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Jan 14, 2024

Levoit Vital 200S Smart True HEPA Air Purifier Review

Designed with pet owners in mind, the Levoit Vital 200S Smart True HEPA Air

Designed with pet owners in mind, the Levoit Vital 200S Smart True HEPA Air Purifier ($189.99) is a three-stage air purifier that, as its name implies, uses True HEPA filtration technology to rid the air in your home of pet dander, odors, and other harmful pollutants. It's relatively quiet, works in medium-sized rooms, and effectively cleansed our air in testing. We wish it worked with more third-party devices and platforms, however, and all you get in terms of air quality reporting is a color-coded LED ring. It's a decent value, but the Wyze Air Purifier ($169.99) is a better choice overall thanks to its lower price, larger operating area, and support for multiple filter types.

With a glossy white exterior and black accents, the Vital 200S purifier should fit the aesthetic of most rooms. It measures 15.6 by 19.8 by 8.5 inches (HWD) and features a U-shaped air intake on the front that the company says prevents clogging from pet hair and other large dust particles. There's an air sensor on the right side and a power port on the back. The Vital 200S can handle rooms of up to 380 square feet. For comparison, the Wyze model can work in spaces of up to 550 square feet.

The front cover pops off to reveal a washable pre-filter screen that catches large particles such as hair and lint. Behind that is the True HEPA/Activated Carbon filter that can trap 99.97% of airborne particles as small as 0.3 microns, including contaminants such as pet dander, pollen, smoke particles, and fine dust. The carbon filter eliminates Volatile Organic Compounds(Opens in a new window) (VOCs) as well as odors from cooking and smoking. The HEPA filter (which costs $31.99 to replace) should last for up to a year before you need to change it.

The top of the purifier features the air outlet grille, as well as a control panel with an air quality LED ring and several function buttons and indicators. As mentioned, this device doesn't show actual PM2.5 readings like most other air purifiers do; the LED ring simply glows blue when the air quality is very good, green when it is good, orange when it is moderate, and red when it is poor.

Function buttons include Auto Mode, Display Lock, Display Off, Fan Speed, Power, Timer, and Sleep Mode. There's also a light sensor onboard that works with a Light Detection option in the app. If you enable this setting, the control panel lights turn off and the fans won't run on high or turbo speeds in dark environments. If the sensor detects lights again, the purifier returns to normal operation.

There are four fan speed choices (Low, Medium, High, and Turbo). Turbo is the most powerful (and loudest) setting, so it's the one you should choose to clear out a room that reeks of smoke, food, or some other strong odor. In Auto Mode, the fan speed continually switches between the Low, Medium, and High options depending on the air quality, but it doesn't use the Turbo setting. When the LED turns green, the fan spins at Low speed; when it's orange, it runs at Medium speed; and when it's red, it operates at High speed. When the LED turns blue, which indicates very good air quality, the fan goes into Sleep mode. In this scenario, the fan runs silently at a very low speed and all the LEDs turn off.

Otherwise, the Timer button lets you set the purifier to run for a specific duration before it enters Standby mode. In Standby Mode, the infrared dust sensor still detects the surrounding air quality and sends updates to the companion app (despite technically being off).

Press the Display Lock button to prevent any changes to the settings via the panel buttons, or the Display Off button to manually turn off the control panel LEDs.

The Vital 200S responds to Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands, but it doesn't integrate with third-party devices nor does it support Apple HomeKit or IFTTT applets. If you need something that works with HomeKit, consider the Ikea Starkvind Table With Air Purifier ($269.99).

The Vital 200S uses the VeSync mobile app (available for Android and iOS) and appears in a panel on the main screen that shows a power button, the name of the device, and its assigned room. Tap the panel to open a screen with a large circle that indicates the indoor air quality (Very Good, Good, Moderate, or Bad); the screen background changes colors depending on the air quality. Above the circle, you can view the local outdoor PM2.5 level.

Below the circle are four fan speed buttons, an Auto mode button, a Sleep mode button, and a Pet mode button. If you enable Pet mode, the fan runs at high speed for 15 minutes and then switches to medium speed for an hour. This cycle is meant to provide efficient filtration and continues to run until you select another mode or fan speed. At the very bottom of the screen is a pull-up panel with Power, Timer, and Schedule (lets you create operation schedules with specific fan speeds) buttons. The panel also includes buttons for enabling the Light Detection and Display Lock features, as well as for customizing the Auto and Sleep modes.

Tap the gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen to access the Settings section. Here, you can change the device name, tweak Wi-Fi preferences, set up Alexa and Google Assistant voice integrations, check the filter life and configure filter reminders, enable air quality notifications, and share control of the device with other users. Guest users must download the companion app and sign up for an account to get access.

Preparing the Vital 200S for first use is simple. I started by opening the filter compartment and removing the plastic bag from the HEPA filter. Then, I replaced the filter, the pre-filter, and the compartment cover before downloading the mobile app. After creating and verifying an account, I tapped Add Device in the My Devices panel, chose Air Quality, and selected the Vital 200S from the list.

Following the on-screen instructions, I plugged in the device, pressed the power button, and tapped Next. Then, I pressed and held the power button for five seconds to enable Wi-Fi pairing. The Wi-Fi indicator began to blink and then the device appeared in the app. I selected and authenticated my Wi-Fi network and tapped Connect. Finally, I assigned the purifier to a room, gave it a name, and installed a firmware update. At this point, the app asked if I wanted to link the purifier to an Alexa or Google account, and I ran through the Alexa process without any issues.

The Vital 200S performed well in testing. I used the same methodology to evaluate it as with the competing purifiers, but since this device doesn't report specific measurements, I had to set up a Govee Air Quality Monitor alongside it to monitor the exact PM2.5 results.

I placed both devices in my 110-square-foot office where the Govee monitor recorded an initial reading of 0, set the fan speed to Low, and lit a stick of incense. When the Vital 200S indicator turned red and the Govee device measured 200, I extinguished the incense and set the purifier to Auto mode, at which point the fan ramped up to the High setting. After three minutes, the Govee monitor read 66 and the Vital 200S LED ring was still red. After six minutes, the level dropped to 38 and the LED ring turned orange. After 10 minutes, the PM2.5 level was 12 and the ring had turned blue. The Vital 200S needed a total of 14 minutes to get the air quality back down to the base level. For comparison, the Dreo Macro Max S ($240) needed 13 minutes to cleanse the air completely, while the Prosenic A9 ($219) required 19 minutes.

Except when Turbo mode is active, the Vital 200S is relatively quiet. Using the NIOSH Sound Level Meter app (available for iOS), I recorded a level of 39dB with the fan running at Low and 59dB when High mode was active. Turbo mode produced a reading of 63dB. For comparison, the Wyze Air Purifier is a bit quieter at 28dB and 58dB for its Low and High settings.

As for ease of use, the Vital 200S responded quickly to app commands to change modes and fan speeds. Alexa voice commands to turn the device on and off also worked well.

Animal lovers in particular should appreciate the Levoit Vital 200S, which continually keeps the air in your home free of pet dander and pet odors. Even if you don't have any furry friends in your house, the Vital 200S's three-stage HEPA/Activated Carbon filter is quite effective at cleaning the air quickly, and it's a decent value at $189.99. That said, the Wyze Air Purifier covers more space, reports specific PM2.5 readings, and works with Formaldehyde and wildfire filters, all at a slightly lower price.

The Levoit Vital 200S air purifier connects to an app on your phone and effectively eliminates pet dander and other harmful pollutants in your home, but it doesn't offer detailed air quality measurements and could be smarter.

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