My Honest Review (and Ongoing Ordeal) with the Solara 12L XXL Air Fryer Oven

TL;DR

I bought the Solara 12L XXL Air Fryer Oven with high hopes — it looked great, cooked well (for a while), and seemed perfect for a small family. But the excitement didn’t last long. Within two weeks, the unit completely stopped working, and my experience with Solara’s after-sales service turned into a frustrating waiting game.
If you’re considering buying one, here’s what you should know:

• ✅ Order & Delivery: Smooth, quick, and hassle-free (10/10)

• 💡 Design & Accessories: Looks good; accessories are well-made

• ⚠️ Touch Panel: Unresponsive and glitchy — common issue among users

• 💀 Stopped Working: Dead within 2 weeks of purchase

• 😓 Customer Service: Polite but painfully slow and uncoordinated

• ⏳ Current Status: Still waiting for replacement at the time of writing

The Excitement: Ordering and Unboxing

Let’s start with the good part — the buying and delivery experience.

I ordered the Solara 12L XXL Air Fryer Oven on 24th September 2025 (Order ID: SOL1126631), and it was delivered on September 30th. The order and delivery process were absolutely flawless — I’d give it a 10/10.

The shipping was done through Delhivery Courier, and the packaging was neat and standard. Everything arrived in perfect condition. So the delivery and unboxing experience gets another 10/10 from me.

When I first opened it, I actually felt good about my purchase.

First Impressions: Design & Build Quality

On first look, the design seemed elegant and modern — a solid 8/10 for aesthetics.
The accessories (racks, trays, basket, etc.) were surprisingly well-built and sturdy — I’d give them 9/10.

But the main air fryer body itself?
That’s where I felt a little underwhelmed. The plastic felt flimsy, and the build didn’t inspire a lot of confidence. I’d rate it around 4/10 in terms of material sturdiness.

Still, I reminded myself that for the price I paid, it was acceptable — as long as it worked well.

Early Usage: The Honeymoon Period

Functionality-wise, the 12L capacity is perfect for a small family of 3–4 people. After a short learning curve, I was making cakes, cookies, pakoras, and samosas — and everything turned out surprisingly well!

But soon, the touch panel started to show its true colors — unresponsive and inconsistent. At first, I thought it was just my unit. But after reading several similar complaints on Amazon, I realized this was a wider issue. I never had any touch panel issue with my previous test unit of Philips Dual Basket Airfryer.

So I wrote a polite email to Solara’s customer care, explaining the touch panel issue — not as a complaint, but as feedback. Their response was professional and they said they’d forward it to their tech team. I actually appreciated that.

Things Went South: The Touch Panel Nightmare

A few days later, the touch panel became worse. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t respond at all.
Solara’s customer care suggested a few generic troubleshooting steps like:

• Keep your hands dry

• Clean the panel properly

• Avoid using it with wet fingers

Now, as someone who does tech reviews for a living, I already knew and followed all of this. I use multiple electronics in my kitchen — this wasn’t a user issue.

Still, I kept calm and tried to make it work. But then came the real problem.

The Air Fryer That Just... Died

One morning, less than two weeks after receiving it, the air fryer completely refused to start.
No lights. No sound. Nothing.

I checked multiple power outlets, cables, and even recorded a video to document the issue.
On October 12, I emailed Solara Customer Care with the video and a detailed explanation. They replied saying they were “looking into the matter” and asked me to wait.

So I waited.

Waiting, Waiting… and More Waiting

After 9 days with no update, I sent a reminder email on October 21.
On October 22, they finally replied — their technical team had reviewed my video and approved a replacement.

Great! Or so I thought.

Without even asking for my availability, they scheduled a pickup for October 22. Unfortunately, I was out of town for Diwali, so I requested them to reschedule after October 25.
They canceled the pickup — and that’s when my long, slow, frustrating journey began.

I kept reminding them politely, asking for updates. Days turned into weeks.
Finally, after so many follow-ups, they scheduled the pickup for November 6.

At the time of writing this post, the pickup is still pending, and there’s no clear update on when I’ll actually receive my replacement unit.

Not Just Me — A Pattern of Complaints

While waiting for Solara’s response, I started digging deeper.
And guess what? I found tons of similar complaints from other customers on social media and Amazon reviews — especially about delayed replacements, unresponsive customer service, and faulty touch panels.

(Here’s where I’ll include screenshots and references to other users’ complaints.)

It’s disappointing because Solara is a promising brand with good product ideas — but poor execution and even poorer after-sales support can really damage customer trust.

Final Thoughts (For Now)

To summarize:
The Solara 12L XXL Air Fryer Oven had everything going for it — nice design, large capacity, useful accessories, and decent cooking performance.
But when a product fails within 2 weeks, and the after-sales experience turns into a test of patience, it’s hard to recommend it to anyone.

I’ll update this post once my replacement arrives and I test the new unit.
But as of now, I’d say:
👉 Buy only if you’re willing to take the risk — and have patience with the after-sales process.

My Ratings (So Far)