Neato RoboticsD6 Connected Laser Guided Robot Vacuum for Pet Hair, Works with Amazon Alexa, Black

Did lots of research both online and in person while deciding on if this would be good for us and which robot to get. Between Neato, Roomba and the Shark, we settled on Neato. 2 things really stood out for me during the research.1) The cleaning pattern - Neato follows a back and forth pattern similar to how you would naturally vacuum rather than the random pattern of Roomba or Shark which looks to be like it could miss spots.2) No-Go Lines!!! - These are lines that you setup in the app after Neato has mapped the floor as boundaries where Neato isn't allow to go. These are super simple to setup and really effective. At the time when I researched this the Roomba equivalent was a 'virtual wall' that you would get (only 1 comes w/ the initial purchase and $50 each after that) and you would be able to setup the boundaries that way. No-go lines are "free" in that you don't have to pay for any after the initial purchase and you have a lot of them. Great for pet feeding areas or awkward spot that you just don't want to chance. This is dependent on internet coverage on the floor that is being cleaned tho. Neato also comes w/ magnetic strip that you can cut to whatever length is needed and provide additional boundaries if wifi coverage is an issue.Consthe whole pairing process (with your phone) is a little tricky and takes a bit of time / attempts. I feel it should've been super easy like how you would pair a google home or amazon alexa or even a QR code or something .. but it take a few times before it "sticks" used both a Huawei Mate 20 Pro and Google Pixel XL

I'll start by saying we have a pretty ideal place for a botvac. It's all on a single level with hard floors with only the occasional throw rug. When we first got it, we spent a little time arranging cords and other obstacles so the Neato wouldn't get hung up on them. We expected the Neato would work well in this environment and we weren't disappointed. This is an amazing machine and it keeps our floors spotless. We have it clean about 950 sq. ft. and it takes about 90 minutes to do that.If you have a larger area to clean and Neato can't complete it on one battery charge, it will return to its docking station and take on enough of a charge to finish, then automatically do so. This happened for us only when we started a cleanng cycle without it being fully charged, but it's also useful if you simply have a larger home. It keeps track of where it has already vacuumed and how much it has left to do.I'll also note that Neato's customer service is first rate. Our first botvac failed. Customer service worked hard helping us troubleshoot it and when it couldn't be fixed, had us send it in (at their expense) and sent us a new one before they had even received the return. We were impressed. When we ran into a technical problem after a few weeks with the new one (more on that below), customer service was quickly and easily reached by phone and helped us get it back online. We've had no problems since.We chose the Neato largely because it has greater dirt bin capacity than others and because Neato notes that their botvacs excel at picking up pet hair. We have an 80 lb German Shepherd. We're in Phoenix over the summer, so she spends most of her time indoors. We run the Neato every day and it does a superb job of picking up her hair. Really, we had no idea she shed that much. We are glad the Neato has a large dirt bin.When we first got the Neato I uncharacteristically read the instructions and went through the tutorials and videos on the website. I highly recommend this. This is an amazing device, packed with sophisticated technology. It's not difficult to master, but there are a number of things to learn.We've been using it pretty much every day for the past four months. Although we did have to replace the first one after about a month, the replacement has worked almost flawlessly since then. It does a thorough job of keeping our floors spotless. We like that it's not random vacuuming – Neato makes a map of your house and generally operates in a fairly logical pattern, going in straight lines where it can. When it's done, you can see a map of the area it did on its last cleaning.There are a couple areas we like Neato to stay away from, such as our dog's water dish and my rocking recliner. The Neato app allows you to draw “no go” lines on the map the Neato has made of your place, and Neato will not go over these. Neato also provides physical strips you can put on the floor, but we haven't used those.I won't go over all the stuff that's included in the tutorials, but here are a couple things we learned that don't seem to be covered on the website.1. During a cleaning cycle, if Neato gets hung up and you move it more than a foot or so (which the instructions tell you not to do) it will become hopelessly lost. It will not be able to find the docking station. You'll have to carry it back and manually dock it. When you do this, Neato may not recognize that it's on its docking station. If that happens, do a “soft reboot”. I'm not certain all these steps are necessary, but they were suggested by the Neato tech and they worked for me. Remove Neato from the docking station. Remove the dirt bin. Press and hold the Start button until the lights go out (about 15 seconds). Replace the dirt bin and place the Neato back on its docking station. Press the Start button. and let it charge. If it has been vacuuming awhile, it can take a couple hours before it has enough power to operate properly.2. I had a problem connecting my Neato to my iPad. When I got to the step where it said connect my iPad WiFi to the Neato Access Point, there was no Neato Access Point in my list of available networks. My iPad and iPhone were both within 8 feet of the Neato with no obstacles. The tech on the phone couldn't figure this out either. Finally I noticed that the access point briefly appeared on my iPhone, but not my iPad. My iPhone was about a foot closer to the Neato, so I moved my iPad down next to the Neato and the access point promptly appeared. Connecting was then no problem. I don't think this is a common problem or the tech would have suggested this solution. It may have occurred simply because the battery charge was low from vacuuming. I mention it only in case it happens to someone else. Generally, unless something unusual has happened, you only need to make that connection once.The Neato has been a real benefit, saving us hours of vacuuming up dog hair every week. We used to run it with the scheduler, but found we prefer to simply start it when we're leaving the house. Although Neato can get stuck, most of the time it completes vacuuming the entire house and we find it recharging on its docking station when we return. We simply empty the dirt bin and it's ready for the next day.Finally I'll note I”m not affiliated with Neato, I haven't received any promotional or discount offers for a review, and they haven't pestered me to write one. I spent the time writing this one because I really like both the product and the customer service.

Works as described, and i love everything about this. Why didn't i get one of these years ago?

Value for our money has been poor. This is the second one and neither one worked beyond 18 months. Not going to get fooled again.

I got a couple "dumb" robovacs to clean my tile studio, I say dumb because they just bounce off walls randomly with the idea being by the time they are done they will have gotten the whole room. They actually did an amazing job so I decided to look into something for the house. I almost didnt go through with it, because we have two big dogs that shed like crazy, and every time we vacuum with a standard upright the bin is completely full and usually has to be emptied at least once part way through, so how could a tiny robot vacuum possibly do the job? Well eventually I decided to try it anyway, the thought of the vacuum chore to be automated was just too tempting.After some research I decided on the Neato D6 (get the D7 if you have multiple floors from what I've read). I vacuumed the entire house with the upright first to give the robot a clean shot at making it's way around without getting clogged up. The first run makes a map of your house through the smartphone app (required for most functions by the way). It was interesting to watch the process and I could tell as it went it was getting smarter about what was where. Unlike the "dumb" vacuums, this one maps out the room and then vacuums in rows after getting the edges, much like a person would. After about an hour it got our entire house mapped out and cleaned. The tray was full of hair but not completely clogged, this is mostly because it was able to go places the upright vacuum can't.Afterward I let it run every day and it's always able to handle the amount of hair because of the consistency of letting it run daily. The map made in the app after the initial run is very detailed and it's easy to recognize the layout of your house. I used "no go" lines on the floor plan map to keep it away from under desks where there are lots of cords and it worked perfectly. I'm blown away by this vacuum and very glad I spent the money. At this point I feel comfortable letting it run without watching it and every day the carpets are clean and look freshly vacuumed without us lifting a finger to make it happen. I'm very busy with my own business so as a time saver this is a wonderful purchase worth every penny.Some things to note:1. The vac requires an internet connection to do pretty much anything, so make sure you have a strong and stable wifi connection throughout the house.2. Though it saves you time vacuuming be aware it's important to keep the robot clean, so you will need to empty the tray and clean the brush regularly, still it's saved time over vacuuming yourself.3. A manual vacuuming may be necessary every now and then even with the robot, there are hard to reach places it can't go like crevices, between appliances that are close together, etc.4. The battery lasts about a year from what I've read, so be prepared to buy those annually along with filters every month or two.5. The recharging base requires a hard floor to sit on (not carpet), so you'll need at least a small spot somewhere in your house that isn't carpet for the vacuum to dock and recharge every day.6. Expect a complete vacuum cycle to take an hour or so depending on the size of your house. In other words, much longer than vacuuming yourself. However since it's not you that has to vacuum, I figure who cares how long it takes, I will be doing other things anyway while it works.7. Last but certainly not least, before you run the vacuum you need to do a small amount of prep work. Open the doors so it can access the rooms, pick up any toys, shoes, etc that might be lying around, and make sure there are no cables sitting around for it to run over. It's really good about going over thick cables without damage or getting caught up, like a coax cable for instance, however smaller cables like phone chargers will definitely get hung up and dragged around possibly making the vacuum stop and give an error.Is it perfect? No I suppose nothing is, but I'm blown away by how smart and effective this vacuum is. I also love how it saves me time and keeps the house looking clean with me doing next to nothing to make it happen. If you live in a small place with tile floors I would look at a cheaper option, but if you have carpeting, dogs / cats, etc. this worked great for me.The bad reviews on here mostly talk about the vacuum losing internet connection and then not functioning until it comes back on. I can't say whether they got a defective machine or if their internet is just weak in parts of their house (or both). However for what it's worth, mine works flawlessly. The only other complaint I might have is the price, it's definitely not cheap. For that reason I consider this to be best for people who have very busy lives and consider the time saved vacuuming to be well worth the investment. Time is money after all.