Levelmate Max Does Not Work with Android Phones

[Rivernerd]

We have used a Levelmate Pro with Hull #1291 for 2+ years now.  It displays trailer level on a smart phone via Bluetooth.  It has worked well, albeit with frequent coin battery changes.  So, in mid-December, 2024 I "bit" on an email offer from the manufacturer, Techno RV, to purchase an upgraded Levelmate Max for $165, which promises longer battery life (with 3 AAAs instead of a coin battery) and a more accessible on/off switch.  Techno RV offered a $40 rebate when I send my original Levelmate Pro back to them.   I paid by credit card, and they sent me a new Levelmate Max.

I followed the enclosed instructions precisely, yet after many attempts, and much frustration, I could not get it to work.  An email to Techno RV customer support yielded a "thanks for your patience" response, because "the Android app for the Levelmate Max is not yet ready to be released."  As I learned the hard way, the Levelmate Pro app (which is presently the only one available from the Google Play Store) is not compatible with the Levelmate Max.  I sure wish they had included that disclosure in their offer, and with a note in the Levelmate Max package!  The enclosed instructions refer to the "Levelmate app," saying nothing about the (not yet available) "Levelmate Max" app.  Those disclosures would have saved me the frustration of trying to enable a product that Techno RV knows will not yet work.

So, Techno RV takes your money, and ships you a product you can't yet use, because the necessary app is not yet available.  All they offer when you ask them what else to do is a "thanks for your patience" apology for wasting your time because they didn't advise that you must have the Levelmate Max app, which you can't get.  

If any Oliver owners with Levelmate Pros are tempted by this upgrade offer, I recommend you verify that the app you need is actually available for download before giving them your $$$$.   Had Techno RV disclosed "up front" that the necessary app was not yet available, I would not have given them my money when I did.

Edited January 3 by Rivernerd

[jd1923]

1 hour ago, Rivernerd said:

...upgraded Levelmate Max for $165, which promises longer battery life (with 3 AAAs instead of a coin battery) and a more accessible on/off switch.

I strongly suggest anybody buying new to get the PRO+ model and hardwire 12VDC, forget the batteries and the app should work too. I have the app up EVERY time we are parking and I get level while sitting in the driver's seat!

Why buy the model that needs battery replacement? The new MAX model needs AAA batteries vs. a CR2032 battery (I recycled mine since it is hardwired). Don't know how to crimp two wires? Get somebody to wire it for you! Mine is wired under the rear dinette seat where 12VDC is readily available. It does not have to be in plain view. Notice it's mounted to the side of the shore power ATS box, wire harness coming down from the bottom,

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083ZMZPR8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Edited January 3 by jd1923
Added picture

[Snackchaser]

I too have been annoyed by the Levelmate’s short battery life, and the auto shut-off feature doesn’t seem to work.  It’s now mounted with thumb screws for quick battery changes.   The On or Off label helps because it's hard to tell the switch position, and I usually have a spare battery taped to it too!   It was originally mounted indoors and I’d always be calling wifey to turn it on.    Now it’s in the basement closer to the jack controls and I’m more likely to turn it off there.

[jd1923]

1 hour ago, Snackchaser said:

I too have been annoyed by the Levelmate’s short battery life, and the auto shut-off feature doesn’t seem to work.

Sell it on Craig’s for half price and buy the PRO+ model. I remember choosing the PRO+ for an extra $20 at the time. There is a “wake on motion” setting, but I used the full ON 24x7x365. Must be some parasitic draw but I don’t care.

It’s always on when I need it and no worrying about turning it on and off. I’m on my deck now 80’ away and it reads level from here. The Bluetooth on the PRO+ has a stronger signal than any Victron device or Ruuvi sensors. Very reliable product!

[SeaDawg]

Have you checked yet for a new version of the app? With the manufacturer,  not the reseller?

[Rivernerd]

On 1/4/2025 at 1:42 PM, SeaDawg said:

Have you checked yet for a new version of the app? With the manufacturer,  not the reseller?

Yes.  After I could not get the Levelmate Pro app (which I already have installed on my Android phone) to work with the Levelmate Max device, I emailed Techno RV customer support (the manufacturer, from which I bought the Levelmate Max directly pursuant to an upgrade offer).  I was advised that the manufacturer hopes to release the Levelmate Max app "any day now."  That was last week.  The app is still not available on the Google Play Store.

I "bit" on the offer on December 18.  I received the Levelmate Max on December 27.  Techno RV obviously published the upgrade offer, and began shipping Levelmate Max units, long before the necessary Android app had been created and tested.  That app remains unavailable today.

Techno RV took my $160 on December 18 knowing that I could not use the Levelmate Max with an Android phone, yet did not (and still does not) disclose that critical fact on its website, or even today on Amazon, where Techno RV also sells the Levelmate Max. 

DO NOT BUY A LEVELMATE MAX IF YOU USE AN ANDROID PHONE, unless you need a $160 paperweight.

Edited January 6 by Rivernerd

[jd1923]

6 hours ago, Rivernerd said:

DO NOT BUY A LEVELMATE MAX IF YOU USE AN ANDROID PHONE, unless you need a $160 paperweight.

Why not contact the vendor/manufacturer for a return authorization? Ask them to send you the PRO+ model in exchange so you can use the leveling app and forget the batteries! You certainly have just cause for them to pay for return shipping and exchange.