Zoleo Customer Service

[Bethany S]

I am not affiliated with Zoleo and I am not paid to review their products.

I bought a Zoleo gps messenger device last spring when it was just released and I couldn’t find any reviews on it yet. It was a tough choice between the zoleo and the Garmin in-reach but I personally preferred the Zoleo interface to the Garmin.

I used it all summer in the backcountry of Idaho in the Frank Church Wilderness. I was without cellphone service for ~9 weeks working, guiding, and hiking everyday. I used it every day to “text” my husband and came in handy once when we had an injured horse on the trail and I needed to let the ranch know we would be spending an unexpected night out. Texts went though 95% of the time and the few times they didn’t I got an alert, resent the message and it worked. I haven’t used the SOS feature. The weather part of the app was a bit glitchy (it registered I was in a different country for a few days but it fixed itself) but mostly reliable.

I’m headed for a 5 day backpacking trip next week and I got my Zoleo out, resubscribed to a texting plan, and put it on the changer. Nothing happened. After a painless conversation with an actual person who works in Zoleo IT it appears the battery went bad. They had me try one or two things but the device wouldn’t revive. I let them know I was leaving in a week for a backpacking trip and I was hopeful for a quick resolution. There was a little email communication back and forth to get the details but they overnighted me a new device with the promise I will send the old one back when I get back from my trip. They even went ahead and switched my online account and subscription information over to the new device so I won’t need to do anything but turn it on when I get it. I don’t know if I can say Garmin would have been half as helpful in this situation.

Obviously, it’s not ideal that the battery died at all. But, for a new-ish company I was very pleased with how they honored their warranty and how they decided to proceed with a resolution. Picture of how I used the device most of the summer.

Overall, I’m happy so far. Hopefully this helps anyone who has had questions or concerns about the device.

[Michael B]

Interesting, thanks for the review! I’m in the market for a sat com device, and this gives me a little more confidence in at least one other option vs. garmin. Please follow up if you encounter the problem again. How long does the warranty honor the battery, or the system as a whole? I know in the automotive world, the batteries in hybrids require by law a longer warranty than the car itself.

[Alex H]

Bethany that is great to hear.  Andrew Skurka had a good review when it came out and despite being about 2 ounces heavier it looks like a better solution and user interface than the InReach Mini, to me.

[Marcus]

I also have a zoleo and have been happy with it. No problems in 6 months of use. I have not used other emergency beacons to compare. Nice to hear about a company who stands behind their products! Thanks for the review.

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