Roomba 980 Vacuum Cleaning Robot
Product Details
Web ID: 1525431About like buying a cell phone
When I first purchased this 980 5 years ago, it worked fairly well. It had the usual problems with dark carpet, high pile rugs and such, so I opted to change out things so the robot could run. I've always had issues with it returning home (I do not have a complex floor layout) on and off and most of the time, it did ok. The problem with iRobot appears to be the same one you have with all mobile devices. They have a uncontrollable firmware updates (you can't pick and choose) and apparently a limited shelf life after the manufacturer decides they want you to purchase the new model. After spending big bucks on this thing, I had expected it to last for many years with expected maintenance of course. Getting replacement pieces here and there hasn't really been an issue. The issue is with the crazy firmware process where your bot may be running ok today, then it gets an update and is a completely different beast. Mine stopped receiving updates a little over a year ago and unfortunately the last firmware rendered my bot rather stupid. When it's bin gets full, it just stops and says the job is done - no picking up where it left off. When it runs around until its battery completely dies (almost always around 2h), instead of going home to recharge, it just dies and says the job is over - no picking up where it left off. So now I just get a partial job unless I happen to notice the time and force it home to recharge. Sometimes even then, it won't continue the job. Buyer beware. Far as I can tell, they tend to release untested firmware for you to try out. They abandon older models and leave you sitting with whatever firmware you last updated to (which may or may not be the last version). Even today, try looking on their site for 980 firmware. They've removed the pages from their site.
Customer review from store.irobot.com
Response from store.irobot.com
Hi Vic, we are really sorry to hear about the situation. This is definitely not the experience we want our iRobot family to have, and we'd love the opportunity to turn it around. We have just e-mailed you in order to help out.
I will choose another brand next time
Roomba used to be the leader in this industry, but now it is not. The AI in my 985 looks like a fool most of the time. The floor plan in my home is pretty simple, but it never got things done and I had to manually break it into multiple separate cleaning runs. The robot keeps repeating some places, while misses other places all the time.
Customer review from store.irobot.com
I will pay attention to reviews next time...
It picks up pet hair efficiently, which is why we bought it (1 dog, 2 cats). We have mostly hardwood. However, we've spent a lot of money replacing area rugs. Much more than we paid for this vacuum. It will pick up an edge of the rug and literally tear it up and get stuck. I wish I would have taken a picture to post of a destroyed rug. I have to pick up rugs before it runs. We have a large rug under our dining room table which I can't lift every time it runs. It's now destroying this one. We used to have a Neato that eventually died, and it never did this. Just our experience.
Customer review from store.irobot.com
Response from store.irobot.com
Hi Panther, Thank you for taking the time to write a review about your Roomba. Roomba vacuums work well on hard flooring and carpeted areas. The best way to ensure that a Roomba will be a good fit is by checking recommended cleaning methods offered by a manufacturer of the flooring. Recommended cleaning methods for various floor types can be researched online too. As long as a stand up vacuum works well, a Roomba will also usually work well. iRobot.com Customers can try a Roomba in their home for 60 days, and return it for a refund if it's not a good fit. Sincerely, iRobot Customer Care
i have this for almost 6 years, love love it.
great helper , cleans house very well
Recommends this product
Customer review from store.irobot.com
Pretty good product... requires area prep...
Used it for about a year. Takes some time to prepare for a cleaning... moving some furniture, putting in place virtual walls... When my Roomba encountered cat poop under a bed (unsuspected), it made a mess and never worked right again... even after a thorough cleaning. Selling the parts for salvage.
Recommends this product
Customer review from store.irobot.com
Response from store.irobot.com
Hello! We understand that accidents happen, and we're very sorry to hear about the mess! Before you discard your old robot, please reach out to our Technical Support team via telephone at 877-855-8593 or via email by replying directly to this review. We'd love to assist you with potentially replacing your robot. Thanks so much!
Would not buy this again
Use our vacuum every 3 or 4 days. When it goes back to re charge and then starts again it goes back and repeats over where it has already cleaned wasting time and battery life. Misses a lot of trash that a regular vacuum wouldn't. Very disappointed in this unit.
Customer review from store.irobot.com
Response from store.irobot.com
We're sorry to hear of your lack of satisfaction with your 985 Roomba and understand the frustration that you're feeling! We would kindly ask that you please contact our Technical Support Department at 877-855-8593 and we would be more than happy to assist in helping remedy the issues you're encountering!
Great product
Don't leave phone charger cables on the ground
Recommends this product
Customer review from store.irobot.com
Exercise in frustration
Performance when it works is good, but a full clean with a proper return to the homebase is roughly 10% effective. You will daily have to find it as it's battery will be drained and it won't even respond to a callout from the app. The times it does call out for help before running out of battery, it will only state "error 17" or "path blocked" even though it died in the middle of the room.
Customer review from store.irobot.com
Response from store.irobot.com
Hello Willie! The incredibly intelligent Roomba 980 will remove surface debris on it's first clean missions, but Roomba may need a few more clean missions to bring your home to a baseline of clean. Providing good lighting and a clear path will help Roomba navigate your home more efficiently. Initial runtimes and coverage may be reduced as Roomba is taking time to learn your environment. This is called the Floor Conditioning process. Once this process is complete, Roomba will dock more efficiently at the end of its clean mission. We hope that you will reach out to our team at 1-877-855-8593 if you have any questions about Roomba's navigation. Thank you! -Sincerely, iRobot Customer Care