IRobot has been praised for the availability of replacement parts for Roombas, with official parts still being sold for every model including the first-generation Roombas, almost 20 years after their release. It’s no small investment, but the iRobot Scooba 450 is a very effective way to keep your floors sparkling without reaching for a mop and bucket. Keep in mind that manufacturers typically cover their robots with one-year limited warranties that include parts and labor. You will get digital access to reviews and ratings for over 8,500 products and services to help you make better choices for life’s big moments and the everyday ones in between.
If it runs low on battery before finishing the job, the robot will return to its base station, charge up, then pick up where it left off. PCMag.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering lab-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services. Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology. The 11S is the most basic and one of the few still available that doesn’t connect to the internet.
Brand owner satisfaction is based on the proportion of members who are extremely likely to recommend their robotic vacuum to their friends and family. Replace filters and side brushes a few times per year, the brush roll about once a year, and the battery as needed—probably every second year, though that depends on how often you use the bot. These bots can use a handful of different technologies to make their maps. The laser rangefinder method has become the dominant tech and is excellent at quickly learning a home’s layout.
The iRobot Roomba S9+ is part of the Vacuum Cleaners test program at Consumer Reports. In our lab tests, Robotic Vacuums models like the Roomba S9+ are rated on multiple criteria, such as those listed below. A measure of how the device and its service provider collect, share and use your data, and the user’s ability to control the flow of their data. Analysis is based on evaluation of user interfaces, network traffic and publicly-available material. Indicates the vacuum’s ability to remove surface debris from a bare laminate floor. Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times.
It too is a rotary encoder; the caster’s wheel is half black and half white, and optical sensors detect the change in color as it rotates. This helps detect if the Roomba is stuck or beached (i.e., the drive wheels are spinning but the Roomba isn’t moving). 700 series model upside down, showing the two driving wheels, beater brushes, various sensors and other parts. Parts of some models are interchangeable, allowing owners to mix and match features, or switch to other units for longer battery operation.
The big downside is that the RoboVac 11S and other bots like it don’t seem to be built to last for more than a couple of years on average, and we’ve heard about plenty of unrepairable breakdowns that happen even sooner. And although the 11S can get your floors much cleaner than if you didn’t vacuum at all, this bot just isn’t built to dig up much debris from rugs, especially softer, thicker types. We chose the best robot vacuum models based on their design, capabilities and overall value—but also their longevity and durability. A good robot vacuum should last at least three to five years without any worries, sometimes far longer.
If you’re choosing between the two most premium robot vacuums money can buy, the S7 MaxV Ultra and the X1 Omni, go with the former if you have a lot of hard flooring and you’re mainly concerned with mopping performance. Roborock’s bot uses sonic vibration technology to scrub your floors 3,000 times per minute, while the X1 Omni’s circular mopping pads spin at 180 revolutions per minute. Both irobot vacuum cleaner robots left our test floors streak-free and shiny, but the S7 MaxV Ultra is slightly better at deep cleaning. The iRobot Roomba j7+ might induce sticker shock, but it’s one of the smartest standalone robot vacuums you can buy. It uses a built-in camera and machine learning technology to recognize obstacles in its cleaning path in real time, and automatically reroute itself around them.
None of the rooms have any wall-to-wall carpet, but the space does have several area rugs, with styles ranging from lightweight doormats to rubber-backed, medium-pile rugs that take up half a room. The test house also has cats, kids, and other family members, all of whom leave plenty for each robot to pick up. Also consider the Eufy RoboVac irobot vacuum cleaner 11S, which is so quiet and nimble that it blends into the background like no other robot . This basic, bump-and-run bot sounds more like a desk fan than a vacuum—even if you’re home while it works, you’ll barely notice it running. It’s shorter than most bots, which lets it glide under more furniture, picking up plenty of hidden debris.
In testing, it had no problem traversing hard flooring and carpet, and thoroughly collected dog hair from both, so it’s also a strong budget-friendly choice for pet owners. From its companion app, you can move the robot around and view a live video stream of what’s happening inside your home. It also has the longest battery life of any robot vacuum we’ve tested, cleaning for up to 170 minutes on a charge. For even greater convenience, Ecovacs makes an Auto-Empty Station that allows the Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI to empty its bin into a disposable dust bag without your help.
Roomba models are the only robot vacuums that employ two brush rolls that rotate toward each other, an arrangement that works well on all surfaces but offers its biggest advantage over other robot vacuums’ brush rolls on rugs. In fact, the “brushes” on the i3 EVO are really rubber-nubbed extractors, which are particularly good at picking up pet hair, especially from thicker and higher-pile rugs, without much hair getting wrapped around the roller. All Roomba bots, including the i3 EVO, also have a dirt-detection system—another feature you can’t find in other brands’ bots. When a Roomba model senses that it’s passing over an area with a lot of debris, it stops and makes a few passes back and forth to pick up as much as possible. It also has smart mapping, so you can tell it to clean or avoid specific rooms. But unlike most of its competitors, the Roomba i3 EVO is actually a sturdy, repairable appliance—and although longevity is never guaranteed, you can reasonably expect to own and use it regularly for years.