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August stops selling View doorbell less than three weeks after launch

August stops selling View doorbell less than three weeks after launch

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Company cites connectivity issues as the reason, and no date for when it will come back has been provided

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Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge

August announced today that it is halting shipments of its new View doorbell camera a mere 17 days after it first went up for sale. The View is August’s first battery-operated doorbell camera, and it was selling for $229.99.

In a statement announcing the stoppage of shipments, August CEO Jason Johnson cites “performance challenges in specific user environments” as the reason. In my review of the View, published on April 9th, I noted that I experienced numerous connectivity and streaming issues while testing the device. CNET also reported long delays while connecting to the View through the August app in its testing. Customers on Amazon cite similar issues, where the View currently has a 1.5-star rating across 40 reviews.

Interestingly, August is offering customers the option to keep the View and receive a full refund of the purchase price in exchange for providing information on their setup and allowing August to reach out to them for more information to help improve the product’s performance. Customers who do not wish to participate are able to return the device to the retailer where they purchased it for a full refund. An August spokesperson did not say how many View customers are affected by this or how many units have been sold or shipped since the device went on sale.

Customers can get a refund and keep the View if they provide feedback to August

In its statement, the company says it needs to do more testing, implement improvements, and evaluate the feedback it’s gotten from users before it will put the View back up for sale. An exact date for when that will happen was not provided.

You can read the statement sent out to August View customers in its entirety below:

We recently began shipping the August View, our first battery-powered doorbell camera. While we remain excited to bring this product to more customers, we are aware of some performance challenges in specific user environments. When you purchase an August product, you trust us with the most important parts of your life: your home and your family. We value your trust greatly and it is our top priority. In order to fully evaluate the user feedback, implement critical improvements, run further testing, and keep our commitment to you, we are pausing shipping of the August View.

If you are an August View customer and would like to keep your product and help us improve the performance, you may receive a full refund by applying here within the next seven days (ends 5/3/2019). If you have not activated your unit or would not like to provide feedback, please contact the retail location you purchased from to initiate a return.

August View will be on sale again in the near future and when we have a date to share, you’ll be the first to know.

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