Pongbot Nova S Pro owners' review and discussion thread

[plunder]

Hi @BBttguy congrats to your very first public post on TTD forum!
Actually no struggle but some balls ouf of any pack of 100 will crack earlier between the banded wheels than between the non-modded wheels. I have a handful of cracked Joola Training 0* balls (and i'll document this cracked lot in vid at some time) and almost none cracked AliX balls (weisun brand or sumting). With or without band, the balls get squeezed between the twin wheels before they get ejected by the spring/coil system. With the band, the squeezing force (pressure) is higher. This leads to a couple of cracked Joola balls (when the bands haven't broken_in yet), and this could possibly lead to a cracking of the robot's plastic structure in long term. I doht see such a NSPro breakdown happening any time soon, so i invested heavily €€€'s 🤑 in the difficult supply of rubber band. I had no other choice to buy as much at once, not my bad.

Welcome to TTD, and hopefully you'll make much use of the NSPro! "black still" .. haha .. 📿 🙏

 

[BBttguy]

Hi @BBttguy congrats to your very first public post on TTD forum!
Actually no struggle but some balls ouf of any pack of 100 will crack earlier between the banded wheels than between the non-modded wheels. I have a handful of cracked Joola Training 0* balls (and i'll document this cracked lot in vid at some time) and almost none cracked AliX balls (weisun brand or sumting). With or without band, the balls get squeezed between the twin wheels before they get ejected by the spring/coil system. With the band, the squeezing force (pressure) is higher. This leads to a couple of cracked Joola balls (when the bands haven't broken_in yet), and this could possibly lead to a cracking of the robot's plastic structure in long term. I doht see such a NSPro breakdown happening any time soon, so i invested heavily €€€'s 🤑 in the difficult supply of rubber band. I had no other choice to buy as much at once, not my bad.

Welcome to TTD, and hopefully you'll make much use of the NSPro! "black still" .. haha .. 📿 🙏

I think you mentioned possibly Pongbot supplying spare/ replacement wheels. I'm not expert but I guess these could be 3d printed too?

 

[plunder]

I think you mentioned possibly Pongbot supplying spare/ replacement wheels. I'm not expert but I guess these could be 3d printed too?

In no realistic scenario will an owner manage to 3d-print a nice replacement wheel (it could be possible but i doht foresee it happen for so many reasons, as a non-expert). Looks like @pongbotstore is NOT going to offer replacement wheels in their webshop. With no official public word, there is no word. They also stopped communicating non-publicly, and with "communication" i mean real exchange of real information. Most manufacturers get defensive (=stop communicating) when etc.

If you have a real problem with the wheels, within the first 1-2 years, you should(!) receive direct useful help, e.g. replacement wheels, from the manufacturer, typically for free. None of us owners has run into such a warranty case, so we doht have any experience with how the company actually handles such requests.

If they recognize and know you, and doht like you, maybe(?) they'll keep ignoring you, say after the 2 years? We'll talk about it again, when it has happened in future. Too early to discuss their warranty service and post-warranty support service.

Anyway, the wheels themselves will not break.

Users with non-modded wheels will experience a gradual degradation/aging/consumption of the wheels. They'll eventually need help for that, in future, if the robot has been holding up for that long too.

Users with banded wheels will not experience any problems with the wheels, so no worries.

 

[plunder]

@pongbotstore awaiting your reply.
Please be to the point..

all pongbot Nova S Pro offers for the EU market have been pulled as of 2025-07-14 (start of summer vacation):

• https://www.amazon.de/-/en/gp/product/B0CTXY6NVQ/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=&psc=1
• https://www.amazon.de/-/en/gp/product/B0CTXY6NVQ/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_2?smid=&psc=1
• https://www.amazon.de/-/en/gp/product/B0CTXY6NVQ/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_3?smid=&psc=1
• https://www.amazon.de/-/en/gp/product/B0CTXY6NVQ/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_4?smid=&psc=1

Through these links one could choose the shipper to be Amazon gemani proper or FutureMindShanghai FMS china. If one uses the Amazon Search, one cannot find the Nova S Pro product pages anymore, because the Amazon Search filters products which are "Currently unavailable". Last week there was still plenty of stock listed (you know how to see/view stock quantities on amazon doht you), so unlisting the Nova S Pro was a sudden move by the manufacturer. Why, what dappened?

I'd bet that the product listing will be reactivated again and soon. In any case, we're observing your moves @pongbotstore!

(...)

BTW, do we owners realize 👀 that our pongbots would cease to work immediately, as soon as FMS turned off their servers 🖥️🖲️ for one or another reason?
scary thought. scary truth. ☢️

EDIT: 2025-09-10 the product is back on amazon EU with 214+50+28 units shipped from Shanghai

 

[Yuomay]

all pongbot Nova S Pro offers for the EU market have been pulled as of 2025-07-14 (start of summer vacation):

• https://www.amazon.de/-/en/gp/product/B0CTXY6NVQ/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=&psc=1
• https://www.amazon.de/-/en/gp/product/B0CTXY6NVQ/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_2?smid=&psc=1
• https://www.amazon.de/-/en/gp/product/B0CTXY6NVQ/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_3?smid=&psc=1
• https://www.amazon.de/-/en/gp/product/B0CTXY6NVQ/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_4?smid=&psc=1

Through these links one could choose the shipper to be Amazon gemani proper or FutureMindShanghai FMS china. If one uses the Amazon Search, one cannot find the Nova S Pro product pages anymore, because the Amazon Search filters products which are "Currently unavailable". Last week there was still plenty of stock listed (you know how to see/view stock quantities on amazon doht you), so unlisting the Nova S Pro was a sudden move by the manufacturer. Why, what dappened?

I'd bet that the product listing will be reactivated again and soon. In any case, we're observing your moves @pongbotstore!

(...)

BTW, do we owners realize 👀 that our pongbots would cease to work immediately, as soon as FMS turned off their servers 🖥️🖲️ for one or another reason?

scary thought. scary truth. ☢️

I haven’t tried but it should be possible to use the robot with the remote control no?

 

[BlopChock]

BTW, do we owners realize 👀 that our pongbots would cease to work immediately, as soon as FMS turned off their servers 🖥️🖲️ for one or another reason?

scary thought. scary truth. ☢️

Wow, that's nuts. I also seem to recall you saying in an earlier post that GPS location has to be enabled in order to use the app? Sounds sketchy.

 

[floxe]

I already posted once that my calibration is off - need to set the robot to roughly -8 length.
First wrote an email to the support, then got in touch with them by WhatsApp - they requested pictures and videos which I supplied but after that they never really got back to me or provided a solution.

I'm only using Custom Drills so it works for me however - some underspin balls which should land on the table according to the app fly out by quite a margin though.
Next time I'll try to find out the max. Speed/Spin/Height combination with my robot, maybe someone can check if it corrresponds to a correctly calibrated robot.

P.S.: If you press the Key Button on the back 6 times the robot will send out a series of balls which should land 1m behind the net (pencil) - my robot if off by quite a bit.

 

[plunder]

should land 1m behind the net

Your P.S. is intriguing, and i can confirm that this undocumented standalone feature works nicely:

1. No smartphone, no bluetooth connection, no etc required! Just place the Nova S Pro on the table and power it. As you know, the two LED's will start blinking blue, to indicate that the robot is powered and hasn't been initialized.
2. Now quick-press 6x (exactly 6x, not 5x, not 7x, not 10x, etc) and wait for a short moment.
3. The robot executes a head position reset (to its internally programmed standardized position), and finally shoots out 10x identical balls in rapid succession. Both LED's are lit yellow, and both wheels rotate fast, resulting —on my wheels-modded unit— in fast, rather spinless balls: none of the 10 balls land on the table!
4. Thereafter both LED's are lit blue, not blinking anymore, to indicate that the robot is powered and has been initialized.
5. Now feel free to get your smartphone, turn on bluetooth/GPS/location/WiFi/WLAN/mobile internet/signals, start the Android app, and connect with the robot, etc.

I find this feature VERY useful for fine-tuning the midline alignment (at pos8) of the robot. And maybe that's its actual purpose, in practice: to align the robot perfectly at pos8. 📏📐

I would disregard/ignore the info (claim) that the ball "should land at 1m" but let's hear it from other owners, if their 10 balls land on the table:

Btw a neighbour just got a newer model of my 24V-powerbank for use with his robis. He also adopted the rubber band mod for the Nova wheels. Two happy campers here.

@floxe Sorry to hear about the inconvenience you're experiencing with your unit and the folks at the Chinese company 🇨🇳

 

[floxe]

I would disregard/ignore the info (claim) that the ball "should land at 1m" but let's hear it from other owners, if their 10 balls land on the table:

The calibration page specifies the 1m - I assume your mods also alter the throw angle of the robot.

 

[plunder]

I haven't been using the robi2 for the past 8.0 weeks because i didn't need it anymore because in gemani there are pon opportunities everywhere around the corner every day like neighboring clubs and tournaments, even on any national holidays, srsly 364/yr omfg, and during that time my preference was humanpon indeed, to apply in human reality what i had been practicing with robi2pon. Application success! Meaning, i've been on the right track with robipon all along, and will continue doing so, now with even more conviction and motivation xolay.

Today i finally exchanged the 25mm wide LW rubber band (lower wheel) for the very first time, and this time learning again, whether i orly(?) need to fix the band with glue or not. Maybe a 30mm wide band would totally do the trick. I doht mind using glue but my preference would be to get along without any use of glue.

The band was on the LW non-stop for almost 6.0 months, wow. Remarkably, it didn't crack, tear or rupture to form a hole; it remained fully intact, continuing to cover the entire wheel surface. However on one side which was exposed to window's sunlight, the rubber lost its functional properties due to (signs of) aging, but only after ~4 months. The glue kept its promise to keep the rubber attached at the 3 glue points:

There are no signs of aging on the other side:

When i tried to strip the band off the wheel, the stripping process got hung up at the 3 glue points (of the other side) and the aged rubber edge got deformed plastically. Clearly, that part of the rubber had aged, dried out, like the aging of a slice of cheese 🧀. I might leave that retired band behind a glass window on the sill to see if it becomes brittle:

Ofc i managed to remove the band completely. And ofc there are residues of the 3 glue points on either side (they can be scraped off with a utility knife nbd). I absolutely love the rubber band mod, it's a must-do, for my massive robi2pon. And as we're learning on the way —6 months have passed since i started using the modded wheels—, half a year is a recommended maximum for using 1 band. During that time the band will either rupture a hole (see UW rubber band) or will have degraded due to aging (let's recall that i use the robi2 with an open head, so sunlight does reach the lower band):

I'll update this post (EDIT), if/when i learn that i do have to use glue (again) with the rubber band mod. At that point, i'll try 30mm wide bands first. And if that "fails" again, then i'll use glue again np.

EDIT: 2025-09-05 The total weight of wheel2 was 16.54g (installed and operated without glue), today at 16.51g i am installing a new band, this time with glue like the 1st band. New total 16.84g. This 3rd band on wheel2 should last longer then the 2nd band, which wore out on one side too fast because of the band sideways shift (because it wasn't held in place with glue).
EDIT2: 2025-10-24 The lower wheel band with glue on band (marked 16.84g) has slightly torn (16.71g byebye). I had done tons of underspin shots (for testing the webclient). I am installing a fresh band (16.81g), this time without glue.

 

[plunder]

The calibration page specifies the 1m - I assume your mods also alter the throw angle of the robot.

I exchanged the LW rubber band, the robot is now more consistent with the ball placement (but not as consistent as yours, without bands). But on my unit, it continues to overshoot. The balls doht land on the table, with the calibration page. Lol.

Throw angle .. yes thru indirect alteration. My modded wheels are grippier, and this leads to an altered throw angle.

@pongguy Congrats to your very first post on TTD! Amazing how this thread prompts so many new users to join 🫴

 

[pongguy]

I already posted once that my calibration is off - need to set the robot to roughly -8 length.
First wrote an email to the support, then got in touch with them by WhatsApp - they requested pictures and videos which I supplied but after that they never really got back to me or provided a solution.

I'm only using Custom Drills so it works for me however - some underspin balls which should land on the table according to the app fly out by quite a margin though.

I'm having a similar issue and am currently in touch with them on WhatsApp. The custom drills are also annoying for me since the ball placement diagram is completely wrong (overshoots by ~20-30 cm). Have you found a good solution for this?

 

[floxe]

Have you found a good solution for this?

If I set my robot to 8 shorter on the calibration page (as seen in post #109) in the app (Settings/Programmed Drill Calibration) the ball lands at roughly 1m behind the net and also my custom drills then correspond to the display in the app - not for every ball (sometimes I need to adapt height) but I'd say for 90%.

Haven't tried any pre-programmed drills though.

 

[pongguy]

If I set my robot to 8 shorter on the calibration page (as seen in post #109) in the app (Settings/Programmed Drill Calibration) the ball lands at roughly 1m behind the net and also my custom drills then correspond to the display in the app - not for every ball (sometimes I need to adapt height) but I'd say for 90%.

Haven't tried any pre-programmed drills though.

Thanks! I'll give it a try.

 

[Bearded Ste]

I haven't used my Nova S Pro for a few weeks. I just set it up and when I connect to my phone, I get a message telling me the robot is offline. I've tried re-starting my internet, turning everything including the modem off and on again, but it still isn't connecting. Has anyone had this issue. How do I get it back online?

 

[floxe]

I've tried re-starting my internet, turning everything including the modem off and on again, but it still isn't connecting. Has anyone had this issue. How do I get it back online?

Bluetooth is enabled on your phone?

 

[dingyibvs]

I haven't used my Nova S Pro for a few weeks. I just set it up and when I connect to my phone, I get a message telling me the robot is offline. I've tried re-starting my internet, turning everything including the modem off and on again, but it still isn't connecting. Has anyone had this issue. How do I get it back online?

It connects via Bluetooth, and it usually says offline until you click on it and then it tries to connect. At least that's the case with my Halo.

 

[plunder]

Bluetooth is enabled on your phone?

Hi Steven, on your smartphone the following three(3) settings must be activated and active:

1. Bluetooth enabled
2. WiFi / WLAN enabled (or "Mobile Internet: On")
3. GPS signal enabled (or "Location: On")
4. you must be logged in, to your pongbot android app account (username : password)

And ofc the Nova S Pro device must be powered (thru 24V-powerbank or power adapter) and turned on haha.

btw love your yt vids!!

 

[Bearded Ste]

Bluetooth is enabled on your phone?

Yes, Bluetooth was enabled, WiFi was on and working and was logged in. The issue was that I needed to turn my the app needs your phone to have location services switched on. I'm not sure why it needs my location, but once that was turned on, it worked fine. Thanks for the help and quick response.

 

[plunder]

btw love your yt vids!!

@Bearded Ste has posted a quality video on this Top 5 custom drills, and as such it prompts to be shared here as well for wider publicity and discussion, thanks for all your contributions on yt, keep it up!

Today i did my 3rd robi2pon session of the month, a quick 90mins only. Btw i am still waiting for the announced firmware update (upgrade) of robi1; without it, i'll continue using my modded robi2 with the "edited pre-programmed drills c01, ..., x01, ...".

And here another reversible useful mod to the Nova S Pro, owners will know/understand what and why i did there:

better to fix with a piece of harmless tape: