No-Go Zones and Area cleaning?
I have already mentioned it in the Mobile Application section, but do know that you can limit ECOVACS DEEBOT X2 Omni’s access to certain areas creating Virtual Boundaries for either Vacuum & Mop or Mop-Only. And yes, you can set the device to clean a certain area of the map by tapping on the small icon next to the large Start button.
Does it get stuck?
In normal conditions no, the robot vacuum cleaner is actually really good at avoiding problematic areas. At the same time, the way the device has the courage to go within difficult-to-reach spaces for other robot vacuum cleaners, it does create the possibility for it to get stuck more often. As you saw from the previous video, the ECOVACS DEEBOT X2 Omni had to be saved once after getting some cables tangled in its side brush.
Low Battery Mode
As with all other robot vacuum cleaners, regardless of the used technologies, once they reach low-battery mode, they will attempt returning to the base station.
The LiDAR-based devices never had any issues returning home, but VSLAM sometimes has proven to be less reliable. The good news is that the ECOVACS DEEBOT X2 Omni quickly returned back to its base, without hanging or stopping. Additionally, when returning, it does continue to detect obstacles and objects that may lay around.
Hard floor performance
Most of my home is covered by hard floors, so you can read the Navigation section to see how well the device handled it. Hint: it did good.
Carpet performance
Before anything else, know that the mopping pads do raise up a bit and stop moving as soon as the ECOVACS DEEBOT X2 Omni detects that it will go over carpet, so it happens a few inches before that. Additionally, the suction power is set to maximum as you can see from the added video.
As for how well it manages to clean the carpet, I mostly have hard floors, so I was a bit limited into testing this aspect, but I could still get an idea about long hair. I does have a tendency to wrap around the brushes and does require manual intervention to be properly removed. Other than that, I think it does a decent job at cleaning a carpet.
How easy it is to clean up?
The ECOVACS DEEBOT X2 Omni does require less maintenance than other robot vacuum cleaners, but you still need to clean the mopping pads and the brushes once in a while. Also, the dirty water tank will eventually fill up and the clean water tank will ask to be filled every so often (it has sensors to detect once it gets close to empty). The upper-placed dust bin should also be cleaned and to have a good idea when, you can check the status of when each part will require cleaning and maintenance from the app. Just go to Settings and choose Accessories and Parts.
The battery life of the ECOVACS DEEBOT X2 Omni
Since I opened up the ECOVACS DEEBOT X2 Omni (actual teardown), I could see the 6,400mAh battery and the manufacturer says that it should last for 210 minutes on a single charge.
I did not get close to three hours, but the robot vacuum cleaner did get very close to two hours before the low battery warning started up. So you still can vacuum a very large house on a single charge, although the device will do several runs back to its station for the mop pads. I also need to mention that the robot vacuum cleaner draws up to 45 Watts while charging up.
The availability of spare parts
This is a tricky section because as I mentioned before, the mopping pads are not yet available from third parties (if ever will they be) and the rotating brush is a bit larger than the market standard, so it may also be necessary to rely on the ECOVACS official channel to get spare parts. Eventually, after some of the techs and sizes become widely adopted on other models, it’s going to get better.
The Conclusion
The ECOVACS DEEBOT X2 Omni is without a doubt the best robot vacuum cleaner that I tested so far, but it’s not the perfect device. The navigation is quick and accurate, reaching spaces where no other (round) robot vacuum could, the charging station is far more than an accessory, working alongside the X2 Omni to provide a hands-free experience as much as possible and the app seems to be well made. But there are a few bugs that need to be ironed out and the object detection system will require several runs until the (machine learning) AI will be able to do a perfect job. The potential is there and you also get the voice assistant plus all the surveillance bells and whistles. Of course, it does come at a fairly high price, but it’s a justified cost.
ECOVACS DEEBOT X2 Omni
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Pros
- The navigation is accurate and the device gets very close to the furniture and walls
- The mopping system is well though-out (the two tanks and the rotating pads)
- The app is filled with lots of options and settings
- The voice assistant
- Does not violently bump into stuff
Cons
- Some bugs with the map (in the app)
- You need to select the names of the rooms instead of writing whatever you want