Glowforge Reviews

DO NOT BUY!!!!!!!! After the fan blade breaking while doing a routine cleaning following specific instructions on Glowforge website. I got sent a refurbished machine as a result and the refurbished machine LEAKS SMOKE because the lid and front door are not flush with the machine like they are supposed to be! I. AM. SO. MAD.

This is the most unprofessional company I’ve ever dealt with. You spend almost 9k and get treated like garbage. I ordered the pro printer with an air filter. 3 days later I went to email my sales person and the email bounced. Still unsure if he blocked me or if what they’re saying that he doesn’t work there anymore is the truth. I have inquired about my air filter 4 times every time I have got a different answer. Today I found out they are out of stock with no ETA on when they will be back in stock, however the website says they ship in 3-5 days. They claim they are missing the cartridge to go inside. So essentially I was sold a product that they knew was unavailable but didn’t advise me about before purchasing. I have a business to operate and fishing my hose out the window is not an option for me anymore as I’m pregnant and the fumes were coming through the window too much. They have the worst customer service support and technical support, you can only email they will not get you on a live call with someone. They are liars beware before you order!! I would return but the fees are astronomical.

open but the lid is closed. Went through all of the trouble shooting options from the GF support. All of the cables were attached correctly and were not damaged, but we ordered a new cable just to make sure. Cable arrived today, installed exactly as the Glowforge video instructions said to, but it's still showing the lid is open. I am very unsatisfied with Glowforge and the lack of customer support. I depend on this machine to run my business and I am currently losing money. I will be sure to recommend another laser printer brand to all of my colleges as well as my investors. My machine is barely over a year old and we can not even get someone on the phone to help us quickly and efficiently resolve this problem. I really hope we can resolve this problem and quickly.We have had to replace 3 pieces this past year and shipping usually cost double the price of the part

Please do not waste your time or money on a Glowforge! The customer service support from Glowforge is absolutely terrible. There is no technical support over the phone. The only way to communicate with this company is through email. We’ve currently gone through 6 Glowforge’s. 4 of them we got through warranty claims. The latest product after 3 months of receiving was finally plugged in and the setup process started. Upon starting the setup we realized within the first 5 minutes that the camera was not functioning at all. We’ve contacted Glowforge and to our surprise they want me to spend another $1600 to return this current machine back to Glowforge and receive a refurbished Glowforge. Again, never used this machine, never even got past the setup process, and now after owning six of these machines they still want us spend our hard earned money on another paperweight. Don’t buy this product ever. Invest in an Epilog!

It was a great money maker for a year then of course it broke. They said it was the lid sensor but that didn’t work,( btw the part was 16.50 and shipping was 25.00!!!) so I tried buying another part,(again 1.60 part and 25.00 shipping) stupid!!! (This part I ordered off Etsy which I paid more but less on the shipping and it came two days later.) Glowforge told me I would have to send mine back and they would send me a refurbished one for 1650.00! 🤬 ??And this was a Pro so I spent over 6000. for it. Never again!! Will be buying a different machine for sure! You would think that they would have repair shops around or contract with locals or something. It’s ridiculous that you spend that much money and nothing can be done!

Would not recommend. Their marketing and branding is so good it convinces you that this is the only laser machine that is easy to use. Do your research there are so many more brands that are plug and go. This Glowforge has broken 5 times in the last 7 months, which resulted in 4 replacement machines. (I’ve since found another brand who are just miles apart I can’t believe I wasted time and money! The Glowforge wasn’t actually very well built)

All the replacements were refurb machines which is so wrong! You wouldn’t replace a new car with a second hand one and claim it’s new! And expect the customer to be happy knowing they have paid for a brand new car! Customer service here in the UK is non existent! Every-time it has broken I have let so many customers down. Issues include: just not turning on, broken wheels twice! Back on the lid popping off, stopping mid cut and not turning on again. As well as replacement machines being scratch and dented despite claiming that are new! So glad I have managed to get a refund and be done with this laser!

Such a shame because as I said their marketing and branding convinces you that this will take your small business to the next level and it damages it instead, because you have to let other customers down! And loose so much money!

When we purchased the laser, we knew that the laser tube would have a life expectancy of about 2 years, and then the literature said that GF would replace the tube for $500. We thought that was a bit high, but we still decided to purchase the laser. Well, after 1.5 years, our $4000 machine's tube went. When we asked GF about a tube replacement for the $500, they told us that the only option was to purchase a refurbished one for $1200, and we would have to return our 'broken' GF. Who would think that even the company would think that their $4000 laser was garbage after 1.5 years? We haven't even finished paying for it, and now it's ready to be thrown out. There are much better lasers on the market, much faster and less expensive. Do yourself a favor, and don't buy a Glowforge. They put all of their money into advertising, and not into the quality of the laser.

Ordered a Pro unit, and got it a month+ later. Out of the box, it wouldn't cut through proof-grade material on the right side of the unit. Unfortunately, we didn't report it right away, so they won't replace it with a brand new unit. We are getting a refurb, even though they can see how little we've used it and that it doesn't work right. We even bought the extended warranty, but nope, no new unit, only refurbs.

Extremely disappointed in this company and its response to our issue. Went through most of our materials trying to test/print stuff. Major waste of money...should have listened to these reviews!

Glowforge is a shiny lemon. Ask any user and they have most likely gone through Mutiple machines. Customer service is a JOKE. They will admit you need a new machine due to their faulty building & then ghost you and hope you walk away. You will wait for MONTHS. Passthrough NEVER works due to their system bugs and you'll waste tons of material because of it. At the end of the day if you like lighting $6000 on fire, GF is the company for you.

Glowforge #1 - broke upon arrival, Glowforge #2 - broke in a year, Glowforge #3 - broke in a month, Glowforge #4 - broke in 3-months. This has the average Glowforge Plus life expectancy at 4-months. Support is saying my only option is to pay $1000 for a refurbished one. With the average life cycle at 4-months, I'll just continuously pay $1000 every month to get a working Glowforge...

This company talks up an amazing product but the fact is they don't have a working phone to call when you have an issue. The phone on file sends you to a voicemail that says email us but when you do, they take days to respond between emails.
My Glowforge Pro started having issues 1 month out of warranty, just 13 months old and they told me they couldn't fix it because they didn't have a repair shop but would send me a refurbished laser for the cost of the repair which ended up costing almost $800.00 then they will only warrant the refurbished laser for 90 days. It took more than a month emailing them and a total of 46 days from my first email to get this refurbished laser. Don't waste your money with this company they don't have what it takes to back their products. Do your research and look up their other reviews on Google, yelps etc. I am not the only one with this problem.

My GF got on fire and I am not able to use it. I received my machine around march 2021 so barely 9 months; I am still paying back the money I borrowed to buy my GF. Now the only solution given to me by Glowforge is to buy a refurbished one for around 4K which I can not afford at all. The machine caught on fire because the head stop moving and just kept firing in the same area so the material caught on fire and started burning and the belts started melting as well.

Glowforge did not honor my active warranty and basically they just don't care.

We know Glowforge have had a bit of bad press, but we've had a really good experience overall (having owned other brands of laser cutter previously).

Our Glowforge Basic is still serving us well after about a year of daily use and we've had no major issues with it (touch wood). It has some very clever ideas and nice touches, such as the camera for positioning your work. It's far more user friendly than others we've used, and it genuinely seems like a product that somebody has put a lot of thought into.

The few times we have had to contact customer services for anything, they've been reasonable at coming back to us (they could be a bit quicker, but it's by no means terrible).

Overall, pretty impressed.

I love the ease of use of the product as a whole but it has a few quirks about it. Being that mine had to be replaced twice in one year is reason for concern and that it requires wifi connection in order to use the machine. I have the Pro and so far been able to establish and maintain a steady business with it. I take a great loss when the machine is down but Glowforge reps are very courteous and kind. I find them effective in moving toward a solution in replacement or troubleshooting. They are very prompt in addressing needs but I am having to wait almost 2 weeks for a replacement and that is a long time for someone who runs a business with their Glowforge. My biggest drawback is having a reliable and dependable machine to run my business even with the Glowforge Pro this is proving to be a challenge at this time.

Took the money and said they can not deliver the product for 60 days. Very slow to to respond to emails. If we ran our business this way we would have to close.