Lame! They have a heat setting of 1 – 4. Needs a 5 perhaps.. I was surprised when I opened the package it only says it’s 10 watts! Hard to believe it could do anything with 10 watts, but the heating element is right in the pad. I did find that it never ever ever got too hot, which is nice as after a while I stopped even bothering to test it on scraps. Mine seems to work fine on a regular seams, but it does struggle with pieces like the zipper and doesn’t have the power to really be able to use the tip as the heat is centered around the middle of the shoe. Sorry it didn’t work for you, this inconsistency in irons is annoying. I already ordered a second one, I hope it works.. I did find it makes a big difference what you have underneath. A lightweight wood panel seems to be best as it doesn’t act as a major heat sink.