A Roomba Maker Went Bankrupt and Neato Began Shutting Its Cloud
A robot vacuum is a vacuum plus a company.
If the company has a bad year, so do you.
Here's what happened in 13 months:
| Date | Who | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 6, 2025 | Neato | Announced it was phasing out cloud services. Robots still run by pressing the button once, and the warranty commitment remains. No shutdown date was stated |
| Dec 14, 2025 | iRobot | Filed Chapter 11 in Delaware. The court confirmed the plan on January 22, and it took effect January 23, 2026. Picea, a Shenzhen robotics company, acquired 100 percent of the equity. A new U.S. subsidiary, iRobot Safe, is meant to keep U.S. consumer data separate. The company's release doesn't mention the app or customer support |
| Feb 2026 | DJI Romo | A programmer in Barcelona, trying to steer his own Romo with a game controller, saw data from about 7,000 other vacuums, per AFP. He claimed access to room maps, camera and microphone feeds, and rough locations. The Verge, per AFP, verified a floor plan of a reporter's home but couldn't control the vacuum or reach its camera. DJI says it fixed the flaw in early February with no user action required |
iRobot kept launching products. It announced the Roomba Max 875 Combo on September 2, 2026.
Two older cases show what else can go wrong.
- Ecovacs, August 2024. Researchers at DEF CON showed that an attacker within about 450 feet could take over several Deebot, Goat and Airbot models. They could read Wi-Fi credentials and saved maps. They could also reach cameras and microphones. TechCrunch reported Ecovacs didn't respond to the researchers, and a spokesperson said the company wouldn't fix the flaws. We didn't verify a later fix.
- iRobot, December 2022. MIT Technology Review obtained 15 screenshots from iRobot development robots, including a woman on a toilet. Gig workers in Venezuela had labeled them for Scale AI. iRobot says the images came from special development units given to paid collectors and employees, not customers. It said it shared over 2 million images with Scale AI.
That last one wasn't a consumer hack. It shows where camera data can end up.
Consumer Reports' current robot test scores more than 70 digital-standard indicators. It finds almost all robots score worse on privacy than on security. In 2021 it found no company earned high marks for privacy, and Eufy had the least public privacy information.
A robot vacuum is a camera, a map of your house and a company. Check the company.
What Breaks: Hair First, Then Batteries
Consumer Reports surveyed 165,569 vacuums for its August 23, 2026 reliability report.
The most common vacuum failure isn't the motor. It's hair.
| Problem | Rate |
|---|---|
| Hair entanglement, uprights | 24 percent |
| Hair entanglement, robots | 36 percent |
| Hair entanglement, cordless sticks | 17 percent |
| Hair entanglement, corded sticks | 22 percent |
| Hair entanglement, canisters | 16 percent |
Then batteries. For cordless sticks:
- 18 percent of owners said the battery gets worse over time.
- 10 percent said it died completely.
- 8 percent said battery life was poor from the start.
For robots, 21 percent reported battery problems. Consumer Reports calls the battery the Achilles' heel of all cordless vacs.
And the app side. 13 percent of robots had app or online function problems, and 17 percent of robot-mop combos. 12 percent had Wi-Fi problems.
So what do you do with that?
Look for anti-tangle brush rolls or built-in blades on robots. And on a cordless stick, buy one with a spare battery, or one that accepts one.
What a Vacuum Costs, by Type
Consumer Reports' price ranges are generally representative of the models it rates:
| Type | Range | What Consumer Reports says |
|---|---|---|
| Upright | $50 to $400 | Better on carpet. Weight over the powerhead. Noisier |
| Canister | $70 to $1,300 | Good on hard floors and stairs. Strong on edges |
| Stick, cordless and corded | $40 to $1,100 | Cleaning power improved. The battery is the weak point. Only some cordless models are recommended |
| Handheld | $45 to $250 | Few handle pet hair well. No reliability data |
| Robot | $90 to $1,700 | Prices have come down, as much as half. Best on bare floors. More models include mopping |
Consumer Reports doesn't publish what each price band buys. Its picks are named by type, not price. It describes one budget robot as excellent on bare laminate, middling on carpet, strong on pet hair, with a small dustbin that's harder to empty.
That's a trade-off, not a recommendation. A cheaper vacuum usually gives something up. The question is what.
On bagged versus bagless: bagless models avoid the cost of bags but may need more frequent filter cleaning or replacement. Bagged models hold more and release less dust when emptied. Vacuum bags are generally not recyclable. Consumer Reports suggests a bagged model if you're sensitive to pet hair.
Five-Year Costs: Parts, Bags and Batteries
The price on the box is the start.
Here's what iRobot's own store listed on October 19, 2026:
| Part | Price |
|---|---|
| Filters, 3-pack | $19.99 to $36.99, by model series |
| Edge-sweeping brushes, 3-pack | $19.99 |
| Corner brushes (s series) | $22.99 |
| Dual rubber brushes | $39.99 |
| Dirt disposal bags for auto-empty docks, 3-pack | $19.99 |
| Replenishment kits (bundled parts) | $39.99 to $66.99 |
| Mop pads | $7.99 (Braava) to $24.99 (6-pack for a combo) |
| Batteries | $99.99 to $169.99. Eight of the 12 shown were out of stock |
Roborock's U.S. store, first page of its accessories:
- Main brush: $22.99
- Side brushes, 2-pack: $15.99
- Washable filters, 2-pack: $32.99
- Mop cloths, 2-pack: $16.99 to $18.19
Neither company published how often you'd replace things. So here's our estimate, and it's only an estimate.
- One parts kit plus one pack of bags a year: $49.99 + $19.99 = $69.98.
- Over five years: about $350. At the high-end kit price, about $435.
- A battery swap adds $99.99 to $169.99. At Consumer Reports' 21 percent robot battery-problem rate, the expected cost is $21 to $36.
No stick-vacuum replacement-battery price was verified for Dyson, Shark or Samsung. Their pages blocked us.
On subscriptions: we found no mandatory one from a mainstream brand. iRobot's app page lists no paid tiers and says its Roombas and Braava robots can work without the app. Its Protect plan is extended coverage with no listed deductible. We didn't see the price.
A rule of thumb, ours and not a law: if a year of parts costs more than 10 percent of the price, ask why.
Suction Numbers Don't Clean Floors
The box shouts a number. It usually doesn't mean what you think.
| On the box | What it is |
|---|---|
| Pa (pascal) | A pressure difference, not airflow. 20,000 Pa works out to about 80 inches of water. That's our arithmetic from Wikipedia's definitions |
| Air watts | ASTM-defined as 0.117354 x airflow x pressure. Closer to useful than raw wattage |
| Watts or amps | Power going in. Wikipedia says it doesn't indicate the effectiveness of the cleaner |
| Peak horsepower | Wikipedia calls it often an impractical figure, valid only briefly |
| Up to X minutes | Cordless sticks give high cleaning power for only about 10 to 15 minutes per charge, Consumer Reports says |
| HEPA | In Consumer Reports' tests, HEPA models were very effective at cutting dust emissions. Look for a stated filter standard and a sealed design, not HEPA-type |
| Self-emptying | Adds a dock and bag costs. iRobot bags are $19.99 per three-pack |
| AI mapping, obstacle avoidance | Look for test results. The best robots escape tight spots and get around cords |
What Consumer Reports tests instead:
- Carpet pickup, with sand and flour embedded in medium-pile carpet
- Bare-floor pickup, with cereal, rice and sand
- Pet hair, with 5 grams of Maine Coon cat fur for full-size units and 1 gram of cat hair for sticks
- A hose suction score, which it says to check instead of suction claims
- Dust emissions, and noise at ear level on deep-clean at maximum power
It says its staff buy all test samples at retail stores. Manufacturer-supplied lab numbers are the weakest source on this list.
Privacy Checks Before You Buy a Robot With a Camera
Before you put a camera on wheels in your living room, ask:
- Does it clean without the app? iRobot says its Roomba and Braava robots can. Neato's still run by button. Worry if there's no start button and no offline mode.
- How long will the app be supported? None of the vendors we opened published a minimum. Worry if the answer is as long as we can.
- Where are maps stored? In the cloud or on the device? Worry if the company can't say.
- Can you delete your account? The Ecovacs researchers found data and tokens stayed after account deletion.
- Does it have two-factor login? Consumer Reports checks encryption, two-factor authentication, automatic updates and login alerts.
- Is there a camera shutter or a light? Some Ecovacs models had no hardware indicator light.
The Ecovacs researchers also found that vacuums leave Bluetooth on for 20 minutes at startup and once daily.
One comfort. Not every vacuum needs any of this. A corded upright or canister has no camera and no account.
Returns, Warranty and Protection Plans
| Seller | What we found |
|---|---|
| Shark | A 60-day money-back guarantee advertised on sharkninja.com on October 19, 2026 |
| Best Buy | 15 days. 60 days for My Best Buy Plus and Total members. The same window applies to open-box items. A 15 percent restocking fee on special-order and some other items, none if unopened or bought in one of eight states (AL, CO, HI, IA, MS, OH, OK, SC) |
| Costco | Vacuums aren't listed in its 90-day electronics and major appliances list, so its general satisfaction guarantee applies. The page says no more |
| iRobot | A limited one-year manufacturer's warranty. The Protect plan starts after that and covers mechanical and electrical failure and a battery that no longer holds a charge, with no deductible and a 60-day money-back guarantee on the plan |
| Dyson, Roborock, Ecovacs, Eufy, Amazon, Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe's | Pages blocked or not found. Not verified |
Three legal points:
- Under federal warranty law, a written warranty on a product over $10 has to be labeled full or limited. A seller that sells you a service contract within 90 days can't disclaim implied warranties.
- The FTC's click-to-cancel amendments were vacated by the Eighth Circuit and removed from the federal code effective February 12, 2026. So no federal rule requires easy cancellation of an app subscription.
- We found no right-to-repair law covering vacuums.
And Best Buy's open-box window is the same as new. So open-box is a fair way to save a little.
When to Buy a Vacuum
Consumer Reports lists March, April, August, November and December as the best times to buy vacuums.
Its October 1 deals note says Black Friday and holiday sales are coming, with discounts lasting a couple of months. Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days ran October 6 and 7, with comparable sales at other stores.
Product launches matter for robots. iRobot announced the Roomba Max 875 Combo on September 2, the Roomba Duo at IFA on September 4, and new Roombas on July 7. Consumer Reports' picks include earlier models such as the Roomba Max 705.
We found no verified price-drop data for older models. So the saving from buying last cycle's robot is a reasonable idea, not a documented number.
We also couldn't verify any 2026 vacuum-specific tariff. The Supreme Court struck down the emergency tariffs on February 20, 2026 and left Section 232 duties in place. We won't claim a tariff effect on vacuum prices without a source.
The worst time is the first weeks after a new model launches, when old stock is still full price. That one is our reasoning, not dated data.
Fake Reviews and Who Tests the Vacuums
The FTC's reviews rule has been in effect since October 21, 2024. It bans fake reviews, paid reviews tied to a sentiment, undisclosed insider reviews, company-controlled independent review sites and review suppression.
Its 2026 enforcement, per DLA Piper, hasn't involved vacuums:
- Warning letters to ten companies in December 2025
- A May 2026 suit against Premium Home Service over fake listings and fake five-star reviews
- TruHeight's final order on July 15, 2026
We found no vacuum-specific enforcement, and no documented counterfeit-battery or fake-timer cases either.
So who tests? Consumer Reports combines lab tests with owner surveys, and says it buys its samples. That's different from a number a maker prints on its own box.
Who Should Buy Now, Wait, or Walk Away
Six rules. Each one comes from the numbers above.
-
Buy now if you mostly have bare floors and want daily upkeep
Consumer Reports finds robots especially effective there.
-
Walk away from a robot that can't run without its app
Especially one with no stated support period. Neato's cloud phase-out shows the risk.
-
Wait for November or December unless yours is dead
Consumer Reports lists those among the best months.
-
Pick a corded or bagged model for heavy carpet, pet hair or allergies
Uprights are better on carpet, and bagged models release less dust.
-
Walk away from a camera robot without privacy controls
No hardware shutter or light, no two-factor login, no account deletion. Skip it.
-
Buy a spare battery with any cordless stick
Or buy a model that accepts one. Consumer Reports recommends it.
How We Checked It
We read Consumer Reports' guides, SEC filings, news reports, manufacturer parts pages and retailer policies. We checked them on October 19, 2026.
Consumer Reports' brand-by-brand reliability ranking is paywalled, so we used only the visible text. Dyson, Amazon, Home Depot and Lowe's blocked our checks.
The pages we used:
- Consumer Reports' vacuum buying guide
- Consumer Reports on vacuum reliability
- Consumer Reports on how it tests vacuums
- Consumer Reports on robot vacuum data sharing
- iRobot's Chapter 11 filing, Form 8-K
- Neato's cloud notice
- MIT Technology Review on the iRobot images
- TechCrunch on the Ecovacs flaws
- AFP on the DJI Romo flaw, via The Star
- iRobot's store accessories
- Best Buy's return policy
What we couldn't confirm:
- Replacement battery prices for Dyson, Shark and Samsung sticks
- Return policies for most big retailers and for iRobot's own store
- Whether iRobot's new owner will keep supporting older robots' app features
- Whether Ecovacs ever fixed its 2024 flaws
- The DJI payment to the finder. Wikipedia reports $30,000 and we couldn't open The Verge.
This guide is one of 25 in our series on what people research before they buy. For the service plan and return-window rules that apply to every appliance, see the major appliances guide.