Review on 🤖 Neato D8 Intelligent Robot Vacuum Cleaner: LaserSmart Nav, Smart Mapping, WiFi, 100-min Runtime, Turbo Clean, XXL Dustbin, Alexa-Compatible by Susan Vaughn

**UPDATE** I have decided to return this vacuum cleaner. I thought I could live with software bugs until they release an update, but I've reached my limit. Once about a week ago, every time I tried to start cleaning, the robot would move forward, turn on the suction, then beep and say it was done cleaning, then return to base back to charge. After trying to restart etc, I unplugged the vacuum from the app and plugged it back in, which also reset the mapping and zones I had worked so hard to set up. However, it worked well and I went through the arduous process of erecting barriers wherever it got stuck again, allowing it to finish mapping my home. It has worked well to date. Now when I start cleaning it doesn't turn on the suction or the brush, it just moves around like it's cleaning but doesn't really. I've tried pausing and resuming the clean but that works but then it bumps everywhere it shouldn't. It's like he forgot the assignment. Anyway, I'm tired of sending it back while the return window is open. Super disappointed. Maybe there will be updates soon that will fix everything, but I'm sick of waiting and will find another solution. ——— I have had three Neato vacuums (this one, XV-21 and D80) in the last ten years. . Years old and mostly happy with it, but this latest twist is so smart it makes really stupid mistakes. In the past, other Neato vacuums I've owned have done a good job of overcoming obstacles and problems, but this guy seems to get stuck a lot more often. And the most frustrating part is that in order to set up a "no-wipe" zone in the app, you have to do an initial wipe first. That means you'll need to keep an eye on that vacuum cleaner and make sure you put up barriers around obstacles like a dining table and chairs that it'll easily snag on. went through a door or something that takes forever to get back to the base because he walks through the whole house to find his base (see photo for example). Once you've completed the mapping and set up your zones, this becomes very efficient and works well. And let me just say it does a PHENOMENAL cleaning job. I can't believe how much dust and hair he collects on a daily basis. My only complaint so far concerns the "Turbo" mode, which is said to be more necessary on carpeted floors. The vacuum cleaner needs two charging breaks to cover 500 square meters. I understand that this vacuum cleaner is still new and therefore needs to be fixed with updates, so I hope most of these issues will be fixed with future updates. I will update my review if there is anything else to add. Neato's suggestion (if you're reading this): - Give the option to let the vacuum image the entire house on first startup without scrubbing/vacuuming enabled. This would make it much easier to map the house and mark areas that can't be cleaned before actually doing its first cleaning. - I want to play back cleanings in a time-lapse video when reviewing historical cleaning maps - I want to be able to customize different zones for different rooms/areas where I could schedule cleaning for just that specific area instead of the whole house every time to have to clean. I would like to be able to assign such zones/areas. The map is carpeted, so he just uses "turbo" for carpeted areas and then "eco" for everything else. It would be nice to set up maps to "teach" the robot what specific objects/obstacles are on the map. So he just knows how to avoid them instead of drawing square "unclean zones" over them. Imagine something like a magic tool in OSX that automatically selects the outlines of things in an image editor. Even if it doesn't "identify" the object, it would at least be able to isolate it as an impure zone instead of those crappy squares that don't fit the object's shape. for example, for the vacuum cleaner to learn from "problem" areas where it keeps getting stuck or having problems, and for the application to suggest creating an unclean zone around it.