Irobot - Roomba I7 Wi-Fi Connected Robot Vacuum - Charcoal

I paid $750 for this as a gift to my wife. We have had it for about a year and a half and it never works dependably. I have spent well over 20 hrs disassembling, cleaning, replacing parts, and reassembling. It leaves a mess at the charging dock, goes into omitted zones, bumps into the same obstacles repeatedly, and seems to be lost most of the time. We only have hardwoods and it struggles to clean dust throughly. Any kind of hair not only messes up the wheels and filters but gets lodged in places that can be cleared out. We have to find it and relocate it manually during the middle of the floor on normal cleanings. I wish I had saved the money and just continued to sweep and vacuum traditionally. I feel like the engineers at Roomba wouldn’t even be able to ... MoreI paid $750 for this as a gift to my wife. We have had it for about a year and a half and it never works dependably. I have spent well over 20 hrs disassembling, cleaning, replacing parts, and reassembling. It leaves a mess at the charging dock, goes into omitted zones, bumps into the same obstacles repeatedly, and seems to be lost most of the time. We only have hardwoods and it struggles to clean dust throughly. Any kind of hair not only messes up the wheels and filters but gets lodged in places that can be cleared out. We have to find it and relocate it manually during the middle of the floor on normal cleanings. I wish I had saved the money and just continued to sweep and vacuum traditionally. I feel like the engineers at Roomba wouldn’t even be able to keep this piece of crap operating at their own homes. Maybe the more expensive models work better but I won’t be finding out.

A Welcome Addition

The i7+ arrived in like new condition. Set-up was easy. Had some difficulty with the robot getting stuck during mapping runs but once I resolved those problem areas it has no longer gotten stuck. The only "challenge" I have is with cleaning the upstairs level. I can't use the "everywhere" command unless I bring the clean base upstairs so the robot can recharge and resume cleaning. My workaround has been to have it clean a few rooms, carry it downstairs to recharge, and either continue with the other rooms or wait to do so on another day. We've got a dog that sheds a lot so we've been cleaning the downstairs every day. The upstairs is all carpeted with the exception of ceramic tile on the bathroom floors. Downstairs is all wood with area rugs in all of the rooms. The ... MoreThe i7+ arrived in like new condition. Set-up was easy. Had some difficulty with the robot getting stuck during mapping runs but once I resolved those problem areas it has no longer gotten stuck. The only "challenge" I have is with cleaning the upstairs level. I can't use the "everywhere" command unless I bring the clean base upstairs so the robot can recharge and resume cleaning. My workaround has been to have it clean a few rooms, carry it downstairs to recharge, and either continue with the other rooms or wait to do so on another day. We've got a dog that sheds a lot so we've been cleaning the downstairs every day. The upstairs is all carpeted with the exception of ceramic tile on the bathroom floors. Downstairs is all wood with area rugs in all of the rooms. The cleaning quality appears equal to that when we vacuumed with our Sharks; however, the Roomba cleans underneath furniture -- areas that we infrequently cleaned. If only the robot could clean stairs...

Awesome and Easy to Use

This is the first and only robot vacuum cleaner I've ever owned, so I have absolutely no others to compare it to, but I think the thing is absolutely awesome. Super easy to set up out of the box, the app is easy to use, and the cleaner maps the house all by itself and then automatically downloads it to the app where you can divide it into rooms. At that point you can control everything from your phone from vacuuming the whole house, just specific rooms, and/or set up an automatic schedule. It then returns to the base and self-empties. Very nice and convenient. As for performance, I think it does great. I've owned many, many dogs during my lifetime and the one I have now puts all other dogs to shame on shedding. Honestly I don't know how my dog sheds this much and ... MoreThis is the first and only robot vacuum cleaner I've ever owned, so I have absolutely no others to compare it to, but I think the thing is absolutely awesome. Super easy to set up out of the box, the app is easy to use, and the cleaner maps the house all by itself and then automatically downloads it to the app where you can divide it into rooms. At that point you can control everything from your phone from vacuuming the whole house, just specific rooms, and/or set up an automatic schedule. It then returns to the base and self-empties. Very nice and convenient. As for performance, I think it does great. I've owned many, many dogs during my lifetime and the one I have now puts all other dogs to shame on shedding. Honestly I don't know how my dog sheds this much and still has hair. It's crazy. Since I've started using this vacuum cleaner my house has never been so clean. It will never be perfect just because of the sheer volume and frequency (all the time) of the shedding, but dog hair is now minimal. It's really nice and at this point I'm thrilled. I do have a couple hutches and a coffee table that it can't get under, which has zero to do with the vacuum or it's performance, so I do plan to raise them slightly so it can get to even more places where the dog hair can hide. So in summation, this thing is great and I couldn't be happier. I have absolutely no idea how it will hold up over time since I've only had it for a couple weeks, but with the Ebay extended warranty I should be good for a while. If you're thinking about getting this and on the fence, I'd definitely tell you to go for it.

Big improvement over prior generations, could be what you're looking for.

So, robot is going to robot, right? Various idiosyncrasies involved with this. First of all, the refurb is working great. No discernible issues with that status. But more or less issues with robotic vacuums. First though, the positives: 1. Much smarter than roombas of yore. With app integration, you can have it map out a home, and tell it to intelligently focus on specific areas. I told it to clean the living room yesterday and it went straight there to clean up Christmas tree needles. 2. App is pretty good. Robot is scary good at mapping out your home and providing a user editable/label-able map you can use/reference going forward. 3. Base vacuum - when it works - is a great feature so you don't have to incessantly empty the bin from the robot directly Negatives: ... MoreSo, robot is going to robot, right? Various idiosyncrasies involved with this. First of all, the refurb is working great. No discernible issues with that status. But more or less issues with robotic vacuums. First though, the positives: 1. Much smarter than roombas of yore. With app integration, you can have it map out a home, and tell it to intelligently focus on specific areas. I told it to clean the living room yesterday and it went straight there to clean up Christmas tree needles. 2. App is pretty good. Robot is scary good at mapping out your home and providing a user editable/label-able map you can use/reference going forward. 3. Base vacuum - when it works - is a great feature so you don't have to incessantly empty the bin from the robot directly Negatives: 1. Legacy robot vacuuming annoyances. Robot *still* needs to stumble around in a grid fashion, bump into things, is loud, and can get easily clogged requiring intervention. 2. You need to keep a dedicated floor docking area clear for the robot's ingress/outgress. This is easier said than done, when other vacuums are shoved in closets or mounted on walls. 3. Clogs, clogs, clogs. Both robot and the base are susceptible to clogs that require human intervention. I'd really appreciate more Dyson-like engineering which makes it super easy and tool-less to empty common trouble areas. 4. Consumable parts are not cheap, whether just the base debris bags, replacement brushes, or filters. I wish it didn't feel like a racket. Cheaper 3P options are proliferating, but they aren't as good, and frankly Roomba seems to engineer against 3P options (e.g. bags). Anyway, this generation of robot is leaps and bounds better than the last time you checked into this (likely pre 2012). They are still loud and clog often, but clean better and more intelligently. At the end of the day, if you have a good manual vacuum, it's still way more efficient to just vacuum a room and be done with it. But if you like the idea of scheduling cleanings, or you want to maintain a property remotely, or you absolutely hate vacuuming, this is an interesting option.

Game changer!

Took a bit of a punt by buying a vacuum for my wife for Christmas, but what an absolute game changer this thing is! I suffer quite badly with cat allergies and we have a cat (I didn't know about allergies before we got him!) which sheds quite a bit as well as a dog who sheds a little. We used to run the vacuum round at least twice a week, but we've set Bob up to do a full run of the downstairs each morning before we get up for work and I've not sneezed for days! It's so quiet that it can vacuum the whole downstairs without either of us knowing about it and Bob is back on his charger and full within an hour of finishing, ready to clean up any breakfast mess. Using the smart electric meter thing to work it out, a full run (which uses 3/4's of the battery) costs about ... MoreTook a bit of a punt by buying a vacuum for my wife for Christmas, but what an absolute game changer this thing is! I suffer quite badly with cat allergies and we have a cat (I didn't know about allergies before we got him!) which sheds quite a bit as well as a dog who sheds a little. We used to run the vacuum round at least twice a week, but we've set Bob up to do a full run of the downstairs each morning before we get up for work and I've not sneezed for days! It's so quiet that it can vacuum the whole downstairs without either of us knowing about it and Bob is back on his charger and full within an hour of finishing, ready to clean up any breakfast mess. Using the smart electric meter thing to work it out, a full run (which uses 3/4's of the battery) costs about 5p to recharge, so it is pricier than running a conventional vacuum, but worth every penny of the extra £1 or £2 a month.I was a bit worried about being able to get from room to room as we have underfloor heated tiles in one room which raises the height of that floor vs. the rest of the house, but Bob can easily traverse it, despite it being well over the advertised height that he should be able to do - it's just over 2cm tall.The bin needs emptying every other run, it is quite small bit I think the cat hair tends to fill it up more than it would if you didn't have a stupid mop of an animal! Even so, it takes 10 seconds to empty and we have glitteringly clean floors all the time.Could not recommend this highly enough. Had it not been on sale I probably would have thought twice, but should it ever give up, I would be back on the website to get another one without a seconds hesitation.

Jack of all trades, master of none

I've tried quite a few robot vacuums and I think that roomba's Have the biggest name because they 1st move or advantage but they are not the best vacuum out thereLet's start with navigation.. The robot does a decent job of creating a map of your house but even with that map it still runs into things all of the time, and, it does not navigate efficiently from room to room or within a room when cleaning. It will ignore keep out zones sometimes. It will try to force itself underneath things that it cannot fit and then get stuck.. There needs to be some kind of sensor on the nub in the front so that when it starts running into things with that it knows to stop trying because it will force itself under something and get stuck and that novel not let it ... MoreI've tried quite a few robot vacuums and I think that roomba's Have the biggest name because they 1st move or advantage but they are not the best vacuum out thereLet's start with navigation.. The robot does a decent job of creating a map of your house but even with that map it still runs into things all of the time, and, it does not navigate efficiently from room to room or within a room when cleaning. It will ignore keep out zones sometimes. It will try to force itself underneath things that it cannot fit and then get stuck.. There needs to be some kind of sensor on the nub in the front so that when it starts running into things with that it knows to stop trying because it will force itself under something and get stuck and that novel not let it escape.Vacuuming: Though iRobot boasts About the section power, the robot does not pick up a lot of debris. The period the vacuum turns off and on randomly and it misses a lot of stuff. Especially on carpet it will clump up pet hair and then leave it in clumps all over the carpet instead of sucking it up.. I have to follow behind it with a hand held vacuum and suck up all of the clumps that it leaves. If it runs over an area rug it'll actually leave clumps that weren't there before that it picked up elsewhere in the house.Smart app and other complaints: Comparable vacuums out on the market will allow you to keep track of the robot's location live while it's cleaning via the map. iRobot does not allow that. The roomba will get stuck In random places.. And will just sit there until the battery dies sometimes making it difficult to find. Half of the time the app cannot connect to the robot and the robot has to be restarted. Half the time the robot will not seat itself on its base correctly and will not charge.. If using the Bravo jet mop, To mop after vacuuming Is, a lot of the time it will not start the mop automatically and the mop may not even do a full run before it just decides it's done and quits.

Never ending maintenance

Continuous, never ending headache of a product. Requires constant maintenance and this is a supposedly brand new (replacement). Save your $$$$. This product was put out on the market long before the problems were resolved.Beware: Eventhough the customer service person is pleasant, they will find it necessary to put you on extended holds in order to speak to their "team". The "team" is indifferent to your issues and will require that you be thoroughly Proficient in computer skills in order for you to justify and document your complaint. They demand continuous justifications, pictures and indepth explanations of your problem with their inferior expensive product. You will become exhausted with this process. RUN!!!!! If I Robot had any integrity it would fess ... MoreContinuous, never ending headache of a product. Requires constant maintenance and this is a supposedly brand new (replacement). Save your $$$$. This product was put out on the market long before the problems were resolved.Beware: Eventhough the customer service person is pleasant, they will find it necessary to put you on extended holds in order to speak to their "team". The "team" is indifferent to your issues and will require that you be thoroughly Proficient in computer skills in order for you to justify and document your complaint. They demand continuous justifications, pictures and indepth explanations of your problem with their inferior expensive product. You will become exhausted with this process. RUN!!!!! If I Robot had any integrity it would fess up to having produced a clinker of a vacuum and issue a brand new upgrade to its disappointed customers.

Not impressed

I've had the i7 Robot Vacuum for a year and I am so disappointed with this product. I ordered it thinking it would be an upgrade from my previous Eufy and boy was I wrong. The main reason I wanted this product was to help keep my house free of pet hair. I have 2 dogs, a Pitbull and a Doberman, so their hair is short. I never had issues with my previous Eufy as far as dog hair, it was just an older model and needed to upgrade.Cons: The i7 is a lot louder, dog fur gets stuck between the silicone brushes and it is left in piles everywhere, the bin is never full because it's all stuck between the brushes. I never had that problem with the Eufy. The majority of my house is hardwood floors, so it's not even like it gets stuck because of carpet. When I contacted customer ... MoreI've had the i7 Robot Vacuum for a year and I am so disappointed with this product. I ordered it thinking it would be an upgrade from my previous Eufy and boy was I wrong. The main reason I wanted this product was to help keep my house free of pet hair. I have 2 dogs, a Pitbull and a Doberman, so their hair is short. I never had issues with my previous Eufy as far as dog hair, it was just an older model and needed to upgrade.Cons: The i7 is a lot louder, dog fur gets stuck between the silicone brushes and it is left in piles everywhere, the bin is never full because it's all stuck between the brushes. I never had that problem with the Eufy. The majority of my house is hardwood floors, so it's not even like it gets stuck because of carpet. When I contacted customer support, all they had as a solution was a guide on how to properly clean it, which I had already done. The i7 is also higher, so it doesn't fit under a lot of my furniture (like the couches).Pro: The only feature I like is the mapping app and being able to start a job from my phone. But, I'm sure the newest Eufy product would have that as well.In conclusion, if you have pets and that is your main reason for looking for a robot cleaner, I would suggest you look elsewhere.

They charge for customer service

I got the I7 vacuum for Christmas. It doesn't recognize my whole home when it does a "entire clean". It does a good job at the location it does cover. However a huge disappointment for me is customer service. We are between w our internet providers (switching from one to another) my vacuum will not work with out internet through the app. I spoke with customer service to get it reset until I can get it back on wifi. Level 1 customer service couldn't help, level 2 customer service couldn't help.. && then they wanted to charge me 100$ to get a level 3 agent to fix my vacuum. That's absolutely ridiculous. I do not recommend buying with this company unless you want a fee everytime you need help with something.

This is not a review, this is a rant

Disclaimer; this is not a review, this is a rant. I am so fed up with this piece of shit that i cannot write up an objective review. Let me just describe what you need to do to clean two rooms that the robot cannot reach because of different elevations.1) transport robot to room A.2) press start3) aaaah f****, somehow it must not have charged up the battery last night.4) transport robot back to charging station5) because there is not an immediate response/feedback from the robot if it actually charges i am not really sure if it does charge. somehow the button is blinking white for 10 seconds, but then stops. i have no clue6) wait 30 minutes7) transport robot to room A.8) press start, aaah, now it beeps, must be working9) hmmm, it should be cleaning by now, ... MoreDisclaimer; this is not a review, this is a rant. I am so fed up with this piece of shit that i cannot write up an objective review. Let me just describe what you need to do to clean two rooms that the robot cannot reach because of different elevations.1) transport robot to room A.2) press start3) aaaah f****, somehow it must not have charged up the battery last night.4) transport robot back to charging station5) because there is not an immediate response/feedback from the robot if it actually charges i am not really sure if it does charge. somehow the button is blinking white for 10 seconds, but then stops. i have no clue6) wait 30 minutes7) transport robot to room A.8) press start, aaah, now it beeps, must be working9) hmmm, it should be cleaning by now, no? lets press the start button again. 200 miliseconds before i press the button it actually would have started cleaning, but now i pressed it again and it stopped.10) kick the robot, as hard as you can. also punching it is satisfying.11) press start again. thinking to myself: man, this is a ridiculous amount of time until it actually starts cleaning. what the f*** is this guy doing for so long? probably connecting to wify, who tf needs that shit anyway?12) robot cleans and stops.13) despite stopping, the robot now uses up the whole battery, probably mining bitcoin14) bring back robot to charging station.15) again i have no clue if its charging or not. to be sure i hit it as hard as i can16) start back at 1) for room BTLDR:1) you dont know if it charges the battery or not, if you miss the charging station by 1 nanometer it does not charge.2) after completing a cleaning job in a room it will just sit there and empty its battery3) feedback loop for anything is infuriatingly long.4) i had a many years older model from roomba which worked just fine, it had none of the fancy features, but it charged and cleaned.