POLL: How long has YOUR Neato lasted?

[kalidiso]

Dear Vic. thank you for your reply.. (1) Its a Connected, (2)i don'y have a multi-meter but could buy one i guess (3) is that the Neeto android App?

Problem is am sure all apps and SW need the Bot to have some charge.. its totally dead..

[vic7767]

First thing to find out is if your battery is good and then find an alternate way to charge it so that you can use the NeatoControl program to look at your Botvac Connected.

[maddieprivate]

Both my units died within 4 months of unboxing.
My D75 purchased Sept 4, 2016 lasted 4 months before it got an error code 3000. I followed the instructions on Neatos website and it did not fix the problem. Neato did not respond to my email so I called them. It took about a week but they sent me a replacement. The replacement box simply read D Series. The replacement lasted 3 months and now it has gone crazy. Error code 3000, now not charging.
Again, Neato did not respond to my email, so I got into a live chat with them. Neato is sending me another replacement. I will say the reps are polite, but they need to respond to emails faster. When the replacement arrives, I will sell it cheap.
I have purchased a Roomba 880. Nothing I have used cleans as well and as fast the Neato, and the Roomba takes longer, but what good is the Neato if it needs major repairs every 3-4 months? I am not a tech, I do not know how to fix the thing, nor should I have to after such a short period of time.

[AintBigAintClever]

No option for mine as it failed after 4 years.
June 2013: purchased an XV25 (Binky rev.4 board)
2017: screen blank and starting to stop before getting all the way to base, changed C10 to 1000uF at the same time as the LIDAR motor, no difference to screen but docking properly
June 2017: LIDAR failed so replaced LIDAR drive motor
August 2018: noticed it getting "clumsy", front bumper switches failed so replaced no-brand buttons with Omron B3F buttons scavenged from an old VCR, also updated to 3.4

My second Neato (with the XV25 relegated to upstairs):-
March 2016: purchased a nearly-new Botvac D85
2018: started crashing, would be sitting there completely unresponsive either at base or mid-clean, had to pull the battery to fix it
August 2018: crashed completely, green light if the Home button is pressed but nothing on screen, not recognised as a USB device either, will have to take a look inside

[justflie]

I'm sure i'm the odd man out here, but i still have my original XV-11. All I've had to do is change batteries and filters. The dustbin sensor (for closed dustbin) is busted, i had to tape that down. That's it. Talk about longevity!

[JEfromCanada]

Although I don't have it anymore after upgrading to the Botvac 80, my XV-11 is still working as well. Sold it to my next door neighbour when I got this one, and she reports it's still working.

[Brad Bishop]

My XV-11 lasted about 2.5 years.

I got a D85 (refurb) which made it about a year.

Then I got the Botvac Connected and it just died last night (2.5 years).

I'm stepping off the Neato train at this point.

I'm tempted by Roomba but I may just go to a regular vacuum cleaner as, while it's handy to have the robot vac do the deed, I don't want to blow $600-1000 every 3 years on it. That's simply not worth it.

[Gourd]

My very first Robot Vac, a XV-11 was bought in April 2012 and has worked perfectly since.

I've replaced the battery with a Lithium pack pair, the squeegee ... rubber... things on the beater, replaced canister filters on the regular. That's it.

A second younger XV-11 bought in December 2013 died after 4 years of use. It simply decided to stop powering up at all one day, and all attempts to revive it failed.

REALLY happy with how long my original unit has lasted.

[overdose]

2014 january XV-21. Twice a week cleaning a 1200 pi2 house.

- out of the box, battery were dead, 0$ fix from Neato
- 2016 - lidar motor. 2$
- 2016 - lithium battery. 50$
- 2018 - plastic flap on the brush. 10$
- 2018 second - lidar motor. 4$
- 2018 screen broke (my fault, drop the neato from counter height) .12$
- 2019 - lidar lens adjustment 0$

I've take apart the neato about 8-9 times.

Total : around 90$ in 5 years. Still running.

And countless number of dust cleaning (brush, motor, filter, wheels, bearing, etc).

Conclusion :

when people ask me if its a good-buy, I always answer if they are ready to do specific maintenance on it, yeah.
If not, do not expect to put it there and never touch it.

[drunkpenguin]

You guys have me really worried. I have a d7 arriving today. Maybe i should returm it.

[JEfromCanada]

You guys have me really worried. I have a d7 arriving today. Maybe i should returm it.

I think the consensus is that the Neato, when first introduced, had superior navigation, but was less robust than market leader iRobot. After many years, iRobot finally seemed to admit that their "navigation", patterned after insect behaviour, was really inferior; and now in their 980 model and beyond, they've adopted smart navigation using cameras. But, at what price!!!

Neato's Lidar, while mechanical and prone to more problems than a static camera, nevertheless allows navigation in complete darkness - something that is important to me, because mine runs overnight in a dark house while I'm sleeping.

My XV-11 was very good to me, and when I decided to upgrade to the Botvac 80, I sold my XV-11 to my next door neighbour. She's still using it to this day (although I've been informed the screen no longer works) and my Botvac 80 which has been running 3 times a week since being purchased, is still on its original filter (which I protect with dryer sheets) and original battery.

All high-end robots are more expensive than what I'm willing to pay - even my Botvac 80 was purchased on sale, and with the benefit of Amazon gift certificates I had been given. So, I've never had to pay more than $500 (Canadian dollars) out of my own pocket for any robot vacuum.

I'd say if you're from North America or anywhere there is localized support for Neato products, you'll probably be happy with your purchase, or at least have access to reasonably quick repairs. The only possible issue would be if your cleaning environment (very plush carpet or an abundance of pet hair or long human hair) makes it a pain to perform maintenance on the unit.

[overdose]

You guys have me really worried. I have a d7 arriving today. Maybe i should returm it.

1 - I dont think other brand are any better. Those product got tons of fragile parts and complex software.

2 - From my reading, newer neato are not that better reliability wise from older xv series.

3 - Most issues are fixable, cheap and there's a ton of support for neato product here.

One thing sure, be prepared to do periodic maintenance, and few troubleshooting in a near future.

overall, nothing that dramatic. You are on this forums, this is a very good start, that means you've take the time to get internet info. Most people are not able to change a light buld, and when we told them '' have you google it'' , they never thought about it...

[drunkpenguin]

If parts are a plenty I can handle that with instructions, so that helps thanks. I have 2 800 series roombas that have been flawless, but the tech is reduced in those guys. I chose neato because the roombas can't handle my super thick rug in the living room so here's to hoping it can handle it. I'll find out tonight and I'm sure I'll have some questions along the way.

Fingers crossed that I don't have to take part in this poll tonight!

[fmulders]

Please do take in account that all the people who can enter the poll are people that came to this forum.
Most of them came here by google for an answer on a problem in the first place.

All those Neato's that are running fine are not entering this Poll...

I believe Neato is really the best you can buy at this moment.
And yes, you should maintain it properly to get the most out of it.

[overdose]

Please do take in account that all the people who can enter the poll are people that came to this forum.
Most of them came here by google for an answer on a problem in the first place.

All those Neato's that are running fine are not entering this Poll...

I believe Neato is really the best you can buy at this moment.
And yes, you should maintain it properly to get the most out of it.

-this is true for about everything, but you still have a lot of reviews everywhere stating that neato need maintenance
- also, its easy to take a look inside the neato, and objectively stating that its not bulletproof.
- I doubt neato got big sales numbers; its not consumable need. So hard to get a big population for having great stats results.

[redpoint5]

My subjective experience is my 6xx Roomba needed no repairs, but suffered rapid battery degradation (less than a year). Once I bought a lithium ion battery from Vic, that problem was resolved.

My xv has had intermittent LIDAR issues from about the 2nd year on, and wore out a bushing in the beater brush.

I'd wager that the 6xx Roomba is less prone to issues on a hour of operation basis, but it's also simpler and not as effective of a vacuum as the Neato.

Besides all that, a D3 can be had for $150 new, and the D5 for $200. That's half the price of Roombas. Probably cheaper/better to replace the robot twice as often for half the cost.

[Brett]

... I'd wager that the 6xx Roomba is less prone to issues on a hour of operation basis ...

Everything has a "yes but"...
If you do the regular cleaning of the CHM as you are supposed to, then you are probably right. But most people fall into the "good intentions but didn't get round to it' or the "work it till it stops" schools of thought, and under that duty the 6xx CHM will probably lunch itself at some point, and the XV could outlast it depending on your luck at the lidar motor draw, etc.