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Those 'lifetime warranty' solar lights from a random brand on Facebook? Yeah, mine died in 4 months | Deal or Dud - Vivisector

pat_murray53•1mo ago

Those 'lifetime warranty' solar lights from a random brand on Facebook? Yeah, mine died in 4 months

I bought a 6-pack of those solar pathway lights from a pop-up ad for like 35 bucks back in June. They were super bright for maybe 2 weeks, then by August half of them stopped lighting up at all. I tried cleaning the panels and even swapped batteries from the working ones, but nope, dead. I messaged the company and they ghosted me for 3 weeks, then finally said the warranty only covers 'manufacturing defects' and not normal wear. So now I'm sitting here with 4 broken lights and 2 dim ones, wondering if I should just toss them or try to fix them with parts from Harbor Freight. Anyone else get burned by those cheap solar deals on social media?

2 comments

2 Comments

thea6021mo ago

That line about "normal wear" after 4 months is such a cop out, it drives me nuts. It's like when my friend bought those cheap Bluetooth earbuds off Instagram that promised 20 hours of battery life but barely lasted an hour after two months. The company blamed "battery degradation from normal use" too. I think those social media ads prey on us wanting a deal so bad we ignore the red flags, like how a "lifetime warranty" from a random brand probably means their lifetime, not yours. I'd say try swapping in rechargeable batteries from Harbor Freight if you're handy, but honestly, you're probably better off just tossing them and learning the lesson. It's the same pattern with those cheap outdoor string lights you see all over TikTok now, they look great for a month then you're just lighting up your porch with frustration.

jessem591mo ago

Buddy of mine bought a pair of those solar-powered motion lights from a Facebook ad, claimed they'd last three years outside. They flickered out after five months, and the seller said "weather exposure" was normal wear. Same trick, different product. He tried to fix them with some cheap solar cells from Amazon but ended up just tossing the whole thing in the trash, madder than a wet cat.