Mi Xiaomi Robot Vacuum Discussion Group

bemybubble on 31/07/2017 - 09:50
Last edited 07/08/2017 - 15:43

Hi Guys,

Thought i'd put through a discussion group for people who own this vacuum. Noticed repeat questions to would be good to centralise everything.

On a personal note I bought this puppy last week and all I can say is i'm VERY IMPRESSED!

Accessories

Cheapest listed were found at AliExpressfor approx $25 AUD

Can also be found on ShoppingSquare for similar price for those wanting to deal 'locally'

It was noted by Deviner that extra life can be gained out of the filters by simply washing them. I've yet to test but willing to give it a go to try and squeeze some life outta it.

Accessory Hack

One user noted that you can hack your robot vac to allow use of cheaper accessories but I personally am not game to try. For those interested heres the Link

For those looking for Decals to make your vacs look fully sick, simply have a look here. Ended up investing in a captain america shield!

Common Questions

I have a shaggy rug, will this work on that?

Short answer is yes but depends on the rug. Unfortunately mine is a bit too thick but depends on the rug.

Following on from this JLHC mentions that cliff sensors can have trouble with black rugs. White tape might hold the solution to this.

I have a security system. Will this set it off?

I have a security system at home and it does not set it off. My security system however is heat sensored and not motion. A lot of security systems will have 2 lights on their sensors. One light indicating motion (green or yellow usually) and one indicating heat (usually red). I simply sat on the couch and saw mine turn green when the robot moved but didn't turn red. But if you want to be sure simply set your alarm and robot vac on, go for a walk nearby and suss out whether it will work or not.

How does this go with pet hair?

Majority say it works well. comments here and here

Would love to hear from others any tips, tricks or traps so I can add to this list

Can I extend the life of the filter using toilet paper?

According to this Amazon review you can. Use 2ply over the inside of the filter makes a world of difference.

Home & Garden Robotic Vacuum Cleaner Xiaomi

Comments

        • samfisher5986 on 30/11/2017 - 22:03

          @blamesociety:

          My understanding is you can exclude parts of a room in the new one, among other things.

        • treeman on 01/12/2017 - 08:25

          @samfisher5986:

          Thanks for this information I've found if I close doors because it gets stuck it does get confused.

  • Canberran on 18/12/2017 - 21:41

    Does anyone else have an issue where their vacuum leaves indentation lines around edges in their carpet? Worried it might wear it down permanently…

    Has the vacuum about 3 months and only just started. Thought it might be a suck wheel but I've cleaned everything out…

  • trblvb on 18/12/2017 - 21:45

    Great vacuum - got the latest mop ver. Does any know how to stop it from going under our couch and getting stuck?

    • ESEMCE on 14/05/2018 - 12:30

      Virtual Wall tape maybe, links on Page 1
      Or just block up the area under the couch with something.

    • shagaroo on 14/05/2018 - 12:48
      +1

      If it's getting stuck because you're couch is slightly too short, extend the couch legs with some floor protectors so it can clean under it and not get stuck. See my previous comment.

  • wyldfire on 20/12/2017 - 14:08

    Can anyone help! Please
    I've just bought the new Roborock Xiaomi Vac/Mop, but can't get it to pair with the phone on Mi Home.
    What or where is the password for the Robots own wifi to be found?

    The wifi light is blinking, and after entering in my local network info as it requests, I then swap to the robo wifi as directed, now it has a password field but I have no idea what the password is, if I enter the same PW as the router, It goes one step further but it doesn't then pair, as if it's the wrong network.

    Any advice or tips on how I fix it?! I have tried Mainland settings, didn't help and there is no Google DNS or anything. Please & thanks in advance

  • trblvb on 20/12/2017 - 20:44

    I also have the Roborock Xiaomi Vac/Mop. Connects fine with Chinese Mainland setting. Remove app and reinstall.

  • Traceingpaper on 12/01/2018 - 22:23

    I’m having the same problem to wyldfire and can’t connect to the app. It asks me for the robo vac’s wifi password. If I put in the password for my own wifi it still doesn’t connect. I am using mainland settings too and don’t have a google dns. Please can anyone help? Was there a solution for this?

    Also is there a way to adjust the speed settings of the vacuum (standard to turbo mode etc) manually on the vacuum without using the app? All I can see is the start/stop button, the button for spot clean vacuuming and the return to charger button. Thankyou in advance.

  • winkau on 02/02/2018 - 16:05

    Long time lurker, first time poster!
    All your reviews of this vac were so great - helping my sister and I buy one each! So thanks up front.
    I agree with you all that the vac works great - did a rippa job in my apartment. Managed the light coloured timber floor and darker rugs and tiles without any probs. My only issue is, I cannot get mine to connect to the app on my iPhone. App goes through all the motions and gets through the connection to the "roborock" wifi. It goes through the countdown to 100%, but then I get a message telling me to reset the vacuum (pressing the two buttons together) and the whole connection process starts again.
    I've tried setting the location in the app settings to "Mainland", US and Singapore, but no change. Same thing happens every time I try. Anyone else had trouble connecting? Have googled and can't find a solution…

    • winkau on 02/02/2018 - 16:39

      Well I don't know what I did right this time that I hadn't done a million times before…although…
      - I deleted and reinstalled the app (again). Signed up for a new Xioami account online.
      - Reinstalled the app and selected mainland china from the very start (rather than changing it in the settings after install).
      - Signed in immediately on the app
      - Ran through the install again - selecting the 2.4gHz wifi (again)
      This time it all worked and have now successfully connected phone and vacuum. Hope the above helps someone else out :)

      • Chickenleg on 26/01/2019 - 09:54

        This is driving me nuts. Tried all the servers, resets, etc. Strangely i can get it working fine on a secondary router i have in my study but i'd like to get it working on my main network but it keeps doing the reloop thing argghghghhh

  • auMouth on 06/02/2018 - 22:04

    Where's the best place to buy one these days?

  • Jousting Sticks on 13/02/2018 - 21:48

    Hi guys

    I just bought a Xiaomi Mi and have just plugged it in and pressed go.

    The problem is that when the cleaner backs into any object, a wall or anything else, it doesn't register that object and keeps pushing itself up until it is off the ground and stops. This happens EVERY TIME regardless of the object, so the cleaner will only run for 30 seconds or so before it is backing into a wall or some other object and stopping. Obviously that is not normal behavior.

    Because everything is in Chinese I can't be sure if there is just some setting I'm missing or if it's faulty.

    Anyone know what's going on?

  • Jousting Sticks on 13/02/2018 - 22:36
    +1

    Nevermind, Turns out it was thin black mats around the doors. It seems to think the mats are barriers even though they are very thin.

    • salem on 13/02/2018 - 22:45

      It probably thinks they're a drop off, not a barrier. Like stairs down or something. The drop sensors won't see a reflection off it and think it's about to go over, so it backs up instead. So it will be because they're black, not how thick they are

  • Cosy Cool on 28/02/2018 - 10:22

    It seems to me that all the problems people are having with this thing getting stuck under furniture, going into bathrooms, falling off stairs, getting stuck in rugs etc could all be solved very easily with a software upgrade. It would be very easy to allow user to edit the house map after the first few passes. You could drag a rectangle or line over any area you wanted to avoid and that’s that. No sticking virtual walls over the floors, taping sensors, removing rugs etc.

  • ajerazzor on 01/03/2018 - 00:34

    Does anyone know if I can use a neato charging dock with a xiaomi mi vacuum?

  • Ruckmauler on 10/04/2018 - 15:39
    +1

    Hey - has anyone else with a Generation one vacuum noticed that the upgraded app now has "Zoned cleanup" as an option! My android updates automatically and I only noticed the added functionality this afternoon while trying to hit what used to be the Turbo clean button (note I did have to manually initiate the firmware update of the vacuum). Fantastic job to Xiaomi for keeping the Gen1 current and adding new features!

    • bemybubble on 10/04/2018 - 15:58
      +1

      Wow I didn't know this!

      Was reading up as mine hadn't done it so here are the instructions if you haven't got zoned clean up on your 1st Gen:

      Step one - have your firmware on the latest version
      Step two- go to you robo vac and clear the cache
      Step three - log out of Mi Home
      Step four - log back in and make sure it's set to China

      AMAZING!

    • treeman on 11/04/2018 - 21:58

      So when you say zoned that means it can do particular rooms?

      • Ruckmauler on 11/04/2018 - 22:38
        +1

        So it is a function that was only on the GEN2 model. It allows you to to create a virtual area within a room - and then tell the vacuum to only work there. Just as a test I have created a zone that only focuses on one rug. This video from 3:24 gives an idea of how it works (music is a bit loud):

        https://youtu.be/DKAqtUX3idI?t=3m24s

  • tmarshall60 on 23/04/2018 - 12:03
    -1

    Any one else experiencing problems with the new zoned cleanup upgrade? On a normal clean the robot is happy to navigate over the bathroom mats and living room rugs, but on a zoned cleanup it gets stuck every time!(it doesn't seem to vary its approach as it often does) At first I thought it was perhaps the mat was maybe bunched up, but after a few times I see it is the vacuum

    • mrmollyzilla on 15/06/2018 - 16:33

      I'm having different problems… hopefully ones that will be fixed with a software or firmware update soon, because IT'S SO CLOSE TO USEFUL! I have two main problems. First, it occasionally just loses it's map of the house and resets to nothing. This is really annoying because you can no longer just instruct it from the app to clean a particular room or area as a zone. The other problem is related, in that you might want it to clean a room, but it's fiddly to make that a zone, and indeed impossible because the house map is all skewed, not perpendicular to the screen. If I could rotate the map a bit, then the rectangles you're able to adjust as zones could be made to fit a room. As it is, the zone is like a rectangle overlayed on another rectangle but at an angle of 20 degrees- so they just don't line up. Part of the rectangle might be in the hall and yet another part of the room might not even BE in that rectangle. Anyway, this feels like a whinge. I hope they get there with these two problems, and your problem tmarshall60 of it getting stuck! Though that sounds a little more tricky, I'm not sure what would cause that.

      • Dacs on 15/06/2018 - 16:49

        Every time you start a full clean it will delete and then recreate the map. If you only do a zone clean then it just uses the existing map but also updates the map as it goes. The app should orientate the map to show the walls parallel to the edges of the screen as best as possible.

        If you want it to update the existing map (maybe you stopped a clean before the bot had gone through the whole house, or maybe a door was closed), use the 'Go' function or remote control feature to put the bot in that area and it will re-map it.

  • Penpinch on 18/05/2018 - 19:55

    i still can't make it connect to the mijia app. How do u guys do it?

    • Dacs on 18/05/2018 - 20:58

      Set region as mainland China. Make sure GPS permission is enablesd (and possibly a few others that have to be enabled for it to work)

  • bbqandbargains on 12/06/2018 - 08:36

    My Gen 1 got dispatched yesterday.
    I've got a ~27mm vertical gap between my floor boarded rooms and my tiled area. I'm looking at cutting 45 degree triangle strips of treated pine and pinning them down to act as a ramp. Will the gen 1 climb the 45 degree incline?
    The strips will roughly be 27mm x 27mm with a 38mm hypotenuse.

    • Dacs on 12/06/2018 - 08:51
      +1

      No, doesn't look like it will. I've done some measurements on my Gen 1: The angle between the front wheel (where it touches the floor) and the front-bottom of the body is 16 degrees.

      What you could try is to put a strip of wood in front of the gap, 13mm thick and 50mm wide. That might be enough to let it climb over, but you'll probably have to experiment a bit.

      • bbqandbargains on 12/06/2018 - 10:18

        Thanks for the quick reply. I'm going to hit some pine with a plane and go a little shallower and acute. Will report back with results if I remember.

        • Dacs on 12/07/2018 - 14:05

          Results?

  • drazman2000 on 15/06/2018 - 18:50

    Just opened my 2nd gen and set it up clicked the start button.I keep getting error 4 cliff sensors need cleaning. It is brand new and they are not dirty. Anyone else experience this issue? It might be faulty sensors?
    I have tried on different floor types, light, dark etc and have even tried covering the sensors with masking tape. Nothing works… any ideas?

  • saltypete on 24/06/2018 - 09:47

    I have had my Xiaomi for about eight months now and it works great on our floors. All timber and some rugs. I need to keep the showers closed as the step downs imprison it and it has an unnatural obsession about a couple of kitchen stools with sloping bases. These are not criticisms. It vacuums great and keeps dust from our home.

    My real problem with it is that I would love to get it to say other things!! There are all of these great movie lines it could be saying while it vacuums. It has some sort of voice programming , multi language too. You can all think of great things it could be saying…. so does anyone know if and how it can be done?

  • frugalfamily on 28/06/2018 - 14:20

    Hi,
    I just purchased the vacuum and just wondering, if I have a baby gate dividing our apartment, can I still get it to successfully map the two parts of the house? Can I just put the vacuum in either part of the apartment and it will vacuum all around?

    TIA

    • marquise on 28/06/2018 - 16:06

      Yes but it will prob have to create a new map after you pick it up and may need to take it back to it's dock depending on which side it is. If you aren't going to use the zoned cleaning then it won't really matter.

  • Lancerx on 01/07/2018 - 15:20

    Dam, my robot is dumb, can't find its way back to dock. Literally got near the dock and turn away.. Wtf!?

    • bemybubble on 02/07/2018 - 09:43

      Usually happens when you stand near it while it's scanning the room. or if you've picked it up and moved it…

      • Lancerx on 02/07/2018 - 12:33

        My kid might have moved it I guess. So it doesn't have some sort of beacon to guide the robot home? Does it based on last memorised location?

        • shagaroo on 02/07/2018 - 13:14

          When the device starts a vacuum, it will return to the same start spot to connect back to the dock. So if you move it away from the dock and start it, it won't find it's way back.

          If you pick it up and put it near the dock and press the home button (on the actual device itself), it does a scan of the area to find the dock.

        • tmarshall60 on 02/07/2018 - 13:19

          even if it is started away from the dock in another room,if it then cleans past the dock it remembers where it is to go back

        • shagaroo on 02/07/2018 - 14:03

          @tmarshall60: ok - didn't know that.

  • Lancerx on 02/07/2018 - 13:56

    I chose Singapore server. That gonna be issue for me?

    • Spastro on 26/10/2018 - 09:24

      I did too. That was the recommended when I was setting the app up

      • Dacs on 27/10/2018 - 13:43

        Do you get English voice, zone feature etc using the Singapore server?

        • Spastro on 28/10/2018 - 22:39

          Yup. I did.
          Singapore was the recommended for me

  • lockon87 on 15/07/2018 - 13:03

    My 4 month old Gen1 vacuum has got a major issue :( Started it up this morning and it started to sound like a leaf blower. Just a real loud motor noise. No error messages, but something it not right. Anyone else had this issue? I uploaded a vid to youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_VS_JqicVQ

    • tryagain on 15/07/2018 - 19:42
      +1

      Hey Pat,

      Are you sure it isn't just on Turbo or Full speed, and have you checked to make sure there isn't something caught in the main brush.

  • Naigrabzo on 09/08/2018 - 10:23

    I bought with RoboGuy last year and my vaccuum has worked every day. I've gone through a few filters etc.

    But now it's got a defect and tries to continuously back out. Maybe the front sensor is defective.

    Any ideas on how to get this looked at?

    thanks.

    • bemybubble on 10/08/2018 - 11:34

      Have you tried contacting RoboGuy?

  • Unclefugger on 10/08/2018 - 13:39

    Hi all,

    Has anyone been able to successfully source a replacement dock? I've got 2 units, (upstairs/downstairs) and lost 1 dock in a lightning strike. Would rather just get a new dock, than ordering the whole new vacuum.

  • bremo on 14/08/2018 - 16:07

    Does anyone know what the difference is between the "International" version and the "Australian" version? I am planning to integrate it into Home Assistant but I am a bit concerned the Australian version won't work with Home Assistant.

  • treeman on 15/08/2018 - 20:24

    What's the iphone app?

    Got a friend to get one but can't find it in the app store?

    https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/%E7%B1%B3%E5%AE%B6-%E7%B2%BE…

    Is that the one?

    • bremo on 16/08/2018 - 12:05

      That is the one I use for all my other Xiaomi apps but I don’t have a vac so can’t say for sure

  • Optimist Prime on 30/01/2019 - 09:38

    I'm looking to sell my vacuum if anyone is interested? Hardly used, but could maybe do with a new brush kit, that is cheap to pick up.

    Reason for sale: We have floorboards and rugs on top of the floorboards throughout the main rooms and this vacuum doesn't love this setup. (the rugs are quite high) Additionally, we have 2 floors so one floor gets neglected. We have opted for a hand-held stick vacuum instead.

    Inner-north Melbourne located (Coburg North), Pick up only.

    If interested let me know and we can chat.

    Cheers.

  • FredAstair on 10/03/2019 - 21:12

    I'm hearing people using the magnetic tape to create virtual borders for the vacuum. I'm also hearing that it senses black carpet as a cliff.
    Ergo, winding if anyone had had success with just using black tape or something else black to create a virtual border?
    Cheers :)

    • tmarshall60 on 10/03/2019 - 21:32

      I have black tape covering a cord in the garage. Robot drives over it no problem at all. Its the 2" wide duct tape.
      The magnetic tape works a treat. put on the legs of a bird cage and it no longer runs up over it, and often put near the garage door to stop it vacuuming outside accidentally

  • FredAstair on 10/03/2019 - 21:59

    Thanks @tmarshall60. I was thinking more of a black rug as it would be hopefully high enough for the sensors to detect, but you saved me the time and mess of laying out some black duct tape

  • End3vour on 16/03/2019 - 13:56
    +1

    Purchased these replacement parts a number of months ago:

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/422279

    They’re absolute shithouse. Two out of three of the rotating brushes have broken off. In case anyone is considering purchasing non genuine parts - don’t.

  • trblvb on 17/03/2019 - 12:16

    Had my Mi Xiaomi Robot Vacuum V2 for about 6 months and has worked perfectly.

    The other day it developed a loud whining noise and didn’t clean/cover all areas as well as in the past.

    Purchased a service kit and changed filter, brushes etc and followed manufacturers guide.

    Loud whining noise continues, and sounds like to motor – any help/advice please.

    • marquise on 17/03/2019 - 12:20

      Have you checked the wheels? My V1 had some tissues stuck in it once that caused a bit of a whirring noise. Had to push in the wheels to remove the tissues.

      • trblvb on 17/03/2019 - 12:45

        Thanks – checked and wheels ok.

        However, when I put it back on the charger got message ‘error 18 fan malfunction’. Never heard this before.

  • Ahanafi on 04/09/2019 - 11:21

    I've got a few desks with thin legs that I'd like to put the virtual walls underneath to stop the robot from getting stuck. Will the magnetic virtual walls still work if I cut them up and place them under the legs?

    • tmarshall60 on 04/09/2019 - 12:20

      I very much doubt it.We did have a birdcage that had a base where 3 legs spanned out from the bottom centre, The magnetic tape was held on the top of each piece with bands and it stopped the vacuum from climbing and pushing it around. It will sometimes work under the edge of a rug, but usually exposed is the only option

  • XabiFernando on 16/09/2019 - 12:35

    Purchased a Gen 2 Roborock about 3 months ago and the time has come for replacement parts.

    I'm overwhelmed with options! Can anybody with experience speak to:
    1) Genuine v Non-genuine
    2) Recommended sellers on eBay or buying from Aliexpress/elsewhere

    Happy to explore Non-genuine but only if people have had a positive experience (I can see in the comments above at least one person hasn't).

    Shipping time also a consideration too.

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