Neato Botvac BV-85

3 Years Later And Still Going Strong – Its sad to see the negative reviews, but my 85 has been amazing for the past 3 years now. I simply kept it clean and always checked the roller. I only encountered one issue where i only had to complete a hard reset and it fixed the problem. Reviews mentioning battery issues, the battery needs to be changed after around 18months. Has been an… Read more

amazing vacuum, cleans better than your normal push around and received a better review than the newer D85. If you can find a new one or refurbished i highly recommend the Botvac 85 over a D85.

Very Disappointed – Lasted 14 months. Used approx 20 times on tile floor (just for light floor sweep between weekly regular vacuuming) Was good when it worked but definitely not value for money since it doesn’t last long past its warranty period before you start getting problems. Not usable now as it only wants to turn left and bump into wall and say path is blocked. Hard to find a repairer where I live.  Show details

No wonder it has been discontinued! – Long test period before I write this review. Bought it few years ago, only had a smooth run for ONE month. Was living in an apartment so didn't have much space to clean, it kept cleaning the same spot over and over again then decided to be stuck at somewhere, I thought it meant to have sensor to avoid that! To the stage that I couldn't even be… Read more

bothered to use it, I would find it stuck somewhere and screaming every time. Cost so much and doing so little. Very disappointment!

Great while it lasted – I purchased a Neato Botvac BV-85 from David Jones in December 2014. I loved the machine. It worked well, as long as there was nothing left on the floor (kids toys, etc) for it to get stuck on. I always emptied the bin, cleaned the rotating brush & vacuumed the filter with my handheld Dyson, after every use (so it was well maintained in my… Read more

opinion). Unfortunately after approx 7 months, it stopped working & kept giving an error message that it's path was blocked (even though there was nothing in the way). I rang Neato & had to speak with someone overseas. They advised that they would replace the unit under warranty, but I would have to pay the $35 shipping costs from the USA, which I agreed to do. I got the replacement unit & was once again very happy with it until 7 months later, it stopped working with the same error message as the original unit!!! I contacted Neato & this time they told me that I was on my own, because the warranty had run out on the original unit purchased in Dec 2014 (even though the new unit was less than 12 months old).

So I am less than impressed with Neato & would not buy one of their units again. My entire house is hardwood flooring, with low pile carpet in bedrooms only & I don't have pets. It was used once a day mon-fri, so I'm quite peeved that 7 months seems to be the longest the unit will go for in normal conditions.

Would not recommend.

Would have given 5 stars if it weren't for the battery issues – I have had this vacuum for about 7 months now. I absolutely love it. I bought it to keep on top of the dog hair in our house, with two border collies. It works wonders on the pet hair, amazed at how well it picks it up. It takes about 2 charges to do our whole house and the only area it can't do is our shag pile rug. It worked well for the first… Read more

7 months until I noticed it needing to charge more. Then one day it started telling me to open the bin lid and turn the power on, which it already was. I rang beats support only to be told that I would have to go purchase a new battery to see if it would fix the problem. I feel that this is very poor on neatos part. I shouldn't have to go spend $150 just to see if it would fix the problem. These machines are not cheap and after only 7 months, I would expect a brand to stand behind there product and offer a replacement battery.

Short term wonder – Neato was brilliant for about 6 months and then it started to need recharging more frequently as time went on. The edges have started to mark our walls and it has became louder. now it keeps asking to be switched to on, which it is, and the battery is not charging. Not good value for money at all.

Money well spent – I was very sceptical at first, but we have had our BV-85 for around 6 months now and it has surpassed all expectations. It really does all that they claim it will do! We have two Golden Retrievers and frequently saw hair balls on the floor, but no more. It comes on as scheduled while we are at work and is relatively easy to empty/clean. My only… Read more

minor gripe is that long (human) hair gets caught around the brush and in particular the brush bearing, but it only takes one or two minutes to remove the hair each time you empty the bin.

Generally very good – It does quite a good job for, you guessed it, vacuuming. Occasionally it feels as though it gets lost or doesn't remember the layout of the house. It pays to keep an eye on the moving parts and removing any hair or caught debris. Move cables and objects on the floor. I would recommend them.

Absolutely Amazing! Love my Neato! – Performance = Great Doesn't get stuck Friend to my 11 month old who crawls around everywhere for him. My floors have never been cleaner. Would definitely recommend it! My mum has a Roomba 880- personally I think the Neato 85 is better or at least does as good a job but is quieter than the Roomba 880.

A great accessory for your home – This robot cleaner is in the upper margin of price. After trying cheaper robot cleaners decided to give the Neato a go. It is the best decision for me. It cleans floorboards tiles and carpets. It is unable to negotiate shag pile rugs. It is quiet in operation. It is methodical in cleaning. Picks up dust and hair from our Aussie Shepherd..very… Read more ·  1

easy to empty the dustbin.it rarely gets stuck but it is a good idea to try when you are home to ensure it negotiates your home before leaving it alone to do the job. Only negative is the only retail outlet is Myer therefore price negotiation only happens if Myer have a sale in that department. I have also heard the rechargeable battery only last about eight months($80 to replace). If you need repair or service Neato Aust. Will pick up and return if under warranty. I would recommend taking an extended 5 yr warranty from Myer for $99. After all it is a robot..one of the best purchases I have made and well worth the extra expense.

Fantastic for pet owners! – After many months of researching I bought a Neato Botvac 85 from David Jones during the Boxing Day sales. My greatest concern was paying so much money for something that might not do all that it said it would do. We have 2 dogs, one being a Jack Russell cross, which constantly sheds hair all over the place. After charging the vacuum, which we… Read more ·  2

have named BotBot, we set it to the test. (It does say to charge and discharge the battery several times before use, but didn't come with any instructions on how to do that.) All I can say is, WOW! It scanned the rooms one at a time and set about methodically cleaning each one. It does the perimeter first and then goes up and down, overlapping its path to make sure it doesn't miss anything. It square shaped front allows it to get into the corners, with the little side brush flicking things into its path. It can get itself out of tight spots by raising itself up and shifting around. When it had finished and popped itself back on its charger we took it off to empty its bin and clean the roller brush. The dustbin was full of dog hair! Day 2. We moved a few things around and shut off some doors. BotBot accommodated the changes and cleaned accordingly. Again, when we cleaned the bin it was 3/4 full of dog hair! We were impressed! Day 3. Again a different configuration of furniture and rooms shut off (you can use the magnetic strip to stop it from entering areas) and again it performed well. It is quiet enough to be able to watch TV whilst it is going. You can programme a schedule for what days you want it to clean and at what time. It came with 2 spare filters, a blade brush which I doubt we will use as it is not as effective as the combo brush that is already on it, and a roll of magnetic tape.

It cannot fully replace the normal vacuum cleaner as there are places it can't go, so I will need to pull out the old vacuum maybe once a month or so.

Overall, as we bought this to help with the dog fur problem, I have to give it the thumbs up. We have programmed it to clean every day. I have no regrets about spending so much money on it as it does what it says it will do. Can highly recommend it to other pet owners!

We did buy another 2 years of warranty with David Jones. Hopefully I will be able to give another glowing review in a year or so!

Well, we have now had BotBot for 2 months and love 'him' just as much as when we first bought 'him'. It would be good if it had a remote control so you don't have to get down onto the floor when you want to change the programming. (You could pick it up and put it on the bench to change the programme, but then you would still have to get down to put it back). Another thing is that the filter gets unbelievably dirty. We vacuum out the bin, filter and underneath after every use, but the filter is hard to clean well. I have washed the filters in warm water with Woolwash rather than tossing it in the bin and this has been successful. In spite of these things we are still extremely happy we bought it and would still recommend it for pet owners.

An update. BotBot stopped working in March 2016 after 14 months of use. Fortunately I had bought extra warranty with David Jones. Apparently the Sensor Motor needed replacing and we are still waiting to get it back from the appliance repair place. We sure miss him!