Philips EasyStar FC8802/71

I stopped using when I moved to a smaller place. Now I'm in Poland, and now it just run in circles all the time – It's great if you have a common space it can go on it. It's a little problem that the bin is somehow small for its size. And noisy. But it worked like a charm for me. Show details

Good but – We've had this robot vacuum for a couple years now and it has now stopped working. We think its the rechargeable battery needing replaced as it doesn't seem to hold the charge anymore. The problem is getting a replacement battery. I have been quoted AUD 120 !!! if only the battery was more standard sizes.  Show details ·  6

Best value for money Robot Vacuum – Have had this Philips Robot Vacuum for about 2-3 years now, and we love it. There are robot vacuums who can do more, but for under $200 that we paid, it's brilliant. And I wouldn't spend 3x-4x that on other brands that only do a little bit more. Also the flat design means it cleans nicely under the sofa and bed, where robot vacuums from other brands are too thick to do so.  Show reply

I thought choosing a well known brand is the best decision – Bought this unit just for my small floor underneath my bed. Using it only once a months . Used it only 30 times then after 30 months .. The side brush is not working anymore. I havent used the spare brush and dust collector . I'm really disappointed about the outcome coz i do always consider the brand everytime i do buy home appliances

Philips let us down – Worked well until it's motor died only 2 months after warranty expired. Qualified repairer couldn't get a spare part from Philips as 'they do not have it anymore'. Very disappointing, I don't like to throw appliances out only 14 months after the purchase. Philips let us down, big time. And this was the last Philips product we bought!

Can see why it has been discontinued – Lasted about 2 weeks after using it seven times on a slate floor .Worked properly for that seven times. Unit now travels about 30cm before changing direction then will go around in circles in the one spot until it hits something. Sometimes it will go about a metre (giving me hope that it is working correctly) before doing it's circles. Useless.

no parts back up – I received an email from Allain Del Rosario, suggesting I return the unit to my nearest dealer ( over 500 Kl away) I simply want to pay for and receive a wheel motor as per my request. I am a registered Aston Martin technician and do not see the replacement of the electric motor as any sort of challenge. Just supply me the part.

Good for a quick clean – Being a single dad (time poor), with two teenagers and a dog, vacuuming is needed every couple of days and I have very little time and inclination to do it in the evenings. I had been thinking about buying a vacuum robot for a while and had done a little research but didn't want to pay big bucks to try one out. This turned up on ebay deals at a… Read more ·  2

good price so I bought it with the thought of upgrading to a smarter device if it did the job.

I have been pleasantly surprised and haven't upgraded yet. Its not as smart as the expensive ones so there is some maintenance to do like charging it, emptying it after every use ( i have a dog remember) and finding it once it has run out of battery and stopped the beeping sound. But these are not big deal when you come home to clean floors. I still do a solid vacuum with a powerful canister vac in the weekends as its good for a quick clean but dog fur (probably cat too) hangs onto the carpet no matter what.

I usually turn it on before leaving for the morning commute and occasionally in the afternoon on my return home. It is a little noisy but not imposing. It does a good job on the tile floors and is ok on the short carpet but easily gets lost in the teenagers bedrooms :-) so I close their doors. It doesn't have virtual walls so to keep it in a zone to concentrate on or out of areas I dont want it to go, like the carpeted lounge room, I lay down a wooden slat in the walkway or some cushions.

It has three program modes: random straight line travel followed by outward spiral and then wall follow mode. It uses bump technology, like kids toys, to change direction or follow walls and is adept at waking teenagers from their weekend slumber by banging on their doors. It sometimes gets tangled up on thin wires but not extension cords, although it can ride up on the cord and stop with the wheels spinning.

It picks up budgie seed easily but the dog fur (1-2cm) can block the suction port as someone else has mentioned. Tip1: cut a small piece of flat take-away food container 2cm wide by 4cm long and hot glue tack it to the filter just above the suction inlet. This redirects the fur to the back of the dust container before it gets a chance to get stuck and pile up in the inlet.

Tip2: the plastic brushes can get deformed after prolonged use and can get wrapped around the spindle. Remove them from the unit, untangle the individual brush lengths and dip them in a saucer of hot water. Sprong... they straighten out. Dip them in some cold water to harden them up again and they are good to go. I've had my vac for a year and done this a couple of times.

Tip3: the robot can get stuck between objects if they are just the right width to not hit the bumper. Make sure dining room chairs etc are spaced far enough apart to avoid this.

Overall it does a good job on tiled floors, an ok job on thin pile carpet and keeps the dog fur at bay.

good but battery only lasts 12 months – Not a bad vacuum cleaner but always gets lost sometimes it does the same patch for its full recharge very disappointed with battery life as it only lasts for 12 months and is not covered under the phillips warranty as it is classed as a consumable item

Does the job – This does the job on hard floors, but really it is just as easy and quicker to sweep with an old fashioned broom and dustpan. Although it is better than hauling out the regular corded vacuum cleaner and hauling it all over the place and working up a sweat. He does bang into things, but that is what it is supposed to do to find its way around. I… Read more ·  1

don't understand anyone criticizing it for that.

The only problem I find is that it does clog with fluff easily at the vacuum mouth and should be cleared and emptied between anything other than small rooms.

Once I found it travelling not more than a few inches back and forth and turning, but I blew on the stair sensors underneath to clear and he was OK again.

Having said about the broom and pan, where he is useful is that you can leave him cleaning one room while you work on something else.

The slim design is supposed to be advantageous, but personally find it too slim, in that if it can go under a sofa that low, you can't get it out easily if it gets stuck. ...I will glue some extra height onto the bumper.

This has been more a gadget to satisfy my curiosity than a must-have appliance.

I purchased Philips, because the products usually give good service.

I also researched replacement battery prices, because some competitors' costs make you give up instead of buying replacement parts.

I paid $129 from Catch of The Day on the internet. It was good deal, by the time you add delivery costs, it was about $149. Still a good price, but if you have dramas with an appliance, $20 savings is not worth it compared to just going to your local supplier and working it out or getting a replacement the same day.

For a gadget you don't really need, it would be foolish to spend big dollars for a competitor that does the same job as the Philips Easystar.

Absolutely useless – runs around the house as if confused, bangs into everything, won't go from wood to tiles to rugs, fits under the furniture but can't find its way out, dust bag is so tiny. I am taking mine back.

Not Intuitive – Look, I would say the vacuum does its job. It just doesn't do it well. The vacuum itself picks up loose items on hard floors without issues. Its straight cycle also can cover quite a wide area. However, the negatives compared to other products bring this cheap items score down. The vacuum's ability to "sensor" anything is limited at best, with the… Read more

vacuum banging into walls before realising anything. This only works also if it hits something directly in the middle. During its round cycle, the vacuum will just keep attempting to turn without any auto-correction and so can become a ramming nuisance that does very little (watch this thing near a table and it goes so badly). Also it does not detect carpets and constantly needs to be moved away from these areas manually, as it is unable to do so on its own. It is noisy, but most vacuums are as far as I know. It works and I got it really cheap, but if I would do it again, I would spend the extra money on something which works like it should.

Phillips easy star robot vacuum cleaner – I only paid $149 and it is a good vacuum cleaner. Yes it is noisy, gets stuck on certain items of furniture and it runs out of battery and you have to hunt for it. But it's slim goes under furniture easily and it does the job and for the price I paid I am more than happy. It cleans the floor boards and it is very easy to maintain. Price and job it does Does not return to station Show reply

Good Value – As I couldn't find any decent info on this I bought one for myself in May 2014. Just been using it and have been pleasantly surprised. Firstly it comes with a replacement filter and brush set in the box. Second when using the unit I found it does a good job on hard floors. We have a lot of furniture in the lounge room and it easily went under and… Read more

around all the legs and did a good job picking up more dust than I thought was there. There's no dock so it just go's till it runs out of battery and you have to go find it and charge the battery again. It's not that noisy compared to a manual vacuum but I wouldn't want to work next to it while it was going in the room. This will be a great unit to put on before going to work to keep the place tidy all by itself, although I don't think it will completely take away the need to do a good vacuum every now and again. Overall does a good job, and value for money for what you get (around $200-250 that is). Cleans well, Goes under furniture and around legs to give good coverage, The brushes get into the corners and drag the dirt to the suction Poor battery life if it has to go around a lot of furniture, went for about 1 & 1/2 hours as it chews up a lot of power with constant direction changes. Dust bin is very small but I think with regular use this wouldn't be a problem.

Good product No warranty – My first EasyStar vacuum worked really well for 6 months I used every day it got underneath all furniture great for animal hair. One of the wheels stopped working so returned to store and they replaced with new one within one week when I got home and opened box this unit was missing both brushes I returned to store & they contacted Philips whom… Read more

then contacted me. After 3 months many emails and phone calls to Philips I have only received one brush so have not been able to use. I have returned vacuum to store and received a full refund. Great product but terrible customer service/ warranty from Philips. I would not recommend buying this vacuum.

Great for the price ! – I was a bit worried when I bought this vacuum as it had no reviews that I could find but what can I say it still amazes me every time I empty it !! I have a little one who picks everything up and puts it in his mouth so I needed something to run everyday !! It is great for the price I paid ($169 from target) the only thing is it gets stuck under… Read more

a few things, u can't just put it on and leave the house and it is a bit noisy but apart from that it's great! all in all it's great for the price I paid but will proberly get a more expensive one next time just for the noise factor ! Inexpensive Bit noisy , gets stuck under a few things and have to rescue it!