Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum

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254 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 93

#2144401 12-Dec-2018 17:24

chimera:

I have bought it from Parallel Imported for $619, arrived yesterday in 6 working days, they even included a power adapter.

It is pretty cool, a few things still to sort out, and it is a pain that all of my other Mi devices are on the Mainland China server but the S50 does not want to work on that server.

I searched their site, could not find anything?

https://www.parallelimported.co.nz/xiaomi-mi-roborock-2-robot-vacuum-cleaner-white-hd.html

And as usual, it got cheaper after I have bought it :(

MCSE+M/S, MCITP

chimera

563 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 199

ID Verified

#2144405 12-Dec-2018 17:30

engedib:

chimera:

I have bought it from Parallel Imported for $619, arrived yesterday in 6 working days, they even included a power adapter.

It is pretty cool, a few things still to sort out, and it is a pain that all of my other Mi devices are on the Mainland China server but the S50 does not want to work on that server.

I searched their site, could not find anything?

https://www.parallelimported.co.nz/xiaomi-mi-roborock-2-robot-vacuum-cleaner-white-hd.html

And as usual, it got cheaper after I have bought it :(

Awesome thanks, I'll cancel Ali order and buy from there!!!!

Cheers

lctham

59 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 8

ID Verified

#2150602 26-Dec-2018 00:41

Is the one in the nz mi store the 1st or 2nd gen? Also how do these compare to the irobot ones at noels?

engedib

254 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 93

#2150656 26-Dec-2018 10:22

lctham: Is the one in the nz mi store the 1st or 2nd gen? Also how do these compare to the irobot ones at noels?

It is the 1st gen at PBtech and the Mi Store.

Paralell imported and Dicksmith has the 2nd gen version.

MCSE+M/S, MCITP

sootyandsweep

16 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 8

#2154371 4-Jan-2019 13:26

Based on this thread I'm giving it a go and joining the robot revolution! Thanks to everyone for the great advice etc especially all those who said avoid DSE. Question though - has anyone managed to get working well with Alexa?

kiwijunglist

2983 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 135

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#2154372 4-Jan-2019 13:29

i can say that it works well with home assistant, and home assistant works well with alexa.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

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sootyandsweep

16 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 8

#2154747 5-Jan-2019 11:09

Thought I'd share some findings getting one of these.

As per my post yesterday ordered around 2pm yesterday (Friday) and it arrived on my door by rural delivery before 9am this morning (Saturday). Great job PB Tech getting it out so fast!

Unboxing straightforward, vacuum is packaged well, and the manual included is in ALL english. Most of the reviews on youtube etc have this as chinese. Very detailed and straightforward instructions, not like some of those other "translation" versions where all the grammer etc is screwed up.

Came with a proper NZ plug not some adapter.

Setting up the unit is simple - took it out of box, plugged in charging unit, pushed the vacuum up to charger and turned on to power up WIFI. Voices are all in english as well, again reviews etc on youtube have you needing to change it, not the case here.

Downloaded the Mi Home app from app store. Had to create an account and then connect to the vacuums WIFI. At that point it found the vacuum straight away. Server was recommended in the App as Singapore so left as that. The firmware was then updated which took about 10 minutes.

That was that. All connected and could just use the app to run. Nothing else to setup unless you want to play with controls etc. Simple and really easy to do without all the mucking round I've seen from others online with servers, languages etc.

First time use was easy. Just pressed go on the app (or you can on the unit) and away it went. Mapped out an area of the house beautifully and negotiated some obstacles well. Got up on top of a 10mm rug no trouble. Negotiated a sliding door where it could "see" through the glass on the map using the laser but still just followed the glass instead of trying to go through. One of the wheels fell into the sliding door track and I thought it was beached, but after a couple of seconds lifted itself up, got out and carried on. Did a good job on the area and returned home once cleaning was complete. I had it on quiet for most of the run which reduced noise a lot, this was on carpet and it still returned with almost a full dustbin. I have vacuumed properly every day this week with a cat and dog Miele and power head, but this still found more dirt! Really impressed as I though on quiet mode it wouldn't really do much. Tried out on full power and that left some satisfying vacuum lines in the carpet :-)

Only con in use is the 'clean main brush' which I got three times in first use. On looking brush was still completely clean but the spinning brush on the side is just long enough to reach into the main brush area and up just next to the axle. That then gets sucked up a tiny bit which I think causes the unit to think it has something around the main brush axle hence the error. Just pressing the power again resumes the cleaning and it knows exactly where it left off. Shorter bristles on the spinning brush might resolve that issue. Once I get a replacement spinning brush I'll try cutting the bristles shorter and see if that changes anything.

Connection with Alexa was simple. Find Mi Home skill and enable. There's 3 skills - Mi Home, Mi Asia and Mi - use Mi Home. Link account details and that was it. I had changed the name of the unit to Rosie in the Mi Home app and Alexa recognised this which I think is a neat touch. Everything connected straight away and I was able to - "Alexa, tell Rosie to start cleaning".

Those who know that great feeling of when something works and you can just control on command - "I always wondered if there was a god... and now I know.. there is... and it's me" - Homer Simpson.

Overall pretty happy with the job done and how everything just works without the mucking round.

Thanks to everyone who shared on here, learnt heaps, and I hope this helps someone else in future.

lctham

59 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 8

ID Verified

#2154760 5-Jan-2019 11:28

thanks for taking the time to write a review,

how does the mop function perform? Also is it just water it puts out, or can you make it spray a cleaner while mopping?

sootyandsweep

16 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 8

#2155082 5-Jan-2019 21:08

It wasn't the 2nd gen mopping variety. 1st gen doesn't have the mop. Since we have mostly carpet wasn't worth getting mop.

danforth

3 posts

Wannabe Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#2156632 8-Jan-2019 19:09

Received ours from ParallelImported today. Their service was good and surprisingly quick for the time of year. Setup and initial charging was sweet, first test of our largely-carpeted main floor resulted in a couple of error 5's, but otherwise very good results.

Later I made the WiFi connection and turned on carpet mode - which seems to have made that error distinctly less frequent. However, it just happened again, and while on the lino floor! I didn't see any sign that the side brush could have affected/reached the main brush wires as someone suggested but have only had a cursory look so far. I'll pursue the various workarounds later if the issue is more than rare.

Its also somersaulted partway down two different sets of steps - one carpeted, one slate-tiled at the top with carpet below. No excuse for that really but I can see I'm going to have construct barriers or try to do the magnetic strip thing to pre-empt it.

Definitely far quieter, cleverer (apart from the steps!) and more effective than our 2000s-era Roomba, and bonuses like being able to use Google Home to tell it to get on with it are nice - if merely playful rather than highly useful.

Glad I got it.

billgates

4718 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 681

Trusted

#2156634 8-Jan-2019 19:29

Recieved one from parallel imported today as well for $577 for the 2nd generation before they stopped selling it on their website. As above, impressed with the shipping speed. Firmware update took a while and is bit of a weird process but nonetheless completed after connecting to China region. It spent 30 minutes doing just the family room area, paused it and checked the rubbis( collection bin and it was half full already. It’s fantastic. It certainly does a deep clean. We don’t spend 30 minutes vacuuming just family room alone.

Do whatever you want to do man.

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engedib

254 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 93

#2156694 8-Jan-2019 21:38

billgates: Recieved one from parallel imported today as well for $577 for the 2nd generation before they stopped selling it on their website. As above, impressed with the shipping speed. Firmware update took a while and is bit of a weird process but nonetheless completed after connecting to China region. It spent 30 minutes doing just the family room area, paused it and checked the rubbis( collection bin and it was half full already. It’s fantastic. It certainly does a deep clean. We don’t spend 30 minutes vacuuming just family room alone.

They are still selling it, just different link, and different price.

https://www.parallelimported.co.nz/xiaomi-mi-roborock-vacuum-cleaner.html

MCSE+M/S, MCITP

lctham

59 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 8

ID Verified

#2156773 9-Jan-2019 09:22

can you tell me how the mopping function is?

We have a lot of wooden floors, so wondering how it cleans them with the mop + water

danforth

3 posts

Wannabe Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#2157182 9-Jan-2019 17:25

lctham:

can you tell me how the mopping function is?

We have a lot of wooden floors, so wondering how it cleans them with the mop + water

Can't comment from testing it I'm sorry - we don't have much floor that isn't carpet so probably won't bother. However, from reviews and other mentions I noticed during my research:

* Its main drawback is that it may not detect and avoid carpet so, if you don't confine it with obstacles or the "zone clean" function (easy), you may end up with damp carpet.

* Its mopping efficiency is not awful but about what you'd expect from dragging a damp rag over your floor - could be useful and ok, especially for a maintenance mop, probably wouldn't match what you get doing it manually. Perhaps about the same as a damp swiffer. The zone clean function lets you specify up to three passes during a clean and that repeat factor may make it ok.

chimera

563 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 199

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#2164804 21-Jan-2019 15:02

I just wanna throw this one out there, in case anyone else comes across it - because I found very little on the Internet about it.

Our Xiaomi Roborock vacuum was doing a clean today, until I heard it stop, so I went to check.

It was saying "Error 11, Strong magnetic field detected. Move device away from virtual wall and try again".

Thought that was a bit odd, picked it up and moved it, same error, moved to lounge, same error, checked the roller, the dust bin, turned it off completely, back on, same error...

Turned it back over and started examining closely, eventually found this tiny little magnet (my boy bought a heap of them from Aliexpress) magnetized to a screw on the bottom of the unit!!!

Removed and voila, off she goes again.

Shoulda gone to specsavers...

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