Discontinued Hopper io

[vapviking]

My younger brother just ordered the black Monday deal. Well see how long before it arrives, if it works correctly, etc.

He's a very successful lawyer, only smoked weed occasionally over the years. He knows nothing about vaporizers, but he recently tried my io and wanted one for himself.

I tried to get him off tobacco many times over 3-4 decades. He's 9 years younger but looks at least 9 years older.

He waited too long. Got the Big C diagnosis a month ago, suffered thru cold turkey tobacco withdrawal (after 40 years of smoking), now he's gonna try an io. I'm in shock, can't imagine the stress level in his household.

I warned him there is a 50% chance HL will disappoint him but that doesn't seem to bother him for some reason.

Making up a little care package of medicinal cannibis for him since he lives in a nearby prude state. I'm giving him some harmless indica and some medium strength sativa. I already know he will freak out if he gets too much sativa. He told me he bought some weed when visiting out west, smoked to much and it scared the crap out him.

Incidentally, he said he paid an extra$10 for expedited shipping. I laughed.

Long may it run, and double for your brother.
If he is going down a difficult road, there may be people here at fc who might be of some help; this place is that good.
It's not all just crabby old farts.

 

[pakalolo]

After listening to others bash Hopper over 4-5 years I must admit that I finally share that sentiment.

Bashing is against our rules. If you see product or company bashining, please report it.

This applies to you as well. You've stated your opinion several times. You've sold your Hopper gear. You don't have a stake in this thread anymore. Move on, please.

 

[David Root]

Unsubed from this thread. read enough.
Bought other Vapes.
David

 

[jabba]

Incidentally, he said he paid an extra$10 for expedited shipping. I laughed.

I hope that you both continue to laugh and I hope that your brother regains his good health.

 

[Highandhappy]

Sooo.. after waiting over 2 for my replacement SS body to be delivered it has been delivered today along with my purple IO warranty, i open the box to find that they have instead decided to send me a VERY poorly anodised grey titanium body instead of a new SS body just what was lying around the warehouse I’m guessing!

I was also able to easily unscrew the chamber from the body - shocking even for HL!

As I said in my prev post, I can’t even be bothered to try and contact them again, I will see if they both work at least this evening but my hopes again are very low if they can’t even send out the correct replacement body

Goodbye Hopper Labs

 

[Highandhappy]

Ahhhh man, a couple of bowls with both the purple io (that they have actually stepped down perfectly) and the Frankenstein coloured (SS/TI) they both hit so sweet, a couple of months without a hopper just using the good guys really does make me more angry they aren’t better as a company

 

[jabba]

Sooo.. after waiting over 2 for my replacement SS body to be delivered it has been delivered today along with my purple IO warranty, i open the box to find that they have instead decided to send me a VERY poorly anodised grey titanium body instead of a new SS body just what was lying around the warehouse I’m guessing!

I was also able to easily unscrew the chamber from the body - shocking even for HL!

As I said in my prev post, I can’t even be bothered to try and contact them again, I will see if they both work at least this evening but my hopes again are very low if they can’t even send out the correct replacement body

Goodbye Hopper Labs

Hey Pakalolo. It ain't 'bashing' when one is telling the truth! Sorry if you felt that honest discussions relating to a manufacturers actions was 'bashing'. If you only allow accolades, perhaps you should just remove the Hopper IO thread from FC altogether! I had thought that this was a place to discuss both positive AND NEGATIVE findings to share with the community.

Unsubscribed....but I'll be reading anyway.....and will post truthful comments at will.

 

[pakalolo]

Hey Pakalolo. It ain't 'bashing' when one is telling the truth! Sorry if you felt that honest discussions relating to a manufacturers actions was 'bashing'. If you only allow accolades, perhaps you should just remove the Hopper IO thread from FC altogether! I had thought that this was a place to discuss both positive AND NEGATIVE findings to share with the community.

First, we have a rule:

• Public discussions of staff decisions are not permitted on the site. If you have any concerns or queries relating to a staff decision please take it up in private with a staff member.

Second, we get to define bashing, not you. Bashing is the persistent repetition of the same complaints, true or not. Again from the rules:

• Please do not revisit an issue unless you have helpful information or constructive comments to add.

Your posts have added nothing to the discussion. The fact that you think they are true is irrelevant. They might be, but we have neither the time, the resources, or the inclination to investigate accusations like yours. The point of the matter is that remarks like those tend to incite flames and disrupt the thread.

I am banning you from this thread. If you have anything to say about that, use a PM.

 

[eideal852]

mmmkay.

So, smh, here we go again...

Firstly, how are the IOs faring in regards to warranty turnaround?

I ask, because my stainless IO has taken to unscrewing the heater from the battery when I remove the mouthpiece. The battery contact and heater stay with the mouth (og or PFE). I can screw it back on, but obviously cranking it to tighten so that i can try again to loosen just the MP, it ALSO tightens the mouthpiece, increasing the chance of it repeating. A quick email exchange just says that I can "screw it back on"

Fine, but i've twice now had the IO go white then immediately off, necessitating taking it apart again: clip/dial off back, heater off tip, both, either, until its all seated properly- enough- to work again.


rinse and repeat.

Any thoughts on whether I'll regret sending it in (duh):
if it's the same repair limbo, or if they send parts...

It's not yet "registered" because the sign up needs a serial AND code from box that I don't have...But I can't imagine this will just completely disassemble like this without ultimately causing fatal issues...

 

[vapviking]

mmmkay.

So, smh, here we go again...

Firstly, how are the IOs faring in regards to warranty turnaround?

It's not yet "registered" because the sign up needs a serial AND code from box that I don't have...But I can't imagine this will just completely disassemble like this without ultimately causing fatal issues...

The only way I know to register is by emailing support and asking that they register the device for you. You'll need to do that before you can initiate rma. The boxes don't have the requisite stickers/codes on them.

I opened a warranty request on 16Nov and have no reply. I think HL may be in busy holiday season for selling, and not for fixing.

 

[WhyAreWeWaiting]

The only way I know to register is by emailing support and asking that they register the device for you. You'll need to do that before you can initiate rma. The boxes don't have the requisite stickers/codes on them.

I opened a warranty request on 16Nov and have no reply. I think HL may be in busy holiday season for selling, and not for fixing.

I have a warranty with them since end of October. I've had numerous warranties since I bought the IO less than 2 years ago. No acknowledgement. Not even the usual automatic response when you raise a warranty. Have emailed them a number of times. Silence. Their customer care ends when the product is dispatched.

 

[JBone65]

mmmkay.

So, smh, here we go again...

Firstly, how are the IOs faring in regards to warranty turnaround?

I ask, because my stainless IO has taken to unscrewing the heater from the battery when I remove the mouthpiece. The battery contact and heater stay with the mouth (og or PFE). I can screw it back on, but obviously cranking it to tighten so that i can try again to loosen just the MP, it ALSO tightens the mouthpiece, increasing the chance of it repeating. A quick email exchange just says that I can "screw it back on"

Fine, but i've twice now had the IO go white then immediately off, necessitating taking it apart again: clip/dial off back, heater off tip, both, either, until its all seated properly- enough- to work again.


rinse and repeat.

Any thoughts on whether I'll regret sending it in (duh):
if it's the same repair limbo, or if they send parts...

It's not yet "registered" because the sign up needs a serial AND code from box that I don't have...But I can't imagine this will just completely disassemble like this without ultimately causing fatal issues...

Mine unscrews easily as well. I clean the threads, look it over and carefully screw it back together. HL suggested putting a tiny bit of thread lock on it. I think the correct answer would also include torqueing it up to spec, but have no clue what that amount would be or how to apply it. Instead, I tighten it as hard as I can with my fingers, knowing that it will come loose again a few months later. I only have problems when I try to unscrew a stuck mouth piece. When that happens, you can stop unscrewing, screw it back together, then heat the mouthpiece by getting another hit on max temp, and it should come loose easily. Not a big problem, more of an inconvenience.

 

[eideal852]

Mine unscrews easily as well. I clean the threads, look it over and carefully screw it back together. HL suggested putting a tiny bit of thread lock on it. I think the correct answer would also include torqueing it up to spec, but have no clue what that amount would be or how to apply it. Instead, I tighten it as hard as I can with my fingers, knowing that it will come loose again a few months later. I only have problems when I try to unscrew a stuck mouth piece. When that happens, you can stop unscrewing, screw it back together, then heat the mouthpiece by getting another hit on max temp, and it should come loose easily. Not a big problem, more of an inconvenience.

Yeah, That's my do: heat to loosen and twist off, but def not that infrequent, I'm every other time...

 

[JBone65]

I'm guessing the mouthpiece threads are designed with less interference than the heating element connection. The mouthpiece comes off much easier than the element when warm. I've sort of learned to feel the difference when the element first starts backing out, so I usually stop and reverse course and (happily) heat it up one more time.

I might take it all the way out, clean the threads and apply thread lock next time. If I do it right should be able to keep it away from the air flow path. Thinking about some way to apply more torque without any scratching, etc.

It would take weeks to send it in for repairs, and all they are likely to do is screw it together anyway.

 

[Highandhappy]

mmmkay.

So, smh, here we go again...

Firstly, how are the IOs faring in regards to warranty turnaround?

I ask, because my stainless IO has taken to unscrewing the heater from the battery when I remove the mouthpiece. The battery contact and heater stay with the mouth (og or PFE). I can screw it back on, but obviously cranking it to tighten so that i can try again to loosen just the MP, it ALSO tightens the mouthpiece, increasing the chance of it repeating. A quick email exchange just says that I can "screw it back on"

Fine, but i've twice now had the IO go white then immediately off, necessitating taking it apart again: clip/dial off back, heater off tip, both, either, until its all seated properly- enough- to work again.


rinse and repeat.

Any thoughts on whether I'll regret sending it in (duh):
if it's the same repair limbo, or if they send parts...

It's not yet "registered" because the sign up needs a serial AND code from box that I don't have...But I can't imagine this will just completely disassemble like this without ultimately causing fatal issues...

I wouldn’t send it in just for a loose heater chamber, my turnaround was 2 months for a very small temp decrease and a replacement SS.
My chamber screwed loose very easily so I removed the mouthpiece, stuck some double sided adhesive tape on the outside of chamber so not to damage it and tightened with some pliers - hasn’t come looses again since

 

[nasdri253]

i got an email back after spamming them for a few days, they replied my units are due to be repaired at the end of the month, they received my units on the 4 th of October.
this means i will not have anything back before the end of Jan, if I am lucky.

 

[eideal852]

I wouldn’t send it in just for a loose heater chamber, my turnaround was 2 months for a very small temp decrease and a replacement SS.
My chamber screwed loose very easily so I removed the mouthpiece, stuck some double sided adhesive tape on the outside of chamber so not to damage it and tightened with some pliers - hasn’t come looses again since

thanks guys only worry then is (especially w loctite, but even just w torque: that I get it stuck tight, but in whatever way I had it when it would go: click on; WHITE; off... what if I get it to not come off, AND THEN I NEED IT TO COME OFFFFF? gahhhhh

 

[WhyAreWeWaiting]

i got an email back after spamming them for a few days, they replied my units are due to be repaired at the end of the month, they received my units on the 4 th of October.
this means i will not have anything back before the end of Jan, if I am lucky.

I'm in the same boat. A boat that I have repeatedly been in since I stupidly upgraded my GHs which were languishing in Hopper Labs awaiting repair for over 2 years with no prospect of them ever being fixed. I should've cut my losses while I was ahead. The IO is the same as the GH with different coloured LEDs. Works great for a short time and then stops working for a long time. The design faults that plagued the GH have been transferred to the IO. Imagine getting multiple chances to actually fix the design but instead just changing the name and selling more of them to gullible fools like me and many others.

 

[JBone65]

what if I get it to not come off, AND THEN I NEED IT TO COME OFFFFF? gahhhhh

I recommend cleaning the threads with IOS and let it dry. Might try just a tiny drop of thread lock on the upper side of the male threads. Don't know if thread lock would mix with vapor if it gets into the heating element area.

The tape and pliers should work but it might also damage it if not careful. It's a thin wall, potentially could split the body or egg the chamber using pliers. It needs to be removable. HL said thread lock and hand tight so I might try that. Worst case it comes loose again.

 

[fogbank]

The IO is the same as the GH with different coloured LEDs.

Don't forget about the IO "feature" that reduces the wattage of the heater when it detects a weak battery or cold ambient temperature, and results in the LEDs flashing white. All while HL claims that the IO has more efficient battery usage than the OG.

This "feature" has made most of my Hopper batteries useless with the IO. My IOs almost always start blinking after 1-2 hits on a newly charged battery. Yes I have older batteries that are dying, but they at least provide 4-6 hits in an OG Hopper. The same battery in one of my IOs will blink on the first hit. If I ever get more than 2 hits out of an IO Hopper before the lights blink I am shocked.

I have been tracking my battery usage for several months, with multiple (12+) batteries, two OG Hoppers, and two IO Hoppers. While it is not a real scientific study, it is clear to me that my OG Hoppers perform much better with my existing batteries than my IO Hoppers do. I guess that the more powerful heater in the IO explains some of these findings.

I recently took my Ti IO out of regular rotation. I stuck an AC adapter in it and threw it back in the drawer. If I ever feel like using it with the enormous power brick that the AC adapter requires I will break it out. But that seems unlikely as I rotate through my TinyMight, VLeaf Go, and XMax V3Pro vapes.

I am supposed to be receiving some new batteries from HL, so I may revisit the IO when that happens, but for now I will only keep my OG Hoppers in rotation.

Overall, and after my experiences with the OG Hopper, I would say that the IO Hopper is the biggest disappointment in all of my vape purchases.

 

[Vaporific]

Don't forget about the IO "feature" that reduces the wattage of the heater when it detects a weak battery or cold ambient temperature, and results in the LEDs flashing white. All while HL claims that the IO has more efficient battery usage than the OG.

This "feature" has made most of my Hopper batteries useless with the IO. My IOs almost always start blinking after 1-2 hits on a newly charged battery. Yes I have older batteries that are dying, but they at least provide 4-6 hits in an OG Hopper. The same battery in one of my IOs will blink on the first hit. If I ever get more than 2 hits out of an IO Hopper before the lights blink I am shocked.

I have been tracking my battery usage for several months, with multiple (12+) batteries, two OG Hoppers, and two IO Hoppers. While it is not a real scientific study, it is clear to me that my OG Hoppers perform much better with my existing batteries than my IO Hoppers do. I guess that the more powerful heater in the IO explains some of these findings.

I recently took my Ti IO out of regular rotation. I stuck an AC adapter in it and threw it back in the drawer. If I ever feel like using it with the enormous power brick that the AC adapter requires I will break it out. But that seems unlikely as I rotate through my TinyMight, VLeaf Go, and XMax V3Pro vapes.

I am supposed to be receiving some new batteries from HL, so I may revisit the IO when that happens, but for now I will only keep my OG Hoppers in rotation.

Overall, and after my experiences with the OG Hopper, I would say that the IO Hopper is the biggest disappointment in all of my vape purchases.

Sorry to hear this. You’re not alone however and several stalwarts in this thread, yourself included, have recently soured with Hoppers (and HL). Again, I’m sorry to hear this but don’t blame you or anyone. My IO experience is nearly opposite of yours though. With my newest set of batts purchased last year and about the same time I got my IO (Ti) nearly 15 months ago, I never had issues with the instant on and always got great vapor with fully charged batts, and I didn’t get the blinking lights right away.

Recently however I noticed my oldest HL batts weren’t doing so well and I got the blinking lights on the first draw of a charged batt. I chalk it up to the batts as the newer ones do OK though not as great as last year or a few months ago which is understandable. Battery shelf-life is not the best admittedly. Hence I ordered news ones last week which should be here in a day or two. I rolled the dice with the IO knowing the HL history and owning an OG which spent a year in RMA a couple of years ago, which HL did fix. It’s second fiddle to my IO however (and other vapes). I do think the IO offers improvement as well as more power yet, apparently, quality control issues still plague the IO and HL. I do sympathize and empathize with many yet I took a chance and it worked for me. I’m not enamored of how HL operates yet love my Hoppers and they have a special place in my vape rotation - and the IO is my go-to on-the-go vape.

And no, I won’t buy another product from HL except batts. For now. They need to get their act together which I’ve stated before. Let’s see what happens with them…

 

[vapviking]

thanks guys only worry then is (especially w loctite, but even just w torque: that I get it stuck tight, but in whatever way I had it when it would go: click on; WHITE; off... what if I get it to not come off, AND THEN I NEED IT TO COME OFFFFF? gahhhhh

When the bodies are assembled, a piece of copper foil is inserted on the threads of the heater cartridge, this gives it extra grab and 'lock'. Sounds like this one may not have that?

The couple of times this has happened to me it was definitely caused by allowing material to cool in the device and the mp became resin-glued to the heater cartridge. Imo, best practice is to empty as soon as you finish a load, this gives all the threads a quick chance to cool while not in contact with each other.

An old auto mechanic's trick for boogered threads was shoving some steel wool in as the threads are started and tightened, to increase friction in the threads. even better is copper wool, it is more forgiving.

You could use a couple or few stands from unwinding some light gauge stranded (not solid) copper wire, or of copper wool if you can find some very fine (not an easy task).
I suppose copper may also help keep this connection firm, as you are concerned about that.

This "feature" has made most of my Hopper batteries useless with the IO. My IOs almost always start blinking after 1-2 hits on a newly charged battery. Yes I have older batteries that are dying, but they at least provide 4-6 hits in an OG Hopper. The same battery in one of my IOs will blink on the first hit. If I ever get more than 2 hits out of an IO Hopper before the lights blink I am shocked.

If you are using what you call Hopper batteries then they are by definition old and this behavior is not at all unexpected. When new, they would have had enough power for at least some amount of io use. Newest ghb3's are supposedly improved to better power the io, hope you'll see when they arrive.

 

[fogbank]

If you are using what you call Hopper batteries then they are by definition old and this behavior is not at all unexpected. When new, they would have had enough power for at least some amount of io use. Newest ghb3's are supposedly improved to better power the io, hope you'll see when they arrive.

I have two GHB3 batteries in my collection and they have not performed significantly better than my GHB2 batteries, despite being newer. I had high hopes when I received them, but have since just thrown them in with the rest of my GHB2 batteries.

If/when I receive new GHB3 batteries from HL I will try them in my IO Hoppers.

 

[Vaporific]

I have two GHB3 batteries in my collection and they have not performed significantly better than my GHB2 batteries, despite being newer. I had high hopes when I received them, but have since just thrown them in with the rest of my GHB2 batteries.

If/when I receive new GHB3 batteries from HL I will try them in my IO Hoppers.

And I will add and attest that it’s likely no two HL batts are the same as I’ve had a few duds over the years. Getting 100% with HL is hard to come by, even batts. I find after a couple of years the batts are mostly drained and useless. And I label and rotate mine. When they sit too long they tend to lose a little capacity and oomph when they age. I’m no electrical engineer but a casual observer since I’ve only started using rechargeable batteries for vaping about 9 years ago.

And 18650s are way better!

 

[WhyAreWeWaiting]

Sorry to hear this. You’re not alone however and several stalwarts in this thread, yourself included, have recently soured with Hoppers (and HL). Again, I’m sorry to hear this but don’t blame you or anyone. My IO experience is nearly opposite of yours though. With my newest set of batts purchased last year and about the same time I got my IO (Ti) nearly 15 months ago, I never had issues with the instant on and always got great vapor with fully charged batts, and I didn’t get the blinking lights right away.

Recently however I noticed my oldest HL batts weren’t doing so well and I got the blinking lights on the first draw of a charged batt. I chalk it up to the batts as the newer ones do OK though not as great as last year or a few months ago which is understandable. Battery shelf-life is not the best admittedly. Hence I ordered news ones last week which should be here in a day or two. I rolled the dice with the IO knowing the HL history and owning an OG which spent a year in RMA a couple of years ago, which HL did fix. It’s second fiddle to my IO however (and other vapes). I do think the IO offers improvement as well as more power yet, apparently, quality control issues still plague the IO and HL. I do sympathize and empathize with many yet I took a chance and it worked for me. I’m not enamored of how HL operates yet love my Hoppers and they have a special place in my vape rotation - and the IO is my go-to on-the-go vape.

And no, I won’t buy another product from HL except batts. For now. They need to get their act together which I’ve stated before. Let’s see what happens with them…

We conned ourselves into believing that they had got their act together and ironed out all the problems with the GH, but it's clear that they haven't. Most unreliable vape I've ever owned. If you like feeling angry and frustrated, then buy a Hopper. And the customer service has to be the worst customer service I've ever experienced from any company in 70 years.