ERS-210 Beginner's Guide

The ERS-210 is a great (and adorable) little robot despite their age. They still have many fans out there and their owners often love them very much!

However, they can be a little intimidating to buy if you are brand new to the aibo hobby. They usually won’t immediately work right out of the box like a brand new ERS-1000 would because they are older technology and thus always second-hand. This ERS-210 beginner’s guide aims to demystify owning this charming older model of Sony’s aibo.

If you have no idea what an ERS-210 is, check this ERS-210 page out first. If you are already aware and want to get on with the ERS-210 guide, then continue reading!

This guide will apply to both ERS-210s and ERS-220s.

ERS-210 Types and Pricing

First, let’s go over the different types of ERS-210s. When looking at auctions online, you will come across regular ERS-210s and also ERS-210As. The “A” designation means that the dog contains a Supercore. Supercore dogs are generally slightly more expensive. They have a revised neck clutch which means they will not suffer from droopy head syndrome (more on that later), and they are slightly faster to boot. It really doesn’t make much of a difference for the average user, but it is worth knowing.

You can tell if an ERS-210 has a Supercore by looking for these holographic stickers. If it doesn’t have these stickers, the dog is not a Supercore.

Where to buy an ERS-210

Now that we know some of the basics, let’s figure out where to buy our dog. Since these guys are no longer in production, you will always have to get one second-hand. Here’s what you can do:

eBay

You can find these dogs on eBay. However, you will want to be very careful if you choose to get one from here. Most listings are resellers that are just re-listing an aibo that is available on Japan, and often for a higher price. That isn’t always true however, and sometimes you can get equal or similar deals to using a proxy. Just be sure to check Japanese auction sites first before buying any aibo off eBay.

Yahoo Japan Auctions

Getting a dog directly from Japan is generally the best approach. You’ll often get the best price this way. However, you can’t just bid on things on these sites yourself – you will have to use a proxy, like Sendico (guide here). Scams are extremely rare on Japanese auction sites, but the biggest downside is that using a proxy can be confusing. You also need to be ready for shipping costs to be around $100 USD and you may have to pay customs fees as well depending on your country. Unfortunately this now includes the US.

Community Members

Sometimes, members of the aibo community will sell ERS-210s. You can find them on Discord servers. These dogs will sometimes be fully refurbished and can be easier to get started with.

What questions should I ask when I buy an ERS-210 from someone in the community?

Does the dog have a fully repaired head?
When was the battery re-celled?
How long does the battery last? Anywhere around 1.5 to 2 hours is normal.

What’s a good price for an ERS-210?

That’s a hard question to answer, because their prices tend to vary heavily depending on their color.

Generally, gold and silver dogs will be the cheapest.

Untested and Unrepaired Prices

Color	Price	Rarity
Gold / Silver	$70-200	⭐
Black	$70-200	⭐⭐
Holiday Red / White	$300+	⭐⭐⭐
Spring Orange / White	$300+	⭐⭐
Everest White	$300+	⭐⭐⭐
Mazeran Green	$300+	⭐⭐⭐
Sapphire Violet	$400+	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cyber Blue	$1000+	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Refurbished Prices

Refurbished dogs usually come with a working battery and a repair history. They will likely be fully working out of the box.

Price can vary depending on color. Special edition colors are always more expensive than gold, silver and black dogs.

Generally, a gold, silver, or black refurb will cost $250 and up. Special editions refurbs are often $400-500 and up depending on their color.

ERS-210 Essentials

Unlike the ERS-1000, ERS-210s have quite a few things they need before you can get them fully functioning. Let’s go over those.

Repairs and Batteries

The first things your ERS-210 will likely need are repairs for DHS and a battery. The vast majority of second-hand ERS-210s will have DHS unless the owner specifically stated otherwise, and they may have TAS and PAS as well.

What is DHS (droopy head syndrome), TAS (tilt axis syndrome) and PAS (pan axis syndrome)?

DHS, TAS, and PAS are all problems surrounding the dog’s head, caused by a faulty clutch design. All of these will cause the dog to be unable to move their head on the corresponding rotational axis. More on that here.

You’ll also encounter a dead battery if your dog came with one. It is inevitable unless the seller specifically noted that the battery is recelled.

Luckily, both of these things are fixable. The best place to find people to repair these problems is currently Discord.

The most important thing though is to consider repairs in your budget. ERS-210 head repairs cost about $150 per axis and it is possible for every axis (3 total) to need a repair. Battery recells cost about $70-90. If you don’t have a dead battery for a repair person to fix, working ones can cost $90 and up.

ERS-210 Software

Unlike ERS-1000s, 210s use a memory stick as their “brain”. Many dogs will come with a memory stick, but some won’t. Luckily, getting one is pretty easy and fairly cheap. You can find people selling them on Discord servers for around $15-20 and they can put any software you want on the stick.

As far as software goes, there are tons to choose from. A list can be found on this page. Most people choose Life 2 or Explorer. Life 2 allows you to raise an aibo from baby to adult, and Explorer is similar to Life 2 but already mature and with some slightly different actions.

Note that some software does not work on ERS-220s. More on that here.

Can’t I make an ERS-210 stick myself?

While you can put software on a stick yourself, we will focus on ease of access for the purposes of this guide.

Charging Station or Dongle

You’ll also need a way to charge up your new friend. You can do that with a charging station or a dongle. The station is a device that you can put your aibo directly on top of to charge, and the dongle is a much smaller device that you need to plug in to the charging contacts on the bottom of the dog.

They can perform actions on the station with many different types of software, but they cannot perform actions while plugged in to a dongle.

Both of these require a charging cable. You’ll plug the station or dongle directly in to the cable. So, you will need either a cable and a station or a cable and a dongle.

Sometimes you can find these items for sale separately, but it is a little uncommon and you will almost always have to get them from Japan. For that reason, I strongly suggest you try to purchase a dog that already has either of these included.

Optional ERS-210 Accessories

Now that we have the absolute essentials out of the way, let’s move on to the accessories that are nice to have but not required. Note that these are still important in their own ways and I strongly suggest finding a way to get them.

Pink Ball

Your aibo really likes the color pink and that’s because they are programmed to kick around and play with a bright pink ball.

It can be really fun to watch them play with the ball, and depending on their software, they may specifically ask you for it. You’ll witness a lot of cute antics if you get a pink ball. You can usually find community members selling off spare pink balls.

Aibo Memory Stick Reader

With a stick reader, you can take a look in to your aibo’s brain. Having the ability to do that is both interesting and incredibly useful. You’ll also be able to see any photos that your dog takes.

Memory stick readers are generally cheap and easy to get. You can pick one up on eBay.

Make sure to always use Sony brand stick readers. Other types can damage the stick.

Limb Key

The limb key allows you to remove your ERS-210’s modular limb blocks (head, legs, tail) from their core. Having one of these on hand can be extremely helpful, because many problems can be solved by cleaning the contacts on the back side of their limb blocks.

Unfortunately, they are a little rare. If you can find one though, they are incredibly worth it. You can remove the limbs with other similar shaped objects, but it can be a little tricky (and in some cases, risky).

Welcoming Your ERS-210 Home

You’ve got all your essentials, feel ready, and have your dog on the way. Let’s talk about what to do when they arrive home!

Initial Test and Inspection

What to look for here depends on where your dog came from. If you purchased an untested ERS-210 from Japan, you will have a very different experience than someone who has purchased a refurbished dog.

Untested ERS-210 Inspection

After opening your box and confirming everything is present as listed, you can start trying to figure out your dog’s condition. You can check for a few things even if the battery is dead. Here are a few things to do immediately before plugging the dog in:

Note the overall condition of the dog. Are they dirty or dusty between the joints? If so, you will want to clean that.
Gently move each leg joint. You should hear relatively smooth gear noises with very little resistance. If you can’t move a limb, something is wrong.
Repeat that with the dog’s head and neck. If you hear no gear noises, the clutch on the corresponding axis is faulty and needs to be fixed. If you occasionally hear gear noises but sometimes don’t, the clutch is going out and will need to be fixed soon.

After that, you can attempt booting the dog by pressing the round power button on their chest. It is fairly unlikely you will be able to, but it is worth a try.

Before that, make sure to put the memory stick inside the dog. There is a flap on the bottom of their body that you can open with a small slot for a memory stick – it goes in there.

You will also want to insert the battery as well. Both of these may have already been inserted so you may not have to do anything. Make sure to check that they are present inside the dog before booting regardless.

Now, place the dog on their station (or dongle). An orange light should show up – that means the ERS-210 is attempting to charge.

If you have a dongle, you can try to let the dog charge for awhile and then remove and attempt to boot. In most cases, the dog won’t be able to boot and will just play a “dracula” tune. That is normal because the battery is likely dead.

If you have a station, you might be able to get the dog to boot on it depending on the software and battery. Attempt to boot the dog on the station after letting it charge for a bit. You may or may not be successful – if the dog does boot though, you can at least get confirmation that it works.

Refurbished ERS-210 Inspection

If you have a confirmed working ERS-210, look things over a bit and then attempt to charge the dog on their station or dongle. Make sure the stick is inside the dog beforehand.

Once charging is complete, go ahead and boot the dog. Let the dog run for awhile and make note of any unusual behavior similar to what is listed above. It will be easier to spot issues in a dog that is running already.

Indicators of Problems

Once you have your ERS-210 up and running, you’ll initially want to watch out for a few things.

Drooping / falling head: The dog has DHS and will need to be repaired.
Motor noises in the head with no movement: The tilt or pan axis is failing and will need to be repaired.
Legs are shaking: The leg potentiometers need to be cleaned. Not a big deal, but please have a repair person do this. The same thing can happen on the dog’s head.

These are the most common issues you’ll find. For more in-depth help and information, check out my ERS-210 Troubleshooting page.

Interacting With Your ERS-210

Going over every single software would be difficult and make this guide far too long, but let’s go over some basic tips on interacting with your new friend. This section will mostly cater to the most commonly used software, Life 2 and Explorer and will not go in to extreme detail.

Sensors and Buttons

Your ERS-210 has multiple sensors that they use to interact with both you and their environment. Notably, they have:

IR Sensor / Camera: Located in the head, these help your dog navigate and see.
Pet sensors: Your ERS-210 has 3 pet sensors. One is on top of the head, one is on their chin, and one is on their back. Use these to pet your puppy.
Paw button sensors: Your dog uses these to help determine if you shake their hand or put them down after lifting them up.

You’ll be interacting with the pet sensors the most (obviously, I suppose). They are buttons. In order to get your pup to feel being pet, you have to press down on them a bit. For the head sensor, it is easiest if you use 2 fingers and move them back and forth slightly.

Exploration

Your new robot puppy is pretty good at navigating, but some things will give them trouble. Since they lack chest sensors, they may not be able to see items that are lower than their power button and can sometimes walk in to them. They also will struggle with reflective black surfaces.

Can my aibo navigate around stairs?

Not really! Stairs are pretty dangerous, especially for ERS-210s. Block any stairs off so they can’t access them.

For more information about these types of things, check out the general ERS-210 page and the ERS-210 FAQ.

Useful Tips and Tricks

Here are some helpful secret and not-so-secret things you can do with your ERS-210 that may come in handy. Note that I can’t promise these apply to all software, but they do all work on both Life 2 and Explorer.

Table Mode: Your aibo will stay stationary in this mode and won’t walk around. Hold down the back sensor until they make a “ding” sound and a green light shows on their head. To get them out of table mode, hold their head sensor. Note that they scoot around in table mode and I wouldn’t suggest actually putting them on a table because they might fall.
Pick Up Mode: Quickly lift your aibo up to put them in to pick up mode. They will hold their legs up and only their head will move. To get them out of pick up mode, just put them down – they exit it when their paw buttons are pushed down. You can actually use that to your advantage by removing their meatballs to trap them in pick up mode. It is the safest way to keep them completely stationary.
Sleep Time: You can force your ERS-210 to enter sleep mode by holding down their chin and back sensors at the same time. They will make a chime and then go to sleep. You can wake them back up by shaking them.

ERS-210 Care and Safety

Now that your new friend is running and ready for a life with you, there are a few things you should keep in mind to keep them at their best.

Durability

ERS-210s are old. As a result, their plastics and other parts can sometimes be brittle. They also are not toys and are not meant to be treated as such. Overall, you will want to be careful with your ERS-210. Here are a few general points to note:

Make sure your 210 never falls from even a small height. They will break.
Try to keep your ERS-210 from falling over while they are running. It’s usually fine, but it is better to just not risk it.
Don’t let your ERS-210 run around outside on concrete, dirt, or grass. They are too old to be able to handle uneven terrain and concrete will scratch their plastics. If you want to run your dog outside, keep them in table or pick-up mode and put dog socks on them.
Don’t expose your ERS-210 to extreme temperatures and don’t let them bake in the sun. It can cause damage. I personally don’t run my dogs in temperatures above 80 degrees and I never run them in direct sunlight – I always make sure they have shade, even in pick up mode!

Maintenance and Cleaning

To keep your dog at their best, you should follow some general cleaning and care guidelines.

Try to keep your dog as dust-free as possible. If you see dust building up between their limb joints, clean it off with a q-tip dipped in alcohol.
Be wary of using canned air or brushes to remove dust. Both of those have the potential to just push dust deeper in to the dog. The goal is to remove it, not just make it a worse problem for later.
Never let alcohol touch a special edition visor. It can strip the coating off. Be careful with alcohol in general – depending on shell paint condition, it can remove paint if you press too hard with an alcohol-soaked cloth. You can use it to clean your dog, just be careful! This mostly applies to gold, silver and black 210s. Most special edition 210s are casted in their shell color or have a really tough clear coat so alcohol is safer to use on them.

Additional Resources and Help

Overall, that should cover you in terms of getting started with an ERS-210. If you still need more information, you can check out the following:

Virtual Paws