iRobot Roomba E5 (5150) Robot Vacuum – Wi-Fi Connected, Works with Alexa, Ideal for Pet Hair, Carpets, Hard, Self-Charging Robotic Vacuum, Black

Best purchase I’ve ever made
Update: Still going strong and loving my Roomba (we call him “Wadsworth”) almost 3 years later. I had to replace a part, but it was a breeze to order on the app and easy to install. A couple other small parts will eventually need to be replaced due to normal wear and tear. I had to slightly disassemble recently to remove some hair that had become wrapped around a part, but it was simple and it’s working perfectly again.I usually don’t think much about this vacuum because it vacuums according to my schedule and charges itself. I just have to empty it occasionally. Overall, this vacuum was an excellent buy and changed my life. Whenever it’s finally ready to be retired, I will be buying another Roomba.Original review: I love my Roomba.I toyed with the idea of getting a Roomba, as well as the specific model I wanted, for months before purchasing. I finally decided on the E5 for my two-bedroom apartment, and I’ve used it for three months prior to writing this review.I have two cats, and hardwood floors with area rugs. The Roomba cleans both surfaces extremely well and with ease. I empty the compartment 1-2 times per week and I’m always amazed at the amount of cat hair, dust, and dirt this thing sucks up. The amount of suction is great and quite strong. I don’t need a separate vacuum – this cleans my house very well. If it detects a dry spill or area of dirt while doing a cleaning job, it automatically goes into spot clean mode (circling in smaller then increasingly wider circles,) then resumes normal vacuuming. The spot-clean feature can also be used any time with the touch of a button.The app is great and the Roomba is fully controllable through that feature. I have scheduled it to vacuum every day before we wake up in the morning. It’s not completely quiet, but it’s not as loud as a typical vacuum. The noise level is tolerable and I don’t find it disruptive unless I’m watching TV. I usually sleep through the daily cleaning cycle, and I can check the cleaning history log on the app to ensure it’s been working.It usually cleans successfully and returns itself back to the base to charge without a problem. It can find its way out of tight spaces and slows down if it senses an approaching obstacle. There is a bumper on the front for when it makes contact with walls, chairs, etc. There is a little spinning brush that sweeps along edges thoroughly. This model (E5) doesn’t have the smart mapping feature but it does such a great job I honestly don’t see the need to spend more for that feature in my two-bedroom apartment.If it has any “mishaps” (approaches a “cliff,” gets tangled in a wire, stuck, needs to be emptied, etc.) it stops and an alert pops up on my phone. It’s very easy to disassemble/reassemble if a cord is left on the floor and gets wrapped around the rollers. Emptying it is a breeze as well and it holds a decent amount before becoming full.The one downside with this and all Roombas is pet accidents. If you have a pet that has an issue with housetraining I highly advise that you do NOT buy this vacuum. One time my cat vomited under the dining room table and the Roomba found it. I caught it before it left the room but the damage was done. Partially digested cat food was ground into my area rug and on every inner surface, underside, and wheel of the Roomba. It took at least an hour to clean it out with Q-tips to get it all of the nooks and crannies. I’m not sure how to improve on this on future models, except maybe a sensor on the bottom of the Roomba that deactivates it when it senses moisture.Besides that one caveat, this is an amazing device and I’m not exaggerating to say that it’s changed my life. My home has never been more clean and the piles of cat hair that used to accumulate daily are gone. I never realized how dirty my home was until I got the Roomba and I plan on having and using one forever.I did a ton of research before buying, and at first I was sure I wanted the smart mapping technology. However, this model has just the right amount of features and power without breaking the bank. For larger homes the mapping feature may prove useful, but for my use this unit is perfect. I’m extremely happy with it and highly recommend it to anyone else who is busy, hates vacuuming, or simply wants a cleaner home.

Not a “smart” vacuum, but still way better at it than me
I got this because vacuuming is always the “stretch goal” when I’m cleaning my apartment (meaning it doesn’t get done), and also I shed like a golden retriever. My carpet was, frankly, gross. Any time I rubbed my hand across it in circles a few times, I’d stir up enough of my own discarded strands to build a hairball homunculus. Not great.This Roomba, however, IS great. The E5 (mine is named Emily) is actually much better at vacuuming than my regular, non-robot vacuum. She requires fewer passes to get a deeper clean, AND she’s not reliant on me making the choice to spend time vacuuming. Amazing, exactly what I wanted. On her maiden voyage, she gathered an intimidating amount of hair (which I then had to remove from her whipper arm and rubber, non-tangling rollers), but has found less and less on every trip since then – she’s made a noticeable impact on my floors.However, she does lack any kind of mapping capability. This limits what I can tell her to do – she doesn’t support cleaning specific zones, because she doesn’t know where they are. She just wanders through the apartment, somewhat at random (STILL better than I would do it) and eventually finds her way to her home base, most of the time.Emily has no way of recalling the location of her home base, so she just moseys until she can sniff it out with its line-of-sight infra-red signal. I moved the base to a central location of my (650 sq ft) apartment and she’s had better luck finding it, but I can’t figure out how she decides whether it’s time. Sometimes she just abruptly decides her work is complete (with a 60% full battery and not-full dust bin) and sometimes she cheerfully trundles on at an alarming 10% battery, with no indication she’s even thinking about it. I usually get nervous and send her home via the app (once she gets the signal, sometimes I try to help herd her by blocking her from the far reaches of the apartment).I do have to empty her dust bin after each journey, which I’m not bothered by, but you might be. I also check her arm and rollers each time due to the aforementioned gobs of hair, but this is not strictly necessary. I would characterize Emily as moderately loud – it’d be annoying to do a phone call or watch a movie while she’s running, but having a conversation in the same room is no problem, and my cat doesn’t seem overly bothered by her. She does get louder on hard floors than on carpet.Overall, if you’re expecting a smart robot that will strategically clean your entire home and then go back to its base in a logical fashion, this is NOT the robot you want. Emily supports one scheduled start on each day of the week, so she’s actually doubling as my alarm clock, which is a fun bonus. I’m just having her run every day on a schedule and letting her wander as her whims guide her, on the assumption that she will basically cover everything over the course of the week. If I really, really needed a specific area cleaned, I’d pick her up and carry her there before setting her loose.Perfect? No.Way, WAY better than I was doing? Unquestionably yes.

I bought my first Roomba September, 2020. It has served me well. It was way better than my first robot vacuum (brand not mentioned). It cleaned 500 sqm of living space 3x a week, a 300 sqm basement 1x a week and 3 bedrooms (400 sqm) 1x a week. Nonstop for all the 4 years. Carpet, wood flooring, rugs – it was able to tackle the job. I only had to replace the filter and the rollers once during the 4 years. This week, I decided to replace it as its suction power has greatly reduced. Of course, I can have it fixed (for approx C$100) but I decided to upgrade into a different model. I still chose Roomba as I was happy with my first one. I hope this new model lasts longer than 4 years (I hate throwing electronics and adding to our waste).

Aspira bien, pero tiene problemas para conectarse con su base.La comunicación con Alexa esta fatal, a cada rato hay que borrar y reinstalar el “skill” en la app de Alexa.