Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum

1 | ... | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | ... | 41

1263 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 776

#2164864 21-Jan-2019 16:36

chimera:

this tiny little magnet (my boy bought a heap of them from Aliexpress)

If your boy is young be sure to explain to him how horrifically dangerous they are if a couple are accidentally swallowed.

chimera

563 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 199

ID Verified

#2164868 21-Jan-2019 16:39

gbwelly:

chimera:

this tiny little magnet (my boy bought a heap of them from Aliexpress)

If your boy is young be sure to explain to him how horrifically dangerous they are if a couple are accidentally swallowed.

11 and 13.

Small enough to do minimal damage anyhow.

Might be a good party trick putting a magnet on his stomach and bringing it back out again :-)

cnor152

72 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 14

#2164931 21-Jan-2019 17:58

Tell him to open up and send in the cleaner.

Lizard1977

2134 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 625

ID Verified

#2188660 28-Feb-2019 10:13

I see that PB Tech are selling a Mi robovac for $399 during their TechXpo "sale." Is this a good deal? I haven't read this whole thread, but a quick scan of the last few pages suggests that this might be the gen 1 rather than the gen 2 version (just vacuum, no mop).

chimera

563 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 199

ID Verified

#2188681 28-Feb-2019 10:35

Lizard1977:

I see that PB Tech are selling a Mi robovac for $399 during their TechXpo "sale." Is this a good deal? I haven't read this whole thread, but a quick scan of the last few pages suggests that this might be the gen 1 rather than the gen 2 version (just vacuum, no mop).

Definitely the v1. Not really a "good" deal, I'm fairly sure I've seen it at around $360 before.

Here's a really good comparison showing differences between v1 and v2...

https://smartrobotreviews.com/reviews/the-new-xiaomi-robot-vacuum-vs-first-generation.html

Lizard1977

2134 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 625

ID Verified

#2188706 28-Feb-2019 11:05

Thanks for that. Even if it's not the cheapest it's ever been (though I just checked pricespy and $399 is the lowest they seem to have recorded it), it sounds like it's not a bad deal, if it's only $40 more than the lowest price.

I've looked at a few review videos, and it seems quite good. I'm not too bothered by the lack of a mop function, as our vinyl floors are in a pretty bad state, so I doubt the mop would do much at all. But on that point, all the videos show hardwood or laminate flooring in excellent condition. We have old vinyl flooring in our kitchen which has cracked in a few places (needs replacing, but not going to happen in the near future), and our two kids are not the cleanest of eaters, so we often have food scraps around our kitchen table. How does the robovac cope with these kinds of problems? And what about random objects (i.e. kids toys) scattered around the carpet? Does it see these things and navigate around, or just push past them?

If all it's good for is some light dust then it's probably not worth it for us, but if it can handle what our regular vacuum cleaner can (a Miele C5), then I'd probably snap one up. Between work and kids we have very little time to vacuum, and if we could get a robot to do it during the week then it starts to look very attractive.

Mighty Ape

Shop now at Mighty Ape (affiliate link).

chimera

563 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 199

ID Verified

#2188712 28-Feb-2019 11:19

Lizard1977:

Thanks for that. Even if it's not the cheapest it's ever been (though I just checked pricespy and $399 is the lowest they seem to have recorded it), it sounds like it's not a bad deal, if it's only $40 more than the lowest price.

I've looked at a few review videos, and it seems quite good. I'm not too bothered by the lack of a mop function, as our vinyl floors are in a pretty bad state, so I doubt the mop would do much at all. But on that point, all the videos show hardwood or laminate flooring in excellent condition. We have old vinyl flooring in our kitchen which has cracked in a few places (needs replacing, but not going to happen in the near future), and our two kids are not the cleanest of eaters, so we often have food scraps around our kitchen table. How does the robovac cope with these kinds of problems? And what about random objects (i.e. kids toys) scattered around the carpet? Does it see these things and navigate around, or just push past them?

If all it's good for is some light dust then it's probably not worth it for us, but if it can handle what our regular vacuum cleaner can (a Miele C5), then I'd probably snap one up. Between work and kids we have very little time to vacuum, and if we could get a robot to do it during the week then it starts to look very attractive.

I have the v2. It is insanely good - I highly rate this little vacuum. My wife still says it's the best thing I have ever bought her (after 25 years together, I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing!) The power head makes for a very clean floor. If there are kids toys on the floor, what does the Vacuum do? Well the answer is "it depends". If it is small and light enough, it tends to push it out the way and continue tracking along. If it is large enough to cause the bumper on the front of the vacuum to push in then it triggers it to avoid/go around it. There is one place that the vacuum gets stuck, and that's a metal chair at my son's desk, where the metal pole part goes across the floor from left to right at both front and back, the roborock gets stuck on top of that. However it does have a wheel that can get itself off most objects - just not that one chair for whatever reason. You can't leave "string" type things on the floor, like the last thing that got stuck was a dog leash left on the floor, but that would happen even to a normal vacuum cleaner.

The main thing thats annoying about the roborock, is that the dust bin is relatively small (I think most other vendors are in the same boat though) Therefore, we set ours usually to run every 3 days, so you empty the dustbin once on each run. We didn't have it run for about 2 weeks and when I kicked it off, I ended up having to pause/empty it about 3 times in the one run. However it is nuts how powerful the powerhead/suction is, it does a significantly good job on pulling up dust etc. I would go as far as saying it will do a better job at sucking up dust than 90% of standard vacuums. We have a $1000 Dyson with powerhead and it is almost as good as that!

Geektress

59 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 3

ID Verified

#2189018 28-Feb-2019 18:04

I have just ordered the v2, I am wanting it to vacuum the whole house then just mop the wooden floor area every 3 days. Is this possible or do I have set the mop function separately and shut carpeted doors?
Also do you set the 3 day setting in the app?

jonathan18

7415 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2850

ID Verified

Trusted

#2189030 28-Feb-2019 18:38

Where are currently the best places (price but also acceptable service, returns policy etc) to purchase the v2? Are there any NZ retailers selling it?

Edit: I see Parallel Imported do it for $649 and DSE/Koogan for $639; of those two, I'd take CGA cover for $10 from PI, but I'm pretty sure others are bringing this in via other means?

I wonder when PB/Mi Store will finally start selling this rather than the earlier version...

engedib

254 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 93

#2189033 28-Feb-2019 18:42

jonathan18:

Where are currently the best places (price but also acceptable service, returns policy etc) to purchase the v2? Are there any NZ retailers selling it?

I wonder when PB/Mi Store will finally start selling this rather than the earlier version...

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

I'm not aware of any retailers selling it.

MCSE+M/S, MCITP

chimera

563 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 199

ID Verified

#2189042 28-Feb-2019 19:27

Geektress: I have just ordered the v2, I am wanting it to vacuum the whole house then just mop the wooden floor area every 3 days. Is this possible or do I have set the mop function separately and shut carpeted doors?
Also do you set the 3 day setting in the app?

Mop function is separate, you fill the tank with water attach it etc.
Personally I don’t use the mop function much, mainly bought it over the v1 fornthe other features
The timer is set in the app, set for however often you want, it talks wireless to the vacuum so I don’t believe it needs an active wireless connection to actually run, however I assume all the settings are stored in the cloud.

You will wonder why you didn’t buy one years ago once you see it do it’s thing :-)

Samsung

Shop now on Samsung phones, tablets, TVs and more (affiliate link).

lctham

59 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 8

ID Verified

#2189219 1-Mar-2019 09:23

you can also get it off Aliexpress

sometimes they will offer discount codes as well,

Lizard1977

2134 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 625

ID Verified

#2189222 1-Mar-2019 09:30

I went back home and had a look at the space where it would be doing most of its work, and I think it probably won't work that well. We have a very small dining room off our kitchen, with a kitchen table and chairs crammed into a small space. There's actually very little room for the vacuum to navigate around all the chair and table legs. Even when I'm using our regular cleaner, it's far easier to pull all the chairs out and vacuum than try and poke the head in and around all the legs.

Still like the idea of the robovac, but probably not for this use case...

jonathan18

7415 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2850

ID Verified

Trusted

#2189227 1-Mar-2019 09:32

Thanks for the replies re source of the v2.

It clearly is a significant premium for this over v1 - has anyone here actual experience of both models and can give a sense as to the real-world value of one over the other? For me at this stage the key advantage is the newer model dealing better with deeper pile rugs, which means it's more likely to cope in one of our boys' rooms, but that's a significant extra to pay just for that...

I have (surprisingly) been able to convince my wife that we should get one, and while we'll find the money for the v2 if necessary, it'll be good to know whether it's worth it, especially given the limited retailers. Hopefully Mi/PB will start selling it at some point; so weird the Mi Store at least didn't launch with the new model.

chimera

563 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 199

ID Verified

#2189318 1-Mar-2019 11:56

jonathan18:

Thanks for the replies re source of the v2.

It clearly is a significant premium for this over v1 - has anyone here actual experience of both models and can give a sense as to the real-world value of one over the other? For me at this stage the key advantage is the newer model dealing better with deeper pile rugs, which means it's more likely to cope in one of our boys' rooms, but that's a significant extra to pay just for that...

I have (surprisingly) been able to convince my wife that we should get one, and while we'll find the money for the v2 if necessary, it'll be good to know whether it's worth it, especially given the limited retailers. Hopefully Mi/PB will start selling it at some point; so weird the Mi Store at least didn't launch with the new model.

Make up your own mind - here's a 7 min comparison:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmXFOHPDfjg

Or a much longer but much more detailed 30 min comparison:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW6REzDm2EI

Short answer is, if you've already got gen1, it's not particularly worth upgrading to gen2, but if you're buying outright, then it's worth going straight to gen2.

1 | ... | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | ... | 41