The makers of our current picks don’t sell data for now, but privacy policies are always changing. Otherwise, our main concern is that the little amount of sensitive data on a vacuum, like your Wi-Fi network password, is stored securely (if it’s stored online at all), in case there are data leaks or breaches in the future. If you’re annoyed or creeped out by the whole thing, you can either buy a non-connected bot or just never set up the Wi-Fi—these irobot vacuum cleaner bots all still clean your house automatically even if you don’t connect them to the internet. But you won’t be able to use interactive mapping features without an internet connection. If you decide to sell or give away a Wi-Fi robot, be sure to factory reset it to remove Wi-Fi credentials. If you want one, we’d recommend getting one of the self-emptying versions of one of our picks, though we’d steer you toward a Roomba instead of a Roborock.
Before you start a cleaning session, you should pick up any laundry, charging cables, or lightweight mats—most bots will get stuck on them. But then you’ll figure out the pain points and get into a routine, and it won’t seem like a big deal. For example, you could send the robot to vacuum your kitchen and dining room after dinner, while skipping the dyson robot vacuum bedrooms and den so that the bot doesn’t disturb you while you’re relaxing or studying or whatever. And then you can tell the bot to clean those rooms at a time of day when nobody is around. Another option is to set up do-not-cross lines or no-go zones, which is a great way to keep bots out of areas where they tend to get stuck or make a mess .
Like many robot vacuums at this price, the Roomba i3 can thoroughly clean big spaces, by following a logical, orderly path throughout your home. It won’t miss many spots or waste much time recleaning the same areas, like our budget picks or other low-end models that navigate semi-randomly. And it doesn’t get stuck on obstacles like thresholds or power cables very often.
We tested the claim out with a fake turd made from Nutella and oatmeal, and it worked great. The j7 spotted the faux feces from a few feet away , and then methodically worked around it, never getting closer than about a foot. It also did a good job staying away from a power strip, power cord, and USB cable. But it didn’t recognize (or at least didn’t try to avoid) our other obstacles, including toys, a sock, a shoe, and a water bowl. We like this bot for a lot of other important reasons , and the obstacle recognition is almost like a toss-in feature, so it’s not a bad buy. The company has a good history of following through on those kinds of promises, but you should expect the improvements to trickle out over several years, not months.
But the dream is possible—and even if it isn’t fully realized in your home, it’s still super-convenient to not deal with a messy dustbin every time you use your robot vacuum. Shark’s non-laser robots are reasonably priced and look great on paper, but are just okay in the real world. We’ve tested a couple iterations of the Shark IQ RV1000 series since 2019 (with self-emptying docks), as well as the new Shark AI VacMop hybrid, and found they’re much more prone to app glitches and stupid navigation than the best brands. They’re also pretty loud on bare floors, sort of like a two-stroke lawn mower puttering in the distance.
The Roomba i3+ is usually the most affordable way to get a great self-emptying robot vacuum system. The only Roborock model that works with an auto-empty dock is the high-end Roborock S7+, which is quite expensive. The Roomba j7+, which has a lot of the same advanced navigation features as the Roborock, actually costs less than the S7 and dock combo. The dream scenario is that you set your robot to automatically run on a schedule and then empty itself out, so you don’t have to touch your bot or even think about cleaning your floors for weeks on end.