
Rating 4.7 out of 5 stars with 35 reviews
4.7- Air Quality (20)
- Noise Level (19)
- Fan Speed (5)
- Size (5)
- App (7)
- Filter Cost (6)
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- Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Good air purifier, Mobile App needs work
We have had this filter in our kitchen for almost 2 weeks now and we can clearly see the difference that it makes. It makes the cooking odors disappear in minutes. Here are some detailed observations: Pros ------- 1. Quick installation and setup. It took me probably 5 minutes to get the unit out of the box and up and running. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. 2. Good minimalistic design. It looks pretty good in the kitchen. 3. Silent on low and medium settings. On the high fan setting, it gets loud. But thanks to the auto setting, it will go back to low or medium setting as soon as it has done the hard work of cleaning the air. 4. The auto mode. I find it's sensors to be quite reliable and quick. 5. Clean air fast!! Cons: -------- 1. The mobile app definitely need some work. It is not totally unusable but the experience is not as smooth as you would expect in 2021. Here are few things that need to be improved: a) App doesn't work well with Mesh Wi-Fi systems as it only supports 2.5G band. I had to do the manual configuration. The mobile app setup took much longer than the setup of the actual machine. b) Setup of blueair account is supported via mobile app but only partial information is shown on the app. For example, on the "Profile" page, it was not showing my name and email address. This makes me wonder if my profile was correctly setup or not. So, I logged onto their website to confirm and complete the registration process. NOTE: Don't forget to register your unit on the website otherwise you won't get 5 year extended warranty. 2. The power cord is not long enough. This is probably a personal issue but I wish the cord was a bit longer. I had to purchase an extension cord to use it in the location where we wanted to place it. Overall, I think this is a good air purifier. I also looked at some other websites to view the results of it's purification capabilities using more scientific means. All these websites provided good ratings for its purification capabilities. So, if you want that clean air in your house, you can't go wrong with this one.
Posted by Shail
- Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Whisper quiet and almost perfect…
Air quality is very important especially when a lot more people are working from home or spending more time indoors. This filter will filter out airborne bacteria, viruses, allergens and gaseous pollutants from cooking and smoking. Pros: • Blends in well with any home decor • Set it and forget it operation • Whisper quiet on lowest setting Cons: • Filters can be expensive (see more below) • No air quality numerical indicator on unit • iPhone app is lackluster This Blueair 480i is designed for medium sized rooms around 20ftx20ft. They claim it can filter a 434sq ft room 5 times an hour. We have our unit in the master bedroom and it is quiet enough that we can sleep with it running. In fact, we have ours running 24/7. The air purifier does automatically ramp up in fan speeds as needed. When we cook in the kitchen on the floor below, the super sensitive sensors pick up air quality issues upstairs in our bedroom and adjusts fan speeds accordingly until the air is clean. The supplied air filter is easy to insert and the installation reminds me of how one would replace a furnace filter. The door opens without any tools and simply slide it in. The supplied filter is a dual element with carbon on one side to help filter out smells. The unit has a built in 6-month timer that will tell you when you are due for a filter replacement. There are 2 different filters that you can get off their website. The dual protection, carbon and filter, is $130 for 6 months or $260 per year to replace. The standard filter with no carbon is $60 for 6 months or $120 per year. I would recommend the dual protection if you have pet smells and cooking smells that you would like to eliminate. Also keep in mind that these are not standard HEPA filters. Blueair uses a variant of the filter claiming that it allows less air pressure to pass through the filter than traditional HEPA. That ultimately results in quieter working units. The unit does have app support and Alexa support. The app is very low rated in the apple app store and I can see why. It’s an app you will only use a few times and the unit can operate fine without the app. The app does allow you to see numerical air qualities that I wish the unit itself shows. Alexa support is limited to fan speed voice control…which begs the question on why one would need to. In summary, I do recommend this air purifier if air quality is important to you. It’s the perfect size for a medium to large bedroom or common space per floor of your home. If you’re trying to decide on size, its best to go bigger than smaller. A smaller unit will have the fan speed at 100% (more noise) for longer than larger units. I’m very happy with the build quality of the Blueair. The thing that would make this perfect is to have an actual numerical air quality indicator on the unit itself…therefore can eliminate the lackluster app completely.
Posted by TonyMSP
- Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Many Features and Effective
As I usually do in my reviews, I’ll comment on the environmental effects of the packaging. Except for some small foam-like inserts to protect what is both an appliance and instrument, the balance of the packaging is recyclable cardboard. The manufacturer comments on its commitment to environmental sensitivity in the manual, and it is evident. The company make several different series of air purifiers, and this Classic 408i is intended to be used in space of about 400 sq. ft. Thus the air in a room as large as 20 x 20 feet should be easily cleansed. In this same series there are more basic models, but this one has a number of automated and enhanced features which will be discussed shortly. With dimensions of 23 x 20 x11 inches, it is small, but not unobtrusive. The modern Swedish design however helps it blend in to most room decors. The Classic 408i is portable in that it weighs 33 lbs. It does not, however, have wheels but does have comfortable handles. Most of the initial set-up is a snap requiring only that the rear hinged panel be opened for access to the filter which needs to be unwrapped from its plastic protection. The ease of this process indicates that future filter changes will be simple and quick. After plugging in the unit and tapping the comfortably sensitive fan-speed button, the unit is working. One aspect of the set that is not as easy is installing and using the Blueair Friend Mobile App. Connecting the purifier to the wi-fi was a slow and often-frustrating chore. Since it only works on the 2.4 GHz band it was necessary to temporarily “sleep” the 5.0 GHz bandwidth on my mesh system. Linking everything was far from plug-and-play and seemed outdated. The app does allow remote control of some functions and also contains information about possible pollutants. Whether a remote function is even necessary for this type of appliance is a question that users will have to decide for themselves. The control panel is generally intuitive, but initially there is the likelihood of confusion as the rings that surround each change color to indicate status and the inner symbol may have a different color to indicate. For the first few weeks, keep the helpful and clear manual nearby. Electrical consumption is minimal: After 24 hours on medium speed my plug-in usage meter showed less than 1 Kw. On the control panel, nicely hidden by a cover, the soft-touch buttons are, from left to right, Wi-Fi set-up and status indicator, fan speed selector/indicator, filter status, auto speed operation on/off, a VOC indicator, and a PM 2.5 indicator for the presence of extremely small particulate matter. Noise levels vary significantly. At the lowest speed, the sound is virtually imperceptible; the middle setting generates modest noise comparable to white noise and certainly not obtrusive. At the highest speed setting (which the manufacturer rates at 52dB(A)) the noise is disruptively loud anywhere near the purifier. These are, of course, subjective interpretations and others will react differently. How effective is the 408i? It is hard to say. During and after cooking a smoky meal the 408i (on high speed) seemed to clear the air of cooking odors quickly. That was easy to determine. After many days of use, I cannot meaningfully evaluate its performance in other areas with one exception. Immediately after having some new carpeting installed, the VOC indicator turned orange (from green) and an hour or so later it had returned to green. Apparently, the sensors worked as advertised and the cleansing started and ended automatically. Well done, BlueAir! Overall, a good, solid appliance that seems to offer many valuable features.
Posted by HonestJohn
- Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Clean, Healthy, Breathable Air & Pollen-Free
Living in rural, North Central Florida, surrounded by Pine Forests is a dual-edged sword. In cooler times of the year my country air is pretty fresh and invigorating. However, as soon as February rolls around the thousands of Conifers in my locale begin to pollinate. They produce enormous amounts of yellowish-green pollen carried by the winds. The pollen is so heavy it coats my car, roof, patio, outdoor furniture and equipment, and ponds near me. It goes on for six to eight weeks. Then, the Oak Tree pollen starts. YUK! My wife and I have lived in our rural home for 45 years. We love our location in spite of the nuisance of heavy pollen. To help combat the allergic effects of this conifer pollen I installed multi-dense A/C filters with electrostatic filtration. It helps out a lot. However, normal air-leakage and infiltration into my home, opening doors, and visiting Grand Kids is a challenge to keep the pollen out. Both my wife and I are in our mid-seventies, and, our tolerance to pollen allergies has greatly diminished. Clean, conditioned, breathable, pollen-free air is so important to our health and quality of life. So, when I had the opportunity to offer a comprehensive review in exchange for a Classic BlueAir 480i, which has an outstanding industry reputation for filtering out allergens, I was excited to use this air purifier. After 25 days of 24/7 use in my Living Room here is why I love this unit: ** OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE – Because we spend the majority of our time indoors I placed my unit in our Living Room at various locations. My Living Room is approximately 400 square feet (480i is designed to cover 434 square feet). After four hours of constantly running this unit we were impressed as how fresh and clean our air actually was. Since this BlueAir unit exchanges our Living Room air every12 minutes after 4 hours the difference was so noticeable because it exchanged the total volume of our air 20 times. My wife thoroughly dusted our Living Room several days after we started running this BlueAir. She was amazed that after her dusting 22 days earlier she did NOT notice any appreciable, accumulated dust on our Living Room surfaces. WooHoo! The 480i will efficiently remove suspended dust particles in our air, but NOT the dust that has already settled. ** CABINET BUILD – This sleek-looking cabinet is mostly constructed of steel with a white, powder-coat, painted finish at the front and back curved panels. The curved front and back panels present a modern, less boxy cabinet look, and harmonize with my furnishings wherever I place it in my Living Room. This unit is stylish and will blend in any decor. The cabinet dimensions are approximately 23 inches high, 20 inches wide, and 11 inches deep. The curved, front panel is stationary with an LED, 'ON' indicator light to the left and 3 inches down from the top of the panel. The curved rear panel is hinged to allow access for installation and replacement of the Dual Protection Filter. The rear-hinged panel is easy to open and snaps shut. The Manual, LED controls are under a hinged lid at the top and at the front of the unit. The unit's air intake and outlet grilles at either side are painted black. The filter housing at the very top of the unit is also painted black creating a striking contrast to the white, front and rear panels. There are convenient, recessed, carrying grips at either side of this BlueAir near the top for handling. This unit weighs approximately 33 pounds, and, I can easily move it to anywhere in my Living Room. On the bottom of the unit are four sturdy, non-slip, round legs approximately one inch high. They are high enough to allow the electrical cord to be placed in any direction, and, allow the sensors, which are housed in a compartment on the bottom, to monitor the room air quality, effectively.. This cabinet can be placed anywhere that is convenient, but proper placement must allow for air flow. BlueAir recommends keeping four inches away from any other objects. Facing the front of the unit room air is pulled in from the Left side grille, travels through the dual filters, and is discharged through the Right grille. ** SETUP OUT OF THE BOX – In less then 5 minutes I had this unit running at High Fan Speed as recommended for the first 24 hours. After I placed this BlueAir in my Living Room I opened the rear, hinged panel to install the filter. I removed the packing tape and slid the Dual Protection Filter into its housing. Plugged it into a 120V outlet, and, pressed the Manual LED Touch Fan Control to the 3rd digit, High. Included in the box is the BlueAir 480i Purifier, Dual Protection Filter, and Instruction Manual. It only took me 10 minutes to read the Instruction Manual and highlight the important operating instructions. ** HEPASILENT DUAL PROTECTION FILTER – This BlueAir 480i is designed to completely filter air in a 434 ft² room 5 times an hour with this included filter. WoW! This dual filter is composed of carbon and particle filter materials, which filter out: Everyday Dust suspended in the air; Industrial & Construction Particles; Mold Spores; Dust Mites; Pet Dander; Bacteria & Viruses; and most important to me, Pollen. The Carbon half of this dual filter additionally filters out: Smoke; Chemicals; Odors from cooking or cleaning; and Volatile Organic Chemicals, which are commonly found in many products in our homes. They 'Off-Gas' certain chemical vapors into the air we breathe. In low concentrations of everyday exposure they can worsen asthmatic conditions and cause eyes, ears, nose, and throat irritations. In high concentrations over a long period of time they can pose a significant health hazard. There is a Filter LED Indicator, which times the operation of this unit and reminds me of how many days are left to replace the Dual Protection filter – it counts down from Day 180 to present. ** INTUITIVE MANUAL LED CONTROLS – There are 6 LED Touch Button Controls under the lid at the top and front of the unit. From Left to Right: Wi-Fi, Fan Speeds, Filter Replacement Indicator, Auto Fan Control Through Sensor Readings, VOC Indicator, and PM2.5 Indicator. The Manual Touch Controls override the Smart Phone BlueAir Friendly App. ** BLUEAIR FRIENDLY APP – I had no issues connecting this 480i to my three, radio frequency router. Note that this unit only operates on the 2.4GHz frequency. Advantage of 2.4GHz is that it covers more area and distance then 5GHz. I set my Smart Phone to 2.4GHz and easily connected this unit to my Wi-Fi router. You can reset your Smart Phone back to 5GHz after you connect this unit to your home router. This App has been updated as of January 11, 2021, and is much easier to install and use. Go to the Google Play, and, or Apple Store and install the latest, updated, FREE version. The App walked me through the Wi-Fi connection, instructed me to add my BlueAir Classic 480i to the App, and location address. This App is installed on both my I-Phone and Wife's Samsung Smart phone. This App is also Alexa compatible for voice control if you choose. What I really like about using this App is that it gives me a detailed graph of all the particulate readings (PM1. PM2.5. PM10 & Total tVOC). You can display these graphical readings by day, week, or month to get a better picture of this unit's performance dealing with the air it is purifying. The PM1, PM2.5, PM10, and tVOC readings are scaled as: Outdoor, Excellent, Good, Moderate, Polluted, and Very Polluted. The linear graphs are easy to read and include the times of variations. Additionally, the room temperature and humidity levels are given as of the present time. This App also allows the user to program Fan Speeds during daytime and nighttime. Low Fan Speed is recommended for nighttime, especially in bedrooms. The LED Touch Control Buttons can also be dimmed through this App. ** INTERGRATED SENSORS - Intelligent sensors are located at the bottom of this unit. After the first week I now operate this unit entirely on AUTO mode, which controls the Fan Speeds based on these built-in sensors. Anxious to see how this system operates on Auto during the heavy pollen season just around the corner. . . . ** CARE & MAINTENANCE – This BlueAir unit is easily cleaned with just a dampened wash cloth. The grilles may need routine vacuuming both on the inside and outside. When replacing the filter vacuuming the filter housing thoroughly is recommended. ** WARRANTY – I extended my warranty to 5 years by registering my unit online at the BlueAir website. They allow a grace period of 60 days to extend the warranty to five years by registering a FREE account. I highly recommend this unit to anyone concerned about clean, fresh, indoor breathable air in your home. Love this 480i! If you are prone to allergens, pollen, and, or, other airborne, irritating particles – this is the unit for you!
Posted by pauldar
- Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Awesome Air Purifier!
The Blueair Classic Series 480i 434 Sq Ft. Air Purifier is a must have for any home. It is easy to set up, made of high quality materials, and does a great job at lowering airborne particles/odors. We placed this air purifier between our open kitchen/living room and it has worked great. Pros: * Minimal yet protective packaging - It comes with just enough packaging to protect the product but no more than necessary. This is great for both the environment as well as not filling up your trash/recycle can. I appreciate when companies make environmentally conscious decisions. * Easy setup - The setup is quick and easy. The air purifier unit only needs to have the filter removed from the protective bag and placed inside the unit. This is done by removing the side panel and sliding the filter in taking note of which way the arrow is facing. Otherwise, plug it in and download the Blueair App. From the App, follow the onscreen instructions to connect to WiFi. It only supports 2.4 GHz so make sure you have this band enabled on your router. Once connected to WiFi, you can assign your location and name your unit. The app allows you to view the outdoor air quality near your home as well as the air quality inside your home. The different metrics are labeled with a description of each. It rates the levels from excellent to very polluted. It has several fan speeds to choose from (0-3) as well as an auto setting. Lastly, it keeps track of the filter life. If you enroll in the Blueair filter replacement program, they extend the warranty of the air purifier. * Energy Star Certified - This is important, especially as someone who lives in California where electric rates are always high. I run the unit mostly on auto (24 hours a day) and have noticed a very minimal increase in electric cost. This is great considering it is always on. * Sound - At the lower fan levels, it is extremely quiet and hard to tell it is even on; however, when on speed 3 it is very loud and noticeable. This isn't a problem for me because the air purifier is very effective at removing particles/odors and it doesn't need to stay at this speed for very long. * Odor/Particle remover - This air purifier does what it claims. It quickly removes odors and lowers particle levels. We have seen the biggest difference after cooking on our gas stove top. The particle levels in the air have been as high as very polluted depending on what we are making (and no we are not burning anything). It does this by moving a large amount of air through the filter (5x the air volume per hour in a 434 Sq Ft. room). Within a few cycles the particle levels are back to excellent and the odor from cooking is gone. Overall, this is a great air purifier. It will work great in any room, but best in rooms up to 434 Sq Ft. I cannot recommend this product enough. We will probably pick up a few more to place throughout our house. Great job Blueair!
Posted by SlowMN