# iRobot Roomba

68 Hacker News commenters recommended iRobot Roomba and 122 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 12 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 9 years (25 owners).

**Verdict:** People recommend it for easy repairs, cheap widely available parts and long lifespans, and it works without an app. Critics say it struggles with obstacles, navigation and keeping up with competitors.

## Why people recommend it

- Easy repair and plentiful parts (7 comments): "I love how easy it is to service a Roomba. And the parts (both original and 3rd party) are plentiful." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46279975)) "It wasn't clear to me that any competitor could match their repairability and availability of parts." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46274678)) "The maker was famous for keeping parts readily available for even the oldest models" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46269784))
- Lasts many years with upkeep (5 comments): "My roomba (Rosie) is going strong 8 years in. It's just the bump into everything vacuum only kind but it gets the job done" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49583531)) "I am mostly satisfied with it (after ten years I guess I got used to its quirks)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46503940)) "the old one still runs well (with some maintenance, of course)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46276805))
- Keeps floors clean, handles pet hair (3 comments): "it gets the vast majority of stuff up and keeps the cat hair under control" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46275696)) "My Roomba, on the other hand, almost never gets hair caught in the brushes" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46333431)) "it's great to be able to have floors cleaned every day while I'm working" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47984807))
- Works without app or Wi-Fi (3 comments): "You can still find ones that don't need to be registered online and will work without WLAN or app." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46272243)) "Never connected it to wifi or a phone app (no phone). Works great." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46279290)) "No highres 3d scan of your home being phoned back to the producer." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46498086))

## What people warn about

- Fell behind competitors on technology (4 comments): "They both practically genericized themselves by inventing and dominating the product category, then just couldn't keep up with the competition." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48960739)) "Roomba was living off of name recognition for most of that period and was far behind in adopting any of it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46269457)) "Roomba was not competitive in the market, no amount of Amazon market manipulation would have changed that." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49459400))
- Needs room cleared of obstacles (3 comments): "I have to prep the room for my roomba so it doesn't eat my rug and commit suicide by cable." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46811690)) "It just was not really worth it to use it in an environment where you can’t keep everything nailed down and off the floor at all times." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46269233)) "A robovac just didn't really do anything for me and would have had various issue with cords or random stuff on the floor." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46269569))
- Gets stuck and navigates poorly (3 comments): "has gotten dumber over the years. Not only does it get lost, but it physically gets stuck under things" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48860730)) "my previous robot (iRobot model from 3 years ago) was better at this" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48856611)) "I still haven't come across a Roomba-style robot that's actually smart enough to detect which obstacles it can go over" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48606678))
- Privacy risks from cameras and internet (3 comments): "Robots with vision + sounds sensors and connected to the internet in professional homes across your country are definitely a security issue." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49460770)) "The article discusses it photographing people exposed on the toilet, and employees sharing the images for lulz." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46322800)) "Many of those vacuum cleaners have cameras, can move around on their own, and are connected to the Internet." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46273432))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Roborock robot vacuum](https://hackerapproved.com/p/roborock-robot-vacuum.md): 48 recommend
- [Eufy robot vacuum](https://hackerapproved.com/p/eufy-robot-vacuum.md): 10 recommend
- [Dreame robot vacuum](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dreame-robot-vacuum.md): 9 recommend
- [Matic robot vacuum](https://hackerapproved.com/p/matic-robot-vacuum.md): 8 recommend
- [Neato robot vacuum](https://hackerapproved.com/p/neato-vacuum-robots.md): 7 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=iRobot+Roomba+robot+vacuum&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://www.irobot.com/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "iRobot Roomba", https://hackerapproved.com/p/roomba/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).