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3.4.2018

I was very skeptical about whether a robot vacuum cleaner would be any good. This is a top-end, expensive model, so if anything was going to allay my skepticism then surely this was the one. It did not disappoint.# First impressions and setup #The Neato arrives in a neat little box which feels reassuringly heavy. Inside you find the robo-vac itself, the charging dock, two mains cables including a UK one, a quick start guide and a main instruction manual.The vac itself looks really good in a dark grey and silver and again feels reassuringly heavy and solid when removing it from the box. Not to heavy, but heavy enough to feel well built.The charging dock is a little deeper, front to back,than I expected but, again, not too deep to be a problem.Once the two parts are unpacked you need to work out where you are going to position the charging dock. The quick start guide days you need 1m clear to each side and in front of the dock to allow your robot to find its way back after cleaning or when it needs an extra charge. This could be a problem for some people depending on the layout of rooms and furniture.I found this requirement to be excessive, however. As you can see in the attached photo I have positioned the dock with the required clear space in front but only about 5cm clear on each side. The vac has so far had no problem finding its way back - and it does a funky little bum dance when settling back into the charger (I see you, baby, shaking that...)Once the dock is positioned, place the robot curved edge against the duck and make sure it's making good contact, don't power the dock up just yet, though.Before pushing anything up, if you are going to use the Neato app or Alexa to control your robot then you need to install the app and create a Neato account of you haven't already.You can use the robot without the app but it is the connected features of the D7 that make this a stand out piece of kit - and this is also where the vac is likely to improve over time.Once your account is set up and you have logged into the app then power up the dock.Your robot will then power up and do a bit of beeping etc.In the app you then choose to add a new robot, you'll be asked to select your WiFi and to enter the WiFi password. You'll also be asked to give your robot a name - a cute feature that will only really be of any practical use of you intend to become a multi-robot household. Still, I gave mine a humanising name just for fun.That's it... You're ready to go.The first thing the D7 wants to do is explore your property to build a floor plan. Once this is done it will be able to clean more efficiently as it will know where to go. Now, the are a few obvious missing features here that I will detail a bit later, but suffice to say your first cleaning cycle probably won't be representative of future cleaning cycles - this first cycle should take a bit longer.Before you create the floor map make sure all doors are open to rooms/areas you want your robot to clean and it's a good idea to pick up any temporary clutter (shoes, kids toys etc) to give the robot a better idea of the space it should be cleaning.Creating the floor map is simply a case of telling your robot to start cleaning via the app - if fact the app will be prompting you to create the floor map once you have added your robot.And off it will go...# First Clean #There's something a little spooky and disconcerting watching the vac explore your home. It moves with what can only be described as 'purpose' seeking out rooms and suites and corners and actually looking around with its laser scanner. Spooky, but quite cool and mesmerising too.Once the first clean is done your robot will play a little tune of beeps again and you'll get a notification in the app that your floor plan has been created. Your robot will also have returned to its charging dock. (In fact about 20 minutes into its first clean and floor plan mapping run my robot returned to its charging dock for a while as out of the box it was only partly charged).At this point you can add virtual 'no-go' lines to your floor plan to mark out of bounds areas - a nice feature that means you don't need to put magnetic strips around your house to mark these boundaries. For example adding a virtual no-go line to your front door will prevent your robot from escaping into the street if you leave your front door open in the summer.You also have the option of setting up a cleaning schedule trying your robot which days of the week and at what time you would like it to clean. Again, there is room for enhancements to the software here that I will detail later.# Floor plan zones #As of the December 2018 robot software and app update you can now also create 'zones' on your floor plan. These not only allow you to create and name a zone for each room, but zones can actually overlap. This overlapping is a great feature, for example I have created a zone for my hallway, dining room and kitchen, but I have then created a overlapping zone that covers all of the hallway and one end of the dining room and names this 'Walkthrough'. This routes gets more foot traffic than anywhere else in the house and can now be cleaned more frequently than anywhere else and can be cleaned in isolation whenever needed.# Performance #I ran the first clean cycle a couple of hours after the whole area had just been vacuumed with a high performance 'pet hair' Dyson. We don't have pets, but these vacs tend to have better cleaning performance than non-pet-hair versions. The Neato robot, however, still managed to finish will a two thirds full dust compartment - i.e. it actually seems to clean better than a manual vac'ing with a good Dyson! That surprised me - this robot vac really performs well in its primary job.The vac actually manages to lift the pile of carpets and leaves neat parallel tram lines that give a carpet a freshly cleaned look (albeit freshly cleaned by a manic neat freak!)That dust compartment only has a 0.7 litre capacity and will need to be emptied every cleaning cycle. The filter will also need to be brushed off a bit when emptying the dust compartment to keep the performance up, but this is a quick, trivial job as the compartment just lifts out of the top of the robot.One thing to note in comparison with what seems o be the main competition (Roomba) is that the Neato does not have a dirt sensor. Where the Roomba will go back over an area until it's dirt sensor indicates that the area is clean, the Neato vac relies on its methodical approach to ensure that the area is clean. Obviously this means that particularly dirty areas may not get a completely effective clean. That said, in testing I have had no problems as yet and the Neato seems to reliably achieve a good clean# Noise #With performance comes noise. There is a movement motor and a vacuuming motor in the robot and you can clearly hear them both start up and wind up to full power when the robot starts a cleaning run. It's not massively noisy, but unfortunately it is too loud for the vac to be run overnight.# Agility and obstacle avoidance #The robot had a few tricks up its sleeve when it comes to navigating obstacles. First of all the is there laser scanner that maps out the rooms and find doorways etc. This is fine fur the bigger picture, but when it comes to chair and table legs, radiator pipes and other random stuff that you may have on the floor the robot uses bump sensors.The bump sensors and subsequent maneuvering are actually very effective. We have a dining table and chairs that have lots of fiddly metal legs and the robot find its way around everything only missing two tiny spots which were actually too narrow for it to fit into - see the attached photo and floor plan image.If the robot does manage to squeeze itself into to tight a spot it had one more trick up its sleeve - it can grow taller! If after trying to wriggle out of a tight spot it finds itself still stuck, the robot can actually raise itself up a centimeter or two to try to free itself. Again this seems pretty effective.If everything fails, though, and the robot had got itself in a situation it can't get out of it will stop and cry (beep) for your help. You'll need to step in and either free the robot to carry on its cleaning (presumably without the full benefits of the floor plan navigation as you will potentially have moved the robot) or return it to it's charging dock.# Damage #Unfortunately the robot actually managed to damage a piece of our furniture (see attached picture). Most of the impact areas of the robot are rubber coated and it send pretty good at not knocking into things too hard but the back of the robot is harder plastic.It tried to fit between the legs of a foot stool we have that were a little too close together. Rather than get stuck the robot jacked its back end up and down a couple of times to free itself. As the back of the robot is hard plastic, and as there is a job in the plastic at this point it managed to scrape the posting off one of the legs!The D7 does have a 'gentle navigation' option that claims to protect against damage, but I honestly don't think this mode would have made any difference in this case - I was running without that mode switched on - as it was not a normal navigation maneuver that resulted in the damage, it was more of an escape move.# Use on other floors #The D7 is at its best when working from the charging base as it makes a floor plan and uses that to calculate the most efficient cleaning route. You are, in fact, warned not to move the charging station after creating the floor plan as this will confuse the robot.It is possible, however, to use the robot on a different floor in manual mode. Simply carry the robot to any point on the floor that you wish to clean (I have the robot set up downstairs so I carried it upstairs and put it in a bedroom). Press the start button - single push for room clean as opposed to a spot clean - and your robot will head of to clean the whole of that level. Obviously you'll need to open any doors to rooms you want cleaning again. (Update October 2018: As of this summer, you can now create multiple floor plans for different floors. To make best use of this feature you will need a second charging dock - available direct from Neato or from from Amazon)As the robot does not know the layout of this level so it will take longer to clean and it will take some pretty random routes until it's done. When it is done, however, it will return to the spot where it started.As I tried this upstairs it gave me an opportunity to observe the D7's drop sensing. The were a couple of precarious moments where the robot appeared to be heading off the top of the stairs and appeared to get very close to getting of balance while hanging over the top step, but all was well in the end. The robot did not get airborne at any point!# Alexa Integration #At the moment, Alexa integration is pretty basic. You can start a cleaning run - "Alexa, ask Neato to start cleaning"; pause a run = "Alexa, ask Neato to pause cleaning"; resume a run - "Alexa, ask Neato to resume cleaning"; and stop cleaning - "Alexa, ask Neato to stop cleaning ". DO NOT use his last instruction to cancel a cleaning run, though!If you ask Alexa to ask Neato to stop cleaning the robot will stop where it is. If you start the clean run again it seems to start afresh from where it is and may not remember where it has cleaned already as in theory the robot does not know where it is (you could have moved it while stopped).There is another Alexa Neato instruction, though. If you want to cancel a cleaning run simply say "Alexa, ask Neato to return to charging dock." With this instruction your robot will stop cleaning and return to the charging dock where it will be ready to start a new cleaning run when you like.One other thing to be aware of on the Alexa side of things. If you say "Alexa, ask Neato to stop" or "Alexa, stop Neato" you will actually exit the Alexa Neato skill and your robot will carry on doing what it was doing! This is one way to really get things confused and should really be addressed in the skill.Note that currently if you start your robot via Alexa, no go lines are not enabled. Neither can you start zone cleaning from Alexa (yet?).One good thing about Alexa skills is that they can be upgraded at any time. Hopefully Neato will improve the skill over time. I'd love to see the ability to say "Alexa, ask Neato to clean the Kitchen", for example - see below.# Top Tips #- Do not 'stop' a cleaning cycle as the robot will be unable to return to the charging dock automatically - you'll need to carry out back!- ‎If you want to cancel a clean mid-cycle use the app (or Alexa) to tell the robot to return to the dock ("Alexa, ask Neato to return to the dock"). This will stop the cleaning and the robot will know where it is.# Ideas for future enhancements / missing features #- Create floor plan without cleaning. (If you need to recreate the floor plan fur some reason - for example you have relocated the charging dock - you may not need the robot to clean while it is recreating the floor plan. This could be a quicker and quieter operation of the vac motor was not running at the time and the robot head not trying to clean at the time).- Scheduling cleaning every n days, e.g every 3 days or every 5 days etc.- ‎Naming rooms in the floor plan with virtual room boundaries so that you can clean just one room at a time. (Update December 2018: This feature has been launched and is brilliant!)- ‎Better Alexa integration. It is quite easy to get the robot confused or into a 'stop' state when using Alexa currently. With named rooms support Alexa could become very handy.- ‎Ability to spot clean an area by tapping that area in the floor plan.- Option of purchasing multiple charging docks and creating multiple floor plans so that a single robot can be used on different floors - at £800 I suspect there will be very few multi-purpose robot homes so this would be an extra sales opportunity for Neato. (Update October 2018: These are now available and with the new multi-floor-plan functionality this makes perfect sense - buy an extra dock for each floor and Neato will work just as well everywhere!!!)# Summary #This is a very clever and very effective and efficient piece of kit. What it does it does very, very well.Where there is room for improvement is in the software and Neato can update this at any time (update downloads are prompted in the app - when I first powered up and connected my robot it updated to the version which added support for virtual no-go lines).Alexa integration is basic at the moment but this also reflects where there is scope for improvements in the robot software in general.If Neato implement any of the missing features I've listed above then this will be a killer robot without malice. (See embedded updates - Neato seem to be really good at adding features in response to user comments. Thank you Neato!)# Update October 2018 #It seems that the recent software updates have improved the D7s navigation. Previously the robot would sometimes get lost on the way back to the dock and either park up short or skewed. Since the last software update it has docked every time, absolutely bang in the middle of the dock!
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30.4.2019

This is my first foray into robot vacuums, so if you’re looking for a review that compares this Neato with other brands, I’m afraid this isn’t it- luckily reviewer ‘Mother of Dragonflies’ already has that covered. But if you’d like a newbie’s perspective, here you are.I’d previously assumed that robot vacuums were a novelty item- a toy that would appeal to cash-rich, time-poor people who love gadgets, which would be a great talking point at dinner parties but which wouldn’t really vacuum a floor very well. I was wrong about the last part, for sure. While there’s certainly a great novelty to this (and my kids are very entertained), it’s also a genuinely useful time-saving vacuum cleaner.It’s incredibly intuitive.It comes with a ‘quick start’ guide and a proper instruction manual, and the two-page quick start guide is all it takes to start getting your floors clean. After very simple registration via smartphone app (email verification and a password), entering the WiFi password, and the surprisingly difficult bit of trying to come up with a good witty name for your new vacuum- don’t worry, you can change the name later when you think of a better one- just press ‘start’ and it’s away, within a few minutes of first opening the box. You don’t need to tell it anything, or set anything- it will just boldly set off, investigating your room and vacuuming as it goes.It’s a very capable driving machine, capable of meandering across thick pile rugs and up and down small ledges with great aplomb. The wheel mechanism that can pivot reminds me a little of the self-righting machines in Robot Wars (up to a point) and it is very capable at unsticking itself in all the rooms we’ve tried it in.I find it bizarrely captivating to watch it work. The cleaner’s system for sounding out the room, working its way systematically around the space, starting with the borders of each zone and then in stripes within that rectangle, improvising new stripes whenever it reaches a hard object, is very smart. Although the noises it makes are not very characterful, it still ends up coming across as having its own character- yes, I’m anthropomorphising a vacuum cleaner. It sniffs into nooks and crannies tentatively, it backs away from tight spaces it doesn’t like, and best of all, when it’s returning to its charging dock, it gives a little side-to-side wiggle when travelling backwards to its charging point, to ensure the best charging connection, which ends up coming across as a satisfied wiggle of a pet that’s played for a bit and is now settling for a nap. If you’ve got a soft spot for gadgets, this is practically a pet.The more advanced features are a little bit less intuitive, and in my case did involve opening the manual up to find out more- mainly how to ensure the Neato doesn’t chuck itself down a staircase, just to be safe. However the designers have done a reasonable job of simplifying a zonal system which is inherently a bit complicated down to something that pretty much anyone can control- if they’ve read the instructions. The manual is worth holding on to, for sure, because sooner or later you’ll need to work out how to replace some of the parts and so on. We haven’t even scraped the surface of the Alexa integration yet.There is also a manual control option, which turns your vacuum cleaner into a remote control car, that vacuums. Initially this is quite entertaining, for a little while- but ultimately it’s not a toy, it’s not fast enough to race, and the manual option seems to defeat the point of having a robot vacuum cleaner at all, so this isn’t going to be an option we use very often. It’s also just more fun watching the robot wander about of its own volition as well.Importantly, it also does a very good job of actually vacuuming the floor! (In fact maybe I should have mentioned that earlier…). For a relatively small device, that’s barely any bigger than the head unit of a traditional vacuum cleaner, there’s some seriously impressive battery technology in there, because it can motor itself about and perform continuous and very decent suction vacuuming for well over an hour, non-stop- and then it will recharge itself within a couple of hours as well. I don’t know what the mAh capacity of the device is but it’s obviously a high-end bit of kit- I wish all my battery devices had this kind of stamina.Around our house, there were a couple of things that the robot got confused by, but nothing major. At one point it got stuck under a stool, and started dragging the stool about as it worked, which it didn’t seem to enjoy very much- but as soon as I lifted the stool up, it carried on as if nothing had happened. The map of our living room had a blip on it where there’s a full-length mirror, as obviously the light sensor had detected the reflections as objects (or something) so there was a bit of a ‘ghost’ on the map display on the app (or maybe the robot knows something we don’t and maybe there is a parallel universe behind our mirror). In both cases though it didn’t affect the cleaning and if the device had been unattended, no calamity would have occurred if the cleaning had just continued unsupervised- we would’ve just ended up with a moved stool.When we first set this device up, the app prompted that there was a firmware update to install on the device itself- which is very promising, as it means that potentially in the future, further firmware updates could make the device even more intelligent or capable, and the only limitations are its hardware. That being said though, the D7 does appear to be the sixth (!) generation, so it may not be too long before a D8 has superseded this and you may find yourself with vacuum upgrade envy, in the same way people get smartphone envy.There are obvious limitations to the hardware worth mentioning, but they’re not unique to a D7. For example, like the Daleks prior to 1988, they can’t do stairs. You won’t be able to ditch your existing vacuum cleaner and depend on this for all your cleaning needs- but what you will find is that your existing hard-work, no-fun vacuum can spend much more time in the cupboard, gathering dust (ironically).As I mentioned at the top, I can’t speak for how this D7 compares to other brands. But after my initial scepticism about a brand called ‘Neato’- which sounds like a cheap-and-cheerful low budget brand name in my opinion- I am seriously impressed with this device, bordering on enamoured. Designed in California and made in China, this is clearly a product from the Apple or Samsung of the robot vacuum world. Who knew this much joy could be derived from a vacuum cleaner?
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20.7.2018

Getting setup was REALLY simple. Remove from box, plug in base station, place robot in front of the station and push gently into the charging contacts and let it boot up with some glowing LEDs.Whilst it does so, get your phone out and download the app. Follow the instructions (complete with videos) there and voila, 5 minutes after opening the box you're sitting there like an over excited child with a new toy on Christmas day.To use the 'no-go' lines on the app you need to let the bot do a clean first. It comes with the 'old fashioned' magnetic tape to allow you to quickly mark a no-go area for one off cleans or if you need to re-map an area. Off the bot trundles, powering up and heading around the edge of the room first.When it reaches a doorway it'll head through it and back, finishing the first room and then the other rooms one by one.Now, for the important parts... can you leave it to its own devices?I have a rug with tassels in the middle of my lounge floor and I've got to say... I'm impressed with how it handled it. It would suck them up, immediately realise and you hear the blades stop spinning, the suction stops and the bot reverses back to free itself and tries again from a different angle. Once it's worked out the edge, it simply seems to avoid the problem area.Most of my furniture is either quite high (eg coffee table) that it can happily navigate around or low (sofa) that it cleans right up against. The exception is a treadmill which is the exact perfect height from the floor that the bot can get underneath right up to the laser range finder unit that sits about 1cm proud from the top. And this is where you find a flaw... the lasers work by detecting the reflection back, simple physics... but when they hit something reflective the laser doesn't scatter and get picked up, it will bounce like a mirror... the edge of the treadmill is black, shiny plastic and it doesn't seem to detect it properly.So the bot trundles under the treadmill and gets about half way in before it starts to jam. It sits there, realises it's not moving after about 4-5 seconds and backs up, again then trying from a slightly different angle. It still doesn't get itself fully jammed, nor need human help. It figures out that something isn't right and attempts to correct.So in the lounge, it's happily handled random boxes left on the floor, my slippers, trainers, the aforementioned tassels and a 1cm floor height difference between my lounge and kitchen. Sometimes it gets up that little step, other times it hits it and stops dead in its tracks. Again it realises, backs up and tries at an angle with each wheel then able to get a purchase on the lip and off it goes. In the kitchen it'll happily work itself around clothes airers etc I may have out on any given day.So navigation is sorted, it has yet to get itself stuck with no help requested from me.So cleaning.... summed up, pretty damn good. I have two cats who I swear shed their body weight in fur every month. My Dyson regular cleaner is pretty good at getting stuff up but of course that requires me to use it, which is a flaw in any design ;) I hadn't vacuumed for the week before getting the D7 (I knew it was coming so wanted a good test!) so wasn't too surprised when the bin was absolutely rammed full after it's first sweep of my lounge/kitchen. I emptied the bin and set it off again, this time getting about another 2/3 of a bin from the two rooms. With a daily schedule now setup it keeps on top of the fluff, perhaps getting 1/4 to 1/3 of a bin on each of the daily runs. I can therefore empty it every 2-3 days without worrying.Biggest downside - it doesn't climb upstairs ;) You can just pick the bot up, place it on another floor and hit the go button. It'll figure out the rooms and do a normal clean. It'll send you its usual cleaning map of where it's cleaned at the end of the cycle as normal but it won't be able to do its no-go lines. Those only work on the floor where the base-station is. You would need multiple units if you wanted otherwise but these are far too expensive for that!I love this bot. It does a great job, my carpets are clean, my kitchen tiled floor is clean. It's quiet enough you can watch TV in the room it's currently cleaning. Two cats watch it from a distance without going all ninja on it. It's navigation seems to do a good job.Downsides? The price, it's at least 2x the price it should be and that's coming from someone who absolutely loves it. I'd buy another for my upstairs but as it stands I could only just justify the cost for downstairs that has more foot traffic and for keeping it clean for visitors etc and even then, not at retail price (aka wait for a GOOD sale!). I'd have never have bought it at regular price... even now knowing how good it is. Older models are almost identical, same laser navigation, same decent cleaning power - yet the top of the range units are 2x the price now compared to just a few years ago. If it lasts anything less than 5 years I won't even consider replacing it with another Neato as that's the absolute minimum I'd expect something of this price to last.
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20.6.2018

I have waited quite a while to purchase a robotic vacuum. I tested the Dyson 360 eye (good suction but terrible navigation so back it went). I also tested an early roomba (before they got intelligent navigation) and that went back as well. I always thought having to lay out magnetic strips (older Neato's) or beacons (Roomba) was a poor solution so when the D7 came out with no-go lines I took the plunge...read on for my 1 month review.Unboxing and setupNot overly packaged and no assembly to complete other than removing a moisture absorption pack and a few protective films. Setup was very straightforward via the app. Make sure you site the charging station so that the robot has a good connection to your Wi-Fi.If you want to start cleaning cycles or communicate with the robot during cleaning cycles from the app the robot needs a strong Wi-Fi connection and it supports both 2.4 and 5GHz bands. It will clean without a Wi-Fi signal (I have 1 dead spot in my home) but you wont be able to communicate with the bot via the app.NavigationThe navigation on this unit is excellent. On its first trip out it pauses a bit to scan the rooms as it enters new ones but I found its edge cleaning accuracy, obstacle avoidance and general ability to work a series of rooms in a methodical fashion impressive. It didn't miss any areas. Once you have done your first clean and you have a map saved you can add no-go lines. I had to do these a few times to get the exact placement correct (testing with a cleaning cycle after each change) but once I got them right the robot is very good at skirting around them. Note you can only store 1 map (edit 2 Aug 2018 - you can now store up to 3 maps, each with their own no go lines but always need to start cycle from a charging station which you can now buy separately) so you can only store no-go lines for that single stored map. I have a 2 story place (and don't want to purchase another bot) and set it all up for the lower floor but I then just carry it up to the upper floor and initiate cleaning cycles using the button on the unit. When its done I just return it to its charging station on the lower floor. Note that the no-go lines ONLY work when you initiate cleaning from the app. I use the 'extra care' navigation option which means it runs a little slower to get around the space (around 7%) but is gentler in terms of when it touches obstructions. The unit gets under most furniture in my place - the Dyson 360 eye was quite tall so poor at getting under most units. When the clearance is on the boundary of the advertised height it sometimes get stuck but only where there is a variable height on the underside of a piece of furniture (i.e. where a sofa sags a bit towards the middle). Watch it on the first run and use no-go lines to keep it out of areas where there is potential for it to get stuck.One thing it does experience a bit of trouble with is some narrow, angular chair legs...it tries to climb them for a while before giving up.CleaningSuction is very good in both eco and full power modes. I use eco mode which is sufficient - unless you have pets or just lots of stuff to pickup its probably fine for most houses and uses less battery - do a few runs and experiment. I also tried the full power mode but for me it didn't really pick up much more and it was a little louder and used approx. 20% more battery.MaintenanceI use a handheld mini-vac to clean the filter after 2-3 runs (will depend on how quickly you fill the bin) and also take out the brush to clear out hair caught up in it - it's a 6-7 min job once a week. Its worth doing this regularly if you want this to run efficiently. I do wish the filters were washable (Neato - if you are reading this please consider this as a future feature request!) as they are on the Dyson. Filter replacements are relatively expensive £20+ for 2 original Neato filters and you are recommended to replace every 2-3 months. You are also advised to replace the roller (£25) and side brush (£12.99 for 2) every 6-8 months depending on usage - just consider these costs when looking at total cost of ownership.SummaryI have to say I was reticent about buying the unit, thinking it would not meet expectations and have to go back. I'm pleased to report its a keeper. It wont work for all houses, particularly very cluttered places or places with lots of deep, loose pile rugs (the roller will get stuck on these) but for me it has genuinely made life easier (some 'smart' gadgets just seem to end up being a pain in the butt but not this one).This probably wont completely remove the need for your primary home corded/ cordless vacuum but I haven't had to use mine in a month on the floor the D7 is being primarily used on.Spend the time on setting it up properly, utilize the no-go lines (game changing feature) and maintaining it and it will work a treat. Recommended.
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30.3.2018

The Neato Robotics Connected Robot Vacuum comes ready for use out of the box. Also in the box, a charging base, a Quick Start Guide and a User Guide. Both of the guides are well printed on quality glossy paper; they are comprehensive and easy to read.Place the charging base against a wall with about a metre clear in front and on both sides, and place the vacbot’s rounded side against the metal contacts on the charge base.For maximum effectiveness, the vacbot can be controlled by a smartphone app. So, if you want to take advantage of this option, download the app while it is charging; be sure to have your Wi-Fi password handy. You will need to create a Neato account,set a password and confirm an e-mail link.Start the app and follow the instructions to pair your smartphone to the bot. Connection was quick and easy and the bot then connected itself to the Neato website and downloaded and installed the latest version of the firmware. All very impressive. After first pairing, connection is automatic and, as the vacbot is connected to the internet through your home-hub, which means the cleaning programme can be initiated remotely, so the house can be cleaned while you’re out. It is also possible to schedule cleaning to start at pre-set days and times.So, how about the functionality? If using the app, select house clean or room clean and press start; the vacbot starts up and works its way around the periphery of the area or, if the area is large, it maps out rectangular sub-areas and completes them one at a time; when starting, it always moves off to the right. Having determined the boundaries, it then fills in like mowing the lawn. Staircase are detected by a sensor beneath the front of the unit, and the vacbot turns away.For the first clean, especially if you have low furniture, I would recommend watching carefully. The vacbot managed to get under the front of a sofa, and then couldn’t find its way out. This area in now set as a no-go area.When finished, in a strange way, it’s like having a pet, especially when it sends you a message to tell you it’s finished, and then scuttles back to its charge base to top up the battery. If the area to be cleaned is too large for the remaining battery power, the vacbot will stop cleaning, return to its base to recharge and then continue from where it left off. Battery life, at about 90 minutes, is remarkable.Having completed its first clean, an area map is created that can be viewed in the app. You can then modify the area by editing in “no-go” lines to exclude areas it should avoid next time. If you are not using the app, physical boundary markers (supplied), which the vacbot will not cross can be placed on the floor. You should note, however, that the order in which the broom is cleaned seems very illogical. For example, the vacbot cleaned half a landing, turned round and cleaned a room, then went back and completed the landing.Another useful function of the app, which is also great fun, is that you can drive the vacbot manually to clean a particular area.It’s very handy to be able to clean properly under beds, if there’s sufficient clearance. Cleaning performance is impressive on carpet, I couldn’t believe how much cat hair it picked-up, even though the room had been conventionally vacuumed on the previous day. The performance on hard floors, however leaves a lot to be desired.To empty, lift off the dust container, empty it and brush off the filter. Disappointingly, the filter is not washable and must be replaced at regular intervals, according to the amount of use. Replacement filters are not inexpensive, about £4 for a standard filter and a stonking £12-13 for a high performance one.Although the vacbot can be used in a multi-story home, it is much better suited to a single story dwelling, such as a bungalow or apartment. It could also be very useful for anybody with physical disabilities that make using a traditional vacuum cleaner difficult, or impossible.I currently live in a three story house so, although I love the vacbot, it’s a little impractical. However, as our short term plan is to move to a single story dwelling, the vacbot will be perfect.To summarise, I love the tech, which I would give five stars, but have some reservations about the overall effectiveness, which is why I have decided on four stars.
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30.4.2018

After several months of ‘coming soon’ assurances on the Neato web site the Botvac D7 Connected cleaner has arrived and is in stock at amazon.co.uk. As a user of other Neato cleaners I had no hesitation in placing an order as I have found them to be thorough and effective in keeping the house clean. I am convinced that a daily automated clean preserves not only the look but also the life of a carpet.On opening the box I was pleased to see a Customer Care sticker with contact details for UK customers if they require assistance. I have found in the past that owning a Neato cleaner is great until there is need for a repair and the process is then cumbersome to say the least.Long and repetitive phone calls do result in a replacement being provided but the system is far from customer friendly and lacks efficiency and speed. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction. It is also worth noting that the D7 comes with only a 12 month guarantee for UK customers which seems short to me for such an expensive and hi-tech machine. Fortunately Amazon customers can overcome this limitation by purchasing an Amazon Protect Insurance which, although an additional expense, avoids potential problems for 3 years.Those who like to admire the appearance of their Robot cleaners will not be disappointed. It looks neat and smart, though I have reservations about the various indicator lights which seem to me to be less useful than the on screen messages found on earlier Neato models. I do not want to have to refer to the handbook to find out the meaning of flashing lights though I acknowledge that they enhance the appearance. I guess its a matter of style over functionality.Setting up the D7 Connected is straightforward enough though it does seem to require a stronger WiFi signal than the Botvac Connected. I placed the D7 in our kitchen where there is a moderate signal (and where the Botvac Connected has operated from without problem) and could not connect at all. It was only when I placed it much closer to the router that I was able to make the connection.The big step forward with the D7 is the no-go lines. Having performed an initial clean I was able to add lines to the floor plan to prevent it from going to certain areas. We have armchairs that are just the wrong height for a robot cleaner and our Botvac Connected would regularly get stuck beneath them until I put down some of the provided magnetic strip to keep the cleaner away. Our TV cabinet has push-open glass doors at floor level and this also required a magnetic strip. Although this method is effective it is a bit unsightly and I am pleased that with the D7 I can limit its area of cleaning with no visible barrier whatsoever. It is a system which seems to work very well and is the real justification for selecting the D7 over other models.All the Neato cleaners that I have used have been excellent in their primary role of getting up the dirt and dust. The D7 is no exception and with it you have the additional options of an eco or a turbo clean (they both seem to work well though we have chosen the quieter eco option for scheduled night time cleaning) and a ‘Extra Care’ mode which is particularly gentle with navigation. This may be useful (I have turned it on) but Neato cleaners all seem to be much kinder to furniture than some of their competitors anyway.All in all I would thoroughly recommend the D7 connected. It is expensive but is, in my opinion, worth every penny.A Footnote: Browsing through the handbook I noticed that it is recommended to replace the new Lithium ion battery with a Neato Genuine replacement every 12-18 months. I wondered what this would cost and so, out of curiosity, found it under ‘Accessories’ on the Neato web site and clicked the ‘Get yours today’ button. I thought that his would probably take me to Amazon but instead it came back with this message: ‘Retailers for Neato Botvac™ Connected High Capacity Li-Ion Battery. It looks like there aren't any distributors in your country’. This is unimpressive to say the least and really is something that Neato need to sort out!
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11.8.2019

Enter the brave new world of Shirley (the Neato Rototics vacuum cleaner) the floor cleaning robot.Shirley arrived beautifully packed, everything safe and sound with nothing broken and no problems. This is really an essential start on an expensive piece of kit.Easy to unpack, remove tapes and set up charging point and put Shirley in for a full charge, Time to load the Neato App onto my iPhone, straightforward and then set up an account. All straightforward if you are happy with Apps/iPhones/accounts ~ some of my friends would need help at this point, some would feel like giving up.To cut to the chase ~ this is not for the technophobe. I found it straightforward and logical,App and remote mapping of your home would have some people sending Shirley back from whence she came. To spend this sort of money on a robotic vacuum cleaner you need to be keen and willing to work with it. Shirley is G R E A T but she's not for the technologically challenged. Having said this buying a Neato is probably self selecting in degrees of technological competence.Once charged Shirley was set to task of mapping the sitting room. The App is easy to use and Shirley was off ~ close the doors, remove expensive objects balanced on coffee tables and be patient and nearby. She dealt well going from carpet onto a rug on the carpet. She can back out of difficult situations and is slim enough to go under table legs and stretchers.Once mapping was complete (seems like cleaning but the brushes aren't busy) I could give Shirley the job of cleaning the room, which had been recently "Hoovered" with a conventional machine. She busied about, backwards and forwards side to side of the room in a visible pattern of cleaning. When Shirley was finished she went home for a charge. I had to help[ once or twice as I got used to her and she got used to the room. I found the whole thing very novel and a bit Sci-Fi. Now for results !! The "dust box" was full and I was surprised at how much had been collected ~ RESULT !!After a couple of days room use Shirley went on the trail of dirt and just as before, she found it and the box was full. To be fair the dust box is not huge but Shirley is slim and carries no excess weight!Once I was happy with the sitting room I branched out and together we learnt hallways and other rooms, all named on the App so Shirley knows where she is. Success, not without the odd mishap. When mapping the hallway, she followed me through an open door to the garden, yes it was a very flat threshold to be fair. But Shirley had the good sense to stop at the top of the three concrete steps ~ so the lazers and such do their stuff.I can programme our Shirl to clean rooms from my iPhone but there are limits as she can't open doors to get into the rooms. I have to carry her and put her down in the same place she started mapping from the first time. If I had a large open plan apartment she might become much more autonomous ~ I can dream!After a few months I am delighted with Shirley the Neato Rototics vacuum cleaner but I love technology and at the moment loving the whole idea of Shirley is fairly important. I have been told that the time spend "playing" with Shirley would have been better spent just getting the "Hoover" out and cleaning the rooms. But that's not the point is it!! Progress has to start somewhere and at first a limited number will jump on board, the others will follow and will tell their friends how trendy and innovative they are with their new technology !!!One thing to watch for if you get a Shirley (the Neato Rototics vacuum cleaner), my toddling grandson came in, looked at Shirley charging and within seconds had turned her on ! I was only aware when i heard shouts and screams of joy, "It's a robot, it's a robot, it's a robot," as the toddler stumbled after the nifty Shirley. He thought the whole thing was magnificent and I need to find the "lock the on/off button!!"
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29.7.2019

My Neato D710 is called Johnny!I choose it after carefully checking on other models and other brands too.Moreover, I looked for it after I sent back the one I bought only two weeks earlier from a very prestigious brand.I have mixed floors: laminate, lino and carpets. The other brand one worked well the first two days; however, the battery wasn't powerfull enough to do the whole house in one go (almost 70 mq), and from the third day it kept on getting blocked on the carpet - which is shorter than 1cm.After one week they sent me a replacement, which didn't work too and wasn't even able to map the house as it stopped working on the carpeted room and an incomplete map couldn't be saved.It was d-shaped,very expensive and useless on my carpeted room and entrance.Its app was similar to the Neato one, however, had only very basic functions: no single rooms option, no manual option, no way to schedule more than one cleaning programme. Furthermore, as it couldn't map the house, I had no way to set any schedule nor any no-go line up.With all this in mind, I choosed the Neato D710 - £519.00, almost half the price I would have paid for the other one.The first thing I noticed is that the Neato is much lighter, and I believe this is exactly why it's able to work on the carpet: I guess the other one "dived" a little bit too deep on the carpet, preventing the brush from spin properly (the given help message was always "the brush is blocked, please clean it" even when it was perfectly clean)."Johnny" Neato works very well both on hard and on carpeted floors.The battery is very long lasting, and I havent seen it uncharged yet.The mapping is very neat and the single room option, as long as the multiple scheduling, makes the hovering very flexible and effective.Johnny cleans every weekdays different areas at different times, according with our need the use the rooms before leaving to work and school, and I completely modify the schedule on weekends and holidays.The house is sparkly clean, and I just give it a mop once or twice a week, so that even the small bits Johnny can't reach are clean enough.The cleaning maps I get after each cleanings are very usefull, as I always know what has be done (normally everything), and I know if and when I have to move things and light pieces of furnitures to let it clean the previously occupied spots.The no-go line feature is very good and you can even enlarge the map to put it more precisely, wow!The magnetic thinghies may be useful when using the "spot" mode (which is not my favoutite though).Although I use them rarely, the "manual hoovering" option may be more effective than the "spot" one.I no longer need to rush to make the house decent before going to work and less workload leaves time to do the other needed cleaning and, most important ever, more time for my self and my family, in a tidy, confortably clean home!I clean it's dust container and the brush every day, with my old normal hoover.Sometimes it gets confused when I move the bed the other side of the room (so to have every side of the room hoovered more than once a week), and I have to bring it back to the deck station as it can not, but this doen't affect its excellent performances.Until now, it has lost the connection once; I was not happy and thought the nice-time-for-me was over.After a few pointlessy try, I reboot it altogether and it came back as before.Hopefully, it won't happen again, as I read some bad reviews about this (apparently happening after less than one months from the purchase) and I would be very disappointed in finding the technology is not developed enough to work on a longer basis.By the way, I am totally satisfied so far and I would recomend it without exitation, but I'll update this review if needed.
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30.3.2018

This is the first robot vacuum we've ever used so I can't compare it to its direct competitors. However, at £800, I am inclined to compare it with what it's replacing* - us using the Miele Miele S5261 2200 Watt Cat and Dog Turbo Bagged Cylinder Vacuum Cleaner, Red (which I would award 6 stars if possible). So, the Neato's got to be way more convenient than manually vacuum cleaning the house, and significantly good at vacuum cleaning. Challenge one - Passed. But only after an abortive first three attempt; I followed the instructions to let the Neato clean its way around the whole ground floor, with all doors open, so it could map out the layout. The laser guiding did well to negotiate around chair and table legs,but then the whole thing got stuck underneath our tv stand, which seems to be the perfect height for the Neato to think it can limbo under, but can't - the protrusion on the top got wedged and the Neato had no way out. Atempt two - Neato got stuck on the (admittedly very) deep pile rug - it managed to climb aboard, but then floundered. Attempt three - having removed the rug and placed barriers around the tv stand, it managed to make its way all around the ground floor and then back into its charging dock. SUCCESS! And it sent me notification through the Android app to let me know it was done, and would I like to look at the areas it had cleaned on the floorplan. Well, yes, I would. And then disappointment - it had mapped out the edges of the floorplan, but had chosen for some reason not to vacuum the whole floor in the hallway - just the edges.So, no fear of Cyberdyne systems taking over the planet just yet. However, this seems to be required training - for the Neato and the new user. Once you have learned what it can do and it has learned the floorplan of the house, it gets on does it. Eventually. The first run, with this needlessly spinning top, can be frustrating.How does it compare with the Miele? On every dimension of vacuum cleaning performance - not well. It's not very powerful (well, the motor's tiny compared with the 2200W Miele); despite the low power, it's really quite noisy and it's not very versatile (it will go to the edges of the room, but it can't take the stairs, or clean sofas and curtains - obviously - nor can it handle the one rug we have, so that needs to be removed before we start the run). In terms of convenience, it takes considerably more frequent emptying (which is fair because who wants larger unit?); it advises replacement of consumables on much more frequent basis which is both annoying and expensive. So, this robotic thing isn't cheap either in initial outlay nor on-going costs. However, it is convenient to be able to set the Neato to vacuum while the house is empty, and not have to worry about taking care of that job when you get home. It does take a few minutes' prep, to remove the rug, open internal doors, and place the barriers around the tv stand/create a no-go zone, but that literally is no more than a few minutes' work. Challenge two (cleaning) - Passed, kind of.Overall, this a product of convenience. It can't replace a dedicated vacuum cleaner because there's a lot it can't do. But for 80% of the time, it does enough, and given that that can be done while you're away from home, the noise is irrelevant. I'm still in the novelty phase, but I imagine that the Neato will be a useful addition to the house. I feel the overall cost of ownership is very high, but if you value your convenience, a robot vacuum cleaner is pretty... er... smart.
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21.5.2019

I though autonomous ‘robot’ vacuum cleaners were a gimmick. Bound to get stuck somewhere whilst cleaning and just not very good at their primary function – vacuuming. Turns out I was wrong. I’ve been working with Neato for a couple of weeks in my office which has probably provided the most complicated floor area you could hope to test a robot vacuum cleaner. Three desks, nine chairs, pillars, stairs – all getting in the way.Day 1It’s obvious on opening the box that Neato is a high end product and it looks like the future has arrived. Sleek black and metal effect design. I can’t wait to see it in action. Only problem is that I’ve left my phone in the car (it’s miles away)and so I can’t download the Neato app to program him. This turns out not to be a problem because there is a simple start button on top of the machine. It’s fascinating and I watch him on and off for about 50 minutes as the 45 square metre office is vacuumed. Neato is quite noisy, not overly so, but he is a vacuum cleaner and they all make noise. Try brushing and sucking carpets quietly! I was amazed to see how much stuff came out of the carpet on the first pass (see picture 1).Day 2Now I’ve downloaded the app and Neato is able to make his own floor plan of the office as he navigates around doing his morning clean (see picture 2). I can now choose areas where I don’t want him to go by swiping a line onto the floor plan. This is useful to keep him out of the metal guide wires that hold-up our window displays (Neato gets a bit rough when he’s cornered in an area only just bigger than him. When reversing he can ride up at the back and make a mark on a wall if you’re not careful). What is obvious from the start is that Neato has some seriously powerful software running him. He’s really, really clever and I’ve seen him get into – and out of – some very tight spaces. Every time it seems as though he’s trying a different approach. Maybe he’s learning? Probably.Day 3I discover zone cleaning after updating the app. It’s useful but I decide to stick with the whole office clean. Neato can be programmed to clean at one time (not multiple times) of the day, seven days a week. I still like watching him work and he’s really growing on me. Of course I talk to him sometimes (we humans are soft and like to anthropomorphize objects. Especially if they move around and pretend they are living). I decide to call him… Neato.Day 4After cleaning, Neato returns automatically to his base station to charge. I don’t think I will ever tire of watching him wiggle from left to right over the last few centimetres as he reverses onto the power plate. After a good charge, I decide that our basement room and kitchen could do with a vacuuming and so I pick-up Neato and carry him downstairs. Turn him on and off he goes in the dark for half an hour doing his thing. He’s using a laser to navigate and so the lights don’t need to be on.Day 5 and afterEvery morning at 7am Neato vacuums the office. I am sent a message via the app when he’s finished and shown a floor plan of where he has cleaned. Sometimes he does it in 45 minutes, other times 56 minutes. Depends how the obstacles are placed in the office. Neato’s base station is on the other side of the office but I pass him at various times of the day on my way to one of the many filing cabinets. He is now a useful member of the team and I refuse to return him to Amazon or Neato robotics. I don’t how long we’ll have together. Then again, who does…
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26.5.2019

The Neato Botvac is, indeed, pretty neat. It comes pretty much ready to go - base unit, the robot itself and some useful bits and bobs to get you started (more on those shortly).Whilst use of the associated app is not required it does make the experience more fun and informative (i.e. feedback) and provide additional functionality (e.g. remote initiation). Setting up an account and linking the vacbot to that account via wifi is pretty straightforward and follows the same pattern as other similar devices. The instructions are pretty clear, providing the necessary guiding hand.If you have a cluttered house, or lots of different stepped levels, you probably will not benefit from a vacbot.We find ourselves "tidying" (moving dining room chairs, dogs bed on the sofa, lifting hanging curtains, removing shoes) quite a lot before initiating a clean - and it does make a difference. So it's not magic. That said it is pretty clever. It handles a rug with tassley ends, the door mat at our back door, some quite fiddly spaces - and two bemused animals (one dog and one cat). To date it has not got stuck anywhere to the point of requiring rescue.How good is it at cleaning...? Pretty good for the areas it can get to. Unless you live in an extremely minimalist environment with straight edges and no ticky cables or weird small gaps between furniture - there are going to be places it can't get to. For those - you will need to hoover yourself using a snozzle at whatever frequency you deem necessary. For the main areas it does well - as evidenced by the dust collector when you come to empty it. This is a simple operation - it lifts from the top, remove the dust filter and empty. Reverse the procedure to replace it.There is a strip of quite heavy material which can be used to block of areas which are to be avoided (physical barriers such as boxes will do the same thing in effect). Alternatively this can be done in the Neato app. The app allows a few additional things - e.g. a schedule which allows a daily cleaning timetable to be set up.Although the handbook says that the docking station needs a meter clear each side - ours is positioned in an alcove with perhaps 20cm on each side - and the vacbot finds it way back without a problem. A small wiggle of its behind and it reverses straight onto the dock - ready for next time.Supplied additionally are a cleaning scraper, a couple of spare filters, a replacement brush head and the aforementioned "no go" strip.Personally I think the Neato is a pretty clever little thingm - although hamstrung by some practical considerations. It will get on with the job whilst you are out, but may require some forethought in terms of what you leave lying around. Perhaps a good incentive to be tidier. If you use the app - you get a floor plan/map of the job just done once the Neato has completed its cleaning run. I've seen ours improve over time (quantifiable with the "square meters cleaned" summary figure for each run) - which is possibly both the Neato improving - and us. You will still need to empty it and sometimes get the manual vacuum cleaner out for those tricky and hard to get places. As with Daleks - it does not do stairs so you'll still be doing the upstairs too (or carrying it upstairs!)Linking with Alexa is easy (once you have a Neato account) - it is just a matter of enabling that skill. Then you can lie on the sofa, eating doughnuts and drinking hot chocolate and ask Alexa to get some cleaning done.
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17.5.2019

This is the first robot vacuum cleaner I have ever owned. It came in a box about the size of large scalextrix set and has a footprint itself about the same size as a standard upright hoover, without the upright part. It has a raised disc in the centre for scanning and two wheels underneath that manoeuvre the robot about and lift it. It also comes with a docking/ recharging station, a cleaning comb and spare brushes.The robot is best controlled via the Neato app, the registration process is fairly simple and you can name your robot. The first clean is recommended to be done for the whole house and it maps your floors.We have done some preparation and moved everything we could off the floor - chairs onto tables that sort of thing to give it the best chance of cleaning success. It's not done too badly. The map it has provided is a reasonably good map of our house, and there is a little bit of manual hoovering we will have to do round the edges but on the whole it has picked most things up.We've run this four times in our testing for this review. On the first occasion it ran over a tissue under our bed, this caused the brush to clog up and jam. Instead of pushing on and burning out the motor or damaging the unit, it called for help. Removing the jam was pretty straight forward and there is a video built into the app to show you how to do it. Once replaced it completed the clean and found its way back to the docking station.On attempt number two it got caught up in some wires near the bed. Again it stopped and once freed - it didn't need the brush removing this time it managed to get on with it OK.On attempt number three it got stuck behind a chair, this time, we were at work and when we freed it, it managed to get lost and had to be carried back to its docking station.Attempt number four was trouble free and met with success. We have climbed a learning curve about trailing wires, tissues and the like and can now enjoy some happy cleaning.At the end of each clean you have to clean the brush and empty the collection bin. Its not the biggest collection bin going but takes a reasonable amount of the robot and I don't see how it could be made any bigger. Every time it is absolutely full of dust so the vacuum cleaner really is picking up the dust and not just blowing it around to the room edges. Cleaning the brush each time is a bit of a pain, but at least it has been designed for removal and easy cleaning and its only a couple of minutes to do.So all in all its not completely work free to hoover your house with a Neato Robot Vacuum cleaner. You have to clean the brush and empty the dust tray EVERY time. In my opinion that's the difference between good and great. You can schedule cleans, but for best results you need to get obstructions out of the way so really no need to do the scheduling when you can do a manual start when you leave for work.In use, its about as noisy as a regular vacuum cleaner. We really like the way it moves itself around and can climb over minor obstacles, doesn't bash into stuff and pretty neatly works out where it is and how to get back to base. I like the way it communicates when its finished even though I'm at work.Overall its pretty good, not perfect because of the need to clean it every time, but pretty good. Our house footprint is pretty big, being a loft converted bungalow and battery life it is good. Neat (O).
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14.5.2019

This is a top-of-the range floor robot, so my expectations are high. The D7 is heavy, looks good, and seems very well constructed. It will clean both hard floors and carpets. Basic operation is easy. You plug in the base station, and position the Neato’s backside against the charging contacts. The battery charges up. When the battery light changes to green, you know there’s enough charge for a cleaning job, so you press the start button and the Neato sets off, using its laser to sense where the walls are and where other obstructions are. It will bump its way around furniture legs, and will get as far under furniture as it can. You’ll see Neato working around the room close to the edges,and then trying to do straight lines up and down the room, furniture permitting. Having cleaned the room it started in, it will go through open doors to clean other rooms. When finished or when it runs out of charge, it will stop, then return to its charging station (don’t move the charging station). The whole ground floor of my house gets done in just over an hour – tiles and wood floors well swept, and carpets and rugs vacced. No complaints about the cleaning performance or the ability to cover the whole floor, right up to the edges and into corners.If you want to clean just one room, put the Neato down in that room, close the doors, and press the start button. Neato will clean the room, then go back to the position in which you started it, and switch off. If you want to clean a limited area – say, under the dining table -- put Neato down facing that area, press the start button twice, and an area about 2 metres square gets cleaned. That’s called spot cleaning.After use, you lift out the small container and empty out the fluff and grit. Clean the beater brush (similar to an upright vac’s) if necessary.All the above is very simple, but any job can be made trickier by making it work with an app. Yes, there’s an app. Once you’ve installed the Neato app, got the robot on to your home’s wifi, and paired it with your phone, you can select some optional settings. Eco mode – that’s a bit quieter, but takes longer to clean. Or Turbo mode – full power. You can also switch on Extra Care, which means less bumping of furniture legs, and you can expand the spot cleaning area to 4m x 4m. After each cleaning job, the app shows you a map of the cleaned area. You can use this map to define no-go areas, such as corners where there are loose wires or stuff resting on the floor. You can also define zones, and subsequently order Neato to clean just one zone. That might be the surface of a rug, or the area around your desk. You can even set up schedules so that Neato will regularly come off its base, do a clean, and go back.There’s a noticeable cost of ownership. The filter will need replacing every couple of months (they cost £3-£8 each) and the beater brush perhaps every six months (about £35). The rechargeable battery life might be only 1-2 years (£20-£50).
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8.4.2018

This is an amazing piece of technology and despite an initial hiccup I can’t imagine not having a robotic vacuum. This vac has mapped my entire downstairs; hallway (laminate), front room (carpet), back room (laminate and rugs) and kitchen (laminate and rugs). I have a total area cleaned that fluctuates between 29m² and 30m² which takes Neato 30 mins to complete; although I do wonder where this 1m² is that isn’t as regularly vacuumed. I initially placed the charge base in my back room, but Neato consistently didn’t vacuum my front room despite it still appearing on the floor map. Neato’s consumer helpline was contacted but as yet no response received.I have repositioned the charge base into the front room and haven’t had any problems since. My Neato is currently called Jeeves, but the names Igor, Alfred and Winston Wolfe remain under consideration.What I do like:• Easy set up.• App simple to navigate and use on my phone. There’s something quite empowering about setting your Neato to clean when not even at home.• Text alerts once the Neato has completed a clean.• Text alerts if Neato is trapped somewhere. I’ve had to rescue him once when he tried to vacuum up a small chicken cat toy.• Easy transition from laminate flooring to carpet or rugs.• Floor map can be adjusted so Neato can avoid certain areas. I have a no go zone mapped by my cats food bowls so that Neato doesn’t try to clean up wet cat food.• A fairly thorough clean (further details in the ‘What I don’t like’ list below).• Navigates well.• Dirtbin easy to remove, empty and re-insert.What I don’t like:• You can only programme one floor plan so Neato can’t do the whole house unless you live in a bungalow. You have to take him and the charge base upstairs and remap the area. I’m not quite that lazy but if my Neato could navigate stairs ……….• Small sharp corners are missed. My dishwasher sticks out slightly from the countertops and cupboards, and Neato always misses the small floor area by it.• The dirtbin is quite small, but then with 3 cats mine is always full after a daily vac.• A handy small brush is included to clean Neato’s filter. It’s just a pity you can’t slot this into Neato somewhere to avoid losing/misplacing it.• Lack of technical support when experiencing problems.• Magnetic strips provided to establish boundaries, but not only are these unsightly but also unnecessary with the ‘no go’ zones you can set up on your floor map.• I have yet to fathom out if there is some sort of rational explanation for the route Jeeves takes. He vacs part of one room then goes to another, then comes back and finishes the first room. He covers all the areas he’s programmed to, but the route he takes is somewhat convoluted; even when considering he could be working in a square grid pattern.Approx. dimensions:Neato H 7.5cm W 32.8cm D 31.5cmCharging base H 12cm W 26.5cm D 5.8cmNeato weight 3.6kg
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31.7.2018

After purchasing an Amazon Echo, I discovered that I could use Alexa to control 'smart devices'. I'd previously seem robot vacuums advertised and thought that they were just a gimmick, but I was particularly intrigued by the Neato Botvac D7. I researched the various models from Neato and other manufacturers and came to the conclusion that if I were to purchase a robot vacuum, the D7 would probably be the best option. Considering the price is much higher than traditional vacuum cleaners, I wondered whether I would quickly regret my decision to purchase what might be considered a novelty item.I'm delighted to say that I'm very impressed with it so far.I've had 2 little glitches so far - the first one was when it didn't dock itself after cleaning. The second fault was a little more worrying, as the vacuum appeared to be completely lifeless and wouldn't operate at all. The customer service support was fantastic, and they guided me through all possible scenarios until I was able to establish that the vacuum hadn't docked itself correctly. To be fair, it had been knocked slightly and therefore unseated from its docking position which caused the vacuum to lose its charge overnight. After re-seating it properly against the docking station and leaving it a couple of hours to charge up again, it's been fine ever since.The vacuum cleans thoroughly, picks up (almost) all cat hair, and the carpet and floors look really clean after it has finished. The dust compartment isn't enormous, but it's big enough to capture dust in our reasonably sized apartment. I still haven't got past the novelty value of watching it work, but when I leave it to get on with it's job, it cleans very well and in theory at least, it gives me time to do other things. Controlling it via Alexa provides the additional versatility to allow my disabled wife to ask Neato to clean the house, which she would have found impossible to do from her wheelchair using a conventional vacuum. I would highly recommend this product for anyone considering a robot vacuum who can justify the expense. For me, it's been a very worthwhile purchase.Software has just been updated in December 2018 to allow specific rooms (or zones as they call them) to be cleaned. I received an email yesterday about the update, and today I was able to update the app and the robot vacuum easily. Creating the zones is a piece of cake, and I'm delighted to say it works perfectly. I can now clean single rooms of my apartment, rather than it cleaning the whole area. This is a vast improvement for when you just want to do a quick clean of a particular area of your home. Neato are obviously listening to their customers, and I'm really pleased I purchased the D7. Neato treat their customers well with great backup support when required, and I'm convinced that this as been the best purchase I've made this year. Thank you Neato.
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