Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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233 of 236 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Worthy Successor to the Roomba Line, December 12, 2007
We have two Roombas plus a Scooba in our house. When one of the batteries on one of our Roombas finally reached the end of its life cycle, we decided to donate that Roomba to a friend and to get ourselves the new top of the line - the Roomba 560. We got this right when it first came out, but we waited several months before posting a review. It's pretty much impossible to review one of these Roombas after only a few days! It takes weeks if not months to start to see how well they last over time, and what breaks down. Believe me - been there, done that.
So now it's many months later, and I have to say, we are quite pleased with the improvements of this Roomba over the previous generations of Roombas. So first, for those who don't even have ANY Roomba yet (hard to believe!). Roombas are awesome. We have cats, and we work from home so we're home all day. It is AMAZING how much dirt and dust and junk collects in the carpet every single day. Who really has time to vacuum their carpets twice a day any more? With the Roomba, you set the scheduler to do it while you are asleep. You wake up in the morning, the carpets are clean, the air is fresh, and you empty out the dust bin. It is just wonderful.
Even those without pets might be amazed how much lint and such the Roomba will find every morning for you.
I have a noise meter and have done several tests with the noise meter. The Roomba is much quieter than other regular vacuums. It is NOT silent - it can't be! How could it vacuum up dirt and be silent? But it is quieter than the alternatives, and heck, you're sleeping anyway. I can easily sleep through a Roomba running.
Now, on to the improvements of this new Roomba over previous models. First, it has a cool feature where the speed drops when it senses it is approaching a solid object. The old Roomba would just run full tilt into an object - wall, couch etc. - and then turn around. This one slows down so that it hits the object gently. Sure the old Roomba wouldn't dent the walls with its powerful force, but still, it's nice to have it be gentle on furniture and your building.
Next, for better or for worse, the new Roomba is much more aware of when its bin and brushes are getting grungy. I admit I didn't clean my other Roombas as often as I should have. And it led to problems. This new Roomba will actually stop and warn you when it's getting full and when the brushes should be cleaned. If you're a procrastinator like I am, this is a good thing. If you're a clean freak that empties the bin every time, and cleans the brushes every time, then you probably won't even notice this feature.
The anti tangle technology is nice. The previous Roomba would start to eat a cord and just keep going until it was really stuck. This Roomba at least tries to get itself untangled. Still, I don't recommend leaving cords and strings and things lying around. You're just asking for trouble if you do.
The new system uses a "lighthouse" instead of just a wall. With a lighthouse, you mark out a room so the Roomba finishes with that room completely before going on to the next room. They are like section markers. We tend to just use walls, but if you have two large rooms the lighthouse feature might be really helpful for you.
After several months of running we have had NO problems at all with our Roomba. No broken brushes, no falling off pieces, nothing. It is still going strong and we are very pleased with it.
Highly, highly recommended! I am happy to give personal advice and I even have videos of Roombas on my website. I love Roombas, they have saved me countless hours of work, and they make my home a much cleaner and easier-breathing place to be.
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298 of 310 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Scratch Vacuuming Off Your List! (Almost), September 11, 2007
Did you ever just fall in love . . . with a piece of well-designed technology? I sure fell for this one. How lovely to have something else take care of one of my least favorite chores!
Why I love this gizmo:
(1) Goes about cleaning the floors quietly (forget the noise of a conventional vacuum cleaner);
(2) Does a better job than I ever could because it can get under the beds fully to get out all the nasty little dust bunnies, and it crawls along the baseboard to pick up the bits that hide on the edges of the room;
(3) Cleans for a predetermined amount of time, and then puts itself to bed (while it recharges itself);
(4) Can be scheduled to run whenever you choose; and,
(5) Does a great job of picking up cat hair (my old vacuum did not).
Problems?
Yes, but mostly they were just getting used to its operation. I had to learn to pick up throw rugs and clear the area of cords. I had to learn the robot's eccentricities and plan for them.
I also discovered that a cat landing on the Roomba in the middle of the night would start it going - so we woke up to clean floors.
Worth it?
You bet!
Five stars, and a big thanks!
UPDATE: October 4, 2007
My Roomba produced an error message that I was unable to clear. So I called (not emailed, but called) the support center. The Roomba needed to be reset, and, with the help of the support person, I accomplished this and we're back in action.
The support was superior, so if you have a problem, just give them a call. If your call is like mine, you'll find them highly responsive and eager to help solve your problem.
UPDATE: November 30, 2007
About four weeks after my initial review, the side brush fell off. The part that holds the brush screw was broken.
I called the company who said they'd send out another part in five days or so. That was followed by an email that said a month. Now it is six weeks later . . . still no replacement part.
While the vacuum still works, the baseboard cleaning is absent without the side brush. And I am in the dark as to when I will receive a replacement. This would cause me to reduce the number of stars I give the Roomba 560, if Amazon would allow me to do so.
I still think this is a good product. It still does an adequate job of cleaning up cat hair and other debris. But, I think the price is too high given the quality of that brush.
In my book, iRobot has some 'splaining, and apologizing, to do.
UPDATE: Augst 1, 2008
Now my roomba has developed horrible screaming noises that might be coming from the wheels, but who knows. And I now have the replacement gizmo for the side brush (after 9 months).
I am sorry that I cannot adjust the stars on this review. If I could I would now rate this product one star (can't give zero). I strongly recommend not buying a Roomba!
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154 of 160 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Stay away from all 500's until sidebrush problem fixed, November 20, 2007
I have been a long time customer of iRobot. I have had multiple early generation Roombas (and still have four fourth generation Roombas in my house). I bought two 560's in September and the side brushes became "amputees" within the first few weeks, with the brushes breaking off.
When I called for Technical Support (not listed on their website: 877.855.8593) I was told it was a "known problem", and they would ship out the new redesigned side brush replacements as soon as received. Weeks later, still no date and even today "maybe three weeks".
Now they are hedging on whether it was a design defect. What IS clear is that none of the units on sale have a "redesigned" part, so you may have the same problem I have had. So forget about getting one before Christmas unless you want to go through this same debacle I am.
I have always had the highest respect for iRobot (despite the Scooba), but my faith has been shaken by this product.
*** UPDATE 12-03-2007 (and another part also on "back order")
BTW, I still have received no replacement side brushes after almost two months.
There is another problem with some of the 560's (and I assume all of the early 500 series). The original two 560's I bought in September did not have a "bumper extension" included.
So if you are buying from a retailer MAKE SURE THAT THE ONE YOU BUY HAS A BUMPER EXTENSION INCLUDED. I saw a 560 at a store this weekend with this new piece, which is just a piece of rubber that you stick on the lower part of the bumper and a "slip sheet" to the manual that tells how to place it, but does not say what it is for.
When I called iRobot and told them that I did not receive these with my original 560's, they first claimed "all of them" shipped with it, but they would order me two -- Guess what else is now back-ordered?
I suggested that the bumper extension might be a new "fix" for the side-brush problem, but the customer service representative said it was to keep the "IR sensors from being scratched" by furniture. To defend that this had nothing to do with the side-brush problem, he said that they had had side brushes "falling off without contact with anything" and that definitely the side brushes had been redesigned but no one in technical support was told how.
Here is what I think the new bumper is for:
We have five fireplaces in our house. All but one have a hearth extension height of 1/2" or less above the floor. The fifth one has 7/8" above the floor, where I have seen the 560's stalled, with the 560 eventually disentangling itself (but with brushes soon thereafter falling off!).
I think the main purpose of the bumper extension is to sense a transition in this critical area (7/8") and be repelled by contact with the bumper extension. IRobot says that this is not its purpose. However, the instruction slip sheet specifically states to place part the extension below the existing vertical height of the bumper.
I will try to update this if and when I get:
1. My replacement side brushes and
2. My missing bumper extensions.
A few more observations ....
Customer service.
Hold times seem to be going up dramatically. I was on hold for 17 minutes and then disconnected. I then called sales (which answers immediately) and was eventually reconnected to customer service.
Docking station/lighthouses.
It appears that the lighthouses with the 500-series are coded to work only with the docking station or Roomba with which they were shipped. Having two of these systems, I tried the two lighthouses associated with the other one -- no recognition. This may actually be an advantage if you have a house with more than one. I just have not seen any documentation on this issue.
As I have said before, I think the Roomba in general is a great product. I just thing they rushed to market with the 500-series before it was ready for prime-time.
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