Ecovacs Deebot 900 Review

It's kind of hard not to think of an robot vacuum cleaner like the Deebot 900 as a member of the family. Other robot vacs are black and glossy, and wouldn't look out of place roaming about on the Death Star. The Debbot 900 is more like a friendly companion from a Disney movie.

Which is probably why I've formed a sort of owner/pet relationship with the Deebot. I can sit and watch it zoom around the rooms in my house for hours. Worse yet, I can sit on the Ecovacs app at work and watch it clean remotely. I think it's cute, I've named it Elsa.

But there's another, less positive reason why I think I've formed this idea of it being my pet. Because like a puppy, it often needs me to intervene with a bit of human help. I've used the Deebot in my home for several weeks and have set a schedule so that it cleans at the same time everyday. Now, when I get home from work, my first job is to make sure it got back safely to its recharge station, or rescue it from wherever it got stuck during the run.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a clever device, but it certainly isn't sophisticated enough to navigate my house flawlessly every time. It gets stuck under a rocking chair I own, or in the spare room where we have several boxes of books still unpacked after a recent move. There is a 'drop detector' on the front of the Deebot, but I've rescued it from a plunge down the stairs a couple of times now.

As a vacuum it does a good job for a machine of its size. Which is to say that my floors and rugs always look clean, but on close inspection you can see the bits it misses deeper in the pile of some rugs and carpets. It has a spinning brush to drag mess up, but it is much smaller than similar brushes on normal size vacuum cleaners, and similarly less effective.

The tray that catches dust and dirt inside the Deebot 900 has a 350ml capacity, so it's about the size of a can of Coke (though flatter and boxier). I had to empty it several times on first use as it did a full clean, but now the bin proves large enough for the daily run. The battery in the Deebot is rated to last about an hour and a half between recharges, which is more than enough time to get around the top floor of my house where I have it set up.

Map-tastic Memory

The real genius of the Deebot is in its laser mapping system. The unit has a circular 'Laser Distance Sensor' on the top which is used to create a map of every room, and obstacle, as it makes it first run around the house. On each subsequent run the map is revisited and becomes more detailed.

Once Deebot has a complete map, you can use the app to do a couple of cool things. For starters, you can create virtual boundaries at anywhere on the map by dragging dotted lines in the app. So, for example, I put a boundary line across the top of the staircase to stop Deebot from tumbling to its demise.

You can also use the app to have Deebot clean specific areas. The software automatically defines different rooms as separate sections, meaning you can select a couple of these to clean, and leave others for later.

The only downside with this great software is that you can only have a single map in the system at a time. So if you live in a multi-story house, you would need to remap the areas every time you want to clean, or consider buying a second unit. I also found that the map data disappeared entirely twice during this review, both times after it had been caught on an obstacle and needed help getting home. The problem with this is that the Deebot can't continue its normal scheduled clean until you have manually set it to map the area again. Days may pass while the Deebot stays at the recharge base while you assume it is vacuuming on schedule.

If you're in the process of setting up a smart home, the Deebot is compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. I tested commands with Alexa, and while it worked fine, the available commands are really rudimentary -- basically just used to start a clean or return to base.

Who is the Ecovac Deebot 900 for?

The Deebot 900 is a fine machine that does a great job of surveying its surroundings and zipping about each day to pick up the dust and dirt on hard floors and rugs. It's simple to set up and use, and the associated app is easy to navigate, but has offers quite a lot of functionality.

It won't replace a heavy duty vacuum cleaner, but then no robot vacuum cleaner can. It is a great device to complement your cleaning regime, but though it keeps things spick and span, you will find yourself reaching for a more powerful vacuum from time to time.

It's also worth pointing out that while $799 isn't an insignificant amount of money, it is a lot less than you may pay for many of the big name robot vacuum cleaners. Given the amount of technology packed into the Deebot 900, it is definitely worth a closer look if you were considering a Roomba or Electrolux model.

Joseph Hanlon

Editorial Director | X | LinkedIn

Joe Hanlon has been immersed in mobile phones, plans and the internet for over a decade, having written for publications like CNET, Techradar, Gizmodo and Lifehacker. He steers the editorial ship and makes sure that we are always serving up the most useful guides and recommendations. If you ever bump into Joe on the street, don't be afraid to ask for a phone recommendation. It's embarrassing how much he enjoys talking about this stuff. He also loves listening to podcasts, so feel free to email Joe with recommendations.

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