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Roomba contains electronic parts. DO NOT submerge Roomba or spray it with water. Clean with a dry cloth only. Before using Roomba the first time, you need to activate Roomba by removing the battery pull tab. Charge Roomba overnight before first time use. Remove battery pull tab For Best Performance. Remove and clean Roomba’s brushes after. Apr 02, 2019 How to Operate a Roomba. Roomba vacuum cleaners are super convenient, since they can take care of cleaning your floors while you're doing other things. Making sure the room you need vacuumed is ready for your Roomba by removing any.

The Roomba® 960 seamlessly navigates an entire level of your home, keeping track of its location and recharging as needed until the job is done.

Roomba does Not Return to Base

When battery is about to die, Roomba fails to return to Home Base.

If Roomba is picked up and moved during a cleaning job, it will not be able to find the Home Base when the “DOCK” button is pressed, unless it is placed facing the Home Base within 6 ft (1.8 m) of the Home Base. To resolve this, unplug the line cord from the Home Base and then plug it back in to ensure that it is fully inserted with a tight fit. Verify that the power indicator on the Home Base starts blinking approximately once every 4 seconds or illuminates solid for approximately 4 seconds and then goes out. This is normal behavior, designed to conserve energy. Ensure there are no Dual Mode Virtual Wall® Barriers or other Home Bases located within 8 ft (2.5 m) of the Home Base. These could cause infrared beam interference. Position the Home Base on a hard, level surface against a wall. Ensure Roomba has a clear path to the Home Base, and that the Home Base is at least 4 ft (1.2 m) from any stairs and that Roomba has a clear path to reach it.

The battery may need to be replaced. Follow this guide to replace the battery.

Roomba Fails to Charge

Roomba does not turn on or show any indication of charging.

If the charging base is not the problem, the battery may need to be replaced. Follow this guide to replace the battery.

Allow Roomba to cool down for at least one hour. Charge Roomba again in a cooler environment.

Examine the charger or Home Base line cord and look for any damage. If using a charger, plug the charger into an outlet and verify that the power indicator on the charger illuminates solid green. Replace a needed.

Handle is Broken

The handle is noticeably cracked or broken.

A handle replacement will be needed. Remove the faceplate and the lower section below the keypad. Using an adequate amount of force, pop the broken handle off and insert the replacement handle. No screws will be needed. The replacement should snap on and off relatively easily.

Roomba is Not Covering Entire Home

Roomba misses sections of your home after completing its cleaning job.

Wipe the clear window on the robot's top surface using a microfiber or soft cotton cloth that has been lightly dampened with water or a screen cleaning solution.

If Edge Clean is deactivated, Roomba may not cover your entire floor. To change the setting, open the iRobot HOME App and select Cleaning Preferences ➔ Edge Clean and then toggle Edge Clean on or off.

To clean the floor tracking sensor, turn Roomba over and use a clean, dry microfiber or soft cotton cloth to wipe any debris that has accumulated in the round sensor opening on the right side of the robot's bottom surface. Do not spray cleaning solution directly into the sensor opening.

Dark or dimly lit rooms can cause problems with the Roombas navigation and coverage. Make sure all rooms covered by the Roomba have adequate lighting.

Cannot Connect to Wi-Fi

When using the iRobot HOME App, you cannot connect Roomba to your home network.

Ensure Roomba is located within a 10 ft (3 m) radius of the mobile device, and in range of the desired Wi-Fi network.

If the device does not have a strong Wi-Fi signal, check for sources of interference, such as Bluetooth devices, cordless phones, baby monitors and microwaves. Radio waves used for Wi-Fi also have difficulty penetrating building materials such as steel and concrete. The Home Base® can be placed closer to the router if there is poor Wi-Fi signal strength at the current Home Base location.

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The Roomba 671 is part of the entry-level Roomba 600 series which includes other budget models like the 690 and the 675.

It’s not as feature-packed as the 900-series Roomba models, but it still comes with a decent selection of smart features including WiFi connectivity and compatibility with Alexa/Google Assistant.

But where it provides real value for your money is cleaning ability.

Equipped with a powerful suction system, multi-surface and auto-adjusting dual brushes and a full suite of navigation sensors, it does a great job on all floor types including carpets (low and medium-pile only).

It loosens, sweeps and lifts debris and has no problem handling pet hair. It is actually one of our top picks for pet hair.

If you like what you’ve heard about Roombas and would love a pocket-friendly one, the Roomba 671 is a great choice.

Our Impression – Roomba 671 Robot Vacuum Cleaner

Summary

The budget-friendly Roomba 671 provides the excellent cleaning ability that Roombas are known for plus several smart features to make it more convenient to use. An excellent choice for small and medium-size homes, including those with pets.

Great for:
• Low-pile carpets
• Vinyl
• Hardwood
• Tile
• Linoleum
• Pet hair

Avoid if:
You want advanced floor mapping and navigation or need to clean multiple rooms in one cycle.

Overall Impression

The Roomba 671 is for those who want to enjoy the cleaning ability, and smart features Roomba models are known for but don’t want to pay the high price tag that accompanies most of them.

It’s a paired down version of premium Roombas like the 880 and 960. It lacks several of their biggest advanced features like intelligent mapping but retains a couple of good ones. So it still feels like a Roomba.

When it comes to cleaning, the 671 is not the high-suction beast that pricier Roombas are.

But it does a good enough job that you’d probably not notice the difference between its cleaning ability and that of a Roomba 890 which is twice as expensive.

So even though you’ll miss out on a few high-tech features, the Roomba 671 is just as good as any other Roomba when it comes to what matters most – cleaning.

Cleaning Ability

Like most Roomba models, the 671 uses a 3-step cleaning system. It loosens, lifts and the suctions dirt and debris into a fairly sizable bin.

The spinning side brush does the loosening part on hard floors and carpeting. It also sweeps dirt into the path of the robot where it is vacuumed up.

When the robot is cleaning along the wall, the side brush pulls in dirt from the edges and corners where the rounded shape of the robot can’t fully reach.

The roller brush does most of the lifting. It also stirs up dust and debris on rugs as it rotates, which ensures that the vacuum gets even the small bits hiding deep in the fibers.

The suction is not as powerful as in pricier robots. It’s rated at 600 Pa (Pascal).

This is a long way from the 1700 Pa suction power of the Roomba 890, but it’s good enough for most situations.

It can pick up pet hair, spilled sugar or nuts, dust, pet dander, pollen and other kinds of small debris and particles.

Like most robot vacuums, it is at its best on hard flooring like tile, linoleum, and hardwood. It also does a good job on carpets.

Just don’t use it on a shaggy or thick rug. The suction is not powerful enough for that, and it could easily get tripped by the long fibers. It only vacuums low and medium pile carpets.

One unique feature I like is the auto-adjusting cleaning head. Depending on whether it’s cleaning a bare floor or a carpeted one, the brushes can go up or drop lower to provide a deeper and more thorough clean.

Note that the Roomba 671 sweeps and vacuums, but it doesn’t mop like the bObSweep Pet Hair Plus or iRobot Braava 380t.

NOTE: In our most recent pet hair cleaning showdown, we compare the latest bObsweep PetHair Plus vs. the 671.

Cleaning Modes

The Roomba 671 doesn’t give you many choices for controlling the robot’s cleaning patterns or intensity.

It has only two cleaning modes.

The first is auto, which is the default mode. In auto, the robot basically decides for itself where it’ll clean and which pattern it’ll follow. It uses Roomba’s Dirt Detect technology to determine areas to spend more time on.

It then keeps cleaning until the battery gets low or the bin fills up.

The second mode is a spot. In spot mode, the robot focuses on a particular area. It’s handy when you want to clean up a mess.

There’s no edge cleaning mode, power boost or single room cleaning mode.

There are two ways to activate the two modes. You can use the physical buttons on the robot vacuum or use the iRobot app (requires WiFi setup).

Note that pressing the CLEAN button on either the robot or the app automatically activates the default auto mode.

Navigation

This is one of the areas where iRobot compromised so as to make the Roomba 671 cheaper.

Pricier models like the 960 have sophisticated sensors and algorithms that scan and map the floor to calculate an optimal cleaning path.

The 671 has no such feature. So its cleaning pattern is somewhat random similar to what you get with budget robot vacuums.

But it’s not that bad. It will eventually get the job done though it takes longer to clean a room compared to a more intelligent robot.

It also cannot manage the complex navigation required for multi-room cleaning. So it’s best if you lock it in one room while it cleans and then move it to another when it’s done.

But it’s not completely dumb.

It has a Dirt Detect sensor that ensures it doesn’t miss any spots.

It also comes with Roomba’s iAdapt® system that uses a suite of sensors to guide the robot around obstacles, along with the wall, away from the stairs and under furniture.

Talking about going under furniture, the Roomba 671 has a slim profile that allows it to duck under just about anything.

It rarely gets stuck.

One thing I wish iRobot would have done is to include a virtual wall with this Roomba. It doesn’t come with one.

But it’s compatible with the Roomba dual mode virtual wall. You just have to buy it separately.

When the battery gets low while the robot is cleaning, it activates the auto-recharge feature. It sometimes gets lost, but it usually manages to find its way back to the charging dock.

It, however, doesn’t have auto-resume. If it hadn’t finished cleaning, you’d have to restart it manually after the battery is fully charged.

Automation and Scheduling

These days iRobot makes all their Roomba models, even the cheaper ones, WiFi-connected.

So similar to the 890 or 960, you can control the much cheaper Roomba 671 from your phone wherever you are.

In fact, most settings are in the app. So you have to set up the WiFi, something many people dread, whether you like it or not.

The manual has detailed instructions, and you can always reach out to iRobot’s customer support for help.

Note: The Roomba 671 is compatible only with 2.4GHz WiFi. Make sure your router is either 2.4GHz or dual bad.

Do Most Users Charge Roomba Manually Work

Once you add the robot to your home network and download the free smartphone app, you can control and monitor it from anywhere.

You can start and stop cleaning, choose a cleaning mode and view cleaning history.

You can also create a 7-day auto-cleaning schedule. The robot will start cleaning automatically at the set time on scheduled days.

The vacuum is a bit loud so I suggest scheduling it to clean during the day when the noise won’t be as disruptive.

In addition to the app and the buttons on the robot, you can also control it via a smart speaker like Echo or Google Home.

The robot is compatible with both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. But the voice commands are a bit limited right now. You can only do basic things like start, stop and dock the robot.

What it Misses

The Roomba 671 is smart but not that smart; at least not as intelligent as other more expensive Roomba models.

Even the smart features it has are not as advanced. For instance, while you can control it remotely using an app, you cannot view cleaning maps or set cleaning boundaries. You also don’t get cleaning reports.

The navigation system is quite basic. It’s fairly similar to what you get in most budget robots. It cleans in a random pattern relying on sensors to avoid obstacles and the stairs.

If you were planning to get this robot vacuum to clean an entire level, I’d recommend a more capable alternative like the Roomba 980, one of the best Roomba vacuums selling today. Neato Botvac Connected is also a good choice for large homes.

They both have smart mapping and navigation which allows them to clean multiple rooms without getting lost.

They also have bigger batteries. The Roomba 980 can clean for 2 hours, which is enough to cover an entire level, while the Roomba 671 lasts for just 90 minutes.

Another limitation of the Roomba 671 is the somewhat small bin. It’s perfectly fine for most people. But if you have several pets or your pets shed a lot of hair, the 350ml capacity fills up pretty quickly.

Maintenance

Keeping the Roomba 671 in good working order is easy.

Empty the bin after every cleaning but do not wash the filter. Take a dry microfiber cloth and wipe the cliff sensors at the bottom of the robot.

This gets rid of any dust that might block their function. Now and then, you should also wipe the charging contacts on both the base and the robot.

I’ve seen many robot vacuum users complain that their vacuum doesn’t charge anymore only to find out the problem was dirty charging contacts.

Next, do a quick checkup of the robot for any problems.

Turn it over and check the front caster wheel where pet hair and debris sometimes get caught. If there is debris, remove the wheel and wipe it before putting it back.

Check the other wheels too as well as the suction inlet for any trapped particles.

The brushes also need occasional cleaning, about once a week. Both brushes are removable for easier cleaning.

Don’t forget to check the manual for instructions on when to replace the filter and brushes.

Pros

• An affordable smart robot vacuum.
• Excellent cleaning ability on all floor types.
• Can handle pet hair and other types of debris with ease.
• Easy scheduling via the app.

Cons

Do Most Users Charge Roomba Manually To Iphone

• WiFi dependence is a bit tedious.
• No intelligent mapping and navigation.

Specifications

Dimensions: 13.4 x 13.4 x 3.5 inches

Weight: 6.8lbs

Running time: 90 minutes

Remote control: no

Self-charging: yes

Auto-resume: no

Scheduling: yes

Multi-room navigation: no

Entire level cleaning: no

WiFi: yes

Do Most Users Charge Roomba Manually Turn

Smart home integration: yes