My experience with the BTT and the Panda Touch

Bambu Lab P1 Series User Mods
1

Good morning/afternoon/night,

I just want to share what you can expect with the Panda Touch, especially if you purchased one near or at launch.

I have been through the betas of the firmware for this device. I was a decently strong supporter given the features and promises made (taken with a grain of salt) when this was announced. I liked the fact that I could control the AMS from it and eventually the Panda PWR integration.

From the begining there were hiccups. I shrugged them off willing to give it the benefit of the doubt and to see what BTT would fix and how quickly. My unit started to bootloop about a week after getting it. Support acknowledged this defect and sent me a new board. This was being offered to those that purchased preorder or launch units.

I tried the new board and it didn’t solve the issue. Doing my own troubleshooting I connected different power adapters, different cords with no luck.

I kept installing betas hoping the problem would be fixed, and I paid attention to the reports from other users. Some reported bootloops so I saw no need to add my voice to that issue. What eventually happened was the reboots or bootloops became a little less frequent and random. Enough that I could keep living with it and wait for the fix.

Well it eventually died altogther. Long story short, after videos and back and forth, I’m told to hump it, it’s out of warranty and I could MAYBE have a discount on another unit. The support agent said he’d “work with his colleagues” to get a discount.

I have politely told them to stuff that.

Now I’ve learned something. I’ve learned that I should have spoken up and raised my issue much earlier. I’ve stated why I didn’t and I was wrong to wait and see if it would be sorted.

I’ve also learned not to support BTT. I’ll give the support guy a pass. He’s doing what his script says. Could ding him for not using his head a bit and realizing this is a known issue and maybe acting on that. I could call him out for not knowing it had been replaced before (I told him). He tried i guess, and that’s what his job is.

I won’t support them because they don’t support customers. I’m not alone in this experience and that is what forms my opinion. If the item is electronic, has moving parts, I would avoid it at all costs. Look elsewhere to avoid the headache of the consistant inconsistency of their quality. The quality of both the support and products.

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2

Thanks for the candid and complete review.

This industry needs to clean up its act. When companies like BTT and Bambu fail in the areas of support and customer service, it sours everyone’s experience, slows down adoption, and reduces volume, which in turn drives away investors.

This kind of experience makes me very cautious when considering new tech. In fact, it’s what kept me from owning my own 3D printer for a long time. I’m not afraid of tech in any shape or form, but as I get older, my tolerance for wasting time has decreased dramatically. Time is the most valuable resource in my life—something that cannot be purchased or replaced, and once it’s gone, it’s gone. While that may seem obvious, why do we allow companies to waste our time without demanding compensation?

On a final note, it’s clear that BTT, like many other Chinese companies, just throw things against the wall and let users act as guinea pigs. For me, I refuse to be a free lab rat.

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This. So much this. I can 't stress enough…THIS.

As for adopting tech quickly and being an early adopter, I’ve always loved it. I understand the wrinkles that may come up, and I expect the company to step up. If they don’t then I think that speaks volumes for the products future. They do seem to be throwing stuff out.

BTT pretty much used everyone who bought a Panda Touch as a beta tester. Thing is most weren’t informed that’s what they were. I just want a working PT cause when it works, it’s great. It just isn’t consistantly working.

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I bought a Panda Touch from BBT and at the end of the day, I feel like it was a waste of money.

Just because something has a touch screen doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be better.
I think, in regards to BTT and the Panda Touch, BTT is just hijacking the wifi signal and displaying it on a touchscreen but there is no real ENHANCED functionality over the touch pad.
You have to remember that Bambu Lab software/firmware for the PRINTER is closed source and they have their own touchscreen on the X1C. Why would they let BTT encroach on their turf? If you go look at what Bambu Lab has on Github, it is slicer stuff, not machine control. That is an important distinction that I think lots of people don’t see. Especially if you came up through theOS ecosystems of Marlin, Klipper and other open source softwares.
That BTT is just collecting dust on my workbench and will likely stay there.

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