iRobot - Roomba s9+

I have three shorthair cats and live in an apartment that is mostly medium pile carpet. In my experience vacuums that have rollers with combination rubber and bristles do better at combing pet hair out of carpet fibers than ones with all rubber rollers. A lot of reviewers do pet hair tests by scattering small clumps or individual strands of hair on top of carpet and that's not the whole story in real life. The hairs work their way down into the carpet and it takes aggressive agitation and strong suction to get them out. If carpet performance is paramount, get the Dyson Visnav or if you don't mind used, the Roomba S9+. Older Roombas that bounce around randomly and have the dual rollers with a separate rubber and bristle roller are also great at carpet combing. I keep a 690 around just for that reason even though I also have had newer vac and mop combo robots.

I didn’t read all the comments, but the answer lies in the fact that Vacuum Wars updated some of their tests, and as a result of retesting, naturally the rankings changed. In response to those call on long term testing, that would be unreliable if just from a single source. The best form of long term testing would involves statistically significant surveys of long term owners. As far as I know, very few reviewers would do that as they are full time engaged in reviewing new products (which may or may not be a devious strategy by the industry to keep our eyes of the prize). Australia’s Choice magazine (and website) does surveys like I mentioned, but as I am not currently subscribed, I don’t know if that has ever included robot vacuums. For my 2c worth, while they have been mechanically reliable, the iRobot Roomba s9+ and Braava M6 have gone downhill over my three years of ownership due to declining mapping and navigation performance. Therein lies another problem with long term reviews: who is interested when they are buying in considering one, two or three years old models with far fewer features?

Hello, i have s9+ all that years from release. I readed many post about new robots and how it become better and better, but its really much better? Its worth to change or rather keep s9+ as long as it work?

yeah it works but i never was 100% happy about it, thats why i asked this question. Its really feel like completly new generation or just a little upgrade?

Mine is going strong!

S9+ I bought mine used and no problems in the two years that I have had it. I like the D shape and the features. No problems vacuuming my small area rugs.

I bought mine in 2020 and it’s still going. Most of any issues I’ve had with it are usually dust accumulation. Simple cleaning usually takes care of it

The [iRobot s9+](https://amzn.to/3ZvQee5) is pretty awesome.  Have to dump it once every other month, or once a month if you have pets.  Low profile so gets under furniture.  Smart mapping.  Deep cleans on dirty spots on its own.    They are really the best brand out there. My iRobot does twice the work of the Roomba I had previously bought.   They are almost half price due to cyber monday deals.  So I would pick one up now.  

Unfortunately no. I haven't found any that are reliable for missing upset stomachs

I think the S9+ is the best option. I've tried a lot of flagship robots and it still amazes me how much better it is at vacuuming on carpet than everything else (except Dyson). Since it doesn't have obstacle avoidance, you just have to make sure to keep the floor clear of things it shouldn't eat... mainly cords.

I have been using the S9+ for 5 years and it's been fantastic. Excellent vacuum performance... Way better than J9/10 and anything from Dreame, Roborock, etc. I've also never had any issues with navigation, which I can't say the same for Dreame, Ecovacs, and the new Freo Z that I've had. The most significant downside of the roomba is that you need to clean hair tangles from the roller spindles regularly. The Dyson has even better suction, and apparently doesn't get hair tangles. But it doesn't have auto-empty bin, so you have to empty it manually regularly. It also has edge suction which seems more effective on carpet than side brush.

It depends on the Roomba... The S9+ is the best, followed by the J9/10. The Dyson VizNav is the only thing that can kill out more, but at full power I believe it only has a 12 minute runtime. And it has other issues being a robot. Dreame and Roborock have adopted the dual rollers design, but the actual performance of those don't remotely compare.

Dyson 360 viz nav is best for carpet pickup. Roomba S9+ is second, and provides the important convenience of auto-empty. Roomba J9+ is third and adds great object avoidance. Nothing else is in the ballpark for carpet cleaning.

Pascal numbers don't have any practical bearing on performance. Airflow, roller design, sealing, etc, are much more impactful. Pretty much all objective tests from various reviewers have highlighted the prowess of the Roomba S9 and lamented the poor carpet cleaning ability of Roborocks. Here's a particularly well done test done by Frickhelm that directly compares them: [Is an iRobot Roomba really the best for carpet deep cleaning?!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rahVXYL7e_8)

Agree completely. I've had the flagships from all the main brands, but none of them remotely clean carpet as well as the S9+. Been using it regularly for about 6 years without a single issue.

Yes. I pretty much only use my Miele canister for the stairs at this point. Most high end robots vacuum well enough on hard floors. On rugs or carpet the Roomba S9+ or Dyson are in a league of their own relative to other bots. They seem to be the only ones that can really get hair/fur/fuzz off of carpet.

In that case, it’s likely personal preference. I’m partial to iRobot and have been loyal for the better half of a decade. I wouldn’t recommend a combo robot. If you’re wanting just daily or several days a week cleaning - go for the j8 enhanced, j9 or the s9. Roborock has a pretty good rep and Narwall (spelling?) has a good rep for combo robots. Just see what your cleaning needs are. If price isn’t an issue get the most powerful one. IMO, no such thing as too clean 🤣

Unpopular opinion: iRobot. They’re easy to repair and there’s an abundance of filters and spare parts. The i5+ is a mid level entry robot. You can likely find it around $300 or just stay on the lookout for a sale. Even better mid level option, the j5+. Probably above your price range, but it’s a good investment, per say. I say that having had a Roomba 960 since 2017. A Roomba j7+ since 2021 and my most recent addition a Roomba s9+. Honestly the 960 is still a beast. I have several floors, for the record…they’re not in a closed glass case. 🤣 Roborock has some models that do well, as well. I’m not sure if them off the top of my head. PS: A combo robot just isn’t it quite yet, I wouldn’t spend the money on a combo at this point, especially at your price point. Question: what size is your place? Square feet wise.

All the i and j7 and below series vacuums have the same motor. Only the s9 and j9 have more suction, the s9 is actually better suction. On hard floors any of them will pick up the hair. The s9 will do very well on the area rugs. Not worth buying the combo models.

It’s a solid model. Cleans well, you can still get the replacement kit for it. It’s a little loud compared to the j9+ but I would say it cleans better. $200 is very reasonable.

I don’t believe the Amazon buyout happened. iRobot is overhauling the c-suite and R&D and I’m hoping 2025 and 2026 start churning out innovation. They have certainly lost market share and cutting edge technology AND they’ve managed to stay relevant, make the easiest to repair robots on the market and provide excellent customer service. The s9 is arguably still their best cleaning robot, it just doesn’t have object avoidance. It was released almost 6 years ago. I will stick with iRobot purely for the customer service and repair ability.

S9+ has not been manufactured for quite awhile but a lot of back stock is still around. I’ve gotten 2 “used-like new” on Amazon, both have ended up being brand new, for $300. Ironically, it’s also still the best performing robot they make. It has the most suction, even compared to j9.

I'm still running a Roomba S9+ and I'm yet to find something else that can handle my specific requirements. It's carpet performance is unmatched in real world performance. I do also have a Roborock Qrevo S, which was bought to replace the S9+, but it does nothing better than the Roomba (for my use case) other than the fact it can mop. I'm holding out for the Roomba 705 Combo that's apparently dropping in the next couple of months. The 705 doesn't match the carpet performance of the S9+ but if it can do a half decent job at carpets and also mop my one room with a hard floor then I'll probably end up purchasing that.

Piggybacking off of this comment; I'm solely in the market for a robovac that can deal with pet hair, specifically on a house with 95% carpet, other than the kitchen. A combo vac/mop is preferred as it would be nice to keep on top of muddy kitchen footprints during the winter/wet season, however I do get that combos aren't the best at vacuuming pet hair on carpet and that is the sole priority for me (Haven't been able to find a combo that can do a decent job on carpet). I currently own a Roomba S9+ which did a fantastic job of vacuuming pet hair, it's been average at everything else. This has now been relegated to the upstairs which is all carpet and is happily being busy getting up the pet hair and, naturally, getting stuck/hitting obstacles. I love this thing despite its flaws. To replace this downstairs I was recommended a Roborock Qrevo S, which was on an incredibly tempting offer at the time of purchase. I've had this a good few months now and, quite frankly, it's sh\*t. It can't handle pet hair, but don't get me wrong it does excel in most other categories. The mopping is great and so is the self-cleaning mop brushes and self-emptying station etc etc, but it just doesn't deal with pet hair. I'm in the market to replace this and I'm just struggling to get anywhere, most reviews praise the vacs for their pet hair performance but this is on hardwood floors or a short test on carpet, which doesn't account for the real world. The X9 Pro Omni isn't available in my region (UK) and I'm unsure on the Saros 10r due to my current experience with Roborock. The Qrevo Curv was an option in my replacement search but the price was a bit steep. Luckily I there's no budget for this next purchase so I'm happy to go all out. I am tempted on the Roomba Max 705, purely due to past experience with Roombas and the fact this is a vacuum only but this is also what's putting me off the purchase. I see the 705 combo is due out soon, but again, this is a combo robovac and I'm cautious about it's pet hair performance.

I just got the Mova p10 ultra on sale for $500 on Amazon and it’s crazy good compared to our Roomba S9+ that just died.

Shame. Mine is an absolute champ on picking stuff up. Maybe it’s just the comparison. I had a roomba s9 before, and that thing was horrid compared to this.

Sadly I have to agree on all cleanings ending in an error. The way I am able to increase my reliability with my S9+ is to divide the house up into smaller chunks and do one section at a time. It’s annoying, but with that I get the section done probably 80% of the time vs the 10% if I ask it to clean the whole house. I do think my S9+ vacuums carpet good, but less good on hardwoods. My Braava mop is a joke though. I upgraded to a Ecovac but it broke within a week and was out of stock so I switched to a Dreame L40 Ultra. Both completed their runs every attempt and took the total job time from 8+ hours (vac and mop) to under 3 hours. I have a Dyson Detect V15 with a light for showing dust and the floors looked way cleaner under that than with just the Roomba.

We have 2 Golden’s. The Roomba S9+ did a very good job at keeping up with them. Sadly, after a couple of years it developed Alzheimer’s and would loose its firmware once a week. I have replace it with a Roborock and the dog hair causes it to have a nervous breakdown weekly … 😕

I had an iRobot that was nothing but trouble but it was a great vacuum. I read that RoboRock was very reliable, so I upgraded and its terrible at both vacuuming and mopping...

We had a Roomba S9 plus, which was a great vacuum! We have two golden retrievers that shed heavily, and the Roomba handled it with ease. However, as years went on, it developed constant software issues, which finally was its end. We replaced it with a Roborock Q Revo Pro, it doesn’t stand a chance against my dogs. The roller is constantly requiring maintenance, and the vacuum port is too small to allow the dust bin to fully be emptied into the bag, it is constantly clogged. (Like the one pictured above.) We have found that the mop really just spreads the dirt around and isn’t really effective in its ability to actually clean the tile. It has a setting where you control how frequently it returns to the base to wash its mop pads which we have set to its most frequent setting. We purchased additional pads to be able to wash and replace them frequently. Over time we notice our tile and grout getting darker and darker from the ineffective vacuum and the mop just spreading it around. It has been a big disappointment!

I've tried an entry-level Roomba, and it was OK for a few years before having battery issues. I replaced it with an expensive s9+ that started having problems right after the warranty was out, and support was pretty useless. The >$1k model wasn't noticeably better than the <$400. The one big thing I did really appreciate is the self empty canister that I only needed to change monthly or so. After my wife got too annoyed with all my hacky fixes for the Roomba we went with a relatively inexpensive Roborock q7 Max which has been great so far. The only thing I miss is having the standalone self emptier. I'm sure your mileage will vary between brands and models, but so far in my experience, no the more expensive isn't worth it. I have no idea what the best is.

Don’t expect the best carpet cleaning from robot vacuums. There are a few exceptions like the Dyson VisNav, the iRobot roomba S9+, and the Electrolux trilobite (which is as old as the organism it gets its name from).

As of now, there isn’t a good iRobot roomba combo robot. They’re better for the vacuum only robots like the s9+

The Dyson VisNav will be the best for carpets with the iRobot roomba S9+ being a good choice if it doesn’t rip your carpet fibers out. Your available choices depend on your purchasing region. As such, I cannot recommend robots without knowing your purchasing region. Advertised suction power doesn’t matter. They’re often measured right at the inlet of the vacuum motor which often doesn’t translate to the same or similar value on the ground where suction is happening. Suction itself ≠ good cleaning ability as this depends on a lot more. Combo robots generally do worse than vacuum only robots as there’s only so much you can stuff into a tiny circle with a diameter of 35cm. There are trade offs. If the robot cannot avoid the mop contacting the carpet (usually done by removing it or putting on top of its head which is what roombas do), the mop will drag and also negatively affect carpet cleaning.

Irobot s9+ refurbished. Good power and a bin full sensor.

Look at alternatives to Roomba, such as Dreame, Eufy, and Roborock. Roomba has fallen far behind the compition. Take a look at Vacuum Wars for their ratings of the best robot vacuums, https://vacuumwars.com/best-vacuum-cleaners/robot-vacuums. There are multiple options at various price points, depending on what features you want. I own a Roborock S8 Pro Ultra and Roborock Qrevo Master, and had a Roomba S9+ prior to these.

If u want only vaccuming Roomba S9+ is a great choice, but if u want to buy vaccum + mop I'd recommend u to check vacuum wars on YouTube or their website.

It boggles my mind why this doesn't get a zillion five star reviews it's changed my life! https://a.co/d/gikCS8m

Agreed. Mine is still going strong and I purchased it right after release. Mind you, I use it only once a week but I have no complaints. It's made a world of difference with dust on my hardwood floors.

In my opinion they've actually gotten worse because of trying to combine too much in one small package. IMO Roborock makes really pretty looking machines that are terrible vacuums. I miss the days when I could just have a clean floor and rugs, and not have debris being stuck inside the bin or get spit out on the floor because the openings for dust/dirt/hair/rugs etc are too small on the inside. I've had robot vacuums for at least 10 years. I think the S9+ from iRobot was the best. It bumped into stuff, but it was by far the best vacuum.

Still works. Kind of loud on hard floors.

Seriously, we have an s9+ also and it’s a beast on carpet.

Only have had one, Roomba S9+, and after 3.5 years it has a wheel that is loose or something, and a scratched faceplate that prevents it from docking. I find it super frustrating that I can't see where it is until it ends a job, and that I can't get it to clean a specific area without creating a permanent new zone. I also have to be careful to pick everything up or it will get stuck after destroying my kids toys. I don't recommend it. I'm in the market for a new one and Roborock comes up a lot here. Dreame is supposed to be better for object avoiding but I also need good homeassistant integration and that seems to be lagging. So I'm at an impasse. 

It's, very simply put, one of the greatest robot vacuums ever released. One in which you can clearly see the extreme R&D effort the company put in while engineering it - which is something 99% of other products in the same class (and many classes above too) lack. Is it a perfect product? No, it has its own issues (most notably, quick wear & tear of tyres and brush rollers - also depending on the type of floor you have - and a navigation that may not make perfect sense to humans if you remain watching it for the whole cleaning session, as well as an app that is a bit glitchy at times), but nonetheless it's one of the best robot ***vacuum cleaners*** released in the last 10 years.

I really appreciate someone bringing this up! As a design geek, I always struggle when I have to make purchase decisions because not always I find something that I consider "well designed". The robot vacuums category is one of these... However, here some robot vacuums that have a design worth talking about (of course, things need to be contextualised for their time). In completely random order: - **Roomba s9**: a sleek and professional finish, the first (and only) D-shaped Roomba, taking advantage of its shape and bringing to market the best edge cleaning ever (before robot vacuums with extensible side brush were a thing) together with one of the best vacuuming performances ever. - **Roomba i3**: the first one of the newly engineered Roomba mid-range series, bringing to "budget" conscious consumers a new methodical navigation method, together with a modern aesthetics which drops the carrying handle for a new fabric-textured top finish and with modern, clean lines. - **Philips (Versuni) HomeRun 7000**: not a particularly noteworthy product, however a robot vacuum distancing itself from the competition thanks to the typical Philips design, with dual-finish robot and fabric emptying base. Not the best result, but at least an attempt to bring an externally developed product (ODM'd by 3irobotix) in line with the company design style (uses for instance with air purifiers etc). - **Roomba j7/j9+**: distancing itself from its predecessor (Roomba i7, with a good looking "techy" design), it brings a much cleaner design, more minimal, and enriched by a metallic disc on top together with a UI based on the RGB light around the only button (not the most intuitive one, but an attempt to do something different). It also features a newly redesigned self-emptying station, now developed in a much more compact and modern-looking form factor, thing that will be later copied by most other manufacturers. - **Neato Botvac lineup**: overall, Neato products have always been lacking in terms of design (an exception being the Kobold VR300, which changes the design aligning it to the family feeling of contemporary Vorwerk products), however these specific units brought more thoughtful, cleaner lines (to an extent...) together with the LiDAR tower cap in some bold, unique colours. This aesthetic didn't survive long and wasn't - overall - in line with the brand identity of Neato. Still, a good attempt. RIP. - **Dyson 360° VisNav**: not too much to say - it looks good. Perfectly matches a useful D-shaped layout with the Dyson family feeling. Balanced despite the lack of simplicity, modern in a retro-futuristic way, and functional. - **Karcher RC3000**: one of the first robot vacuums with self-emptying station (the first one?), with a bold design perfectly in line with the company identity. - **Dreame W10 Pro**: overall, similar to all other Dreame products, but in the (now abandoned) D-shaped style. Adds a gold accent to differentiate it from the "non-Pro" version which lacks the front sensor array (ToF 3D cam + RGB cam). Clean lines, clean colours, very minimal and stylish overall. - **SmartMi VortexWave**: innovative design for this unique robot vacuum and mop: D-shaped style allowing a large front brush that can be exchanged to leave its place to a roller-style mop. The first robot vacuum supporting both dry and wet vacuuming. Clean lines and a good mix of minimal and techy design. - **Electrolux Pure i9.2 (also AEG RX9.2)**: one one-of-a-kind. The genuine successor of the original Electrolux Trilobite. Developed in-house by Electrolux, this product was one of the first to implement small obstacles avoidance (2017 for the first gen Pure i9) thanks to its navigation method fully based on dual-line lasers. Overall an excellent product, unfortunately killed by the high price, lacking marketing, and growing Chinese competition (at much cheaper prices). Futuristic design for a robot with futuristic features. - **Matic robot vacuum**: the only one that in recent years has dared to challenge the paradigm of robot vacuums. Narrower but much taller. Boxy design resembling a robotic toy, with large wheels and front, "peninsular" brush assembly. Together with a revolutionary vSLAM navigation system based on nVIDIA Jetson Orin. It has its flaws, but it's the kind of competition we need in the category. - **Narwal (in picture, Freo Z10)**: not really a worthy robot vacuum cleaner/brand overall, but one of the first brands to really bet on rotational mops, together with the distinctive clean and alien-like shape of their docks which has now been copied by many competitors. - **Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum (Roborock)**: the first LiDAR-based robot vacuum to bring LiDAR and methodical navigation to the masses, at a price that made it the the-facto standard of robot vacuum recommendations in 2016/2017. Together with the new technology at low price, it brought to the market a modern and clean design and a futuristic, intuitive app. - **DJI Romo**: too early to speak about this as a robot vacuum cleaner, but from a design perspective it takes the clean, curvy Narwal style and turns it inside-out giving it a transparent cover. Good result, but durability of the good look is still TBD. - **Mach R1** (sorry, I refuse to call this Eufy S1 Pro): birthed by the Anker Innovations incubator "Mach" (later absorbed into Eufy), it finally brings to Anker-owned Eufy a new style that was really needed. Futuristic and clean, not much to say. A very good result resembling the square-ish shape of older LG HomBot, but in a new futuristic, semi-transparent twist. That's all folks 😬 Edit: pictures in the comment below because somehow embedding doesn't work in this comment.

I still use mine for hallway, kitchen and living room and for this, it is more than okay. I won't let it in the other rooms, as "making the room ready for the roomba" is too much of a hassle. For $200 I see no reason not to use it.

I’m getting mine on Monday. Really excited for this. I have a Roomba S9+ and Braava mop right now. Use them every day to clean up dog hair and paw prints. Moving those to our office. The S9+ is actually really good at the moment but keep noticing IRobot going further downhill — just laid off 31% of their staff isn’t promising. The Braava mops nav has gotten significantly worse. My concern is how close does it clean to walls? On solid surfaces the rotating brush probably works great but what about high pile carpets? I’m guessing not as well? The rotating main cleaning elements look to be a good 3 inches from the outside edge. Really wish these YouTube videos would throw the coffee grounds near a wall with carpet!

I’m switching from IRobot soon. What’s this about a mirror? I have the S9+ that uses a camera system. It’s not bad at all. We have several floor to ceiling mirrors in our apartment. Will that be an issue?

Honestly, if it's working for you why replace it? Right now you already own it so the cost is 0 any replacement will cost more.

S9+ works great.

Was in the same situation with an aging s9+ and same reservations about Chinese companies. Ended up buying a narwal freo z that hasn't arrived yet. From my research the latest Roomba is still not great. Maybe for my next vacuum it will be a roomba but for now it seems the Chinese companies have the best units.

Yeah I hope Roomba gets their shit together so I can buy one again at some point

Probably Roomba S9+, as its one of the best vacuums out there and has the self-empty dock. Dyson 360 Nav Samsung jet bot ai+ I have a KOBOLD VR300 personally, and thats quite good. Better than Neatos bots. These bots all have a wide brush in the front, so they are far superior to round bots with central brushes.

Roomba S9+ Dyson 360 Nav Samsung Jet Bot AI+ Kobold VR7 Only the S9+ is older model, but its still one of the best bots for vacuuming. And these are all wide front brush bots, not the round middle brush compromises.

The best in terms of raw cleaning power for carpets is the roomba s9+. It is a 6 year old robot though so it dosnt have any obstacle avoidance

Ended up getting the Roomba s9+ and the suction is like woah amazing. But…. Battery on high suction isn’t great and it doesn’t have an avoidance camera. Overall I’m pleased either way my purchase. I’ll just have to keep my floors picked up all the time 😅

My only real gripe with mine is that it’s not a very powerful vacuum at default settings. Cranking up the vacuum settings results in much longer cleaning times due to needing to recharge the battery. I’m coming from a Roomba S9+ and I think it’s still wild that no other robot vacuum can out perform the S9+ for shear cleaning performance, especially on carpets. So many problems with the S9 though. The navigation and obstacle avoidance on this Saros 10R is incredible though. This thing is so efficient compared to my old S9+. So far, almost every job has been set it and forget it.

if anyone has any recs for high pile nylon carpet robot vacs i’m all ears. not a fan of how my s9+ operates.

Same. I also have two and already mourn the day they die.

Thanks so much for this, Amanda! Have been following your prime day recs and anxiously awaiting the 8th. Have a Roborock QRevo today that does a pretty good job and works well with its native app / google connectivity. Have had eye on the Saros 10R or 10 as result (replacing an iRobot S9+ which is going directly in the trash where it belongs); need it for a broad wood floor + low carpet space with a mid sized dog who sheds and a couple short thresholds that will need to be crossed (~1/4”). Surprised to hear the 10 isn’t getting a discount on the day. Is the 10 that much better than the R, or can I go with the R comfortably?

We had one of the early Roomba's for about 8 years, it was dumb and crashed into stuff but all it needed was a bit of servicing and fresh consumables every now and then. Solid bit of kit, loved it. We then upgraded to 2 x S9+ Roomba's, with an app, wifi enabled, room mapping, all the fruit. Good investment we thought.  I'm an electrician who knows my way around electronics well, am well kitted out to keep these types of things running. Anyway, the motor failed in one of them, 1 month outside of warranty. Reaching out to the local Roomba rep, they don't have parts and don't know when they are due to come in, might not honour the warranty and I need to send it to the other side of the country, freight and inspection at my expense. Cost prohibitive. Found a fan on eBay, putting the fans side by side they were identical. Works fine for now, but the paperwork that came with the motor said replace every 4 months, uh what? The other one - these models do a few laps and then go back to base to empty. Except this one errors saying the bin is full, it's not full I just saw and heard it empty out. Base and Roomba have been inspected, cleaned and components tested many times. Have power cycled and on that note, replaced the battery (because spurious errors can occur when batteries are on the way out), basically I've exhausted all suggestions I've found online. I've been quite thorough and it's looking more and more like it's nothing to do with sensors or hardware. There is nowhere in the app or web portal where you can force a firmware download, I think it's what this unit needs. The fix we are using is to force the unit to empty the bin via the app, once that happens it goes oh yeah we're good and starts vacuuming again. It turns a 2 hour job into a 6 hour job as we're not sitting here waiting to mash buttons that we shouldn't have to. Don't recommend and when these units reach end of life Roomba as a brand is done in this household.

We have a roomba S9+ that we've had since 2020. We have both hardwood floors and carpet and a Corgi and it's been an absolute beast and still going strong

I was in a similar spot to you two weeks ago. I previously had an iRobot Roomba S9+ and Braava jet M6. The Roomba would constantly eat wires and never finish a full run while the Braava was clunky and inefficient. I have really thick carpets, wife and cat that shed a lot and it always did a number on the Roomba. I also had a similar budget of $600-1000 and overall it was hard to stomach paying $400 more for a robovac. I ended up finding Dreame has an official storefront on eBay and sells X40/L40/X30’s refurbished for heavily discounted prices over there, with two year warranty from allstate instead of the warranty coming from the manufacturer. Pulled the trigger on a certified refurbished X40 for $700 from them and was hesitant doing so but it arrived in brand new condition with no signs of use or imperfections when unboxing. Have run it daily for over 15 hours now on custom turbo with mop after vac setting. It hasn’t gotten stuck once, the roller hasn’t split in half like Roomba’s had a tendency of doing, and the magnetic self cleaning mop pads have been a game changer. I’ll send the little robot to vacuum the entire house then it picks up mop pads once it’s done and there’s been no water smearing on carpet, no wires eaten, and the maintenance so far has just been dumping dirty water out each day after work. The reason ultimately I went with eBay over the manufacturer was that if you go to the subreddits of Roborock, iRobot, Dreame, Ecovacs etc you’ll see horror stories of customer support not responding or giving up on warranty support so at least the allstate warranty should be more reliable.

I have two Roomba s9s both with the emptying station. Been running them for about 6 years. Have had two XL size dogs with double coats. I found the machines frustrating in that the rollers would wear out quickly, they wouldn’t dock every time, filter problems etc. Then I stopped buying the very cheap AliExpress supplies for them and went back to iRobot branded ones - filters, bags, rollers- and most of the problems went away. Annoying.

Agreed. I take vacuumwars with a pinch of salt where the goal posts are always moving. Eufy S1 Pro has the best mopping performance according to multiple reviewers, but because it uses to much water or leaves to much water behind it loses in regards to mopping performance. Then because the rollers aren't as good on other manufacturers it can't be Eufy roller design which is good or makes the difference. Go figure. Could care less how much water is left below as it will dry on the floor or is used. Just want the best cleaning. Wish there was a chart with a break down of all his figures of all the vaccums he has tested which you could organise from top to bottom depending on your own criteria or needs. Still have my trusty iRobot S9+ which I would love to see some figures of a robot vac that beats it for deep carpet cleaning. Not saying there isn't but would love to have the aforementioned chart to see which vacs do.

I have an S9+, Braava Jet M9, and Samsung Jet Bot AI combo. Aaaaaand i still need to use a dyson or swiffer occasionally though lol. all of them have their purpose, but teamed up the work load is less to none. but that’s for 1 floor, so YMMV

My main complaint with the s9+ I had was that it could not navigate any of the rugs in my house. Cleaned carpets better than any of the robots I've tried...but...Could. Not. Figure. Out. A. Rug. It had other problems too, but good grief. Not even a 1/4" thick runner was doable.

Yes. S9+ is my absolute favourite. 4 years old and still cleans like a champ. I just cannot find replacement OEM wheels for it and am gonna retire it. J9+ has better obstacle avoidance and navigation but it never came close to the cleaning of S9. Am really hopeful this will be the best of both worlds.

705 hands down. Like takes half the time to complete vacuuming, is better at it, way quieter. I don’t think there is any way J9 can even somewhat compete with 705. 705 I find does a better job of vacuuming carpets than even the beast that was S9+.

I have been a huge S9 fan, I still have mine and it stilll is gong strong. I have a J9+ and while better in some ways, it never came close to the raw cleaning power of S9. But the new 705 Max surpasses it, I love mine and it's been running flawlessly .

Oddly, the best robot vacuum was and remains the Roomba S9+. The competition was never able to beat it. Hell, Roomba's own never models couldn't beat it.

S9+ BABYYYYYY!!!

S9+ still the goat for carpets!!! 🐐💯

Only the Dyson and roomba s9 robots perform on carpet

I’ve had many roombas from the 650, i7, S9x3 (they sent me 3 replacements), and a braava jet 240. They work good for awhile, but the crappy software updates, constant errors and resets broke me. I seriously love iRobot hardware vacuum performance as in the amount of dirt they pick up, but the software is absolute garbage and a vacuum is completely useless if it can’t navigate correctly. I still have my first 650 bouncing around in my basement and the i7 has been moved to garage duty. The S9 ended up in pieces. My main two robot vacuums are roborocks and I love their navigation. I wish I could take the navigation from a Roborock and put it into a roomba.

You forgot the most important question which is what your budget is. I have 2 German shedders and a chocolate lab. I've had an S9 that worked pretty well for the last 5 years on hard floors. Technology and anti-long hair tangle has come a long way and, almost any new bot in the mid-range or premium range are going to do great at anti-tangle. I know people really don't like roomba right now but, my max705 just did my while 900 sq/ft space without puking out clumps of hair like my S9 would, on a single pass. I tested a Dreame X50 too and frankly it was about the same result there too albeit the dreame did it much more quietly.

I agree with everyone saying to replace the parts if it gets wonky on you. I’ve had my s9 for going on six years. Four dogs, two homes, combo carpet and hardwood. I’ve only had to repair it once, and it was super simple! YouTube made it easy, lol. Also, if you have rugs that are being torn up / tearing up the roomba, I would just block that zone off from the machine. Unfortunately, most area rugs I’ve found are the enemy of all vacuums and vice versa.

In my opinion the S9 is the top carpet cleaning robot around. I have 2. I don't know what I would buy when they fail. I don't think anyone has ever made a better robot carpet cleaner.

My s9 gets stuck on a 9 mm treshhold. Then again that was only one of its many issues. Glad I finally got a brand that actually works, I have 3 roombas, all were expensive paperweights

That's where mine got stuck. Every damn time.

In my experience, over a few months, it doesn’t mop or vacuum very well. The roller mop bounces and is not consistent. The vacuum leaves springs of hair around the floor for us to pick up, rather then vacuum. Its experienced errors, which SwitchBot repaired and sent back with more issues then when it was sent. They agreed something happened during repair and offered a full refund. I will not buy another one and will stick with our iRobot s9. Gets stuck a lot but it vacuums really well

When they work. They are amazing. I had a roomba s9 for two years and it was misery. Rarely worked, constant issues, terrible mapping. Every morning it was a game to see where it got stuck or why it didn’t finish its job. Sometimes it was just sitting in the middle of my hardwood floor and said stuck. A month ago I bought the Freo an ultra after tons of research and it’s a game changer. I have three dogs so ever other day I had dog hair tumbles all over. No more. The thing works flawlessly (though the app is kind of finicky). The mopping is great. You still do need manual vacuum from time to time but it really helps cut down how often.

You do not need to have it running on max. Auto mode is doing most of the time a better job since it also slows down while detecting more dust (the slowdown does not happen with max mode). Once in a while let it run it max mode for a specific room. An EOL option is the AEG RX 9.2 that according to my testing (my yt channel is linked in my profile) also beats a Dyson Vis Nav (but only with carpets) but i need to retest it with my latest test procedure (i am using certified test dust). Here you have one test how they outperform a s9 in a birdsand scenario ( [https://youtu.be/rahVXYL7e\_8](https://youtu.be/rahVXYL7e_8) ) and some more testing of the Vis Nav [https://youtu.be/raBVxedCf\_M](https://youtu.be/raBVxedCf_M)

Allmost all robots are a downgrade regarding cleaning performance - it is really a shame that iRobot abandoned the "s plattform". In the current iRobot-Pieca universe nothing (also current models like the 705 max (i have not tested the combo yet)) is even close to the s9 in regarding cleaning performance. I have tested 2 other robots so far dominating the s9 in every test i do (carpet and hardfloor) - both are also vac only robots with one being pretty much EOL. Everything else vacuums not very well and even mopping does not archive the same level of just dust removal most of the time depending on your flooring. You can find various examples for this on my channel. A funny sidenote : the 205 combo is able to clean my laminate grouts with mopping while all other fancy spinning mops, roller mops and so on fail. But more on this later :D.

I will say iRobot has been on a losing streak since the J7 but I have a 980 and a S9 my 980 has been cleaning for 650 hours at this point my S9 about half that I haven’t had a single problem with my 980 but I did have a problem with my cleaning head module on my S9 and they sent a replacement no problem

I bought a roomba S9 and it's great. Got it at the auction and replaced most parts with Amazon parts.

It is extremely good at cleaning and avoiding obstacles. It not only memorizes obstacles but takes a photo of them that the user can touch while viewing the map to bring up the photo and to rename the type of obstacle if desired. The unit was an upgrade from a Roomba S9. That unit did a good job of vacuuming but was very prone to having problems with obstacles. For example, it would launch itself up onto the circular rod -like bases of several of my chairs and become stuck there. They Roborock 10R correctly recognized all of the bases as something to avoid. Some of them get labeled as chair bases and others simply as wires. **It has avoided every obstacle.** The first few times I ran the unit it stayed several inches away from all obstacles. Once it had completed several runs it began to come close to the obstacles but still avoided them–Getting close to obstacles to clean by them without touching them is great. It does a great job of vacuuming and mopping. I have read some reviews that rank the 10R is better than the 10. Very happy with the 10R.

Really? I have two Roborocks Q5s and they are definitely inferior to iRobot’s S9 which I also have. Worse mapping, worse suction by far. The Q5 struggles with any elevation differences: it struggles to get over thin rugs or floor transition strips. That said, I got the Q5 at a cheap price and it’s been OK. I would just rather the S9 if the price was equal. Of course, Roomba has its own problems.

I bought the Roborock Q5 max after 2 years of constant nightmares with iRobot S9. It’s amazing how quickly it learned my downstairs and cleans without banging into baseboards and furniture. Definitely recommend Roborock!

Thank you for this. I too have gone through 3 S9s and have finally had enough of its shenanigans. I think I’m going to give this one a shot.

As a long time iRobot fanboy, I couldn't disagree more. iRobot is waaaaay behind in tech and their support is absolutely disgraceful. I purchased their two of their flagship bundles S9/M6 and went through about 6 replacements over the course of their warranty. They are both in the garbage now because they stopped working and there was no way to fix them.

I'm not sure what you mean, but the S9/M6 combo was released with a known set of defects in its chipset that caused the product to brick. I received an apology letter from the CPO for this (form letter - not just me). They outsourced development to a firm in China, and released it even though they knew it was going to cause defects. They failed to invest in R&D. Amazon almost bought them out but it was cancelled due to regulartory hurdles.

While I’ve heard the carpet performance was supposed to be good - after a few attempts to have a reliable working S9, it feels like everything else about it was poor.

https://preview.redd.it/l9iwh6cg7a7f1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ea0d86576ff93a263eefde67c4e2548518c5c11a The only way to rock an s9, is with tractor tires…..so much better at transitions and deeper carpet.

s9 was and still is a beast at carpeting and hard wood. If it works consistently, doesn’t self destruct or boot loop. If the lid contacts don’t get crushed and need to be constantly pulled up or the rollers don’t load up with hair and melt the CHM. Yeah. Great vac all problems aside. Love the highest level jet engine sound!!! However, it’s Plagued with issues and hall sensor problems affecting lid and bumper, cable jiggles, a frame/carcass that flexes and causes all kinds of issues. Some very poor design decisions that would be awesome to fix and make an s10. Never gonna see it. And that top case that just snaps on….the suction motor grill on the inside of the body where it can get loose and contacts the motor. Yeah. Great stuff…..when they work.

iRobot s9 is awful.

I have an S8+ and 2 huskies and a German shepherd and the S8+ is absolutely awful for dog hair on carpets. Hard floor it does just fine, but it really cannot handle carpets. The Roomba S9 is way better in that regard. Had one that got stolen so replaced it with the Roborock and hate it every day.

Our roomba tries to keep up. Hal (main floor roomba) needs maintenance every few days. But man 2 days where Hal is off duty and you can see it. The tumbleweeds roll in. Hal doesn’t replace vacuuming or steam cleaning area rugs. He does however help keep the dusting down and limits the tumbleweeds . My better half will tell me don’t pause Hal he is doing https://preview.redd.it/7mmkuro4c1ef1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4fd808d8cc6c7e830934f5fb947860ae71518915 Gods work ROFL. We have 3 dogs 2 super shedders GSD and Husky/GSD mix and 1 wire hair terrier. This year we have had to even vacuum dogs as well. They are so worth it! ❤️❤️❤️

Get a roomba with the self-emptying base station. Pays for itself 10 times over.

We love ours. We have one for upstairs and downstairs. Don’t try to get a cheap one, we did that and went through a couple of them pretty quickly. Now we have two good ones (iRobot) with the bin that they self empty into when they get full. We have three kids, two dogs, and a cat that sheds more than both dogs combined, and having robot vacuums has been a game changer. Before we got the one with the bins, it would get full and need emptying before it finished a whole cycle. Now it goes and empties itself and then goes back to cleaning. It’s some trial and error at first. Just run it the first few times when you’re watching it to see where it has any problems. Then you can try to adjust any problem areas. Our upstairs vacuum doesn’t go into the bedrooms because the kids have lots of tiny Barbie shoes and stuff. We have them clean up good and just regular vacuum real quick every other week or so (and we keep bedroom doors closed so the pets don’t go in there to keep hair shedding out). But the robot keeps the main areas of the house from getting hairballs and dirty. We recently got a robot mop as well, and that has been awesome! I feel like it’s just like having any other vacuum. You have to get everything picked up off the floor before you start. You wouldn’t start regular vacuuming with things still on the floor. If there are areas that it gets stuck often, either block it off or try to adjust any problem areas. We usually pull all of the dining room chairs away from the table so that it can get a good clean under the table and around it. We run the vacuums & mop anytime we leave the house, and it’s so nice coming home to freshly vacuumed and mopped floors!

I bought one well over a year ago possibly on year 2. iRobot self emptying. If it only lasted a year I’d buy another one. It works as well as it did when I bought it. I replace the rollers and the brush thingy like twice. Get the iRobot replacement the knock off parts lasted like a week. I have all tile. Bedroom is carpet. If it runs everyday it’s not a problem on carpet. If it’s a few days of fur it creates nests I just hand pick up. I don’t have to do this if it runs daily. Completely worth it. I also live near a beach and it straight picks up all the sand too. It’s great. Never not having one.

I guess I’m the outlier here but I love mine. I have the self emptying, mapping Roomba. It mapped my space great and does a really good job cleaning. Self emptying is the best upgrade, as I previously had a much cheaper model and haaaated emptying that thing constantly.

I have a Roomba that I picked up from Costco. It can be controlled via app and it has a self emptying base.

We’ve used a self emptying Roomba for years. 3 dogs, a Basset, a Lab, and a Terrier. All are moderate shedders and fur accumulation is a problem. All three are indoor/outdoor dogs and mud is a consideration for us. We have area rugs from Costco that help dry paws and pick up some dirt. We launder them at a coin-op each month to save wear and tear on our washer. The Roomba is fine for keeping visible areas tidy, but one pass on the floor and the internal bin will fill with fur and dust. We still vacuum with a stick vac in corners and under furniture, Roomba can’t reach. No mopping robot can keep up with mud from paws if you live in a rainy muddy area. Invest in a good Swiffer wet mop or a light weight bucket based mop.

I started with a eufy and it was pretty good on all hardwood floors. It would pile some fire up in the corners I could pick up. But then I upgraded to a roomba with the self emptying thing and I love it. The app and tutorials are very helpful.

I have the Wyze robot vac and a roomba self emptying vac. I vastly prefer the performance of the wyze vac.

I have a self emptying roomba vacuum. It runs daily at 9:30 am, recharges and empties itself, then finishes rhe rest around 2 in the afternoon. I live on a horse farm with 4 dogs and 5 cats and only if its muddy do shoes come off at the door. That robot is a wonderful thing.

I have an IRobot Roomba self emptying one! It literally just got done vacuuming. Genuinely LIFE CHANGING. I got mine as a Christmas gift and it’s great but I’d probably go with the Shark 2 in 1 self emptying robot mop/vacuum when my Roomba dies. I run mine at least 2 times a day and I think it helps keep it where hairballs don’t build up and get stuck in it.

Two huskies here. We have a self emptying Roomba. We run it 5 days a week. I have to keep up with the replacement parts, or it starts just wadding up hair and leaving it in chunks. But even that cuts manual cleaning time, because I can just take the hand vac to the chunks. We've had it since 2021.