iRobot - Roomba 620

No there was no air problem. I just could not give water. I also checked for chalk but there was none. I had it for 2 month or so and it was already defect. I asked what I can do and they said that I should send it back. Thats what I did. Then I bought the L10s ultra gen 2 and had it for about 2 month. Every time I started the robot it left big stains of water. It also was not mopping correct. There was always a dry line between the two mops. It is kind of unbelievable what garbage they are selling. My Roomba 620 is still working after 15 years. Of course it is a completely different thing but everything from dreame does work for two or three month or so. It is a joke. Also Ecovacs is imho total garbage. I had a Roborock which was better but I received it with a broken part in the station. Therefore I am looking for a new robot.

I've had a very different experience, apparently. I borrowed and tried an old (2016) Roomba a little over a year ago, and was impressed. Did a shopping deep dive. Got a Roborock as a result of reading many reviews. That dang Roborock dropped out its rollers twice, once from running over the forced air vent in the kitchen, and again from running over a cat toy. I didn't have a self-emptying model, so I could check what exactly it was achieving because I had to empty it out. Second day: not much hair/debris in the bin. Then on its third day in my possession, it picked up next to nothing. I still had the borrowed and MUCH older Roomba, so I sent it out on patrol, and it picked up a ton of dog hair. Maybe the Roborock I got was a lemon, but because of that it's not a brand I'd turn to as a first choice anymore. For sure the Roborock app is far better than iRobot's, but the objective here is cleaning, not fun on the phone. If OP is going to consider a robot vacuum I'd certainly suggest doing as much research as they can stand.

Buy an old roomba instead, (500/600/700/800/900) they are the most reliable you can get.

I bought one a while ago for the novelty since it was a black Friday sale (and I suck at keeping a schedule to vacum. Didn’t have mapping but I thought it would be smart enough to still navigate just fine. Instead it just rams into things then randomly changes direction. Meanwhile, a coworker bought some  bootleg that cost a fraction of the price and it runs flawlessly. All the extra shit that roomba charges for in it’s higher tier models are included for free.  Never buying another roomba product. They’ve clearly just been coasting off of brand recognition.

If it's just one room, get one of the old random bounce around Roombas with the bristle roller. 500 or 600 series. They're great at picking up litter and combing embedded pet hair out of carpet. I have a 692 I keep just for that. They're also super cheap because everyone wants the self-emptying models now. I see the older ones pretty often at thrift stores and Facebook Marketplace for under $30.

Older roombas are simple, reliable, durable, effective, and cheap. But they don't have smart navigation or mapping where you can ask them to clean specific areas. If you want navigation they become less cheap and less durable. I have a 10yo 600 series roomba and a new Roborock Q5. Q5 is great but I'm skeptical that it's going to last as long.

I have a Roomba 564 Pet I bought when my son was 6 months old. He's now 14 and the Roomba would be still doing the job if this little bastard had not screwed the elly plaque's screwheads. I bought a new battery I cannot replace because of that (I'll Dremel them out after the Spring clean out). So it was working since 2011, August. The other Roomba, a 600 something bought on discount in a clearance sale when my son was 6 or 7, is still going strong. I wonder how the Dreame L50 Pro Ultra is going to perform. It is my Mother's Day present, but we're not done with the Spring-clean so it just worked in the living-room.

We have had an iRobot Roomba for 17 years. We initially bought the 535, it’s been upgraded with the new bin (aero vac 2) and running gear from the later 600 series It has had two battery replacements in its life, and has had a replacement main board once, which added the schedule feature. It cleans better than the 780 models relatives have. This Roomba, with replacements when things wear out, has outlived most other appliances we have. You can still buy the 600 series which is based on the same platform, and if ours ever became unrepairable, we would buy one. Heck, considering you can change all of the parts with a screwdriver and a bit of basic knowledge (how to plug/unplug things), a second hand one would be fine.

Picked up a Roomba 600 Series at Costco going on 10 years ago now. Changed the brushes and beater bar a few times and it's still working flawlessly.

675 or other 600 series model from a thrift store. $20. Doesn’t empty its self but if you want that you prob need to buy a new one or from someone off marketplace. Honestly emptying the bin yourself after it’s done takes 30 seconds :)

As proven by the roomba 600 series time and time again suction isn’t always the most important factor in how a robot vacuum cleans but it’s sweeping mechanism is. Suction is also a metric easily manipulated by these companies.