Customer Reviews

Remanufactured iRobot Roomba 4199 Vacuuming Robot

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

I bought this remanufactured Rumba a few weeks ago (it is has already been returned) and was pretty impressed with the job it did. I know a lot of people are skeptical and I was too, but the unit was able to prove itself and is actually intertaining to watch it drive around the living room and bump into things. Ah... who needs TV?

In any case, the issue I had with mine was the battery life. I charged the unit for a long time twice (20 hours?) but the robot would not handle more than 25 minutes of continuous vacuuming. Both times it died in the middle of the room and I had to rush to rescue as it was making its SOS signals, which were annoying enough to interrupt the dinner.

On a side note, the unit is cool, but mine did look used, the surface was scratched and the buttons were worn off! Perhaps I got the worst of the bunch, but make sure you test the battery extensively when you get it!

I own a higher-end Roomba Discovery model, so will just compare Roombas versus regular vacuum cleaners.

Let's get the cons overwith. The Roomba is *the* most dusty vacuum cleaner I've had to clean out. While other vacuum cleaners have convenient dustbins and disposable bags, the Roomba requires you to both empty the dustbin and *clean* the brushes and filters. You definitely want to wear a mask when cleaning out a Roomba! Ironically, I also recommend another vacuum cleaner to help suck out the lint and such. The Roomba also will not do the pre-vacuum tidying up of stuff from the floor you normally do before and during vacuuming.

But, in my opinion, the benefits are well worth it. As a guy, I don't do a good job of vacuuming. (Okay, I admit it. I don't do vacuuming at all!) Compared to a conventional vacuum cleaner, the Roomba will go under low tables and other areas a conventional vacuum cleaner will not go.

I also highly recommend the docking station attachment, sold separately. If you leave your Roomba alone, you really won't know where to find it! It could be under the bed, behind a door, pretty much anywhere.

Finally, you should do your research. There are several Roomba fan sites on the internet, including discussion boards. You should find the right Roomba model for your needs.

I have a houseful of hardwood floors, and their favorite activity is manufacturing dust. I also have a cat who practically sprays his lovely soft hair, and, I believe, at least a few souvenirs from his beloved, now departed companion. So the floors are always sprouting something.

Skeptical but hopeful is the best way to describe my attitude when I clicked the "place order" button.

Surprised and happy is my current state of mind. This thing seems to have a life of its own, and I believe it loves to clean. Set it down on your broom-swept, looks-clean floor, and prepare to be surprised. At the end of the cycle, you will find a full dust bin of stuff that was still on (and in) your floor.

You can run it once a day (or night), and after a few cycles, the floor begins to shine without any other input from you.
And it feels very cool to be in one room washing dishes or doing laundry and hearing Roomba do its thing in another. It does have to be cleaned after use (or even mid-use, depending on the mission) but I found it easy to do without even consulting the manual - the term "user-friendly" may have been invented to describe the Roomba.

I've had it less than a month so I cannot comment on its longevity, but I am taking very good care of this cleap little mini-maid in hopes that it lives with me productively for a long time.

This is a worthwhile investment. Now if only they'd invent one that does stairs ...

Because I own a Kirby upright, I never expected this little thing to actually do a good job vacuuming my carpets. We only bought it because my 4-year-old is obsessed with robots and begged! That's why we got the reconditioned one - we figured he would either take it apart or ride on it, and didn't want to pay full price for a new one! Not only is it a great vacuum, but the reconditioned one works as well as a new one.

When it first arrived, it had a very minor battery glitch, but an iRobot tech support person was able to tell me how to instantly solve it after only 5 minutes on the toll-free phone number. Otherwise it was perfect right out of the box. I'd say that's pretty good for a used product. Also, I've never spoken to a nicer, more patient tech-support person.

Even more amazing, my only real complaint about the Roomba is that it works TOO WELL. Even thought I regularly vacuum my house with my crazy-expensive Kirby, it has taken two full weeks of using the Roomba every day before I don't have to empty the dirt cup every 20 minutes. My carpets were that dirty and I didn't even know it. Roomba found dirt that I had no idea was hiding in the carpets and hard floors. Now I can let it run the full length of the battery without having to stop and empty the bin, but at first I was constantly emptying it simply because it was picking up so much dirt that my regular vacuum had left behind.

By the way, spend the extra money for the docking station. It is well worth it to let Roomba find its way back and charge on its own rather than try to track it down when the battery runs out.

I must have been lucky. Though I thought I purchased the Roomba Red, I actually got the Sage model which is (I believe) a step above the entry-level Red.

I am a believer! I got in on this deal in late September and got it delivered to my US address. I am currently in Saudi Arabia in an apartment with tiled floors and I went through the trouble of bringing this little beast all the way back from America. Boy, was it worth it! It's not even that big, it's amazing how something so tiny makes such a huge difference. I don't do any back-breaking labor any more, I just charge the Roomba and let it do its thing. It's so neat to watch it in action, it totally fascinates any visitors I have. This is something totally unique here, no one has seen anything like it so I have that added bonus of the 'wow' factor.

It does clean very well, however, at least in my case, the battery life is less than ideal (hence the four stars). So much so that my unit always has a red light on it at the end of the vacuuming cycle, though it manages to get the whole room. I think I have had the 'Mission Completed' indicator go on just once. For the most part it cleans the whole room but apparently not to its own satisfaction since it just stops with the battery low indicator. Looks like the battery lasts about 50 minutes. That's not perfect but I am not complaining since it works well enough.

I would highly recommend this. And for people who complain to you that 'you are too lazy to vacuum' tell the naysayers, it's not about that. It's about winning your quality of life back in the form of precious time. I would rather read a great book from Amazon than spend an hour vacuuming my apartment. Duh!

Very good overall, cleans carpet and floor well enough.

It is also fun watching it do the job. My wife and kid feels like it is a live pet, almost.

They said this is the best digital product I've ever bought!

I too was skeptical on a robot vacuum. I got the recondition unit which came in a new box, a new APS battery (that alone is worth $40), and a virtual wall. The "Red's" body was a bit scuffed exterior wise but not too bad. All other component in the machine seems new. Now the good stuff, I have mainly laminate flooring and dust seems to always float around on top no matter how well you sweep, well just turn on the "Red" and away it goes. The logic built in is pretty good as it untangles itself quite well. Only real difficulty is when it gets "trapped" under the dining room table as its surrounded by chairs and it goes round and around trying to get out. It is definately worth the extra expense to purchase the home docking with the quick charger as it will go home when its done or needs a charge and the quick charger makes it a 3-4 hour turn around time. No need to look for it like before as it can be daunting sometimes when you have to hunt it down. Even on a seemingly clean floor, after the "Red" is done, and I open and empty the bin, there is alot of dust and debries. I run it twice a day and it seems to hold up pretty well. If this one dies after a year or so, I will probably upgrade to the scheduler model. Note, "Red" does not replace a full size vacuum as you will still need to for stairs and tight corners or a complete cleanup. It does a great job of "maintenance" cleaning so you can stretch those complete cleaning out further apart. Hope you enjoy this write up.

I was skeptical purchasing a used or rebuilt roomba but when I received the unit it was reconditioned and worked perfectly. I cannot say it was like new because I do not know what new is.... I will mention that I was so impressed with the unit I turned into a vacuum salesman. Yep 5 of my friends and family now have roomba's and we refer to them as our employees. The new battery allows the unit to run for about an hour. That with the new brushes and pickup allows the roomba to do an excellent job as long as you do not have the following..... throw rugs with long trim. throw rugs with over 3/4 inch heights, electrical cords, and wires for the unit to get all wrapped up in. I would not be concerned about the rebuilt status since I have personal knowledge of 5 people getting the roomba used. Good luck. And one more thing..... Do not watch the roomba clean the room. You will waste an hour betting on whether or not it will get that spot of dirt. And most of the time it does.....

It doesn't deep-clean the carpets like our dyson, but it does surprisingly well. Also, I find (after owning it for a few weeks) that I use it a lot more often, since it's much easier to move it than lugging the canister vac around, and my place has been a lot cleaner.

it can't get into the corners all the way, and it doesn't do stairs, but otherwise it's been really great. The ideal companion for the roomba would probably be a hand-held vac like the dirt devil to do stairs and corners occasionally, leaving the roomba for everyhting else.

It's quite good at untangling itself and getting unstuck except, ironically, for its own charging cord, which it always eats.

I am surprised to see that this product is rated so high here.
Perhaps you guys are just lucky.
I bought my Roomba in late September, which worked fine for 1 month
and half. And then it can't be charged anymore.
I contacted Roomba Customer Service, they gave me some useless suggestions and asked for the serial number of my Roomba. I sent then the serial number >4 times, from early Nov. till the end of November. No response!

On their website, there's no phone number. So I can't talk to their manager and complain :(