FOLAI TH550 Stud Finder Wall Scanner - 5 in 1 Stud Detector Detector Beam Finders Wall Detector Sensor Center Finding with LCD Display for Wood AC Wire Metal Studs Cable Joist Detection

My life depends on this cheap but seemed accurate after testing first

I recently purchased a Stud Finder Wall Scanner, and my experience has been mixed. While it works well some of the time, it doesn’t always provide accurate readings. There have been several instances where it either failed to detect studs or gave false positives, making it unreliable for precise work. The device is easy to use and has a good ergonomic design, but its inconsistent accuracy is a major drawback. If you need precise and reliable stud detection, you might want to consider other options.

I bought this to find wooden studs in a wall as advertised. However in the instructions it then says it will only work with certain walls and if trying to find studs through painted plasterboard it’s unlikely to work. This is what I was using it for and it didn’t really work. It did pick up a few studs on some walls but not on others.

This product provides absolute peace of mind when drilling into a wall. It’s very easy to use and seems very accurate in my testing. Battery life seems great as I have used a lot and never needed to change the battery. Definitely worth having around for whenever you need to put up a picture or a shelf.

Having read the reviews I thought this scanner would meet my requirements. Alas this was a bad decision. Once calibrated the scanner would not pick up any object behind the plasterboard. I knew where the stud, pipework and cables were on a section of a wall I used as a test. It did not find anything, even trying every different detection mode and recalibration. I tried it on different walls where I knew some objects were lurking but that too was a waste of time as nothing appeared on the detection screen.I returned it the same day. Would not recommend it.

First time to use one of these, unit is easy to use and works well.

The media could not be loaded. Like most people I read reviews and was confused. Decided to check this on my own. Some reviews are bad as people don’t know how to calibrate this or doing it wrong. You need to follow the calibration proces and movement otherwise it will not show correct results. It does pick live wires however it is not accurate. Was showing cable in the wall 25 cm before the actual cable - see video. On the right hand side it was accurate. It will give you idea where not to drill. It picks metal and studs very well. For the price I think it is good buy. If you need precise work then invest more money £70/80.

Difficult to have confidence in the results as they quite often not consistent. Bought for use in new build house (2023) with thick insulation, if it makes a difference. Hard to get the same results on different runs along the same portion of the wall. Partly it's because you have to calibrate it by holding a button down while pressing scanner against a section of the wall you know to be clear of whatever you are looking for, then while keeping the button firmly pressed and the scanner pressed against the wall, move the scanner only horizontally or vertically to scan for whatever you are looking for. But partly, because even with best efforts it often gives different results when you repeat scan trying to check you got it right. The high sensitivity mode is somewhat better but still not consistent. I really don't use it in favour of a simpler, cheaper scanner which seems to work better.