iRobot Roomba E5 (5150) Wi-Fi Connected Robot Vacuum - Works with Alexa, Self-Charging, Ideal for Pet Hair, Carpets & Hard Floors - Perfect for Home Cleaning & Pet Owners (Black)

When I first purchased an auto floor vacuum, I chose another brand because it traveled the rooms in a logical manner and covered it end to end. (This was WAY before the smart ones now.) I had read about Roomba's willy-nilly path. Now, years later, it is still willy-nilly in its direction, but other than that, I like it. It does eventually get all the areas. I don't like how it does not return to base and go out again. (My first one did ... it would recharge and go back to where it left off). (Alas, the company I originally used does not make them anymore)ANYWAY - while there are things I don't like about this, I love it tons more than the smart ones where you just about have to train it to know what is what, you just about have to use an app, blah blah.I wanted a simple auto vacuum that I can just press a button whenever I want ... I know I can schedule it, but I do not have to. I tried one of the smart ones and returned it because I did not like the work involved to get it to be an easy-to-use machine.So all in all, this model is good and is easy to use, easy to clean.I love my Roomba.I toyed with the idea of getting a Roomba, as well as the specific model I wanted, for months before purchasing. I finally decided on the E5 for my two-bedroom apartment, and I’ve used it for three months prior to writing this review.I have two cats, and hardwood floors with area rugs. The Roomba cleans both surfaces extremely well and with ease. I empty the compartment 1-2 times per week and I’m always amazed at the amount of cat hair, dust, and dirt this thing sucks up. The amount of suction is great and quite strong. I don’t need a separate vacuum - this cleans my house very well. If it detects a dry spill or area of dirt while doing a cleaning job, it automatically goes into spot clean mode (circling in smaller then increasingly wider circles,) then resumes normal vacuuming. The spot-clean feature can also be used any time with the touch of a button.The app is great and the Roomba is fully controllable through that feature. I have scheduled it to vacuum every day before we wake up in the morning. It’s not completely quiet, but it’s not as loud as a typical vacuum. The noise level is tolerable and I don’t find it disruptive unless I’m watching TV. I usually sleep through the daily cleaning cycle, and I can check the cleaning history log on the app to ensure it’s been working.It usually cleans successfully and returns itself back to the base to charge without a problem. It can find its way out of tight spaces and slows down if it senses an approaching obstacle. There is a bumper on the front for when it makes contact with walls, chairs, etc. There is a little spinning brush that sweeps along edges thoroughly. This model (E5) doesn’t have the smart mapping feature but it does such a great job I honestly don’t see the need to spend more for that feature in my two-bedroom apartment.If it has any “mishaps” (approaches a “cliff,” gets tangled in a wire, stuck, needs to be emptied, etc.) it stops and an alert pops up on my phone. It’s very easy to disassemble/reassemble if a cord is left on the floor and gets wrapped around the rollers. Emptying it is a breeze as well and it holds a decent amount before becoming full.The one downside with this and all Roombas is pet accidents. If you have a pet that has an issue with housetraining I highly advise that you do NOT buy this vacuum. One time my cat vomited under the dining room table and the Roomba found it. I caught it before it left the room but the damage was done. Partially digested cat food was ground into my area rug and on every inner surface, underside, and wheel of the Roomba. It took at least an hour to clean it out with Q-tips to get it all of the nooks and crannies. I’m not sure how to improve on this on future models, except maybe a sensor on the bottom of the Roomba that deactivates it when it senses moisture.Besides that one caveat, this is an amazing device and I’m not exaggerating to say that it’s changed my life. My home has never been more clean and the piles of cat hair that used to accumulate daily are gone. I never realized how dirty my home was until I got the Roomba and I plan on having and using one forever.I did a ton of research before buying, and at first I was sure I wanted the smart mapping technology. However, this model has just the right amount of features and power without breaking the bank. For larger homes the mapping feature may prove useful, but for my use this unit is perfect. I’m extremely happy with it and highly recommend it to anyone else who is busy, hates vacuuming, or simply wants a cleaner home.I got this because vacuuming is always the "stretch goal" when I'm cleaning my apartment (meaning it doesn't get done), and also I shed like a golden retriever. My carpet was, frankly, gross. Any time I rubbed my hand across it in circles a few times, I'd stir up enough of my own discarded strands to build a hairball homunculus. Not great.This Roomba, however, IS great. The E5 (mine is named Emily) is actually much better at vacuuming than my regular, non-robot vacuum. She requires fewer passes to get a deeper clean, AND she's not reliant on me making the choice to spend time vacuuming. Amazing, exactly what I wanted. On her maiden voyage, she gathered an intimidating amount of hair (which I then had to remove from her whipper arm and rubber, non-tangling rollers), but has found less and less on every trip since then - she's made a noticeable impact on my floors.However, she does lack any kind of mapping capability. This limits what I can tell her to do - she doesn't support cleaning specific zones, because she doesn't know where they are. She just wanders through the apartment, somewhat at random (STILL better than I would do it) and eventually finds her way to her home base, most of the time.Emily has no way of recalling the location of her home base, so she just moseys until she can sniff it out with its line-of-sight infra-red signal. I moved the base to a central location of my (650 sq ft) apartment and she's had better luck finding it, but I can't figure out how she decides whether it's time. Sometimes she just abruptly decides her work is complete (with a 60% full battery and not-full dust bin) and sometimes she cheerfully trundles on at an alarming 10% battery, with no indication she's even thinking about it. I usually get nervous and send her home via the app (once she gets the signal, sometimes I try to help herd her by blocking her from the far reaches of the apartment).I do have to empty her dust bin after each journey, which I'm not bothered by, but you might be. I also check her arm and rollers each time due to the aforementioned gobs of hair, but this is not strictly necessary. I would characterize Emily as moderately loud - it'd be annoying to do a phone call or watch a movie while she's running, but having a conversation in the same room is no problem, and my cat doesn't seem overly bothered by her. She does get louder on hard floors than on carpet.Overall, if you're expecting a smart robot that will strategically clean your entire home and then go back to its base in a logical fashion, this is NOT the robot you want. Emily supports one scheduled start on each day of the week, so she's actually doubling as my alarm clock, which is a fun bonus. I'm just having her run every day on a schedule and letting her wander as her whims guide her, on the assumption that she will basically cover everything over the course of the week. If I really, really needed a specific area cleaned, I'd pick her up and carry her there before setting her loose.Perfect? No.Way, WAY better than I was doing? Unquestionably yes.Mine is named Lou. Always name your roomba. Lou has picked up enough hair to cover twenty nine large dogs. It’s cheap, it works, it lasts, I want another one to get up twice the dog hair…but Lou might get jealous!Fills with dirt/hair quicklyI decided on the E5 model as it was moderately priced and had good reviews in regards to picking up dog hair. It was easy to set up and suction was fairly good. Only thing I wasn't fond of, is the fact that may go around the same area in a room several times. I would prefer to have one that maps out a room and moves back and forth across the room instead of random circular motions, but not willing to pay more for this option. other than that, the Roomba does pick up alot of dog hair!Update April 2, 2020: not liking this Roomba model even more...simply goes around in random areas over and over again. Better to have the model that maps out the room if you can afford it. Probably too late to return it now.I have/had a 761 and in comparison this is quieter and is theoretically more powerful in its motor.However, the rubber rollers are of such inferior quality that they break after a couple uses. What happens is hair and fibres wrap around them and cuts them into pieces. I followed the maintenance schedule but the rubber is so weak that it's worthless. Once the warranty runs out you are screwed as the replacements are way overpriced. My advice is to AVOID AVOID AVOID.In comparison, my 761 also has one rubber roller in addition to a roller brush and both have lasted almost two years without the rubber roller being worn out. Clearly they've cheaped out on the material in order to save production costs as well as increasing their profit margin on consumables since you will be needing replacement rollers every month.If you are considering purchasing this robot vacuum and you were particularly attracted to the manufacturer's description "ideal for pet fur": It is true!We rescue cats. Though most are getting rehomed right away, we do have a team of four who are our permanent residents. Two are long-haired, two medium-haired.Before it was a daily battle with the sweeper, now - it's a paradise!Absolutely amazing device!The little brush moves the hair even from such complicated spots as the jungle of wires behind the TV stand.It did make us laugh once as it unplugged the cat fountain and was dragging the cord around. However, we just learned that we should take better care of the cords.Our hardwood floors are cherry color. That is the worst color to have if you have pets. But not anymore.Excellent machine. STRONGLY RECOMMEND!A bit noisy, though on the hard floors. But that is a tiny sacrifice for the amazing clean and convenience!I purchased and received this a week ago and I LOVE it!! I have 2 dogs and a cat and keeping up with the vacuuming was impossible! I scheduled "Martha" to run every day at 9:00 a.m. and she sometimes has a go after dinner as well when my grandson pushes the buttons. (he's 1) You're not paying $1000.00 for this so keep in mind, it goes where it pleases and not necessarily where you may want it to. Lost a star because less than a week later, it was $20.00 less than what I paid. Also lost a star because sometimes, it gets stuck in chair legs and maneuvering onto carpet. It is low enough that it gets under the lip of my kitchen cabinets though! I've never spent $1000.00 on a vacuum and never will so this was a great alternative for me. I can't believe how much it picks up on a regular basis... my house was worse than I though!This is my first robot vacuum and I guess I had unrealistic expectations! I don’t understand all the positive reviews on here. I have a small apartment with a living room and dinning room open concept, a bathroom, storage room, which servers as dual purpose for the cats room, and the one bedroom.I keep the bedroom door closed when I run the Roomba. I run the Roomba separately in the bedroom with the door closed (this is the only area it really does a good job). When I used the Roomba to clean my apartment, it rarely finds the storage room or the bathroom. I end up having to place it in the rooms. It just skips those two rooms otherwise. In addition to this - it usually can’t find its way back to the kitchen to recharge. It misses many spots, yet goes over the same areas sometimes dozens of times, while completely ignoring other areas. I rarely, if ever write reviews on here but just don’t understand why everyone is raving about this vacuum.They must be watching it and picking it up and placing it wherever they want it to vacuum. You certainly can’t “set it and forget it” and expect it to do its job.I am still going to keep it to help reduce in vacuuming but don’t expect it to clean all your floors and not miss many areas.