Filtrete Smart

I’ve been using these for almost 18 months now and I love these! I have a 14x30x1 upstairs and downstairs and I thought it was just a countdown timer to change it every 3-4 months, but it’s actually air quality it’s measuring. I don’t have to change the one downstairs near as often the one upstairs! Definitely a nice surprise! Also, with COVID-19 and flu season, it filters out any germs that might get in the air.. When I have been telling friends about these, I tell them it’s like a N95 mask for your House/AC!! Hah, I don’t think that’s accurate.. but I get then point across that it’s far better than any AC filter out there and does trap and kill viruses. The app and air quality feature makes it so easy to know when your filters need changing.. I’ve saved money because I was using the 2400s and I’d change them both every 4 months.. and last time I changed both and I’m at 4 months now with 39% downstairs and 28% upstairs.. that’s great to know and a $$ saver!

I’ve been using Filtrete 2500 Smart Air Filters for several months now, one upstairs and two downstairs. I’ve replaced each when the filter life is at 0%, which has been at different times for each filter. I’d rather spend more money now for these filters and the smart filter capabilities than possibly spend more money in the future dealing with health-related problems that could have been prevented by using high quality smart air filters. The app is great and allows me to know exactly when I need to change my filters rather simply guessing or waiting three months to do so. The tips on the app are informative and helpful. The only thing I would suggest for the app is the addition of a history of when each filter is replaced so I and other users can keep track of short and long term usage and replacement. I’ve been amazed at how sooner I’ve needed to replace my filters but am grateful that my family and I are breathing cleaner air!

I rarely ever leave rave reviews for a product, but this app (and Filtrete’s products) definitely earns it. I live in an apartment and the people living below me are constantly smoking marijuana against the lease rules. The smoke comes into my unit through the vents, and I get migraines from it. When I turn on my air purifier during the smoking, it shows that my AQI is over 100. Well, I didn’t realize until today that my Filtrete air purifier was recording the Air Quality Index even when it wasn’t running! I looked in the app today and saw an entire historical record of the AQI in my apartment, and the beautifully designed graph shows spikes almost every day from the smoke. This means I now have a clear record of every time marijuana smoke enters my unit, and I can bring it to court to make my case if needed. I am so impressed with this app and with Filtrete’s products. I’ll be sticking with this brand!

Based on this app, one would expect that the Filtrete “smart” filters that pair with this app would actually monitor the effective airflow through the filter and therefore give you a good idea of when they should be replaced. Alas, its just a gimmick that appears to simply start a countdown timer that expires after 90 days or so. The app also supports an environmental air monitor, but the monitor itself (Speck) is no longer available. As such, this feature has no real use. Filtrete is apparently building their own monitor, which may or may not work with this app if/when they actually release it. But beware - the monitor is under development and being funded via an Indiegogo campaign, which is quite strange for a company as large as 3M to require this type of funding. I personally contributed to the campaign, had an issue and contacted Filtrete. They failed to stand behind their commitment, so I cancelled my contribution and will not buy the monitor if/when it is released. I recommend that others do the same - delete this app, purchase standard filters and just set a reminder on your calendar to replace your filters.

I have been using the Filtrete 2500 Smart Air Filters for two or three years now. Really like them, even though they are a bit more expensive. There are a couple of suggestions that I want to make. First, the last two times that I have purchased filters and had them shipped to the house, only two of the three filters had a good battery. There needs to be a shelf life listed on the package to alert the vendor and the user that the filter is out of date and the battery will likely not be good. Secondly, in the case that there is a bad battery, there needs to be an option to manually add the install date into the app. At present, I have three new filters and one shows that it is need of replacement with the old installation date, when it was just changed in the past few days and has a bad battery.

The linked disk attached to the filter appears to be just a countdown timer. Besides common sense tips like not living like a slob to help keep air quality high I feel like the whole set up is just a fancy way to raise the cost of the filters. My house unfortunately has filters/returns in just about every room (5 total filters), so the need to change them is a lot lower than the average home because the filters all work together. I’m bringing this up because I wanted to test and see if the disk truly determines air movement and filter usage, or if it’s just a count down timer. Overall it appears to be just a really fancy timer that tells your app to tell you go by a new filter. It doesn’t seem to keep track of actual usage, just the time from when you pull the battery seal off the disk. When inspecting the filters they look only slight dusty, not much more then the day they were installed. Maybe others will enjoy the reminder, but for the added cost I’m not sure it’s worth it.

Terrific app. Did what it said it was going to do and then, the unthinkable happened… A few days ago, a major upgrade was pushed out and now, can’t connect to my filter. No matter what I do… nothing. Sad to see one of the few apps that really worked as advertised fall by the wayside. UPDATE: What is specifically happening is after a couple of days, the Filtrete Bluetooth device will disappear from My Devices (Bluetooth) and the only way to get around the issue is to delete the app and reinstall and usually can get a couple of days out of the app using this procedure. Just saw there was a minor update pushed out (2.0.1) so we’ll see if that resolves the issue. UPDATE 2: After a couple minor updates to the app over the last several days, it’s been very stable and no longer noticing any issues whatsoever so changing the rating from 1 star to 5.

I run my home HVAC a lot and wanted to understand if I’ve been replacing my filters too often or not often enough. Purchased a smart filter and installed it in early June and everything was working great. Then they redesigned the app and now I’m able to connect to the filter maybe one time out of a hundred. Called customer service and they had me pull the filter and reset it and I connected once and then right back to silence. I downloaded some BTLE scanner apps and I can see the sensor and it’s definitely putting out a strong signal, and the battery seems to be fine. So I can only assume the app is crap. And today there was an update but still super spotty connection. Very disappointing.

I really think this is a cool concept! It’s been over 3 months since I installed my first filter and I’m just needing to change the filter! A few things though… 1. I think it’s unpairing or just the app requires a log in most times and then I need to log in again to check the life 2. The “life” seems to stay the same for days at a time and then finally one day it’ll jump down a few numbers but it says it’s connected each time I check it. For instance, I checked the app before I went out of town yesterday at lunch and it was at 28%. This morning I got an email saying that my auto order for the filters couldn’t be filled because of an address issue. I checked the app and it said “0% replace filter now”. I’m not home right now, but unless my house caught on fire while I was gone there’s no way it got that dirty that fast. 3. No phone notification for the 0%? I’d prefer a notification before a surprise order.

I have been using the Filtrete smart air filters and the app for over a year now and it works very well. Occasionally the app loses the connection with the filter, but if this happens it still can estimate the filter life. If you/your phone are home most of the time, I think the location services are used pretty sparingly. But if you leave the house for any amount of time (including going to work) it seems like the app goes a bit nuts. It starts checking your location A LOT (are you home yet? How about now? How about now? Now?). When we go away for a weekend or vacation I have started disabling the location services because it is annoying and feels intrusive. I wish there were an option between “always allow” and “allow while app is open”.

In my opinion, Big box gyms and smaller gyms have poor quality controls over the safety of the environment their clients work out and breathe in for 30min to 90 min. Think about what closed during the pandemic for longer than every other business. It was gyms. I own Hot Power Studios. When I build FPY I wanted the cleanest air for my clients to breathe. I installed a state of the art UV Bulb system, choose a floor with an antibacterial coating to ensure sweat didn’t seep through and most importantly I have work instructions to ensure air filers are Filtrete 1500 that are changed every 30 days. This new app helps me ensure every studio is running like my original studio. Safety is my customers right and my responsibility!

I don’t use them often, but when I do, it’s good to know that the filtrate will remind you when the filter needs to be changed. You can also set up the changes you want. Because I know everybody forgets when they’ve changed their filter. How long ago and sometimes especially, if there’s construction or lots of pollen in the air or lots of dust from moving things, it can get a lot dirtier faster especially during spring cleaning and other times. So I do recommend this filter. It is a little more expensive than your regular ones because of the Bluetooth connection. It’ll benefit those that need to change their on time!

I’m not happy with the need for location but it does add extra features to the filter what filter does do a good job of tracking filter life and let you know exactly when it’s over it raises the cost of the filter but takes the guesswork out so you don’t end up replacing filters too early Or replacing filters too late after you’ve already got dust everywhere overall it’s a great product I’m just hoping they can get the cost down a bit more Buying once a year in quantity helps as they appear to be just fine over Time in storage and you get a break on price

Bottom Line: Filtrete sensor only pushes you to buy more filters even if you do not need them. Story time: I purchased filters for my home that included the sensor to alert me to when the filter needed to be changed. After approximately 6 months, the HVAC installer was over for an unrelated issue and noted the filters. Unbeknownst to me, two of the three HVAC units have internal filters. This led me to remove those two filters. Since all three filters are the same, I set them aside to use in the third unit since they had life left. These filters are sitting upright in an area with zero airflow. One of the filters has slowly decreased its filter capacity from 62% to 0% over a month with zero airflow. Either the sensor is completely whacked or they merely go off a timer to alert the owner when to change them. Why charge a premium and install an app that gathers your info for nothing? This smells like a money grabbing scam.

I echo the disappointment with the app of others who compare the Bluetooth device and app to a countdown timer. Despite the marketing jargon used to explain how and why filters in some houses need to be replaced more frequently than others (to which I agree), the device and app should do more than merely measure air flow. Not that I don’t understand the rationale, but if the app and device doesn’t measure, record and display airflow over the life of the filter or even better some semblance of the actual particles caught, it really is nothing more than a countdown timer regardless how quickly that time passes, which any homeowner interested enough to make use of the app would already know. That being said, a reminder for changing the filter is never a bad idea. The app should just have more functionality. As it is, it just seems like an app for app sake.

I have two units in my house. Both units are in HVAC systems that usually run about the same every day. However, one filter unit will say 79% remaining and the other one will say 30% remaining. When the app says 0% remaining and to replace the filter, the filter just does not look that dirty compared to other Filtrete treat smart filters that were at 0% remaining and actually did look dirty. When replacing filters, one will have an extremely accelerated decline (from 100% down to 85% and just a matter of days and then accelerate to 0% from there) and then the next time around the other one will. What’s with that? I have had several Filtrete smart filters (I’m on my 6th set) and they have all been very unreliable and inconsistent, the most problem is connectivity, even when standing right next to the unit. I will never buy a smart filter again.

This is a great and practical app especially if you’re using one of the Filtrete smart filters that monitor your filter performance and updates to your mobile device via Bluetooth. I installed a smart filter and the app notified me it needed to be changed after approximately two months, or about 1 month before the filters maximum suggested life. I ignored the notification, and waited until 3 months had passed. Big mistake! When I removed the filter it was very full, much more than I typically see after a normal 3-month changeout. Next time when the app. Notifies me I’m going to change, or at least inspect my filter.

I still may be afraid to spend time in my furnace room trying to find the UPC on my furnace filters. I also would still rather just manually type the model # in because I’m better at remembering model numbers than I am at remembering to scan UPCs before I throw them away. However, I appreciate that 3M takes the time to read negative reviews and gather feedback on what would make it easier for users, and will give this app ***** on that and it’s usefulness with the UPC alone.

After one of the updates it now will ONLY allow me to scan the barcode when I try to enter a non smart filter. I switched to a higher mpr and couldn’t figure out how to change the setting so I deleted the info on the app and now it won’t let me add it back. The box had a couple different bar codes and I held camera over each one and they don’t do anything and no button to push to snap a pic. Deleting app and just setting a reminder on my phone. EDIT: that’s how I was doing it but since I switched to a different filter I wasn’t able to change that setting so I had to delete the data and start again at which time I couldn’t get it to read the barcode therefore rendering the app useless. Reminder on my phone is easier since the app was only a timer anyways

Had two filters that I installed on exactly the same day. One system runs daily and runs often. The other, a basement area, rarely runs and till now the filters are good for well over a year. I fully assumed the filter change interval would be different due to the claimed differential pressure measurement..... there was NO DIFFERENCE !! The app claimed that both filters had to be changed after just 30 days ... they have been easily good up to 90 days before the ‘smart’ sensor. Even if the 30 days were correct on the main system, how do you explain (3M that is) that another system (smaller in Sq-Ft but using the same size 20x25x1 filter) that barely runs had signaled the need to change on exactly the same day as he other. Differential pressure sensing .... I don’t think so. The ‘smart’ appears to be a simple timer. Disappointed, majorly, in 3M !!

Someone is being less than honest about these Filtrete Bluetooth filters + app. My experience exactly matches other reviews. My home has 6 returns. I tried two of these in a T plenum; side 1 gets exposure to outside air, side 2 exclusively has exposure to conditioned air. I placed one of these Bluetooth filters in each side expecting their “replace” indicators to be significantly different, as the side 2 conditioned air return takes more than 2x as long to dirty a filter as the other. FAIL Side 1 installed 4/21. Side 2 installed 4/22. Side 1 indicated “replace” exactly 90-days later. Side 2 said replace exactly 1-day later. The devices installed on these filters do NOT function to measure flow, volume, nor pressure. This is nothing more than a 90-day countdown timer, either (A) because the sensors are nothing more than timers; or (B) because the software app defaults to showing “replace” regardless of the state of the filter once it hits 90-days. If A, these are falsely advertised. If B, the app results in false advertising. THESE ARE A RIP-OFF The pairing works fine, the app is easy to use. You can get the same functionality by setting a note in the iOS calendar to repeat every 99-days ... without the overhead and misleading of this app.

Filtrete Smart Air Filters are a great concept, but they constantly lose pairing and cannot reconnect even when placing the phone directly on the filter. I have 8 filters going at a time and only the two that are nearest the living areas seem to work and even they are spotty. I hope they resolve the issue because it is a great concept. I don’t think Bluetooth is the way to go to cover the distance needed in anything larger than a Barbie Doll house.

When I first set this app up I had one filter upstairs with the Bluetooth sensor and one filter downstairs without a sensor. When I tried to replace the upstairs filter with a filter without a sensor, the app prompted me again and again to simply pull the tab on the sensor and wait for it to connect. Obviously a filter without a sensor doesn’t have a tab to pull on the sensor. There was no option to replace a sensor-based filter with a non-sensor filter. The only option was to delete the filter and all of its historical data and add a new filter that didn’t have a sensor. So once you put a filter with a sensor in place, you had better replace it only with another filter with a sensor or you will have to delete your entire history.

I downloaded this app after I noticed an advertisement for it on some furnace filters we purchased. Once I downloaded it’s asking for several sign in options. I tried to use Apple but it tells me I need to use two factor. I don’t use two factor and I don’t care to because it was activated with one of the updates and it was too much of a hassle so I went back to my security questions. I don’t want to use Facebook or google. Too much tracking going on. Why can’t you just use an app as a reminder as it’s intended why do you need my email? I have many other apps I use that are reminders for my aquariums etc and no emails required. I’ll just use my reminder on my phone so no thanks to your app

The responses to other reviews indicate that the plastic, electronic, battery operated sensor mounted on the filter actually monitors airflow and determines filter change frequency. I can’t verify that for certain. What I do know is that it displays air quality but don’t be fooled. It’s not measuring indoor quality. The app gets that from your home address. You need an additional compatible sensor to measure indoor air quality. Also, I now have e-waste mounted to what used to be a paper and metal and would decompose in a landfill after I throw it away. What happens now that I’m disposing of the filter with its battery operated electronic sensor mounted to it? Just a waste of money and bad for the environment in the long run. My first one will be my last.

These filters are far more expensive than other Filtrete filters. I’ve now had two that just stopped responding. One had about 60% remaining and then dropped to 0%. My current one won’t connect and is stuck at 91%. The purpose for paying more for these filters is so that you know when the capacity is near zero and needing a change rather than just changing them every three months or so - especially during the Summer/allergy season. Also, the last three filters I purchased would not connect after pulling the tab. I had to insert a dress shirt collar stay back in the slot to get them to work, and that was a pain. For $30 per filter, I expect the original tab to work, but it doesn’t.

I have three filters in my house. I have two different sizes. Up to recently the app has worked perfectly. Now the Filter Life Has been showing the same value for the last one or two weeks. The app show constantly syncing after initially saying up to date for a second after starting. iPhone Bluetooth settings show that all three filters are connected when the app is running. I have removed the app and reinstalled it. I am using an iPhone with IOS 15.4.

Apologies. I think I left a review of this app a long time ago saying it should work with other air monitors but this would involve different companies so it may not be possible. However, I’ve found the app useful esp seeing that during these stifling summer months of heat with a/c running round the clock the app suggests a 3 month filter needs a change in less than 1 month due to the Bluetooth sensor noting heavy use. Don’t know the validity of this, esp given the cost of filters, but if its not subjective this is really useful to know. The Bluetooth filters don’t seem to be in stores anymore and I have no idea how much these sensors cost 3m plus throwing them out attached permanently to the filters. Without the Bluetooth sensor the app is minimally useful. Maybe 3m can make a long lasting Bluetooth sensor that can be moved from one filter to the next and reset through the app. Without knowing more about these sensors it seems a waste of money for 3m and bad for the environment to throw these out.

If the app has my location wrong—location is a pretty basic function these days—how accurate is the measurement of the filters? I have used filtrete for years and ended up with the smart feature. It allows me to add my city but it should not be so off. The actual map at set up was set to my address and the locator pin was accurate. App has clean look. Easy to see. The city data is more difficult to read. The app still gets the city wrong. I can let ok up my city but cannot get it to default to that.

I think this is a really great air filter . I'm also impressed with the Bluetooth app that comes with these filters. Never thought I'd get excited about an air filter ,but it's just a really cool smart product . I like the fact I can monitor the air quality inside and outside my home with my IPhone . I am installing my second Filtrete(1900) smart air filter today because the first sent me a text . How cool is that? I'll tell you this, its as cool as the clean air coming out of my HVAC system.

As far as how legitimate this is, my opinion of course, this app and product is amazing! My family suffers from seasonal allergies badly and since we live in El Paso... It is even worse with this dry heat, dust, sand everywhere. But these filters do work amazingly, when replacement is needed, the used filter has trapped an unbelievable amount of debris, dust and so on. I’m home we can also breathe in the difference from “standard” other brands to Filtrete brands. We will not go back, Filtrete... Great product!!!

I just replaced the air filter (done this dozens of times), but the app after a few days now is showing the last air filter replacement date and information. I can’t even change the dates and shows air quality of 2%. By the way, it did connect when I replaced, but seems to be an issue with the app.

Very intuitive app with simple but surprisingly useful functions. Actually saves marriages by allowing me to recognize when the filter needs changing while avoiding the inevitable scene that used to occur when I waited too long and my wife would start coughing up a lung. And if you’re thinking this is just a marketing tool to get you to buy filters sooner, when I changed my first pair at 5% life left, they were pretty doggone dirty. Nicely done, folks!

What else can I say? Don’t be a fool like me. Set a 90-day reminder in your phone when you replace a filter, and you’ll be as intelligent about the filter as this app is. Because Bluetooth is just a connection that pairs your phone to a countdown timer in the filter. It does not tell you “Replace your filter because it is no longer filtering the air.” No. It says, “Replace your filter because it has been three months since you installed this one and that means it’s time to replace!” Set a freaking reminder and be done with it. You do not need this app if you do not waste your time or money on the filters associated with this app.

Outstanding product and the air quality inside the house is 100% better than previous month and with other less efficient filters. The house air quality is much much better! I recommend this filter to anyone. Is so easy to place an order they Lowe’s I did received my order for two filters and I can said that they are fenomenal! Great product!

Good layout, good tips, and fast pairing. Everything a smart device app should have. I want to see a way to integrate this filter with Samsung Smartthings, though I would continue using the Filtrete app for the air quality monitoring feature alone. I can't rate this app 5 Stars yet, because I can't order any new filters through it (elite 14x30x1). When I try to check on the item in the app, I'm greeted with a blank, white screen. Would love to save the trip to the hardware store.

I live in the country in a home built in 1970. Farmers all around here grow hay, cows or goats. It can get pretty dusty at times. The filters are a bit pricey and I started running it all day. Now I control the run time by using the built in timer. I also connect remotely by cell phone. I have connected to the purifier from NJ, SC and Maryland using my data connections and WiFi. Very satisfied!

I bought a set of these "smart" filters and while the filters are excellent the smart feature is just a reminder that keeps track of time. Why? I placed a filter without activating the sensor by error, a few weeks later I went to replace it and notice that the sensor was off. So I decided to activate the smart sensor and lo and behold the app said It was a brand new filter when in actuality was the same dirty filter from a few weeks back. So I don't really know how it works and what the sensor is for

Overall, I like the app. It’s pretty innovative and easy to pair with the Bluetooth sensor on the filters. My only complaint is that I believe it recommended I allow it to have access to my location while in the background. I did this, but I just noticed that the app alone is using 10% of my battery while running in the background, so I’ve chosen to only allow location access when I’m running the app instead. This is on an iPhone XS.

The packaging claims that the filter will “Track the life of your Filtrete Smart Air Filter based on air flow and usage - not just time” which is completely false. Shame on you 3M for this false advertising and for claiming otherwise in developer responses to reviews. I think the reason users have noticed wide variations between the outside air quality reported by the app and measurements reported by sites such as PurpleAir is due to a mismatch of units of measure. The app uses micrograms per cubic meter, where other US based sites use US EPA PM2.5. Would be good if 3M would provide a setting to allow selection of unit of measure.

The filter itself works just like any other filter-seems to do its job. I bought this product for the sensor/app feedback capability. I suspect the batteries for the sensor are failing as over six months I've had two filters now that have about 90% failure to connect with the app to give feedback. Since all my other electronics are working just fine (including wifi and bluetooth) im guessing the batteries are weak and/or old when i bring the filters home from the store. Or the app has issues. So buy the filter for the filter not for the sensor information

Edit: once I was given instructions on how to pair two individual filters I was able to successfully pair both filters that I had purchased. Works well. Purchased two filters as I have two systems. I was able to pair the first filter but when I went to pair the second filter I kept getting an error message associated with my user id and password (which is the same one I used to pair my first filter). 3M needs to ensure the app works. Very frustrated.

For the last 9 month to a year my smart filters never want to connect even if I am standing next to to the Return where the filter is. Only when I install them do they connect to Bluetooth. I have called 3M but never got any help or satisfaction. I have use these filters for some 4 to 5 years and never this problem.

I was so excited to be able to connect directly from the app and be able to turn it off/ on and check on my room. This app is great if it works. I’ve had it about 3 months and have spent more time with my device being disconnected than connected. It will work for maybe two days then disconnect again which means I either ignore it at this point and give up or have to go unplug it and try to get it to connect again.

I always replaced my filters at the same time. Turns out my downstairs filter goes 3 times as fast! I just pulled out the filter and it had feathers from the down couch pillows caught! I will never go for another brand, and the Bluetooth is worth the money to know exactly when and WHICH filter to change. I was spending more replacing filters that didn’t need it anyways!

In March if 2022 I replaced the furnace filter. The furnace was turned off in April 2022 - one month use and the app said it was at 90%. It is now the start of September 2022 and the furnace is still off (use it for only heating). The app sent me a notice today that says the filter is at 0% and needs to be replaced! The filter has been setting in the furnace with no use for the past several months and cannot go from 90 to 0% with no usage. This “smart” filter is bogus and does not detect air flow but seems to only work on either battery life or time but not air flow. Waste of money.

Basically this app is an advertisement that pretends to track how much life your filter has left then sells you new filters at a high price. You can’t actually see the data. My filters show as connected but never seems to download data and are always using estimates. They make it really hard to tell because they don’t let you see any real information. I’ve used this app for a 1 or 2 years but I’m sick of it. It could be great if they actually let you participate.

Using the Filtrete smart filter takes the guesswork out of when to change my filters. Getting a notification before it’s time to change allowed me to plan ahead and buy the replacement while on sale. I opted for the highest filtration (2500) and my wife & I can tell the difference. Definitely recommend this system.

I have four of these smart filters installed. They linked to my phone very easily but ever since that first day the app keeps telling me about data gaps. I work under one filter and sleep under another so it’s not like they are in a different part of the house! Even when they do connect, the ‘actual’ remaining life is almost the same as the estimated so I don’t see any benefit from paying the extra. Also the app gives me air quality data for the wrong area. No way to configure it manually. Very dissatisfied.

I like this app overall. I think it does a decent job of tracking filter life, as I have had some filters that have lasted nearly six months. What I don’t like is that I thought updating in the background meant that the app would use background app refresh to connect to the filters and update the data collected. However, the app doesn’t utilize background app refresh at all, meaning that one must remember to open the app daily-ish or leave it open for data transfer for decent tracking of filter life.