iRobot Roomba 560 Vacuum
Why it's best:
For those too busy (or lazy) to spend time vacuuming, this is the perfect alternative to an upright vacuum. The Roomba 560 quickly learns the dimensions of your room and avoids being caught on rug ends or floor changes. It is very quiet and can be operated unattended with a convenient scheduling feature, though it may sometimes have difficulty finding its way back to the dock on its own. This robotic vacuum's small footprint helps it get under furniture and beds where dirt and dust has been building up. Users may find fault in the relatively brittle side brushes, but if you ever have a problem, iRobot sends replacements free of charge.
Manufacturer Description: As a member of our latest generation of robots, the iRobot Roomba 560 Vacuum Cleaning Robot features the newest innovations for dramatically improved performance, reliability and durability. On-board scheduling allows you to preset up to seven cleaning times per week for Roomba to clean when it's most convenient for you â?? whether you're at home or on the go. Roomba...read full description
Manufacturer Description: As a member of our latest generation of robots, the iRobot Roomba 560 Vacuum Cleaning Robot features the newest innovations for dramatically improved performance, reliability and durability. On-board scheduling allows you to preset up to seven cleaning times per week for Roomba to clean when it's most convenient for you â?? whether you're at home or on the go. Roomba systematically cleans four rooms on a single charge, gets into hard-to-reach areas like wall edges and beneath furniture, avoids stairs and other drop offs and automatically adjusts from carpets to hard floors and back again. Each Virtual Wall Lighthouse (2 included) confines Roomba to one room until the entire floor is vacuumed before Roomba moves on to the next room. When its battery is running low, or when the cleaning is complete, Roomba automatically returns to its self-charging Home Base to dock and recharge. minimize
- Best Robotic Vacuum OverallFor those too busy (or lazy) to spend time vacuuming, this is the perfect alternative to an upright vacuum. The Roomba 560 quickly learns the dimensio...read moreFor those too busy (or lazy) to spend time vacuuming, this is the perfect alternative to an upright vacuum. The Roomba 560 quickly learns the dimensions of your room and avoids being caught on rug ends or floor changes. It is very quiet and can be operated unattended with a convenient scheduling feature, though it may sometimes have difficulty finding its way back to the dock on its own. This robotic vacuum's small footprint helps it get under furniture and beds where dirt and dust has been building up. Users may find fault in the relatively brittle side brushes, but if you ever have a problem, iRobot sends replacements free of charge....read less
- Best iRobot Vacuum CleanerIf you’re looking for a vacuum that’s incredible easy to use and very effective on floors and carpet, the iRobot Roomba 560 is the best av...read moreIf you’re looking for a vacuum that’s incredible easy to use and very effective on floors and carpet, the iRobot Roomba 560 is the best available option. This robotic vacuum quickly learns the dimensions of your room and avoids being caught on rug ends or floor changes. Simply press the “Clean” button to operate, or set it to clean automatically using the on-board scheduling feature. The 560 includes Lighthouse Technology that helps it with room-to-room cleaning, which makes it a great choice for larger homes, though it may sometimes have difficulty finding its way back to the dock on its own. This vacuum is very quiet and its small footprint helps it get under furniture and beds where dirt and dust has been building up. Users may find fault in the relatively brittle side brushes, but if you ever have a problem, iRobot sends replacements free of charge. If you’re a pet owner, consider the Roomba 562, which includes extra accessories to help tackle cat hair and other messes....read less
- Best Vacuum OverallFor those too busy (or lazy) to spend time vacuuming, this is the perfect alternative to an upright vacuum. The Roomba 560 quickly learns the dimensio...read moreFor those too busy (or lazy) to spend time vacuuming, this is the perfect alternative to an upright vacuum. The Roomba 560 quickly learns the dimensions of your room and avoids being caught on rug ends or floor changes. It is very quiet and can be operated unattended with a convenient scheduling feature, though it may sometimes have difficulty finding its way back to the dock on its own. This robotic vacuum's small footprint helps it get under furniture and beds where dirt and dust has been building up. Users may find fault in the relatively brittle side brushes, but if you ever have a problem, iRobot sends replacements free of charge....read less
I loved my Romba vacuum for 3 months, when all of a sudden it started doing 9 beeps and shutting down. Phoned for help, did the things they told me to do, still doesn't work. It acts like it is lost. Everytime I try to talk to them again, I have to go through the model #, the serial #, the whole bit. ( it was purchased from Costco in Red Deer, Alberta October 2008 as a house warming gift for my husband and I) They seem to discard my information as soon as I hang up, and tell me to try the same things over and over again! So I'd be inclined to spend my money on this vacuum rather hesitantly.
Vacuum Type - robotic
Features
Bagless - Yes
HEPA Filter - No
Warranty
Warranty Information - 1 year
More Info
URL - http://store.irobot.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2804959
Average Customer Rating:
(350 total reviews)
Great but not perfect, September 17, 2007
My wife and I decided to get one of these because our 8 month old son is about to start crawling. While we try and keep our floors clean, our beagle has other thoughts as she sheds all over the place. We went with the latest 560 model as it has just about everything we would want with a product like this. It works as advertised and we will...read full review
My wife and I decided to get one of these because our 8 month old son is about to start crawling. While we try and keep our floors clean, our beagle has other thoughts as she sheds all over the place. We went with the latest 560 model as it has just about everything we would want with a product like this. It works as advertised and we will definitley keep it but there are some areas that need improvement. Here is a quick breakdown of the pros and cons
Pros
1. Quieter than a standard vaccuum
2. Seems to learn the room dimensions quickly. The virtual walls and lighthouse feature are very nice.
3. Is "smart" enough to avoid getting tangled in our area rugs
4. Obviously easy to use as it is just a push of a button (or even better when you program it)
5. Can use everyday to keep the floors spotless
6. Have successfully used it on hard wood, vinyl, carpet and (accidently) concrete
7. Cleans under furniture which is otherwise a pain to do
8. Entertainment value - keeps the dog and baby interested for a while!
Cons (or areas for improvement)
1. Fills up fast - Upon intital cleaning cycles, we had to empty it after about 10 minutes. Further usage proved better as the dust/dog hair was a lot less than before. I suppose this is a good thing as it is picking up dirt that I missed with the regualr vaccum.
2. No warning that it is full. This is the one area that would be a huge improvement. I feel like I need to interrupt it all the time to check if it is full. It would be great if it had some way to gauge how full it is.
3. Battery life - Not sure if I am getting the full specified battery life out of this as it seems to need a recharge after about an hour to an hour and a half (isn't it supposed to last longer?)
4. Automatic docking is iffy. Several times after it was done cleaning, it wandered around aimlessly looking for the docking station. The "lighthouse" feature didn't seem to help much. I ended up moving the dock to a more open area and hopefully that will work better.
So for my first few days playing with this thing, it seems to do its job rather well with just a few annoyances that really do not affect its ability to clean. We plan on running it once a day to keep the dog hair and dust down to a minimum which will hopefully help our allegies.
*****UPDATE: 10/2/2007*******
Well, I've been using the Roomba now for a couple of weeks. I have it run every other day and here is what I think of it now
1. After letting it clean several times, I find I don't have to empty it every 10 minutes. I can now clean three rooms (about 900 square feet) without having to empty it.
2. My wife and I both agree that we seem to breathe better in the house now. Maybe it is due to less dust in the house (especially under the couches) or maybe its in our heads. Either way, we are breathing easier.
3. The self docking is now working great. I think my problems in the past were due to the brushes getting too dirty and requiring frequent cleaning (2 or 3 per run). Now, since the floors are cleaner, this has not been a problem and the Roomba finds its way home with no issues. I use the lighthouse settings to clean each room separately and then I guess they help Roomba find its home. Very nice!
4. Battery life doesn't seem to be a problem. I am getting the stated cleaning times per the manual and it seems to be enough to clean the 3 rooms.
5. The Roomba does require maintenance after each cleaning cycle. This requires emptying the dust bin, removing the brushes and filter to clean and, sometimes, cleaing the sensors that may have dust buildup. The entire process takes no more than 2 minutes and, even though it sounds like a pain, will hopefully keep Roomba problem free for a long time.
I can find no fault with the Roomba right now. I might even consider purchasing a second and third one for the other parts of the house. I suppose I can move Roomba to the back rooms on the first floor or the upstairs but that would require too much effort on my part!
I am also considering the Scooba for my kitchen and bathrooms but haven't pulled the trigger yet. I might wait for the next generation to see if the bugs have been worked out of the current models. Also, if Irobot ever invented one, I would jump at the chance to get a robot that will shampoo carpets! Maybe we will see one soon..
***Update 11/19/2007***
Ran into my first problem with Roomba this past week. The side brush snapped off and I was unable to put it back on. Knowing that these brushes need to be replaced from time to time I decided to order some replacements. Finding them on the Roomba site and ordering them was easy. Problem is that I was informed that they are on backorder for 4 to 6 weeks!! I e-mailed support and they responsed asking me for my mailing address, Roomba number and where I purchased it from. They stated they needed this so they could send me a replacement brush (a free replacement brush). I sent them the information with the hopes that they have some spare brushes ready to ship out but was then informed that it will take 4 to 6 weeks to get it out to me.
So in the end, I am stuck waiting for about $75 worth of brushes that I ordered as well as the free side brush they are sending me for at least 4 weeks. The good news is that Roomba still does her thing but the corners and edges of walls are somewhat neglected without the side brush.
I would still recommend Roomba to those who are thinking about it. Just be forwarned that "due to extremely high demand" replacement parts, including brushes, are currently on backorder for the 500 series.
******Final Update 1/25/2008*******
Thought I'd give one final update now that I have been using Roomba for several months. I am still a believer that Roomba can keep your floors clean but it does take a bit more effort than some people will think. I will try my best to break down the cons for Roomba as the pros are pretty straight forward. You get very clean floors without having to pick up a vaccum. My floors have never looked or felt cleaner and this goes for both the hard wood floors and the area rugs.
Now for the cons (none of which would make me rethink my purchase but I thought it would be informative to those who are still waiting on buying one)
1. Although Roomba does her thing once I hit the clean button, there is still some maintenance that is required. Emptying the dirt bin after each cleaning cycle and keeping the brushes clean have actually been a bit more work that originally described. I have a dog who sheds and the hair gets wrapped around some of the brushes. The tool that is provided in the box to clean the brushes does little to help with this. I find it eaiser to get a pair of scissors and carefully cut the wrapped dog hair off the brushes. For those of you who don't want to get your hands dirty, please keep this in mind!
2. The side brushes break fairly easy. One of the comments I saw in my review is that Irobot now ships some rubber bumpber that helps with this. I haven't looked into getting this yet but I suggest that if you don't have one on yours (like me), be prepared to replace the side brush often. I was able to get a free replacement on my first one but haven't gone back for a second yet.
3. The scheduling aspect of Roomba is useless for me. Because I have a 1 year old who has every toy in the history of toys, I find I need to do a complete sweep of the rooms before Roomba does her thing. If Roomba hits one of these toys, the sensor doesn't always pick up on it and it will try and go over the toy. This usually results in Roomba shutting down until you restart it. Leaving it on schedule means I need to clean up before it goes off. Its just easier for me to set it off manually when I want it to clean.
4. Noise - While quiter than a vaccum, Roomba can still be rather loud. Unless your house is very large, expect the noise to create a bothersome sound if you are watching TV on the same floor or if you are trying to sleep. You will hear it.
5. Auto Docking - Can't seem to figure this one out. Half the time Roomba docks itself with no problem. The other half it wanders around aimlessly with the docking light blinking just a few feet from the station yet it completely ignores it. I've cleaned the sensors and it still does it. I guess it just has a mind of its own sometimes.
6. One minor cleaning issue - Roomba will sometimes leave a big dust ball on the edge of an area rug when it is transitioning from a hard wood floor to the rug. It appears that the dust ball is wrapped around the brushes at one point but gets pulled off by the edge of the rug when it takes that tiny little step up from the floor. If Roomba goes back over that area, great! dust ball gone. If not, your stuck with a dust ball that you have to pick up (again, for me not a big deal but for those that don't want to get their hands dirty....)
None of these complaints or even the sum of them all give me enough reason to question my purchase. Since 95% of the dirt is removed including under furniture (which frankly, I never cleaned prior to Roomba!) these minor issues really don't amount to much in my opinion. Yes, it can be rather disgusting to clean the brushes when they get clogged and I need to make sure all toys are off the floor but that all translates into a very clean house! Keeps the wife happy!!
I'll check comments from time to time so if anyone has any additional questions, just drop them in and I will try and help.
********One More Update - May 20, 2008**************
Had to post this as it has been somewhat of a minor/major issue with my Roomba. The side brush that spins around has not been the best design I've ever seen. I've mentioned that it has broken off before and Irobot sent me some free replacements. Well, this continues to be a problem.
It seems that the side brush likes to get caught on things like corners or furniture which then causes it to break off or snap off an arm. I contacted Irobot about it again asking if they could send me some of those rubber bumbers one person mentioned in the comments section. The response was that they found the rubber bumber to have little to no impact on the side brush so they are no longer using them.
They did send me 3 additional brushes at no charge (thank you very much) but this won't fix the design problem of the brush itself. So I caution people here that are looking to purchase this robot that do not want to fork over additional money for new brushes every coupole of months. I'm Ok with it because I just consider the brushes to be the cost of vacuum bags (and the free ones don't hurt either!) but in this economy, some people might not have the money to pick these up when they need replacing.
I sitll love my Roomba because of the great job it does and the fact it covers areas I could never reach. In fact, I now have a Scooba to wash my floors and love the job that does as well (although that has an entire other set of issues!!) minimize
A Worthy Successor to the Roomba Line, December 12, 2007
We have two Roombas plus a Scooba in our house. When one of the batteries on one of our Roombas finally reached the end of its life cycle, we decided to donate that Roomba to a friend and to get ourselves the new top of the line - the Roomba 560. We got this right when it first came out, but we waited several months before posting a review. It's...read full review
We have two Roombas plus a Scooba in our house. When one of the batteries on one of our Roombas finally reached the end of its life cycle, we decided to donate that Roomba to a friend and to get ourselves the new top of the line - the Roomba 560. We got this right when it first came out, but we waited several months before posting a review. It's pretty much impossible to review one of these Roombas after only a few days! It takes weeks if not months to start to see how well they last over time, and what breaks down. Believe me - been there, done that.
So now it's many months later, and I have to say, we are quite pleased with the improvements of this Roomba over the previous generations of Roombas. So first, for those who don't even have ANY Roomba yet (hard to believe!). Roombas are awesome. We have cats, and we work from home so we're home all day. It is AMAZING how much dirt and dust and junk collects in the carpet every single day. Who really has time to vacuum their carpets twice a day any more? With the Roomba, you set the scheduler to do it while you are asleep. You wake up in the morning, the carpets are clean, the air is fresh, and you empty out the dust bin. It is just wonderful.
Even those without pets might be amazed how much lint and such the Roomba will find every morning for you.
I have a noise meter and have done several tests with the noise meter. The Roomba is much quieter than other regular vacuums. It is NOT silent - it can't be! How could it vacuum up dirt and be silent? But it is quieter than the alternatives, and heck, you're sleeping anyway. I can easily sleep through a Roomba running.
Now, on to the improvements of this new Roomba over previous models. First, it has a cool feature where the speed drops when it senses it is approaching a solid object. The old Roomba would just run full tilt into an object - wall, couch etc. - and then turn around. This one slows down so that it hits the object gently. Sure the old Roomba wouldn't dent the walls with its powerful force, but still, it's nice to have it be gentle on furniture and your building.
Next, for better or for worse, the new Roomba is much more aware of when its bin and brushes are getting grungy. I admit I didn't clean my other Roombas as often as I should have. And it led to problems. This new Roomba will actually stop and warn you when it's getting full and when the brushes should be cleaned. If you're a procrastinator like I am, this is a good thing. If you're a clean freak that empties the bin every time, and cleans the brushes every time, then you probably won't even notice this feature.
The anti tangle technology is nice. The previous Roomba would start to eat a cord and just keep going until it was really stuck. This Roomba at least tries to get itself untangled. Still, I don't recommend leaving cords and strings and things lying around. You're just asking for trouble if you do.
The new system uses a "lighthouse" instead of just a wall. With a lighthouse, you mark out a room so the Roomba finishes with that room completely before going on to the next room. They are like section markers. We tend to just use walls, but if you have two large rooms the lighthouse feature might be really helpful for you.
After several months of running we have had NO problems at all with our Roomba. No broken brushes, no falling off pieces, nothing. It is still going strong and we are very pleased with it.
Highly, highly recommended! I am happy to give personal advice and I even have videos of Roombas on my website. I love Roombas, they have saved me countless hours of work, and they make my home a much cleaner and easier-breathing place to be. minimize
Scratch Vacuuming Off Your List! (Almost), September 11, 2007
Did you ever just fall in love . . . with a piece of well-designed technology? I sure fell for this one. How lovely to have something else take care of one of my least favorite chores!
Why I love this gizmo:
(1) Goes about cleaning the floors quietly (forget the noise of a conventional vacuum cleaner);
...read full review
Did you ever just fall in love . . . with a piece of well-designed technology? I sure fell for this one. How lovely to have something else take care of one of my least favorite chores!
Why I love this gizmo:
(1) Goes about cleaning the floors quietly (forget the noise of a conventional vacuum cleaner);
(2) Does a better job than I ever could because it can get under the beds fully to get out all the nasty little dust bunnies, and it crawls along the baseboard to pick up the bits that hide on the edges of the room;
(3) Cleans for a predetermined amount of time, and then puts itself to bed (while it recharges itself);
(4) Can be scheduled to run whenever you choose; and,
(5) Does a great job of picking up cat hair (my old vacuum did not).
Problems?
Yes, but mostly they were just getting used to its operation. I had to learn to pick up throw rugs and clear the area of cords. I had to learn the robot's eccentricities and plan for them.
I also discovered that a cat landing on the Roomba in the middle of the night would start it going - so we woke up to clean floors.
Worth it?
You bet!
Five stars, and a big thanks!
UPDATE: October 4, 2007
My Roomba produced an error message that I was unable to clear. So I called (not emailed, but called) the support center. The Roomba needed to be reset, and, with the help of the support person, I accomplished this and we're back in action.
The support was superior, so if you have a problem, just give them a call. If your call is like mine, you'll find them highly responsive and eager to help solve your problem.
UPDATE: November 30, 2007
About four weeks after my initial review, the side brush fell off. The part that holds the brush screw was broken.
I called the company who said they'd send out another part in five days or so. That was followed by an email that said a month. Now it is six weeks later . . . still no replacement part.
While the vacuum still works, the baseboard cleaning is absent without the side brush. And I am in the dark as to when I will receive a replacement. This would cause me to reduce the number of stars I give the Roomba 560, if Amazon would allow me to do so.
I still think this is a good product. It still does an adequate job of cleaning up cat hair and other debris. But, I think the price is too high given the quality of that brush.
In my book, iRobot has some 'splaining, and apologizing, to do.
UPDATE: Augst 1, 2008
Now my roomba has developed horrible screaming noises that might be coming from the wheels, but who knows. And I now have the replacement gizmo for the side brush (after 9 months).
I am sorry that I cannot adjust the stars on this review. If I could I would now rate this product one star (can't give zero). I strongly recommend not buying a Roomba!
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Stay away from all 500's until sidebrush problem fixed, November 20, 2007
I have been a long time customer of iRobot. I have had multiple early generation Roombas (and still have four fourth generation Roombas in my house). I bought two 560's in September and the side brushes became "amputees" within the first few weeks, with the brushes breaking off.
When I called for Technical Support (not listed on their ...read full review
I have been a long time customer of iRobot. I have had multiple early generation Roombas (and still have four fourth generation Roombas in my house). I bought two 560's in September and the side brushes became "amputees" within the first few weeks, with the brushes breaking off.
When I called for Technical Support (not listed on their website: 877.855.8593) I was told it was a "known problem", and they would ship out the new redesigned side brush replacements as soon as received. Weeks later, still no date and even today "maybe three weeks".
Now they are hedging on whether it was a design defect. What IS clear is that none of the units on sale have a "redesigned" part, so you may have the same problem I have had. So forget about getting one before Christmas unless you want to go through this same debacle I am.
I have always had the highest respect for iRobot (despite the Scooba), but my faith has been shaken by this product.
*** UPDATE 12-03-2007 (and another part also on "back order")
BTW, I still have received no replacement side brushes after almost two months.
There is another problem with some of the 560's (and I assume all of the early 500 series). The original two 560's I bought in September did not have a "bumper extension" included.
So if you are buying from a retailer MAKE SURE THAT THE ONE YOU BUY HAS A BUMPER EXTENSION INCLUDED. I saw a 560 at a store this weekend with this new piece, which is just a piece of rubber that you stick on the lower part of the bumper and a "slip sheet" to the manual that tells how to place it, but does not say what it is for.
When I called iRobot and told them that I did not receive these with my original 560's, they first claimed "all of them" shipped with it, but they would order me two -- Guess what else is now back-ordered?
I suggested that the bumper extension might be a new "fix" for the side-brush problem, but the customer service representative said it was to keep the "IR sensors from being scratched" by furniture. To defend that this had nothing to do with the side-brush problem, he said that they had had side brushes "falling off without contact with anything" and that definitely the side brushes had been redesigned but no one in technical support was told how.
Here is what I think the new bumper is for:
We have five fireplaces in our house. All but one have a hearth extension height of 1/2" or less above the floor. The fifth one has 7/8" above the floor, where I have seen the 560's stalled, with the 560 eventually disentangling itself (but with brushes soon thereafter falling off!).
I think the main purpose of the bumper extension is to sense a transition in this critical area (7/8") and be repelled by contact with the bumper extension. IRobot says that this is not its purpose. However, the instruction slip sheet specifically states to place part the extension below the existing vertical height of the bumper.
I will try to update this if and when I get:
1. My replacement side brushes and
2. My missing bumper extensions.
A few more observations ....
Customer service.
Hold times seem to be going up dramatically. I was on hold for 17 minutes and then disconnected. I then called sales (which answers immediately) and was eventually reconnected to customer service.
Docking station/lighthouses.
It appears that the lighthouses with the 500-series are coded to work only with the docking station or Roomba with which they were shipped. Having two of these systems, I tried the two lighthouses associated with the other one -- no recognition. This may actually be an advantage if you have a house with more than one. I just have not seen any documentation on this issue.
As I have said before, I think the Roomba in general is a great product. I just thing they rushed to market with the 500-series before it was ready for prime-time.
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Solid performance, some reliability questions, October 21, 2007
I won't duplicate what others have said. On our hardwood floors Roomba does a better job than the top-rated cannister which we've been using. We have a good whole-house furnace filter and we don't get an enormous amount of dust, so I don't find that the Roomba dust tray fills up quickly. It's true that the Roomba needs minor regular maintenance...read full review
I won't duplicate what others have said. On our hardwood floors Roomba does a better job than the top-rated cannister which we've been using. We have a good whole-house furnace filter and we don't get an enormous amount of dust, so I don't find that the Roomba dust tray fills up quickly. It's true that the Roomba needs minor regular maintenance (such as cleaning the brushes), but all vacuums need this, and they rarely get it. It is easier to perform that maintenance on a Roomba. Two things prevent me from giving it five stars. The first is that the product is still not very "smart." As the technology progresses it will surely not take 30 minutes to vacuum one room. The second is that iRobot has dismal customer service. The reps aren't familiar with the functions, haven't read the product manuals, and don't even know what is in the box. In short, it acts like the military contractor that it is.
Update: After a few weeks of use, several of the spinning arms that whisk out dust from wall edges have broken off. The only source of replacement is the manufacturer, and it is out of stock with about a month estimated shipping time. (iRobot's estimated shipping times are a joke.) If the arms break off at this pace they will represent a noteworthy maintenance expense. It's obviously for good reason that the replacement part is sold in a three-pack. One of the large wheels has now become very noisy but shows no sign of contamination interference. It is apparently broken. I'll get a replacement unit. iRobot's tech support wait times, like other customer services, is unacceptable. Management clearly doesn't know how to provide service to back a good product.
Update 2: I've replaced the first defective unit. In two weeks the replacement has done fine, but I now have the gnawing concern that the product won't have a life span that justifies the price. The corner brushes already look worn. The Roomba does a good job of sensing and slowing down for object it sees head-on, but it hits corners and smaller legs pretty hard. I don't like the way it bumps into my floor speakers, so I'll have to protect them from it. The Lighthouses have no off switch, so the batteries are consumed even when they are not needed but the Roomba is working.
Update 3: The main brush on my replacement Roomba has slices in the rubber after three weeks and the side brush arms are quickly getting worn, so I have contacted iRobot: it wasn't easy. The phone menu claims to lead to tech support, but it never gives you the option of a live person. Grrrr. I called the corporate number and after I pitched a glitch they put me through to a more senior person who acknowledged that they have made phone support difficult so as to drive customers to the web site. Grrrr. He also said that there was a defect in the side brush which caused it to break easily, and sent me a new bottom and side brush at no charge. What about all the people who have bought and are still buying units with defective brushes? Will they have to call impossible-to-reach tech support, slink back to the web site, and beg for a replacement? What about those who don't realize it is a defect and simply pay for replacement brushes?
iRobot's corporate number is 781-345-0200.
Feb 08 update: The battery has now lost what I estimate to be about 40 percent of its capacity. The manufacturer says this is not uncommon. They recommend a reset and a 72-hour charge. Service rep says that after that charge "if you get 5 or 10 more minutes that's a good sign." Not good enough, I think. Stars aside, I now think this product is not worth buying. minimize