Neato Robotics - Botvac D7 Wi-Fi Connected Robot Vacuum - Black/Gray
Model: 945-0270
SKU: 6180808
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Customers are impressed with the Botvac D7's cleaning performance, navigation, and suction power, frequently praising its ease of use and mapping capabilities. However, some users experienced issues with the brush, Wi-Fi connectivity, and dustbin size, while concerns were also raised regarding the vacuum's long-term reliability and cost. The app received positive feedback for its user-friendliness. Despite some drawbacks, many appreciate the scheduling feature and the overall effectiveness of the dirt pickup.
Purchased the Neato D7 after owning a roomba s9 and i7+ For about a month. I returned the S9 because it got stuck on the carpet and the i7 because it didn’t pick up dog hair. I have had the D7 for about a week now and it is vastly superior at cleaning pet hair. I ran the i7 and D7 back to back and the amount of hair picked up by the D7 was astounding. The app for the D7 isn’t as good as the iRobot app, but the vacuum is much better. For the money, the Neato is the best robot vacuum available. Included picture is what the Neato picked up running right after the i7.
Posted by RedRaider3403
I never thought that I would buy a robot vacuum, I always thought of them as somewhat a silly novelty. The D7 is excellent, as I have two cats, and I have dark hardwood floors. I can have animal hair and catbox litter picked up for me by the time I get home from work. It is so nice to come home to a clean floor. On a sidenote for those with carpet, The mechanism and suction on the D7 is so good it picks up so much stray cat hair and dander, and is awesome underneath furniture and the beds where your kitties like to chill out...
Posted by BHicks
Pros Laser mapping is far more accurate than camera mapping Unlimited No-Go zones via app without buying tape or towers Report shows where it has vacuumed each time Vacuums in consistent straight lines With gentle navigation it keeps an even distance from everything without missing Parts that wear and need replacement are easily accessible Waste bin is comparatively large Can be picked up and if put back near where it was can continue without getting lost Never seems to get lost Works reliably even in the dark Works fast without repeatedly cleaning the same areas Alexa voice control Can raise back end to try to get unstuck Easily traverses even higher pile carpets and area rugs Straight path for debris means no odd spaces to clean out internally Offers two different brushes depending on priorities Cons No-Go lines only work with app Sometimes tries to repeatedly climb items like speaker stands No real quiet mode Brush doesn’t seem to do a deep cleaning Communicates through tones you must memorize instead of voice Errors for clogs are vague No dust sensor No full bin sensor Spot clean is not configurable No option to clean just one room Although robotic vacuums are nothing new, having one that vacuums reliably has been a problem. Neato, more than any other brand, seems to be the company that seems to have finally solved the issue. The D7 is the top of the line robotic vacuum in the series from Neato. All their vacuums offer similar features with laser mapping and interchangeable parts but what sets the D7 apart is what are called virtual No-Go lines. As the D7 vacuums a room, it starts by vacuuming the perimeter and finding the walls. When it gets to a certain point in the room it will stop and rotate the use the laser to map everything out. What is great about this is as it goes around the perimeter it picks up all the debris near the baseboards and then quickly vacuums the interior. It systematically vacuums room by room, using narrow passages to define what is a room. Unlike other vacuums, this technique means it reliably vacuums every accessible area every time and doesn’t get stuck in a loop vacuuming the same spot over and over. Not only that, but if it must navigate around an object it still has no problem vacuuming straight lines. This is a refreshing change from other brands that often seem to be obsessed with cleaning the same room or vacuuming random diagonal lines after avoiding a piece of furniture. As part of the mapping technology are what are called virtual No-Go lines. After the D7 has had a chance to vacuum your entire house at least once it will present a very detailed map of your house, including square footage, and allow you to define what are called No-Go zones. To create these zones, you just draw a line with your finger to block off an area. Once saved, the D7 will avoid vacuuming those areas. No need for barrier tape or towers. The system works very reliably and about the only downside is that it only works when you start cleaning via the app. For now, if you initiate vacuuming via Alexa the No-Go lines aren’t used. If for some reason you need to create barriers outside the app, the D7 does come with conventional roll of magnetic strip. The included manual is lean on details of maintenance, but information is readily available on the internet. Once you see how to do it, the process is actually very simple with no tools required, except the included cleaning brush. If you unsure of maintenance intervals, a handy guide is inside the waste bin compartment. The air filter, combo brush, and spin brush are quick an easy to change. If you have pets with a large amount of hair, it would be best to run the vacuum more frequently. For the first week as it vacuums you may find it gets clogged with pet hair in the intake tube to the waste bin. Thankfully with a straight vacuum path through the D7, cleanup is very easy. After you establish a schedule for vacuuming and the D7 catches up you might be able to have it clean the entire house while only emptying the waste bin at the end. As mentioned before, the D7 is excellent at vacuuming straight lines in carpet to give a freshly vacuumed look. If you prefer more distinct carpet lines, a different brush bar is available as well at the expense of being less versatile on varied surfaces. If you have a deep pile carpet, the D7 refreshingly is excellent at traversing very tall thresholds. It had no trouble climbing up the edge of a deep pile carpet. However; if you have a deep shag carpet you might find the smaller brush bar might not clean as deep as you want. That said, for deep shag carpets your best bet might be a traditional upright vacuum. The D7 has a quiet and turbo mode. The quiet mode is certainly quieter but not to the point you could comfortably watch TV with it running in the same room. The suction overall is very good. Regardless, robotic vacuums shine when they can vacuum regularly. Although the suction has improved, they just can’t compete with an upright on a single pass. By scheduling it to vacuuming regularly, the vacuum gradually makes progress and will keep with a clean floor that stays looking clean all the time. Long ago, higher end robotic vacuums evolved to stop wandering aimlessly around the room to vacuum and learned to vacuum in systematic straight lines. Up until recently what had not been fixed was how they would slam into your furniture and rub up against walls as they finally learned to vacuum straight. Refreshingly, the D7 is smart enough to avoid hitting things constantly. On the default settings it will still occasionally rub walls, but a nice feature is hidden in the cleaning settings that can fix even that. It’s called Extra Care Navigation. When enabled, it will keep about a ¼ inch gap from objects and let the spin brush pick up in that area. This allows the D7 to gingerly avoid touching any of your furniture while cleaning thoroughly. It also helps prevent it from going under certain chairs and tables that would tend to cause it to get trapped. It might mean an occasional light, manual touchup is needed but the tradeoff is well worth it. Even with this extra care navigation and ability to climb higher rugs there is still one weak area of the D7. Because it can climb high ledges you might find it will dutifully try to clean the bases of certain items such as speaker stands or floor lamps. As it climbs up the base it will get stuck. A neat feature is as it gets stuck it can extend the wheels and try to back off the obstruction. In the case of these bases though, it just returns right back for another pass. A simple addition of a No-Go line fixes this making it only a minor inconvenience but one to know nonetheless. Another area that has cause problems in the past is how previous robotic vacuums handled getting stuck or even lost. With how advanced the D7’s mapping technology is, getting lost is a thing of the past. Even if it gets stuck or clogged you can lift it up, fix the problem, and set it back within two feet of where it was, and it is able to continue and even find its way back home. In fact, in nearly two weeks of daily vacuuming the D7 is the first vacuum to never have an issue finding it’s way back to the charging base. One oddity of the D7 is when you decide to stop a cleaning session. Regardless of if you press stop or pause, it will not return home. If it is in the middle of the cleaning cycle it isn’t a big deal. You just press dock and it cancels the cleaning. Where is can be a bit odd is if, say for instance, you are watching a movie and it starts the cleaning process. You must wait a few minutes into the cleaning for it to recognize where it is at, so it can find the base and allow the dock button to activate. You could press stop and just put it back to the base yourself but oddly it seems to get stuck on the dock if manually placed there. As with all oddities of the D7, this is very minor and has an easy workaround. Overall, the Neato D7 is arguably the best robotic vacuum on the market even if just for the excellent laser mapping technology. It still has room for improvement but, unlike other brands, the flaws are so small that the Neato vacuums really do end up saving you time since they don’t require constant human intervention. Once your routine is set up, the only human intervention required is to empty the dust bin and replace some parts every few months. If you are in the market for a robotic vacuum, it’s hard to go wrong with the Neato D7.
Posted by CraigB
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