This 3-in-1 soil meter is a handy little tool for basic plant care, though it's hard to fully judge the accuracy without a reference. The moisture reading seems to work well—after watering, the needle moved from dry to the middle of the moist range, which is reassuring. The light sensor also responded, but only when placed in direct sunlight.The pH feature is where things get a little uncertain. The needle stayed in the alkaline range even after watering with plant food, and it didn’t seem to change at all. Since most soil tends to lean alkaline anyway, I can’t say how reliable this part of the meter is.Overall, it’s a useful and inexpensive tool for quick checks in my garden.

It’s handy to have both ph nd moisture probes in one device. I am not set up to check the accuracy of either, but they seem to vary based on the soil I put them in, so I’m going to ride with the moisture meter as a handy way to check without getting my hands dirty, and the ph as at the very least a rough indicator.I don’t think I’ll be getting a lot of use out of the light sensor, but it doesn’t hurt to have it and maybe I’ll surprise myself and find a use for it.The directions are printed only on the box in black on dark green, so not easy to read and unless you want to keep the box around, you’ll want to record the settings separate for reference. I’ve included a photo here in case you need it and lose yours.

This just doesn't work. Directions say you have to set the switch to "Moist" then insert it into the soil and leave it there for 10 minutes. I did that and the meter didn't move at all. It stayed in the same spot it was before inserting. So I added water to the plant so the soil was very moist. The meter still never changed. I tried several other plants waiting 10 minutes each time and the meter never changed. I tried the other 2 settings PH and Light, with the meter not moving for either of them.Even if this did work, I have never heard of a moisture meter taking 10 minutes to get a reading.Avoid this product. It doesn't work.

I have a lot of plants both inside and outdoors. Making sure they are getting the proper amount of water can be tricky. The soil may look dry around the plant but have plenty of moisture below the surface. I used the Soil Tester with a variety of plants and vegetables, both inside and out. I felt that the moisture indicator was fairly accurate. After I watered, it went up appropriately. The sunlight indicator seemed to work fine as well. It definitely responded to bright sunlight, indoors and outdoors. I am not sure if the PH indicator was working. The needle never moved, despite being tested in a variety of soils. I even tested it under a pine tree which should have a higher level of acidity and again the needle never moved from the lowest alkalinity reading. That being said, for a moisture indicator it works well, and a real bonus is no batteries needed! At this price, it is a good value and a nice addition to your gardening tools.

Background for POV of Vine reviews: I live in Puerto Rico, which means high humidity, frequent rain, and strong sun virtually year-round. Outdoor products are in use all year here. I’m also no great DIYer, so things need to work right out of the box with minimal instructions, assembly, or technical know-how. The reviews are written by me, but I do use AI for grammar and flow purposes.TL;DR: This 3-in-1 analog soil meter doesn’t require batteries and works well for sunlight and moisture readings. Unfortunately, the pH function didn’t work at all — it showed an alkaline reading (pH 8) even in plain white vinegar. I wanted to love it, but I can only recommend it if you don’t care about pH.________________________________________Unboxing: The unit came in a sturdy box with its probe points protected in a piece of plastic foam. Not much else to it.Impressions: I got this unit because I wanted some indication — not even expecting perfect readings — of my soil’s pH levels. I can already distinguish between sunny, shaded, and dark; my dialed-in drip irrigation system keeps everything moist.One of the interesting features is that this unit doesn’t need a battery. One less thing to worry about. Sure enough, the needle moved in the sunlight setting when I walked from full sunshine to under the roof overhang’s shade. So far, so good.Next was the moisture testing. A moist pot unsurprisingly showed “moist,” and a dried-out one I had showed “dry.” We’re at 2 out of 3 so far!On to the reason I got this in the first place: the pH test. I started dipping the meter (set to pH) into different soils, and everything read — 8; alkaline. OK, it’s all the same potting soil, so maybe that could make sense. However, just to be sure, I took some kitchen white vinegar and stuck the probes into that. It still showed that my acidic vinegar was alkaline too! In reality, it should have shown a reading of around 2.5–3.5.A-ha! Then I remembered that the box said to leave it in place for 10 minutes. So I repeated the vinegar test. Ten minutes later… my vinegar was still alkaline! What will I use now for my salad dressing?In any case, this meter is still good for the other two readings. I rarely garden indoors, but I’ve ordered some grow lights to test, and this will help dial in the LED lighting and watering. So not all is lost.However, I’m very disappointed that the pH function didn’t work, as that was the main reason I got the unit. Sunlight levels? Just look outside. Moisture? Just stick your finger in the soil. But pH? That’s tricky. Sure, there are DIY methods out there, but that’s something I prefer a real reading for.Rating: I hate to rate this 2 stars — I wanted it to be a 5-star product. The fact that it’s analog is great! The sun and watering readings are useful, no doubt. It seems sturdy enough and switching between modes is easy. But the star of the show for me — and probably for many others — just didn’t work.