Thats when I ran into a problem: Nothing else in the app worked. After three days, they hadnt responded, and so with Julies help we turned to their marketing team for help. At only 3 inches in height, its able to fit under most furniture. She stayed away from the hotdog, the yellow ball, the cow, and the teapot, but she plowed through the plastic golf balls, the stuffed whale, and the finger-on-a-stick. If you can look past these issues, then the Yeedi Vac Station is a decent little self-emptying bot that will keep your house clean with minimal effort. The docking station was in the corner of the dining room, which means that Smarti had to navigate around the dining room table and chairs on the way to and from the kitchen. Copyright 2022 IDG Communications, Inc. This is a pretty good price for a self-emptying robot vacuum. It stopped trying, told me that it couldnt reach the docking station, and asked me to carry it back to the docking station. It feels premium a good thing considering that it is one of the pricier smart household items out there. Like all robotic vacuum cleaners, the V2P will need some occasional maintenance. Im a big fan of its ability to mop and vacuum at the same time, to avoid mopping on my rugs, and to vacuum only one room on command. The auto-empty station requires a bit of assembly. yeedi has continued to advance their robotic product line, and so in this review I am testing one of their latest models, the vac 2 proyes, I know the name of the company and their products are in all lowercase; yeedi says thats the right way to write italong with an optional add-on, the self-empty docking station. With all the features that this app has, its a huge mistake on yeedis part not to have a manual for it, whether in print or online. As I mentioned above, my house is a single story, so this isnt a problem for me, but it could be a deal-breaker for many people. I read online that some people had problems when they traded out the basic docking station for the self-empty one. Looking through the app, I can see so many features! Is the self-emptying docking station worth the extra cost? Ive spent some time with the Vac Station to see how it performs day-to-day. If I press it a third time, it will resume vacuuming. I plugged the power cable into the back of the docking station and wound up the extra cords to keep them out of sight. Im a huge fan of this, even though it is rather amusing to watch. This means that it can fit underneath sofas and beds to clean areas that you might not otherwise be able to reach with a standard vacuum cleaner. To get the best from it, youll need to maintain all the parts of your vacuum regularly. The V2P has the same size and cylindrical shape as other robotic vacuums on the market today. This is ok for me, because emptying the dustbin doesnt take long, and I often use this time to clean out the filters or remove hairs from the bottom of the vacuum anyway. Its a bit tedious, as it repeats this process every few inches; even so, I consider this a huge win. When it starts to move over a rug, it senses that its over a surface that it shouldnt be mopping, and so it backs off, moves over, and then tries again. Suction is rather good, even when not used on the highest mode. Then, a microfibre wash pad can be clipped on underneath. On top are a glowing white power button and an upward-facing camera. Personally, I dont think I would purchase this station, as $200 seems like a lot of money just to empty the dustbin, which only takes me a minute or so. I placed the docking station on the floor in the dining room in the exactly same spot as the previous model. When the robot is moving in a straight line, only the mopping attachment moves around; however, when the robot is moving slower, like when its navigating around something, the entire robot shakes and shivers, as if its mortally afraid of something. This means it does a much better job cleaning. Theres a lid on top that gracefully opens when gently pushed down to reveal the trash bag and a base plate on the bottom onto which the robot drives when ready to recharge and empty. REVIEW Robotic vacuum cleaners are one of those gadgets that you dont realize how useful they are until youve had one for a while. Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide, Russell Hobbs Chester Grind and Brew 22000 review, GHD Ultimate Styling Gift has a huge saving for Black Friday. Lately Ive noticed that the vac 2 pro isnt completely emptying its dustbin into the self-empty docking station. If you move the robot vacuum from one floor to another, you will need to create a brand-new map on your return. The V2P is a capable vacuum, despite having only one brush; Ive done a lot of vacuuming the past few weeks, and it never fails to return with dust, dirt, hairs, and little pieces of trash. The second way I tested a custom area was by selecting a room in the house. It was a bit of a Yikes! The design is still more evolutionary than revolutionary. Unfortunately, it can only store one map at a time. Reply to all support requests within 24 hours. For whatever reason, instead of going around them, it tried to go through them. The contents are the views and opinions of the author(s) and/or associates. The robots first cleaning of my downstairs level didnt go particularly smoothly. One, V2P can vacuum and mop at the same time. The robot performs better on hard floors than on carpet some areas of dirt on these floors are just too embedded for the robot to get to. As yeedi is continuing to develop the app, I expect that they will address all of these issues eventually. This model, however, has geofencing and other features that are going to require something more sophisticated, an app on my iPhone. The station is where the robot charges and self-empties. Underneath, theres a roller brush, a side brush, and a .24-liter water tank that distributes water to the mopping cloth. So far so good! This self-emptying robot vacuum saves you from trips to the bin, and both the suction and battery life are very good. This robot does not like thick, shaggy rugs. The The Yeedi app keeps things simple with a clean, minimal interface. The good news is that it only leaves a fine sheen of water that soon evaporates. About a third of the time when it was on one of these rugs, it would turn off its vacuum, drive off the rug, and then resume vacuuming. Michael Ansaldo is veteran consumer and small-business technology journalist. I pressed the glowing Auto Mode button on top of the robot, and off it went with a cheerful Im starting to clean. Yes, this robot talks using a handy set of stock phrases that it delivers in a cheerful androgynous voice; Ive rather become accustomed to this feature and regularly talk back! Instead of backing off its dock as it should, it turned to its right and rolled of the sidea clunky maneuver akin to driving your car over a curbthen banged into a lot of furniture as it explored the room. Thats a nice feature, though it comes with a caveat (as noted below). The lesson learned is to put the V2P somewhere that has a direct path to all the parts of your house. The Yeedi Vac Station does just that, and also comes with a few other neat tricks. The app prompts you through this process, which requires you to scan the QR code on the robot with your phones camera and a generated QR code on your phone with the robots camera. Because the robot can sense rugs and wont go onto them, that means it wont be vacuuming those rugs; so, when I vacuum and mop, it will only vacuum and mop the hardwood floors. The V2P has one notable, visible difference from the K700: Theres a giant lid on top that can be lifted up to reveal the dust bin, the power button, and the cleaning tool. The self-empty docking station looks like a small, cylindrical trash can. When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Theres a 3D visual SLAM camera on top that the robot uses to map your space for more efficient cleaning routes. The app generated another QR code, which I held over the robots camera. The developer says it tracks very little data about me, which is good. Under a lid, theres a .45-liter dustbin and storage for a brush-cleaning tool. As can be seen in a previous picture above, the pad does get dirty, which is why its a good thing that I can toss it into the washing machine. This doesn't affect our editorial independence. We finally got a technical response a few days later. This is different from the k700, and it makes me wonder if this one will clean as well as it did. Occasionally, it had navigation issues I set it to vacuum my kitchen, and it didnt always cover all of the floor space, for example. It took nearly 10 minutes to get through on the way to the kitchen, and on the way back, it couldnt navigate them and gave up. It was literally under the table amidst all the chair legs and couldnt get out. I hope this is not a foreshadowing of whats to come, as I need this app to work well in order to control this robot and take full advantage of its capabilities. I removed everything from the box, including the various pieces of protective plastic and foam. (Yes, yeedi was actively developing and updating their app as I was reviewing it. I then flipped the robot over to install the edge brushes, but on this model, there are no brushes (as in plural) but only brush (as in singular). Its good to know they are working on things, but it also means some of my screenshots are out of date now.) In order to make use of the Yeedi Vac Station, youll need the Yeedi app, which is available on both iOS and Android. This site is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. The Yeedi robot vacuum maps your floorspace and divides it into zones for customized cleaning. yeedi really needs to learn to pay attention to details. I pulled out the dustbin, which includes a handy sticker on top with instructions for cleaning. The Yeedi Vac Station auto-empties after cleaning, but other issues with this robot vac mean its not a totally hands-free experience. All content and graphical elements are Copyright 1997 - 2022 Julie Strietelmeier and The Gadgeteer. Still, its disappointing that the self-empty feature doesnt seem to last very long. Does this model have the improvements that I wanted? There are three huge mopping improvements that this robot has over the old one. Her interests and specialities lie in streaming services, film and television reviews and rumours, gaming, wearables and smart home products. (Ive been secretly hoping that the V2P would become friends with Siri, so they can talk to each other, but no luck yet.). It cant quite get some awkward corners, but the build is easy enough for slipping in and out of tight spaces. The trash can part is rather heavy, no doubt due to the motor in it. While it was waking up, I scanned the QR code and downloaded the yeedi app. I can set a schedule for cleaning and a variety of cleaning settings. I dont need an account to vacuum my floors! Once the app, which is free, was downloaded, I started it up. My first test in the app was custom area vacuuming, wherein I select some part of my house to be vacuumed. Plus, you set the robot to a do not disturb mode during certain hours to avoid it accidentally turning on and running a scary, unexpected clean while youre sleeping. Some toys she still avoided, like the hotdog; some toys she still ran right over, like the golf balls; but sometimes she did either. The manual has detailed instructions, and the little cleaning tool under the lid is perfect for the job. (Spoiler: I think its better than a 2.7; Id give it 4 out of 5.). It comes with a simple docking station that automatically recharges the robot when its battery is low. Mopi cant sense rugs at all, and so shell try to mop them as if they were a hard surface. This was an unfortunate limitation of this older robot, one that prevented me from ever using its mopping feature, because I have three large area rugs in my main living space. Three, Smarti can actually sense rugs! For now, Ive removed the self-empty docking station and gone back to the simple one that comes with the robot. yeedi needs to step up their support game by making sure they reply to all support requests within 24 hours. There is still a little manual labour involved as youll eventually need to empty the dust bag. I hear the vacuuming when it tries to empty. I selected the bathroom and told Smarti to vacuum. This is the one youll need to use to control the main power of the Vac Station. Inside the station, you attach a bag, and then when the robot goes to charge, it empties its smaller 450ml capacity dustbin into the larger 2.5L dust bag provided in the station. But if it gets too tangled to function, the robot will stop and tell you itself. I have no idea what they changed, as the change log only says, Bug fixes and enhancements. Whatever it is, it made all the difference in the world! In advanced mode, Smarti was less consistent. I started with quick start guide and followed its terse but clear instructions. The main sweeper looks like the others Ive seen. After one of their updates, yeedi modified their app to make it clear that there are two levels of obstacle avoidance, basic and advanced. Once the robot completes a cleaning job or its dustbin is full, it returns to its dock and the auto-empty station sucks the contents from the dustbin. You can currently buy it from Theres also a Wi-Fi indicator light, which will tell you if youre having any connectivity issues. On the bottom of the Yeedi Vac Station, youll find two retractable wheels and the main wheel at the front. I then put another geofence around the kitchen, and this time Smarti had no problem whatsoever. However, it certainly saves you on trips to the bin. This is a critical step, as creating the map unlocks some of the other features, such as editing the cleaning area and creating a geofenced area for cleaning. Some parts of the app lack any explanatory text (whats the difference between x1 cleaning and x2 cleaning?). Words fail me here. It appears to me that yeedi has really tried to make this feature work, but it still has some room to improve. Right now, many of these retailers are offering big discounts on the model for the Holiday season. No matter what I pressed, I got a spinning pinwheel and a cryptic error code of 2003, and the vacuum just kept vacuuming. I live in a single-story house, and I have been using yeedis k700 for the last two years. Theres a lot of hassle taken out of cleaning with the Yeedi Vacuum Station. The Yeedi Vac Station mops and comes with a self-emptying station. Instead of emptying the dustbin every time I vacuum, I can let this do it for me, and yeedi estimates that I will have to replace the vacuum bag every month. The next big feature that I tried in the app is what yeedi calls its intelligent 3D obstacle avoidance technology. The idea is that Smarti should be able to recognize things that I leave on the floor and navigate around them. At this point, it was time to test a couple of the big features in the app. Theres no way to move the docking station icon on the map, so I had to delete the map and go through the mapping process again. Its all white, except for the sensor panel on the bottom that communicates with the V2P. It is controlled by an app on my mobile phone and connects to my Wi-Fi to communicate with the app. Once thats done, you need to attach the spinning side brush to its post on the bottom of the robot. In real-world use, it managed to clean the entire top floor of my flat (made up of a bathroom, bedroom, hallway, and kitchen) and still had around a third of a charge left. The next step in the quick start guide was to put the robot on the docking station and let it charge completely, which took nearly two hours. It didnt quite get every single nook and cranny, but it certainly made my cleaning job a whole lot easier. It can easily come out for cleaning and removing the hair that so easily gets tangled; in fact, if you look closely on the right side, you can see that this one already came from the factory with someones hair wrapped around it. Pressing the top of the trashcan reveals the bag inside, which can be easily removed and replaced when its full. This is probably why it got stuck and asked for me to pick it up and take it home. The same cant be said for the docking station, which is a bit of a monster, measuring 300 x 420 x 430 mm. Robot cannot charge with water filter attached. Theres one slight flaw with automatic mopping. I didnt have to reset anything or remap the house; it continued to work as expected. Self-emptying robot vacuums are all the rage, and Yeedi has jumped on the trend with its Yeedi Vac station. This may be because it uses Visual SLAM navigation rather than the more accurate LIDAR navigation. The bottom of the attachment has a thin mopping pad that is held on by Velcro (and it will get dirty when I mop!). The Yeedi Vac Station automates vacuuming and mopping for easier maintenance of carpeted and hard-surface floors. All products and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. As it cleans, you can track its movements on a map of the floorspace in the app. Amazon and Basic is for people with tidy floors; advanced for those with messy floors. Tech Advisor helps you find your tech sweet spot. Surprisingly, there are no spare filters for the dust bin or spare pads for the mopping attachment. The robot was able to connect to the phone, and now it is part of the app. The mopping function is activated by clipping on the water tank, which can hold up to 240ml. This doesn't affect our editorial independence. Its one feature is that it can automatically empty the dustbin in the robot into a vacuum bag contained in the trashcan. If you want something with advanced capabilities and are willing to spend quite a bit more, iRobots iRobot Roomba s9+ can save up to 10 floor plans and be linked with iRobots Braava Jet m6 robot mop for tandem cleaning. With the V2P, I can let it mop without worry. Vacuum shouldnt come with someone elses hairs already on the brushes. For example, sometimes she avoided the yellow ball and the finger-on-the-stick, but sometimes she did not. If you dont want to use the auto-empty featureif you purchased the Yeedi Vac Max, which doesnt come with the self-emptying charging, but can upgraded later ($350 on Amazon)you can turn that feature off in the app. buy it from the European Yeedi website. This site is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You must slot the station into the docking plate and secure it with three screws provided in the box. The new map looks pretty, so I used the Edit Map feature to label the various rooms of the house. Master & Dynamic MW75 Active Noise Canceling Wireless Headphones review So pretty, so pricey, and so good, IMALENT MR90 50000 lumen flashlight review The sun in your hand, Beyerdynamic Free Byrd True Wireless In-ear headphones review And No, they arent just for Lynyrd Skynyrd fans, Roborock H7 stick vac, Roborock S7 robot vac, Julies fav gear, and more Review updates, PortraitPro Studio Max 21 photo editing software review Be your own supermodel, Zipbuds 26 wireless sports headphones review, The LEGO Atari 2600 gaming console kit is loaded with nostalgia, Turn your smartphone into a weather alert device with Twitter. The robot itself is 350mm wide and 77mm high, meaning its shorter than average. I dont know what accounts for this. On the first several uses, the robot will map out your floor plan so it can work most efficiently. While yeedis technology is certainly improving over time, theres still a number of customer-focused areas in which yeedi needs to improve, such as requiring an email account to use the vacuum, failing to quickly respond to support requests, and having no instructions for using the app. He contributes regularly to TechHive and PCWorld. The lower lid flips up, which reveals the smaller dustbin on the robot, a little brush for cleaning parts of the bot, and another power switch. The vac 2 pro (model YDVN11) is a robotic cleaner that can autonomously vacuum and mop my floors. We steer you to products you'll love and show you how to get the most out of them. You can even add icons to these, such as a bathtub for the bathroom. You can control the robot with voice commands using Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant and a compatible smart speaker. It displays the current map and cleaning details with a scrolling overlay that provides one-tap access to cleaning records, suction options, scheduling, and cleaning preferences. Eventually, it settled down into a more efficient up and down pattern. There are three levels of suction for the Yeedi Vac Station: standard (600 Pa), max (1,500 Pa) and max+ (3,000 Pa), with an additional boost mode for when it is used on carpets. This should make you nervous, gentle reader, as youre unlikely to have the same connections that we here at The Gadgeteer have. She headed right there, vacuumed it, and then returned to the docking station. I suspect this is the other reason why its so difficult for the robot to navigate through my dining room table and chairs; everywhere it looks, theres another obstacle to avoid. All products and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. best robot vacuum cleaners overall. At this point, I was into the app proper, and it was time to add my robot to the app. When I selected AUTO Cleaning in the app, it said yeedi vac 2 pro has received an instruction, and it started vacuuming. Your email address will not be published. You can also check out our chart of the I can send the robot back to the dock and adjust the vacuum power and water flow levels. You can choose for the robot to either vacuum all areas on the map, specific rooms in your house, or custom areas, which can be specifically identified on the map. Additionally, this robot wont vacuum in a couple of places that the previous model did, like the space between the couch and the wall and the area between the couch and the ottoman. While the V2P is cleaning, if I press the Auto Mode button again, it will pause. The suction opens two panels on the bottom of the dustbin, pulls the contents down through two passages in the base station and up into the bag. to see that the app currently has an abysmal 2.7 rating on the app store. The app indicates that there are three water flow levels, low, medium, and high, but I cant tell that theres any difference. I am very happy to report that yeedi has fixed this problem with the V2P. Two, the mopping attachment oscillates as the robots moves around. Yeedi, The spot where the second brush would normally be is a floor tracking sensor.
yeedi self-empty station