SharkRV1001AE IQ Robot Self-Empty XL, Robot Vacuum with IQ Navigation, Home Mapping, Self-Cleaning Brushroll, Wi-Fi Connected, Works with Alexa, Black

My Usage and Overall Comments:==============================Have had the Bot for 2-3 weeks now.Mostly used on 2nd floor (bedrooms/bathrooms/Loft area) which is 90% carpet. I mapped this floor only.Occasionally used on 1st floor, which is about 50% carpet. (Not mapped).Overall it seems to do a pretty good job, keeping in mind these Bot Vacs are not meant for DEEP cleaning carpets.Much quieter than my old Neato Botvac80!Cleans my 2nd floor on a single charge with BOOST cleaning, and recharging takes about 3 hours.Overall I feel it's a good Robot Vac, but wouldn't spend more than $300 for it.Floor Mapping Review:==============================- My 2nd floor is about 1,000sq ft and it takes about 10-12 mins to map it.- It's not the greatest at mapping. It will sometimes take 2-3 "Explore" runs for it to get it right because itoccasionally misses entire wall sections.- Adding/Changing/Removing Room Labels and No-Go Zones on the app is pretty easy.If you're older, it's easier to do it on a Tablet vs the phone.- I noticed that once it completes the entire cleaning run on the 2nd floor, it seems like it internally compares the resultswith the full map(??), and if it detects area's that it missed it will go back to them to clean them.When it does do that, it doesn't always clean them in the most efficient order, often running from one end of thehouse to the other to address these areas. I have also seen this behavior when tasked with cleaning a specific room.It's will sometimes bounce around in the room getting the spots it feels it missed.- There have been times where I've seen it do several clockwise/counter-clockwise spins in the same spot as if it's tryingto decide where to go next. Sometimes these crazy spins can last 30-40 seconds.- So far no problems with it finding the Base Unit and Docking with it.- Mapping is only required if you need to specify No-Go Zones or want the ability to vac a specific room(s) so you CANdo like in my case, map the most commonly vacuumed floor (ie: 2nd floor) then manually initiate a cleaning for the 1st floor.(see more about mapping in my "CONS" section).Detailed Review:==============================PROS:- It's fairly quiet. You can actually have a conversation standing next to it as it's cleaning.- Their SHARK CLEAN app is easy to use. Again, if you are older using it on a Tablet (larger screen0 will be a better experience.- The self-vacuuming / evacuation unit works well, typically removing 95% of the bot vac's contents.- So far have not had any issues with it getting stuck in a corner, going over room thresholds/transitions, etc.- Bump avoidance it pretty good as long as objects are high enough for the Lidar Sensor to see it.- No issues transitioning between carpet and hardwood/tile surfaces.- Although it may not take the most efficient paths on occasion, and sometimes re-cleans a section(s) 2-3 times during it's total run,it does appear to do a very through clean, cleaning all the places that it possibly can reach.- It does well respecting No-Go Zones.- Ledge detection works well also, but the fall-off is only detected after about 25% of the bot is hanging over the edge - depending on it's speed.It can be nerve wracking to watch near stairs!!- The Evacuate and Resume feature is nice to have. (After every 30 mins of cleaning, it will return to the Dock to empty its dust bin thenreturn to clean where it left off.- The Do Not Disturb Schedule works well.- The No-Go Zones work well.- Although I have not had a need for it as of yet, I'm confident the Recharge and Resume feature will work fine.FYI:- Initial WiFi Setup: I did have an issue trying to pair the Bot with my phone. I think after I rebooted my phone it finally worked.- Annoying - if you remove the Bot's dust bin while it's ON, it will complain stating it's dust bin needs to be replaced.- The foam roll filter in the Docking station gets VERY dirty real fast and needs to be cleaned every 2-3 runs.It's easy to clean, just tap over a garbage can to get the bulk off, then slide off the foam roll from it's base and rinse in a sink.Let dry completely before returning to docking station.- The Evacuation system will engage EVERY TIME you return the Bot to the dock. So if you pull the Bot off just to check the roller, as soon as youre-dock it, the evacuation system will turn on.- The Evacuation system is as loud as a typical upright vacuum, so keep that in mind when deciding on a location for it!!!- I have not tried the SCHEDULED Cleaning at all. I personally prefer to manually initiate when/where I want it to clean.CONS:- I was not able to Register the Bot via the app - kept saying "Something went wrong". Had to do it online.- The app could use some improvements/updating, like showing the current location of the BOT and what it's cleaned so far as it's running,estimated time of completion, etc.- Deleting your map when you want to do a "Re-explore" (ie: Re-Map) can take a minute or two to complete.- "Matrix" cleaning can only be performed on one room at a time. So if you have 3 kids bedrooms you want to Matrix clean you have to select one,do the cleaning, then send it out again to do the Matrix cleaning on the 2nd bedroom, etc.You might be able to work around this by setting up 3 Scheduled cleanings(??), one for each room.- The Mapping system could be MUCH better. I can understand it not mapping a shoe on the floor, but missing an entire 10-FOOT WALL SECTION???Would be nice to have Multi-Floor/Level mapping also.- I've run into an occasional issue where after doing a manual cleaning (via press of the CLEAN button) on the 1st floor (not mapped),then using the app to vac a specific room on the 2nd floor (mapped), it will clean the room, but then starts re-cleaning the last 3-foot sectionover-and-over until I manually stop it. Others also have reported odd issues jumping between "Mapped" cleaning and "non-Mapped" cleaning areas.The fix for me was to delete my map and have the bot do a re-explore to build it again (and hope it does it correctly on the 1st pass).If this issue continues, I'm toying with the idea of not doing any mapping at all and just letting the Bot figure it out as it goes regardless of the floor it's on.I'll loose the No-Go Zones and Specific Room Clean functions and it will likely take longer to run,but it might be worth it until the Mapping Logic is improved.CUSTOMER SUPPORT:==============================I did reach out to them when I had the "re-cleaning the same 3-foot section" issue after bouncing between a Mapped and Un-Mapped floor.This was during Black Friday weekend, and I only waited 5-10 minutes to speak with someone. They were OK, some easier to understand than others.I was eventually connected with one of their Technical Support staff and had to re-explain the issue. He asked if I could run the cleaning sessionagain (I was fine with that) and he wanted to video record the Bot in action, so he sent me a link for the video connection. I was unable to getthat working (Android phone issue??). He asked me to re-explain the issue to him again, and we got into a brief disagreement about how the MATRIX CLEANfunction worked - he claimed that was only for "Spot cleaning", which I told him was NOT true.He finally suggested I delete my floor map and re-run another mapping session then try to replicate the problem again.I was assigned a Ticket# to reference when I called them back with my findings.After re-doing the mapping, I haven't been able to replicate the problem yet, and I'm leaning towards assuming the Bot works best with Mapped areas only,and jumping between Mapped/Non-Mapped floors is not 100% supported (???)

Where to start?With the bad, let us get that right out of the way. The mapping is abysmal, truly, we have run Bruce (if you can name a Shark branded robot vacuum, what other name than Bruce would you choose) 25 times, he is nowhere near mapping our house, compared to my brothers robot from a competitor who rhymes with BOOMBA, which did it in three runs. This Shark does not even play the same sport....this prevents me from doing room specific vacuuming. And that is it. Unless you have a multi story house, where this feature is a must have, set Bruce and he will clean you house. Wonderfully. Next, the not so great, Bruce is so mentally challenged. For a smart device, he is pretty dumb, but you want to know something, Bruce is determined. He will get the job done. He may have to fumble and bumble his way about, but he will get it done, and, if you watch, he does get a little smarter each time, just a little, but it is noticeable. Bruce used to do the house in large, long swaths, now he breaks it into one half of the house, then the other, and just the today, a new feature, he went around the perimeter of the house, cleaning the base boards. Small steps.As for his vacuum, top notch, perhaps too good. Bit of advice, if you get your own Bruce, run the beast on low suction for at least the first 4 or 5 runs....another con, Bruce does not know when he has eaten too much, and like a greedy guppy, he dies...locks up and cries for help... remember, I told you Bruce is not bright, but he is a work horse. When this happens, you cannot tell Bruce to restart, he has to start over, and hopefully one of Bruce's engineers will fix this, since Bruce will never know how much he has consumed, he has not the ability. Perhaps a command to send him to his base to empty himself, or a shorter duration than the 30 or so minutes it defaults to.Oh, and the base, the self empty….I am sure robot vacuums before the base were fine, if tedious, since you had to clean them every time….but the base, oh the base is pure genius. Bruce’s base is perfect, we take up with a button, and open it with a button, and never have to touch the refuse. No bag to buy, just push a button, the bottom opens and all that stuff drops out.If you have not noticed, but this family loves Bruce, we are now looking at getting Bruce a skin, to spruce Bruce up a bit…We have had Bruce for a week now, barely, but already Bruce has made an impact. I absolute honesty I cannot recommend this product enough, it works, it has quirks, but it works, and very well.Bit of adviceTurn on all your lights until your Bruce gets a good map of the area, he is a camera based robot and needs to “see" the ceiling, mostly, for landmarks.Run it on low the first few tries, while Bruce bounces around the first few runs, then move to medium and so on. Remember, Bruce has no sesnor in his bin, he uses a set algorithm that tells him to go back to his base and dump his load. It is terrible. But his vacuum is great, so he gets too full too fast. I can manage it a little for the quality of his cleanup.Because our house is neither toddler nor robot ready, we did not have all our rooms ready, and so we began mapping with the bedrooms and bathrooms doors closed. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, the mapping is not great, but it does move forward, slowly. Bruce stared being more efficient in our great rooms’ right about the time we added the bedrooms and bathrooms. Our house, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 great rooms and a heart kitchen, Bruce can do it on one charge now, I think because we basically added one room a day after his initial runs.I think you can tell, Bruce has been a wonderful addition to our home, truly, a robot vacuum was a luxury I didn’t think worked. It works and now I know what gift I will give every new home owner I know. There a lot of options out there, some a lot cheaper, and if those meet your needs, get them, some a lot more expensive, and aside from one specific feature Bruce does not have,( multi floor mapping) I cannot imagine they are better.UPDATED 2/19/20Mapping works now, had to delete the map once , run it three times, and bang! house mapped. Room specific vacuuming unlocked! Suggestions to others having issues. Delete the map and ( and I think this part is important) run the vac with every light you can on. The robot "see" and makes its map on your ceiling, the more light, the better it see's.To reiterate, my little robot, Bruce, has literally changed my house...cannot recommend enough.Updated 2/5/21A year later and no regrets. One of, if not, the best purchases I have made for my home. I will state again Bruce is an addition to the house and family, he is almost a pet....a very dumb, but very hard working pet....he is like a toddler...he seems to always want to be where you are... He cleans your floors and carpets...If you are on the fence about buying a robot vacuum...let me put you at ease...buy one, this is no longer a luxury to my home, they are a requirement, utterly worth every penny. As for a Shark...I love mine. Works great, does what it is supposed to do. The only house I wouldn't think this is perfect for is multi floor homes. Short of that... a must have.4/28/23 Still the best purchase we have made for our home cleaning. No change there...but a small observation...recently replaced some furniture and changed the layout of our home. We had to move the dock from a north to south orientation to an east to west...and, I swear, it now navigates even better than before.