iRobot Roomba 981 Robot Vacuum-Wi-Fi Connected Mapping, Works with Alexa, Ideal for Pet Hair, Carpets, Hard Floors, Power Boost Technology

I've had many robot vacuums in my lifetime-- including several Irobot Roomba and several other brands. I recently went through some upcycling of my fleet, giving some way, buying some new and realizing that in the used / open box / refurb market there are AMAZING deals to be found. I started with the 692-- basically the same as my old model with a new face, no carry handle, then on to the 960 and 981. In all of the different models the 981 was tops on a couple points that are very interesting if you are comparing the 960 to the 981-- I was able to get the 692, 960 and 981 all for the same open box price-- and a huge difference in features & functions between the three-- so here I am to tell you like for like dollars, the 981 is the clear winner with a few points to be aware of. The 981 is superior to the 960 in the following ways: -Multi power operation: it can automatically run hi/low automatically based on dirt level or surface being run on -- I'm not sure-- it runs on high on carpet and low on wood-- most of the time it's low on wood or hard surfaces -Higher capacity battery - due to the dual speed operation it can have a shorter max run time on the low end but a higher run time on the high end depending on how much low/high running it does -Seems to have a dual exhaust dirt bin while my 960's have a single exhaust bin. I have still had a very difficult time substantiating this difference and trying to find replacement parts to more deeply understand this difference -It definitely cleans more deeply than any robot vacuum I've had in the past-- the carpet ends up standing straight up like it does from a traditional vacuum cleaner and after many years and robots this is a first! Surprising difference between the 960 and 980 series! Logic-wise, and as expected, the operational mode of this unit is essentially the same as the 960-- neat rows, less banging around against objects and devices as compared to past models. I won't go into more as my goal here was really to compare the 960 and 981 and the value that is to be had in the used/ warehouse / refurb market on this particular model-- coming in at the identical price between 981, 960 and 692 models which was shocking. I'm not here to argue any comparison to the i7 which I keep my eye on as well and in the warehouse / refurb / used market is never anywhere near the value that this model has been. While I'm here, also to remark every used / warehouse / refurb model I have ordered has been pristine condition with not any indication of use in any way. This model is the keeper after proceeding through several others discovering that better models were the same price. One negative thing about the dual speed dual strength vacuuming feature: The feature is great, but it makes a difference continually in the sound that you hear in the home as cleaning happens-- so in some ways what you gain from the feature you lose in disruption or varying sound / pollution for those who are more sensitive to the sound of HIGH/LOW/HIGH/LOW many many times per minute throughout the cleaning cycle, especially if you have hard floors with various rugs that cause it to continually speed up and slow down, etc.

I am still using this in 2026 and bought it in 2021. It is great at picking up the fine dust particles other vacuums miss for its size. I'm not sure on the mapping features, but it is high quality, small, and functional.

I have a 5 years old that leave crumb everywhere. Ants started to marching in and I can no longer keep up so I purchased this roomba 981 on prime day deals. And I'm writing this review after one completed job. Yes. It is loud but it doesn't bother me. I felt like my Dyson V11 animal is louder. There was definitely noticeable noise that startled my family members who didn't know that roomba was running. but they get used to it very quickly. I was so excited to get it today. So I sat down and watch the way it works. Big mistake. I was frustrated. But after awhile I gave up and go do something else. It is pretty amazing. This vacuum advertised to work in neat row. I didn't believe it until I saw marks on my carpet. (Attached photos). It left nice and neat mark on the carpet make the room looks clean. I love it. I'd say at first try. This vacuum has equivalent suction power as my hand held Dyson V11. The carpet feels lifted just like when I use my Dyson on the boost power. Pretty amazing there. One thing I didn't like is it fail to clean spaces under my cabinet. The little thing that I stick up i believe it is the censor prevent it from cleaning under the carbinet. Bummer! A lot of dust accumulated under the cabinet. It doesn't come with virtual walls like other model i saw reviews of on YouTube. It does need light to work but I can schedule a time for it to run using the app so I'm going try to have it run first thing in the morning before everyone wakes up. The features where it recharge and resume is a huge plus Overall, I'm happy with this purchase. I think it does most of the thing I expected it to do. It's not supposed to replace my cleaning person.

*UPDATE* After 2+ yrs of daily house cleaning with 3 dogs, I am happy to report that we have had 0 issues . It still goes out on its daily run at noon. It still vacuums up 90% of stuff on the floor (struggles with the pyrenees hair), and I have never had to contact customer service. I deep clean the whole vacuum twice a year, and always try to clean the filter when I empty the bin. One thing I will suggest is to buy the OEM replacement filters and rollers ($30 vs $18). I cheaped out one time and bought the China knockoff brand, and had nothing but problems with quality and clogging. OEM stuff lasts x3 as long anyways. *ORIGINAL REVIEW* We've had a Neato D3 since they came out and went through 4 of them due to warranty covered failures. At the beginning of the pandemic, our D3 IV quit working and was (finally) out of warranty (a sure relief to Neato lol). Enter the Roomba 981 Setting our Roomba up via app took minutes, and had one of the best user interfaces I've worked with. Linking it to Alexa was also a 2 minute job. With the D3, I was just happy if it synced with my wifi (2 of them required tech support calls). Performance wise, this thing vacuums well enough to skip our main vacuum, and only gives us grief when we forget to pick up a cord. My favorite thing about our Roomba is the fact that it will go to its charge base when full, tell you via notification, and then go back out and clean some more. Overfilled dustbin was my biggest non-reliability complaint with the D3. I am giving this 5 stars and my glowing recommendation to buy this robot helper. It is mid range on the price scale, and Roomba has also been doing this longer than most and has this stuff perfected.

We are only on day 2 with our precious little Roomba. I was feeling a little guilty because I don’t work so why can’t I do all the vacuuming. Well! This thing is amazing. I read LOTS of reviews before ordering. First of all it’s not loud at all. Secondly, what an amazing tool. She has a lot of suction! We will still vacuum occasionally with our other vacuum to get in places where the Roomba can’t go. We have zero carpet in the entire house. She goes up over thresholds without any trouble. So amazing how she goes over areas multiple times. Navigates over various throw rugs and area rugs. Goes under beds where dust is lurking. I’m loving her! The amount of dirt she picks up is amazing! 😱. So worth the money. There is a different sound of sucking and power you can hear from flooring to rugs. What a treat to have your house vacuumed as often as you’d like and to control it from your phone. Comical to watch when she’s done vacuuming she heads right back to the docking station.

I went back and forth many times before I ended up purchasing this roomba. Best decision ever. I kept waiting for it to go on sale and I bought it on Black Friday. I love it. I was on maternity leave with my second son. My first had just turned two. We also had a dog. So I had little time or energy to vacuum but needed to vacuum almost daily. I got fed up and bought it. I love it. It cleans great. It gets corners and it even gets under the baby gate I have. I just thought it would get the main areas and once a week I would still have to use my other vacuum to get the edges, nope! I mean it's amazing. Hands down best purchase. I have had it over 6 months now and I still love it. I bought replacement parts for it from Roomba too and have yet to use them. It hold up so well. The only complaint is my youngest loves to turn it on, like all the time. He turns it on and then cries and crawls away screaming lol! Then when it is on he turns it off. It's pretty annoying I can't leave him in the room with it. A lot of times I end up hiding the roomba in the closet so he can't get to it. Anyone else's kids obsessed with it? The kids love to follow it around and make a game of it. It also is like a sound machine. I can use it after my kids go to bed and they have never woken up. Sometimes I put it on right before bed or nap since it sounds like their white noise machine. Anyways, if you have kids and pets do yourself a favor and buy this. You will not regret it! Also cleaning it is no biggie. I thought that would be difficult but it's pretty easy and my oldest loves to help me clean it.

Wow! Even better than I anticipated! It’s so nice to kick back and watch our Roomba, affectionately named “Rosey”, (as I am a product of that generation of Jetson watchers) do the work. We have two indoor dogs that shed so much, I have swept three times in a day and there’s still more hair to be swept. I have not used Rosey more than once in a day, and the floor is much cleaner. She is very thorough, vacuuming over the floor more than once. At first, I thought, “Oh, she missed a few spots. I guess I’ll have to run the broom around the edge of the room.” NOT SO! As I watched in amazement (with my toddlers who are as on love with her as I, because she’s much quieter than our Shark vacuum) she went back and got spots that she seemingly missed (I kept moving furniture bc our house is so small...she seemed to notice this and didn’t miss a beat...or a single spot.), and she finished with a sweep of the edge oh the rooms. When she returned “home”, I wiped my finger across our floor, and there wasn’t a single dog hair. I haven’t walked barefoot in our house, in over a year, since getting our dogs. Guess what I do now? Good girl Rosey!

I'm going to start by saying I have older Roombas which I've used for years and love not only the convenience, but because my husband and I are in our 7th decade, it was increased hard to vacuum with regular vacuum cleaners. So in purchasing the Roomba 981 to add to our existing Roombas, we LOVE the better 'mapping' of a room and it's capability to 'backup', and navigate...it does an excellent job. Because it doesn't have the rotating brushes of our older Roombas, it doesn't pull carpet threads and seems to be better at picking up lint and bits of things. The main 'con' we have is that now we are noticing that the battery is only lasting 20 minutes on full charge...so it's looking for "Home" to recharge....20 minutes is not nearly enough to do a room and my older Roombas last over an hour on a charge. I am trying to return the product as Roombas have a 1-yr warranty and it includes warranties on the batteries. (I notice now on my original order that the 'return' window closed on a month after purchase....well that's pretty 'stinky' as unless you get a real 'lemon', one month certainly isn't very much time for a $300 product that the manufacturer warranties a full year. Our other cons regarding this model only is you can't wash the filters and they are very difficult to clean with a brush or dislodge dirt from it so it can be used over and over like our older filters for older models. So now we are having to purchase new filters frequently and keep a stock. Even though they are reasonably priced, it's an ongoing expense. It also is pretty 'loud' when operating. I should have paid more attention to the filters before purchasing.