iRobot Roomba Vac 2 Essential robot vacuum + AutoEmpty dock (Q0520) - Black

I was excited to use the new iRobot Roomba Vac 2. I have used these automated vacuums for a few years now and was glad to see this new one by iRobot. I have hardwood floors throughout the house and have a dog that semi sheds around, so I felt this was essential to have. Set up was pretty simple and connecting it to the app was a breeze. I set it up for the first vacuum run and experienced mixed feelings about it. For the most part the iRobot Roomba Vac 2 works well but had some disappointing moments. Pro: - Like previous models and editions of iRobot or other touch-and-go vacuums, you can simply just turn it on and it will go and vacuum around the home. It is supposed to sense the area around it, often bumping into things and remembering it as it lays out it's pattern of where to go. I feel that this has always been its strength and really nice to have as you can just leave it be so you can be free to do what you need to do in the home. - This is smaller compared to other devices which I like. It does not take up too much area against the wall and the vacuum itself is no wider than a through pillow. It's not large or bulky so it can fit anywhere in your home. I have it up against the wall near our bedroom and living room divider where it can go about easily. - The sound is amazing as it is quiet. Of course, compared to regular stand up vacuums this does not emit loud decibels so you hear it humming around the room. It does get loud when you send it home and it empties the bag into the home center. Then, you hear the vacuum sound and it can be quite jarring. - App control. This is the heart of the device where you can see the current job, device health, empty bin, create a schedule and add new jobs for it to accomplish. I actually like setting it up on a schedule once-a-week so that I know that it will get the larger areas that I feel will allow me freedom to do other errands around the home and not worry. Cons: - It misses spots. Yes, it is supposed to learn its environment but there were large sections where it completely ignored and I had to try to gently nudge it back. That was really disappointing in my opinion. Because of this, you have to ensure that the area you want it to clean is void of objects (shoes, ottomans, smaller items that you can simple move out of the way.) As "smart" as this Roomba is supposed to be, because it does not recognize that an object it runs into is temporary or permanent, it will by pass it. - This is a supplementary device. I need to keep a traditional vacuum around just for areas that this cannot get. Thick carpets and it will get stuck. Smaller crevices that it cannot get underneath requires a traditional vacuum with hose set. Overall, this is a fun little axillary device to have in the home. I hope this review helps anyone considering buying a robot vacuum!

This is a replacement vacuum for my old iRobot/Roomba from years ago. I’m familiar with the product and companion app already which are easy to use but was hoping to find improvement here when there really wasn’t any. Out of the box, I was genuinely please and impressed with the eco friendly packaging. Nearly everything is recyclable with very little plastic waste. There’s an easy five step setup process to follow with instructions printed on large cardboard when you open the box. After plugging in the base, setting the vacuum alongside the base, downloading the app (which I already had) and setting up the WiFi, all of which is easy, we’d theoretically be off to the races. And that’s where the problems start… The instructions act like you should just get setup and hit the clean button. Makes sense to me and when I did that, like with most robo-vacuums, I figured it’d go get familiar with the room layout while cleaning. I noticed the battery wasn’t fully charged, which was fine, as it was hovering around 70% and I knew that’d be enough to clean my common area where the vacuum had been placed, so I let the vacuum go to work and left to run errands. To my surprise when I returned the vacuum was paused in the middle of the floor, I opened the app to see the battery had died. Interesting, never would’ve thought that to be the case in such a small room but fine, I put the vacuum back on the deck manually. While browsing the app for any additional data, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to retrieve the mapping data that the vacuum collected on its run. After a bunch of googling, it turns out that this vacuum doesn’t even map your room layout, which is comically absurd. That means it has no idea where your couch is, where the Christmas tree is, you can’t set it to avoid a certain area either, so every time it runs it’s just going to roll right into my Christmas tree or dog bed without much care. What an awful design, but whatever, at least they don’t advertise it as a feature that’s missing, it’s just a no brainer to include with any Robo-vacuum. As I’m sitting there stunned, I decide to glance at the physical instructions to see if I am missing anything else. That’s when I notice that the instructions say to attach the brush to the bottom of the vacuum that came in the box. It is insane that I had to view the physical instructions and thumb through a few pages to learn that as most folks aren’t vacuum experts. The attachment could’ve easily come already attached, or been included in the quick start instructions, or had a popup in the app when starting, but no, it was a necessary part of the vacuum that I’m sure much more people than me are never attaching to the device due to a lack of clarity. But then I notice there’s one other piece from the box that had no instructions, which was some type of filter. The filter by default would’ve had to go in the base or in the vacuum, but I’m not sure which one and the instructions don’t say, but since I had to self install the vacuum brush, I assuredly have to install this filter, right? Wrong. After thumbing through the instructions to no avail, I checked the app to no help, and eventually found an online instruction book, much different than the one provided, and more thorough, that showed where the filter goes. I popped the vacuum open to check and there’s a filter already installed so apparently they give you a spare filter as the only spare part but don’t share that information with you at all or what to do with it. Again, just an awful design. While noting the instructions, I found another note buried amongst them that says to not run the vacuum initially without charging it for four hours due to the battery coming less than full. Not the end of the world, but why would that not be on the “quick start” instructions that they want you to read when opening the package? Four hours later of charging and the vacuum can be used again, so here we go… All said, this is clearly a bare bones product from the start with a less than helpful app. Only reason it’s not getting 0 stars is that it does the thing it says it’ll do, which is vacuum, but past that, don’t look out for any bells and whistles. Lastly too I was shocked when I went to dump the debris bin afterwards that it’s VERY small, much smaller than the same brand product I owned from years ago. We live in a remarkably clean house with no kids and no pets that gets vacuumed every few days, yet this bin is full after one run? I’d skip this and spend your money on something else.

This is my third or fourth roomba. The essential vacuum is pretty basic and reminds me more of one of the older ones I had. This isn't a bad thing; it just lacks a pretty big feature that I like on my other roomba. My other roomba has a way to create a map of your home, then within the app you can view the map and create different rooms. Then you can schedule roomba to run on certain days to clean different rooms. I really like this feature and this essential roomba does not have it. So, when you schedule a cleaning, it just runs around cleaning without a sense of direction. You also cannot use Alexa or Google home to say clean kitchen and have roomba come out and clean the kitchen, instead it just cleans everywhere. I still do like this roomba as its very quiet when running. We had it going while watching TV and it was hardly noticeable. You can adjust the suction strength through the app and I just left it on medium. It gives a good balance of battery and cleaning power. It was able to clean my living, dining, kitchen, and hallway on one charge. I did go back over my rug with my Dyson vacuum and it still picked up debris. We have two short haired dogs which shed a lot and make a mess, so I wasn't surprised my dyson (running at a higher suction) picked up more dirt. I feel the roomba is good for dusting and getting under places that are hard for a regular vacuum. I would not want this to be my only vacuum, but its great at keeping the hardwood floors clean on a day-to-day basis. The auto empty dock is nice, but I hate that you have to have a bag to collect the debris. I really wish you did not need a bag and you could just empty out the bin after it collects it from the machine. I have a few times just taken the dirty bin out of the roomba and manually emptied it in the trash to just avoid having to replace the bag more often. I would recommend this if you just wanted it to help maintain your cleaning after your clean the house. If you are expecting this to do the job your regular vacuum, you will be upset. The other roomba I have works better and seems to have better suction and features, but it does cost more. If you are looking for roombas to be your main vacuum spend some more money and get one that can do mapping as it will make a huger difference. This one will work fine for me to help just maintain cleanness until I can deep clean the house.

Not ready to be sold as advertised , many issues regarding quality and functionality.

In the universe of robot vacs, the Roomba 2 Essential is a bit of a throwback to an earlier era. Aside from the auto-emptying feature, which is undeniably useful and used to be a very premium option, this model is surprisingly primitive. It's a throwback to the days when all of these robot vacs wandered blindly around your home, bumping off walls and furniture until the job, hopefully, was done. Amazingly, that's exactly how the Roomba 2 Essential operates. It has no memory. No artificial intelligence. No mapping abilities. No ability to vac only certain rooms, via the app, or respond voice commands. The options are vac everything or nothing. You can almost hear it singing "If I only had brain." As such, it just goes until it is done cleaning your entire home. Which may not actually happen since it can get stuck pretty easily. At that point, all it can do is alert you there is a problem. Game over. Reset and restart. That's pretty disappointing in this day and age, when most robot vacs are much smarter. But there is a reason for what might seem like a surprisingly low price point on this thing. This Roomba is lobotomized. That's not to say the Roomba 2 Essential s a complete waste of time. Given its limited smarts, this robot vac still does a good job of cleaning. I assume the main vac elements are the same as the more expensive models with a real brain. Regardless of whether it is working bare floors, rugs or carpet, it gets the job done. And if it does not get hung up somewhere along the way, it probably will find its way home, dock and dump all the dirt it picked up automatically. And then recharge. One nice surprise was how much quieter it is than an earlier generation Roomba I own. The end of cycle self emptying process also is a LOT quieter. My other Roomba sounds like a jet plane taking off when it gets to that point in the cleaning cycle, and a vac in the base sucks all the dirt from robot vac. The Roomba 2 Essential takes longer to empty but at a much lower decibel level. This robot vac also proves it is not completely brain dead in that it vacs in a what most would consider a normal back and forth pattern, as if you were mowing the lawn, instead of randomly wandering about until it runs into something. And then heading off in another direction. It seems to have some sensors on board to detect large solid objects ahead and to avoid cliffs, but bangs into lots of other things, like chair legs, table legs, etc. It has no map in memory so every job involves a repeat of this same learning process. Basic navigation capabilities are just fine. But its Achilles heel is a tendency to jam itself under objects that are just barely tall enough for it to get under, and then become trapped. Once you figure out where those traps are in your house, you can set up barriers to prevent that. You might also want to put up barriers around dining room tables and chairs since this Roomba can waste enormous amounts of time creeping around every leg... or getting stuck and backing out of places where it does not fit. In wide open spaces, however, it is very efficient and moves along at a good clip. As with most modern tech devices, getting the Roomba 2 Essential up and running requires an app. There are no detailed instructions included with the vac. Just a QR code which launches the app. Download, register and then follow the step by step instructions. I had a few issues since I already had another Roomba and this one had to attach to the same app, which did not happen automatically for some reason. But I finally got it working. You can run up to 10 Roombas on the same app, per iRobot. The bottom line here is the Roomba 2 Essential is probably a good choice for folks who don't have a lot of money to spend on a robot vac or have homes with simple trap-free floor plans that are easy for this robot vac to navigate. It cleans well and the auto-emptying feature is a big plus. But if you can afford to spend a little more, you probably should look for one with more smart features since that can make life a little easier. Also, be aware that with all robot vacs, there are ongoing costs for filters, vac bags and new brushes and regular maintenance (after each use in some cases) is required to keep them operating in top form.

The iRobot Roomba Vac 2 Essential Robot Vacuum is a less expensive version similar to my iRobot i8 Roomba, but with fewer features. The Auto Empty dock on the Essentials version is much more low profile. The Essential charges with contacts on the edge of the vac rather than on the bottom. It also empties from a port on the edge rather than the bottom. So, the Essential Auto Empty (and charging ) dock is not compatible with other iRobot vacs. The iRobot Roomba Vac 2 Essential Robot Vacuum comes with the Auto Empty Dock. An edge cleaning brush, a dust bag for the Auto Empty Dock and two filters also come in the box. The edge brush snaps on the underside of the Essential Robot, unlike my iRobot i8, which has a screw that holds it in place. To install the filter, you need to remove the dust bin to gain access. I was disappointed that the edge brush and filter are different i.e., not compatible with my i8’s replaceable parts. I can’t speak to the price of replacement brushes and filters yet. I installed the iRobot Roomba Essential on the second floor. It has no problem avoiding the stairs. At first it wouldn’t stay connected to my wireless network, but I moved the base, and it hasn’t had a problem since. The Essential robot seems to do a good job of vacuuming both my medium pile wall to wall carpet, my slate tile (with grout lines) in the bathroom and my hardwood flooring. My observation is that it runs a back and forth pattern and the perimeter. When it bumps into something it nudges around it or turns around if it can’t find a way around. My i8 also does a good job, but it runs a much more erratic pattern. The Essential is noticeably quieter than the i8, but seems to take considerably longer to recharge. The iRobot app is used to control the Essential (the same app also controls my i8). The Essential can be scheduled to run at certain times, but unlike the i8 cannot be scheduled to clean certain areas only. It simply cleans everything it can get to. It also does not seem to create a map with specific areas. It does provide a map of what it cleaned after each cycle. All in all, the iRobot Vac 2 Essential does a good job at cleaning. The cost is considerably less than the higher end iRobot vacs. So, if you are looking for a lower cost first robot vacuum or a lower cost second (and you don’t already have a collection of parts), this one is worth considering.

I have had a similar vacuum like this before but somehow it malfunctioned and I never replaced it. I decided to give it another try so I came upon this one. I never knew how I missed having an automatic. Vacuum. One of the things I liked about this was the ease of downloading the app and installing it on my phone. The set up was effortless and the step by step tutorial was very simple. I noticed that when the vacuum went from surface to surface, it didn’t miss a beat. What I mean by this is it started on the regular carpet, then it went to the hard floors then on a throw carpet runner I had in my foyer. Going over all these different surfaces, it adapted really well. It was low and precise when vacuuming and it also has an amazing battery life. When the vacuum was done performing, the carpet was clean and beautifully manicured. One of the things I like about this is you can set it and forget it. One word to the wise, make sure your tablecloths are up and your curtains are not hanging low. If you are on the fence about purchasing one of these, don’t be, do yourself a favor and buy this.

It's not the best robot cleaner on the market. Maybe at this price, but I think it's too much for the features it has. For starters, it's only a vacuum. It doesn't have any mopping features. I would really prefer if it had mopping included since I use this in a tiled area. Secondly, it always misses corners while vacuuming. Even on carpet, it can't clean corners. I find it quite annoying because if I want an area to be fully clean, I have to manually vacuum the corners. Thirdly, the battery is only rated to last 120 minutes. It takes multiple recharges in between to finish cleaning just one floor of my house. Fourthly, it's not possible to have this vacuum clean just one room. Something like a remote control feature would be nice for future builds. Like if the robot is just vacuuming and I tell it where to turn. Overall, this is a decent product for the price. However, the lack of features such as mopping would have me not consider purchasing this for my house. I'd rather pay extra and get features like mopping.

Nowadays everything is smart, or robotic, or smart and robotic, but Roomba is a name synonymous with robot vacuums as far as most can remember robot vacuums. The name recognition has most referring to any robot vacuum as a "Roomba," so overall, iRobot has won. The Roomba Vac 2 Essential is a solid entry level in to the space. It doesn't have all the extras of some of the other models, but, it does vacuum. Set up for this was super easy. Plug it up, scan the code on the box to download the app and you're ready to go. I thought the app would allow for all sort of crazy stuff with all the features...boy was I wrong. The feature set is very limited. All of the room mapping of other models/vacuums...absent. From the app you can tell the vacuum to vacuum, you can set a time limit, you can "call it home" you can tell it to empty itself. The basics. With that said, it DOES vacuum. That's what you got this for, right? In terms of vacuuming, the vacuum does a decent job. My floor wasn't a mess, but it definitely needed to be vacuumed. I was surprised with how easily the Vac 2 transitioned from the carpet of my bedroom to the floor of my bathroom and back. No assistance needed getting back up the carpet. It did vacuum for quite awhile. My room isn't necessarily large, but in the few times I used the Vac 2 i never seen it finish vacuuming, I called it home because it seemed to just keep going for over 40 minutes. The Roomba Vac 2 Essential robot vacuum is a solid entry point in to the world of robot vacuuming. With it's minimal feature set, it's so easy a caveman could do it...however, I might recommend most pick another model with more go-to moves and variety.