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We test together the new version of the robot vacuum cleaner from Xiaomi with the start of the Xiaomi Roborock S50.
I will not reveal all the technical aspects of the robot, other sites already do it very well today but I would opt instead for a discovery of the device and the first grip.
In my case, I bought the robot directly from a Chinese reseller (GearBest e-commerce site). The transport times may vary depending on the warehouse from which the parcel is sent and the delivery method chosen. For my part, I waited for the new toy about 1 month. It also possible to be delivered from Amazon and European warehouses, the deadlines will then be a little shorter but the price a little more important.
Discovery of Roborock S50
Xiaomi offers a very clean and very high quality packaging. Everything happened in one piece:-)
- The robot vacuum cleaner
- The charging base (plastic area + Refill base)
- Charging cable (European standard)
- Technical documentation + Setup documentation
- A replacement filter
- The water reservoir
- A mop (to be clipped below the vacuum cleaner)
Getting Started and setting up
Let’s start by positioning the robot’s charging base in a strategic place, you’ll have to think about keeping a free space of 50cm on each side (left and right) as well as 150cm at the front and then plug it into the sector.
It’s time to start the robot… Keep pressing the central power button while waiting for your new companion to wake up. This one should tell you that it still has enough battery and that it is waiting for a WIFI connection. If by any chance the robot had no battery, you can put it manually on the charging base.
Now let’s go to the setup of the application “Mi Home” which will allow you to communicate with your robot. Be aware that Xiaomi is also developing a range of home automation devices that will be controllable through this application (I’ll probably talk about them in future articles). For information, the following demo was performed with a smartphone on Android.
Once the application is properly installed and before we continue, we need to change some permissions. So go to the application information and click on “Permissions”
Then check the “location” and “Storage” checkboxes.
Launch the “Mi Home” application. Click on “Add Device” to start the vacuum cleaner configuration.
Go to the “Home Appliances” category and select the “Roborock Vacuum” vacuum cleaner robot.
If your robot is properly started, the application should now be able to detect it automatically via WIFI. Then click on the device to start the setup.
Click “Connect to another router” and select your WIFI. Attention, the Xiaomi robot is not compatible with WIFI 5Ghz.
Here is a preview when the WIFI is well registered and ready to be used by your robot. Click “Next” to continue.
The connection to your WIFI network is in progress.
When finished pairing, click “Done”.
You can now:
- Give your robot a name.
- Select the location where you have positioned the charging base.
- Add or not the device on the home page in shortened
Click “Use Now”.
The robot is now waiting, several actions are possible:
- Targeted cleaning: Allows you to launch the robot to a specific location.
- Reload: The robot returns to the charging base.
- Cleaning: The robot begins cleaning.
- Zone cleanup: Allows you to start the robot to clean a defined area.
Example after the cleanup action is launched. The robot scan in real time the apartment and objects that could block its route.
Example when the cleanup is complete. All the accessible areas of the apartment by the vacuum cleaner are clean. The robot bypasses the obstacles by turning around as for example furniture, tables or chairs.
Experience tips and feedback
After about 1 month of use 2 times a week, I can assure you that efficiency is bluffing. It’s impressive to see everything that is aspirated while the apartment looks clean:-).
You will also notice that I have absolutely not talked about the mop function and I just think it is a gadget that is not at all at the same level of the vacuum cleaner function.
Some personal advice to ensure a good functioning in time:
- Clean the sensors regularly.
- Clean both rotary brushes regularly.
- Empty the dust container regularly.
- Do not allow cables to hang (e.g. smartphone recharge).
I talked about it very quickly at the beginning of the article but this robot being compatible with Mi Home, the automation application of Xiaomi. I will introduce you very soon how to integrate the vacuum cleaner into your Jeedom installation.
