Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I had extremely high hopes for this product. Overall i think it is a great idea but not executed well. I read alot of reviews before my purchase and was confident that even if people had some complaints i would find some use for this device. Unfortunately i have been stopped at every turn. The connectivity issues have been resolved. No issues with it connecting and staying connected to my Android device. I don't believe there is anything wrong with the hardware itself. Although i do wonder about its accuracy, that could just be a software issue. The software is terrible. The free muse meditation app is buggy and unreliable. In the 3 weeks since my purchase i have noticed that it occasionally wont show the graph/analytics after my session and sometimes won't even save a session at all. As many others have reported I can feel i am getting into a very calm state and the storm gets more and more intense. Then my mind is wandering all over the place and i hear birds. Also i find all the noise of the software to be extremely annoying and distracting. Every time i hear the storm get louder i wonder "what i am doing wrong?" and it disrupts my focus. Same happens when i hear the birds. I wonder "what did i do to get those?" and again my focus is disrupted. It is very difficult to ignore the sounds to focus. I might as well not even have them at all and i have even taken to removing my earbuds when i start meditation so that i can get the information without the feedback sounds. I know i could learn to deal with and even work with the issues with the sounds being distracting, but the inconsistency of the feedback i am receiving is just confusing. Not to mention the calibration at the beginning of each session. I am sure just about everyone who wants to purchase a meditation assistant type product wants to know, just as i do, how they are progressing in their meditation practice overall. The calibration at the beginning of each session makes that impossible. You just have no ability to track progression when the baseline is constantly changing. I understand the original reason that Muse thought it would be a good idea to have a calibration setting like that. You can't know what kind of baseline to start at because everyone is different and has a different level of stress and Monkey Mind. However, there has to be a better way. Perhaps if you have to make it standardized, go for a progressive ladder type system. Start out really easy and make the instructions say if you are regularly scoring 90% or higher calm move to the next tier and so on. It could even ask some questions at setup of your account and first time you use your device. Ask things like: "have you ever done meditation before?" "how frequently do you do it and what would you say your average level of focus is?" This could give the software at least a baseline to start from that may be higher than the lowest beginner setting. Even if that questionnaire puts the person at too high of a tier to start out, make the option to move back down if needed. Give them instruction based on the score of calm of each session to move up and down the latter to fit their rate of learning. This would also allow people to make the choice of if they want it set to easy or hard for their level of skill. Some days maybe it would be encouraging for someone who has had a frustrating day to just have an easy session. No pressure. They can still keep their average score but do it more relaxed, and maybe some people (like myself) would prefer to always keep it on hard so i push myself to get better and can actually see my progression day to day. It would essentially do the same thing the calibration does, but give the user a choice in the matter. Also the sounds... I understand there are several soundscapes to choose from. This is a great idea. But the birds... I am one of those people that does not find birds to be relaxing at all. I find them to be incredibly annoying and there is no option to change the sound. If i could instead change it to a soft native american flute melody or something I would find it much more relaxing, much less distracting and could even track my progress of how long i have held onto the calm by how far i have gotten in the song. Giving people more options to personalize their experience will make this software much more enjoyable and overall more effective to all users. Aside from the issues with the official muse software i have been unable (in the 3 weeks i have had this device) find any way to get raw data from the EEG without paying more for it. I spent nearly $300 on the device only to be told to spend more to be able to use it. Maybe its my own fault because i purchased the Muse 2 instead of the original but all the software i have found has either not been compatible with the Muse 2, currently unavailable, or costs either a fee to download or a yearly/monthly fee to use. I do not understand why Muse Direct is currently unavailable. I looked everywhere and could not find any reason for it to be withheld from muse users or held ransom for a fee. If i already gave the company nearly $300 for the device itself please give me the tools to use it. Otherwise it is a very expensive (and not very fashionable) useless piece of metal and plastic i put on my forehead. I would really like to see Muse release a software that is all encompassing of the features of the Muse 2 (Mind, Heart, Breath, Body) in a single session with neurofeedback that is accurate and reliable and gives a full real time raw data option. Also, would very much like to see something like Myndlift implemented that does not require a licensed health professional (and all the cost associated with that) that will help the public to train specific areas of their mind and/or help with disorders and depression. There is so much potential for the applications of this hardware that it feels like the whole experience has just fallen sorely short and is quite disappointing. I will be asking for a refund. Maybe someday in the future when the software gets updated or becomes free, i will try again. I will keep an eye on the development on the Muse forums to know when that time comes. I really wanted this to work and have no plans on giving up entirely. Just gonna wait for technology (software anyway) to catch up with my particular needs with the hardware.