WALABOT DIY (Android only) - Stud Finder In-Wall Imager (Only Compatible with Android smartphones)

When I first saw the video for the Walabot DIY a year or so ago, I was pretty impressed. I thought, "If this thing really works like they're showing, this would be MUCH better than just a regular stud finder." At the time, Amazon wasn't carrying the Walabot DIY, but I added it to my Amazon Wish List anyway, pointing to the external Walabot site.No one bought it for me for Christmas or for my birthday, so it languished on my Wish List.Then a specific need for it arose. We purchased a 42" flat screen TV for our guest bedroom and bought a wall mount so we could mount it. Because of how the furniture in the guest bedroom is arranged, we needed to mount the TV on the north wall of the bedroom, directly across from the wall where the bed is. As it turns out, that wall is the dividing wall between that bedroom and the master bathroom. The walls in the bedroom and bathroom are both drywall and we know there are wood studs in the wall, but because it's also a main plumbing wall, there are also pipes as well as electrical wires and some plywood in the wall. When I used my old trusty stud finder to try to find either of the two studs that should have been near the center of the wall, it would not reliably find either one. It would find what it thought was a stud lower down in the wall but at the height we wanted to install the TV mount, it would not find it. I knew I could hammer a nail in the wall to in the three places where the mounting lag screws for the TV mount would go, but I was worried that if there was a pipe back there, I would punch a hole in the pipe with the nail and that would be really bad news. Or worse, I might hit a pipe with the drill when I went to drill the holes.Then I thought about the Walabot DIY. I checked my Amazon Wish List and discovered that although I could still buy the Walabot directly from the manufacture's Website, Amazon was also now carrying it. The Amazon listing had over 1,200 reviews and it had 3.6 star rating out of 5 stars. Not spectacular, but not bad. I decided to check the ratings on Fakespot.com, which I often do. To my dismay, the ratings got a "D" grade on Fakespot with a note that there appeared to be a high degree of deception and misleading reviews. Not good.I almost decided not to buy it, but then I thought, "Hey, it's Amazon. If I get it and it turns out not to work nearly as well as they claim it works, I can just return it and get a refund and maybe look for a different type of stud finder to try instead."Boy, am I glad I decided to get it. I followed the setup instructions in the "Get Started" section of the very small user guide, then watched all of the video tutorials that the manual referenced on the Walabot site. I went in to the guest bedroom and calibrated the Walabot DIY on the wall as described in the video tutorial and started scanning. I first did a pan scan across about a 24" horizontal section of the wall near the center to get an idea of what the Walabot DIY thought was back there, then switched to the "Image" setting to get better detail. Sure enough, right where I thought a stud should be, the Walabot DIY said there was a stud. As I moved the Walabot DIY up and down on the wall in that spot, it cleared indicated the stud continuing both up and down from the spot where I had started scanning. Slightly below the level I wanted to install the TV mount, it also showed there was a pipe running horizontally across the wall -- exactly the type of object I wanted to make sure I avoided. I would have never know that was there in that area if I had relied simply on a regular stud finder. Some further scanning of the area I wanted to install the TV mount in, both the "Image" and "Expert" setting, gave me confidence that there were no other pipes or electrical wiring in that area that I might hit, so I lined up the mount on the wall, marked the drill holes in what was indicated to be the center of the stud, and drilled my holes.It was perfect! The TV mount is now attached securely to that stud in the wall and we hung the TV on the mount. This turned out to be a fully successful project, thanks to the Walabot DIY wall scanner. I'm happy to report that, at least from our use of it, it worked just as advertised and we're fully satisfied with it.

REVIEW AFTER 4 YEARS OF USE:I bought this Walabot Stud Finder almost 4 years ago to help me with some projects that I was doing in my new home. I never got around to reviewing it, so here is my honest review after several years of use with many different projects.First, it is a bit pricy which made me drag my feet on purchasing it. But now that I own it, I'm glad that I spent the money. It is easy to set up, even if you haven't used it in a while, it's easy enough to figure out how to re-use it.The device sticks onto the back of your bare phone (without the case on) and the little adhesive is still sticky for me after 4 years and multiple times taking the device on and off my phone. I have used it with multiple different Android phones with the same results. The app is simple and easy to use, and it walks you through how to calibrate and use it every time.It is lightweight and accurate! I compared it to 2 different cheaper stud finders, and the magnet test (less accurate way to find studs, but works in a pinch). The reason that I love this thing is that it will show you PIPES AND WIRES which is something that my other stud finders couldn't do at all. It also shows you the angle/path that each stud, wire, pipe travels in your wall. It tells you if the stud is wood or metal to help you choose the best drill bit.This gives you the peace of mind that you won't be drilling directly into a wire or pipe, which is a HUGE advantage. I highly recommend investing in one of these for home improvement projects. I think that any negative reviews for this product are because of unrealistic expectations or improper use, because after many years of using this Walabot, I am still impressed with its capabilities.I hope this review was helpful!

So got this for a gift, and it works pretty good. Definitely more accurate than the reviews make it out to be. Seems as most were expecting like 100% accuracy, but that's very unrealistic for any stud finder. I did note that it picks up wires a bit less than hoped for, and it works on all android devices I have used it on.Ultimately it performs better than my nice stud finder. I noted a large issue with calibration staying calibrated so honestly the reviews on this product seem like they're from not so tech oriented people.First the cable can be increased in length, they do sell longer cables similar to the one on the device, I already had one so it was easy enough to increase the length therefore allowing me to remove the phone from the device.Also it is not every mode that requires holding the "button" but the only mode that is like that is the initial scan mode, the image and expert stay on without holding.The other thing I noted is most are complaining about sticky and wall marks and alike... well first I have to say learn to clean your phone and the little pad it came with, it should be alcohol wiped before attaching, similar to the strips or the protective films. Much better results are had, I have a note 4 running Android 8.1 Pie and has a nice heavy case, which held no issues during an hour plus playing around with the item.It DOES do concrete, but you have to be a bit more intelligent then the device. As the account holders husband (I am not Sarah) I do run a computer business and tech install, as a licensed contractor I definitely find that this will be useful, but most seem to be failing to realize that the calibration must be done each time you accidentally lift from the wall, move to a different surface or section, or in general every so often if you would like a good accurate result.Overall I am impressed, all the negative reviews are NOT justified to the tech.Most scanners can be up to an inch off if not used properly, lots of new versions of stud finders require calibration just like this one, most stud finders require you to hold a button to find a stud.NO Stud finder for this price will show heat signatures in expert mode, none allow for such a graphical image for the view, and none! are anywhere close to this advanced.I think this is a great idea, the only negatives I can see are:- I was required to sign in with Google account!!! This is stupid and as a security researcher I am very disappointed in that fact and will be designing an app for myself to rid me of that really bad concept!- The cable it comes with should and must be longer, holding the phone on the scanner is ridiculous! I had a longer cable and it is much better to hold one hand phone and the other moving the scanner.- The film is a starter idea, switch to a padded backing on the device itself, like a nice soft foam rubber or alike and make it built in not attached during open, or at minimum pre-attach the film for the customer therefore removing the incorrect install of the film and eliminating most of the bad reviews.- Bluetooth the darn thing, why you even have a wire is beyond me, I mean it's almost 2020 and you did not bluetooth enable the darn thing....?- Seriously the app connecting to google is why you lost a star its dumb dumb dumb.- Warranty your product without purchasing an extended warranty that is stupid and bad service... Purchase extra support sure, but a warranty should be free...- What the heck requiring me to have Youtube app installed??? Why not just link me to the darn site itself I think anyone that has an app when a perfectly good website is available is a waste of space since they are wasting space anyway on their phones doing dumb things like that.- Increase the images that it shows... I personally hate purple... why purple? Can I not customize that or at least opt to not have purple, how about a wire color like white or yellow... I mean really.- The marketing folks are killing your company, get rid of them and sell the device for its merit not for what they make you think it will do, most probably thought they were getting some sort of xray device for the wall.... You can thank your confusing marketing for that.Pros- Great device, works well and is as accurate or more accurate than the stud finders I do have.- inexpensive for what it is- Calibration is fairly easy- marks do not appear on the wall if used correctly- goes very deep and works where other stud finders I have do not- graphical view of the inside of the wall, even finds plates that cover wiring, but shows as metal studs, maybe fix for the programming on that.- app use, so I hope to get updates to increase features or accuracy.- hopefully there wont be multiple flipping versions and I can get extra features with updates to the app- Small and useful and not sure why they did not improve the graphics a bit, but it is miles better than some leds or a small display that kind of shows a stud or similar.- Shows the direction of the wire! This is so much better than a small symbol showing during wire find, it helps trace a wire REALLY well and something I have not found anything else to do at all that is remotely in this price range!Reviewers need to ensure they are reading directions and following instructions to a T and this will work great, also make sure your seller is the manufacturer there is something called fakes online and Amazon has lots