XSTO M4 Pro
I bought the XSTO M4 Pro at the Naidex Exhibition in March 2026 at an attractive Expedition 10% discount. I bought it for the following reasons: • Comfort • Innovative features including • Dynamic Seating with electric seat height & tilt angle adjustment. • Omni-Directional Wheel design • Bluetooth technology The M4 standard version had already been available and the reviews were very good. For its specification it was good value even without the Naidex discount. The Pro version had a number of additional benefits including lights/indicators, improved swivel joystick, higher kerb climbing and improved seating. It seemed like a no brainer! The Xsto distributors – Bentech Medical, agreed to assemble the chair for me and to deliver it to my home in Reading. This was done within a week of the order. Initial problems. The Instruction Manual had the usual inaccuracies associated with translation from Chinese to English. Charging instructions should have been clearer and this caused unnecessary anxiety with orange warning lights as opposed to red. Long charging times in excess of 7 hours and strict instructions not to leave the charger connected overnight – impractical for many disabled users! I was unable to connect the Bluetooth and it appeared that this was due to missing information on the serial number of the chair. Initially, I thought that it was my fault but after much time wasting and numerous phone calls, Xsto admitted that there was a software fault on the Pro model. Some 6 weeks later I learned that the fault had been addressed. In the meantime 2 further faults emerged, one being loose Allan bolts securing the Joystick to the chair and another more serious fault being very loud squeaks/creaks coming from the chassis. I sorted out the Joystick problem but needed help with both the Bluetooth connection and the loud squeaks. Apparently, I was not alone in complaining about the chassis squeak/creak. A Sub-contracted firm arrived to deal with these issues. Copious quantities of spray silicone were applied to the chair and this reduced the noise considerably. A Bluetooth connection was established and the problems appeared to have been resolved. However, when I tested the wheelchair later that day I discovered new problems. The Auto Slope Balancing feature was no longer working. Unbeknown to me this feature can be turned on or off from within the App. Without any input from me the feature was being disconnected. A more worrying problem was the Bluetooth applying the wheelchair locking device on the Ap. These problems meant that I was unable to get on a local bus. The chair twice stalled when going up a shallow ramp. Prior to the Bluetooth installation I had not had any issues boarding local buses. With some difficulty I managed to limp home in the wheelchair but was unable to manage the slight incline onto my driveway! Fortunately, a friendly neighbour helped by pushing the chair over a small ridge. I suspect that the Bluetooth connectivity issues had not been tested properly on Android phones? The problem became acute a short time later when I was totally locked out of my wheelchair. I couldn’t even get control through the very flimsy key fob which was supplied with the chair. With hindsight I should've delayed my purchase until the inevitable teething problems had emerged and been addressed. This is a very sophisticated wheelchair. The video demonstrations all take place on good surfaces in virtually pristine conditions. In practice, roads and especially pavements, are far from perfect and Reading is no exception! A very sensible safety innovation - automatically reducing the speed when the chair senses a slope or camber, becomes extremely irritating when it detects minor imperfections in a pavement and is forever reducing the set speed! The maximum speed of the M4 is 3.7mph but this is with perfect conditions and frequently the chair reverts to about 2mph when it senses either a gradient or camber. When normality returns it sometimes returns to the set speed but not always – another irritation. There is also a safety issue in respect of this feature. Great care has to be taken when crossing roads. You can set the maximum speed to get across the road but this is frequently notched down when the chair senses the initial gradient near the kerb. Too clever by a half! Fortunately for me Xsto Service sensed my deep frustration with this chair and allowed me to return the chair for a full refund. This was dealt with promptly and full marks to them for this. I think that many people will like the special features offered by this chair but it did not suit my purposes.