The GUI vs the Remote Control
While there are a few similarities with the Lydsto app (I am pretty much sure that both were developed by the same people), the Kyvol E20 GUI is far more simple. For starters, there is no map since the E20 does not map your house and instead, it’s replaced by directional buttons with Clean/Pause in the middle. And that’s the same as on the remote control – you do still get to see the Cleaning Time, the Remaining Battery, as well as the status of the robot vacuum cleaner. Towards the bottom, you get to create schedules, set the Suction Power (Level 1, 2 or 3) and enable the Edge cleaning mode. Further down, you can press to return the Kyvol E20 to its charging station or enable the Spot cleaning mode (it will move in circles around a specific spot, although it does have a tendency to go off-center).
Press the three lines from the top right corner to see some info About the Device, such as the status of the Consumables, Upgrade the Firmware, reset the device to factory settings and more. The remote control does come with a couple of batteries (separate, in the package) and you get pretty much the same amount of control as the app, minus the aforementioned status information. You can move the Kyvol E20 using the directional buttons, return it to the base, set a scheduled cleaning run, enable the Spot mode, the Edge mode and, using the Min and Max buttons, you can adjust the suction power. I know that a lot of people will prefer the remote control over the app, but I have to say that I don’t mind taking the phone from my pocket to start the cleaning process and I did like that in case the robot vacuum cleaner gets stuck, I do get notified in the app.
The Performance
Noise:
The app shows that there are three Suction Power levels and, as expected the Level 1 is going to be the quietest, but will also have the least suction power, while the next two modes are fairly more powerful. The standard mode is the Level 2 which I have used for this test and it did well on hard floors, but I would advise against using this mode after a certain hour because it’s a bit noisy. I measured an average of 56dB which is in line with other robot vacuum cleaners and it will not disturb during the day. The Level 1 is still very much audible, since I was able to measure an average of 52dB, while the Level 3 is the noisiest, letting out a sound that reaches up to 62dB. So yes, the Kyvol E20 will not disturb you in any way during the day. Be aware that the speaker (or buzzer) is not quiet and, if the device gets stuck, it will let you know loud and clear that it needs help.
Navigation:
This aspect is always tricky when there is no mapping done, no Lidar and no Gyroscope. So yes, the Kyvol E20 simply bounces around the room while cleaning it without following any preset map. I did notice that it does go in straight lines as much as possible and it tries to follow a similar pattern of moves as I saw on the more expensive Lydsto R1, but it will still go over the same spot more than a couple of times and it did have trouble moving to the next room. To be more specific, I left the Kyvol E20 do its thing, while I monitored its behavior, it was able to move between three rooms, but went into a loop with the third. And, after it cleaned the same room about 4 times, I decided to spare its misery and manually guide it towards the next room – 5 minutes later, it got back into the third room only to get stuck again.
So it does require a certain amount of supervision and it’s not as autonomous as the robot vacuum cleaners that use the Lidar technology. I noticed that it doesn’t bump into walls or large objects, but it did have some fights with chair feet – it would charge at full speed, which made me worried that the bumper may not remain unscathed over time. Furthermore, just like with other robot vacuum cleaners, it’s best to not leave shoes with the strings on the ground, nor small cables, because the Kyvol E20 will attempt to eat them.
Does it get stuck often:
While I didn’t see any info on whether it could go over some objects (usually 0.8 inches / 2 cm), the device did went over a body scale without problems. But, after having a fight with a small carpet, it did get stuck and cried for rescue. What happened was that it moved the carpet around and after the E20 had an attempt to go over it, it got slightly elevated, making it believe it’s going to fall from a great height (it was about 1 inch from the floor and quite amusing to witness). So yes, the Kyvol E20 does get stuck, but not more often than other competitor devices in the same price range.
Low Battery Mode:
There are actually two low battery modes: the slightly low and the very low battery mode and regardless of the two aforementioned states, the E20 will attempt to return to its charging base. Depending on how far it is from the docking station, it may or may not arrive before the battery gets depleted. Yes, it can wander for tens of minutes in a single room and you will have to bring it to the charging station manually – that’s because it doesn’t map out the space, but it searches for the IR signal from the base. Which is why a smaller house is better if you intend to use the Kyvol E20.
No-Go Zones:
Even though the Cybovac E20 has an app, there is no way to set no-go zones on a map, so you will have to rely on a magnetic band that you need to physically put in the place where you don’t want the E20 to enter. The manufacturer has added some double sided tape to make the installation process easier (and more permanent). While the robot vacuum cleaner was functional, I noticed that it would not go past the magnetic band, so it does work as intended.
Hard floor performance:
I barely have any carpets, so this is the main floor type in my house and the Kyvol Cybovac E20 had a decent performance on the Level 2 mode, but there are a few shortcomings as well. The robot vacuum cleaner would do fine with small or larger particles that have some weight, but anything light will be blown around by the side brushes. Since the E20 can compulsively vacuum the same spot in the same room 4 to 5 times, it will eventually get it properly cleaned, but it can also only have a slight run in the middle of another room, where it will pick up almost nothing. That’s available for the auto mode, but, if you use the remote control, the Kyvol E20 can vacuum the dirt very much efficiently from any room – that’s because it’s guided.
Carpet performance:
If you intend to vacuum a carpet, it’s best to use the Level 3 suction power mode to get a better performance and, in my case, the E20 performed decently well. That’s mostly because it has a very similar type of main brush on the bottom of the device and the combination between silicone bands and soft bristles is good enough to take both hair and debris from the carpet. I did the small debris test that everybody thinks will reflect real-life performance and it vacuumed about 70 percent of it in one go. So yes, it will require at least a couple of runs to get a properly cleaned carpet.
How it handles the pet hair: It does not have any trouble picking up cat or dog hair, but be aware that the small dust bin will quickly get filled and you may have to clean it more often than a regular vacuum cleaner.
How easy it is to clean up:
Just like on the Lydsto R1, pretty much everything is detachable and, in the case of the Kyvol E20, even the side brushes can be removed and thoroughly cleaned. So, yes, you can also remove the main brush and, most importantly, the dust bin. Once you take it from the vacuum cleaner, it will simply allow you to open it in half, so you get an easy access to the dust.
The battery life:
The manufacturer says that the Kyvol E20 can remain operational for up to 150 minutes which is impressive for a robot vacuum cleaner and the real-life results aren’t that far off. While the suction power was set to Level 2, I was able to get from 100 to 60 percent after an hour, so it can go far over two hours, but only in this mode. If you decide to set the device to level 3, it will most likely be a bit under two hours.
The availability of spare parts:
At the moment you can purchase separate spare parts for the Kyvol E20 and they’re not that expensive either, but do know that the manufacturer has added additional spare parts in the package (a HEPA filter and two more side brushes).
The Conclusion
The Kyvol Cybovac E20 may not have the latest technologies built in, but, considering its price, it does offer the possibility to clean your rooms almost autonomously (it does require some direction adjustment from time to time), it does have a long battery life and it does have a mobile application. It would have been a far better robot vacuum cleaner if it had the option to map the rooms, but, if you’re fine with the amount of features that it offers, then you should definitely check out the Kyvol E20.
Kyvol E20
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Pros
- Can be controlled using either a mobile app or the remote control
- Can easily be cleaned
- Has spare parts in the package
- Allows you to create schedules
- You can set no-go zones using the magnetic strip
Cons
- It does not create a map of the house
- Can easily get stuck in a room
- Can have difficulties returning to the base