iRobot Roomba Combo j5

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Overall

#410 in

Robot Vacuums

according to Reddit Icon Reddit

Sentiment score60% positive
3
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2

Top Pros

Top Cons

Last updated: May 9, 2026

Reddit Reviews

Reddit Iconafurtivesquirrel
8 months ago

I got that exact one a while back. Fyi it is not the self emptying base version, no matter what the description says 😭

8 months ago

That's correct for the self-emptying version. However, they simply did not ship the self emptying version. :( (If you get the self empty version, I'll be livid)

Reddit Iconbring_dat
6 months ago

It's fine, mine j5 is 3 years in and still going. It is pretty good at cleaning the apartment, it was still a life changer. I bought cheap replacement parts and filters off Amazon and never looked back

Reddit IconKnown_Song9337
about 1 month ago

I have 7 long haired dogs and a Dreame L40S Ultra CE that I've had about 45 days now. I'm on all laminate flooring. Compared to my irobot J5 and the Roborock QRevo, this current vac gets clogged and hair wrapped less than those 2. However, I do pull the roller brush every other day and clean off the ends. My old Narwal T10 is my favorite robot mop, and is still in use. It's lacking some app features but I'm sure those have been improved for the flow. The flow was out of my price range, but it looked super promising for being resistant to hair tangle. One thing to remember when setting up is to divide rooms further than normal to get the robot to go back to base and empty the onboard bin. That will keep you from having clog issues.

Reddit IconNo-Net246
12 months ago

The Ecovac Deebot T50 Pro is awesome. I just got in a week ago. I ditched my iRobot Roomba J5 which sucked. Always got lost and stuck. The T50 has honestly been so much better and was only $650. I have 2 other iRobots that I’ll get rid of because they’re all god awful.

11 months ago

I’d highly recommend the Ecovacs T50 pro. I just got that after having a Roomba J5 which was awful. The Ecovacs does an absolute awesome job mopping and vacuums pretty well too. It has 2 spinning mopping pads which extend to get corners and close to the walls. The mapping is really good and it always finds its way back to the base, which the roomba never did.

Reddit IconOaksInSnow
10 months ago

I bought a mid-to-upper model Roborock a little over a year ago, after having tried my daughter's (somewhat old) Roomba. I ended up returning it because it did stupid stuff like drop its rollers out when it went over a floor vent. (??!?) And because after I ran it and found very little in its bin, I ran my daughter's six-year-old Roomba and it sucked up a LOT of hair. Maybe the Roborock I got was a lemon, since I'm hearing that other people think it does just fine. I loved its app - iRobot's app is not very user-friendly. But the goal is cleaning, not playing with an app, so I got a Roomba J5. Good cleaning. Added a J7 later on because I didn't want to tote the J5 to different levels of the house. I'd say the J5 is smarter than the J7, for some strange reason. J7 gets stuck at the top of a "cliff" (stairs) from time to time, and the J5 never did. Maybe the J7's camera is less capable. Heads up on Roombas: they require enough ambient light for their cameras to work. They're not into LiDAR navigation, which would allow them to do their job at night with all the lights off. Just in case that makes a difference to you. I haven't had a chance to personally compare performance between the i and the J models of Roombas, but went with J because I wanted the greater suction power that is advertised to come with them. Edit - PS re blow dryer for undercoat. I've found the best tool for GSD undercoat issues is an old-fashioned, low-tech undercoat rake. My present girl has a pretty short coat for a GSD, but wow that rake can really pull it; and she feels the difference. Something like this: [Amazon undercoat rake link](https://www.amazon.com/Coastal-Pet-Undercoat-Designed-Undercoats/dp/B0083TSC64/ref=sr_1_9?crid=J4X43SSVX9PI&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.2GaHbloLLXTdo2hjKm_oN6gb_cbIKNYd7UFh9e43Q6ogcCWKCY9vL4O1MdIff7VBUMbvZMfahjPK6CoBQH3wjXji1drTidQ5tYydwaw2GdFLCqMkElUijPLNAu_O0rPCbMTNI5Xa4gg137VrHl2elQH8Qf6DdGDMkdfOpMBbIK77IK_kRb98iO-COLDsb9L-Rgzc0HW1fcDDjEBQjylfrqXGAkNGH1i7I70Pypgpt87dqHzSUkzm2Smkw1zGclbo2pqp8XlX7lXGnZSkMFT0cVRtxg7XGTAOOWV3ID_VMMs.jA93VyAAfUBWBT-szQymuBvblJC8wB55Q0eCgTBf6js&dib_tag=se&keywords=dog%2Bundercoat%2Brake&qid=1751840435&sprefix=dog%2Bundercoat%2Caps%2C149&sr=8-9&th=1) No need to spend a fortune.

Reddit IconSearwyn_T
12 months ago

I have the Roomba J5 and it works wonders. We have a husky, a husky mix, and a long haired supermutt and it's a trooper

Reddit Iconslain2212
9 months ago

A roomba. We have a J5. You can run them every day with minimal effort, and they do a pretty good job, and then just go over once a week with your regular vacuum. We have tiles, and it does a great job. But this week, through a series of unusual events, I ended up using my roomba on medium pile carpet that is original to our late 90's home, and omfg the hair and dander is pulled up is insane. I'm disgusted. We vacuum it once a week with an upright bissel, but apparently, the roomba is so so so much better. For the couch, I have a handheld pet bissel and a reusable lint roller which work amazing. I have 2 blue heelers and a cat.

Reddit IconTasty_Pool8812
8 months ago

I'm really happy with my j5+. Every run is fine and I have ~450 hours on it. It's navigation sucks compared to my lidar bots and it can't run in the dark. It also seems like the older combos are less reliable. With that being said it vacuums well and has good obstacle avoidance. It can handle insane messes thanks to the bin sensors

10 months ago

Obstacle detection/avoidance of the j series is good, it's the navigation that is problematic (hard hitting walls/furniture, poor coverage, and getting lost) I feel that this model needs better anti-tangling tech to be more competitive

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