iRobot® Roomba® 105 Vac Robot Vacuum

Got this for our parents to help control pet hair build up between vacuum days. It has worked great. You can map all the rooms and set schedules on what rooms need cleaning on what days. We have a cheaper model for doing the same thing but it doesn't have mapping and just bounces around so regardless of what model or brand you choose get the mapping. I give it a 5 star because it's doing exactly what it was purchased for. So if you have pets and want help keeping the floors clean between vacuum days these little robots do an awesome job.

We had a previous generation non mapping E model for our hard floors downstairs and a precuous generation I model with the bag dock upstairs for the carpeted floors. Both were extremely needy robots. The E model got stuck pretty much every other clean, but it was nothing compared to the maintenance nightmare of the I series model. I was constantly clearing dust out of the bin, as the slightest film would cause the optical bin sensors to declare that the bin was full after every single clean. The bins on both models were too small, the charging contacts needed regular maintenance and overall I felt I was doing more work to keep the robots happy than they were. The E series was declared dead when it found a mess our new puppy had made before we did, and the I series finally just stopped working. I mention this backstory because if you've only had experience with the older E and I series, you may appreciate these new models as much as I have. Credit where credit is due, iRobot put a lot of improvements into these new models. First, the bins are huge. Like a third of the entire robot is bin space. You can let it go a couple of days without having to worry about emptying it. Or get the bagging dock. (I didnt.) Next, these use one brush instead of two, which means less parts to replace...but amazingly, the single brush does a MUCH better job than the old models with two. iRobot claims improved suction and I believe it. They're quieter. You still know it's running, but it's nowhere near as loud as the old models. Much appreciated. The little on board brush and thread/hair cutter tool. It rides on the bin and is super handy for clearing the filter screen and cutting hair or thread off the brush roller. Speaking of the filter, this is a massive improvement. They've placed the paper filter behind a mesh screen which keeps the majority of larger particles from clogging up the filter. Brilliant. And you can brush the screen right off into the trash. The lidar mapping is really good. A mapping run takes just minutes. Once mapped, it will happily clean in perfect rows. The charging contacts are also a huge improvement. No longer small rectangles, the points on the robot are long strips for easier docking and less cleaning since there is far more contact area. And the dock has been downsized to a small, unobtrusive box. I took a chance on this base model because it was relatively inexpensive. It worked so well on our hard floors downstairs, I bought a second one for the carpeted upstairs and it works just as well. Really surprised and happy with all the meaningful improvements made. Note that old E and I series models will not work with the old iRobot app. You have to use the new app. And this is where I have to ding iRobot. The new app is less intuitive than the old one. You'll figure it out, but it blurs the separation between routines and automation- which will no doubt be confusing to some. Editing routines is kind of buried in the app and it's just not super user friendly after the initial set u. For instance it only uses 24 hour time for scheduling cleaning jobs. Which, ok, but that's definitely going to confuse some people. Aside from the less than user friendly app, these are excellent robot vacuums- especially considering the price point. Highly recommend.

App doesn’t work well. Doesnt start on the schedule I set up. Doesn’t tell me when is full. It basically just sits on its charger. My 980 I bought almost 10 years ago is still way better than this one

Years ago I tried a few different robot vacuums. They worked OK, but seemed to have some issue so I waited a bit before buying a new one. I bought this one to help tackle a flea infestation and keep the rooms vacuumed on a schedule. The app is relatively easy to use and put the robot on a schedule. It is easy to create the map, but not very easy to edit it. You're able to put in keep out zones, but it isn't very easy to do on a phone. They could have picked a better interface for it. It is doable and worthwhile to do if you have spots you don't want it to go. It does a pretty good job overall as long as you pick up anything bigger than a nickel. Anything bigger than that, or plastic wrapping, it will find it and get it stuck in the brush. It won't know it is there blocking the whole vacuum function and will happily continue its routine without picking up anything. It does a relatively good job of seeing and avoiding large things that are higher than it is, but still somehow can't see chair legs and will bounce off of them multiple times with its bumper as it tries to navigate your dining room until it finally finds it's way through. The dust bin includes a brush and hair remover attached to it so that you can clean the filter out some, and cut any hair tangled around the brush. The brush is easily removed from the vacuum if you need to pull it out to clean it. The bin isn't very well placed IMO, if you want to empty it while it is on the charger, you have to take it off the charger because the bin is where the charge ports are. It isn't quiet, but it isn't super loud either. You won't really hear it if it is a room or two away. It does a pretty good job for the money if you're not going to vacuum every day yourself.

Everyone should have a roomba, they are wonderful. Yesterday He vacuumed my whole house quietly while I had a glass of wine. Buy this one you won’t be sorry.