My Aiper Scuba Pool Cleaner Review- S1 vs Pro

This Aiper Scuba Pool Cleaner review is my honest opinion of these pool cleaners after purchasing a Scuba S1 and then having it replaced with the Scuba S1 Pro.

I’m not a professional pool girl.

I know very little about pools, actually.

This was my first purchase of a robotic cleaner to clean our pool.

My Pool and Other Background Information

My pool is a salt water pool in-ground that I know very little about.

I can tell you that it’s about 9 feet deep.

I’m told it’s 33,000 Gallons, which I hear is considered a pretty large pool. It does have a diving board.

It has a vinyl liner that does have some wrinkles in it. I probably need to replace that in the next year or two.

It has three steps going into the shallow end. For reference, here’s my pool:

I have been paying someone to come out and clean it. That’s not really my style – but I had watched my husband stand there with a pole cleaning the bottom quite often and I just don’t want to do it.

So while watching my Roomba clean the floors of our home, I had the epiphany that I should look for a pool cleaning robot to replace the pool boy.

After searching for a bit on Amazon, I landed on the Aiper Scuba S1.

The Aiper Scuba S1 – The Good

So initially, I went the cheaper route (which I know I’m rarely satisfied with) and purchased the AIPER Scuba S1 (Cordless Robotic Cleaner, Smart Navigation for Inground Pools up to 1,600 Sq.ft, Wall and Waterline Cleaning Vacuum).

I was so freaking excited when this little guy came in.

He was pretty much plug-and-play. I charged him for a little bit and let him go do his thing and it was magical.

The bottom of my pool was pretty dirty. I could tell where he was running and seriously see how clean the bottom was after he covered an area.

I was a little disappointed he wasn’t going up the stairs, but I only have three stairs so it wasn’t a biggie.

It’s fantastic at picking up most things – little baby worms, leaves, small rocks, even a hair tie.

The cleaner is cordless, which I love. I thought everything was magical until I kept watching it run.

On to the not-so-good…

The Aiper Scuba S1 – The Not-So-Good

Problem #1

My Scuba S1 was really sporadic with his cleaning. He wouldn’t go in a line back and forth like the videos showed.

I contacted Aiper support. First, I sent them an email.

I gave them a couple of days and I hadn’t heard anything so I sent them a message utilizing their website.

They promptly responded from the website message and told me they had never received my email.

To solve the issue of not running in a pattern in the pool, they told me I needed to update the robot.

I tried to connect the robot utilizing the Aiper app (which I find very user friendly btw), but it wouldn’t connect. I tried repeatedly over the course of 20 minutes or so.

Out of frustration, I emailed them again and asked them to close the case.

They talked me off the ledge. I tried to connect to the robot again one day later and I was successful.

I have no idea why I struggled so much the first day and I’m not sure if this is a common problem with others or a personal user error. However, if you are struggling connecting, I suggest taking a break, drinking a glass of wine, and giving it another go.

So after connecting properly, it took seconds to update and then I placed it back into the pool.

It was a different robot after the update and started going in straight lines back and forth.

So there is another 2025 updated model of the Scuba S1 which is slightly more expensive than the older version I received. I bet you could bypass having to do the update if you buy the 2025 updated model and have the Aiper guys do all the updating in their secret Aiper warehouse.

Problem #2

It did not pick up the fine debris at the bottom of my pool.

Correction – It picked up the fine particles, but it shot them back into the pool only for them to settle later in a different spot.

But what I really wanted it for was to pick up the fine stuff… yes, it was picking up a ton of other things I couldn’t pick up myself.

When I emptied the bucket, I was repeatedly disappointed. There were always items in there – but not the fine stuff, even when I knew the pool was super dirty and it should be picking up more.

I contacted Aiper again. They recommended that I add a filter to the bin and see if that helped picking up some of the finer particles.

I have to say I was a little irritated and they were always willing to help me try to make it better.

In the end, I took Aiper up on an offer to switch out the Scuba S1 for a Scuba S1 Pro.

Aiper Scuba S1 – The Details

Cleaning Performance – 50% satisfied. I was 95% because I thought it was grabbing everything and then I realized that it’s shooting the fine particles back into the pool.

Charging Time – Supposedly 150 minutes and that sounds about right. It doesn’t feel like I’m ever waiting for it to finish charging. Charging consists of simply pulling out the little squishy protective rubber in the back and inserting the charging cord.

Cleaning Time – Supposedly 150 minutes. Sounds right. The unfortunate part is that it was never able to clean my entire pool with one charge.

Removing from the Pool – This was hard, but if you like to lift weights, you’ll love this. Sometimes my Scuba would die in the deep end and it was a bit of a challenge to get him hooked correctly to pull out. I’ve gotten better at hooking it. Pulling him out of the water and onto the ground is rough on my pathetic muscles.

The Hook – When I purchased the Aiper off of Amazon, it recommended other items to buy with the cleaner and one of those items was a hook, which I figured I needed to get this guy out of the pool. DO NOT BUY A HOOK. The Aiper comes with a cute blue hook (much cuter than the black one I purchased separately).

Cleaning the Basket – This is super easy! It’s easy to release the basket and hose it down. I love looking at all the stuff that comes out – there’s usually at least one crazy worm.

Climbing the Pool Walls – It does this effortlessly. No issues at all with climbing the walls and heading back down.

Cleaning Modes –

• Walls only
• Floor only
• Auto Clean
• Eco

I tend to run this only on auto.

Aiper Scuba S1 Pro – The Good

The Aiper Scuba S1 Pro has all of the same positives as the S1 Scuba. I’m only noting the additional positives.

Unlike the Scuba S1, the Scuba S1 Pro connected to the app quickly and easily straight out of the box.

The app had some selections for me that the regular Scuba S1 did not have .

I was able to enter the following information:

• In ground or above ground
• Shape of Pool
• Shape of pool bottom
• Pool dimensions (l x w x h)

I’m not really sure that this is what helped with missing some sections of the pool like the S1 Scuba version did, but I like to think so.

I love that the app will tell me the battery life left of the Scuba S1 Pro. Especially when I’m anxious to get it back into the pool on a Saturday. Yes, there’s a light on the outside of the unit that will tell me when it’s fully charged, but I like not having to walk into the space where it’s charging if I’m on the other side of the house.

After two cleanings, my pool was nearly spotless. (see below – “The Not-So-Good” – for what wasn’t spotless)

The Pro model has a filter basket, similar to the regular Scuba, but it also has an additional filter to capture those extra fine particles which I feel was the missing piece on the original model I purchased.

I ran the regular Scuba S1 and then switched over to the Scuba S1 Pro. Here’s the debris basket after each cleaning:

Aiper Scuba S1 Pro – The Not-So-Good

Again, it cannot clean my pool with one charge, just as the S1 could not. This is disappointing, but not enough to return the product and start paying a pool boy again.

This unit felt a lot heavier in the box, and it was. I actually have to pump myself up before I head outside to get the Scuba S1 Pro out of the pool. It’s hard. The Scuba S1 was heavy and this guy is heavier.

The bottom corners of the pool and the stairs were the only sections that still remain untouched. It’s a little disappointing, but I’m at peace knowing this is how it is.

Aiper Scuba S1 Pro – The Details

Cleaning Performance – 90% satisfied. Perfection would be the corners at the bottom being spotless and the stairs.

Charging Time – It says four hours but it just doesn’t feel like it truly takes 4 hours to charge. I’m leaving the 4 hours here because maybe time is just slipping away from me.

Cleaning Time – Up to 180 minutes. I suppose this is dependent upon which mode you’ve got it set in and what kind of pool you have. I feel like mine lasts around 3 hours.

Removing from the pool – This is so freaking hard sometimes. This thing is super heavy. It also gushes some water out when you pull it out. I wore my fuzzy house slippers one time doing this – never again.

The Hook – This one comes with a hook too so don’t buy one! I also found the Pro a little easier to grab onto compared to the Scuba S1.

Cleaning the basket – Super easy, just as the regular S1. Just spray it with the water hose. I have been taking out the secondary filter to see if it needs cleaning too when I remove the basket, but it hasn’t needed it yet.

Climbing pool walls – No issue for the Scuba S1 Pro model.

Cleaning Modes – There are five this time.

• Auto Mode
• Floor
• Wall
• Water line
• Eco

Aiper Scuba S1 Pro in Action:

Things To Consider

It takes more than one charge for this guy to clean my entire pool. If your pool is large as well, mentally make sure you’re ok with knowing you need to run it more than once to get a full clean.

This was the case with both the Scuba S1 and Scuba S1 Pro.

Please note how heavy the unit is. If you’re unable to lift much, you’re going to struggle with this. Note that I’m a weakling and I am able to do it.

I don’t know how this pool cleaner would do with a lot of twists and turns. The regular S1 did not handle those nearly as well as the pro model did.

Final Thoughts

I am glad I settled on the Scuba S1 Pro and I don’t pay anyone to come out and clean the pool anymore.

I think if this robot dies in a couple of years after the warranty is up, I’ll try an even fancier model from Aiper. The Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max may be in my not-so-distant future….

However, with the budget I was looking for, this gets the job done and I’m happy.

My kids also think it’s super cool that we have a robot cleaning the pool.