Botvac alert "please check my filter and dirt bin"

[DummyPLUG]

Hello everyone, I am new to botvac. I got mine only for a week.

When It is cleaning, sometime it will alert "please check my filter and dirt bin", although it will keep on cleaning, but I need to reseat the bin to turn off that alert. What is the cause of this and if there any fix?
The first time it happen the bin is quite full, but the second time it happen the bin is quite empty, although the High-Performance Filters seems dusty.

I found there is a setting call "bin alert on/off", what it really do? will it stop the above alert? And if I set it to off, will it also turn off all other alert related to the bin, such as the dirt bin full alert?

Thanks for help with my new botvac, it is really good, much better then my old roomba.

[DogHairCleanUp]

I have owned my Botvac for 3 months. I am not a technician or associated with Neato. I have read a lot and experienced some of these things first hand. These are some things I would try with my Botvac. The information may not be correct.

If your brush came with the shielded bearing (all metal) instead of the sealed bearing (has black rubber on the sides of it), it is probably a newer production run. They switched to the all silver to cut production costs. If it's all silver, you need to switch out the bearing or it could melt down your brush and where it sits. It could lead to error messages or destroy your Botvac brush and/or housing. The replacement bearing is available through Neato or robot-doc.com, botvac, bearing for $6.00. I had no problems with the transaction.

I bought 2 Botvacs. One came with the silver bearing and one with the black. I am having more of these problems with the one that came with the black bearing. The production group with the black rubber bearing had more quirks involving the dust bin. If it continues, call Neato and they may send you a new unit. The Botvac screen could also, say "please replace my dirt bin".

When I got your message, I just took the bin in and out a few times, made sure it was well seated and it worked. But, it may not be that simple.

There is only one Botvac. The differences in the model numbers indicate the color of the top and the accessory package. I think it is a marketing ploy so they can sell some for more than others. It sounds like yours came with the hepa filter. All the Botvacs can use the regular or hepa filters.

When emptying the dust bin, clean the brush. I take the brush out and remove the bearing and remove anything that has collected around both ends of the brush and the bearing. I clean the hair from around the brushes with scissors when it gets bad.

It may be your filter. Hepa filters clog more easily than the regular filters. It may look clean and still be clogged. Install a new filter to eliminate that possibility. There is a trick to make it easier to clean your filters and make them last longer. Take 3 sheets of toilet paper, do not tear them apart and separate it take make it single ply. I trim the narrow side to make it have the same overhang all the way around, but that isn't required. It will overhang all around and that is OK. Put it over the filter before inserting it into the dust bin. I use the regular filter and mine looks clean after months of use. Sometimes, I hit it on the side of the trash can to eliminate dust. I have never used the hepa filter but my regular filter does well and the toilet paper catches most of the dust and all the dirt. It still looks new and it will save a lot of money. You could vacuum or rinse the old one (make sure it is totally dry before installing it). Neato probably would not recommend these tricks. Before, I learned the toilet paper trick, I washed my filters and it worked OK, but not as well, as the toilet paper. I have not noticed any adverse effects on the performance. It will save you money and make cleaning the bin easier. The regular and the hepa filters fit all the units.

With the dust bin out, check the area where the dirt comes out of the Botvac into the dust bin. Sometimes, that gets clogged.

Take the bin out. Turn Botvac upside down and tilt it slightly to the side where the dirt enters into the dust bin. Shake it to dislodge anything that may be caught in it. (never hit the top colored part on top or lay it upside down without support to protect it because you could damage the laser guided part)

If it isn't any of these things, remove the Botvac from the docking station and turning off the switch may clear the message. You may need to leave it off for a while. When mine said put my dirt bin back in, I turned it off and put it the garage because the beeping was driving me crazy. I forgot to call Neato. After a few days, I brought it back inside, I charged up and it never did it again. It was one of the older production runs so I will call Neato and try to get it replaced.

If your not able to fix your problem, call Neato. Warranties are not transferable. It must be bought from an authorized dealer new for the warranty to be good. Somebody told me that if it is a gift that the warranty covers it but I am not sure. If you bought it on some credit cards, your warranty will be doubled if you still have that credit card active.

Even if you fix it and have doubts about your unit, call Neato anyway. It's better to be safe than sorry.

Get it fixed quickly because it may take getting more than one unit. It has been reported that Neato has previously had quality control problems. I don't know if that is true or if some people just got unlucky. I think it is human nature to report more bad things than good things. So, I expect to see complaints. But, dirt bin issues seem to be common. Reportedly, the Neato products are not as reliable as the Roombas. It's not worth taking the chance.

I love my Botvac. I will work with any quirks that arise. Worse case, I will be happy even if it doesn't last past the warranty period of 1-2 years. But, I hope it will. You can see why if you visit my post listed below.

I paid $299 for mine in December. If you paid a lot for yours, you may consider taking it back and buying another one online at Costco for $289 + free shipping 4/1-4/30/2015 (while supplies last) with a full warranty and a great return policy. They come with the regular filters but you can always buy replacement hepa. It comes with the better combo brush that is optional on some models. The Botvac 65 is an exclusive package for Costco. You would probably still have to replace the bearing (but keep the old one in case you ever have to return it or get a warranty replacement). I heard that non-members can buy things on line by paying a % more. I don't know if that is true. If you get a membership, you would have to pay for it with American Express or cash. If you cancel your membership, they will prorate your membership refund. The AmX card comes as part of the membership and provides a 1 year extended warranty. You would lose that extended warranty. You would still have the Neato warranty.

Please check out all my comments for yourself. I may be wrong. Good luck.

[DummyPLUG]

I have owned my Botvac for 3 months. I am not a technician or associated with Neato. I have read a lot and experienced some of these things first hand. These are some things I would try with my Botvac. The information may not be correct.

......

Please check out all my comments for yourself. I may be wrong. Good luck.

Thanks so much! It is a 85 and I order from amazon, sadly as there are no local dealer selling any neato, I am forced to order one from over sea.

There are two brush, the pre-installed one (so call combo brush) had the all silver bearing, and the blade brush have a all sealed bearing, I guess it may be a newer production.
Thanks so much for your info, I found that I am using that brush with all silver bearing, so I had replace the bearing at once!

You are correct, the HPEA filter is really easy to clog, I will try the toilet paper solutions. Actually I really surprise the botvac is so powerful and can cleanup so much dust, may be this is the reason why my unit keeps alert me.

p.s. Really thanks for your help, it is so informative , base on your suggestioin I had e-mail neato, hope it don't need to have a replacement, as I don't think that will ship oversea (may be amazon will cover me? )

[DogHairCleanUp]

Have you already e-mailed them?

[DummyPLUG]

Have you already e-mailed them? I need to PM (private Message) you first.

Yes I had email them already, what's up?

[DogHairCleanUp]

That sounds good. Do you use the blade brush? Is it better than the combo brush for anything? I didn't know about the technical support help on the Botvac message screen. It appears that the "bin alert on off" only applies to the "full bin alert message". I empty my bin after each use so I never got that message. I am the kind of person who reads a manual from cover to cover before I use something. There was not much of a manual for the Botvac. Since, I didn't want to set up the clock or schedule I didn't pay attention to the menu. Now, I know more about the Botvac. Please visit my post comparing the Roomba vs Botvac. It has a link you can click. It shows that the bin can hold a lot before any signals go off. I didn't know I had such a dog hair problem until I got the Botvac. It is normal now. I am not a technical person. Sometimes, I like watch it run. I can almost see it thinking.

[DummyPLUG]

That sounds good. Do you use the blade brush? Is it better than the combo brush for anything? I didn't know about the technical support help on the Botvac message screen. It appears that the "bin alert on off" only applies to the "full bin alert message". I empty my bin after each use so I never got that message. I am the kind of person who reads a manual from cover to cover before I use something. There was not much of a manual for the Botvac. Since, I didn't want to set up the clock or schedule I didn't pay attention to the menu. Now, I know more about the Botvac. Please visit my post comparing the Roomba vs Botvac. It has a link you can click. It shows that the bin can hold a lot before any signals go off. I didn't know I had such a dog hair problem until I got the Botvac. It is normal now. I am not a technical person. Sometimes, I like watch it run. I can almost see it thinking.

I had try the blade brush, but it seems that is not as good as pick up hair and small dust as the combo brush, and it is way too noisy on hard floor, the only advantage is it didn't get hair roll up, although the combo brush have so little hair roll up also. But in case of carpet the blade brush is much better, it create "pattern" on the carpet, and the combo brush seems to compaction the carpet instead of uncompact.

It is funny that my botvac don't come with a full manual, only quick install guide, I need to download the full manual from web, but still not so informative.

Will check your review later, it is 3AM here so I better sleep.

[mfortuna]

If your brush came with the shielded bearing (all metal) instead of the sealed bearing (has black rubber on the sides of it), it is probably a newer production run. They switched to the all silver to cut production costs.

Many other users have posted the sealed bearing is installed on newer models. The shielded bearing is installed on the original production runs.