Which robots work with Roomba Home, and do older Roombas use it?
The Play Store description says Roomba Home is for Roomba 100, 200, 400, 500, 700, and Mini series robots sold after March 2025. It also says other models should use iRobot Home (Classic). Reviews line up with that split: some people say older Wi-Fi Roombas were not found by this app, while another reviewer says they were bounced between the new app and the Classic app.
would not find or connect to any of my older roombas that have wifi.
keeps crashing saying I have to download the classic app though I've been using this all and the classic app tells me to use the new app. super frustrating.
First of all I have to have a separate app for my iRobot mop and my Roomba vacuum which is the same company.
5
reviewers mentioned this in the last 60 days
Does Roomba Home have Wi-Fi or connection problems?
Connectivity is one of the clearest complaints in the reviews. Users describe Roomba Home showing the robot as offline, dropping Wi-Fi, failing to reconnect, or requiring resets before cleaning. A few positive reviews say setup worked well, but the recent negative reviews repeatedly describe connection problems after updates.
when you think it can't get worse, after the usual aerobics routine to reboot the machine to hope it connects to the network for one clean, since the app upgrade it won't connect at all. good job
have to do a factory reset of roomba every few days. very annoying. constantly drops wifi connection
keeps saying my roomba is offline on the app but it is in fact connected
12
reviewers mentioned this in the last 60 days
Does Roomba Home work on 5GHz Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi names with special characters?
The app description warns that Roomba 100 series products require a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network and are not compatible with 5 GHz networks. Reviews also report two related issues: one user says the app stopped connecting when the Wi-Fi password had special characters, and another says their robot would not work with 5GHz even though they expected it to.
The August 2nd, 2026 broke the WiFi. Because my house WiFi password contains special characters Roomba disconnected itself and will no longer connect. Please make this work like it previously did. Oh and because the "help" inside the app told me that factory resetting would resolve the issue (it did not), I now need to remap my house and set up all my automations again. Worked great before this update.
Doesn't operate with 5ghz and yet irobot says it does
the wifi settings are ridiculous to set up. keeps dropping connection. have a mesh Network. this should not be dropping connection.
4
reviewers mentioned this in the last 60 days
Did the Roomba Home update delete maps or break routines?
Reviews strongly suggest recent updates caused serious problems for affected users. People report deleted maps, missing rooms, broken automations, maps stuck loading, and routines that cannot be edited or canceled. This is not just a cosmetic complaint; several reviewers say the update made the robot difficult or impossible to control from the app.
Update broke many things! First and foremost, you can no longer set a one time routine. Every time you ask it to clean, you must name and save it as a new routine. Kid tracked dirt down the hall? No more selecting the hall and pressing start - now you have to save a new routine specifically to clean the hall. The update also deleted entire rooms off my map, changed my automations because now rooms were missing, and added 2 new automated schedules in the evening that cannot be deleted!
new update ruined the app. whoever decided on this layout is terrible at their job. they actively made the app harder to use. its honestly impressive how quickly they ruined the app. only took one update to the UI. also now the map never loads. I cant pause or stop routines in the app. the app barely works. this is God awful its useless. update: i ran a routine and the routine finished but the app still thinks its going. I cant cancel it pause it or anything. I literally cant use my roomba.
app update deleted all my maps. now I'm just left with the conservatory map repeated 4 times
10
reviewers mentioned this in the last 60 days
Can I clean a single room or set custom rooms and zones in Roomba Home?
Roomba Home is supposed to support rooms, zones, maps, and cleaning routines, but reviews describe friction with these controls. Users complain that one-off room cleaning now requires saving a named routine, that rooms and zones cannot always be selected together, and that no-go or custom zones are harder or unavailable compared with older versions.
I've been using the new app for a couple months. It's ok, better than the previous generally, but with a recent update it got rid of the option to start a job without having to create a routine. For ex., if I just want to clean 1 room, I now have to create a saved routine that is named... it is SUPER annoying and I wish they would bring back the option to just do one-off jobs (quick start isn't solving the problem either). It also doesn't clean in the order that you input, which is frustrating!
New update is horrible. You can't do zones and rooms at the same time and you can't specify one room gets a double pass and one doesn't. Change it back.
Not able to add no go zones on the app. previous versions for older models was easy to use, this one no longer has that feature. of it wasn't for that issue I'd give it 5 stars.
5
reviewers mentioned this in the last 60 days
Does Roomba Home require precise location?
Some reviewers say a recent version of Roomba Home began requiring precise location permission, and they objected because the app controls a vacuum. The reviews do not provide the app’s full privacy policy, so the safe conclusion is that privacy prompts are a real concern for some users, especially when paired with reports that cleaning would not run without the permission enabled.
And now requiring precise location, you don't need that on my phone for this. Dirty! didn't think it could worse but it did, the app has been re designed, and it's worse. it also logs you out and you have to re log in and re setup a few things. I guess this company and the engineers don't actually use this product. the robot vacuum is not that good either, will never get this brand again.
This newer app was already more problematic than the older model (crashes more, robot disconnects from wifi, takes longer to complete tasks, etc). However, since the most recent update, I can no longer customize routines like before, & it won't run without precise location on - AND it says it may share this data. Why??? I will NEVER buy another Roomba, don't waste your time or money.
I bought this in December 2025 and for a time it worked really well. Somehow in 8 months what used to do a great job is now an unusable hunk of plastic after the most recent update. Ive had to reconnect the robot to the app or the wifi every time I want to use it. What kind of product gets updated and then suddenly cant do its most basic function? Also, now requiring your precise location to "locate the robot" which then gets shared with third parties is unbelievable. Its a vaccum. Do better.
3
reviewers mentioned this in the last 60 days
Is Roomba Home easy to set up and use?
The reviews are mixed. Some users say initial setup is easy and the app is simple once it works. Others say instructions are unclear, the layout became harder after updates, and the app is less intuitive than the old iRobot app. A reasonable expectation is that first setup may be straightforward for some owners, but reliability and navigation can be frustrating.
The Roomba is great for dust and animal hair on the floor. I am definitely not tech savvy but it was really easy to setup. I was surprised by how well it mapped out the rooms to be cleaned. My only negative... when it's battery is low it doesn't make it back to the recharge dock...I have to pick it up ( not heavy) &carry it to the recharge dock & then align the charger not a big issue but somewhat aggravating. That's why I only gave it 4stars... but I do like it.
This app is awful compared to the old irobot app, I'm so annoyed that my new Roomba forces me to use it. It's sooo slow, and much less intuitive. The old app worked really well, why reinvent the wheel? this app doesn't seem to offer anything new and it is so much less reliable
the app is absolute garbage! there are no instructions on how to use the device. terrible start!
4
reviewers mentioned this in the last 60 days
Are Roomba Home schedules and automations reliable?
Scheduling is a core feature in the app description, and at least one reviewer likes being able to separate sweeping and mopping by time or day. But reliability complaints are common in the review text: schedules may not run, automations may stop working after updates, and some robots reportedly run randomly or skip scheduled days.
it does a great job. like I can limit the sweeping and moping to different times and or days
It cleans when it wants to, although it has a schedule.
while the roomba itself is OK, this review is strictly for the app, which is in all honesty terrible. It regularly needs me to reset the roomba and reconnect it to wifi. Even the automation scheduler which is set to 3 days a week most of the time will only do 2 days and skip the third day. EDIT: now the app almost can never connect to the roomba. none of the automations work, requiring me to go up to the roomba and press the button to make it actually clean. I wish I could return the roomba.
13
reviewers mentioned this in the last 60 days
Why does Roomba Home say a mop is not attached or keep washing the mop?
Several reviews describe mop-related errors after updates. Users say the app demands a mop pad even when they only want vacuuming, reports that a mop is not attached, or sends the robot back to wash the mop repeatedly instead of cleaning the room. The reviews do not give a reliable fix beyond users trying resets, cache clearing, or restarting without success.
Since the last update (10 August), my Roomba combo 505+ is unable to mop correctly. I have cleaned the app's data and cache to no avail. It starts in a room and after washing 1 m or so it says it has to wash the mop and returns to the dock. Returns back to where it left, washes the same distance and repeats the same process over and over... Impossible to wash even a small room. Something is terribly wrong with the last update.
Seems like it doesn't always connect to my vaccuum, or at least not correctly. Constantly gives me an error that a mop is not attached, despite the fact that im not asking it to mop, but it won't vacuum until it is "fixed." Very frustrating.
I now rate this ad horrible. the update left the device off WiFi, I had to login once again and in the end I had to fully reset the device to reconnect it. worst part is it now requires the mop pad to be installed when only vacuuming, which now causes the Roomba to get stuck where carpet ends as it catches on the edge of the pad. why was that necessary? I do have to fill the unit before mopping anyway.
4
reviewers mentioned this in the last 60 days
How does Roomba Home compare with iRobot Home Classic?
Reviewers who directly compare the apps often prefer the older iRobot Home experience. They describe Roomba Home as slower, less intuitive, and less reliable, while saying the Classic app or previous app worked better. The Play Store description still directs owners of unsupported models to iRobot Home (Classic), so choosing the right app depends on the robot model.
This app is awful compared to the old irobot app, I'm so annoyed that my new Roomba forces me to use it. It's sooo slow, and much less intuitive. The old app worked really well, why reinvent the wheel? this app doesn't seem to offer anything new and it is so much less reliable
Automation doesn't work at all in this new app. The classic app was 10 times better and more user friendly. You can't erase old maps. The robot 705 is not efficient either. worst IRobot we have ever had. thus is our 4th, and our last. Sad to see a good product get worse and not better.
For a while now, the app says the Roomba needs help (it needs a reboot and the mop pad needs to be added), but it won't let me reboot the robot, and when I reattach the mop, the message won't go away. (Yes, I tried redownloading the app and turning the robot off and on again). So I can't launch cleaning through the app. The mapping is also bad; I can't easily add no-cleaning zones. I had another model; it had a good app that worked so much better.
7
reviewers mentioned this in the last 60 days
Answers above are generated from real Google Play reviews of Roomba Home, not editorial opinion.