[docsinghal]

Just a quick update on my robotic vacuum and mop story.
Background: I have been an iRobot user since 2017 with the Roomba 980 being my trusted cleaning buddy till 2019 when I added the Brava 390t mopping robot to my arsenal.
I ended up upgrading both the 980 to Roomba S9+ (I was the second buyer of this model in India officially) and the 390t to Bravajet M6 in 2020.

Current Status:
Lately I realised that iRobot has been lazy on the innovation front and haven't really added any ground breaking new features and their mapping tech (VSLAM) is really outdated and slow. In addition to this the mopping efficiency of the Bravajet M6 is nothing to write home about in today's world.
(At the time they were introduced, both these models were groundbreaking and ahead of the curve)

The itch to upgrade had been bothering me for sometime now and I was eyeing the Roborock S7 Max Ultra or the S8 Pro Ultra (unfortunately Roborock does not sell in India officially and the website https://roborockindia.com is not the official sales partner. I still tried to contact them and their mailbox bounced my emails back and there did not seem to be any contact numbers or helpline mentioned so I gave up on the idea to get one of the Roborocks from this seemingly fake website.

Ecovacs on the other hand, has been selling their products in India for sometime and have gradually improved their penetration across the country. The X1 Omni (which had been recently introduced in India) looked like a good option but it lacks the auto lifting mop heads. I came to know that the Ecovacs T20 Omni had been launched internationally and I reached out to https://ecovacsindia.in to let me know if they are planning on launching that in India anytime soon. They have been in constant touch over the last few weeks with follow up calls.

Yesterday I got another call from them and on telling them the same thing, that I will consider a purchase when they launch the T20 Omni, I was pleasantly surprised on being told that they have received the first batch of the T20 Omni and that I could order one (It's not yet been listed on their website or any other sales channel).
I was informed that the launch price was INR 1,29,900/- and they offered a 5k discount.

It was a matter of my heart taking over my mind, I know I could wait fr the official launch and some more reviews, but that was not to be.

I ended up being the first official buyer of the Ecovacs T20 Omni in India. Order was placed last evening and they will ship the product today.

I will post and unboxing post when I get it and my initial impressions.

[devilicious]

Originally Posted by Everlearner

On the other hand, mop -2i is a new version, so it might have better technology compared to mop-P which is 2-3 years old model.

It's not a better version since it lacks a LiDaR sensor and doesn't work with maps. It's better to go for Mop P instead.

Honestly, Mi Robots are VFM but their after-sales is pathetic. Recently gave my vacuum for repair and after 2 months of vigirous follow-ups, they gave me a quote of ₹10.5k which is absurd.

Planning on getting some Ecovacs' model but not sure if there A.S.S. is any better.

[manish_symc]

Originally Posted by docsinghal

Just a quick update on my robotic vacuum and mop story.

I ended up being the first official buyer of the Ecovacs T20 Omni in India. Order was placed last evening and they will ship the product today.

I will post and unboxing post when I get it and my initial impressions.

Can you please share your views on Ecovacs T20 Omni?

[docsinghal]

Originally Posted by manish_symc

Can you please share your views on Ecovacs T20 Omni?

I have been super busy and have not been able to post my initial impression and a review.

It has been a very bumpy ownership experience with the Deebot T20 Omin, primarily due to the unprofessional after sales support provided by Frootle India Pvt Ltd (the firm that sells Ecovacs in India).

To cut the long story short, my recommendation would be to avoid Ecovacs products unless you live in a city with local service centre and have the nerves of steel to deal with them in case there is an issue with your product.

I am composing a detailed review simultaneously (it will be posted in a day or two) but wanted this post out for the benefit of anyone considering buying this during the festive season.

[PetrolRider]

For a first time purchaser, should I go for Ecovac N10 / N8 or go for Mi Mop 2 Pro? I think these are 2 most favored models now a days.

I live in a 2 BHK apartment of approximately 1100 sq ft carpet. I need something that can do good dusting, don't fondle with door mats / carpets and is reliable.

Also, how does the robot clean the area between furniture that aren't wide enough for a disc to go in and under the sofa / TV unit etc?

I live in Pune and both the company have their service center locally, still I would prefer one that would not need a service center at all.

My wife is a cleaning freak and normally cleans the house once again after the maid done with the business. As she finally got rid of the house help, I think if I can help her with something less tedious and more helpful.
Thank you for any valuable input / feedback.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by PetrolRider

Also, how does the robot clean the area between furniture that aren't wide enough for a disc to go in and under the sofa / TV unit etc?

My wife is a cleaning freak and normally cleans the house once again after the maid done with the business. As she finally got rid of the house help, I think if I can help her with something less tedious and more helpful.

Been using the mi vac mop v1 and it's been good. Answering your question regarding places it can't get to, well it can't.

Recently picked up a cordless vac stick as well.

My wife is also cleanliness minded so both these devices together really does help keep the house neat and tidy. And the stick is also easy and light enough to use for some emergency cleaning if you want to help out as well.

[devilicious]

Originally Posted by PetrolRider

For a first time purchaser, should I go for Ecovac N10 / N8 or go for Mi Mop 2 Pro? I think these are 2 most favored models now a days.

Mop 2 is way better IMO. The only problem with most brands is their after sales so Mi is no exception. Though, go for it as it is VFM and very helpful.

[vsrivatsa]

Mi seems to have launched yet another Model: Xiaomi Vacuum Cleaner S10.
Link: https://www.mi.com/in/product/xiaomi...m-cleaner-s10/

1. Where does this stand in the pecking order?
   
2. Is this better than the Pro model?
   
3. Also, it looks like Xiaomi has removed the other Mop 2 Pro Model from the website itself as I could not locate it anymore on the website.

[Funny]

Recently started my Robovac journey with the Ecovacs Deebot N10. Ordered it during the previous sale and got it for about 23K from Flipkart. I had been wanting to try this new tech for a long time but never got the chance since I was living with my parents in a flat where the Robovac wouldn't have been of much use since we already had a maid and the flat was small with lot of furniture around hence the Robovac would've been under utilized.

Now that I have moved to a new independent home and the availability of maid (at reasonable expense) was a problem, I decided to get the Robovac and maintain the house myself. The package was delivered within 2 days in good condition, the order included a free demo/setup from the company after delivery but I had already done a lot of research by then and was ready to set it up myself and I am glad I did the setup myself and didn't wait for the company executive for demo/setup since the executive came after almost 2 weeks of delivery

Why the Deebot N10? I saw/read multiple reviews of multiple products at my budget range (15K - 40K) and evaluated the features, service support and spares availability before shortlisting the best options available:
1. Deebot N10/N10 Plus - Well known brand, service support is available in BLR, spares are available from Brand and 3rd Party on Amazon.
2. ILife T10s/T20s - Auto emptying dock station, service center in BLR East, spares available online.
3. Dreame D10s - New entrant in Indian market, service is unknown and spares are currently not available on Amazon. But the products are impressive with class leading features like camera navigation, higher suction power and affordable cost.

Chose the Deebot N10 as I didn't want to invest extra for the auto-emptying docking station since I wanted to evaluate the basic tech and invest in the top-line Robovac (T20 Omni, L10s Ultra or similar) later, if I find the tech satisfactory. The setup was super easy and everything is controlled through their mobile app.

I have been using the Robovac almost daily for vacuuming and use the mopping attachment on alternate days. The vacuuming is excellent, I am surprised everyday by looking at the amount of dust collected after each run. The mopping is alright especially in my case since I do not have much traffic inside my home and keep the windows/doors closed at all times, so there's less stains on floors to be cleaned but them dust particles somehow manage to get inside which are not visible to naked eyes but thankfully the Robovac takes care of them.

I have two maps stored for a duplex house, the dock is placed at the lower floor and I manually carry and place the Robovac on the upper floor before every run so that the complete house is covered. As a reminder, having a Robovac does not mean fully autonomous cleaning, you will have to spend some time daily and work along with it to achieve the max efficiency. Here are few things I follow on a daily basis:
1. Clear the dust bin before each run. Based on the amount of dust collected during each session in my house, I can do the emptying work on every alternate day but I prefer to do it everyday to maximize the vacuuming efficiency.
2. Move furniture around wherever possible to cover the areas under them if the Robovac isn't able to go under them due to clearance issues.
3. Lift the door mats and place them on higher ground especially during mopping sessions since the Robovac tends to get stuck around the door mats sometimes.
4. Lift the door curtains and fold them over the curtain rods on alternate days. This is because the Robovac considers them as solid objects and tends to go around them. I wish the company provides a update where it detects curtains and just pushes them around during cleaning. I guess if the curtains had enough clearance from ground it wouldn't have been a issue, the Robovac requires almost 4 inch plus clearance to go under any object, my curtains are having about 3-3.5 inches of clearance from the floor.
5. Clean the mopping pad after every 30min of runtime, the total runtime is about 1.5 hours to cover my duplex and I clean the mopping pad twice during each cleaning session.

Also once in a while I use my manual vacuum cleaner to clean up the leftover areas, corners or stubborn dirt that the Robovac wasn't able to clean. Also to clean the internal staircase, I simply push the dirt below to the lower floor using a broom and let the Robovac do the dirt lifting job during it's cleaning cycle. May have to do manual mopping once a week in the future if the traffic at home increases

In total all these tasks take about 15 mins of my time and I have to be physically present in the house to perform these tasks so I haven't setup any auto-cleaning schedule and I initiate the cleaning activity manually based on my preferences, usually at the end of the day post dinner. Although one may think these tasks are too much work but believe me they are way better than keeping an expensive maid who does the bare minimum work and takes leaves whenever they want, leaving you and your home in a sad state. With my Robovac I do not have to worry about any maid timings, leaves etc, everything remains in my control just the way I like it.

Will update more in future after I use it for few more months and have gone through the accessory replacement cycle.