iRobot

I have had problems with iRobot systems and customer service for several years. I have bought about 4 different robots and all of them only worked for a couple of weeks to a maximum of 3 months. iRobot does not have a repair center therefore they make their clients troubleshoot this poorly engineered vacuums over the phone.

I have spent numerous hours going over troubleshooting and nothing was ever fixed. They have gotten to the extent of sending me what I believe was a refurbished unit that did not work either! All of this happened when I lived in California with my family. I'm now in PA and after opening all the boxes from the move, I found the bad Roombas and sparked the interest of trying to see if any of poorly made machines worked, after a full charge given, one went into circles and another went really slow and so long. No carpet or floors were cleaned as usual.

I called Roomba Customer Service and kept an open mind, thinking that maybe I can exchange the four I have for one that works, but now they are out of warranty and conveniently they only have records of what they wanted to keep with only one machine registered. However, they mentioned that one was sent to me in 2007. I told them that it never worked so they asked me again to troubleshoot the unit and of course after using compressors to blow out the dust, it still never worked. The unit is brand new, why should I blow dust out of it? Nonsense In case someone wants to file a class complaint, please let me know. I believe just by reading this post there are thousands of people with similar issues. I will be willing to talk to an attorney if anyone would be willing to pick up the case and get a new system to the people that have similar problems or whatever is necessary to do.

I am astounded that Colin Angle, as the CEO of a large consumer products manufacturer, would not list an email address so that he could receive emails from his customers. Perhaps, it is because of the point of view engendered by an engineering background that puts things ahead of human beings. When my Roomba 560 began to whine and thump, despite regular careful cleaning after only five months of use, I called Customer Service and was told I needed to replace the brush assembly. When I mentioned that one user on a complaints website mentioned that to clean the 560 thoroughly, the brush assembly has to be removed, the customer service rep told me that iRobot discouraged such a disassembly so I did not do it.

I was then sold a replacement brush assembly, which it was claimed would cure the problem. Upon receiving it, I removed the old assembly and found dog hair around the gears. Instead of installing the new assembly, I cleaned and reinstalled the old one and found that it worked fine and that I did not need the replacement (at least, not yet). In addition, the front wheel fell out of its housing because the plastic gave way after twenty or thirty removals of the wheel to clean it, as the instructions required. I was told by a customer service rep, after complaining that I should not remove the wheel, but clean the axle with it in place. Lots of luck with that! So I had to buy another wheel assembly!

Why hasn't iRobot changed the manual directions so that others would not encounter the same problem? Why hasn't this company emailed its registered users of all their products prone to such failure with the change in maintenance necessary to avoid such a material failure? iRobot does its customers a great disservice and reinforces the experience that not only is this a faulty design, but that the company doesn't care enough about its customers to warn them about this problem or even change do the minimum of changing its cleaning instructions so that the poor design of the wheel housing is avoided.

I was surprised to find that the hair cleaning tool was not part of my Roomba kit. Perhaps, that was another boon I did not receive because I purchased the Roomba as a reconditioned item from its website. Moreover, I discovered that the problems I've had with the Roomba are not covered by the warranty because it is a reconditioned unit. My many years of experience in manufacturing have shown me that reconditioned units are almost always in better working condition than those sent right from the production floor. iRobot's attitude regarding its warranties implies that the opposite is true, and that a reconditioned unit may very well not have the service life of a new one.

My experience of the poor design and maintenance performance with this product makes me fear for the lives and limbs of our soldiers, Marines and Seals if they have to depend on iRobot's highly touted military combat robots, most recently on TV by its CEO, Colin Angle. iRobot does a sizable business with the US Department of Defense. To date, it has delivered more than 3,000 PackBot robots used for bomb disposal, reconnaissance and building mapping, mostly in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, iRobot received a $17 million order for SUGV robots, bringing the total units ordered to date to 229. It started delivering a version of the SUGV last year.

iRobot hopes to get a contract approved for additional 124 SUGVs in the second quarter, iRobot Chief Executive Colin Angle said in a conference call with analysts Thursday. The US Army estimates that it will need more than 8,000 SUGV robots, Angle said. Adding the projected demand from the Marines and others services, international markets and US law enforcement, the overall market demand could be 10,000 to 20,000 SUGV class robots, Angle said.

Let's hope they're of better quality than the consumer product sold to me.

iRobot UK likes to advertise and charge in advance for repairs but are not keen to do anything once they have the money. I am continually fobbed off by the call center and cannot get to speak to a supervisor. It is a great product while it works but aftercare is a joke (expensive joke).

I purchased an iRobot Roomba 535 brand new from Woot.com in March of '09. About six months after the warranty expired, the Roomba started malfunctioning with the "9 beep error." This is a very well-documented error for this particular model (the 500 series) as evidenced by over 200 posts here: **. Same as the other complaints below regarding this model, I also attempted the "fixes" listed on the website to fix the issue, but to no avail. iRobot stated that there is no way to repair it. I only have to buy a new one for $150. What's a real kicker here is that iRobot refuses to offer an extended warranty for the replacement. I can understand that this is barely out of warranty. However, because this is such a well-documented design defect, I believe that my Roomba should be repaired free of charged or replaced with a non-defective model.

Vacuum used only a few times even though purchased mid-December 2008--kept it charged up Only used in a small area basically for surface carpet cleaning. Went to use it October 2010 and all it does it spin around in a circle, error message 9 beeps. Bumper is sticking. I already had taken it apart to clean it several times. Customer service told me the same thing as in the manual and to use an air compressor to clean it. It turns on, spins around and then stops and beeps-- uh-oh and then 9 beeps. I will not fix itself. Why are these items still allowed to be sold and why is HSN selling them knowing there are issues with these items?

I join the ranks of thousands of others who have had problems with their product after a short period of use. My Roomba was used about 12 times over the course of 2 years and the battery went punk. The company said to go punt essentially. I'm out of $300.00.

I purchased both a Roomba 530 series robot and a Scooba only 1.5 years ago, so they're not under warranty. The Roomba just moves in circles and the Scooba runs out of juice within 10 minutes. operating. I called Tech Suport, got a foreign voice, and they told me that I would need to upgrade it for $150 because I tried the "fixes" that they posted on their Web site. I told the man that I was unhappy and would just like it fixed. They sent me an e-mail saying I have 30 days to accept their offer. Who wants to buy something that you have to upgrade or replace in less than 2 years.

I also went online to see what could be wrong with the Scooba and several owners complained of the same problem and said that the battery needs to be replaced and also needs a software upgrade. The battery costs $69. I can't afford IRobot's fixes.

We purchased an iRobot Scooba. To cut a long story short, this was exchanged twice under the 1 year warranty. The last version failed after only 4 months. The problem has been the same in the last two cases -- a failure of the drive wheel motor assembly. Our 1st Scooba was dead on arrival due to a broken valve.

The upshot of us is that iRobot is charging $399 for a Scooba 350. In our experience the average lifetime of the product is only about 5 months.

WWW.Robot.com/support is the email address of this company.

I have dealt with this company since buying a Scooba Scruber for floors.the last of December, 2008 It would not work from the beginning. When I called they insisted on trying to get it to work. I wanted a 299.00 dollar refund for this new item but they kept insisting that I had to let them send me a bulb to remove the air from tubes. They did this on two occasions, in spite of my wanting a refund.

Most of people I talked with were hard to deal with, but I did talk to two or three people that were understanding and even agreed that I should not be having so much trouble with this problem. Some of these people were no longer employed when I called back.

After begging a company man to please help me, as I am on a limited income and can not afford to lose that much momey, he agreed to have me sent Scooba back and they would replace it with a new one. He said he was sorry he could not refund the money as it had been too long. (Their stalling.)

I sent it back the next day Dec 12 2008. It was recieved on Dec on Dec 16.

I have talked to two or three people there since. One told me it had not reached them. I told her it was received on the docks and signed for. I gave her his name and other info including the tracking number. She told me to send the tracking number back to her by the email she would now sent to me and she would release a new item be sent to me. I did as she said and sent the tracking number an additional 3 times since she never did not sent it to me as she promised.

I have made two or three calls since then and was told they have no record of my sending it back. I sent a copy of the email I sent to them. Then a lady told me after I told her I was going to have this checked out by Consumer Affairs, and she then suddenly found my email, sent to them. She said a NEW Item would be sent in 2 or 3 days. That was about a month ago. I told her I had bought a new Scooba and I would not accept a rebuilt one. It must be a new one.

When I have contacted them since, I got the same run around. I am tired of it.

I bought the irobot in July of 2008. The irobot rumba only worked once and stopped working. make a long story short I have called the call center about 5 times and nothing has been done. The reps don't speak well english at all. They tell me they can't transfer me to a supervisor or manager because they are not available and it takes about 45 minutes to get a rep on the line and another 45min to an hour for them to understand what your calling about. I was suppose to get a new rumba and to this day I don't have one. Iwas supposet o get pieces to fix my rumab and I had to call 3 times before they actualy sent them. My rumba still does not work. They don't get back to emails or phone calls. Don't buy a rumba. Not worth the money.

A waist of my hard earned money.

I bought a NEW Roomba 560 from an eBay seller. I register the product in the manufacturer site and the site says its covered under warranty until November 2009. When I contacted the manufacturer's customer support about a battery issue, they are saying that the item is NOT covered under warranty since its bought from eBay. They are pointing me to a policy section in their site to show me that its their policy.

If that was their policy, they shouldn't be saying that its covered under warranty in the registration page.

The customer service people are not ready to listen. They keep telling me that the item is not under warranty and there is nothing they cannot to about it. If they found a discrepancy in registration and their policy, they should be taking the responsibility and honoring what is posted in the registration form.

Our Roomba would work for 2 minutes, then stop again and tell us to clean and inspect the brushes. We were given instructions (for the wrong product) to return the roomba. We sent the entire machine back including the dust bin because those wrong instructions didn't mention it.

Recontacted Cust. Support on 12/19/08. They acknowledged that the wrong return instructions were sent and promised to send us the dust bin. On 12/31/08 we received the dust bin. Then, Roomba wouldn't charge. Now we find out they shipped the new Roomba without the battery! Those faulty instructions hadn't mentioned to keep the battery either. We were told 7-10 more business days before we receive the battery! We requested overnight shipping since we had waited so long. Our request was refused! I asked to speak with a supervisor. Andrea repeated no overnight shipping. I asked to speak with her supervisor. I was told to wait until Monday 1/5/09. We did not feel that overnighting the battery to us after all this was too much to ask since the original fault lay with them.

My husband is disabled, I have just had open heart surgery. We thought the Roomba would help keep the house cleaner. We were wrong.

The battery charging plug caused two of my televisions to die and several blubs in lamps that all were plugged into the same outlet. something is seriously wrong with these units. the batterys die if left plugged in after fully charged. The plugs produce electrical surges when removing the plug from the outlets.

I can not get an answer from i robot. I fear that these Made in China cords are dangerous for Americans. I know the economic costs are two tvs, bulbs, and one i robot unit battery and cord I threw away after the customer service rep told me that they were obsolete. I still own two units but I am afraid to plug in due to risk of losing more appliances or a FIRE.

Roomba 560 series comes with 2 virtual wall / lighthouses. Both of them stopped working. They are still under warranty. I notified iRobot customer service. They have been very non-responsive. I have made contact with over 10 people and only hear from them once, maybe twice and their replacements want to start all over rather than just reading the records. One of the wall/lighthouses works intermittently.

I have 2 open tickets with customer Support. I want the wall lighthouses replaced & I want to deal with someone who has the authority to end this long saga. I have read numerous complaints about their customer service / support

I cannot use the Roomba 560 to clean my floors. It just roams around the whole house at random, the only thing stopping it is a closed door.

I purchased iRobot approx 2 yrs ago..It has had multiple operating problems in which i would contact technical support and trouble shoot the problem..At one point i was told i needed a new battery approx $70 which did not fix the problem..The only thing they will do is give me 15% of a new scooba. They have been in business since 2000 and have no repair centers.

Purchased scoobe for over $200 from linens and things.

I purchased a Roomba Discovery 4210 almost three years ago but have used it only 20 times or so. I also purchased one of the more original models and used it no more frequently. I had to purchase a new battery for the old model because it stopped retaining a charge after only 10 to 20 uses. The Discovery model recently stopped working after only a few minutes and the battery will not recharge. I have a total usage between the two batteries of 20 to 40 times. The company represents that you will get hundreds of uses from the battery with proper usage.

I had the same problem early on with the Discovery model while it was still under warranty and they replaced everything [I believe the battery as well], so this may make three batteries that I only got that many uses from.

When I called to discuss this I was told I needed to purchase a new battery. I explained that this was not exactly economical at $50.00 to $60.00 per battery. When the subject of my infrequent usage of the Roomba came up I was told that I should remove the battery after charging if I won't be using it every one to two weeks or more frequently.

Everything on their website, including an answer to a question about battery life, in their manual, and on their automated telephone system for technical support tells the consumer to leave the Roomba in the docking station to charge for the best battery life.

Christine apologized for the automated system giving incorrect advice but said it is in the manual [not true with my manual]. She said the company was sending out new chargers and robots to replace this maodel but the battery I would have to purchase myself. She said there was nothing wrong with the charger or robot but the company was replacing them because they were older. They already had my address, telephone number, and email address but I was not contacted to replace the old unit. It was only when I called that they offered to replace it.

My issue here is that I'm spending a lot of money on batteries and I'm following their directions on extending battery life completely. If they are not going to make the correct information available to the consumer in any format, I don't feel the cost of the batteries should ever be my responsability. I can't possibly be the first consumer of this product that has had to purchase new batteries due to incorrect charging instructions. It sounds as though they may make most of their profit through battery purchases. In my last calls to the company no one has ever given me this information. If it is not available through any source to most consumers then they are clearly deceiving purchasers to sell batteries.

I am hoping that with this new information I will purchase a new battery and never have any complaints. I hope to accomplish by contacting you, the company putting out the correct information and I believe they should be paying for batteries that have to be purchased by consumers who followed their directions. As I mentioned, they have my contact information to update their manuals as I'm sure they do with many other purchasers.

I purchased a scooba from this company. After one week the scooba stopped working and they told me to return the item for an exchange. I asked if I could just return and purchase the item at Sears. They said no problem. Two months went by and I am still being charged for the item. I am also being charged late fees for not making payments on the item that I returned.

I have contacted the company over fifteen times and have waited on hold for over 12 hours all together. One of the supervisors said she would call me back on a specific day of the week of coarse she didn't she scheduled my call on one of her days off. I have been told different things by different employees and everyone gives me the run around. I finally after two months and a lot of bad moods and phone calls been credited the money. THIS IS THE WORST COMPANY EVER. NOBODY HAS A CLUE!!

My credit has been damaged since it looks like I didn't pay for the item and was charged late fees for two months. I have also suffered extreme headaches due to the stress that resulted from this problem. Just the thought of having to get out of work and calling this company to be put on hold for fifteen to thirty minutes at a time to then receive no help at all gives me the chills. It was so frustrating I don't wish this on my anyone.

December 2004 bought a Roomba Discovery from this Company. #1Roomba lasted a month then stopped working. They sent me a new one and # 2 lasted a few months then stopped. They sent me #3 which never worked at all. Then sent me # 4 which worked for several months and now has stopped work.

They have informed me that now this item is out of warranty and if I want one that supposedly works I would have to pay them $95.00 for a replacement.

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