
iRobot - Roomba s9+
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Based on 1 year's data from Mar 28, 2026 How it works
Liked most:
48
5
"did a fantastic job of vacuuming pet hair ... happily being busy getting up the pet hair ... I love this thing despite its flaws."
"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."
39
7
"did a fantastic job of vacuuming pet hair ... happily being busy getting up the pet hair ... I love this thing despite its flaws."
"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."
15
1
"Self emptying is the best upgrade ... haaaated emptying that thing constantly"
"I upgraded to a roomba with the self emptying thing and I love it."
"It runs daily at 9:30 am, recharges and empties itself, then finishes rhe rest around 2 in the afternoon. ... That robot is a wonderful thing."
34
7
"Como vivemos num apartamento também de piso único mas grande, com 3 gatos (1 é persa), ele basicamente é quem limpa o chão."
"ele apercebe-se de obstáculos ... tem um pet sense? então desvia-se de vomitados (bolas de pelo). Supostamente desvia-se de cócós."
"did a fantastic job of vacuuming pet hair ... happily being busy getting up the pet hair ... I love this thing despite its flaws."
16
10
"I’ve had my s9 for going on six years. ... Four dogs, two homes, combo carpet and hardwood."
"S9+ is my absolute favourite. 4 years old and still cleans like a champ."
"I've had my roomba for like 5 years now.. We have 3 big dogs and a cat, in a small house. Still works great, I've replaced the brushes and obviously the filters on it but it still works awesome."
Disliked most:
0
23
"I then watched it hump my speaker stand for 45 minutes. Because it couldn't tell it wasn't moving on my carpet. It would hit something, try to back up, but because it was on carpet it needed to roll the nap the other way so the first quarter turn of the wheel it wasn't moving, then try to turn, and the corner would bump on the wall, it would wiggle, then do the exact same thing over and over."
"the crappy software updates, constant errors and resets broke me."
"the software is absolute garbage and a vacuum is completely useless if it can navigate correctly."
2
23
"I also have to be careful to pick everything up or it will get stuck after destroying my kids toys."
"I then watched it hump my speaker stand for 45 minutes. Because it couldn't tell it wasn't moving on my carpet. It would hit something, try to back up, but because it was on carpet it needed to roll the nap the other way so the first quarter turn of the wheel it wasn't moving, then try to turn, and the corner would bump on the wall, it would wiggle, then do the exact same thing over and over."
"the software is absolute garbage and a vacuum is completely useless if it can navigate correctly."
9
15
"It also tangled hair like a motherfucker and it got bad enough that it broke multiple rollers."
"or the rollers don’t load up with hair and melt the CHM."
"The S9 ended up in pieces."
2
6
"It also tangled hair like a motherfucker and it got bad enough that it broke multiple rollers."
"or the rollers don’t load up with hair and melt the CHM."
"It would sorta just push pet hair around, and constantly get so much hair stuck the brush would break."
1
4
"before the S9/J9 were an actual nuisance with noise."
"Vacuum is so loud that it only makes sense to run when not home."
"Kind of loud on hard floors."
S9+ Roomba also. In theory any D-shaped bot
D-shaped robots are superior in some regards, but in most they are worse. From navigation to main brush pressure, to side brush placement. It's just very difficult to make it work. It makes sense why the round ones won. That's coming from someone who owned a Neato D5 and a Roomba S9+, on black friday I will finally switch to something more sensible, a Dreame Aqua 10 Roller (maybe the Mova Z60, I will see what deal is better I guess).
Going from the Roomba S9 plus to the Mova Z60, I can report the same thing. The S9 cleaned so well that following it with my Dyson I saw almost nothing left. The Mova, well, it makes a lot of noise but nothing happens, it is very much like Jeremy Clarkson that vacuum. Top Gear references aside, it really isn‘t great. One option is to just run it at max settings, since like that you make sure that the advertised power is also used. Another option is to increase its bin emptying frequency. Because clean filter = more suction / airflow. They really don’t make em as they used to before, the fact that I am missing my Roomba S9 is proof of that.
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.
Their stubbornness on using camera based navigation was bad, but then when Amazon was going to buy them I think it also scared off a lot of more tech savvy users. I sold mine and replaced them (S9+/M6) with one Q Revo. Roborock is out here making vacuums with robotic arms that pick up and move things out of the way and climbing stairs and iRobot is like "vacuum don't work if dark :-(".
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!
I guess the benefit of buying the latest is so your technology doesn't feel outdated as rapidly. The downside is a drop in reliability when you're buying the latest experimental stuff. I got an S9+ with a Braava that's held me down the last 5 years. I feel if I hadn't bought the "best" at the time the robots wouldn't have been kept for long. But the first year or two I probably went through about 5 replacements due to reliability issues. The last ones have held down much better once they got the parts and software correct. I do agree they get updated often. As I continue to search for my next combo to replace the iRobots I'm looking forward to getting a happy medium between technology, reliability backed by a proper warranty. Dreame L50 seems to be the best fit for me so far.
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.
Yes, I got mine on Black Friday deal as well for 50% off. I would never have bought it otherwise... a massive upgrade over my older trusty iRobot S9+. Speaking of the obstacle avoidance, that actually might push me to another Saros for upstairs in fhe bedroom areas where my kids rooms are, or I might move the Z70 upstairs since it has the arm and have a 10R on my main floor for mopping and vacuuming.
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
yeah minus 1 for iRobot and pet hair...I had an S9+ (released before the model u/DuckyDoodleDandy is talking about to be fair) but while it initially was good it very quickly relegated itself to being a brick in my guest room. It did fine on my hard wood floors to be fair, but on a medium pile rug it basically just pushed my dog hair around (Husky and F1 Goldendoodle) that I got so annoyed with it I just stopped using it entirely. It also tangled hair like a motherfucker and it got bad enough that it broke multiple rollers. A newer roller style like the Narwahl, Roborock would likely work far better and is what I am currently looking for. The navigation was also atrocious since its only camera based at that time and got stuck on EVERYTHING. Similarly, looking for something with lidar to help solve that and allow it to run in low light...my S9+ without full lights on looked like a drunk college kid trying to find their way back to the dorms.
A bit of background: I previously had an iRobot Roomba S9+ that I got back in late 2018/early 2019. It sucked (no pun). At the time, it was the top of the line and was great for a while but quickly got worse to the point of being essentially pointless. The navigation/object detection was ASS. It would sorta just push pet hair around, and constantly get so much hair stuck the brush would break. It also needed borderline stadium lighting to run which sucked. I got rid of it and having a primarily wood floor home I want a mop to help keep things truly clean as this winter/salt/paws have not been kind and I cannot steam mop as much as I'd like. My specs: 1. \~1200 sq ft 2. 98% wood flooring, a few area rugs but only one regularly accessible 3. 2 adults, 2 dogs (one husky so basically 8 dogs?) and 1 human child 4. simple furniture but dog toys and human toys galore and rarely tidy 5. prefer a roller mop for better clean/wet spills/messes 6. Lidar to run in the dark Robits I am considering and concerns with each: * Roborock Curv 2 Flow * Dont love the lack of extending side arm for corner reach\\ * Navigation is older gen, some videos it looks good, others not great * No cleaning solution tank in base station * Narwal Flow 2 (this is the front runner for me personally, mopping is S Tier it seems and vacuuming seems solid) * Dont love the lack of extending side arm for corner reach, but Narwal appears to have a solution for this with brush design and reverse spin or whatever in a corner * Not available yet (APR) * Like that this ups the hot water temps a bit and has a cleaning solution tank in base * Ecovacs X12 * Not available yet (FEB) * Navigation seems rocky from previous gen (X11) * Dreame Aqua 10 Ultra Roller/Mova Z60 Ultra Roller * Some leaking issues * Battery life * Navigation seems overcomplex with Nvidia chips and slower decision making * Small internal waste bin (?)