Roidmi EVE Plus Robot Vacuum with Self-Emptying Station

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Roidmi EVE Plus Robot Vacuum with Self-Emptying Station - $599 incl shipping from DSE

jonathan18

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#295391 25-Mar-2022 11:31

So, yeah, I'd not heard of Roidmi before but the name certainly has a Mi ring about it (Redmi etc) and the images of the cleaner make it look damn similar to our current Roborock...

And it does indeed appear to be another Mi brand. While I've not dug into the details yet (eg, how does the suction power rate compared to the Roborocks: Edit - claims to be 2700PA, which is higher than the S7 (2500) or my S50(2000)) $599 for a self-emptying cleaner with multiple mapping is a veritable bargain - half what I'm looking to spend on the S7 with dock. (Edit: get the absence of the S7's advanced mopping function, but for us this would probably be a nice bonus, not a critical feature worth paying a lot more for.)

https://www.dicksmith.co.nz/dn/buy/roidmi-eve-plus-robot-vacuum-with-self-emptying-station-roidmi/

Has anyone got experience with this model and/or read up enough about it to know whether it represents a quality product at a bargain price or a waste of money?

jonathan18

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#2892021 25-Mar-2022 12:03

Well, having now spoken to my wife apparently we do want our new cleaner to have the fancy mopping function, so looks like I'll be waiting for a good price on the S7 with dock! (Though I think the Roidmi dock is far more subtle; I also think the S7 has the usual 'suck from the bottom' approach, which has its problems, whereas the dock on the Roidmi sucks from the rear.)

That said, the reviews I've read are generally pretty positive - eg https://www.digitaltrends.com/smart-home-reviews/xiaomi-roidmi-eve-plus-robot-vacuum-review/ - and it appears to offer great value for money. As a comparison, we paid $649 for our Roborock S50 three years ago this week, and that doesn't have a dock and can't work with multiple maps (so can't be used in more than one level/building).

Obraik

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#2892710 27-Mar-2022 13:56

Just don't set your expectations too high for the mopping function. They're more about diluting and spreading the mess around more than cleaning it.

On the vacuum side, I'm a bit biased towards the iRobot options if there's carpet in the house. Especially the Roomba S9 - it's probably the first robot that actually removes the need to manually vacuum carpet from time to time.

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jonathan18

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#2892782 27-Mar-2022 14:51

The crud mopping is the reason I’ve said this Roidmi won’t cut it for us; I’ve never even bothered to try the mopping function on our S50, for the reasons you mention; I really don’t see how that can be considered cleaning when essentially all it’s doing is wiping the floor with a wet mat.

The S7+, however, has a different approach to the mopping function, where the plate vibrates. Apparently relatively effective, and more importantly it’s apparently smart enough to mop only the hard surfaces - our kitchen/dining has carpet meeting wooden floor with a curved edging, so this automatic feature means using the mop will hopefully be feasible for us.

Obraik

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#2892883 27-Mar-2022 18:47

I'm not convinced that the vibrating pads versions are overly better as they're still soaking the mess into the pad and wiping it around on the floor. I see there are now some that can go return to their base and wash their pads before going back out to clean which might be better.

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jonathan18

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#2900615 12-Apr-2022 19:10

In the end, we decided it was difficult to justify buying the Roborock for well over double the cost of this Roidmi unit simply for the mopping, so we bought the Roidmi. And will continue to mop by hand because, as expected, the mopping function on this is less than useless...

Other than that, though, it's fantastic value for money at the $599 we paid or even the $673 it is now.

Vacuuming seems to be at least as effective as our current S50, and it's a good amount quieter as well. The multiple maps function works well, enabling us to use the vacuum cleaner in the sleepout. The app control works way better than the Roborock. But certainly the best feature is the self-emptying dock. Does a great job sucking out the dust and debris every time it's finished (this can be adjusted to be done less frequently). And what surprised me is how compact the base is - some such bases for other brands are substantial, whereas this is so petite it still sits under the same stool the previous cleaner without such a sucky base sat (photo below to show scale).

All accessories are readily available on Aliexpress at ok prices (though it comes with one set of replacements for the key parts and 4-5 bags).

Definitely recommended for those looking for an affordable but very feature-rich robot cleaner.

pulsta

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#2922502 4-Jun-2022 07:31

I'm thinking of buying one of these while I wait for a new wheel assembly to arrive for my trusty Xiaomi 1c.

Any issues so far? Have your maps disappeared yet (which is a common complaint) and would you still recommend?

Cheers!

davidcole

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#2922506 4-Jun-2022 08:24

https://youtu.be/OE0qToDBfcg

I think some of the models mentioned in this thread are reviewed here. He went over the mopping function as well

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pulsta

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#2922510 4-Jun-2022 09:11

davidcole: https://youtu.be/OE0qToDBfcg

I think some of the models mentioned in this thread are reviewed here. He went over the mopping function as well

Thanks for that! although I'm specifically asking about the Roidme Eve Plus and was hoping that @jonathan18 would let us his thoughts 2 months in

jonathan18

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#2922582 4-Jun-2022 12:46

Sure, happy to provide an update.

Negatives:

Not as good as navigating over rugs as our previous Roborock S5; this seems to be down to the combination water tank/dust box which I reckon sits lower to the ground. Does occasionally manage to flip the whole rug over!
Filter contains a lot of plastic, whereas the S5 was a much more conventional plastic frame with the paper(?) filter. I was worried that the way the back of the filter was covered by the plastic in terms of being able to clean it out properly, but thus far it doesn’t seem to be an issue (I still use a compressor to clean out the filter weekly; it may not be necessary to do it that frequently, but it’s easier to remember to do this.)
Can be so dumb in terms of getting itself into tight spaces it’s not smart enough to get out of without trying one million times, eg between chair legs. It eventually does get out by itself but makes for an inefficient clean.
Similarly, gets confused by objects (eg a sofa) with gaps underneath that are higher than the main body of the unit but lower than the LIDAR turret (or, similarly, low ledges such as raised tiles around the fireplace) - it copes ok, but does lots of attempts to get under the object (or try to climb the ledge) rather than just run parallel. The solution is to put a no-go zone in the app.
Speaking of that, it’s a dog to edit the maps, eg creating, shifting and editing no-go zones is frustrating.
App can be frustrating if cancelling a clean to amend the rooms; sometimes requires a forced close.
Mopping. I knew it would be bad but words can’t describe how bad! I never bothered trying with the S50, and should have kept to this approach!\

Positives:

Relatively quiet - certainly quieter than the S5.
Effective vacuuming. Impressed with how much it gathers up.
Multi-zone mapping actually works well. Maps for both the main house and sleep out have remained (the latter disappeared the first time I created it, but I think I needed to have selected to save it). Initially I was following advice I’d read elsewhere about manually selecting the correct map before beginning cleaning, but I forgot to restore it to the main house last time and it automatically detected the change of location.
App control is generally heaps better than with the S50 - not nearly as many times I find myself needing to force close the app. Can create an order by which rooms are cleaned. Can name rooms.
Self-emptying is just fantastic. Clears out most stuff from the dust box - only time it hasn’t was when a lego mini figure was stuck in there!
Despite having a very similar roller to the S50, it just doesn’t get as gunked up as the S50 with hair and stuff (and the ends come off to make it easier to remove what is there).
The speaker voice is much louder and easier to understand the S50 (woman’s voice; I find it difficult to understand what the male’s voice is saying).

While that list of negatives may seem longer than the good things, I’m just trying to give the warts-and-all experience - overall I’m pretty happy, and it’s excellent value (I think this week I saw it for $580 incl shipping. If one is willing to put some time into mapping and marking out no-go zones, the stupidity of its navigation can be tamed to an acceptable level. And the self-emptying is a god-send. I found my S50 performed far better if cleaned out after every clean of the house, which meant having to empty it three times a week. So great never having to do this.

pulsta

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#2922779 4-Jun-2022 18:20

Thank you for the very detailed review! Exactly the kind of information I was after.

Some of the negatives which you've pointed out exist with the Xioami 1C (eg. the app 'features', being 'dumb' and the mopping performance in particular) so that's at least a little comforting but still annoying for sure.

The big positives however (eg. self emptying, multi-zone and lidar) seal the deal for me so I'll look at picking one up next week.

Cheers!