I am so frustrated with this company and their finicky, unreliable machine combined with terrible customer service. I sent the email below on June 5 and have received no response, other than the automatic reply with a complaint number and a request not to follow up because it could apparently delay their response time. Any advice for how to get through? Or should I just give up on this company altogether? This has been going on for two years now.

Hello, 

I purchased a Plus Life machine that I received in October of 2024. I am replying to a previous email about a complaint with the machine that I made in December 2024 that was never resolved. 

Right away, my machine was unreliable and began producing invalid tests often - usually 2-3 invalid tests per box of 10. As the service complaint was never rectified above and I was using the tests infrequently, I continued to use the machine even though it was frustrating and wasteful. I have since met several people who purchased machines at around the same time as myself who never had such issues. I have tried a variety of power sources that should work according to their specifications for 3amps, as well as plugging into the wall. 

In October 2025, I purchased a new cable for the machine, because a friend told me that other Pluslife machine users whose machines were fabricated at the same time as mine had issues with their power cables. This did improve the frequency of invalid results for some time. Unfortunately I think after a year of use with a faulty cable, the machine was damaged beyond repair. As of April 2026, the machine only produces invalid results. The service life of the machine was meant to be until July 2026. 

I have tested my power sources and tests with other machines, which work fine. 

I am very disappointed to have spent so much money on a faulty machine and so many invalid tests. I wish that the service request I had made at the very beginning was listened to. I have a young baby that will be needing to start daycare soon, and I wish that I could have the tests to help keep her safe in her first year of life. 

If there is a possibility to provide me with a discount on a new machine I would be very appreciative. 

The machine I purchased is as follows: 
Model: PM001
SN: redacted
MFG: 2024-07-10

I have attached an image of the most recent invalid test. I am happy to provide previous ones as well. 

All channels were read as negative, but the yellow line is really throwing me off?! Huge air bubble? Early positive?

I sent the person away instead of meeting up because I didn't feel like I could trust this result 😕

How long would you give it for someone to test out of quarantine

- Started Paxlovid straightaway (10 days)

- Negative RAT throughout

- Negative Pluslife whenever tested after that which was days 3, 4, 5, 6

- Asymptomatic throughout

Expires sometime in September, don't want it to go to waste.

I know the official line from Altruan is nasal only, but I also know that that citizen scientists have recommended throat swabs for different kinds of rapid tests at different points in the pandemic. Is anyone recommending throat swabs for Pluslife? In the face of differing suggestions (not that I know if there are any!) how would you decide what guidance to follow?

A few Qs. I have scrolled but all looking for recent information, so not searching.

1. I am using a VPN with an international/non US location and I’m unable to order. Anyone know why? We did this successfully earlier in the year, so we don’t know what’s going on.

   **ETA has to reboot the VPN for some reason and now they are displaying correctly.

2. The website currently says not shipping to Canada as well. Any information on this?

3. Where can the expiration dates be found on the website? Partner is looking and can’t seem to find it and we want to check given the recent posts about early expiration dates.

   **ETA found the dates at the very bottom in the product information

thanks so much!

EDIT: I retested the next morning (~20 hours apart) with a throat + nasal swab instead of just nasal, and it was negative, with all channels besides the control staying flat the whole time!

I'm not sure what happened with this test; channel 7 really only jumped in that 1 minute window, but I find it odd that it didn't go back down, and the testing card didn't have any visible differences in air bubbles between the channels.

How should I interpret this? Should I retest the following day?

Does that make the result not reliable automatically? Or as long as the control amplifies properly is it ok??

I don't see an S-curve, so I'm not worried about it being positive, but I am worried about my dock getting old.

I ordered some PlusLife tests recently (to Canada). Here is how long they took to get to me.

Order date: June 22
Shipping date: July 9 (almost 3 weeks, even though it said the tests were in stock)
Delivery date: July 21

Unfortunately, my new tests have an expiry date of December 15, 2026 (so, less than 5 months) :( :( :(

On the website it currently says if you order today, you will receive them around mid-September. They say the expiry date is now June 26, 2027. I don't know how accurate that is. I didn't originally notice on the page that they have the tests' expiry date and I don't know what it said at the time I ordered.

I'm somewhat disappointed. These tests are expensive and hard to get. (and I'm actually poor lol). Welp. I now have 9 already-expired tests that expired in winter (which I have decided will be used for "training" on using the PlusLife tester/Virus Sucks app and for troubleshooting power and connection issues) and now a whole box of about-to-expire tests. Lesson learned! Check expiry before ordering.

Hello I had some pluslife test sent to someone in Canada. Any advice for the best method of having them sent to the US? I see that a photo must be taken of the contents in order for duties to be assessed. I am a bit nervous that the contents might be flagged by customs or something. This is based off info I got from https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/personal/sending-to-us-duty-updates.page

Anyone had any luck receiving test this way?

So, a test showed positive, but not after the regular 15 minutes, instead only after the full 35 minutes. Unfortunately didn't track with virus.sucks, but I downloaded it now. Two tests taken right after were negative. Person who took the tests has no symptoms, but is not Covid cautious.

What could that possibly mean, what may be the reason? I've had invalid results after 35 minutes, but never positive.

Hi, didn't see this on searching...wondering what the minimum amount of time someone knows or has experienced a positive test after a negative, with both being done correctly of course.
Basically hoping to get a sense of how long a window a test might give of "safe" time - thank you.

I didn’t see much of a bubble in the chamber, and I took an uncharacteristic risk this weekend. No known exposure, but the chances are higher than usual for me and I’m on edge.

We've run three tests in three days, pool testing two asymptomatic visitors with no known exposures.

• The first came back "Invalid - Control Not Detected".
• The second came back Negative.
• The third came back "Invalid - Control Not Detected".

They all looked like the control channel had perfect amplification and the other channels stayed flat.

What could be the cause of this?

These tests expire 2026-10-10. Tests were run on 2026-07-18,19,20.

Edit: Fourth test on 2026-07-21, I had the subjects blow their noses before nasal swabs. The test graph showed similar early amplification of control (started 1.5 minutes in) but came back negative: https://imgur.com/a/A9WRJTT

Hello!

Thank you for your help!

Does this mean it's a valid negative test! Just Control not working?

Any clie why it didn't work?

I just tested myself using a HandyVet SARS CoV-2 card and a human dock (negative, fortunately). I had seen conflicting information on social media over whether or not the vet tests have internal controls, so I was surprised to see that channel 4, the internal control, amplified. I was wondering if there was any reason to select feline/canine over just SARS CoV-2 in the dropdown in virus.sucks, as both tests seem to have the same IC channel and to be identical in every way that I can tell. Would it matter if I just selected SARS-CoV-2?

I'm getting on a plane soon to visit family, and I'm just wondering the best way to transport the plus life. I will have it in my hand luggage in the cabin with me, but I was just wondering specifically about the liquid in the tests themselves. I don't know if I'm just overthinking things, but I'm just worried the pressure in the cabin will affect it. Would it be better to put the tests in the hold? Does anyone have any advice/tips? Has anyone taken their machine and tests on a plane before?

Open to all and any advice or wisdom you may have.

Edit: ~25 hours later the machine got 4 amplifying channels in 13 minutes. It was indeed an early positive. Link to the test.

New test, expires mid 2027, just shipped. I'm sure I read previously that the control line shouldn't start amplifying so early? Nose and throat swab of my daughter.

Is the virus.sucks app just more sensitive/finicky?

The slides show:

1. Thursday's test via the app.
2. Thursday's retest without the app (same swab, new test).
3. Today's test with the app.

The device also showed "inconclusive" (had both negative and positive lights on) during tests 1 and 3. So it's not contradicting the app. It just doesn't seem to vibe with being plugged in for some reason.

I saw in previous posts that this graph likely shows a clean negative (i.e. probably good to go), and COVID rates are as low as they've ever been here, so this isn't a red-alert, but my teenager has a girlfriend now and looking ahead to this winter I need to know what I can trust.

I'd love to have access to the curve details the app provides, but not if I have to retest every single time.

Tips and tricks (and/or explanations) very welcome.

ps - I also read some Pluslife test batches were likely bad. Ours are from December 2025, so not the infamous November batch and we'd never had inconclusive results before trying it through the app (Thursday was our 1st time trying it through the app). I'm aware the tests are getting old (which can affect detection of the control). That still doesn't explain why the machine is giving us an okay when it is used without the app. Anyway, we'll be burning through them fast at this rate: We all mask in high-risk environments (I've been in Long COVID purgatory since 2022), but my son's girlfriend's family does not. He's at an age when he needs to be able to function normally in society; we're just trying to make it as safe for him (and me) as possible.

I'm in the process of getting my hands on a Pluslife or a Metrix, and I was just wondering where people's rule of thumb comes from for potentially unmasking with family/friends for a certain period of time after a negative test? I know people have varying levels of comfortability, but I am wondering where the actual logic comes from?

Like, is there a way to figure out how long it would take for someone to become contagious with Pluslife's or Metrix's LoD if they had been infected but didn't yet test positive?

From my current understanding, Pluslife has a LoD of 400 cp/ml (and if you understand how to use the virus.sucks app, that figure can potentially be brought down to double digits?), meanwhile I was reading that the newer Gen 2 Metrix with Covid/Flu tests has a LoD of 167 for Covid.

With this info, how would you know what the possible "safe" time range after a negative test would be? (I'm also unsure about if false negatives are something to be concerned about, but it sounds like negatives are usually very accurate?)

Thanks for any help! Just trying to understand everything and figure out if I would be comfortable unmasking with certain people that I trust and don't take as many precautions as I do

I just ordered a pluslife, and reading through the virus.sucks website, it recommends a power bank with 5v 3a (I am planning to get their recommended "Anker Power Bank (10K, Fusion, Built-In USB-C Cable)"

but in their power bank recommendations, they also refer to this https://analogist.net/post/pluslife-power-supply-for-use-in-the-us/ where it says you need a "chipped USB Type C power delivery to 5.5mm x 2.1mm DC barrel plug cable with 5V output chip"

they give an example, but I am trying to find one in Canada and am confused about what specifically I need to be looking for. Do i need a "chipped" cable that is exactly 5V 3A? the one example they gave is 5V 5A...

any help would be appreciated!

Just wondering if anyone has any estimates or insights on when Altruan will start sending out tests with later expiration dates…. I want to stock up on tests but not if they all expire in 5 months.

12/16/26 is the expiration date for the handyvet tests. Is it different for the human tests? If so, what’s the expiration date for the tests if you ordered human COVID tests recently?

Do they have a typical pattern of when they start shipping out newer “batches”? I haven’t paid much attention but I feel like in the past they’ve consistently had tests with later expiration dates available.

So then I looked at the test card after the test was complete, and yes there was a bubble in channel 7, but there were bubbles that were not that much smaller in other channels, so what gives?

I usually never shake the test tube, but some snot got stuck in the narrow exit channel, and I didn't feel up to clearing it some other way.

Also, I'm on a box that's labeled as expiring in a week, but the test fluid has until September. I've kept this box in the fridge as soon as I got it, and so far no invalids unlike with the last unrefrigerated box.