or a component level repair)?

I’m asking this because those functions were the main reasons why I bought these products. To be honest, without them, this will be only a (dangerous) stock heater and for this price, a much better and safer one can be purchased from another manufacturer.
Thanks in advance!

 

[nm423]

Hello Atill80,

I am experiencing the same issues with my Xiaomi Space Heater S and also an additional one. When the heater is turned on from the manual switch, but turned off from the power touch button, it start itself upon the temperature in the room dropping down. So basically it turns on itself and it doesn't turn off unless turned off manually.

In Mi home app (in their shortcut cards where this is only viewable) I observed the temperature measurement of the thermostat and it is clearly not correct. When working on 2200w the temperature from the heater thermostat rises up accordingly to measurement from other device. When changing to 800w the temperature on the heater thermostat starts to fall down and the temperature from the other device, continues to rise up.

Send it back for repair to the dealer a week back and now I am waiting for them to inform me if this is repairable or it is the way the heater works.

 

[Atill80]

Hello nm423,

Thanks for sharing!

I checked what you mentioned and experienced the same.
Furthermore, I went to the official store yesterday and asked the guys to check the show-window pieces. They were reacting like the others, including these issues as well.
I believe this will be a common problem that affects all S models. -> this should be fixed by a common solution...

I sent a letter to the MI Official Global Support (service.global@xiaomi.com) with a detailed description of the failure. I got this answer:
"...
If you still can't get a solution according to the above methods, we suggest you contact the after-sales center, which may solve your problem to the maximum extent possible.

(1) The heater is a high-power product. When controlling it remotely, ensure that there are no inflammable or explosive goods around the heater so as to prevent accidents.

(2) Only use power outlets that comply with national standards, and fulfill the heater's power requirements.

(3) Do not cover the air inlets and outlets.

(4) Avoid getting scalded when the heater is hot. Do not use the drying rack to hang heavy items, nor use it as a handle.

(5) Please use the heater in an appropriate room, and keep doors and windows closed so as to ensure heat is not lost.

Also, the Mi Smart Space Heater supports firmware upgrade. Check firmware updates by clicking on the top right corner...Then select general Settings -- check firmware updates. If there is a new firmware, click Update now.
..."

I think they still don't get it...
...or working on the new FW.

I wonder what will be the answer from the dealer/service that you mentioned.

Now, I'm using the heater with a Temp. & Hum. Sensor (ZIGBEE) to turn it off/on using different rules. At least I don’t cook the family...

 

[nm423]

That is the most useless help from a support I have seen so far.

I also have tried to control the heater with a temperature sensor, the only difference being that my sensors are bluetooth and not zigbee. The problem here was that the sensors are not sending the changes in the temperature frequent enough to the hub, so again - fail. Probably they are set up like that to save battery power, so I tried to use the xiaomi purifier's temperature sensor, which is grid powered, to trigger the heater on and off, but again information from the sensor was coming way too late.

At one point I even tried to change the position of the towel hanger, thinking that maybe the heater detects when it's been used so it wouldn't stop heating.

The seller agreed with me that the heater behavior is not proper and they'll send the unit to the repair shop and probably they will replace it with new one. If I am not satisfied with the solution they'll provide, I'll probably file a complaint to the authorities.

 

[HungarBoom]

Hi all,

Same issue over here, it does not stop heating. In the mi home app it does sense the actual temperature but obviously doesn't react to it.
Going to send it back if there isn't a solution very soon. I think they should not be sold in this state.
Cheers.

 

[Atill80]

Hello HungarBoom,

Thanks for sharing!
We don't have any official feedback about this failure or the plan of how they want to react to it.
Based on the experience to date, this should be a recall or an ASAP firmware update from the Xiaomi side.

 

[Dark-vash]

...

I am experiencing the same issues with my Xiaomi Space Heater S. Something I also noticed:

- My target is 20º. It starts full power ~2200W (at 18º)
- The temperature goes up non stop since it doesn't lower the power.
- Once it reaches 22º I manually set the target temperature to 19º.
- Power consumption gets down to ~800w.The temperature doesnt get lower than 21º.
- The heater doesn't get lower than 800w or powers off (with target 19º and room temperature 21º)
- If I try to lower the target to 18... it goes up to 1250W... And then, I can't get the power consumption back to 800W.

I'm also measuring the power consumption with a Xiaomi Smart plug Zigbee.

Something is very wrong on how it measures the temperature and how it controls its power. I have a standalone temp sensor and the Heater always reads +1º. Really hope that Xiaomi is working on a Firmware Update, or else I'm returning it. What's the point of having an bunch of wifi appliances that needs to be controlled manualy?


Best regards,
Ricardo Mateus

 

[Bondi]

I am experiencing the same issues with my Xiaomi Space Heater S. Something I also noticed:

- My target is 20º. It starts full power ~2200W (at 18º)
- The temperature goes up non stop since it doesn't lower the power.
- Once it reaches 22º I manually set the target temperature to 19º.
- Power consumption gets down to ~800w.The temperature doesnt get lower than 21º.
- The heater doesn't get lower than 800w or powers off (with target 19º and room temperature 21º)
- If I try to lower the target to 18... it goes up to 1250W... And then, I can't get the power consumption back to 800W.

I'm also measuring the power consumption with a Xiaomi Smart plug Zigbee.

Something is very wrong on how it measures the temperature and how it controls its power. I have a standalone temp sensor and the Heater always reads +1º. Really hope that Xiaomi is working on a Firmware Update, or else I'm returning it. What's the point of having an bunch of wifi appliances that needs to be controlled manualy?


Best regards,
Ricardo Mateus

Same problem, heater doesn't react to the temperature. Need always to go manual. What a waste.
Xiaomi needs to update the firmware. I just don't know what kind of QC they have by releasing an appliance with those faults....

 

[Atill80]

Hello @Dark-vash & @Bondi,

Welcome to the club!

I agree with you @Bondi, this is a critical issue that should be a recall or at least a customer notification.

Still, the Global Service does not admit the failure. They continuously advise me to contact the after-sales center about this & send back the products for repair.
After the winter I will, however, I wonder what they could do with @nm423 unit. Or more precisely, how could they fix it?

In another hand, the heater measure/show the right temperature only when it turned off. During the heating, it measures 20-21º continuously. When I turned off the heater manually in a 26º room, the measured temperature jumped up from 21º to 26º (in the MI-Home app). That's the reason why I think this can be fixed by a firmware update.

 

[Dark-vash]

Hello @Dark-vash & @Bondi,
Welcome to the club!

Thank you.

In another hand, the heater measure/show the right temperature only when it turned off. During the heating, it measures 20-21º continuously. When I turned off the heater manually in a 26º room, the measured temperature jumped up from 21º to 26º (in the MI-Home app). That's the reason why I think this can be fixed by a firmware update.

Well, that temperature jump happens to me too. But here, @ 20º room temperature, once turned off, it also jumps to 26º.
I've installed the Home Assistance on a Raspberry Pi to monitor the performance over time.

The blue line is the Target temperature, Red Line is the Heater temperature and the green area is when the heater is turned on. You can see the jump at the end once it's turned off. In this example, Target was 20º, Heater temperature was a little above the target, but the room, was constantly @18.7 (measured with a stand alone sensor). The Heater was consuming ~1300W so it was not working at full power.

This time around, it was pretty constant, although it didn't get to the target temperature. I am unable to monitor with HA the power consumption, but I will get there... eventually.

 

[MGP2K]

I'm also having similar issues.. My heater doesn't react to the temperature and, on the app, it keeps telling the temp is "cool". It doesn't even show the temp number..
I've set it to the minimum 18deg, and I have multiple sensors in the room that tells me it's at the target temp. But it keeps buffing at max power and do not turn off.. What a disapointment.. I'll try to test it a bit more.. With diff temps.. But this is a refund for sure..

 

[Bondi]

The right temperature is shown when the heater is turned off.
When turned on the heater slowly builds temperature but the difference to the real temperature increases. I need to turn it off to know the real temperature and then back on and decrease the target temperature so that it consumes less electricity. Usually starts at 2200 and I can reduce it to 900W but after a while it climbs back to 1300W..
Definitely a problem with the sensor temperature when the heater is turned on.
How can they miss this?

 

[Dark-vash]

Definitely a problem with the sensor temperature when the heater is turned on.
How can they miss this?

Yeah, there should be a problem with calibration or the way they work around the sensor, since it's inside the heater. They should account for the heater temperature, and that's why there's a jump on the temperature once turned off. In any case, Xiaomi needs to take a look.

 

[MGP2K]

Yeah, there should be a problem with calibration or the way they work around the sensor, since it's inside the heater. They should account for the heater temperature, and that's why there's a jump on the temperature once turned off. In any case, Xiaomi needs to take a look.

I wonder if that calibration fix could be something done at FW level or if it will need a HW replacement of the sensor..

On temporarily solution I've found was to use the automated actions on Mi Home app.. It took me some time to find the right spot (since I cant actually rely on the heater sensor) but at least it will turn ON/OFF the heater when it detects the desired temp.. It wont avoid working during that time at full 2000w power.. but at least it wont cook me like a turkey and it will save some power.. I've tried to set the On/Off temperature settings as low as possible so it wont fluctuate the room temperature too much to be noticeable.. A lousy solution for such terrible mistake on this device.. The sensor should've been the most tested piece of HW here..

On the other hand I dont see many complaints about this issue.. could this be a % of faulty units or a generic issue that most don't even notice? Did anyone asked for a replacement and got a new device that works properly?

 

[Bondi]

I'm also trying the automation. Turn on below 18º and off above 19º.

 

[Dark-vash]

I'm also trying the automation. Turn on below 18º and off above 19º.

I'm testing it right now too. Something odd I noticed, is that in Mi Home, the temperature doesn't show the decimal point, even though it's sensor is showing it. Seems to be a Mi Home limitation. Other then that, it seems to work as configured.

EDIT: Although room target temperature is never achieved...

 

[Dark-vash]

I'm testing it right now too. Something odd I noticed, is that in Mi Home, the temperature doesn't show the decimal point, even though it's sensor is showing it. Seems to be a Mi Home limitation. Other then that, it seems to work as configured.

EDIT: Although room target temperature is never achieved...

Feedback on Automation:

After the temperature jump (to 28º) it takes a while to turn on again. Room temperature is always 2º lower then the heater sensor displays.

The automation is set to: (based on the Heater sensor)
- Turn On if the Temperature get's lower than 18º
- Turn off if the Temperature get's higher than 20º

Since there's a difference between the heater and the actual room temperature, in the mean time, I will get a Xiaomi Wifi Temperature/Hidrostate sensor, those are pretty cheap and I can integrate it with my Gateway and Manage the automation based on an external sensor.

On the Help & Feedback of the Heater (in Mi Home) there's a topic about the difference between "Power Mode" and "Constant Temperature Mode". Has anyone used this power mode?

 

[bikalimark]

Same issue here. Using it in a small room it once gone up as far as 30C while the setting on 18. Obviously it has a few power levels and in constant temperature mode it chooses between those power levels, but even the lowest one is about 800W. It's missing a 0% power level thats it. It's a quite straight forward problem but a big one. Tried automation in the home app but it seems to be all over the place recently due to xiaomi updating it frequently with GDPR compliant but seriously unstable releases. Looking forward to a solution/fix.

 

[MGP2K]

On the Help & Feedback of the Heater (in Mi Home) there's a topic about the difference between "Power Mode" and "Constant Temperature Mode". Has anyone used this power mode?

I had the same doubt... It seems like the H&F section might be generic for multiple devices? Because there's no "power mode" option in this heater at least.. just the constant temp mode (which is the main issue: it doesn't work at all)

 

[bikalimark]

I had the same doubt... It seems like the H&F section might be generic for multiple devices? Because there's no "power mode" option in this heater at least.. just the constant temp mode (which is the main issue: it doesn't work at all)

I think (i saw it in an older review if i remember correctly) you used to be able to switch between constant temp and power mode. guess they removed simple way since it was kinda pointless. aaand they probably ruined the constant temp function in the process. the software department has serious QA problems recently. the mi home app is a mess as well right now, while it used to be great (based on the reviews).

 

[nm423]

The denouement on my case: Today I received a call from the dealer who told me, they are going to replace my heater with a new unit. I asked if I can get reinbursed instead and they said - "Ofcourse. No problem." In the meantime I bought an Atlantic F127.

 

[Atill80]

The denouement on my case: Today I received a call from the dealer who told me, they are going to replace my heater with a new unit. I asked if I can get reinbursed instead and they said - "Ofcourse. No problem." In the meantime I bought an Atlantic F127.

One customer has been lost.
I'm still waiting for the...miracle...

 

[MDiamond]

I'm experiencing same issue. The heater doesn't turn off when desired temperature is reached.

 

[MDiamond]

.

 

[Dark-vash]

One customer has been lost.
I'm still waiting for the...miracle...

Me too. I've reported the situation both to the seller and Xiaomi. no answer until now. I've bought those little sensors to integrade with the automation. right now, it works fine if the automation is based on the external sensor. But this only starts and stops the heater. It cant manage temperature or power, so it works always at 2200W.

As you see, target is 18º... he starts once the temperature is lower then 18. and it wont stop. until the automation set's it to off, once the temperature reach 20º.