Maytronics Dolphin M600 Robotic Pool Cleaner Review

This is a review of the Maytronics Dolphin M600 Robotic Pool Cleaner
Conclusion
Positives:
Cleans Great, picks up large and fine debris
Gets to all areas of the pools and cleans transition form the floor to wall with ease.
Did not get stuck on floor drains or stairs
Large debris canister and ultra fine filters
Swivel Chord
Ease of Wifi connection - Connects to your home router/ network
App has a lot of features and is easy to use
Cons:
You need an apple or Android device to run this cleaner
Control unit has only one button - only one cleaning mode available without the app
App has some bugs that will hopefully be worked out
Advertised features missing (cleaner history and canister full indicator)
Return to me function needs improvement

[@michielmd76]

Just restarted it after the winter. New software it a great improvement. Informs about filter status and overall responsiveness much better. Very happy with it.

[@dsmtsi]

Thanks for the heads up. I'll do a other update review once I open the pool in May. It's still a little too cold here. I did an update last season but it wasn't good and I didn't have a chance to upload it.

[@yulizagomez6349]

Love this one I purchased 3 until I Found this one. Does everything it is supposed to do. The best o

[@icky881967]

I bought the M600 in the the Netherlands after watching your video. I almost bought the Aquavac 650!

[@dsmtsi]

I am glad the video helped you make a decision on which cleaner to buy.

[@marklloyd4153]

Looks like it cleaned great . Water looks clear .

[@dsmtsi]

It ia still doing a very good job of cleaning the pool.

[@jimaudette445]

I purchased an M600 when they just came out. Next month it will be three years old. It lives 24/7 in my 50' x 28' pebble tech pool. It runs four times a week. It has run flawless. With one month left on the warranty it would no longer climb walls and would get stuck on the drain. So I just purchased another brand new M600 and and the dealer has my old one that is being fixed along with brand new tracks and brushes to be used as a back up. The way I look at it I plan to buy a new one every three years and use the old one as a backup. If any repairs or warranty work need to be done. It only cost about $55 a month and cleans the pool better than any other option.

[@dsmtsi]

Maytronics says not to leave it in the water full time. The chlorine will eat the parts and eventually make it into the motor area. It will shorten its lifespan for sure

[@jimaudette445]

@@dsmtsi Not true. If it wasn't meant to be in the water full time why would you be able to set a weekly schedule? Do you really think that you set a schedule and then what? Set an alarm on your phone to remind you to put the robot in before the schedule starts and then remove it each and every time, come on. I actually went through every page of the manual and nowhere does it state to remove the robot between cleanings. It only states in the warning section to remove the robot before people enter the pool. I actually contacted Maytronics and was told that the older robots it was suggested to remove. But any of the new robots that have scheduling most people just leave them in the pool. And if you live in a part of the country that close down their pools to obviously remove the robot and put it in storage. I live in Southern California and have my pool available all year long. But as I said before after three years of use 24/7 in the pool I finally needed to replace my brushes and tracks. It's a very good piece of equipment.

[@dsmtsi]

@@jimaudette445 It says in the manual do not leave the cleaner innthe water full time.

[@boriskaplun1363]

Lol just spoke w sales rep, in order to extend the life of the product, do no leave it in the pool. Chlorine is a corrosive.

[@nossrc5638]

that works in the USA here in Puerto Rico the wind carries a lot of sand and does not suck it up completely, it only sucks up the bugs, leaves and other particles but the sand always stays on the bottom

[@dsmtsi]

The M600 is still working to pick up sand so far.

[@robbhendrick]

At minute mark 13:48.... was that a fart? 💨 🤣🤣🤣

[@Mawby93]

Dying hahahahhaahaha

[@superdan9er]

HAHAHA Yes it was..

[@dsmtsi]

Comedy gold right there!

[@thomaspower221]

Wow, you caught the most important feature of this video... LOL

[@mikerichter4933]

great video, thanks for sharing. I purchased the same on on the weekend, after watching video. A question for you, do you know how to change the time on the app? I noticed the time for complete is no where accurate and when I look at the "weekly" tab the time is wrong there as well.

[@dsmtsi]

Maytronics knows about these issues and is working on a fix.

[@monjackg3133]

Can you share where you purchase your M600?

[@ryanr6240]

On their website it mentions a mapping technology for the 600. I am building a pool with an in-pool table, I was wondering if I could program it to not get tangled up in the table legs?

[@dsmtsi]

Hello, The M600 can not be programmed to go around things. It is still a random pattern.

[@AusTexish]

Right now I have a Polaris but have found it to be “needy” and was wondering how good a replacement this robot is. Can I leave it in and run it daily or is this something that has to be taken out. The pool does not get much use but I still want it to look nice..

[@dsmtsi]

You can leave it in the pool and set a daily clean schedule if you like. I would unplug it before swimming though. Keep in mind chlorine will reduce the life and fade the colour if you leave it in the pool for long periods of time. But there is a cleaning schedule in the app so it is made for this. You would have to check the filter every so often.

[@TSTpreamp]

We use the same robot and have the same connection issues, just close the app and start it again, and you have all the connection issues resolved and it's ready to go.

[@AusTexish]

So I have decided to buy one of these, there are a dizzying array of choices but the biggest question is what is the difference between the internet models and the store (retail) models, is it price? Is it warranty? Is it quality?

[@dsmtsi]

This review is for the M600, there are no Internet versions of this. The older models have many versions with many years different options for each version. Maytronics made special dealer specific versions of the same models. Just so your research and compare the options. But really just get the M600 as it is the best and newest model out there.

[@striperseeker]

did you wind up keeping this unit? Didn't you compare it to the Polaris 9650 sport? I'm concerned about all the negative ratings of this unit's app. I bought it but haven't unpacked it yet.

[@dsmtsi]

I kept and plan on using the m600 this season as well. Despite the app issues it cleans very well and retains the dirt it picks up. Some of the app issues have been fixed and I will be able to test the rest once I open the pool for this season. I have not tried the polaris 9650. It looks like a good cleaner as well. I stayed away from the polaris due to their motor housing sealing issues which is what happened to my old polaris.

[@striperseeker]

@@dsmtsi Hello. How's your experience with your Dolphin been going? Mine has been once to a repair depot (PITA to pack and ship). The app is still horrendous. PickMeUp still doesn't work so pulling by the blue cable is the only way to get it. I think this causes issues on the wire. Maytronics is still clueless on how to make a good app. Other items like cleaning cycle time not staying where I set it, cleaning not stopping even though cycle is done, the list goes on and one. It cleans well and I've gotten to the point where I just leave it in the pool and use the controller to kick it off or the schedule. Oh well. $1700 lesson learned.

[@dsmtsi]

@@striperseeker Hey Mark, I haven't had any of those problems. It is still going, cleaning the pool well, it stops when cycle is done. Pick me up now works 60% of the time.... so that still needs improvement. The app I found works much better since the update this year. Maybe you got a lemon, try asking maytronics for a new unit as yours seems to have too many issues that aren't normal at all.

[@ostrch]

How can I pre-program it to use the ultra-clean cycle for my daily cleaning cycles? It only allows me to chose the regular option.

[@dsmtsi]

What is ultra clean? You can adjust the time it cleans for and walls and floor. This is all you are able to do for the timer.

[@thomaspower221]

So, bought this at a local dealer here in New Jersey. I have the m600. I used it 3 times last year and 2 times this year. Now the robot just died, and is unresponsive. I am taking it in for service tomorrow. Incidentally, I am not sure why, but the technician said that this isn't one of Dolphin's best units. Sad, I got nearly 2,000 US Dollars into this robot.

[@dsmtsi]

Ar the time of the review the M600 was new to the market, only out for a few months. It has cleaned well but the app has been a little glitchy. Mine is still going but last year started to have some issues picking up dirt at one section of the pool. I have to trouble shoot this year. I would have liked it to be trouble free for more than 3 years at this price. Hopefully your problem is an easy fix

[@degeneratejay5669]

In regards to the claims being made about the navigation and algorithm technology, can anyone tell me if this pricey robot becomes more efficent each cycle? Like does it get smarter and save routes? Or is it just a randomised cycle from start to finish every time?

[@dsmtsi]

Maytronics claims it will learn your pool but I don't see how this would be possible. It has no GPS to know where it is in the pool so it would have to rely on some kind of internal memory. For this to work you would have to put the robot at the same spot in the pool each time which is nearly impossible and not something pool owners do. Having said that it cleans the pool very well with just one cycle. Even though the pattern is random it ends up getting the whole pool.

[@gsunil1982]

I bought M600 Last week. I must say it is doing a fair job, but one thing which really disppointed me that it does not clean the leaves or debris which are still on water surface.i still have to manually clean it. Just wondering are there any programmes which can clean top of line? Or is that we still have to do it manually after spending 3000 aud !

[@dsmtsi]

You should have done a little research as there is no pool cleaner that will skim your water, it's not what they are designed to do, it's not what they claim to do. They clean the floor and walls of your pool, they can scrub the wall at the water line but that is it. There are robot pool skimmers thst clean the debris on the surface of the water, if you have a lot of debris on top of the water that is what you are looking to get. The one I saw was solar powered which was pretty cool.

[@alessandrobarattieri1752]

What you are asking for is not possible. Would you ask your dishwasher to clean the dishes in the kitchen sink?

[@PaulB-gl1ix]

That’s plain lazy. So easy to do a prep pre clean using your scoop to give the robot a head start and remove the surface debris.

[@AusTexish]

Also, one last question. How long do these last in years? When they die, what do they die of? Thanks

[@dsmtsi]

I think it's a mileage will vary type of thing. For the price of the cleaner I would expect it to last at least 5 years. It really depends on how well you take care of it. Leaving it on the pool will reduce life. I bought the m600 as my polaris drive motor went and it was $300.00 to replace so I figured I would just get a new unit. The chords can fail, drive motors, impellers many things can fail. The polaris unit has problems with their drive motors taking in water. And I fixed my cord a few times on it before I said I am done with fixing it. Hopefully this helps.

[@AusTexish]

@@dsmtsi Thanks both answers do. The Polaris has worked well for the past 10 years or so, couple of rebuilds every few years but really there are two problems here in central Texas, live oaks that drop leaves al year long (so leaning the pool is frequent) and the amount of power/electricity the Polaris eats up running every day for 2+ hours with the booster pump. My pool is a salt system so it does have chlorine but I think in lower concentration than an old system. Any thoughts or comments are appreciated, thanks

[@dsmtsi]

@@AusTexish I'd say give it a try. The m600 is expensive but it's the one I would buy. I used mine all season and it worked great. Plus you can be at a friend's house and tell it to clean from there so it's all clean when you get home.

[@AusTexish]

@@dsmtsi Thanks for all the useful information

[@kcbayandor]

Thanks for your video! I bought this robot yesterday and am enjoying it. I had issues setting up wifi- to resolve the issues I had to turn off the 5 ghz band on my router, and even had to create a special 2.4 ghz guest network for it to connect....troublesome as it will still not connect to my ‘normal’ network. For those having the same issue- you can Skip the wifi setup and this will allow Bluetooth setup which allows you to use the robot and app together. The robot did a good job cleaning- except in some of the junctures of the side-walls and floor at some places, but it picked up around 99% so I am happy with the results. Question for you: is it « safe » for the robot to stay in the pool all the time (without swimmers)? Is that how the timer and schedule function is used? With my older robot (Dolphin Dynamic), it was advised to take it out of the pool after cleaning. One thing I couldn’t figure out: if you choose a 2.5 hour cycle time this does not correspond to any of the cleaning modes. Does this mean that it maintains the chosen cleaning mode and extends the timing?

[@dsmtsi]

5ghz doesn't travel very far or through walls very well. So unless the router is right next to the pool 2.4ghz is what you have to use. Default cleaning time for the timer is 2 hrs walls and floor I believe. I don't think this can be changed. You can leave it in the pool for the timer but I would not recommend it. Chlorine is not good and will eventually really discolour the robot and cable and eventually dammage parts. But some people leave them in for long periods of time.

[@terryshaw1134]

Ahh finally I have an answer. I couldn't figure out why they are still using old 2.4ghz technology, when they no longer make routers that feeble any more. A friend thought it was because american companies can't buy 5 g stuff from China. Good to hear that they now have an app that works. Would you know if this only works on Apple stuff or if the Android app has also been upgraded? Thanks for the video.

[@Daddrone]

What are those blue things attached to the sides of your pool?

[@dsmtsi]

That are rafts for animals that end up in the pool and can't get out. Normally they will get swept away by the current and end up in the slimmer dead. The rafts give the animal something to grab on to and exit the pool. We used to get frogs mice etc in our skimmer at least once a week. Since I put these in the pool we haven't had anything in the skimmer. They aren't attached to the pool so when people are swimming they can easily be removed.

[@m312c3]

Can i use this for my reinforced liner pool? Thanks

[@dsmtsi]

What is a reinforced liner? I am not sure what you mean by that so I csnt answer your question without more information.

[@m312c3]

It is a Vinyl Liner

[@dsmtsi]

@@m312c3 Our liner is vinyl and it works fine.

[@ibsn87]

DEAR MAYTRONICS CUSTOMERS PLEASE READ ABOUT THEIR SERVICING AND PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE SCAM: Maytronics will not sell you the carbon brushes for the main DC pump motor of their robots. This means that as a consumer you CANNOT prevent the main pump motor from failing after a few years. A carbon brush is a $10 consumable part to keep a DC motor running. This means that when you pay for a “service” they do not exercise due diligence and replace the carbon brushes while inside the control box. This means that after a few years the robot will cease working no matter what you do. THEY WILL however sell you an entire new motor, or an entire new robot... Buyer beware. You can buy brushes for your ryobi angle grinder, your Makita drop saw, your cars internal blower fan, you can buy them from the manufacturer for just about ANY dc motor, but Maytronics refuse to sell the brushes, and will only sell (via the service reps) you the diagnostics fee, an entire new motor and replacement costs. Any questions please don’t hesitate to ask. Please ask why these were not replaced ANY time your robot is serviced. Absolutely DISGUSTING business practice. If this isn’t planned obsolescence then what is!? They will also make excuses that their system is modular unlike the competition somehow justifying this scam. They are happy to sell you an entire new robot for 2.5k, or the entire assembly, when a $10 consumable part would very likely keep the motor going and irrespective should be available for sale via the service reps and should be replaced ANY time the motor box is opened for paying customers.

[@dsmtsi]

I assume you had this experience personally it is unfortunate they would not allow this... how long did yours last before you it stopped working?

[@ibsn87]

@@dsmtsi I have opened mine around the 3 year mark as it stopped working. It would drive forward then back then stop. Credit to Maytronics is that the design itself is modular and very easy to access with minimal screws or fuss…. The robot is LOW voltage so there’s no reason you can’t open it yourself if your confident in your abilities. (Out of warranty)… I cleaned and lubricated all the o-rings (you can’t buy replacement O-rings either btw). I cleaned and inspected everything. I pulled out the motor and inspected the bearings and used compressed air to blow out the carbon dust (generated from worn brushes). I estimate the brushes have approx 6-8 months of life remaining. You should always change carbon brushes BEFORE they run low. Else low spring pressure on the commutator results in arcing which can damage the commutator prematurely and eventually stop working all together. After visually inspecting everything, cycling every plug I could find, checking the main cable for breaks, checking the output of the power transformer, cleaned and lubricated the shaft on the pump, re-assembled it all, the robot did the same thing. (Dry). It went forward and back and stopped. Strangely I ran it upside down and it went into a recovery type maneuver. And ran and ran. I put it back upright and it’s been fine since.. HOWEVER I know the main pump motor brushes are running low. This was the point I contacted a local service rep who A. Told me I can’t work on it myself (which is total BS). (No don’t work on the 110/240v transformer if your not an electrician). B. He told me you can’t buy O-rings (which means if you pay these massive service fees they don’t bother replacing the O-rings) C. He also told me you can’t buy the main pump motor brushes only the entire motor. Both the local service tech and the head of technical matters in Maytronics got extremely defensive when I questioned the work ethics around this decision. I have several Maytronics robots between family and friends. This essentially means that we have to wait for the motor to consume its brushes, stop working, and then replace the ENTIRE motor, and not have the ability to keep it going with $10 of new brushes. Absolutely infuriating/ disgusting and unethical... My advice is that if you own one. Around the 3 year mark, contact Maytronics asking for brushes. And taking no for and answer simply means YOU will have to pay for large service fees should you not have the skill set to fix yourself. And YOU will have to pay for an entire new pump motor once these brushes run out. They will argue their system is modular like any other brand of robots, but the fact remains, this is a scam and they know it. It will stop working around 3-4 years with regular use, and to get it going again you have to wait until the motor stops working and replace it completely. All because they won’t sell you a $10 set of carbon consumable dc motor brushes. I CANNOT believe they don’t change these when opening up the box for inspections. Imaging paying a $900 service, on a 3 year old unit to find they don’t bother taking 2 mins to replace the brushes when in there to fix anything else!!!!! They might only have 6-12 months of life left in them. Sure as shit you will be back, they will charge you more money. Or as Maytronics say. Most of our customers are “so happy” with their product they will simply buy ANOTHER. If only they knew. Hope that helps. Don’t take no for an answer, cheers Jack

[@dsmtsi]

@@ibsn87 Thank you for the detailed explanation. It ia clear why they won't sell you the brushed on their own. They want to sell you the entire logo and make a service fee for the retailer...

[@ibsn87]

@@dsmtsi yep. It’s disgusting. They well and truly know it. Maytronics say “we don’t make any money from servicing”. “We make money from selling products customers love”. Their reps certainly do make money, at the expense of the customer, selling entire new robots, and entire new motors and entire control box assemblies when potentially not even needed. This is why 99% of low voltage power tools are going with “brushless” motors. Because. Surprise brushes wear out if they are not replaced! To deny suppling them as a service item is total and utter BS. They could use it as en excuse to force people to bring it in for a service around the 3 year mark when they otherwise would not have. They could increase service traffic to their reps. But they are invested in their own profits and I will do my best to make people aware. I hope that people demand the ability to buy new brushes from their dealers and not just fold and pay the labour and replacement costs of a whole new motor. Don’t wait until it’s stopped working (and subsequently damaged the main pump commutator due to brushes running low/out).

[@michielmd76]

How did the new software updates improve performance?

[@dsmtsi]

They still haven't solved all the problems but the time remaining has been fixed.

[@michielmd76]

@@dsmtsi does it auto update?

[@dsmtsi]

@@michielmd76 No you have to go into app store and uodate manually.

[@dsmtsi]

What are your thoughts of the Mayrtonics M600 Robotic Pool Cleaner after watching this review?

[@blonde789]

dsmtsi I love this robot...I don’t bother with the app...I just set it in my pool, press the “on” button, go and drink my coffee, and within an hr, my pool is completely clean...again, I have no trees, or bushes in my yard...I had everything relandscaped, got rid of anything that could cause debris....and my pool stays clean...my pool is a rectangular Roman...no crazy curves to deal with, I skim everyday and also clean the skimmer on both the pool and pump...if it’s maintained daily, less for the robot to clean up

[@dsmtsi]

Great to hear the M600 is working for you. Since you are just using the play button only (ant not the app), did you know the play button has a 2nd function? A long press! You can program in the app to preform a task if you hold the play button for 5 seconds. I set mine to activate the "pick me up" function. This way I don't need the app at all. Put it in and push play. When you want to remove it from the pool press and hold the play button for 5 seconds and it will come up to the side of the pool for easy removal. You can program 5 second hold to do other things as well, but I like the pick me up function. You will have to go into the app to set this up but do it once and should be set for life.

[@cullinthemost]

if you're looking for a completely cordless option check out the Aiper Smart Cordless Robot kzbin.info/www/bejne/jWa5iIObZduEbM0

[@dsmtsi]

I see the one you are talking about now. It looks decent, cordless is a nice feature. The filter itself doesn't look like it would pick up the fine stuff but that's just from looking at the video. It needs a pick me up feature though. I wouldn't mind giving one a try.

[@cullinthemost]

dsmtsi watch my video, my pool is 16x32 inground and this one has an 8600 mah battery that runs a full 90 minutes. I’ve ran it about 10 cycles so far and it’s been absolutely awesome. It has plenty of power.

[@piperalpha5514]

Oh for God’s sake... Either get somebody to hold the camera phone put it on a damn tripod because from the excessive amount of shaking and extreme unintended closeups when changing the filters we can’t see what you’re doing.

[@dsmtsi]

Our budget is pretty low here. What do you want to see specifically.

[@darrentubeify]

@@dsmtsi using something like this would be a great improvement. www.amazon.com/UBeesize-Phone-Tripod-Wireless-Compatible/dp/B07837W5NX/ or maybe something bigger www.amazon.com/Extendable-Portable-Bluetooth-Shutter-Android/dp/B088H83WMS/ I'm not an expert. I don't know if those particular ones are good. Just examples.

[@dsmtsi]

@@darrentubeify I have one of those now but really I do it to help others, if you don't like the way the video looks don't watch it. It has helped a lot of people make a very expensive decision. It serves its purpose the way it is.

[@darrentubeify]

@@dsmtsiI'm sorry. I didn't intend it to come across that way. I appreciate your video and the time you put into it. I found it very useful. I was just trying to be helpful in return.

[@dsmtsi]

@@darrentubeify OK I am sorry if I was mistaken. Of one day I get enough subscribers to get paid by youtube I will look into buying equipment and making things more professional. KZbin keeps raising the requirements so who knows. I have a lot more videos but just not time to edit and upload them. Some are with the tripod you shared.

[@jackmarashlian2463]

Maybe to improve your own presentation ... learn how to use it, is not fun for us to seat down and watching learning

[@paulsteele8079]

Friggin video quality sucks. Use a tripod bro.