iRobot Roomba j7+

The most over priced and under performing vacuum you could find. The list of problems with this and the shear number of random faults that occur every time you want to do a clean... it's just quicker to throw the unit in the bin and go do it manually. It doesn't charge, it gets lost, or won't communicate with the app.... on and on. Show details

Similar to many other people, unit performs well and then the charging dock contact melts from overheating. I have contacted irobot and as it is 6 months out of warrantly, I have to pay to fix what is a well known fault which is likely to occur… Read more

again. Purchassed at the end October 2024, started having charging issues a couple of months ago then stopped working completely in April 2026, 18 months life is not reasonable for something this expensive. I would only buy after an extensive google search to know what you are getting into with these units. Of note, I watched the unit try and dock today and it just crashes over the dock which is why the overheated and bent pin keeps locking down. It is likely damaging it each time it goes to dock.

Absolutely horrible customer service. I had my machine for 1.5 months and the mop rollers plastic housing disintegrated and the machine would not work. The plastic literally crumbled in my hand. I sent it back for warranty and because I used 4 drops of eucalypt disinfectant is the cleaning water they voided my warranty. They are blaming the… Read more

disinfectant for perishing the hard plastic.. never ever would I buy another product from them.. customer service is non existent, i had to chase up every single email i sent them. I'd give them a -100 if I could.. a disgusting experience and horrible cheaply made product.

Great potential but not worth the $$$ – This is a replacement for original unit purchased for $1699 at Harvey Norman in 2022 having no end of problems and error codes. After contacting customer support (who were very helpful)for original unit , we went through all the troubleshooting and reset. I was asked to take photos and send through and after several phone calls asked to send in… Read more

for a service Unit was replaced but unfortunately and unbelievably this unit is more frustrating than the previous. Unit has auto emptying feature but won't return home to empty just keeps repeating "empty bin" despite the bin not being full. Constantly stops and needs to be started and most often won't return to charging station but just stops and says charge battery. The amount of time taken to get the unit going I could have used the hand vacuum and done the whole house. Have never come home to find the unit has completed a job. Really, really disappointed and annoyed . I've purchased a number of very cheap units for family that do a great job. As seen in photos, the unit just seems to move dirt around. UPDATE- After a lot of backward and forward emails and 2 replacements I’m still unable to give the product more than 1 star . . Each unit has been sent back 3 times each time the units were found with faults . I cannot fault the case manager [Name Removed], she was very patient and understanding as I was very embarrassed having to constantly call . The final straw and conclusion to this review came when the technician stated I have too much dust . To give an idea of suction , I’ve not had to replace a bag during the entire time I’ve had the unit. Still considering consumer affairs

Poor Service – I have a old i3 irobot and it failed after 2 years of usage so I simply purchased a new one J7 this time and was happy with it until it has failed within 6 months and service is extremely poor. 3 weeks of email photos and recipts sent but I dont even have a acknowledgement. I called them and someone on phone acknowledged they have received but due to shortage of staff it is not being answered. I am stuck with faulty Irobot. Show details

Does not detect pet mishaps – We purchased this product as the box indicated there was a warranty on detecting pet mishaps! Funny how the packaging in Australia has now changed as that guarantee does not apply to Australia. Great on polished timber floors, not so much with cat hair getting stuck in the rollers! When we initially called for warranty it took over a month for a… Read more

response. Finally the service centre agreed for the vac to be sent back to check (after the threatening: if we find nothing wrong with it you pay over $100 for the return and we could be without it for over a month)! Due to the poor service and inconvenience, we were not confident our concerns and disappointment would even be acknowledged. Just out of warranty, now for approximately 3 weeks was the worst it has been, yet again, no detection of pet mishap. $1800 plus wasted on a product that does not perform how it was originally advertised! The customer service alone isn’t worth it…neither is the mess! (And to the ‘service’ agent, no it wasn’t runny and yes, we were vigilant in checking however pets can be fast just like kids)! If you have pets, avoid this product at all costs!

It does my shag rugs! – Bought a referbished j7+ from iRobot Aus and couldn't be happier! Wasn't expecting much where my shag rugs were concerned, but it actually does a better job than my corded cyclone vac. Given there was debris that I was struggling to pick out by hand, in the main bedroom shag rug, that Fred picked up after being scheduled for a heavy clean area… Read more

with 2 runs, I would recommend the j7+ to anyone with long strands of anything that need cleaning. After using for the last 4 months, Fred's main rollers do get occasionally tangled by my waist length hair strands that end up on the floor, but detangling the rollers is easy, and still a lot faster than my manually vacuuming! A year later....and I still can't fault Fred. As he was a refurbished model, the battery life was always a little under advertised, so I emailed iRobot Aus. It took a while to get a reply ( around 3 weeks) but they apologized and sent me a brand new battery, free of charge! For me, that lvl of customer service is practically unheard of, in this day and consumer age.

I'd also like to respond to some of the negative reviews from others, as I got fed up with dragging Fred up and downstairs, so bought a midea vac/mop combo for downstairs...as unfortunately my finances didn't allow another irobot purchase ( believe me, if I could've, I would've!)

Yes, when Fred returns to station and empties, he's LOUD! However, it's only for a very short time, no more than 10 seconds. This empties the onboard dust compartment completely, meaning I don't have to continually wash out and empty left over debris, as I've discovered I do have to with the quieter midea.

Yes, Fred gets lost occasionally. But my midea gets lost far more frequently. Robots, like humans, aren't perfect. They use AI, and considering this tech is under 30 years old, to expect perfection is ludicrous. You don't expect a toddler to never fall down...

The app has been updated, and I can now use Fred's map for Mary mop. Considering I use my mobile phone data, in a place with no more than 1-2 bar reception, and have NEVER had connectivity issues, I'd say that the problem there is more likely from the user side.

Regarding pet mishaps, or other tangle issues...Fred has multiple modes that the user can select, to avoid these issues. I chose to disable these modes, as I don't have pets, and nearly always ensure my cleaning areas are free from tanglement possibilities. However, Fred has been majorily tangled twice, once in a wig ( I cosplay, and it had fallen off its hook onto the floor), and once in a corset lace ( again, it had fallen within Freds reach), but neither of these times was Fred at fault, as I had disabled ( or not enabled )his ability to detect these hazards. And yes, detangling Fred from this was a problem, but it's a problem of my own making. To blame Fred when I hadn't allowed him to avoid these hazards, is ridiculous.

Replacement parts are expensive, but there are knock offs easily accessible online, which work just as well. I would like iRobot to manufacture washable filters, there really isn't any reason they shouldn't. The app tells you to replace parts, but if the part is fine, tell the app it's replaced, and it's all good. Again, a lot of these reviews seem more user issues, than product issues.

A year on, and Fred is still as awesome as when I first ran him. His cleaning is brilliant, he still gets occasionally tangled with my hair that's fallen on the floor, which he alerts me to, and overall maintenance is still far less than a vacuum that I'd have to use. Yes, iRobot Australia may take a little bit of time to respond to any issues via email, but given that they've ALWAYS replied, and have sent out replacements free of charge, a small time delay really isn't a major hassle.

2 years in, and I now have a problem! I recently renovated my bedroom, replacing the carpet with floating floor, which is slightly higher than my adjoining floating floor...so put in a ramp joiner. However, my shag rugs are now too light and slippery for Fred to navigate on to- he now errors with an obstruction error, as he pushes into them, or dives underneath. This isn't Fred's problem though, as I also found trying to manual vac the rugs extremely difficult, constantly having to maintain weight close to where I was vacuuming, and still having the rugs slide. So....I'm going to have to replace my rugs with heavier ones if I want Fred to work. Which I will do, by buying carpet that can be edged, to fit my bay window shaped bedroom. Again, this isn't Fred's fault, as I've created a space that's outside his specs.....

Surprisingly very capable – Needed to replace an old ROOMBA vacuum (non-smart “bump and go” like a pin ball machine type). Seeing the J7 on special, decided now was the time to replace the old one. The J7 was approximately the same size and appearance as the old ROOMBA vacuum except there was no “carry handle” on top nor any protuberances to catch on low furniture.… Read more

Straight up, I will say after a few weeks use I decided it to return it and replace it with a J7+ model. The difference between the J7 and J7+ is you need to manually empty the dust bin on the J7 whereas the J7+ includes a docking station that also contains a large bin which automatically extracts dust and fluff. The reason for this “upgrade” was after experiencing a couple of weeks of what this “smart” cleaner was capable of (compared to the previous model), it made more sense to have the self empting capability to allow more area to be cleaned whilst not requiring anyone to be in attendance.

DESCRIPTION The ROOMBA J7+ sits neatly in its dock which is surprisingly small and squat compared to similar docks for other docking vacuums (see photo below). The whole device is black with silver accents and can be sat in the corner of a room and is as unobtrusive as something of this type can be. It requires an internet connection and use of an app on your phone or tablet device to enable the smart capabilities and connectivity with the app. I doubt the unit will function at all without internet access as it stopped vacuuming and flashed a red light mid job when our internet briefly cut out. There are two dust bags in the docking station with one in use and the second stored there as a spare. There are also two HEPA filters supplied with the cleaner with you needing to replace one after about every 50 hours of use (app will tell you). Apart from “tapping”, they can’t be cleaned by washing and must be replaced.

FUNCTIONALITY Initial setting up requires The J7+ to be sent out and allow it to bump around mapping out the room as it goes. It will gradually map out your rooms over a number of uses and this may take some time. If you want to shorten the learning time, you can just send it out to map rooms only (vacuuming is disabled). This will get the vacuum to learn the layout of your house more rapidly as it is not trying to vacuum at the same time. Also, as the vacuum is not running its “vacuum motor”, the battery will last almost twice as long doing this without requiring it to return to base to recharge. I’ve found that it can run (full vacuuming mode) for around one hour and twenty minutes before requiring a recharge. In “mapping mode” you get around two and a half hours.

After completing its mapping run(s), you can go into the app, add dividers for rooms and then name them as well as drawing boxes around “no go” areas that you want it to stay away from. After doing this you can use the app to direct to clean individual (or groups of) rooms. Because of the mapping, traditional Virtual Walls are not supplied and are not needed. Just mark on the map in the app where you don’t want it to go and that’s it.

If its bin gets full or it runs low on battery, it will return to base, empty its bin, recharge its battery and then head off again to finish the room(s). Also attaches to GOOGLE and ALEXA devices so you can say (as an example), “Tell ROOMBA to go and vacuum the bedroom”. Haven't tried it myself but you can also set it to automatically commence cleaning when you leave the house (it can track when your mobile phone leaves the house). Otherwise you can set a cleaning schedule in the app.

Difference I noticed immediately over my previous ROOMBA was the “bristled” brush rollers have been replaced with “rubberised rollers”. They seem to work every bit as well as the previous bristled rollers but without all the pet hair tangling. Big plus! Also, the unit has a very low profile allowing it to clean under our beds. This was not expected when purchasing and was a very welcome surprise capability. Maximum height of the vacuum unit when measured on a hard floor is 86mm.

One thing you should be aware of is rather than using a “radar” form for mapping, the ROOMBA J7+ has a camera and light on the front so it is using AI to find its way round your house. On the plus side this allows it to identify pet “mess” and electrical cords so it can dodge these problems (Roomba is gradually adding more). On the minus sign you must be prepared to accept that there is a device prowling your house with a camera mounted on the front.

After completing a vacuuming run, the J7+ will send you pictures to review of objects it found in its way. This could be such things as shoes, packages, dog toys etc and then gives you an option to say whether it was a temporary obstruction, permanent obstruction or just ignore it in future. This allows the ROOMBA to learn and clean that area more efficiently in future. Whilst in use, a circular light ring will spin in a variety of patterns to communicate what is happening and will turn blue if the vacuum needs to concentrate on a particularly dirty area. There is also a status light on the docking station to communicate any issues there. When vacuum ing on carpet (particularly lush pile the vacuum cleans in strips and will leave a pattern like lawns that have also been mown in strips.

During use the app will tell you what room the machine is currently cleaning, battery level and (after a few uses) approximately how long it will take to finish cleaning the current room. There is also a “find” feature for when the J7+ gets stuck and/or lost. Activating this will cause the unit to make a sound so you can track it. I’ve found the app and connectivity to be faultless and have only had to “find” it once when it went under the bed and managed to tangle itself in the bottom of a fine curtain. After this, it created a “no go zone there and hasn’t been a problem since. Also, after a few weeks use it told me it had identified two sofas (it had) and would I like to create a clean zone in front of them. Clean zones are designated areas that you can make within a room where the robot can be sent out to clean just that single area and not have to clean the entire room. As an example, I have created one around where I grind coffee in the kitchen so if there is any spillage I can just tell it to go and clean “the Coffee Spot”. I found the app fairly easy to use and have had no issues with the app crashing/ freezing or exhibiting any other poor behaviour. Software on the vacuum is kept updated by Roomba and I understand they are updating what items it can identify to avoid in future.

One final thing to mention is a warning. While the J7+ itself is reasonably quiet (as quiet as you would expect for a vacuum cleaner), the sound that the unit makes when transferring dust/fluff from its bin to the dock storage bin is loud...VERY LOUD! So loud you will need to warn visitors when this is happening. If you have ever hired a BRITEX carpet cleaner then this noise is (in my opinion) possibly even louder. Very surprising for such a relatively small device. Fortunately it only runs for about ten seconds.

MAINTENANCE ROOMBA claims you only need to empty the docking station about every two months. I got through just over a month on the first bag but this may have been because of the initial runs picking up all the dust/fluff under the bed which I hadn’t been able to access for years. The dust in the docking station is stored in a bag not dissimilar to that a normal vacuum cleaner bag. As you withdraw it, a flap closes off preventing the contents escaping. The whole bag is then discarded into the bin (can’t be reused).

Ever week I clean dog hair off the rollers but this is far quicker and easier than the previous vacuum. Also need to give the HEPA filter a bit of a tap to shake off dust.

The app keeps a maintenance life for the HEPA filter, rollers and rotating brush and tells you when to replace these. When purchasing this vacuum be aware of the cost for replacing these items. Genuine parts are expensive but I have noticed generic 3rd party parts are available. I haven’t used these so can’t comment on whether they are as good as genuine ROOMBA parts. The last two pictures below show the home page of the app.

What I liked... * Being able to direct the vacuum to specific rooms * Alexa/Google Integration * Effective dirt/dust/fluff removal from hard floors and carpets * Reasonably easy to “hide” away in the corner of a room

and what I disliked... * Huge noise when emptying bin on base! * Speed at which internal HEPA filter blocks up with dust and needs to be cleaned * Where are images taken by camera being stored and who could have access???

Overall I’m happy with the functionality of the ROOMBA J7+. It exceeded my expectations on its capabilities and performs reliably and effectively. I wouldn’t rely on it as my only cleaner as there are certainly nooks and crannies where it can’t reach and a hosed vacuum is needed to get into but as a stop gap through the week, I find it brilliant. Yes it is expensive but there are often deals on Amazon (I bought mine when the were a few hundred dollars off) and it is a real time saver.