Review on 🤖 iRobot Roomba i3 (3150) Wi-Fi Connected Robot Vacuum - Mapping, Alexa Compatible, Best for Pet Hair & Carpets by Helen Spencer

i3 is my second Roomba. My first experience was with the Roomba 690, which ran for about 16 months before ending up in the trash. I HATE the 690 and hope for a better i3 experience. Take One - My first i3 wouldn't connect to my 2.4GHz home network. After about 2 hours of trying and increasing frustration, I finally gave up and called Roomba Tech Support. For about 30 minutes the Roomba rep told me all the troubleshooting steps I had already done but we still got the "Could not connect to the network" error. I packed the i3, went to the UPS store and shipped it back. The next day Revain had a new i3 on my doorstep (thanks Revain!) Second shot - the second i3 connected to my home network in minutes. So we have confirmation that the first Roomba that was delivered was defective. This doesn't bode well for the longevity of the product, nor does it allay my concerns about the quality of the Roomba after my experience of using the 690th. My house is almost all wood and the i3 cleans really well. I have 2 large dogs and the i3 does an excellent job of cleaning their coats. The i3 doesn't get stuck on my carpet with a stupid "Stuck near a cliff" error like the 690 did more or less every day. Even if I send the i3 home via the app, it rushes back to base and doesn't continue to wander around the house aimlessly like the 690. The i3 is significantly quieter than the 690 and doesn't have that.” Grinding noise; it works with a "smoother" sound if that makes sense. The sounds and chimes on the i3 are much nicer too. i3 cleans in "straight" lines, but not perfectly straight; it drifts noticeably as it traverses space, but that's not a problem for me. I did not choose the self-cleaning basket (model i3+). It's important to note that the i3 bin is significantly smaller than the 690 bin. If you don't opt for a self-cleaning bin bottom, expect to empty the bin manually after each cleaning as the i3 bin is relatively small is small, relatively speaking (see picture). My final thought so far is that good but only time will tell if it was a good buy. If the i3 performs the same in 2-3 years, I'll upgrade it to 4 stars.