Roomba S9+ Robot Vacuun Review: Amazing Performance (But Is Worth It?)

A full review of the Roomba S9+ smart robot vacuum, iRobot's flagship robot vacuum with the clean base station. However, one sticking point with the S9+ is its extravagant cost. Is it worth it?
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👉 Roomba S9+ on Amazon (bundle w/ Braava Jet bundle): geni.us/AKBL9p
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👉 Roomba S9 on Amazon (w/o clean base station): geni.us/AUIT
👉 Roomba S9+ Review: www.bestcordlessvacuumguide.c...
The S9 is the first Roomba with a D-shape frame similar to a Neato BotVac. This change enabled iRobot to put in wider extractors and a redesigned side brush, thus enhancing debris pickup.
I've been testing this robot for several days, and I'm blown away by its performance. It's perhaps the best-performing robot vacuum for vacuuming debris on hard floors and carpets.
It had the highest scores of all robot vacuums I've tested on surface debris at 99.58%. More impressive is its performance on embedded sand where it picked up 93% after three tests.
However, there are some quirks with this robot, particularly the app. It lacks several features, like live maps and invisible wall, that would greatly enhance usability.
The use of a camera means it will rely on a light source to draw maps. It can function without it, but at the cost of efficiency and there's a higher risk of not completing the run.
My preference would be the variant with the clean base station as it removes one menial task from the equation, which is emptying the dustbin manually.
While the S9+ is hands down, the best-performing Roomba, it is very expensive. Are you willing to spend on it? Or you're willing to sacrifice vacuuming performance with the less expensive I6 or I7+?
#cordlessvacuumguide
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[@BirchlegGrim]

Let me preface this review by saying, when this robot works, it’s pretty dang good….. however, it doesn’t work for very long. Let me start at the beginning. I purchased this unit after an extensive few months of research. I could have bought any robot I wanted, but I settled on this robot based on all the reviews. I purchased it in Oct of 2020 and by January 2021, it was throwing errors and would not clean anything. Support was great, I called them up, I told them the issues, they sent me a new unit. The replacement unit seemed to work well for about ten months of being used maybe once a week. Around the beginning of December 2021 I was watching the unit clean my bedroom when all of the sudden it stopped and the red error light came on. No problem I thought, I’ll just put it back on the base since it was pretty much done in that room anyway. I put it on the base, but I could not clear the error. I removed the battery, did a factory reset, but the unit was stuck in an endless boot up loop with a spinning white light. I’ve not had the replacement unit for a year so I create a support ticket to see if they could help me out. After a long delay (despite the policy of responding within a day) I got a response about a week later with some troubleshooting tips. With it not being my first rodeo with these sorts of things, I had already tried to clear the error myself looking through numerous posts. Ultimately, I was asked to send my receipt, a video of myself pushing the clean button, and my address and phone number. After I did this, the ticket was escalated and I was told that there was nothing that could be done. The unit was out of warranty (the replacement unit was less than a year old) and they could not fix it nor replace it. So essentially, I have an $1100 dollar paper weight. Like everyone else who does their research, I had seen the negative reviews about the reliability of this unit. I decided to take the chance and assume that these negative reviews were the exception. After my experience with the robot, searching through all the Reddit posts and support forums, I’ve come to the realization that this robot is simply not reliable enough for the money people are paying for it. I buy high end tools all the time and when I pay upwards of $1000 for a tool, I expect to that tool to last a long time. This is not such a tool. In my estimation and my experience with it, I believe the fault lies in some sort of programming flaw. The hardware itself is amazing, very well made, but all the hiccups that I’ve noticed with this thing seem to revolve around what appears to be some sort of half baked OS. I could be complete wrong about that, but I’ve been in IT for twenty years so I’ve seen similar issues with computers. Overall it has just been an extremely disappointing experience with this robot and at the end, the customer service response just kinda solidified the idea for me that iRobot knows this device is unreliable. They are damaging their reputation in the industry and I think they will eventually realize this mistake when people chose other robots over their’s for increased reliability. Had I know this was going to be such an unreliable robot, I would have sacrificed features and power for reliability. Would have saved myself money too. Save yourself the headache I’ve had, look at other units, I would not recommend this unit to anyone.

[@CordlessVacuumGuide]

Thanks for sharing your experience. This helps a lot.

[@Sky1]

Wow I would be really pissed off I have 2 robots right now. A d5 connected and and a roomba 880. The botvac When it worked was pretty methodical but got stuck a lot. Almost on every run. The bump n go roomba Although all over the place seem to never get stuck and still works even today. I am going to try a roborock Top of the line. I just hope it doesn't die. I bought an extended warranty from a 3rd party.

[@xlovinghearts]

This was so in-depth thank you! Really glad you added that section about the hair and the noise.

[@CordlessVacuumGuide]

Glad it was helpful!

[@anasevi9456]

great review as always, there is always a give an take. Was lucky enough to snag a Roborock S5 for $250 in late 2018, and it has been great; but if my house wasnt 80% tiles i would definetly be missing what the S9 line has to offer.

[@rishithamanda4383]

Ordered it today.. for my new home.. excited to use it … 🤩

[@tanyakim5997]

Thanks for the review! A quick question, does this Roomba have high rumble noise? I live in an apartment with hardwood floors, and I don't want to cause problems for my neighbor. I know they can hear my dyson V9 cordless vacuum because of the loud rollers..

[@bonraerieger]

Thank you for a helpful & thorough review!

[@CordlessVacuumGuide]

Glad it was helpful!

[@brianhollister219]

Is this worth the upgrade from the i7+? Is this the best automatic vacuum rn in your opinion?

[@fouadreine]

Just got the s9. Disappointed that the s9 needs my help much more often than the roomba 675 which i had for years. It keeps getting stuck going on the carpet or by carpet and wall much more than the roomba 675. For such a price i was expecting better. It as noisy as the roomba 675, if not more. The 675 almost never got stuck by the carpet. Perhaps a Software updated needed.

[@teddycecil9251]

I am interested in the S9+, however I've read many reviews about it getting stuck. I want it to be able to clean under my bed and couch, but since I'm unable to get down on the floor, I'm concerned about this issue. I want a self-emptying machine, but I'm wondering if you think this is the right one for me or if there is another one you would suggest.

[@CordlessVacuumGuide]

That would depend on the clearance going under? As long it's around 4" and higher, it will clear. Regarding getting stuck, I do agree to an extent. The S9+ tends to struggle in tight spaces, so I'd prep the area and keep it as wide open as possible before running the robot.

[@Cati1993]

Thanks for this great review. What I'm missing though if this Roomba is creating scratches on the floor with their wheels? We have natural stones floors and my current Roomba (2014) creates those scratches. Dirt, especially sand, will stick to the rubber wheel and when he is working on corners it creates very small scratches. After a while those scratches becomes so dense that they form circles around e.g. the feet of closets and tables. I have send it back and forward to Irobot but nothing was ever found. Until I notices myself that some dirt sticks to its wheel what creates the issue. Now I would like to buy this one but afraid the same problem will be there. One thing though that might be on the positive side is that it now has a different shape where the one wheel is now in de back rolling over the already clean part of the floor. Right? I wondered if you have tested it on more delicate stone floors?

[@CordlessVacuumGuide]

Dirt will stick on the rubber wheel's grooves, another potential suspect would be the caster wheel (those tiny wheels that rotate 360 degrees). Those aren't made from rubber but plastic, so if dirt accumulates, it could scratch the surface.

[@Cati1993]

@@CordlessVacuumGuide Yes I think it's the caster wheel. Any idea how to avoid this?

[@CordlessVacuumGuide]

@@Cati1993 You'll have to check and clean more often.

[@matthewisraeli3351]

It won’t clean your house,forget scratches.shark is what you’re looking for. This is a professional phone charger vacuum,I have it for almost 3 years.no upgrades,no cleaning.

[@wavenos]

Amazing!!!

[@archishgudipudi2]

Confused between ILife A10s and Viomi V3.. both are very similar.. what would be your suggestion?

[@CordlessVacuumGuide]

Viomi is better with the features, specially mopping, but terrible at deep cleaning carpet. ILIFE is a decent cheap alternative.

[@archishgudipudi2]

How do Roborock S5 max and Deebot T8 non AIVI compare? Am considering a bigger budget to get a better one overall..

[@elmachocamacho0]

Are they going to release a new Roomba model or not? When will they upgrade S9?

[@CordlessVacuumGuide]

Unfortunately, there's non so far. Their latest products are the new handheld vacuum and the Roomba I3+.

[@jameslinmd]

The new j7+ just came out. You can get it for 899.99. The suction is not as powerful as s9+. It's got obstacle avoidance and can be used in the dark. Btw, new updates for s9+ also has obstacle avoidance.

[@CordlessVacuumGuide]

@@jameslinmd Just got the J7+, so it's in the pipeline. Yes, I saw that update in the S9+, hopefully I can create a video about it, time permitting.

[@jameslinmd]

New update of s9+ does have obstacle avoidance feature. This is just for s9+, not i7+.

[@CordlessVacuumGuide]

I saw that update in the app, I'll try to make a video about it, time permitting.

[@jameslinmd]

@@CordlessVacuumGuide Unfortunately the obstacle avoidance feature is not possible on the vacuum everywhere mode. It works quite well after you generate a map. I am sure you'll be impressed by a machine that's almost three years old.

[@CordlessVacuumGuide]

@@jameslinmd I'm not sure how it'll work since it doesn't have any front laser sensors. But we'll see, I'm looking for new angles for the S9 to talk about, this is a good one. Thanks for suggesting.

[@edwindedios1892]

Will it work on dog husky hair

[@CordlessVacuumGuide]

It's the best of all robot vacuums on long hair. It should do well with pet hair

[@LearnEnglishWithMatta]

Thanks for the review; this was quite helpful 💪🏽🇺🇸

[@MrBlueCreeper]

Roborock Auto-Empty Dock to be released on July 15th!

[@CordlessVacuumGuide]

Thanks for the heads up

[@MrBlueCreeper]

​@@CordlessVacuumGuide you're welcome. Roborock's Auto-Empty Dock will cost 300 dollars. The combo kit (S7 + Auto-Empty Dock) will be here in the US, but later than July 15th.

[@Terquilla]

It’s shape is different to get in corners.

[@thelaststylebender1678]

Does it mop?

[@CordlessVacuumGuide]

Unfortunately, no. Only the Roomba Combo J7+ has that feature

[@iceman5413]

iRobot is the worst company with the worst product. ZERO customer support. Multiple calls to troubleshoot issues, yet never any results. Then they blame YOU. I wouldn't even recommend to my worst enemy.

[@HughesyTech]

Lol. Seems like Roborock and other companies are beating the pants off the Roomba these days.

[@CordlessVacuumGuide]

App features, yes, other brands have more. But performance, the S9 is hard to beat.

[@MrBlueCreeper]

@@CordlessVacuumGuide wait you have the Shark IQ?

[@CordlessVacuumGuide]

@@MrBlueCreeper Yes, still in the pipeline, review should be out soon. I'm completing all these individual reviews first before making a comparison video.

[@MrBlueCreeper]

@@CordlessVacuumGuide I heard a ton of complaints about the Shark IQ robot. I wonder how you would feel. Doesn't seem promising since you mentioned that a bagged system is better.

[@BrentNelson]

@@CordlessVacuumGuide the Shark IQ is AWFUL.

[@matthewisraeli3351]

Worst product ever.not advanced. Phone charger vacuum,that’s all. Not worth $300 for sure not $1400. Does not do anything they advertise. It hardly vacuum dust. But it will go thru hell to find your phone chargers and ruin them.