When shopping for robot vacuums, the first brands you’ve probably heard are the likes of Roomba and Neato.
But you’ll need to spend at least $500 to buy any of these brands. A top of the line Roomba 980 costs close to $800.
The good news is you don’t have to spend that amount of money to have access the same kind of functionality. Sure it won’t have the fancy navigation but it’ll still do the job well enough.
Eufy is a relative newcomer to the robotic cleaner industry but they’ve been making waves because of their affordable products.
Much like other Chinese-made brands like ILIFE and Xiaomi, Eufy offers cheaper option that allows consumers who otherwise couldn’t afford a top of the line brand to own a robotic vacuum.
The RobotVac 11 is Eufy’s latest product and a successor to the Anker RoboVac 10 with better run time, larger bin and longer battery life.
It will not clean better than a Neato BotVac but you don’t need to spend as much for it.
Initially when the RoboVac 11 first came out it did not have any WiFi Connectivity but recently Eufy added a robot in their product line with this feature. This variant will cost just under $230 which is a bargain considering its performance.
Features at a glance
- High capacity lithium ion battery will run for about 1-1/2 hours
- Two side brushes and main motorized brush will thoroughly clean floors and edges
- HEPA filtration keeps allergens inside the bin
- Scratch resistant tempered glass cover
- Remote control included but it doesn’t come with batteries
- 12 month warranty
- Eufy 11c has WiFi connectivity and App to control the robot remotely
Pros
- One of the cheapest robotic vacuums with WiFi connectivity (if you choose the Eufy 11c)
- Decent performance at an affordable cost
- Twin side brushes make this a great edge and corner cleaner
- Decent run time at around an hour and forty minutes (based on a review done by Reviewed.com)
- Only 3.1 inches tall – it’ll fit under more furniture compared to a Neato BotVac or Roomba
- HEPA filtration
Cons
- Bumps into furniture hard like the Roomba 650
- Will not deep clean carpet
- Still more expensive than the EcoVacs DeeBot N79
- No virtual wall or magnetic tape to block it from going to off limit areas
What to expect from the RoboVac 11?
When you look at its design and features the Eufy RoboVac 11 is as simple as it gets. It has a single button interface, twin side brushes and one combo brush that works together to pick up all sorts of dirt.
Reviewed.com says that the Eufy is a “spinoff” or a subsidiary of Anker. If you’re familiar with Anker they specialize in chargers for mobile phones and tablets.
This is one of their newest products and it looks very similar to the ILIFE A4S.
Slight difference would be the button design, fascia, height and brush design.
The A4S is shorter by 0.2 or so inches but the RoboVac 11 has combo brush that will have better pick up on carpet.
Here’s a quick overview and some cleaning tests done by “Smart Robots Review”…
Based on the video review this robot will not bump hard into furniture contrary to what Jonathan Chen (of Reviewed.com) said.
Navigation
You will not mistake this for a Neato or Roomba in terms of sophistication but it’ll still do its job. Like the ILIFE, this robot uses a battery of infrared sensors in front and at the bottom to detect obstacles on the way.
It’ll go around an area in a random pattern and will just run until it detects battery is low then try to return to home base.
This robot will be able to clean multiple rooms but I would not recommend you letting it clean 2 to 3 rooms at most. The chances of it not returning to base increases the larger area it cleans.
High Capacity Lithium Ion Battery
If you’re thinking of buying a Roomba 650 you have to have to look at this product first.
Unlike the 650, this robot utilizes a newer Li-Ion battery that will run for about 1.5 hours. Roomba uses a Ni-Cad battery that will run for around an hour and will take longer to charge.
Lithium batteries also will last longer in terms of service life so this is a better investment.
Remote control
Image courtesy of PCMag.com
RoboVac comes with a remote control that’ll allow you to choose cleaning modes, schedule and ask it to return to dock. When you compare it to the A4S it better layout with a larger LCD screen.
It has more buttons but functionality remains the same. Remote needs 2 triple-A batteries unfortunately you’ll have to buy these separately.
I’d recommend you getting a rechargeable battery to save long term on costs.
Scheduling
One of those functions is scheduling.
You’ll be able to schedule this robot to clean on its own, once a day, 7 days a week. But one limitation would be that you can only schedule one time for the whole 7 day period.
Unfortunately you cannot schedule this to clean at different times each day. Xiaomi, Roomba, Neato and Dyson are the only robots capable of scheduling different times for each day. Xiaomi is more flexible and you can schedule multiple times each day.
WiFi Connectivity
Eufy also offers WiFi connectivity and a smartphone app when you buy their RoboVac 11c variant. But this will be around an $80 premium over the standard version.
The app itself is pretty simple with the same functionality as the remote but it allows you to gain access to the robot even when you’re not physically present at home.
If you own an Alexa, this variant is compatible so you can just say “Alexa, ask RoboVac to start cleaning” and it’ll clean the house for you.
Cleaning Modes
Eufy RoboVac 11 has 5 cleaning modes…
- Default mode – When you press the button on the robot or the “play” button on the remote this engages the default cleaning mode where the robot will go in a random direction and clean until battery is low
- Edge cleaning mode – This instructs the robot to prioritize cleaning the edges
- Spot cleaning mode – The robot will go in a spiral motion and clean a small area but it’ll resume to the default mode afterwards
- Manual – You’ll be able to control the robot using the directional buttons on the remote much like an RC
- Single room – This mode is similar to the default mode but specifically for cleaning single rooms
I’ve tested several different types of robot vacuums and I’d use the default cleaning mode and not worry about the other modes. The only time I’d use the single room would be cleaning a smaller room just to extend the life of the battery.
Cleaning Performance
Eufy says this robot is best used on bare floor and low pile carpet. It’ll be able to clean thicker pile carpet but it’ll struggle moving and run time won’t be as long.
Hard floor
To see how this robot cleans on hardwood check out this big mess cleaning test…
One word to describe how the Eufy cleaned, impressive!
This is why I like tests like this. It will show how these cleaning machines cope with large messes. And this test reveals that this robot is capable of cleaning up messes on bare floor.
The combo brush design used by Eufy is similar to the one found in the Neato BotVac. But it’s narrower and won’t be as efficient.
Two side brushes that flank it make up for the lack of width and allows it to perform better on corners and edges.
Carpet Cleaning
It won’t perform as well on carpet because it lacks suction to deep clean. Don’t expect this robot to deep clean carpet. Utilize this as an everyday cleaner to pick up surface dirt. Its utility will shine under furniture thanks to the low profile design (only 3.1 inches tall).
This machine will help keep carpet under your king sized be clean and dust free. I doubt that many uprights will be capable of reaching the areas this robot is able to. And it does it autonomously which is the main value add this product gives you.
Rugs
It’ll be able to go over thin to medium pile rugs without any issues. But it will not go over thick pile rugs.
There may also be an issue with this cleaning dark color carpet because of the cliff sensors.
If you have black rugs and you plan on purchasing this then you’ll have to clean these rugs separately with a stick or hand vacuum.
Warranty
Eufy backs this up with a 1 year warranty.
Product Specification
| Battery type | Lithium ion |
| Charger type | Charging dock |
| Charge time | 6 hrs. |
| Dirt capacity (dry) | 0.3 liters |
Run Time  | 1.5 hrs. |
| Net weight (with battery) | 6.7 pounds |
| Shipping weight | 9.2 pounds |
| Diameter | 12.8 inches |
| Height | 3.1 inches |
| Multi Room |  |
| Self docking | |
| Remote control | |
| HEPA filtration | |
| Cliff detection | |
| Self adjusting | |
| Side brush | |
| Full bin indicator |  |
| Stair Cleaning | |
| Cleaning sessions per week | 7 |
| Extra Filter | 1 |
| Containment | None |
| Brush cleaning tools | 1 |
| Accessories included | Charging base A/C adapter Remote (AAA-batteries not included) 1 extra HEPA filter 1 brush cleaning tool 2 extra side brushes |
| Voltage | auto volt |
| Manufactured in | China |
| Warranty | 1 year |
Consumer Reviews
Even if this product is newer than the Neato or Roomba, it has more reviews than the Roomba 980, BotVac Connected and the EcoVacs DeeBot N79.
It has close to 1,700 reviews and counting and currently is the bestselling robotic vacuum in Amazon thanks in large part to the price to performance ratio.
Consumers who’ve owned this and the Roomba 650 say that this robot navigates better and do a better job at avoiding obstacles. The 650 has a nasty reputation of being a furniture scoffer because it still used the old algorithm that was much more aggressive.
Only in the 800 series did Roomba made tweaks to improve it in that area.
One big advantage Eufy has over any Roomba is its low profile design. Measuring only 3.1” tall this robot can go under more furniture because it’s shorter.
And it’ll do a pretty good job cleaning pet hair thanks to the combo brush design.
Another great thing about the Eufy would be customer support. If this product breaks they will replace the product without any issues whatsoever.
Quality may be a concern for some because I’ve read about side brushes breaking and the motor failing before the warranty period expired. But I’ve already mentioned claiming the warranty is not a problem.
You can buy replacement parts in Amazon and it won’t cost much.
Where can I buy this?
This robot vacuum is available in Amazon for less than $230 and it’s eligible for the free 2-day shipping if you enroll in Prime.
To Wrap Up
This robot will be great inside small to medium sized homes with carpet or bare floor. If you find yourself struggle keeping up with pet hair then this robotic cleaner will do its job to help you pick up pet hair.
It won’t clean stairs or upholstery but it’ll clean any flat surface indoors. You’ll appreciate this most when it goes under the bed where dust piles up pretty quickly.
It isn’t the most powerful but it has enough suction to pick up on hard floors and surface dirt on carpet. The best part is you don’t need to pay more than $230 for the base version that does not have any WiFi.
If you want a WiFi enabled robot with Alexa compatibility you will need to spend an extra $80 for the RoboVac 11c or go with the EcoVacs DeeBot N79.
Both products will perform comparably well and are the great in terms of value for money.
Comments on this entry are closed.
Remote died. Cannot find a remote.
On Jan 16, 2019 I purchased a Eufy Model 11C Robotic Vacuum from an Ebay seller. One reason for purchasing this product was it’s 12 month warranty. Last week, the machine quit moving on carpet, climbing thresholds, etc. It also quit going around obstacles, instead just bumping them and sitting there.
I called Eufy customer service April 8 to request warranty repair for my two month old machine. The CS rep immediately wanted the ‘original order number’, saying it was the number from when the machine was originally ordered from the factory. I explained where I bought the machine, but was told no number, no repair.
The CS rep suggested I contact the seller and see if they had the ‘original order number’. He informed me he had won the vacuum and had no idea where it was bought.
I wrote customer service yesterday and explained to them what happened. I received an email back with the same story, except Eufy recommended I force either Ebay or the seller to issue a refund! That’s right, they actually suggested I try to put my seller and/or Ebay on the spot for Eufy’s junk product!
I informed Eufy that I had no intention of making someone else pay for their defective product. I urge anyone who is looking at robot vacuums to look right on by the Eufy brand.
Love my Eufy 11. I had been resisting getting a robotic vacuum because of the price, but then we got our first dog. Just before indulging in a more expensive brand, I found the reviews of the Eufy 11 and went for it. I cannot imagine life without her now!