Moen Flo Smart Water Monitor and Automatic Shutoff Sensor, Wi-Fi Connected Water Leak Detector for 1-Inch Diameter Pipe, 900-006

Okay, I did a ton of research to find the best water/leak detection system available today. I finally decided to try Flo by Moen, because it had great reviews on everything I could find about Flo. I’m an engineer and I’m very particular about what I buy and I look for mainly quality but also price. I’m also very into smart devices (lights, alarm system, and yes, water leak sensors), but I wanted a whole home leak detection system and auto shutoff! Water damage sucks and we have known many families who came home after being away to find water flowing out the front door and then months of repair and living in hotels, insurance claims, etc. It’s 2020 and it’s about time there is something to prevent disasters! Okay, enough of what you already know... Flo arrived yesterday from Amazon (Friday) and I woke up this morning wanting to install it.Pre-Installation:You know a product is gonna be good when it arrives and the packaging is nice and has clear instructions. Well, I opened the box and the instructions were easy, setting up and account with the app (I use an iPhone) and the app is excellent. Easy setup with the Flo device, WiFi and Flo App.Installation:I thought about installing it myself, but I’m not crazy about working on plumbing. I decided to hire Dutton Plumbing and I called them at 9am and they were here at 11am. I won’t give prices here because I’m not reviewing the plumbing company (although they did a great job and also raved about Flo by Moen). Fair price for a great job and peace of mind that it’s installed perfectly. See pictures. 30 minutes or so later and they were done. They even hung around and helped with app to ensure Flo operation from the app was good.Post Installation:The plumbers left and I started noticing the water pressure increasing... 80,90,100... at 108psi I shutoff the water with Flo and turned off the main city valve. I turned the water on again and the pressure went up again.. see picture showing 83psi... but it was still going up again (I didn’t get a screenshot at 108, but I was so freaked out I didn’t get a screenshot). Anyhow, I suspected I had a bad water pressure regulator because the faucets have been spraying to hard when turned on. I went to a local plumbing supply and got a new regulator and replaced it in 10 minutes. Turned water on and now the pressure is a steady 50psi (or thereabouts) and nice and normal! So, Flo already identified a HUGE issue and now it’s resolved! Crisis averted! I’m super happy with it so far and the app is stellar good!Summary:It’s working and I’m happy to see such a quality device / App combo work so well and this is now by far the smartest and most useful smart device in the house.Support:I did not rate the support because I’ve not need to contact support yet. However, the website and app support pages look good and full of information.Protection Plan:There is $5/month protection plan and I’m on the free 30 days. So, I’m not going to review that portion of the service yet.The next day I woke up at 6am and noticed that 93 gallons of water were used since midnight! I see the water come on every 4 minutes for 5-10 seconds or so... found a toilet that was running (with a leaky flapper valve) wasting water! I shut off the toilet and fixed went to Home Depot for parts and fixed it. Flo saved me again! I don’t usually rave about a product, but I have to say this thing is great! Just to note, Flo did not alert me that there was a toilet wasting water, I just noticed the number of gallons used was 93 since midnight. Flo is still in “learning mode” while learning the habits of the house water usage, it takes 7-10 days before Flo will become able to auto shutoff and leak send alerts. For more info on leaning mode search the web for Flo by Moen and learning mode.

I've been in the homeowners insurance industry for 18 years now. I know the devastation that water damage can cause. After finding out about this device from a few of my companies (and a few of those even give discounts on insurance for having the device installed), I, my parents, and one of my business partners decided to give it a shot and have the device installed on our homes. I definitely wouldn't say it was an easy process. While most of the instructional videos on YouTube indicated that the device should be installed at the supply line to the water heater (located in our garages) were all told by our plumbers that the device should actually be installed outside on the main water line because there it would be able to monitor the entire water supply to the house and not just to the water heater and plumbing fixtures fed by the water heater, which made sense. Installing it outside, however, also required an electrician to install a waterproof junction box for the power supply to the device. Between the cost of the Flo, the plumber, and electrician, it ran about $1200. This is where the fun began. After the plumber installed the device, it would not connect to my Wifi. The connection button on the device did not work. As there was no other way to connect it to my Wifi, I contacted Moen's tech support. They advised me to buy a new device and return the defective one. After some back and forth with them over the cost of the plumber now having to come back out, un-install, and re-install the device, Moen agreed to send out one of their preferred plumbers at their cost. After it was installed, it worked perfectly. When the device is first installed and the app is learning your water usage, there are definitely 'growing pains'. If you take a shower longer than 5-10 minutes or if the device learns you take your showers around the same time every day, taking a shower during a different time will trigger the app to think there's a leak. You'll then get a message on the app, an email, and an automated phone call from Moen saying they've detected abnormal use and your water will automatically shut off in 5 minutes if the notification on the app isn't cleared. I've recommended the Flo to a number of my clients who have all said the same complaint about the device shutting the water off while showering. Anyways, for the 2.5 years I've had the device installed, it's worked great.This brings me to the present day. Each week, the app sends a notification of weekly water use. Two weeks ago, it said it didn't register any water use. I thought it was odd, but figured it was an error. This week, I received the same notification, so I contacted Moen. I was told that this likely means the turbine inside the device that reads the water flow is clogged with debris and that it's as simple as removing the device and flushing it out. I'm not handy enough to do my own plumbing work and even if I was, there's no way in hell I'd be messing around with my own water main. I called the plumber who Moen had sent out to do the first replacement and was told they only do installs and do not do service on existing devices. I called a few other local plumbers and was told the same thing. I called Moen back and they sent me a link to all of their recommended plumbers. I'm located in South Florida. Between Jupiter and South Miami, their list has 25 plumbers. The first 22 that I called all said the same thing as the first plumber. It wasn't until the 23rd who said that they would try -- it could be debris in the turbine, but he's also seen the turbine blades break due to water pressure -- so he can't guarantee a fix. This is when I took to trusty Twitter to @Moen. Their first response was again for me to me to remove the device and flush it myself, which I'm not doing myself, Their second response was to send me that same list of plumbers. That's when I called Moen back and was told that I should buy a new device and then send Moen the receipt from the original device and they'll reimburse me. The problem with that is 2.5 years ago, I paid around $400 for the device. As of April 2022, you can't find this device ANYWHERE and third-party sellers on Amazon are price gouging for between $800 and $1400, and Moen would only reimburse me for the original price paid. I went back to Twitter, this is when I finally got help. They asked if they could contact me directly, to which I obliged. They said that if the plumber cannot fix the issue to call them back and they'll send me a replacement device under warranty (but I'll still have to pay for the plumber). At this point, I think this is the best I'm going to do.In the end, caveat emptor. The device isn't cheap (especially as of April 2022). The installation isn't cheap, unless you're one of those super handy people who can do it yourself. If something goes wrong with the device, you're going to have to pay for a plumber again... if you can find one to service an existing device. Moen's product support, after a bit of pushing, is very helpful and they do stand behind their product. Even with these costs and hassles, the benefits of the device do outweigh the stress and costs of having a pipe burst and your house flood. Just know what you're getting yourself into.--------**UPDATE**Now, 14 months later, my app started giving notification that my water pressure is low. I tested all my faucets, and it's fine, so I called tech support. They ran their tests and determined it's a bad sensor inside the device that's just not reading pressure anymore, so here we go again! They've sent me yet another replacement device, and it's great that they stand behind their product... but I still have to spend hundreds of dollars to get a plumber out to replace it. Now, two years in a row... ridiculous.----------**ANOTHER UPDATE**A few months ago, i got the same low-pressure warning again. Again, with a call to Moen, they sent me a replacement. I had the plumber come out again -- again spent hundreds of dollars to replace it. This time, despite Moen's written promises to reimburse me for the cost, I keep getting the classic "the check is in the mail" response.Meanwhile, last month, I got a call from my mother in a panic. Her Flo app was telling her that there was a major leak somewhere in the house. She was running around the house checking sinks, showers, toilets, hoses, water heaters, refrigerator lines... there's no water anywhere. She called a plumber who came out to perform a leak inspection. Over $500 later, it was determined there was no leak and it was, you guessed it, another faulty Flo device. Exasperated, she had the plumber remove the device from her home. I will be doing the same when (not if, but definitely when) the device fails on my home next.THIS DEVICE IS A MESS AND SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN RELEASED FOR SALE WITH *SO* MANY FAULTS.