Proform Ifit Module

The Good: I purchased this to go with a Nordic Track T5.7 Treadmill. I followed the simple instruction for setting up the wireless with my router and updating the firmware. In a few minutes it was synced and carried a strong signal. As soon as I inserted into my treadmill it immediatly downloaded my information and exercize program I signed up for online.The Bad: The activation code for a year Ifit online premium service is confusing. The code shows hyphens and if you use the hyphens the code will be invalid. Once i tried the code without hyphens it went through and gave me the year free service for the website. I email customer support and it has been several days without a response. If I had not have figured this out on my own I would have returned the unit. It's too bad that such a great product is potentially plagued my non-existant customer support.The under-advertised: The great advantage to the website is the numerous workout programs at multiple levels. I am surprised this is not heavily advertised as it would be a great selling point. I had no idea these gems were available but I am glad I found them. I hope to use several programs over the next year. The online progress tracking is signifigant to see that what you are doing is actually paying off even though I can't physically see it at first.I would recommend this to a friend but I would definately help them set it up so they don't get too frustrated.

First let me begin by telling you I'm a casual around the neighborhood runner, somewhere between a fitness buff and a couch potato. I was a little nervous about purchasing the Ifit live, because of the negative reviews and the limited amount of information on it, but in the end I figured what the heck it's only 100bucks. Overall I'm glad I did. It accurately tracks calories burned, time, distance, and calories consumed if you want to input them. You can have up to 4 free user accounts per module; I set one up for my husband and one for the kids. Each user must have their own email address, which I thought was lame. I used a fake email address for my kids' account, since my goal was not track them, but to prevent them from messing up my stats. You can switch users directly from the treadmill which is nice. Unlike many others, I had no problems in setting up my module. I plugged it into my laptop followed the onscreen directions, plugged it into my Proform treadmill and 45min, not 2hours, later it was ready. If you are considering this product I advise you to check out YouTube, in addition to the other Amazon reviews.> The trainer guided workouts: They didn't really impress me much. Once you select one you are pretty much stuck with the speed/incline of the program. I tried several times to speed up my pace manually with Jillian, but 1min later it resets back down to the program speed/incline. In other words, you can change the overall difficulty level from your computer to select a different individual workout, but you can't change the pace within a selected workout. In general it seems that Jillian's workouts are more geared toward endurance, and speed is mostly a constant within the workout; whereas, Elizabeth's workouts seem to vary more in speed. I found Elizabeth's to better suit me as I like to switch between jog/run/intense run/jog. The trainer's voice comes on during the jog every few min with an encouraging message; I wear headphones (gotta tune out the kids) so I don't really notice it. Also note: most treadmills have an internal menu to turn this function on/off, so if it annoys you or if you can't hear it, check your treadmill's manual.> The Google street-maps: This function is pretty cool once you get past the shortcomings and hurdles. First, it needs to be noted that the street view you see while you walk/run is more like a slide show that lunges forward every couple of seconds. It was kind of weird and disappointing at first, but I quickly got used to it and now I'm in love. My treadmill does not have a built in monitor: I log into Ifit, start the map workout that was downloaded to my treadmill, click on the "watch live" link on my laptop, and whamo I am jogging through the streets of Italy. It's even cooler if you turn the lights off in the room. :)> Notes and Tips!!!- The create your map function can be very aggravating, unless you go to [...]to research in which countries and cities is currently available; otherwise you are going to spend hours clicking around China, before you realize that street view is only in Hong Kong.-Make sure when you create a map, click "set your own speed" box or you will be forced to do the same speed every time you run that map.-Be sure to check out Ifit live's FB page; lots of users share maps and tips on there.-If you do not have Ifit physically built into your treadmill, your treadmill will only download the next workout in your queue/schedule, mine downloads the next one in each category. In other words, from most treadmills, you will not be able to choose different workouts or switch map runs directly from the treadmill. You must first make your selection on a computer and then wait for it to be sent to your equipment. It takes about 15min for new changes to be sent to my machine or faster if you unplug the treadmill and plug it back in. So plan your workouts in advance or will waste time cursing the system for not being fast enough!> Bottom line: If you are training for a big race, need a trainer/schedule to commit, or like to see exotic lands while jogging, then this product would be a good purchase for you; but buyer beware, you will need to have patience and an open mind to fully appreciate what this product has to offer. In my opinion it is worth the cost. It motivates me to run longer and more frequently, which is why I gave it 4 stars. Hope this helps!

I totally erased the initial review and added this one to summarize my experience.UPDATE: DECEMBER 11, 2014...I haven't seen customer service this poor in a LONG, LONG time.I spent literally over a year off and on and spent many, many hours reading forums, emailing customer tech services, trying to get my module to work. I spent the time and money upgrading my network to make sure I have an absolutely solid signal to the module. After all this time, it turns out that the module itself was defective!! You could think that with all the trouble I had that iFit would do the right thing and send me a module to get my service going again. But, NO!!! They expected me to purchase one at full retail price! ($119 including shipping). Granted, I purchased the module from Amazon and not directly from ICON, but still...how much could one of those hunk of plastic modules cost them? Most of the cost is tied in with the yearly subscription they provide you, I am sure. The customer service agent made me feel like I was just a big whiner. She offered to give me 2 years of service instead of one that the module comes with. She said, "I am actually doing you a favor here." NO JOKE, she really said that, with the tone of voice to go with it (at least that is how I felt). So, after much grumbling I decided to give iFit yet another try.The new module was shipped and came on time (at least one thing is right). The setup was fairly painless and I only had to try twice instead of thousands. The module has been working flawlessly ever since (about 2 months of use). Knock on wood that the hunk of junk will stay working.Later, I get an auto-renewal payment charged to my account for another year of service! I said to myself, "Wait a minute...Aren't I supposed to be set up for 2 YEARS???" So, I called the customer service number and was put on hold for 1 hour 13 minutes before I GAVE UP and HUNG UP. Then, I tried emailing the customer service email. A response came a day later and said I need to call billing to get a refund. The rep game me an alternate phone number that "might be a little faster." I called the number and was again put on a hold for a long time, but finally was connected with a real human. After I explained my story and she asked a few questions and I started to answer them the line was mysteriously disconnected! I have NEVER had any problems with my phone line unexpectedly disconnect and I had it on speaker phone, so I know I didn't accidentally hit a button to disconnect the line. Ironically, the call disconnected at a time when she seemed to doubt what I was saying. Maybe she just didn't want to deal with me and grant me a credit for the extra charge on my account.After that, I decided to use online chat to see if I can get my illegitimate charges reversed. That was a dead end too. This rep claimed that she "isn't authorized" to offer any refunds and that I should contact billing!! I said, "I TRIED, I TRIED!!!" By this time I was getting quite irritated (trying to keep this review rated PG) and told her what I thought of the company that she represented.After days of waiting, no response to my email to customer service billing department regarding my refund. But, you know for a fact that if you wanted to PURCHASE something and had your credit card handy they would be right on it.Even though the service is currently working, I will not support this company any longer.PLEASE... It isn't worth the trouble. Find an alternative.