Introduction
I am a first-time reviewer, I entered a competition to win a eufy Robovac, which I did. I got the email on the 27th of October, replied back by the 1st of November and it arrived on the 3rd of November. It arrived via Amazon, and I checked and they also have a store on Amazon which they sell the item for £219.99 plus free delivery. I have always wanted to try a Robovac, and never had one before.
About the item
It is described as “RoboVac 11S The Super-Slim and Powerful RoboVac” on the eufy website.
They have many models on the site, but this one has been reengineered to be slimmer and more intelligent. I can not compare to another vac as this is my first one.
It comes with a charging base and plug, 4 side brushes of which you only need to attach 2 so 2 are spares, a spare filter, a cleaning tool, 2 AA batteries and a remote control. They also included cable ties for you to make sure that cables are not in the way of the RoboVac to ensure a better clean.
Also included was a manual, a quick start sheet, a warranty sheet and a welcome leaflet.
The weight of the item is reasonable. It’s not too heavy but not that light either. It feels sturdy and should not break easy which is a plus.
The casing feels like it is made of strong plastic, and has faired well thus far when bumping into walls and other objects.
Packaging
Product arrived in a large brown box with some brown paper and the eufy box inside. The items were protected as you can see from the photos.
The RoboVac box itself was ok but I would suggest that a bit more packaging around the item would be beneficial for transit.
Instruction Manual
The instruction manual was simple and easy to use and it also included a quick start up guide, but I would use the manual over this, as this it is more detailed, including that it informs you that the RoboVac needs to be fully charged before first use. It did not say how long this would take, but it states that when fully charged the light will change to solid blue. This solid blue light also indicates that it is in cleaning mode or on standby. A solid orange light will be present when the RoboVac is charging in the dock, or when it needs to be charged.
Instructions for how the RoboVac cleans are included which are easy to understand, along with instructions on how to empty tray and troubleshooting tips.
Ease of assembly
Only needed to place the side brushes on and the batteries in the remote which I found to be very easy and self-explanatory. You plug the charging base into the wall, charge the RoboVac fully and then you are ready to go.
Ease of use
Easy to charge as you can press the home button on the remote and the RoboVac will guide itself to the charging station and automatically starting recharging.
It took approximately 1hr 50min to fully charge the RoboVac for the first charge.
The functions on the remote are easy to use and understand. You can spot clean, tell the RoboVac to focus solely on edges and it can also do one room only. It also has an auto function, and a timer instruction where it will activate and start to clean on it’s own at a certain time that you can set. The clean itself lasted for about 30mins before it went back to the dock.
You can also direct it to an area if it has missed anything, stop and start it, and send it to its dock if you are finished.
Setting up a cleaning time on the RoboVac was easy, using one button to set the time, wait for a beep to confirm it is set and it is done.
Switching between standard, BoostIQ and Max power is easy and intuitive.
Pros
- Does well on different floors - tiles, wood and carpet were all tested and it transitioned well between these different surfaces
- Recognises obstacles well and changes direction appropriately
- Edge cleaning is excellent
- Goes over the same area a few times and makes sure it’s clean
- Will dock itself or you can send it to dock easily
- Spot cleaning also works well
- Thin and small enough to get under certain pieces of furniture such as a baby’s cot
Cons
- Need to empty tray after each use
- Replacement of filters every 2 months (would expect them to last longer)
- Replacement of side brushes and guards every 3-6 months (could get expensive)
- Sometimes misses bits
- Can not reach tight corners due to its design
- The remote only works in same room as where you are as it works via infrared
Final thoughts
It is a very clever machine, works well and is hands free cleaning, which is very beneficial especially if you have a young child like myself, and it also did very well considering my small flat has many obstacles in it. To get a proper clean you would have to move things out of the way, which is not much of a problem either. I was very impressed with how it worked on rugs and carpet in my bedroom. If you have a long pile carpet it may not do a deep clean, but it does work well overall. I didn’t think it would clean as well as it did on carpet.
It will also reduce the time and effort of using a big vacuum cleaner, when you do not have the opportunity to do so. I would say that you would still need to use a normal vacuum cleaner with a hose for tight corners and areas where the RoboVac cannot fit. I like that its slim enough to go under my baby’s cot, and other bits of furniture.
The RoboVac does not take up too much space which is a bonus and it can be hidden away under the shoe rack to prevent any trip hazard, which being in a small flat is a massive help.
I would say that now that I have had one and used one I would recommend this for people with small children, pets and for elderly people and anyone who may have mobility issues. You can set it to clean while out or asleep which is great.
My only issue is that you need to empty it out often, otherwise it will not clean as well.
For the future I would suggest it having the capability of having a link to a device like an Amazon Echo, so that it can link up with that via Wi-Fi for voice commands. This would provide anyone who may have issues using a remote with another option so that they can also use the product with ease. They do already have a model that links to your phone, so this seems feasible. Another improvement for the future would be to have a home button on the remote so that you can call the RoboVac to the room you are in for spot cleaning.
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