How to fix the snoo (jerky movement and grinding noises)

Our snoo suddenly started being jerky and making grinding noises. We had a hard time finding a full fix video so we made one! Hope this helps at least a few people. If it's a motor problem, unfortunately this isn't the fix for that. If your snoo is still under warranty of some sort, def have the company send you a new one! Ours was not so we were comfortable taking it apart.
PS it's a lot easier with two people!
Edited to add: I'm not affiliated with the company, we just wanted to pull together a video to hopefully help others. There are a lot of great suggestions in the comments and answers to additional questions.

[@KwamenaA]

I don't know if you're reading comments on these but the original O rings are made from EPDM which is stronger than what looks like Amazon nitrile ones in this video. I used Viton material for mine but something stronger than Nitrile is recommended so they last longer. Sizes are 202 (smaller x2-3..mine has 3) and 117 (bigger x7)

[@robdAK]

I had to use EPDM o rings as well because the ones recommended in this video would only last a week or two

[@francestang]

great point - pinning your comment! we knew they would be a weaker than the original but didn't do a lot of material digging.

[@philipniddrie]

Thanks! I found some on Amazon in both sizes from "Mr O-Ring" Item: 117 Viton O-Ring, 90A Durometer, Round, Black, 13/16" ID, 1" OD, 3/32" Width (Pack of 10)

[@ellas9122]

@@philipniddriedealing with the same problem right now. Thank you so much

[@jayson5159]

@@philipniddrie

[@jasonpinkston1226]

This video was very helpful. I was able to identify the O ring issue on my Snoo and fix it myself. The only feedback I would give which is a little simpler than using the dental floss process is simply line up the 3 prong brown pieces that slide back and fourth and take the first plate with the wiring and gently screw in the screws. Might have to slightly shift it if it moves but I was able to get it fairly quickly. Once they are in you know your first plate is aligned. Unscrew and don't move the unit. Then you can line up the holes on the second plate and screw all the way down. All in all great video. I love the snoo but it's ridiculous that after your warranty is up that the company doesn't have techs on pay role. Literally some 5 to 10 dollar O rings can fix your nightmare. If I were there company I would do it for the mere customer service aspect of the Business.

[@richardbatara3181]

You can just stick a Q tip into the middle hole to line them up. You can also pull on the Q tip to raise the brown piece slightly up when screwing in the screws

[@neilzimmerman9716]

I got a 4mm x 60 screw while I went to the hardware store for o-rings. It's just a bit longer and you can thread it in enough to lift up and easily start the other screws. Also used 1/2" OD 1/4" ID o-rings

[@SNWxGaming]

Thank you guys. I'm on my second child and already bought this used for my first born because $1200 was unbearable during Covid. This will be the 3rd child it supports in its lifetime and finally shows signs or wear. I'll repost my success. Appreciate this content

[@katerynanaboka7215]

Super helpful video! Thank you very much!! We were able to fix the grinding noise. Our issue was the larger O rings, half of them were freyed. For anyone else with the same issue, the wheels just pop out with pliers.

[@user-gg7cc4ew3d]

Just did this repair. Size 202 Dupont O rings work! Thank you so much

[@benkei242]

Absolutely ace video. I did the o-ring repair and also the motor bearing replacement- (not covered here but there are other videos that do). One thing I will mention is that fishing wire works well too, and you won't need bobby pins. I used 20lb test and it's stiff enough to easily thread through the holes.

[@zevminkoff7960]

I bought one second hand, it broke almost immediately, but since it’s second hand that voids the warranty and they do not give instructions on how to fix it, even though they know very well how to do so because they want you to buy one for every kid that you have. I was able to fix it thanks to this video, the only difference is I used 4 of the #5 O-ring 35722 OD 3/8, ID 1/4, wall 1/16 and then on top of those I put on 4 of the uxcell Nitrile Rubber O-Rings 12mm OD 6mm ID 3mm Width, Metric Sealing Gasket, Pack of 50. Multiple times when I was putting this on there Overing started to get pushed down and it would restrict the movement so I made sure to leave a little space at the very bottom (use just the bottom layer, no second layer of O-rings) then to make sure nothing would slip I used some Gorilla glue and let it set between the 2 layers of the O-rings.

[@jschroeder711]

Thank you so much for this video! I bought it used and it stopped working when my baby was a week old. I was able to fix it by following your advice - and the dental floss trick was brilliant. I so appreciate you taking the time to post this!

[@lifestylewithkara2402]

We did this last night and it worked!!!!! 👌🏼🙌🏼 Thank you for posting and making this video!

[@ericuchoa2223]

Dental floss/bobby pin method worked like a charm. Thanks for the tip!

[@laurengibel1081]

This is the most helpful video I’ve seen on the internet!! Thank you SO much for posting it. I was in a panic that my snoo stopped working properly (it’s in its 5th baby from being passed around) and sure enough our o ring popped off. Your instructions were so clear and the snoo is working again as expected. THANK YOU!!

[@francestang]

Yay! So glad it was helpful :)

[@jagelop3]

I found an easier alignment method! Just turn the snoo on its side so that the brown track pieces fall to the floor, then tilt each side of the snoo to the floor as you screw in the plate.

[@MADPNDA]

Brilliant! It worked well for me. One additional tip: start with the screw closest to the floor. If the other screws don’t go in, back off the first screw until they do.

[@user-qf4sz9cg2g]

Help! Your video is so informative and you seem like the Snoo repair Guru. My Snoo was making a very soft ticking sound - it probably wasn’t bothering my son but in my mind it was slowly driving him insane and it wouldn’t come out until he was in therapy 20 years later. Instead of being logical and upping the white noise volume (it was on the lowest volume)- I dissected the whole thing. I noticed one of the blue rings was starting to fray but not a lot- I replaced the blue ring with one almost the same size. I put the Snoo back together thanks to your video. Now the Snoo moves perfectly when my son is not in it - as soon as I put him in it - the Snoo is jerky and has small movements. I’m assuming this is because of the thinner ring ? Also - I contacted Snoo and they told me to push down hard on the middle of the Snoo like I’m doing CPR- did you ever have to do this to make the Snoo operate perfectly again? Thank you in advance if you are able and to help ‘Snoo Repair Guru”.

[@grayceleeann]

Thank you! This video helped us fix our SNOO. Baby is happy to be swaying again.

[@stephentavarez9463]

Thank you so much for this video! I didn’t want to risk it not working for the night, so I was able to get some #40 (size) o-rings from Home Depot. They were the closest size to the o-ring in the Snoo. I’ll see how long they last.

[@Garage_Beers]

How long did they last?

[@8cl2]

Thanks for the video. How did you know it was the o ring and not the motor bearing? Haven't opened mine up yet but seeing online these are the common issues.

[@kads_9149]

Worked amazing after doing this!!! Thank you very much!!!

[@thehandNIN21]

What size of O ring did you use?

[@mgrimm84]

This video saved my life!

[@robertoillanes9942]

Just gloss over the part where re inserting the clips is an absolute nightmare lol

[@caseymcgeebilangino6841]

This worked beautifully!!

[@johnsonja329]

Why doesnt your 2nd platform have a center screw?

[@Sanita-yv5is]

Is there a trick to taking off the large center bolt?

[@user-kp3tm6yn7n]

This video is awesome! Thank you so much for sharing!

[@millieandrowanbrooks5164]

Wait! isn’t the the metal piece on the wrong way here? The grill is to allow sound so through so needs to be by the speaker, right?

[@darlenetorres5468]

10/10 extremely helpful!

[@slikknick1]

Thanks for the video!

[@AriEve-xc8qk]

What size o ring did you use? (Width and diameter) and also where exactly do you put the o ring on the motor? Mine has already come off so I don’t know exactly where to put it back on?

[@richardbatara3181]

use 6X3 rings for the motor, you need 3 of them all stacked up on that shaft

[@AriEve-xc8qk]

@@richardbatara3181 great thank you!

[@mattfelsen]

@@richardbatara3181 I'm curious, where did the 6x3mm measurement come from? Did you measure the existing ones on your unit? I measured mine (with a tape measure 😕) and they were about 3/8 x 3/16", and there were actually four on my shaft (they're pretty thin). However, I've seen a number of comments on YT & Reddit mentioning 13x6.5mm or ½ x ¼", including a comment from an employee, so I went with that (and only 3 fit, they're definitely thicker). The motion now looks great but now I've got a new whir from (I think) the motor, so I'm wondering if the size is off and putting some pressure on the shaft. Here's hoping!

[@richardbatara3181]

​@@mattfelsen 6x3 is one of the available sizes in that kit shown in the video. I did not actually measure it

[@BradleyADavis]

Great video, thank you!

[@HispaniaAM]

Thank you so much, it helped me to fix mine.

[@Azulemaul]

So glad I bought used but still it’s so dumb the o rings break easily and painful to replace

[@robins8919]

I followed this step by step....didn't work for me. Made it worse, no sound or movement. The on button just blinks a white light.

[@danicahaspel3276]

Hi Robin - same for me 😠 did you end up finding an alternate way to repair?? 🤞

[@danicahaspel3276]

@robins8919 Hi Robin - same for me 😠 Did you end up finding an alternate way to repair?

[@waterbottle03]

Hey! Any chance you know how to replace the O rings in the inner side of the SNOO? I see you have the same model as mine and have no idea how to pop the metal part out. Thank you!

[@MatthewRoger]

If you have a 1st Gen Snoo, you’ll run into the issue you’re describing. On those older models (like the one in this video), the metal rollers don’t pull up front the top, they release from underneath. They are held in from a bracket on the underside of that panel, and the bracket is held in by 2 Phillips Head Screws. You need to remove the 6 bolts from underneath the entire Snoo (near where the legs clip in) which are holding the panel with the rollers in place. Be careful, the bolts are held in place by a rubber washer a metal washer, a lock washer and a lock nut. Once you remove the bolts, you can carefully lift up the plastic panel, but take care not to disconnect or pull too hard on any of the wires connected to the actual motherboard below it. Use a short Phillips head screwdriver to remove the screws for each bracket, which will then release the metal roller. Also be careful removing the metal roller because there are washers on each side of it as well because you don’t want to drop them.

[@waterbottle03]

Thank you! Really appreciate the response

[@Souflay1]

How do you replace the other larger o rings

[@fpadam]

I also want to know this. A redditor said "Very small and thing flathead screwdriver. One that fits along the side but can be used as a lever to lift it up. Holding the oring in place there is a plastic pin that is squared on both sides. It will slide right up."

[@fpadam]

And another said "I'm pretty sure they just slid out. Maybe apply a little lubricant first? I may have also used a butter knife as a crowbar to lift them out"

[@fpadam]

That hasn't worked for me yet so keen for any other tips.

[@arier38]

@@fpadam I just used a flat blade screw driver and put the tip in the rim of the betting and gently pried it up. It’s only being held in by plastic square in channels. Some of them were more snug then others.

[@MatthewRoger]

If you have a 1st Gen Snoo, you’ll run into the issue you’re describing. On those older models (like the one in this video), the metal rollers don’t pull up front the top, they release from underneath. They are held in from a bracket on the underside of that panel, and the bracket is held in by 2 Phillips Head Screws. You need to remove the 6 bolts from underneath the entire Snoo (near where the legs clip in) which are holding the panel with the rollers in place. Be careful, the bolts are held in place by a rubber washer a metal washer, a lock washer and a lock nut. Once you remove the bolts, you can carefully lift up the plastic panel, but take care not to disconnect or pull too hard on any of the wires connected to the actual motherboard below it. Use a short Phillips head screwdriver to remove the screws for each bracket, which will then release the metal roller. Also be careful removing the metal roller because there are washers on each side of it as well because you don’t want to drop them.

[@georgesaucedo2411]

Can you provide link to the Oring set you got?

[@ccesilva]

This is so helpful. But I just did this work and now my Snoo works much slower than before. About half of the swing as before. Any ideas?

[@jenniehughes3358]

In the same boat, haven’t been able to find any answers yet. Did you have any luck?

[@robertasraisys6250]

Is it possible to make snoo work if it was disabled? I saw a lot of bassinets for sale but they are not working because were disabled by snoo company.

[@francestang]

I didn't know this was a thing until I saw your comment - I'm not affiliated with the company so unfortunately I don't know but also that is such a bummer!!

[@deseraiandrew9409]

Hi! We are looking for a 2020 motherboard replacement for our snoo - any idea where to get one?

[@francestang]

Unfortunately no, so sorry!

[@martingutierrez7662]

How many o rings?

[@evanhall7943]

What size O-ring did you end up using?

[@francestang]

We had an assorted o ring box and just matched the size - I believe it was 8x2

[@richardbatara3181]

the o-ring for the motor is the 6X3. 8X2 is too loose. The rings should be tight around the motor shaft

[@cameronsigurdson9998]

Prior to pulling the last piece of plastic off to expose the o-rings, did you remove the screw in the middle? Mine seems to be held by something near the center of the SNOO. I’ve disconnected the cables. I can lift from the side. But it’s still stuck to something in the middle.

[@emmalin9373]

Use a screw driver and push it down, that screw will sink down and then you will be able to turn the screw.

[@leenduht]

Did you ever figure it out? My center screw can twist left and right maybe 15 degrees, but not any more.

[@arier38]

@@leenduht I had the same issue. It’s a key. You turn it 1/4 then have to get it straight up. There is a rubber grommet. It wasn’t easy for me. Felt like I was going to break it.

[@Swifter315]

The snoo is so overpriced and poorly designed. Worst purchase ever.

[@robins8919]

So true. And the price has doubled from the original price 4 years ago

[@brendanascimento5478]

What was the original price of it ?

[@lifestylewithkara2402]

Not forever lol. Used it twice now with my babies and it SAVED US! I didn’t have it with my newborn and wish I did!