Deebot has made itself a name for itself in the robot vacuum market crowded with products that all do the same thing. So how do you set yourself apart from such an isolated market? Add a feature they didn’t include.
Sure, you’ve been googling Robot Vacs and seen a lot, plenty to the point where you’re not sure where to begin. Most go with Neato, and if you’re my grandmother, you call every single robot vacuum a “Roomba”, regardless of the brand that makes them. But what if I told you that the Deebot Ozmo 930 can not only vacuum your carpets and hardwood floors but can also mop the appropriate floors?
On paper, the Ozmo 930 is everything a lazy person could want to turn on and clean for them on a Saturday morning while you lay in bed watching re-runs of Law and Order, but the Ozmo 930 has some hits and a few misses.
For starters, when I received my Ozmo 930, I was initially taken aback not by the beautiful presentation, but more so the fact I could not get it to connect through the app at all. I have three devices (two smartphones and a tablet), none of which would connect at all. I went from using my 24Ghz internet to switching to my 5GHz band internet to get it to connect to no avail. So in this review, you won’t hear about me actually using the companion Deebot Ozmo 930 app because it essentially was deemed useless (both the Ecohomes and the Ecohomes “Home” apps which is a bit confusing so let’s not even jump into that).
When it comes to using the app, you would think the premise would be to be able to clean a specific area, avoid particular spots such as cables and cords that might be laying around, or in my case, places my dogs buries his bones and furry toys so nobody can get to them that are not a vacuum. Since I cannot do this as of yet, hopefully speaking more with the Ecohomes team I can get it to work for me, but as of writing this article, I haven’t been able to. (I’ve consulted with my internet provider as well, and it seems the problem is indeed the vacuum).
When it comes to actually vacuuming, however, this thing is a beast. For what it’s worth the Deebot Ozmo 930 is a triple threat of convenience, reliability, and solution in vacuuming/mopping. At the top of the device, there’s a simple button that you press and the thing just starts going. On its initial quest, it will navigate around your place, much quieter than any previous vacuum I’ve used before which was a surprise to not just myself, but to Sparky as well. Ecovacs is most proud of the fact that the Deebot Ozmo 930 has a battery life of roughly 110 minutes, which is enough to circle any 2 bedroom apartment twice in high traffic areas such as a kitchen, or living room. Being able to easily go under my couch, coffee tables, and around bar stools, this does with ease, without me asking. IF there would be any complications, would be in problematic spots such as stairs (which I do not have), or thresholds that are a bit more raised than a typical “hardwood to carpet” variety.
Immediately while physically cleaning the floor in normal mode though, you’ll see why I say in every review that the best method of robot vacuuming is to pre-vacuum your home ahead of time. A lot of people have messaged me asking if this and others are replacements for standard vacuums, and I tell everyone the same answer: No robot vacuum will replace a corded vac. There’s something to be said about the amount of suction a full vacuum will get that even the Deebot Ozmo 930 cannot compete in. Saying that to express the fact that this is indeed a 2-in-1 device, what’s a bit worryingly has to be that the included cloth that is set to “mop” clean as your Deebot Ozmo 930 glides across the floor will inevitably get dirty as it lags behind the vac blades the cache small items to capture in the chamber that will soon to have to be changed by you.
There’s a nifty water reservoir for the mopping with is fine, and will release small portions of water (not spurts, but initial lines of water that in turn get “swept” by the cloth, thus being “mopped”. I haven’t tried to add any actual cleaning solution to the water reservoir, and there’s no separate chamber to place any in, so I keep asking myself, am I really mopping…. or just making my floors wet while vacuuming?” Take this into account if you have pet dander, or even human hair and debris laying around. Water will make it stick to the ground, and if you plan on capturing it to the Deebot Ozmo 930, well… you’ll have a harder time.
Even with the side brushes there to assist in mopping, I’m having a hard time attempting to figure out if it’s indeed “mopping”. I’ve been told by Ecovacs that the companion EcovacsHome app will allow you to set the amount of water used while mopping and cleaning, however at the time of posting, I have yet to be able to do this. Once I receive a replacement however I’ll be sure to update this article, along with the mopping feature.
What’s worth mentioning is that the Deebot Ozmo 930 does come complete with the ability to use Google Home or Amazon Echo. So from your phone, or companion device, you can simply ask a command such as “Alexa, ask Deebot to start cleaning” and it will do its thing. I plan on using this function and updating as well.
Overall with the way that I’ve used my Deebot Ozmo 930, it’s been great for spot cleaning after my traditional vacuums. It’s a luxury item you can show off to your friends when they come over, or on a lazy day, you can feel as though you’ve done something even though you haven’t. It’s one of the longer battery lives I’ve ever seen in a vacuum but at the regret of having less that great suction for picking things up/leaving them behind. I’m hoping that with a functioning app, the Deebot Ozmo 930 would get better, so stay tuned for any updates in the article for the future.
If you would like to find out more information about the Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo 930, visit their site.
Source: Manufacturer supplied review unit
What I Like: Hardware is fantastic; Cleans in areas most cannot reach; Mopping function not available on many other brands
What Needs Improvement: App connectivity could use a LOT of work; Mopping functionality with solution chamber?
