Eufy RoboVac 15C Max Robotic Vacuum Cleaner Review

The purpose of smart home products is to have them do the work for you. Why should you spend your limited free time doing droll tasks if you can have your smart home products do them for you?

One of the best devices to see that in action is robotic vacuums. They do all the work, leaving you without having to lug heavy vacuums around your home and allowing you to clean more often, as you don’t have to wait until you can find the time.

One of the most popular brands of robotic vacuums is Eufy. Recently I had the chance to try out the Eufy RoboVac 15C Max and put it through its paces. I’m happy to say it checked all the boxes for me, and I found it to be just a little step above the robotic vacuum I reviewed last year with more features as well.

Starting with the Eufy RoboVac

The Eufy RoboVac comes complete with the vacuum itself, four side brushes, charger, charging cord, remote, batteries, cleaning tool, extra filter, manual, and quick start guide. The setup even includes zip ties to tie your cords together to get them out of the way of the vacuum.

First, you need to snap two of the side brushes onto the bottom of the vacuum. After you remove some tape and other protective packaging, you need to turn the RoboVac on and then set it in the charger. Mine started rolling right away, the minute, I placed it into the charger. I returned it to the charger. It was either anxious to get started or realized my house was in need of its services.

It’s noted that the charger has specifications of where it needs to be set up. It shouldn’t be on a rug or carpeting, should be on a level surface, should be flat against a wall, and should have three feet to the left and right of it and six feet to the front. This space is needed for it to navigate back home on its own.

There are three ways to operate the vacuum: with the remote, through the app, or via Alexa or Google Assistant. The latter two ways will need a Wi-Fi connection.

You must first download the EufyHome app, register for an account, and then add your device. This is where it got sticky for me. It was not recognizing my Wi-Fi, even when I would add the credentials by typing them in. I tried numerous different times, followed the instructions for resetting the vacuum, etc. While there is a note that the vacuum requires 2.4GHz, I’m running dual band. Nevertheless, I shut off the 5GHz, and it still didn’t work.

I accessed the help and found that the problem was because I’m running the public beta of iOS 13. I didn’t think there was anything different in it that would cause a problem; however, there apparently was. Once I used an old iPhone with iOS 10, it worked, and I was able to set it up easily. So as long as you’re running 2.4GHz and current software for iOS or Android, you’ll be good! And the 2.4GHz is only needed for setup, not actually running the vacuum or app.

Using the Eufy RoboVac

Again, there are three ways to operate the Eufy RoboVac. Running it with the remote is quite easy. It has the obvious buttons to start/stop it, as well as move it right, left, forward, and backward. Additionally, there is a button to tell the vacuum to return home, and another to adjust the power level of the suction. But the vacuum will also decide on its own, via the BoostIQ feature, when it needs to apply a little more suction than the default.

I found the RoboVac to be precise in its cleaning, is quiet, the movements are a little more tight, the dustbin holds a little more, etc. Again, it checked all the boxes for me. There wasn’t one thing I thought, “Gee, I wish … ” Not one.

Using the remote, there are controls for auto cleaning, edge cleaning, spot cleaning, and quick cleaning. With the auto cleaning you can schedule a time for it to clean every day so that you don’t need to worry about it. But if you prefer to still control it yourself, that’s fine too. Quick cleaning runs for thirty minutes, then stops. With spot cleaning the vacuum moves in a spiral direction around one area. Edge cleaning is self-explanatory.

Alternately, you can find all these same modes on the EufyHome app on your phone or tablet. If you have other Eufy smart home gadgets, they’ll show up and can be controlled from the EufyHome app as well.

Additionally, you can have the Eufy RoboVac start and stop cleaning via Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, which is another bonus if your hands aren’t free at the moment.

Maintenance on the Eufy RoboVac is very easy as well. The dustbin pulls out easily enough to be dumped in the trash and is easily placed back in the vacuum. An extra filter is included in the box so that it can be changed when needed, and the cleaning tool is also included to keep the wheels and brushes clear of debris in between cleanings.

Sensors on the bottom prevent the vacuum from going down the stairs, but they need to be kept clean to ensure they continue to work. I haven’t seen any reason to believe they wouldn’t work, but I still block off my stairs, just to be on the safe side.

Pricing

The price of the Eufy RoboVac 15C Max is very reasonable considering its competition. The iRobot Roomba is quite possibly what most people think of when they hear of robotic vacuums, yet you wouldn’t know it from Amazon. The Eufy vacuums have more reviews and run from $100 to $500 less. This particular Eufy rotobic vacuum is priced at $279.99.

Final Decision

If you’re looking to move to a robotic vacuum. I don’t think you can go wrong with the Eufy RoboVac 15C Max. It has all the modern features you would want such as voice assistant and iOS and Android compatibility and is priced very reasonably, considering it’s competition. Beyond all that, it works really well.