Harrison Cox

Good call on the pre-filter - also try vacuuming or blowing out the fan shroud and the heater cage; baked-on lint there acts like insulation and cooks the element. With long hair it’s easy to blanket the rear intake with your palm or strands when reaching around your head so keep that side in open air to maintain airflow. If it still trips and the resettable thermostat may be weakening or the motor slowing from wear, which usually means it’s time to replace.

If the goal is no fuss reliability across floors,, the dedicated non that model type usually wins because it does not depend on your router and it frequency hops around interference and though if you already have a strong mesh on both floors and a small battery backup for the router and camera, an app based option can be fine too which, yeah take the range numbers with a grain of salt since they are measured outdoors; through a ceiling you will get much less, so placement is key :) Mount the camera higher rather than lower, keep antennas vertical, and avoid putting it near a microwave or cordless base. Setup on the radio based units is plug in both ends and wait a few seconds, and if they are not pre linked there is a one button pair, done.

Good advice above and I’d add: plug it straight into a wall outlet, not a power strip or long skinny extension cord - voltage drop makes the compressor and fan run weak. Keep the lid closed to keep humid room air out, and descale the evaporator prongs with a citric-acid clean so mineral film isn’t insulating them. For a quick jump-start, use already-cold water or toss a few freezer cubes into the reservoir to chill it, then replace with fresh cold water once it cools.