Shark AV2501S AI Ultra Robot Vacuum – Smart Mapping, Self-Emptying, Pet Hair Ready
- 💨 Incredible Suction Power: Deep cleans carpets, tiles, and hardwood floors with powerful Shark suction that handles dirt, debris, and stubborn pet hair effortlessly.
- 🧭 Matrix Clean Navigation: Uses precision grid cleaning with multiple passes for complete floor coverage—no spots missed, even around furniture.
- 🗑️ 30-Day HEPA Self-Emptying Base: Bagless dustbin with HEPA filtration captures 99.97% of allergens (down to 0.3 microns) and holds up to a month of debris without manual emptying.
- 📍 Precision Home Mapping: Advanced 360° LiDAR technology creates a detailed map of your home, detects and avoids obstacles—even in the dark or low light conditions.
- 🐾 Ideal for Pet Owners: The self-cleaning brushroll and HEPA filtration system trap hair, dander, and allergens—designed for households with shedding pets.
- 🗣️ Hands-Free Smart Control: Works with Alexa and Google Assistant, or control via the mobile app to schedule, target rooms, and initiate cleaning on demand.
- 🔋 Long Runtime with Recharge & Resume: Enjoy up to 120 minutes of uninterrupted cleaning. If the battery runs low, it automatically docks, recharges, and continues where it left off.
- 🔧 Durable and Quality-Tested: Every Shark robot vacuum undergoes rigorous quality testing to ensure reliability and performance in real homes.
- 📦 What’s in the Box: Shark AI Ultra Robot Vacuum, HEPA Self-Empty Base, 2 Side Brushes.
Brand: Shark
Model: AI Ultra (AV2501S)
Color: Dark Grey / Silver
Special Features: Matrix Navigation, HEPA Filter, Bagless, Self-Emptying, Pet Hair Pickup
Dimensions: 13.7″L x 13.7″W x 4.1″H
Downside- it’s loud when cleaning. And the turbo suction base station is very loud (momentarily) during the transfer.
I paid $250 and purchased 3 year protection for $39. Seems like a quality product so I am satisfied with my purchase. Would recommend this vacuum.
On the positive side, the was easy to call (no vioce mail prisons) and the the person who anwered it was very helpful. The product works well.
Totally worth the price. .
We'll see if I run into any problems in the future (I'm concerned about the battery wearing out), but my initial impressions are all positive. These little robot vacuums have seemingly gotten pretty good.
When you get one... for one month, save everything that it vacuums up in a bag just to see how much it picks up! Its crazy!!!
Soooo glad I gave this a try! IT IS TOTALLY WORTH THE MONEY!
EASY to set up, EASY to map your house, EASY to edit the map, EASY to schedule, EASY to send it to particular locations. EASY to clean.
Whereas the R***ba was so loud I'd hardly ever run it unless I was out of the house, this Shark is REALLY quiet. Quiet enough that you can watch TV. The only time it is louder is for 10 seconds when it self-empties.
I have a challenging environment to clean: I have 2 dogs that shed...A LOT, and AZ's wonderfully never-ending, fine dust. The R***ba would fill up with hair after 5 min, go back to its base (IF it could find it) and pester me to empty it...and then usually refuse to complete the job. The Shark knows when to empty, quickly returns to the base station, then goes back to where it left off.
I have a 1500sf home and, once the initial clean was done, scheduled cleaning every other day takes it about 70 minutes and leaves it with ~30% battery.
The mopping function works well, and it does that at the same time as vacuum.
As an EE Design Engineer I am pretty critical of others' designs, and at this point there are only two things that think could use improvement:
1) Faster charging, 6-8 hours to charge completely.
2) Coverage pattern when mopping can cause clogs. It overlaps 50%, so when it starts a new "line", half the Shark is over dirty floor and the other half is over wet floor. This sometimes leads to large clumps of wet hair getting stuck inside between the rollers and dirt bin. I think there are a few things that Shark could do to improve this, needing only a software tweak: a) don't overlap lines by more than 10%, minimizing the amount of moisture sucked up, and b) have the Shark go back and empty more often to make sure it isn't getting clogged up.
Do these make me unhappy I bought it? HECK NO. I'd buy it again, and I recommend it for you, too. Really good for the price point.
The vacuum has great suction. It has picked up a ton of pet hair, cat toys, and misc items laying on the floor.
The mapping was easy. I kind of cheated and just set the mapping without really being intuitive with it, but it works for us.
The scheduling was a breeze. Just tell it the times, days, and areas you want cleaned. Ours runs each night at 9pm. It is a perfect trigger for everyone to run through the house and do a quick pick up. No more mom yelling and nagging - if you don't pick it up - the vacuum will move it or run it over.
It does get stuck on occasion ... we have long curtains in one of our rooms - it did get stuck one night on those, and occasionally it will suck up a toy and freak out. I just go search for it in the morning, and place it back on the dock. It is not a big deal.
Overall - I'm a believer!! When this one wears out - I'll happily buy another. I'm even considering putting one in our guest house!
The home mapping feature is fantastic. It quickly and accurately maps my entire house, allowing me to set specific cleaning zones and no-go areas. The AI navigation is also top-notch; it intelligently avoids obstacles and navigates tight spaces without getting stuck.
What I love most is the convenience. I can schedule cleaning sessions from my phone, and the vacuum automatically returns to its base to recharge. The dustbin is easy to empty, and the overall maintenance is minimal. If you're looking for a powerful, intelligent, and user-friendly robot vacuum, the Shark AV2501S AI Ultra is a worthwhile investment. It's made cleaning so much easier and has given me back valuable time.
Functionality – Smart and Efficient Cleaning
One of the best things about this vacuum is how intelligent it is. The AI-powered navigation ensures that it cleans efficiently, avoiding obstacles and mapping out my home accurately. Unlike older models that randomly bounce around, this one follows a logical cleaning path, covering every inch of the floor without missing spots.
The self-emptying base is another game-changer! It holds up to 30 days of dirt and debris, so I don’t have to empty it constantly. I love that I can control everything through the SharkClean app or voice assistants like Alexa, making it incredibly easy to start or schedule a cleaning session from anywhere.
Coverage – Thorough and Precise Cleaning
This vacuum covers every room efficiently, whether it’s hardwood, tile, or carpet. The LIDAR-based navigation allows it to map my home and clean in neat, precise rows rather than a random pattern. I was amazed at how well it navigated around furniture and under tables, reaching areas that are difficult to clean manually.
It also does a great job transitioning between different floor types. Whether it’s hardwood to carpet or tile to rugs, it adjusts seamlessly without getting stuck.
Suction – Powerful and Effective
The Shark AV2501S AI Ultra delivers incredible suction power. It picks up dust, pet hair, and even larger debris with ease. I have pets, and this vacuum handles pet hair exceptionally well, keeping my floors fur-free.
Even on carpets, it does a fantastic job lifting deep-seated dirt, making it look freshly vacuumed every time. The UltraClean mode provides an extra boost of suction, perfect for high-traffic areas.
Traction – Moves Smoothly and Avoids Obstacles
I was pleasantly surprised by how well this vacuum moves across different surfaces. It rarely gets stuck, even on high-pile rugs or uneven flooring. The wheels provide excellent traction, ensuring smooth movement without slipping or struggling to climb over small obstacles.
It also detects and avoids cords, furniture, and small objects, so I don’t have to worry about it getting tangled or knocking things over.
Noise Level – Surprisingly Quiet
Compared to traditional vacuums, this robot vacuum is noticeably quieter. While it’s not completely silent, the noise level is low enough that I can watch TV or take a phone call without disruption while it cleans.
Even the self-emptying base is quieter than expected. While it makes a brief loud noise when emptying the dustbin, it only lasts a few seconds and isn’t bothersome.
Time Saver – A True Cleaning Assistant
The biggest benefit of this vacuum is the time it saves. I no longer have to vacuum every day, and my floors stay consistently clean with minimal effort. I can simply schedule a cleaning session through the app or voice assistant, and it takes care of the rest.
Because it empties itself, I only have to check on it once a month, which is incredibly convenient. This vacuum allows me to spend less time on chores and more time doing things I enjoy!
Final Thoughts – A Must-Have for Effortless Cleaning
The Shark AV2501S AI Ultra Robot Vacuum is hands down one of the best purchases I’ve made. It’s powerful, smart, and a huge time saver, making it perfect for busy households. With strong suction, efficient coverage, and hassle-free self-emptying, it keeps my home clean with minimal effort.
If you want a high-performing, smart vacuum that makes life easier, I highly recommend this one. It’s an absolute game-changer!
I highly recommend it.
5 stars
You have to download the app separately, but all the instructions for both assembly and usage of the robovac is clearly given.
It works really well and after a while will get used to the layout of your place.
Note: the mop section requires the cleaning solution to be bought separately (it comes with one).
I have my shark aka "Clean Latifah," scheduled to vacuum daily at 11am while my daughter is at school, and I am at work. My dog sheds a great deal, and this thing picks EVERYTHING off the floors! The best part is the 2 in 1 feature. The Shark also has the option to mop and sweep simultaneously! That is pretty fantastic in my book. If you need your floors cleaned fast, this is the way to go! I have removed the mop attachment for the time being to allow for vacuuming only.
I do wish that I could schedule more than 1 cleaning per day, but I have been using the app for additional cleanings without a problem! I love everything so far, especially not having to empty the dust been often and the fact that there is no bag to change! Highly recommend!!
One warning. Beulah had trouble with the spring doorstops near the floor. They just kept twanging against her. To remedy we removed them and installed door hindge pin doorstops.
The cleaning pattern is logical, like rows of a cornfield, so the Shark can get in and out of a single room much quicker than a Roomba that re-enters a room at random. My home is 1700sq ft of tile/carpet downstairs and Sansa Shark returns to the base once and then one final time before she's done. Jon Snow Shark handles 850 sqft of pure carpet upstairs in the same amount of time/return to base.
We already bought two more from W@lm@rt on clearance in on 26 Dec 2024 for $148 each for gifts for people next year.
The vacuum does an excellent job at picking up pet hair, dust, and dirt, and the mop feature leaves my floors sparkling clean. It's great for daily upkeep, and it’s super convenient for when I'm too busy to clean manually. The suction power is strong, and it navigates my home efficiently, even under furniture and in tight corners. I also love the app feature, which allows me to control it remotely and set cleaning schedules.
The battery life is impressive, and when it's done cleaning, it automatically returns to the charging station. The best part is that it works on various floor types, from hardwood to carpets, without skipping a beat.
If you're considering purchasing this robot vacuum, I highly recommend it. It’s worth every penny, especially if you wait for Prime Day to snag a great deal. I plan on buying another one when this one eventually wears out. It's an investment that makes my life so much easier, and I truly can't imagine going back to cleaning the traditional way!
One of its standout features is its ability to transition seamlessly between different floor types, including rugs and hard floors, without any hiccups. Whether it’s pet hair, dust, or debris, this robot vacuum tackles it all. If you're looking for a reliable and efficient cleaning companion, the Shark AV2501S is a fantastic choice! It will get dusty from its journeys around your home, so she needs a wipe down once every few weeks.
We have three large dogs that constantly shed, as well as two cats; all are inside pets. We have hardwood floors throughout the house except for the bedrooms, so the plan was for this little guy to handle the hardwood floors while we vacuum the carpets with a standard vacuum cleaner. I haven't had the chance to do an actual mapping run of the house because we are still in the process of moving in and there are boxes and other items in various areas that haven't been put away. I've only let the little fella roam on his own without mapping, but I hope to have everything put away (or mostly put away) by the end of the year.
So far our little robot has done a great job on the hardwood floors. He picks up way more than the other robot vacuum ever did. It's amazing to watch it dock and empty itself into the base station, then get back to work all on its own. One great feature is how it cleans the brush roller. I'm not sure how it does it, but it does a great job. It does leave some hairs behind on the roller right in the middle when the metal support lies on the brush cover, as well as at the edges of the brush where it attaches to the motor. I wasn't surprise by that and it should be expected since those areas aren't easy to access without removing the cover and brush roll from the machine. The hairs came off super easy by hand, though. It was far easier to remove them than with the other vacuum robot we owned.
The base station holding tank would probably last 30 days in houses without pets, or with one small pet; however, with our 5 pets it filled up within a few days of running 1-2 times per day. I checked it after about 6-8 days of running and it was quite full. It might have been able to run for another day or two (maybe longer), but I didn't want to risk it and was already heading to the rubbish bin anyway, so I went ahead and emptied it.
The one frustrating thing I've found so far is the tall foam filter in the base dumps dirt out when you lift it out to clean it. I discovered that when I was emptying the base for the first time and decided to pull that out to give it a quick clean. Fine dirt just kept dropping out of it while I walked to the front door, leaving a trail of dirt behind. Now I know to only remove that when either outside or above the trash, both of which require lifting the base and taking it somewhere else. I can live with that slight inconvenience since the robot does so much work for me otherwise.
Overall I am very pleased with the purchase. I suppose there are more expensive options out there, but this one is fine for our needs. I MIGHT update this review once I have the little guy map the house and start doing fully automated runs.
I was surprised that you had to make a few changes to your home. The vacuum was stuck on the heavy-pile bath matt. I replaced the matt with a low-pile matt, and everything is fine now. I also have a table with legs slightly closer than the robot is wide. The robot was wedging its self between the legs. I put a box in front of the legs and it now exits through correctly.
It recognizes the stairs and has never tumbled down. .
Best thing I’ve bought myself ever.
I have had several automatic vacuums in the past and they just haven't lasted, or they were glitchy and annoying. This one has stood the test of time. I have only used it downstairs on the hard floors (no carpet) because that's where the dogs live and therefore so do tumbleweeds of hair. This things is magical. Yes, sometimes it get "stuck", very politely telling me there is something stuck in it's brush roll. It's mostly human hair that gets tangled around the brush. I clear it, put the roll back in, hit start again and it continues on its way. I love that it docks and empties itself. For as much hair as it picks up I don't have to empty the tank very often at all. It really makes keeping my house clean so much easier. Highly recommend!
On Amazon that includes pads, brush, a little tool to clean the roller and filters! I rarely need it but I’m always glad to have the back up supplies! I got this on a prime sale and it was worth every penny! Full price would be well worth the value of money for the peace of mind!
Dunt dunt da Da—-in comes- Winston….!!! He runs a sweep once a day and a mop every few days….. and my house is back to the days of when I had a cleaning lady. It is amazing! He did a good job of mapping the living area of our house to include, foyer, kitchen, den, living room and dining room. He gets around the tables and furniture with incredible little robot effort and learns as he goes. The noise doesn’t bother me and even my dogs, while interested initially, just move rooms as Winston moves along. The sweeping is thorough and the mopping, while not as thorough is a good Bona spray and mop action (we have almost all hardwood floors) it serves as an every few days shine. I still have to mop high traffic areas and kitchen once a week.
The first clean was a doozy and I had to clean out the sweeping mechanism and empty his tray but otherwise he wakes up early goes to work with what seems like his army of cleaning fairies and I wake up to a clean house!
My ONLY complaint thus far is that I can’t figure out home to map the second floor of my house where the bedrooms are. I believe I have to erase his current knowledge base and start over— but I have to read up on that. He is so amazing that I am considering just getting a second for the second floor.
I bought Winston during Amazon Prime days and the deal was phenomenal. If you are considering buying one priced mid-range—- stop thinking and just do it. I wish I had done so earlier… we would have eliminated lots of sweaty days of cleaning and arguing.
All I can say is WOW!!! We have 2 dogs whose job is to shed, 4 cats, a cocatoo, hubby and kids.
The first picture is random run, the second was from after returing to dock to empty and then back to point it had stopped at to finish.
The 3rd is from a whole house programmed run. 4 rooms, 1 bath and hallway. The last one the pad from cleaning one room with the mop function. That blew my mind, it is not a frequently used room and had been washed a couple days before.
Using a broom or cordless stick vac(not Shark, was a bad girl, i can say it will soon be replaced with a Shark version, no more straying from Shark)it looked like i could make a toupee daily!!! This robot vacuum 3 toupees in one cleaning! This was on normal mode, may try matrix next time and see what she finds!!!
Love how she mapped the rooms, it was very accurate and let's you know the size of the rooms, and also the size of cleaning it does. It was very impressive!!!
The mop feature worked great too. I have no complaints, no streaks, dried quickly and was not sticky.
My goal is to get the shark robot vacuum wet/dry model that auto fills cleaning fluid too. I can not believe how much crud it finds and how clean the floors are.
I do have some furniture it can not go under, but it does get under enough to help control dust bunnies, especially if able to go around the full piece of furniture. I will see if this helps lessen dusting since the floors are so much cleaner.
It really is not that loud when it empties itself. Very quiet when working. I love that she can be programmed her to sweep the whole house and she does at 0300 daily. Off she went with no prompts. Could not be easier!!! She loves working nights! HA HA.
I am not technically savy, so it took me a couple minutes to figure out the app. But, once I did, a piece of cake to set her up!
Now to see if she does hold 60 days of this crews fur and dirt!!! I have confidence in Shark, that it will!!!
If your home has two levels you would need 2, I have one room that has a step down into, I just place her in the room, push clean and off she goes.
I am impressed that my floors do not look like they need to be swept again a few hours afterwards. I do not have carpet, but i do have a dog rug that absorbs all with shag pile under their food and water bowls, and she goes right over it! Its time to put the one down by the front door like that one, and I am pretty sure she will not have a problem with it.
I am very happy that "Rosy" loves to keep my floors clean!
There are three speeds on the vacuum, even the maximum is quieter than a normal vacuum cleaner. You can easily hear normal conversation over it running in the same room (although you may need to turn the TV up slightly).
The mop function seems to do an excellent job as well. The only two issues I have here with the mop attachment are: (1) the dustbin must be manually emptied (but since the mop pad will probably also need to be changed after each mopping run, it isn't a huge issue for me) and (2) it is very difficult to completely empty the water tank (and, with the included cleaning solution, it started to smell funny if any was left in the tank after cleaning).
The battery life seems adequate. With the vacuum on the highest setting, and with the mop attachment, the robot went back to recharge after covering, what it reported to be, 500 sq. ft. Recharging does take several hours (longer than I would have expected, but since it automatically pauses and resumes, I guess it doesn't really matter).
The mobile app (used to manage pretty much everything) works well for me. The only limitation I would call out is that, currently, the scheduling function does not allow you to specify which rooms to clean (when running on a schedule it will clean everywhere).
Okay I’ll be honest, I have yet to use the mopping feature so I’ll add to update when I do. I know I know… I just love it so much I had to share!
Even when the floors look clean this still manages to pick up a lot of dirt. It’s used only downstairs, the floors are a mix of ceramic tile, low pile rug, carpet, and a high pile rug with woven fibers. It maneuvers over all without an issue.
We have long haired humans and a long haired cat and I decided it was time to outsource some cleaning, at least on bottom floor where we are in and out of desert terrain (dirt, dust, mud, etc.). It cleans seamlessly on a schedule or by pressing clean on device.
It is a little on the loud side, but quieter than a normal vacuum and not so loud you have to adjust music or tv volume. Or previously feral cat doesn’t seem to mind it. She won’t approach it but she doesn’t run. There’s a genuine curiosity.
The only item it’s had a difficult time not running into is our cats food riser- however it is clear acrylic so perhaps it thinks it has a bit before it reaches the wall.
It will also drag small scatter rugs unless silicone backed, flip flops, shoe laces, and some cat toys. I do a pre-check before turning it loose.
I’ve caught everyone including myself following it around with arms crossed and smiling. When it makes the sound to return to base to empty everyone gets up and watched and thinks it’s just so cool!
It usually empties once half way through then at the end. I’m going to read how to do the mop part right now so I can share!
Buy one of these! Saves you from having to vacuum/mop and doesn’t ask for chore money!
I mapped out the house when we were first moving in so I had too many boxes still on the floor. I suggest you try to remove everything you can during mapping so that the machine gets the entire picture, then it will work around chairs, etc.
There is only a single room that does not get cleaned by Baby Shark, and that is one of the bedrooms with a shag rug. The sweepers got caught up in the fibers of the rug and I had to untangle them. I wish I could figure out how to have the vacuum do the rest of the room except the rug ... I think I can set up a more exact no-go zone eventually.
You can set up a routine for the vacuum, but it's only a single routine. I was hoping to set up a routine to vacuum different rooms on different days, but that's beyond the (current) app's limitations. It is a bit loud when in the same room so I usually have it clean when I leave to drive kids to school. It seems to have a bit of an erratic pattern of cleaning but it still manages to get under chairs and close to baseboards. Corners are kind of hit-or-miss.
It's not perfect, but I don't have to get out the broom much at all anymore, so I'm very pleased. I can heartily recommend ... and I plan to give these as gifts at Christmas!
I have a normal Shark vacuum and trust the brand, which is why I bought this one. I’m so glad I did. We have two German Shepherds, and of course they shed a lot. I have yet to pull out the broom. I turn the unit on every morning while I’m working, and I never feel grit under my feet. Occasionally I’ll run it again at bedtime, since you don’t have to watch it, but that’s rare that I do it twice a day.
This machine will self empty as needed until the entire areas is done. I don’t have to empty the bin but maybe once a week, but that’s because of the excess hair. The vac and mop cover every inch.
The noise is nominal. All the women in our house have long hair, which like every vacuum I’ve owned, the hair can get wrapped up in the roller. It is so simple to pop the roller off to unwrap the hair. This only happens occasionally. It’s much easier to deal with than my old stand up machine that requires some wrestling with to dislodge.
Manage your expectations, and you’ll love it!
CAUTION: if you have pets, do yourself a favor and be sure there is no urine or poop on the floor. I have not had this experience, but a friend of a friend had a different model that rolled over dog diarrhea and ruined their vacuum.
The suction is very good and cleans quite well. Helps a lot with pet hair, but you may need to run it daily if your pet sheds a lot.
This is a supplement to a regular vaccum so you keep your house clean. I run it 3 times a week. Maybe if you run it daily, you may not need to vacuum yourself. But in my mind, None of the robot type vacuums are a replacement to a regular vacuum.
The app could be better. Should allow you to map additional rooms and add them. The spot clean works well but you should be able to configure the area.
Love the fact that it empties itself and does not use bags. That is one of the reasons why I got it
Performance in terms of navigation is really good. It got stuck once in a large blanket someone left on the floor, otherwise no issues. During cleaning it may come back to base to empty itself and then resume. If the area is too large, it will com to base to recharge and resume once it has full battery again.
For the price and features, and I got it $150 cheaper at Amazon warehouse, it has everything I need.
I do have a Wyze vacuum I use on my bedroom, that one does not have a base, so not great for larger areas.
Lastly, I tried a iRobot Roomba J8+ from costco and although the mapping seemed a bit better, and the app has more features , it uses bags and dis not seem much better in terms of performance.
Out of desperation I gave this a try since it was on sale and, God bless America, this is the best thing ever.
Ill start with cons since thats what most people really want to know:
Wifi was tricky to connect BUT the best place for the base in my home is on the opposite side of the house from the modem. I could have moved it closer if all else failed but after a good 20 minutes of trial and error, I got it connected. After that, the app was very user friendly i found.
My dogs have a little water spillage by their bowl so hair sometimes sticks from the roller into those spots but its a small space and doesn’t bother me. I usually do a whole house pick up before I start it anyways.
Because of the immense amount of hair this thing picks up, I empty it weekly. Again, not a big deal to me.
PROS:
Literally everything. It does a really good job at mapping my house. It gets in corners shockingly well. Its not perfect but if it misses a spot, you can send it on a “spot clean.” This model doesnt have lots of bells and whistles. No mopping feature, not super silent. However, that usually means it does one thing very well and that is vacuum. Thats all I wanted. Something to pick up dog hair and dirt from dogs and husband. While its not dead silent, its way quieter than my giant Shark pet hair vacuum. I also don’t need something totally quiet. A baby can definitely sleep through it. Its more like white noise to me. And you can adjust the volume of the base from the app. No dog hair has gotten stuck in the rollers but if you find Sharky is leaving behind clumps of hair, you probably need to empty out the base.
Note: I have only hardwood and tile flooring. It goes over the mat by the door very well thus far but keep in mind I have no real say in if this is great for a mostly carpeted home.
If you have dogs, are a new mom, or just don’t want to waste your precious weekends vacuuming, you want this. Trust me, you do.
I am so pleased about getting this one and it being new. No one else's problems and no smell. I set it up on my phone, which I have little experience doing, by myself. I mapped out my rooms and did a test run that went well. The next day would be the big experiment because I had it scheduled.
The first scheduled run started on time and it went through my entire condo going in areas I didn't see it going through during the test run. I followed it around like an idiot just amazed at how it knew where to go.
I only have it scheduled for the first level of my condo because it can't go up the stairs. But I only have my loft up there anyway. I'm guessing it cleaned about 600 sq ft, which is my bedroom, bathroom, hallway, kitchen, living/dining area and my entryway. It went from my medium height carpet, down to my kitchen/bathroom linoleum floors with no problem. It also went up on my high shag rug by my bed and the high bath rug in the bathroom!
After it was done, it went back to its dock and it only took about 5 seconds to suck all of the dirt/pet hair into the container, I saw that it had used about 50% of its power. So it could have done 1,200 sq ft before a charge if I had needed it to.
I had it scheduled to vacuum every day but have changed that to every other day as it did so well. I should say I have two cats and a teenager living with me here.
One thing that I make sure of is that everything is off the floor, which makes me keep the house nice. If there are things on the floor, it will go around them and you won't get the full vacuum you desire. Even make sure electrical cords are off the floor too. If you have high enough furniture, it will go under that as well, which is a treat.
The instructions it comes with are not detailed instructions, but a look on the internet or YouTube on how to set it up are great.
Thank God I gave the robot vacuum another chance. Love it!
For places where I have two rooms in one like my kitchen and dining, I separate the two rooms while labeling rooms on the map because sometimes I want only the kitchen vacuumed and not the dining room. I watch where the vacuum goes to begin its vacuuming just to check if the boundary I created in the map is where I want it. I can go in and adjust it in the map by dragging the square for that room to change it. Make sure your squares connect to the square of the adjoining room because in areas where you do not have a square covering in the map, the vacuum will not go there.
All that aside, you can opt to do a regular single-pass vacuuming or a more robust matrix vacuuming where the robot goes horizontal and vertical so every area is cleaned twice. Its suction isn't bad. I still see little things on the carpet that it misses. It does a great job with corners for its round shape. You can also take it to a spot you want it to clean instead of the whole room. You can also use the map to block out areas you do not ever want it to clean.
I have a large home and it saves me so much time keeping the floors and carpet clean. You can schedule it to vacuum whenever you like. Doing it maybe 4 times a week helps a lot and keeps debris down. Sometimes when it goes to unload the debris it gets stuck and you have to manually clear the chute and empty the canister in the garbage instead. That's not a deal breaker for me.
It's not too quiet but I don't mind it as it lets me know it is working. My dogs find it fascinating at first, they were a bit scared, but after a little while, they just ignore it as its doing its thing.
I find no real issues with this vacuum, it's electronic and may glitch at times, like going to the wrong room, but I just simply cancel it and start again and it works. I highly recommend this.
This model is reasonably priced and if you manage to get it with any kind of discount (we did), it is great value for the money.
It is well designed and well built but this model feels a bit clunkier than our original self-emptying Sharks which are three years old.
Cleans very well but we do run it daily because - why not?
Ours is a somewhat heavy traffic household with multiple pets, houseplants, gardeners and so on. This vacuum manages beautifully however I do have to empty the container every two weeks, so for us it is an approximately 14-15 day storage capacity.
The app is simply wonderful, really. Instructions are clear and easy to follow. You can add a vacuum easily, schedule creation is a piece of cake.
We have a variety of floors - hardwood, wool area carpets, sisal rugs, tile and this vacuum works on all of them very, very well.
Great mapping. Gets to every place it is supposed to, always finds the dock, follows "no go" instructions. If full, returns to the dock, empties itself and resumes cleaning till done.
Impressive battery life, cleans for at least an hour perhaps can even go longer, cannot say.
When it came time to replace one of our vacuums that refused to hold charge anymore (different brand and in all fairness it did last for six years), I decided to get another Shark. Very happy I did.
Oh, also need to mention. When this vacuum arrived I could not find the snap-om side brushes. Seemingly looked and looked and finally called their customer service. Very nice guy asked to show the video of the box. And when I did, pointed out the brushes. I really felt like an idiot and hopefully reading this will save someone the same embarrassment. The brushes are in tiny reddish tinted plastic bag stuck to the packing materials. So please make sure to look closer unlike some other people....
My first impression was that the mapping feature needs some updating. I know the layout of my house and when I mark the carpet zones or no go zones, Dobby still goes where I thought the rugs should be. It is a little complicated to get those set up and I have not quite figured them out yet. In the meantime the little guy is just mopping the carpets to his hearts content. I also have a very thick but fine threaded shag rug in my library and even though I have it marked as a no go, he keeps getting his brush caught in the rug and asking for help. I’m not even mad about it- it’s actually pretty impressive that he can climb onto it as Steve the Roomba could not. I do wish they had the no pass barriers that the Roombas come with as the mapping just isn’t easy to decipher.
Next, the noise level is actually pretty impressive. Even when on max clean, you can hardly hear it. Steve was crazy loud and you could hear him through the house. You can leave the room and won’t hear a thing. I had to check the bin because I didn’t think it was actually doing anything because it was so quiet and to my surprise there was actually debris in there. I have a large dog with short hair that sheds like crazy and a preteen who loves making messes so there is always something to clean up.
Dobby can find his dock and will back up with precision to dump his load off before resuming cleaning and when he needs to charge. Steve, which may have been due to his age, would have to adjust himself a million times to line himself up with his charger if he didn’t just die in the house somewhere random.
Another impressive mention is that this robot can navigate through the bottom of the bar chairs and around the kitchen chairs with ease. When ole Steve was cleaning I had to move all of the chairs out because he just could not get around the bottom of them so hair would collect under them if I didn’t. Dobby will avoid objects without touching them, including the dog so I’m not worried about him knocking into things.
One thing the Roomba could do but the Shark could not was get under the couch. This may be a blessing because while Steve could get to the dust bunnies, he would constantly get stuck under there or rip off his edges while shuffling around. I won’t have to worry about that with Dobby since he is taller, but it means I will have to manually vacuum under there more often.
I would say that Dobby is not as good as Steve when it comes to cleaning the carpets. The Roomba had to carpet boost that would kick on when it went from hard floors to carpet and it definitely makes a difference those rooms. It does work, but it left some strings and some dog toy fluff behind. So it isn’t as deep of a clean as I was expecting in the carpeted rooms. Steve would leave those satisfying perfect lines in the carpets and I would know that he had been in there. After Dobby does his rounds those lines are not evident. The comparison on hard floors is evenly matched though.
The final impression is that for the price point on these it seems to be a great little vac. I am pleased with the sound level, the collection bin showing proof that Dobby was doing his job, his ability to find the dock, the runtimes are great, and the object navigation ability. My only con would be the mapping and no go zones needing some updating.
We are a household with kids and two XL shedding dogs (a GSD and a Mastiff/Akita mix, so you can imagine the hair). I am honestly impressed that this thing has not yet been defeated by the hair. We use the vacuum on the main level, which has hardwood floors with some low-pile rugs in high-traffic areas.
I'll go over some points that speak to what I was looking for when making my purchase below:
HOW LOUD IS IT: It is not nearly as loud as a regular push vacuum, but it's still a vacuum. You can watch TV or have a conversation while he's running, but you'll hear him. There is an "Eco" setting that is supposedly quieter, but honestly it sounds about the same to me; not worth it for the lower suction power in this setting.
DOES IT GET STUCK ON THINGS/DO THINGS GET STUCK IN HIM?: Short answer - yes. Longer answer - he'll get stuck on the same things that a regular vacuum might try to suck up and shouldn't. A short list of common things he's tried to suck up and had to be rescued from more than once:
* socks
* phone charge cables
* long trash bag twist ties
* a shoelace (he once dragged the shoe halfway around the house and finally deposited it in the bathroom after a struggle)
* loose rug threads
All that said, he is pretty rugged and somewhat aggressive. He once scooted my entire Christmas tree about a foot because it was in his way, and has knocked over potted plants. He's not out here getting stuck on every little cord or string, but it does happen.
HOW MUCH DIRT DOES IT HOLD/HOW OFTEN DOES IT NEED TO BE EMPTIED: The first couple of times you run the robot, expect to babysit it a little because it will pick up A LOT of hidden stuff and will probably need to be emptied a couple of times. On our schedule (every other day), I have to empty his bin about every 5 runs. He will return to his dock and empty himself if his internal storage is full. He holds a lot. Most of our daily messes consist of about 40 lbs of dog hair and random pieces of dog food that my dogs have left in the kitchen. He gets all of this every time with no problems.
DOES IT GET LOST/GO WHERE IT SHOULDN'T?: Honestly, yes, this has happened. Despite setting up the "No Fly Zones" in the app, I have had to rescue him from certain peril on more than one occasion (found him about to fly down the basement stairs once, and trying to enter the dog's crate another time). I'm not sure what causes it, but sometimes he gets turned around and I think tries to re-map the entire floor; this leads him to try to enter rooms or areas that he's normally not supposed to be in. I've had to make a habit of keeping doors closed to rooms he's not supposed to cover. I think this is more of an app/connectivity issue than a problem with the vacuum.
IS THE APP EASY TO USE: Yes, with some notes. As mentioned above, the No-Fly Zone setup is hit or miss. If there's somewhere he's really not supposed to be (in my case, the hallway that contains the basement staircase, as well as the large floor-level fireplace) a physical barrier will be the only way to ensure he absolutely never accidentally goes in there.
A few other notes that would improve the app:
* Scheduling is very All or Nothing. There's no way to schedule only certain rooms - he'll clean the whole area at a specific time, and that's the only scheduling option. For example, I'd love to have him clean the kitchen and living room every night, but only cover the office and entryway every other day, but this isn't possible.
* The app is dramatic. If your fellow gets stuck on something or has trouble emptying his bin, the app sometimes has a full meltdown and you'll have to restart the whole unit and start the clean cycle from the beginning to get it to acknowledge that it's fixed.
* No way to see where your robot is via the app/map. This would be really helpful, especially given his tendency to ignore No Fly Zones. I've had to hunt all over to find him. There's supposedly an option to make him beep, but it's not very loud.
Overall:
Would I buy again? YES, 10/10. Instead of spending way too long vacuuming many times per week (and probably missing a lot), I might have to take five minutes to help the robot empty his bin or pull a stuck hair-tie out of his mouth once a week. That's a trade I'll take any day.
The app works well on my Android phone, After I followed the download and installations directions Completely and enabled LOCATION (which I Never do) after which the machine found the phone and they had a little chat.
Neither Wi-Fi nor the app is strictly necessary for this to clean your house, but only to program cleaning areas and schedules. For example, before I got it to pair with my phone, after charging completely of course, I simply turned it on to see what it would do.
First it got its bearings, spinning a couple times, located the dock, kissed it just to make sure, and then started cleaning my wood floors; All of them! It found its way around the dining table/chairs, didn't get stuck under the wood rocking chair, cleaned the area rug in the living room Just Fine, wandered into every room and did a Very Good Job of cleaning, even the back hall by the back door! It even found a little pile of course sand in husband's room and got it all (I wouldn't recommend feeding it sand deliberately. I don't think it was happy with that!) I was quite astonished how much hair and lint it picked up!
There are things it can't do; toe-kicks for example as it's too tall to get into most of them. And being Round, it has a bit of trouble with some tight corners., and some edges at interface of floor and wall. Some of these places might need Human Intervention, such as in a broom or small hand brush.
It can't really do a good job plush pile carpet if it's very dirty. It simply lacks the power and heavy beater bar of a monstrous upright. (But it doesn't claim to compete with those.) [EDIT] So I cleaned mine Really well with the upright monster to give the Shark a head start, and it worked very well. After a couple weeks of Matrix Clean every couple days it's even begun to lift the pile in high traffic areas,. Today for example, the carpet hasn't looked this good in Years!![/Edit]
There is a setting in the App to allow it to return to the dock to recharge and resume cleaning, and one to empty itself and resume. What a Good Idea! I recommend that one for sure.
I would Highly recommend this machine for Anyone, not merely for an elderly person. The Entertainment Value alone is worth what it cost me, not to mention the time saving issue.
This Robot is nothing sort of Brilliant!
Just Brilliant!
**
First, I have a large main floor with hardwood and some deep-pile area rugs as well. Also a guest bed and office, each with carpet, and the guest bath and powder room with tile. This vacuum cleans all those surfaces well, and switches between them well. It will also return to its dock and empty itself and head back out to finish, with no input from me, which is nice. I included a picture of the "lines" it leaves behind on one of my rugs, something that makes me happy and helps me feel like it is really cleaning.
The only "negatives" are that I cannot do my entire main floor in one run, the battery won't last. This works okay for me, as the app allows you to select a room or rooms for it to do. It does take a bit for the AI to get a good feel for your map, and the instructions are not very clear. I had to delete the first few maps, but eventually we got there. Once it's mapped, though, I find it easier to pick up one room at a time and have it run, then put that room back together and pick up another room while it charges... I like to move chairs and pet toys and other things to let it run it's route smoothly. I find when I leave something unexpected out, it does a good job going around it. But then that spot gets missed- and under chairs is a spot that always needs attention on my house.
It also is decent on pet hair, and I have three cats so we keep it busy. But it doesn't do well on my one rug that has a patterned pile. Basically, it's bumpy. The robot doesn't pick up as well on that rug, with the raised pattern making different depths. To be honest, I cannot even get my uprights to do this rug well, and use a hand attachment. So it's not a surprise but a bit of a disappointment, as that's my busiest and rug that needs the most attention. It does a passable job, but simply not as good as it does in other places.
My last complaint is is will sometimes struggle to find its home. I think it has sometime to do with where I put the dock-maybe too close to sliding glass doors that also seem to confuse it for some reason. This can create a frustrating loop of picking it up and putting it on the dock, it venturing out and going away from it, repeat a few times until it figures it out. I'm moving this to a different floor with a more basic floor plan, and will find a better dock home. I expect some of these issues here and there, it is not a thinking being after all. So I feel it has a tolerable amount of glitching.
I guess my only other wish would be for it not to let my cat stare it down and turn it away. The cat likes to protect his spilled kibble and will stand over it when the robot comes to get it. The cat wins the stand-off every time, and I end up having to sweep that little spot. But I understand why a robot would not want to deal with the wrath of my 15 lb knucklehead. He can be a jerk.
I do recommend this robot vacuum, especially if you have multiple floor textures to deal with. And pets. Just don't expect it to replace human cleaning completely.
The only real 'downside' of it is, it doesn't really get into corners. The little sweeper-things on the sides do work well but for tight corners we have to sweep them out where it can get the small amounts. That's it, there are no other problems with it.
I really enjoy the phone app for her (we named her Rosie, from the Jetsons) and while I haven't explored the app any deeper into to it than needed to run her, there are several options that I will explore later.
We really like Rosie, she makes robot noises when starting up (our Chihuahua is terrified of her, but the cat is intrigued lol) and when she returns to base for emptying. Also, she got caught in cat toy and had to be rescued. Before I run her, I make a sweep of the floor, looking for cat/dog toys, any cords that are laying where she could get to them and clothing on the floor is a no-no. Small bits of dog/cat kibble are no problem and I feel the small efforts we make are more than compensated by the way she cleans! I should make clear that we don't 'Do Alexa' or any other voice-activated technology. We have an excellent wifi provider and have a strong signal throughout the home.
Hope this helps any who wish to purchase this fine machine.
UPDATE 09-2024. This little vacuum continues to amaze and amuse! I have gotten used to cleaning her roller each time before running it (excellent design function) and brushing out the filters and catch basin. We run it twice a week and it does an amazing job. Our house is a 3-bdrm, 2-bath single-level home of 1700sq ft and it cleans perhaps 1400sq ft. Prepping the floor before running it is essential! There have been 3 instances where I didn't pick something up and she got caught.
A simple reaction to the warning on my phone put things right.
I believe the $380 spent on this robo-vac was money well spent!
Positives first:
• row by row vacuuming. It overlaps it's last row so it doesn't miss anything
• scheduling. You can set it to auto vacuum whatever day and whatever time you want (see negative below for the other side of this opinion) but I love the scheduling.
• does great on carpet and tile. The wheels adjust quite a bit to accommodate the carpet and dropping to the tile off the carpet.
• adding "no go" areas. On the map on the app you can place a no go area in a mapped out area. For me, I placed a no go around one of my couches because the vacuum doesn't see the back of the couch as a boundary so it had no issue off roading up inside the couch and then getting stuck. Hilarious initially, but at least theres the no go function so I could put an end to it's off roading adventures.
• picks up way more than I figured it actually would!
• leaves suction lines in the carpet, and no animal hair left after it makes it's rounds.
• Cleans up next to EVERYTHING! I figured it would hem haw and somewhat get near things to clean, nope, it gets right up next to every edge.
• if it misses a spot (something in the way etc) it will go on cleaning but I'm the end make it's way back to that spot to try cleaning it again.
• self emptying base that is BAGLESS!!!
• Price. Yes it is still expensive, but there's more expensive out there, and for what you're getting I believe the price was good. Caught this one on sale.
Now for the few negatives....
• Scheduling. Remember the positives I mentioned? The negative to the scheduling is you can't set a different time for different days. I set mine to 6 am. So everyday I have it scheduled it starts at 6 am. No 8 pm on Monday, 6 am on Tuesday. You get one time choice. Next thing, you can't schedule it to go off more than once a day. You can only pick if you want it to auto clean that day and that's it. Next thing, if you have it map out your entire house initially, when it auto cleans you cannot choose for it to only clean certain rooms on certain days. It's all the rooms only. So, I only had it map out the half of my house that I want auto cleaned everyday (I have a baby gate that closes off the hallway to the rest of the house so it only mapped my dining room, kitchen, and living room that are all attached).
• after you do the initial mapping of your house you cannot "add a room" to your map. If you want to add more rooms to your map you have to delete the current map and have it remap the entire house again.
• capacity of the base. It's supposed to hold 30 days worth of hair, dander, trash, etc. If you actually live in your house, or have animals, don't expect it to hold 30 days worth of stuff. I have to empty mine every 2 to 3 days, and I don't have a big house or a messy house.
• notification messages on the app. Initially on the app it didn't have many notifications about the vacuum, but after using it for a couple weeks and getting it broken it seems like it has notifications constantly. It will have several messages about being near a cliff and it's going to fall off (I have no stairs or anything it gets caught on?), It will constantly tell you that you need to empty the bin or that it has debris blocking the bottom of it that you need to clean. And usually it has none of those and the bin isn't full. It's weird. But worth noting on the review.
•also worth noting, very seldom, but on my tile floor sometimes the bristles will actually knock the debris away from it instead of sucking it in. I'm sure all of the robot vacuums have this issue.
In conclusion. The scheduling and the mapping mentioned above is my only complaints and something to think about if you're considering buying this. But you should definitely get it if you're on the fence about it!!! I have no regrets about my purchase besides I wish I would have bought it sooner! I love having a clean house that I don't have to physically keep up with to maintain! I'm not lazy, just really busy. :)
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I ordered this back in July 2022 and got it end of the month. I waited some time to let the excitement die a little before posting a review, but it never really did. This is my first robot vacuum and one of the best purchase decisions I have made this year. When researching for the right robot vacuum, I found that most of the highly rated vacuums don't seem to make it past 6 months or a year when reading reviews. Also manufacturers seems to make new models every year, so finding something that is reliable and lasts longer than this timeframe is hard to find. Of course, I am only onto my 5th month of owning this vacuum.
When I broke the vacuum out of the box, my first inclination was to take it out and get it started. But thinking about the other reviews I have read on this vacuum and others like it, I wanted to read the instructions first. This is not a regular vacuum that you plug in and push. It has lots of little parts that make it different and potentially not taking care of it properly could damage the device. So anybody reading this, read the instructions first. Understand how to properly take care of it and clean it. Also, comparing to other reviews, clean it regularly.
Now for my somewhat long review:
Is it quiet? Yes and no. It is a robot vacuum, how loud do you expect it to be? You're not doing the work, but it is. It is quieter than a regular vacuum, but no idea how quiet other robot vacuums are. If a robot vacuum is loud or quiet, who cares? What matters is that it can clean stuff.
Can you watch tv while it runs? Yes you can watch tv. Just turn up the volume a little, no need to blast it like when running a normal push vacuum.
Can it pick up everything? No, it's a robot vacuum. Don't put too much trust in it. What I typically do is remove all obstacles (cords, bags, blankets) from the ground and any larger debris that might get caught in the motors (cotton balls left from the dog, pieces left behind from chewed up toys, strings from rope toys).
Dog hair? My dog constantly sheds, but has short hair. I run it twice per week on thin carpet and once per week on hard floors. I don't notice the dog hair until I see what the vacuum picked up and it does a great job! The majority of stuff this picks up is dog hair and a lot of it. For longer haired dogs or thicker haired dogs, I assume this will get the job done as long human hair doesn't get stuck at all like my regular vacuum does.
Small leaves? It picks up small leaves and debris similar size, but may leaf some behind. It also might get caught in spinning brushes and make a slightly louder noise on hard floor. I waited for it to finish and then pulled the leaf out, no harm.
Dog kibble? Ok this one was an accident, didn't see it against the brown colored floor before starting vacuum. Sounded like the robot was choking and about to die, literally. I had to stop it right away and retrieve the small rock sized (width of thumbnail) dog food from the vacuum.
Can you run it when away from home? I read too many horror stories of vacuums cleaning pet poop, but it is not the reason I don't start it when I'm not home. Like the last two points, if something gets caught, you need to be there to fish it out. I may have spot checked the floor, but even that sometimes isn't good enough. Also, one time a week or two ago, it finally got confused and couldn't move past a futon leg. It kept spinning back and forth (maybe for 5 minutes) until I nudged the futon half an inch, then it broke free of its endless loop. This was the only time this ever happened since I got it. Every other time it does an excellent job of finding its way through, even finding its way through a jungle of table and chair legs.
Lidar mapping floorplan? Simply amazing! I had it map 4 different rooms. The first time was great, but missed a few minor areas, of which was my fault. I left things on the floor and in the way of the robot when it mapped the floorplan. The second time, I removed the obstacles, but it didn't map another room properly. The third time, I removed a chair, which the robot vacuum had just enough clearance to fit under (1st time it went under, 2nd time it did not), so that it can map that area of the carpet and not count it as a wall.
Lidar in general? It works great to avoid obstacles and get around legs of any sort. Only thing is if the leg is curved, like my kitchen table, it doesn't know when to properly maneuver around it. But no worries! The bumper is amazing! It lightly bumps in to obstacles and the vacuum does a minor adjustment to figure out how to go around it.
Damaging furniture? Nope! Doesn't happen. The robot is so careful around obstacles and even when it does bump things, its lightly bumps it and doesn't scratch or anything. When it approaches obstacles (walls or furniture) it moves at a slower pace. This thing is intelligent.
Suction? For a robot vacuum, it does everything it needs to and does it very well. There are different levels for suction in the app, I have only needed to use the normal section. The max suction I have never needed to use, but it is an option if things get too out of hand. There is also an ultra clean option, not tried it, but think it just spends more time going over stuff. If I ever try ultra clean option, maybe need to change deep clean star to a 5, but I'm making the assumption that it will never perform as well as a normal vacuum.
Battery? I run two rooms per day I run it, but sometimes do all 4 rooms when I forget to run it. It lasts easily to finish all 4 rooms with charge left over. I'm guessing lowest percentage of battery life was 35% or 40% after doing all 4, this is a wild guess though, could've been higher. For 2 rooms it's usually at 60% after it's done, that I know for sure.
Emptying? It has a bin that it empties to. If the robot either runs for too long (or not sure if it senses if it is full of junk) it may return to the docking station to empty itself. This system works great, but the bin needs to be cleaned out occasionally. There is also a filter in the bin system that needs to be cleaned, just like regular vacuums may have.
App? No issues running it on my Android. Can select rooms and see the layout easily. Drawing rooms works great as well!
Robotiness? It makes all the noises a robot vacuum should and it's awesome! Just thought you should know! Beep boop boop!
Ratings: I give it 5 stars because as it is a robot vacuum, it meets all of my expectations. 4 stars on deep cleaning and suction because it isn't perfect, but is excellent as a robot vacuum. I haven't used my regular vacuum in the areas that this one runs because it seems to do such a great job. Integration with Google works great! I don't use Alexa with this one. Again, this is one of the best purchases I made this year. Definitely recommend this vacuum to everyone. Don't spend $1k on something else.
Well ... yes and no.
I have a 2,500 sq ft 4 bdrm ranch style home with tile/hardwood floors. It's just me, two dogs, and a cat. So, you wouldn't think things would get that dirty. But, the old Shark would fire up 3 days a week and spend 90 minutes randomly bouncing around the house sucking up dirt and pet hair. I'd have to empty it after every run and the bin would be full. But, my friends occasionally mentioned that my house always looked clean and vacuumed, so it was doing the job.
Now for the new Shark AI Ultra. I put the "base" roughly in the center of the house, read the instructions and turned it loose for the "mapping run". Looked to me like it was pretty much a random exploration of the house but that's basically what I expected. It did seem to find its way in and out of the bathrooms and bedrooms without too much difficulty. When it was done, I looked at the map and, while it was recognizable, it resembled something my grand kids might have drawn if I'd asked them to draw a floor plan of the house.
First, I made the mistake of actually trying to outline and identify the individual rooms. HINT - don't waste your time. First, the graphics tool isn't that great and you just can't be accurate in outlining the individual rooms. Second, and MOST IMPORTANT, if you define individual rooms this little genius will try to do each room separately even though the dining room and living room are really one large "L" shaped area. After two runs with that map, I erased that version and told it to re-map the house.
Now I just let it go where ever it decides to go but it doesn't seem to be any smarter when it comes to being logical with it's patterns. I still see it stopping a foot or two short of the wall and cutting rooms in half where it will do one half during one cycle, then move to another room before coming back to do the other half of the original room. Doesn't seem to bright to me when it comes to planning its work.
Now here's the downside, it takes about 4 HOURS to do the whole house. So, twice a week, we get to spend a good chunk of our day listening to the vacuum roam around the house. The dogs aren't any more impressed with that experience than I am. The cat couldn't care less.
The problem is, it has a fairly small dust bin, so it returns to the base about every 30 minutes to empty the bin into the larger bin on the base. After about 3 trips, it hangs out on the base for an hour or so while it recharges. Then it takes off again to spend another hour or so finishing the house.
The advertising says the base will hold a month's worth of dirt and "stuff". If you live alone in an 800 sq ft apartment that might be true. For a normal house with a family, I'd be stunned if you manage to make it a week before you have to empty the base and clean the three filters in the mobile and base units. With 2,500 sq ft, I have to empty the base unit and clean all the filters after every run. And it takes twice as long to clean all the filters in the "smart" vacuum than it did in the old "dumb" vacuum.
So, the good news is that it does eventually cover your entire floor plan. The bad news is, it covers your entire floor plan. While I am impressed by the amount of dirt and animal hair it collects, I'm really not sure that the house is noticeably cleaner. The new vacuum runs twice a week while the old random model ran 3 times a week, but the results seem to be very close.
In conclusion, the most aggravating part of all this technology is that both the "dumb" Shark vacuum and the "smart" Shark vacuum have an uncanny habit of deciding to clean the office just when I'm starting a long Zoom call. Never fails.
We have kids who are constantly leaving things on the floor, and, yes, these obstacles do get in the way and, often times, result in the robot vac getting stuck somewhere in the house. And given some time, the humans learn to adapt to its needs, and/or figure out quickly why it got stuck and how to revive it. Long human hair, such as my wife's, especially in large quantities of it, does pose a serious threat, as the hair can end up wrapped around the roller.
PET HAIR
We have a medium-sized dog that sheds an ungodly amount of short hair all day, every day. It was just too much to keep after it with a manual vac. This Shark absolutely changed the game for us. It's truly set-and-forget, and, while there are nooks and crannies where the pet hair still finds its way because the Shark can't reach, the living areas are free from the terror of the little Jack Russel's wayward hair.
MAINTENANCE
After six months of daily use, we found it unwilling to move one day and found a thick layer of human hair wrapped around the roller. While you do need a star-bit--size T9--it is simple to unscrew a few screws to release the roller from the underside and then remove the tangled hair. Good as new again. Also, at first didn't think much of the self-emptying feature, but we now realize what a great feature it is. Needs emptying maybe once every three weeks? Very convenient, but also jarring to see the staggering amount of pet hair in one place.
NOISE
IT IS AS LOUD AS A JET ENGINE when the robot is self-emptying, but, mercifully, it's only for 2-3 seconds. Otherwise, the Shark does its job almost silently. When there is no other sound in the house, you are definitely aware it's active, but it's not so loud that you need to alter your volume when you need to talk.
BATTERY CAPACITY
We've got it set to wake up to do whole house cleaning every morning, at normal suction power. It runs for 30 minutes, then goes back to the base to recharge, then goes back to work. It takes a few trips back to the base, and, consequently, the overall task takes several hours to complete. It's all automated, however, and the whole process is so smooth now that we don't notice it. Instead, we notice the absence of pet hair on the floor!!!
OVERALL
We don't use Alexa, so can't comment on how well it integrates with that service. However, this little robot has truly taken over task of keeping the floor clean, and has definitely earned its place, and has forever erased whatever doubts we had over the utility of robot vacs.
Then this little guy shows up on Prime Day. The price was great and we figured worst case we would send it back if we really didn't like it. THAT'S NOT HAPPENING. I love this little guy!
I cheated and named him "Sharky" (original, I know). Sharky is a godsend! He lives on the main floor of our home, runs daily just before we get up and I cannot properly express how happy I am with how well he cleans the floors.
We have two cats, one short hair and one medium hair, and they both shed a decent amount throughout the year. So far, in the month we've had Sharky, the main floor is darn near spotless now; it was pretty well cleaned before, we were just tired of doing the work because of our cats' shedding.
The only parts we have to do any maintenance on now are where Sharky can't get, and that's partly because we're still moving in. Once that's done, I expect we won't have to do much besides the occasional "pull out the shelf/chest" and we could honestly let Sharky clean a lot of those areas he doesn't normally get after we rearrange a bit, then we can put things back.
I believe the package says we shouldn't have to empty the base more than about once every 30 days. So far, I've emptied it more often because of the cat hair but now that things are under control I've let it go and it seems fine. It's probably been a couple weeks since I emptied the base and it doesn't seem like it needs to be emptied yet.
I'm not sure how often I'll have to replace the filter exactly, but so far so good.
We have a couple transition points in the house, into the kitchen and into the front entry. The kitchen transition is really bad, and we thought at first Sharky wouldn't be able to get through because at first he tried to go straight through the door and got hung up... then he backed up, took the door way at an angle, and happily continued cleaning.
One thing I will say that wasn't super clear to the guy who barely read the instructions and just went through the app prompts - EXPLORE YOUR HOME. Meaning, let the vacuum explore. Let it map your home, so you can define your rooms, your high traffic areas, and set a schedule. The first time I set a schedule, it was without mapping and I couldn't figure out why I couldn't change the schedule. Once I let the vacuum explore, I had full access to set it all up.
For what it's worth, I want to buy two more of these once we're ready to have the upstairs and basement floors cleaned. I'm curious to see how this will handle the exercise area since we're putting down one-inch thick mats for the floor.
Easy setup
Fun to use
Does a great job
App lets you completely control the vacuum
App alerts you to any issues and they are easy to fix or cure ( human error)
BIGGEST fun fact... my dogs don't even pay it a bit of attention, example if it comes close they move... if they are sleeping and it comes up to them,,, they move!! if you know heelers that is not really normal for them ( they can tend to be assertive) My dogs never were allowed to charge/ attack the regular vacuum, so this was an easy transition for them. I do not use Alexa, so I was not able to comment on it.
Need to know: Keep it cleaned out: I have done it 1x weekly This whole process doesn't take 5 min
The collection bin
the roller
the filter
the exhaust port ( where it empties to the collection canister)
Overall I am at this point 100% happy with my purchase, and the price ( I bought it on Amazon days ) I'm sure at this point if needed in the future I would buy another one. Should issues start showing up I will update.
The clearance height on it is a little higher (about 4 1/2 inches high) but it still goes under the couches and most other furnishings I have. I still have a dust mop for areas around plants in the corners, etc that are not wide enough for it to fit through - hey this thing isn't perfect but it's close. Next, you'll want to know that with as much dog hair that this thing picks up I empty it every 2nd day it runs to keep the bin in the base clean. Some people said it filled up quickly, well mine did the 1st couple of times also because of the amount of hair it picked up.
This unit is not loud, it's quieter than my last one. I read reviews that said it was loud but it isn't. It plays a sound when it's going home to empty and then it plays a different sound when it's going back out. Neither bother me. Be sure to let it map the house, you'll be glad you did. Be sure to register it. I had one issue of it not getting the charge but I think it was user error and when I called customer service (CS) they were helpful and it was back to doing what it's supposed to do. The preliminary steps the CS rep used to determine what was wrong were in my opinion elementary, items I had already done but the customer service rep said it was required. Overall, I really wanted to write this review because I really love this unit. If any negative issues occur I'll update my review of course!
'Hammerhead' as he is named has been cleaning our house every day and today is day 5. We have a 4 bedroom home thats roughly 2100 sq ft. Mostly carpet except for the kitchen and entryway. 2 teen bedrooms have way too much on the floor so he doesn't even go in those 2 rooms. 1 room is also a step down so it doesnt go in there. 2 dogs but only 1 sheds. We have a Shark upright vacuum which we use regularly.
Setup was easy. Connected wifi, charged him overnight and then set it to map out the house. The map was confusing at first since it is not simply boxes and straight lines for each room. Everywhere there is furniture, it maps around it. On our map, the wide gray section is the kitchen island. You can name your rooms, identify high traffic areas and assign zones. This is helpful if I want to set it to clean just one room/zone/etc. When its running, its surprisingly quiet. It got stuck once and alerted me on my phone. It will head back to its base to empty itself or recharge. The self-empty is loud like a standard vaccum and takes about 20 seconds.
The 30-day dust bin (inside the docking station) has now been emptied twice and we are only half way through day 5 of cleaning AND the internal dust bin was so packed full that it couldn't even suck itself out - it alerted me to do it. This is NOT a design flaw or that the bin is too small. Its completely due to the amount of dog hair and dust! We are clean people and keep our house tidy. I mean, I know carpets in general are gross, but am thoroughly disgusted. I thought the carpets were clean. I also completely underestimated just how much power that little thing has to suck up all the dust.
I was thinking that I would still have to vacuum weekly with the upright, but I'm actually really curious to see how many days it takes to actually empty the carpets. For now, it gets through about 2/3 of the house, then empties and recharges, then it finishes on its own.
A few nights ago, one of the kids or dogs bumped it at the docking station and it quit charging. It alerted me on the app that the battery was low so I was able to put it back and let it charge before its scheduled cleaning.
If you are on the fence, just buy it! I am so happy I did. I know the carpets are at least cleaner already and it leaves nice lines so it 'looks' like someone else cleaned the house!