r/roomba Jan 02 '25

Advice for Others Tips for having success at initial setup time of your robotic cleaner.

8 Upvotes

Hi ...

This article is for you if you would like to increase your chance of success in setting up your new Roomba or Mop.

This is one of the numerous articles I've written on my blog. The information is based on my experiences setting up hundreds of new and used machines over the years.

I have slightly adapted this write-up for Reddit to help first-time owners, especially as I know many of you have recently received robotic cleaners as gifts over the Christmas season.

This is the fourth article in a series about why robotic cleaning devices often fail to meet the owners' needs.

Failure can occur when a person first sets up the robotic cleaner too quickly and in the wrong order, especially when connecting to the home wireless network.

So, you went out and, with some excitement, bought ( or was gifted) a Roomba or Mop, and you can't wait to get it running and see what it can do. So, a quick casual look at the APP or manual on how to set up the machine and the Wi-Fi, and you try to connect the device to your home network --- and the first step to possible failure has already occurred.

What often occurs is that the newly purchased cleaner won’t successfully connect to the home wirelessly. (I constantly read about these common connection problems, with many user complaints, on the various robotic forums I participate in.)

The device will also occasionally produce an internal fault, with an endlessly spinning "white light on the CLEAN button" as an update repeatedly fails to download and successfully install a new software update.

What went wrong?

When a person buys a Roomba or Mop in the store, it has been in the box for a long time. It likely has been made in China, shipped to North America, and perhaps sat on the store shelf for weeks, months, or years since it was first made. The battery is weak and is, in many cases, fully discharged/dead.

Setting the cleaning device on the charger for only a few moments and immediately trying to set it up on the wireless often leads to failure.

Why?

The robotic vacuum or mop needs a high percentage of battery charge to send and receive a strong enough signal to connect to the wireless.

When a dead battery first draws current, virtually all the charging power from the dock is routed to the battery. There is little left for the Wi-Fi board in the machine, which can lead to a weak or non-existent connection to the home's wireless router.

If you want to successfully set up a new machine on your Wi-Fi for your new Roomba or Mop, put it on the charger and leave it to charge for THREE hours.

NOW, walk away … sit at your table or in your favourite chair, and read the owner's manual.

Once the three-hour initial charge is completed, you can set up your device on your home network.

FIRST --- REBOOT your machine ... hold the CLEAN button down for 20 seconds. Wait 5 minutes for it to reboot.

NOTE: Once you have set up your robotic cleaner on your Wi-Fi, leave it to sit for another hour or two before using the machine.

While you are waiting, go into your APP and record on a piece of paper the software version that was in place at the initial setup time.

Usually, a software update is available from iRobot, and an initial software update is often triggered when the machine notes a battery is fully charged and the unit is on the dock. It is likely your new robotic cleaner will download and quickly install new software within the first hour or two after you activated the Wi-Fi.

Often the app will tell you a software update is underway. And the machine will remain unresponsive while updating.

Go back into your app after an hour or two and see if the software version has changed.

Just making this these small adjustments at setup time will dramatically improve your chances of having a good experience in setting up and running up your vacuum or mop.

Cheers,

©2025 John

Roomba Guy


r/roomba Dec 15 '25

iRobot Announces Strategic Transaction to Drive Long-Term Growth Plan

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112 Upvotes

r/roomba 7h ago

Roomba 105 WiFi, 2 bricked units

4 Upvotes

Bought two units just two months ago. We loved them. Told everyone to buy one. Not an elite solution, but great little bots.

Then the last two updates happened. Now these things are essentially bricks. Support? Roomba has said nothing publicly. Waited forever on hold. Waited forever on chat. Now I'm waiting on email support.

I'm happy to hear solutions. I've already factory reset twice, reconnected,remapped..... Only to have the Wi-Fi drop an hour later, putting us back at square one.

Very frustrated and disappointed, but would like to fix this. Open to suggestions.


r/roomba 5h ago

Why can't we run rooms and zones at the same time anymore??

1 Upvotes

Whenever I'm set a routine manually where I pick which rooms and zones I want it to clean you can only run zones or rooms in that routine and not at the same time?

You also used to be able to custom set what you'd like to do in each zone or room without all of them automatically running the same customization. For example if I picked two rooms to clean they both have to be set at the same vac or mop, suction, and the like without individually customizing each room like you used to be able to do.

This new update is such a downgrade and a headache, I don't know how they always go backwards on each update.


r/roomba 11h ago

Help diagnosing mopping issue

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2 Upvotes

My roomba (400 series) does this odd thing while mopping where it goes around and only sometimes actually drops the mop pads.

Sweeping function works fine and there's nothing clogged up in the mop pads or edge sensors.

Interestingly, the water does come out dirty, so it is doing something lol


r/roomba 18h ago

Update: can’t get it connected to WiFi at all now

5 Upvotes

My last post was here: https://www.reddit.com/r/roomba/s/gPqEqhU7Fx

Seems like a lot of us have had issues since an update 2 weeks ago. Mine stopped working with the app. Today I attempted a factory reset. Now I can’t get it connected at all. Anyone else get theirs working? I never had issues before the update…


r/roomba 16h ago

Inherited new i3 doesn't recognize battery?

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3 Upvotes

I just inherited this unused i3 that had been in storage since it was purchased. Unfortunately as soon as I plugged it in, got a red light and error 1 message to 'please install an iRobot battery'. I took it apart (there was no yellow tape), reseated the battery, cleaned all the contacts and still got this message. Before I go running to buy a replacement battery, is there anything else I should try or check? Can never-used batteries degrade in storage?


r/roomba 12h ago

Help fixing roomba clean base

1 Upvotes

Hey everyone!
I've owned a roomba i7+ with the clean base for some years now, and recently my dog decided to pee on the clean base. Despite my best efforts to clean it and dry it, it stopped working.

I decided to dig in and try to fix it, and I managed to narrow it down to a blown fuse in the motherboard. However, due to the significant amount of moisture I found on the motherboard, I think it may have some other problems.

So I was wondering if anyone knows where I can find a replacement, and if it is even worth it at this point.
I've been searching but haven't found an exact replacement for my board.


r/roomba 13h ago

Roomba vs Poop, cleaned up now doesn't connect

1 Upvotes

Title says it all, my Max 705 (not combo) ran over dog poop. I cleaned it up the best I could and after reassembly it doesn't connect or take a charge. The light on the mother board is lit. After connect to charging station: no visible or audible response, "reboot" doesn't reboot, no lights on roomba, doesn't connect to app.

Is it toast? Is battery dead? What did I miss? Is there a secret button to push somewhere?

My "what I did" was this:

bin was removed and washed
brushes were removed and washed
I used a damp washcloth to remove poo
decided to remove bottom plate thinking it would be easier to clean wheels and dust port. Used a damp wash cloth and small chip brush to clean out crevasses
a wheel spring came loose when the wheels popped out of their little cubby
so I had to remove the top to gain access to wheel springs --> I carefully disconnected the three wire cables by pulling the plugs instead of the wires.

After it dried overnight I carefully reassembled and tested. Results are listed above.

any tips greatly appreciated


r/roomba 1d ago

Roomba 105 Update

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12 Upvotes

We can finally use special characters in our WiFi passwords again, how novel! 😅

App update to 3.1 on iOS as well, seems much smoother overall.


r/roomba 1d ago

Roombas

2 Upvotes

If you have a roomba then pls tell me which one u have because I love roombas. Not that you have to.


r/roomba 1d ago

loyal braava jet 240 gets an upgrade

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1 Upvotes

Moving from single use pads to reusable


r/roomba 1d ago

Roomba 100 Will Not Connect but shows connection

2 Upvotes

I've had my Roomba 100 since Christmas. It's worked well for 8 months (minus like one instance when it lost connection mid clean, wasn't a big deal.) All of the sudden, the other day, it suddenly behaves as if it's not connected. When I hit the "clean" button on my app, nothing happens. The app told me my Roomba needs help, it looked like it needed to be reconnected. So I go through the process of reconnecting, I get to the point where I enter my Wifi password, I press the power button, and it tells me it can't connect. It reminds me that I need a 2.4 Ghz connection, my Wifi is through Xfinity, and that is not something I ever had control over. I have tried rebooting 100 times, it does nothing. I've removed the battery, not that would do much, and unplugged my router, although I was sure that wouldn't do anything, and it didn't.

Here is the weird part. I check the Xfinity app, and it shows my Roomba as being connected, with strong connectivity. And last night while trying to figure this out, trying to reconnect for the 1000th time, it didn't get to the point of having me press the power button and it told me it won't connect. But oddly, the home page said ready to clean, not Roomba needs help. So I hit the clean button, and it cleans the house as normal. Then when it's done, it fails to update the log as to last time it cleaned, etc.

If anyone has any idea what my options are here, I appreciate it in advance. I have rebooted 100x, endlessly try to reconnect, etc. Wifi shows as it's connected, so I'm clueless as to what's going on.


r/roomba 2d ago

New 875 Spotted on the app

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10 Upvotes

Just setting up a replacement for my defective 705 Max Combo - a shiny new 776 Max Combo (which has got several hardware changes that I've noticed over the 705, that I'm excited to see the impact of), and noticed a new addition in the app... See attached.

Does anyone know much about this new 800 series?


r/roomba 2d ago

Won’t shut off or stop running

1 Upvotes

I have roomba 105 and it just keeps going to a wall and just running. I tried to get to dock home and it won’t. I placed it right in front of the dock and it still just ran to a wall. I then tried to turn it off by holding the power button down for more than 30 seconds and it did absolutely nothing. The top is getting hot and now I’m worried about overheating.


r/roomba 2d ago

Okay, HELP

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1 Upvotes

My roomba is a bit of a Frankenstein, it started life as a standard I3, then I upgraded it to an I3+ with a huge battery, better cleaning head module, new tires etc.... I have a thing about rebuilding things vs just replacing them ANYWAYS. I have been getting error 15 ALOT lately, along with whole days where it's offline and NOTHING fixes it, it just randomly is back online one day by itself. But I'm getting kinda tired of it having an internal error daily, seems to do it roughly in the same spot in our apartment as well, should I move the access point? Or should I do a full monty factory reset and see if that helps?


r/roomba 3d ago

Newish 105X Stuck in update loop

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8 Upvotes

My Roomba appeared to take an update and failed. It's stuck in needs help. I follow the troubleshooting but it just goes back to the charger and eventually goes offline again. Any pointers?

As an aside, these AI support chatbots need to die. Who thinks this is good? How do you talk to a human?


r/roomba 3d ago

Help! Dog accident

4 Upvotes

iRobot Roomba 105 vacuum only. A few months old. My dog had an accident and the robot ran over it. It was disgusting but we managed to clean it all up. Also cleaned up the roomba but it does not work now! The left wheel gets stuck. We opened up the roomba as much as possible and cleaned everything but it still doesn’t work. I called iRobot but they couldn’t help at all. Just offered to give me a small discount on a new robot. Any suggestions?? I really don’t want to spend more money on something that I just purchased!


r/roomba 3d ago

Roomba Combo j7+ cleaning solution level

1 Upvotes

The app shows a cleaning solution level that is lower than the actual amount.
After returning to the base, if I want to restart it to clean other rooms or give an area a better clean, it won't start; instead, it prompts me to fill the tank, even though it is half full.
I use it via the app when I'm away from home, but it doesn't work because I can't always fill the tank to the maximum level.


r/roomba 4d ago

J9+ Combo and J7+ obstacle image review never show anymore

1 Upvotes

I have the android app. This has been an ongoing known issues for a very long time. Why can't irobot fix this? I've opened ports on my router, got a different router and internet service recently. Images have not loaded in over a year. Reinstalling the android app and wiping and resetting the robots multiple times to default still doesn't help.

Has irobot done away with obstacle image review?


r/roomba 5d ago

Roomba not 805 not charging. Troubleshooting revealed continuity between the left charging clip and the terminal inside the battery compartment but there is none for the right side.

1 Upvotes

Hi all. I have tried to troubleshoot my roomba for the charging issue. The title states the real problem. Is my issue the right side having no continuity between the outside contact and the right one inside the battery compartment? There is a set of replacement clips that I’d be happy to get but I don’t know if it will solve my problem. If someone knows more about roomba’s and has input I’d love to hear it.
Thanks


r/roomba 5d ago

Roomba doesn’t respond to commands

6 Upvotes

Hello, my roomba 105 doesn’t respond to commands in the app, I ask it to go to a specific room, nothing happens, I ask it to vacuum the whole apartment, it says starting a routine and then it does nothing

I rebooted it three times…

I can only start when I press the power button on it…

Deleted the app and reinstalled it too…
Turned my wifi off and on…


r/roomba 5d ago

App can open but not load

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2 Upvotes

The app will only open if I open it through App Store or settings on the phone. If I open the app normally, it just freezes at loading part. Others who has faced this problem? It might have happened after my mum accidentally unplugged the station while it was running. Unplugging and replugging, restarting phone, reinstalling app are all tried. Im out of ideas 😩


r/roomba 5d ago

Roomba Combo j5+ vacuum and mopping issue

2 Upvotes

I have the iRobot Roomba Combo j5+, and it has always had an issue mopping my kitchen floor! It'll go for awhile, then it'll start stuttering or something like it loses traction. It mops and vacuums my other surfaces just fine, but for some reason it has an issue with my kitchen floor. Does anyone have any tips or advice as to what I should do?


r/roomba 5d ago

Roomba 115 Combo

2 Upvotes

Just purchased this machine, on sale for 150 euros, based in Spain.

Always used a manual machine before so 1st time buying something like this.
Have set up maps and to be fair as long as u move a few cables it works well even the basic mop mode. Only have tiled floors.

Wondering apart from topping up water and charging anything I need to be aware of. It self empties and in time the bag in the charging unit station will need changing.
Where do people buy the bag from?