For the 600 and e series, press and hold the “home” and “spot clean” buttons for 10 seconds. Many homes have areas that aren’t always ready for a vacuum to roll through. Roombas have customizable keep-out zones, so users can create spots where the robot vacuum knows not to venture. This might mean staying clear of an area of tangled cords under a desk, a playroom’s toy zone, or the dog’s water bowl. Users can give specific areas names such as “living room” or “kitchen” for custom schedules and voice activation.
It will also link up with a Braava Jet M6 robot mop and tell it to go mop once it’s done vacuuming. Roombas before the seventh-generation models do not map out the rooms they are cleaning. Instead, iRobot developed a technology called iAdapt Responsive Cleaning Technology. This relies on a few simple algorithms, such as spiraling, room crossing, wall following, and random walk angle changing after bumping into an object or wall. This design is based on MIT researcher and iRobot CTO Rodney Brooks’s philosophy that robots should be like insects, equipped with simple control mechanisms tuned to their environments.
The 700 series, introduced in May 2011, though largely similar to the 500 and 600 series, included a more robust cleaning system, improved AeroVac Bin with HEPA filter, and improved battery life. Like the 500 series, the 700 series had models with different technologies and accessories. Besides these two models, Roomba 770 and 782e were available, with scheduling, Dirt Detect, and full bin indicator. Also, the first- and second-generation Roombas can get stuck on rug tassels and electrical cords. Third-generation and newer models are able to reverse their brushes to escape entangled cords and tassels.
The Roborock couldn’t match the Roomba S9 Plus’ impressive ability to clean up pet hair, but it fared better than most. The S7 wiped hardwood floors completely free of hair and left only a few stray tufts on carpeting. The Roomba S9 Plus also struggled a bit cleaning sand from low-pile carpeting, earning a low average dust and sand pickup of 28%. While not the worst result we’ve seen (that honor belongs to the Ecovacs Deebot 600 at 18%), it’s definitely near the bottom. But we’ve put the current AI bots to the test in the real world, and they aren’t that good yet. Certain models are pretty good at avoiding certain obstacles, but none of them reliably avoid every kind of common floor clutter, and some models don’t deliver on their promises at all.
We found the best robot vacuum options with rave reviews—and which one is right for you. An easy 5/5 if they fix the issue where certain cleaning job maps are unable to load. Only some of the maps in “History” load, and if I attempt to open one that’s broken (doesn’t load, displays the loading spinner indefinitely) then I can’t view any maps at all until I force quit the app. To reset a Roomba i and 900 series, press and hold the “clean” button on the robot for 10 to 20 seconds depending on the model.
Because of the range, options will vary in each product’s smart features, suction power, battery life, and cleaning capabilities. Before selecting the best Roomba for your needs, consider your cleaning goals and review these common shopping considerations. This Roomba isn’t going to win any awards for quiet operation, irobot vacuum cleaner but it sure can clean up dirt! It cleaned our flour “dust” on the first pass and easily sucked up flour out of crevices between floorboards, where other robot vacuums left it. It has the power to vault over raised thresholds and automatically finds high traffic/high dirt areas where it should spend more time.
The iRobot app allows you to start and stop cleaning, as well as to schedule the bot to run when you’re out of the house. Safety starts with understanding how developers collect and share your data. Data privacy and security practices may vary based on your use, region, and age. The self-charging feature makes it easy to recharge the battery once it gets low. For the ultimate hands-off experience, consider a model with a “recharge and resume” feature.
Many of those reviewers also noted difficulty getting replacement parts. We can’t be sure whether other models will have similar rates of problems, though the typical owner ratings for Ecovacs laser-nav bots tend to be a few tenths of a point lower than the ratings for other brands’ models. To Ecovacs’s credit, we’ve found that its bots are a little better at traversing tall rugs and large thresholds than other brands’ bots.
Most robot vacuums are equipped with multiroom cleaning features, which allow the device to clean in zones versus one room at a time. An “edge cleaning” mode makes sure dust and debris are picked up along the perimeter and around furniture. Some machines will also include app-controlled custom cleaning preferences, which allow the user to adjust cleaning modes, power settings, number of cleaning passes, and edge cleaning.