Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

See entire review and update to include Hydrow response. Sorely disappointing and would encourage individuals to email Hydrow regarding. Maybe they will listen to their customer base. Summary- THIS PRODUCT WILL NOT WORK STANDALONE! It requires the internet during each and every use to unlock it even for the free “just row mode” Before Corona Virus I was rowing 3 days a week at my gym with a concept 2. Unfortunately, they are not shipping out machines so I scoured the internet researching and decided on the Hydrow. I read reviews online and noticed every bad review was nothing to do with quality but their membership fees. There was no way to opt out of paying their monthly membership fee. Then Hydrow added a free “just row mode”...... With that being the only downside I bought in- Yesterday it arrived. I feel the unit is commercial quality and constructed well. Very smooth operation and I signed up for the $35 monthly membership fee. THEN I LOST MY HOME INTERNET CONNECTION temporarily.... After speaking to tech support I learned IF you lose internet at your home YOU CANNOT ROW......even in the free “just row mode”.... So for $2200.00 if the company goes out of business Im stuck with a boat anchor from what I gather.... There doesn’t seem to be anything in writing stating otherwise and with nothing written and no reassurance from the company I can only assume the unit is useless IF Hydrow went out of business.... When compared to the Concept 2 it is smoother and quieter. I find the workouts to be the same if you took the instructor videos out. There are some subtle differences. Hydrow is smoother and quieter than Concept 2. The onscreen instruction and classes are phenomenal! Live people have answered my phone calls for help every-time during normal business hours while society deals with the Coronavirus pandemic. I have mixed thoughts but I am heavily considering the return of this. Not because I don’t love the rower but because the company wants control of every aspect of this Rower. There is no way to use it OFFLINE WITHOUT INTERNET EVEN IN FREE MODE and no assurance written from the company if they went out of business. For a company as new as this they are asking for a lot of trust for someone I don’t know. I will probably Return and purchase a concept 2 unless Hydrow gets me something in writing with guarantees if they went out of business and allows use without connection to the internet. While the Concept 2 might not be on the water. My rower would still work with the power out and if the company went out of business. Just how long has Concept been in business? Since before I was born.... I trust they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.... I’ll probably buy a Concept 2 (D) and IPad holder then subscribe to the Hydrow app and play their training videos while I row. UPDATE! -I did receive a phone call and follow up email from Melissa (VP of customer support & service) at Hydrow. She stated during our phone call and the following from her email to me “Regarding the unlikely event that we would suspend business operations or otherwise be unable to continue to support the product, our team's first priority would be to make the server-side and other back-end changes needed to ensure our customers could continue to use Hydrow.“ The statement from her email is no guarantee, let’s not mix words a priority is no guarantee...It is congruent with her explanation as she let me know its not part of their business plan as she stated in our phone call. I told Melissa “put your money where your mouth is” If Hydrow believes in the their experience as a whole they would let the rower operate standalone then stated Peloton operates the same way..... I emailed Peloton and found their equipment DOES work stand alone without an internet connection. So if you want to hop on their bike you can use it as a stationary bike without internet or subscription.... Maybe they will come out with a rower soon! Update: So I downloaded the Hydrow app and was sold on the recommendation given to me by Hydrow to play the videos through an app..... obviously the screen is too small on my phone so I did what anyone with an IPAD would do.... download the app on my IPAD to play the videos.... Hydrow is NOT offered for IPAD only your IPHONE..... Yeah this company is an upsetting mess..... I’m looking forward to them having competition from peloton and others.....