IROBOT I694 Roomba 694 Wi-Fi Connected Robot Vacuum Gray (Open Box)

In the world of robot vacuums, the name “Roomba” is ubiquitous. People associate it with quality and life-changing convenience. But that standard isn’t exactly upheld with the 694 model. Glitchy software, poor movement performance, and excessive noise make this entry-level machine fall short. That said, if you’ve never had a robot vacuum before, or if you’re looking for a budget unit this could be a decent pick. It has app control, Wi-Fi, automated scheduling, cliff sensors, Alexa and Google Home integration, and even location awareness. These are all excellent features to have in this price range. Additionally, this vac does a fantastic job at its main purpose—vacuuming. After it’s finished with a cleaning cycle, when I empty the bin, it’s always full of dust and debris. A lot of dust and debris. Where things get dicey is with the other aspects of its performance. Take the noise level, for example. When this machine is on, it’s at or around the same noise level as a handheld vac. It’s not excessive, but it is loud enough to be heard from anywhere in my home. Then there’s the alerts. When it needs attention or when it starts a cycle, the bot chimes fairly loudly. Of course, this level might be subjective, but for me the alert volume is louder than many other vacs I’ve tried. There’s also no way to lower or silence these alerts, which is frustrating. In addition, the machine loses connection with the app quite frequently. If I need to stop the vacuum, and I try to do so with the app, it’s 50/50 on whether it will actually stop. When it doesn’t, I have to manually press the button on the top of the vac to get it to shut down. Finally, the sensor on the top of the machine causes it to get stuck in places you might not expect. We have a television stand in our master bedroom with iron legs and crossbars, and this machine ALWAYS gets stuck on the crossbars. It’ll get halfway under, the sensor won’t stop it, and boom, I get an alert that it needs help. It also gets stuck under our dressers, which it mistakenly reports as cliffs. Strange, I know. That, to me is the biggest problem. I purchased a robot vac to cut down on the time I spend vacuuming. However, being forced to monitor the machine as it cleans so doesn’t get stuck is not my idea of convenient. I’m certain several of these issues could be solved via tweaking the firmware of the machine. But, as this is a budget model, the idea that any of this stuff might be corrected through updates is probably a pipe dream. I’m sure Roomba would rather you buy the next step up in their line rather than devote time and energy to updating this product. Overall, there is a reason this vacuum is constantly on special. It’s most likely a loss leader, with the idea being that you’ll buy it, be unhappy with it, and return it for the next step up. On the other hand, if you’ve never had a robot vacuum before, this is not a bad machine to start with. Just don’t expect it to change your life.