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Wyze Robot Vacuum Review

Derek Hales

Written By: Derek Hales

Updated on:

The Wyze robot vacuum launched early 2021 from Wyze, a company that is known for affordable, yet high-quality smart products.

But can a budget tech company also create a powerful robot vacuum? Let’s dive into the specs and find out.

Budget Price for Big Value

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Wyze Robot Vacuum

The Wyze robot vacuum boasts digital mapping, zoned cleaning, in-app boundary markers, and a long 110-minute run time, as well as a budget price. Cleaning performance was good on hardwoods (98% overall) and okay for cleaning carpets (89% overall). It is easy to user and user-friendly, but it had some struggles with navigation and only made it back to the dock about half the time during our testing. That being said, for the money, this still feels like a solid LIDAR based vacuum.Check Price

Pros

  • Advanced smartphone app with scheduling, zoned cleaning, and alerts
  • Navigates in straighter paths with sensors to help avoid obstacles
  • Long 110-minute run time

Cons

  • Navigation isn’t great; only made it back to the dock after a cleaning cycle about 50% of the time
  • Missed a bit of finer debris on carpet
  • During our tests, if the battery died mid-cycle (because it couldn’t find the dock), the vacuum forgets the digital map

Scoring

Extraordinarily Budget-Friendly
  • Design - 95%
    95%
  • Performance - 92%
    92%
  • Quality - 93%
    93%
  • Usability - 94%
    94%
  • Value - 94%
    94%
94%

Summary

The Wyze robot vacuum is a smart robot vacuum that prides itself on advanced, high-tech features without the high price tag. It has in-app scheduling, zoned cleaning, digital boundary markers, and real-time mapping. Advanced sensors help to detect obstacles and navigate in straighter paths, while the 110-minute run time gives plenty of life for most cleaning jobs. If the Wyze doesn’t finish the job within one cycle, it will charge up and then return back to the last spot it cleaned. It was pretty good in our tests, removing an average of 92% of total debris by volume. Where it struggled was fine debris on carpets.

🧪 Cleaning Performance

For cleaning performance, we do an in-house test where we evaluate all robot vacuums we review against the same set of debris and site conditions.

We test the vacuums on three different floor types:

  • Hardwoods
  • Low pile carpet
  • High pile carpet
Cleaning performance test - dry debris
Cleaning performance test – dry debris

And against four different debris, ranging in size and density:

  • Dry cereal
  • Rice
  • Kitty litter
  • Sugar

How did it do?

The Wyze robot vacuum did pretty good overall, but did leave something to be desired on carpet. The performance on hardwoods was good, as long as the debris didn’t get caught in tight corners.

When cleaning low pile or high pile carpets, it left a bit more debris behind, mainly ultra-fine debris like sugar or kitty litter.

Overall

92%

Hardwood

98%

Low Carpet

86%

High Carpet

92%

Our Testing Notes

Climbing ability is quite good. It was able to climb and get over the top of metal leg bar stools that we have.

Virtually every other vacuum gets stuck on them and/or I block them off via an app. However, not an issue with the Wyze. It just cruised right over the top of them.

I will also add here that this vacuum has three different suction levels—quiet, standard, and max.

*All of our tests were completed on MAX mode.

Hardwood Floor

On hardwood floors, the Wyze vac cleaned 98% of debris.

These results are pretty good and a solid score for any robot vacuum, but I will say the performance was a bit lacking when cleaning debris that needed the spinning brushes to get to.

Wyze robot vacuum cleaning hardwood floors
Wyze robot vacuum cleaning hardwood floors

It easily removed all debris that it was able to get on top of, but it wasn’t great at removing debris from corners.

Low Pile Carpet

On low pile carpet, the Wyze vac cleaned 86% of debris, which was quite a bit of difference from performance on hardwoods—leaving over 10% more debris still in the carpet.

Wyze robot vacuum cleaning low pile carpet floors
Wyze robot vacuum cleaning low pile carpet floors

Most of the missed debris was sugar, but it was also a mix of some kitty litter and other finer particulate.

Here is a close-up shot of all the debris that was left behind after cleaning.

Missed debris from the Wyze cleaning tests on carpet
Missed debris from the Wyze cleaning tests on carpet

High Pile Carpet

On high pile carpet, the Wyze vac cleaned about 92% of debris from the carpet. Oddly enough, the performance on high pile carpet was actually better than the performance on low pile carpet.

Wyze robot vacuum cleaning high pile carpet floors
Wyze robot vacuum cleaning high pile carpet floors

This is perhaps because debris stays mostly on top of the fibers, as opposed to getting buried. In any case, this vacuum had pretty good performance, mostly just missed sugar.

🧬 Design

The design of the Wyze robot vacuum feels similar to other robot vacuums on the market. It has a glossy black body with simple controls and a sleek design.

Top view of the Wyze robot vacuum
Top view of the Wyze robot vacuum

Classic calling cards of robot vacuums like the round body style, simple onboard controls, and centrally located laser sensor are also true for the Wyze robot.

What other controls are on the vacuum?

Controls on top of the robot vacuum are pretty basic. There is a power button that starts or stops a cleaning cycle as well as “Home” button that sends the vacuum back to the charging station.

Controls on top of the Wyze robot vacuum
Controls on top of the Wyze robot vacuum

Other sources have cited a “Spot Clean” button coming in mid-2021, but this is not currently an available feature.

What’s on the underside?

The underside of the Wyze robot has the following parts:

  • Edge sensors: lets the vacuum know when it is approaching an edge or stair
  • Central brushroll: a spiral brushroll that rotates and pulls debris into the dustbin
  • Side spinning brushes: cleans edges and corners by sweeping debris into the central cleaning path
  • Wheels: 2 large wheels on the size to help navigate flooring transitions and 1 directional wheel at the front of the vacuum for navigation
  • HEPA filter: helps to capture small particulates and prevents these pieces from getting lost in the vacuum system
Underside of the Wyze robot vacuum
Underside of the Wyze robot vacuum

What does the brushroll look like?

The brushroll design is a hybrid of soft spiral bristles and a denser composite paddle. Using both materials combined helps to agitate fixed debris and sweep it up into the dust bin.

Brushroll on the Wyze robot vacuum
Brushroll on the Wyze robot vacuum

All-in-all, this feels pretty standard concerning brushroll design we’ve seen on other robot vacuums.

Size & Dimensions

The Wyze is slightly larger than some of the competitive robot vacuums on the market, but it’s not a drastic difference.

RELATED: Check out our review for the Roomba e5 for a similar-sized vacuum.

Here are the exact specs:

  • Diameter: 13.8″
  • Height: 3.7″
  • Weight: 7.8 pounds

What Comes in the Box?

Wondering what all comes with the Wyze robot vacuum? It’s a pretty standard lineup of parts and accessories, but all of the parts feel of good quality and are easy to use.

Accessories included with the Wyze robot vacuum
Accessories included with the Wyze robot vacuum

The complete list of what’s in the box includes:

  • Wyze Robot Vacuum x1
  • Charging station x1
  • Power adapter x1
  • Spare HEPA filter x1
  • Edge brush x2

One nice design detail I did appreciate on the Wyze charging dock is the recessed cord wrap detail. Again, on budget models, details like this are usually skipped just in the nature of keeping costs down.

Wyze robot vacuum cord wrap detail
Wyze robot vacuum cord wrap detail

But for usability and a sleeker look, the cord wrap really is a nice addition to this vacuum set.

👍 Usability

The ease of use with the Wyze robot vacuum is arguably one of its most promising assets. This vacuum integrates a number of cool features that are typically only seen in high-end robots.

Some of the most impressive features include:

#1: App Control

Allows you to easily control the vacuum with your smartphone (supports IOS or Android)

Virtual boundaries in the Wyze app
Virtual boundaries in the Wyze app

From the app you can perform the following functions:

  • Start or stop a cleaning cycle
  • Schedule a cleaning cycle
  • Set up zoned cleaning areas
  • Set up digital boundary markers
  • View the cleaning map in real time

#2: Digital Mapping

Wyze boasts pretty advanced mapping capabilities, which really aren’t that common for a vacuum of this budget. This vacuum allows you to set a digital map as it cleans, also uses LIDAR technology to avoid obstacles.

The map is viewable from your smartphone so you can track the vacuum while it cleans, assign it to clean particular rooms, or set up boundaries to keep the vacuum away from certain areas.

Digital mapping technology on the Wyze robot vaccum

All that being said, we found the digital mapping to be a bit spotty during our cleaning runs.

Wyze digital map of our home
Wyze digital map of our home

During our first few runs it would build the map, recharge and resume, and then go back out vacuuming. However, it got lost on the way back, battery died, and it lost its map.

After that, we let it do a quick mapping run. Once it had a firm map in the memory it was more reliable at getting back to the dock.

In addition, the map worked properly. So probably best to start with a complete quick mapping run and then start doing normal cleaning cycles.

#3. Long Run Time

The Wyze robot has a run time of up to 110 minutes, which should be sufficiently long for the majority of cleaning jobs.

Wyze under the hood
Wyze under the hood

When the job is complete or when the battery starts to get low, it will drive back to the dock to charge up.

Does it have Recharge & Resume?

Yes. The Wyze vacuum has the ability to charge up in the middle of a cleaning cycle and then return back to the last spot it cleaned once the battery is juiced up.

💰 Maintenance

Regular maintenance is an important part of any robot vacuum’s care and Wyze would be no different. So what exactly do you have to watch out for?

General maintenance of the Wyze would include the following tasks:

  1. Empty the dust bin.
  2. Check the brushroll for clogs and tangles.
  3. Clean the filter regularly; replace as needed.
  4. Replace battery as needed (typically every 2-3 years for most brands.)
Removing the dust bin from the Wyze robot vacuum
Removing the dust bin from the Wyze robot vacuum

There are additional instructions written directly on the top of the dust bin with clear graphics which also makes for fairly straightforward maintenance.

Is the Wyze robot vacuum a good value?

In terms of value, the Wyze really offers a lot of fantastic features at a fraction of the price of competitive brands.

Wyze robot on hardwoods
Wyze robot on hardwoods

It has a long run time (up to 110 minutes), smart navigating abilities, and advanced in-app features like zoned cleaning and digital boundary markers.

But it does miss the mark in a couple of areas, namely cleaning fine debris from carpet and digital mapping.

📰 Specifications

Below is a table showing the full list of specifications of the Wyze robot vacuum:

SpecificationsWyze
ModelRobot Vacuum
Length13.8"
Width13.8"
Height3.63"
WeightUnlisted
Floor TypeAll (indoor)
BatteryUnlisted
Suction Power2,100pA
Dust Bin CapacityUnlisted
Zoned CleaningYes
Recharge & ResumeYes
Boundary MarkersYes, digital
ReturnsYes (usually), Varies by retailer
Warranty1-Year limited
PriceCheck Price

📊 Summary

I would recommend the Wyze if you’re looking for the following features in a robot vacuum:

  • A solid value: The number of features you get from the Wyze, considering the lower price, makes this robot a fantastic value. While it may not be a big name on the market, with good performance, Wyze could easily be the dark horse that steals the show.
  • Vacuums for simple floor plans: The mapping technology with Wyze allows for zoned cleaning, digital boundary markers, and real-time cleaning reports, and in-app map. That is, if the vacuum can make it there. If you have a very basic floor plan, it would probably do a lot better than more complicated layouts.
  • Strong suction: The Wyze offers 2,100pA in suction power, which is pretty good for this price point. Cleaning performance on hardwoods was great and pretty decent on carpeted floors.

To learn about or to buy the Wyze robot vaccum, click here to check it out here.

ChangeLog

  • March 24, 2021 – Major update to the page including new content, updated opinions / analysis, and new photos. We recently completed our in-home tests for the Wyze and added all of the relevant data and updates. Score dropped from a 95% to a 94% based on our new tests and improved understanding of the robot.
  • December 2, 2020 – Initial version of the page was published. Initial version was a pre-test review, meaning we have not yet personally tested the robot. As such, our opinions and scores are based off of the manufacturer’s specs, features, and hardware, in addition to how similar those factors compare to other robots we have tested. Once we are able to personally test we will update this review.

About Derek Hales

Derek HalesDerek Hales is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of ModernCastle.com. He has been featured in Fast Company, Reader's Digest, Business Insider, Realtor.com, She Knows, and other major publications. Derek has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Kansas State University. Hales has been testing and reviewing products for the home since 2014.