Putting the N79S to the test, we found it cleaned well—but sometimes skipped under furniture and shied away from throw rugs. To reset a Roomba i and 900 series, press and hold the “clean” button on the robot for 10 to 20 seconds depending on the model. For the 600 and e series, press and hold the “home” and “spot clean” buttons for 10 seconds. Roombas use “dirt detect” technology to focus their cleaning efforts, so a unit may spend longer in one area until the sensors detect fewer particles.
We tested it again in late 2021, and it either improved due to a software update (they’ve issued several since our last round of testing) or some other variable in our testing changed. We’re not confident that you can count on the bot’s AI to avoid a doo-doo catastrophe but if you were thinking about getting a Roborock anyway and are curious about irobot vacuum cleaner the AI, it’s not a bad option. 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.
The iLife A9 robot vacuum cleans hard floors and low-pile carpet with aplomb, supports app and voice control, and won’t break the bank. After testing dozens and dozens of robot vacuums, we think the name is a bit of a misnomer. A robot vacuum’s ability to pick up dirt pales in comparison to that of a full-sized vacuum and can only really compete over the course of a week.
IRobot’s vacuums also have a capacity sensor that will send the robot trundling back to the self-emptying bin when it’s full. Between strong suction, LiDAR, and mopping that doesn’t soak carpets, the Roborock S7 is already major for folks dealing with both carpet and hard floors. Instead of random navigation irobot vacuum cleaner around your home, the i series can clean in neat, straight lines, which might be more effective in larger spaces — especially when combined with its increased suction . The i3 is a standalone vacuum, but the i3+ comes with a self-emptying dock — you don’t have to clean out the chamber as often.
Pet hair on carpets wasn’t much of an issue for the Roomba either. This Roomba robot vacuum left about half of the material on the floor during this test. Multiple small tufts of hair remained after vacuuming low-pile carpeting. Medium-pile carpets proved to be the most challenging for the Eufy. Many more and larger clumps of hair stayed behind after the vacuum traveled over this surface. That said, the Roomba S9 Plus removed an average 71% of sand from our medium pile carpet while vacuuming, which is the best result that we’ve seen on this specific test.