eufy by Anker, BoostIQ RoboVac 15C (Open Box)

I was ready to have a robot clean my house once again. Many years ago I had a 1 or 2 gen of roomba. With so many robot vacuums available I was ready to try this newer technology. I did overall enjoy the roomba and used it till one of the treads on the wheels was chewed by my cat. Those original roombas were glorified sweepers without suction and had zero intelligence mapping/cleaning a room. No wifi/apps/scheduling back then and certainly couldn't return to base. First impressions: Set-up was very easy. Connecting to wifi in the app with enabling the skill on Alexa were a breeze. Cleaning pattern is random but my floors looked clean after completing full cycles. Picked up a satisfying amount of hair and dust. I don't like having to create my own barriers to prevent it from entering areas. 15c model does not come with boundary strips. Day 1: Right out of the box we had a quick set up and attempted our first cleaning. Set up was very easy with the app and quickstart guide. I put RoboVac to work and it did an okay but not exceptional cleaning. I limited it to our tv/family room and kitchen that gets the most dirty for our test runs. In this area it is entirely hardwood floors with 1 low pile rug and two cushion kitchen mats. Next I charged RoboVac up put it to work again and this cleaning was much better but found a it constantly in one corner of my kitchen. I played around a bit telling RoboVac to start, pause etc after enabling the RoboVac skill on Alexa which was very fun but more of a novelty for me. After the partial and full cleanings my floors looked really nice. The dirt cup was easy to empty and was about full from my floors that really needed a vac. I set up my schedule to clean nightly while we slept. Day 2: First night of scheduling RoboVac. I woke up to RoboVac being trapped under a corner of my couch where it discovered a cord and flat laundry basket I didn't know was under there. I charged Robo up and then set it to work in my Living room/formal dining area only since it didn't finish the job. With our fake Christmas tree and some fake snow decor the floors were dirtier than normal for these seldom used rooms. Those fake pine needles are super hard to get every last one! The pattern of cleaning is random but after some time the floors were looking good and I didn't notice any remaining particles on the floor. It navigated well around my chairs, coffee tables and under my couches although totally random which way it went. Day 3: RoboVac had a great night cleaning! Made it back to base unassisted and I woke up to fresh floors. I have been putting up my stools and chairs so it can clean under them overnight especially since that is where we have the most crumbs. I also keep our two dogs blocked off in an area with a gate overnight. This way Robo can clean and there is no doggy mess risk as well as keeping them happy and safe. I have a Pomeranian and shih tzu that are curious but mostly scared. It made it's way under another couch last night and found a treasure trove of dirt. Some dirt around our door was picked up successfully. Week 2: Overall I am super happy with this purchase. Being able to schedule a nightly vac and wakeup to clean floors has been completely worth it for the price. Almost every day RoboVac has made it back to base. I do make some adjustments like picking up my stools/chairs and setting them on the counter/table before bed. I really want those fallen crumbs where eating is happening to be picked up. I do make sure the area is clear from potential hazzards as well. I put my power strip in a basket to keep the cords tidy and it also looks better anyhow. I limit RoboVac to only in my kitchen with adjoining dining room and family/tv room. This is the only area that gets dirty daily and also where my doggos hang out. Since my model (15c) does not support boundary strips I have been using hand weights in one open door way to block. In my other open doorway I have a pet gate which also keeps the doggos safe for the nightly clean. I've been emptying the dust cup every few days or so which has been quite satisfying. My rug in my TV/Family room is just enough to prevent it from going under my couches in most places. The couple of times it did not make it to base was because it got under the couch but then trying to exit it gets stuck partway when it hits the rug on the way out (included picture). It has been the same place twice so I put a hand weight around there to stop it going under and getting stuck which so far has been successful. I'm going to continue thinking of ways to "robo proof" my area so it continues to be a set and forget. So far hand weights have been super helpful which I just happened to have on hand. For a strip of area a rolled yoga mat also works (so long as it's pushed up against something so it doesn't unroll). I would have bought the model with boundary strips rather than dot bundle doing it over again since it would have been helpful. Even though the cleaning is random on this model I have been very pleased with the cleaning. My rug looks fresh daily and it seems to keep my kitchen floor & dining area free from crumbs. After 1 year update: We have had this guy 1 year! I would not go back to life without it. There are times it finds a cord or sock and gets stuck but as we "roboproofed" our room nearly all the time it would make it back to base. I liked coming down to the fresh floors every morning. Just recently it started giving an error code that the brush isn't spinning. I cleaned it thoroughly and still it is beeping and giving the error code. The brush is spinning and it is still cleaning nightly so not sure what else to do. I suppose I will let it run until it gives out. Maybe that is what separates the cheaper ones from more expensive...not sure.