Samsung Navibot SR8855

expensive seems to be loosing functionionality as it gets older – Started of brilliantly but after 4 months it seems to be loosing its marbles it has trouble leaving the docking station ( doesn't seem to want to lift itself up any more.) For $1000 AUD I would expect more. I had to move overseas for a year and thought it would be the answer to my cleaning needs but I really cant see it lasting a year

NaviBot is my new Best Friend – We have deep pile carpet and tiled floors with two dogs who drop so much fur, kids and two gardeners who walk inside with their dirty boots (bad habit I know). NaviBot cleans up the mess and my floors have never been so clean. Our mats at our doors are the cleanest they have been since new. I will never live without one. Okay so he doesn't get… Read more ·  2

into corners but the time I used to spend vacuuming the whole floor I now spend less doing the corners and have enough time for some dusting. He sometimes gets stuck but then its usually on stuff we've left lying around.

My husband calls it "patient vacuuming" as a person would be unlikely be so diligent when doing such a chore.

He is my favourite household appliance.

First impression = great! – After our old cheap $100 robo vac died after 4 months of owning it I really noticed how much difference having a robo vac makes! After much research and window shopping, I eventually purchased the SR8855. It's fantastic with the amount of features it comes with. Very good value considering you need to pay close to $1000 for LG's model that has the… Read more

same features.

The vac cleans the tiled floors very well. It does a good job on the few rugs we have around the house but it's common sense that you would still need to vacuum these with a normal vacuum cleaner if you want a complete clean. The vac is a bit slow on the first run as it figures out it's way around the house but after that it's pretty much good to go and hardly runs into anything. I love that when it's set to the 'up & down' mode (as I call it), it will literally go in straight lines up and down the room moving over slightly each time ensuring it gets every section of the room. I'm yet to use the other modes but at this stage I haven't had any need for them. Naturally, it won't get into corners because the unit is round however the two side brushes get it as close as possible.

The main brush underneath has a barrier on it which helps to stop hair and string getting badly tangled around it. This would need to be cleaned every few days still so it doesn't ruin the brush. The dust bin size is reasonably large but you would again have to empty it every few days depending on how often you use it.

I was surprised at how quiet the machine is. Compared to our last one this is almost silent except for the tyres running across the deep gaps in our tiles! We can easily put it on and watch TV at the normal volume with the vac running.

This model also comes with spare brushes for each brush type, 2 barrier towers, a remote and 2 year warranty.

Theres only two downsides I have picked up on with this machine so far. The first one is that if it's travelling head on towards a wall or large obstacle it stops about 15-20cm away from it and turns away because the lasers can sense something in front of it. This doesn't happen too often though as it's rare that it goes head first towards something but neverless, it's still annoying that it's not cleaning those areas. But on the plus side, at least it's not running into and damaging furniture!

The second downside is that you can't program the days into the machine to program it to run on say Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. You can only select daily cleaning which will run everyday of the week at a certain time.

Poor machine – This machine doesn't do anything as it is suppose to, battery lasts for 20-30 max nothing like the so called 90mins they advertise, six months later the vac just goes around in circles and does nothing. Although I have credit card and pay pal receipts Samsung will not accept these for warranty. My suggestions buy an I robot or Lg robot vac as the… Read more

are a much better machine and better company to deal with. After my experience with Samsung I will never buy another one of there products

Battery only lasts for 1/4 of the time advertised. Samsung service is an absolute farce

Innovative but still need further improvement – I bought a Navibot SR8855 because of its innovation particularly its ability to release dust from the robot to the dust station. However, there are several flaws that Samsung needs to improve: 1. The navibot could not get through some area particularly those under the table which has a stand base more than 1cm. The navibot seems struggled to get… Read more

through.

2. It does not auto charge itself when battery is low. I though that I can leave it during the day and it will take care itself. It turns out that it dies itself after the battery is flat.

3. Dust sensor is a very innovative design but it does not do enough. There were areas where the dusts were thick and I thought it would pick them up easily. It turned out that the navibot neglected the dusts and moved somewhere else.

4. The brush does not handle hair and strings well. It is unrealistic as hair dropping is common in every households. 1+4years warranty The outcome is not as promised in Samsung's marketing video presentation.

Rather Disappointing Helper – When I was given the Samsung Navibot last year - Samsung's top of the range robotic vacuum - I was so excited! Here was an appliance that promised to take over the daily vacuuming chore for me - who wouldn't be excited?! My husband and I had checked out all the robotic vacuums available, and this was the most efficient on the market, as well… Read more

as the most visually appealing - but also the most expensive at $999!

The Harvey Norman sales guy demonstrated each of the better robotic vacuums to us, and this Samsung did seem impressive. He assured us that this was ideal for anyone with pets, even households like ours with three Golden Retrievers and a couple of longhaired cats. Checks online confirmed that this robot was specifically designed and recommended for pet owners, and online forums seemed to be in agreement that it was better than other makes of robotic vacuums where picking up of pet hair is concerned.

It has a bagless dust bin with a reasonable capacity for daily vacuuming, which is easy to pull out and empty. It also features an outlet on the top which can be flipped open for a mainstream vacuum hose to facilitate vacuuming out the dust and hair inside the bin for a quick empty - this is rather a nifty feature that I do like very much.

It comes with two 'virtual guards' which are 'boxes' that take two 'D' cell batteries each. These work as a barrier or fence and can be placed anywhere that you don't want the robot to go near - e.g. I leave one to keep it away from the dogs' water bowls, and one to protect the vacuum from falling down a step.

The robot has a 'home base' to sit up against for re-charging, which naturally needs to be close to a power outlet. It also comes with a remote control which is necessary for operating the appliance, and which sits neatly in a holder on the side of the charging base.

While the vacuum has a 2 year warranty, it is surprising and rather disappointing that Samsung only gives a 6 month warranty for its battery.

The Navibot has various cleaning modes: auto, spot, max (continues until the battery is almost depleted), manual mode, edge mode (have found this pretty inefficient), scheduled cleaning mode (set the time to clean automatically at the specified time), and daily cleaning mode (cleans every day at the specified time). It also has a recharging setting, whereby the robot can be sent back to its base, which it also does automatically when it has run long enough to require recharging - mine is not always sure how to get itself back, however, and can spend quite a deal of time just going around and around looking for it, until I tire of that and return it manually.

Supposedly the vacuum does 'visionary mapping' of your home, using the shape of the ceiling as a guide to identify the area to be cleaned via the camera on top, and it then determines the best way to clean every section of the floor. Sounds good - but it's not really what I have found. Mine seems to forget the shape from day to day, and often turns itself off after cleaning just a section of a room, rather than cleaning the entire room and then moving on to clean the rest of the house. Or it will clean a room or two and then think that's it for the day, despite plenty of battery charge remaining.

It is supposed to sense furniture and stay clear of it, but it often seems to become stuck up against lounge chairs and such, so that I have to go and move it and re-start it. It should also sense larger objects, such as an old Golden Retriever, and one would expect it to stay clear of such obstacles, but no, the poor dog's tail has been suctioned a few times, including once when she tried to escape the robot whilst her tail was stuck in it ... but that's another story!

I have also found that, even though I always run around with a broom to get up the bulk of the animal hair before starting the robot, the Navibot doesn't pick up all the hair by any means, and often dirt is swept up by the side brushes but then spread around, rather than suctioned up.

Despite cleaning the robot after every use, and only running it a few times a week rather than daily, it ceased working just two months after I received it - the motor had burnt out and had to be replaced. The novelty had worn off it by the time our Navibot returned home again, but it was used around once a week until it stopped working six months later and just showed a row of '5's along its display, which the Samsung phone consultant informed me meant there was something wrong with its sensor.

So, back it went to the repairers, although we didn't get around to taking it to the repair place for another couple of months. It has returned home now, but is emitting a bit of a burnt smell at times and still prefers to do smaller areas and then just stop, until I re-set it each time. It makes me wonder how long it will last - just until the warranty runs out???

Perhaps it would be better on carpets - we only have hard flooring - and perhaps its marketing should state that it's okay for a pet, not pets plural!

The best thing is that it is relatively quiet - our cat who is petrified of other vacuums isn't afraid of this one, and the other cat will try to play with the side brushes as the robot passes by him! - and it is better than nothing at all. I'm glad we didn't buy it ourselves, but it shows that having a vacuum do all your work for you and doing it completely efficiently is still some time off! It helps vacuum to a limited degree, and it's not overly noisy. Expensive for an appliance that really isn't that efficient at what its marketed for doing.

Love it – I have white tiles and a wood stove so the floor gets messy in winter. I could be cleaning 3-4 times a day. But the navibot makes it so easy to keep it clean. I has 4wd wheels on it so it can go up and down the edges of the fire surround easily and it does the carpet in the bedrooms just as well as the tiles. I have to make sure there are now… Read more

laptop cords dangled across the floor or socks stuffed under the beds, and I have to keep the bathroom closed so it doesn't get wet. Once a week I do the edges in behind the furniture where it can't reach. It makes my job so easy. It not so noisy that i can't listen to music or the TV while its on. It doesn't damage furniture that it bumps into. If your time is wasted cleaning the floor everyday then this is worth every cent. I just need one that washes now too Does a great job. Time saver. not noisy . Loves grabbing cords. doesn't mop as well.

4 day trial – Although it picked up well and had a good pattern, the sensors didn't let it get close enough to the walls (about 12cm of gap). With two cats, fur tends to get blown to the edge of the room and the Samsung just didn't get there. The middle of each room was almost spotless but for the price, particularly in comparison to some of the… Read more ·  1

competitors' prices, this machine should be able to do a better job.

Will be trying a different brand soon! Good pick up Only returned to dock 1 in 3 times. Didn't get within 12cm of walls

This is perfect, and prefer it over the husband :P – Such a great vacuum. I was dubious at first, but then finally caved in. I work an as RNI full time, and have really buggered shits, as a previous poster wrote, it saves me a poo load of time. I find that it does go under the couches and the beds. Definitely had to Nav proof the house, but now it's sweet. Gets the dog hair (and we have two… Read more ·  1

dogs).

It always returns to the docking station. Best of all is that I have shag carpets and it does those well too. Great vac. Does a better job than me Expensive

Awesome – I have a massive house and two small dogs, so vacuuming can be a real chore, and unless it's done at least 3 times a week, the house is still messy (think 'tumbleweeds' of doghair). While it doesn't vacuum under your couch, move your furniture out of the way, get right into corners etc etc, it does do a good job, and saves me a poo-load of… Read more ·  1

time.

Was a bit unsure how it would work in my house, as I have slate tiles with uneven surfaces. It does bump in a few of these places, but adjusts itself and just keeps going.

It automatically returns to it's charger once it's finished a job, or it's running out of battery. I've heard some negative reviews of the Navibot not returning, however haven't encountered this problem myself (yet). The manual says the charger should be within clear view of the Navibot for it to return, however I've had it down a hall and in another room to the charger, and although you can tell it's taking a bit of time to think, has still returned.

A feature I really love, is that you can empty it with a conventional vacuum cleaner. It has a little flap where you can just vacuum out all the dust, which saves having to take out the catcher and eff around with all the contents getting everywhere (or if you're like me, getting clumsy and dropping the container, spilling the contents everywhere and having to start again).

I still need to vacuum now and then with a normal vacuum cleaner to get under the couch and right into the corners, but this little guy saves me so much time and keeps the place clean and dust-free in between It's a robot. It cleans for me!

I love this!! Saves so much time! – I bought this vacuum a few months ago and couldn't live without it! It is great to set off to vacuum just before leaving for work and then you can come home and find it has cleaned the house (usually in two cycles to finish the job) and is back on its charger!! It doesn't get into the corners that great, but I don't care, because I don't dirty the… Read more

corners everyday and what it doesn't clean one day, it'll pick up the next, plus if I mop the hard floors every couple of days (I have tiles) then it doesn't matter if the navibot misses a little! You of course need a regular vacuum for an entire vacuum maybe every month or so, to get into corners, door tracks, dusting blinds etc, but other than that the navibot is great for everyday use! It will also remember where it got up to in vacumming (if you have a big house) and will go back and finish the job after recharging, unlike other robot vacuums that I researched that would start cleaning again in the same spot. Some people stated that it has a small dust container, but honestly, my house is quite big and it can clean my house twice without needing to be emptied and it really is very easy to empty and you don't have to get dirty doing so! The only time I needed to empty it regularly was when I first got it and I realised it was vacumming under our ensemble bed which hadn't been cleaned for years....it filled up with dust and feathers very quickly! But now that it is clean under there, it is perfectly fine!! It makes me keep my house so much cleaner! I love it! Realiable, it's a robot that vacummes, picks up so much dirt and dust, cleans under my ensemble bed, the coffee table and the lounge, easy to empty, can be used every day for maintenance cleaning. You need to navibot proof your house...pick up loose cords etc! Can be a little frustrating watching it hop along thinking about how to get back to it's charger, but it gets there eventually!!!

Well worth the $$$$ – Amazing. The Vacuum Cleaner works via remote and goes about doing the vacuuming that I am too lazy to do Easy to use, does the job perfectly Cant leave cords in its way

Great Product – I love my Samsung Vacuum cleaner, it is so easy to use and works perfectly. It works it's way around the house with ease and picks up all of the dust, sand & pet hair. I was worried about the size of the container but even with two cats and two dogs it doesn't fill up with each session. Suvh a nifty little product, i highly recommend it! Easy to use, effective