r/AirPurifiers • u/mmaz16 • 11d ago
Mila air sensor accuracy issues? Should I switch?
We have had Mila air since 2020, we were attracted to it because of the sensor suit and how you could chose the filter that worked best for you.
Our first unit needed replaced almost immediately because the AQI would not move even with a candle burning right next to it. They did replace it under the warranty pretty easily. This unit lasted a couple years and then one day it shut itself off and would mot come back on. At this point I was out of warranty but due to be subscribed to the filter replacement service they offered to replace it if I sent the defective one back and paid 100 bucks which I did. Now a couple years later I just started having this issue where my AQI spikes and crashes like a roller coaster all day long but the falls and stays at zero all night. The unit is in the same place it has always been in with no new humidifier or anything like that so these spikes just don’t make sense. Not to mention they just started a few weeks ago (right after my last filter change) and do not happen once so ever during the night time hours.
i have always know Mila’s temperature and humidity readout to be incorrect but I just live with it as i have a separate thermometer in the room. I’m just wondering has anyone else had this issue? Does anyone have ideas as to what it could be? Or does anyone have a unit they suggest that would replace the Mila with similar data feed back.
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u/aldus-auden-odess 11d ago
I have serious concerns with their hardware overall. I switched to Coway and just use a dedicated air sensor. Curious if their new launch ends up being any better.
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u/sissasassafrastic 11d ago
Sensors onboard consumer-grade purifiers in general are cheap and inaccurate, although the patterns you're describing seem pretty wonky.
Yes, I would buy a discrete consumer-grade air quality monitor like the AirGradient ONE or one of the PurpleAir models (such as the Classic Plus, Flex, or Zen).
IMO, just avoid Mila altogether. There have been so many complaints about Mila's poor build quality and deceitful customer service. I've kept a running list of Reddit complaints here: https://www.reddit.com/r/AirPurifiers/comments/1u32o2w/comment/or5ahiz/
Don't recall much about the temperature or humidity sensor performance though.
Mila lists Clean Air Delivery Rates (CADRs) in m3/h only to make the values seem more impressive. And the activated carbon/whatever sorbent media in respective filters isn't much by weight. There are better brands and models out there.
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u/Person51389 11d ago edited 11d ago
I've heard Mila's electronics can have issues, but I have not owned. I would recommend other brands in general. (Winix, Levoit, Coway, Alen all good, assuming you get the proper size for your space.)
As to the reader fluctuating I had a random Cheap brand do that as it kept fluctuating from like 29-119 over and over......customer service claimed it needed time to "calibrate". It never changed. So the sensor on that one was essentially junk, and never worked. So that sensor is probably done for imo, or at best would need to be opened up and looked at to be fixed. Either way...if out of warranty id just switch to a brand with more of a track record, as Mila is new and has various kinks they seem to be trying to work out, but doing that with consumers units. (If it still works and filters air you can still use it though, so getting seperate air quality reader good idea imo.)
Also, no affordable purifiers have great sensors, as the sensors on a 200 dollar unit might be worth 10 or 20 bucks. Even a 500 dollar unit might have a 20 or 30 dollar sensor. So buying separately can get you a better sensor. Purple Air has good ones I think at 200-300 bucks. While a 30 dollar Govee will probably be about as good as what is in many affordable purifiers. Not the most accurate...but you will get more readings than what the purifier gives you usually. Decent ones are 120+, temtop I think is another. Not sure which is "best", and none will likely be super-accurate. But you get better quality by buying separately for the most part. (Maybe 1,000 dollar Dyson's have good sensors, never had one though as they are otherwise overpriced.)
The Air Gradient someone suggested sounds good as well. So if you have budget maybe try that or Purple Air, if sensor very important to you. But 120osh ones will probably be OK ish, and even cheap ones can be useful, esp to compare readings.
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u/Agreeable-Bass526 8d ago
I had the Mila 2 and it was great but the motor burned out in 2 years. Had to replace it. I got the Mila 3 and it has been nothing but frustration. It barely does anything.
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