Roborock E4 Review

What would you get from a robot vacuum below $300? Most likely, a product that would only pinball around.

The Roborock E4 is unique in this aspect – it’s probably the only robot in this price range (in North America) that utilizes a smart navigating algorithm. So it goes in straight lines instead of just bouncing around.

Roborock’s latest variant in their E-Series line is their entry-level alternative for budget-conscious shoppers. Here’s the thing, the E4 isn’t your typical entry-level robot.

How good is this robot? Let’s find out in this review.

Efficient Navigating Budget Robot Vacuum

Roborock E4 Review

While the E4 isn’t the least expensive, it certainly provides a lot of value. The most impressive feature based on the tests is how efficient it navigates. This isn’t your typical robot that wanders around in a random direction after it bumps into something. It’s more sophisticated with the dual gyroscope system and opticEye sensor underneath. I’ve been testing the E4 for the past few days, and I’ve been impressed most with its navigation, which isn’t like most budget-level robots that tend to bump into furniture with force. It has as much airflow as more premium robots like the Roomba S9 and Neato D7, making clean passes.

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Pros

• Perhaps the best navigating robot vacuum at its price range.
• It can carry up to 0.64-liters of dry dirt.
• The mopping feature adds to its functionality. However, you’ll have to purchase the module separately.
• It has higher airflow than the Roborock S5 Max and S6 MaxV.
• It cleans hard floors well, decent on carpets.
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Cons

• The navigation isn’t as thorough as higher-end Roborock options like the S6 and St6 MaxV.
• Not good at edge cleaning.
• The mopping pad is sold separately.

Introduction to the Roborock E4

The E4 is the newest addition to Roborock’s E-Series robots, including the E20, E25, and E35.

Based on airflow tests, the E4 has the most airflow among all Roborock robots, with as much as 21.51 CFM at the Max setting. It’s higher than some premium robots like the Roomba S9+, Shark IQ, and Neato D7.

This high number translates to a clean pick-up on hard surfaces and carpets, which is an attribute for all Roborock products.

Roborock E4 Design

The E4 retains the minimalistic design cues of previous E-series robots. Some cosmetic differences exist between the E35 and E4, such as button placement. The E4 takes the beveled design cues from the S6 Pure minus the LIDAR case in the middle.

Underneath, the E4 retains the same layout, with the main brush sitting between the two rubber wheels and a single side brush.

Newer Roborock models utilize the all-rubber side brush that I think has better durability than the bristle brush. If you own an older variant like the S5, you can purchase the new brush since it is backward compatible.

How does the Roborock E4 navigate?

Roborock brought down the price of the E-Series robots because it doesn’t use LIDAR.

Instead, it relies on combining two gyroscopes and an “opticEye” sensor underneath to mark its location.

Watch this short clip so you’ll have a visual of how the E4 traverses.

Unlike the Roborock options with LIDAR, the E4 doesn’t start cleaning the middle portions before moving towards the outskirts.

It lacks the meticulousness of the S-Series robots, where users can amend the number of times it will go over the area.

One advantage of this combo over an IR-sensor that most other brands use is the efficiency. The E4 can pinpoint its location to a certain extent, but it doesn’t have the same precision as LIDAR and SLAM.

The software will draw a map, but you won’t be able to see real-time updates. It only shows up after the run.

Will the E4 scuff furniture?

One issue with random navigating robots like the Roomba 690 is its tendency to scuff furniture. These machines won’t slow down, so they’ll bump into objects hard.

The Roborock E4 will not entirely avoid furniture, but it slows down just enough so it doesn’t smash into it.

How did it do in cramped spaces?

Another issue with cheap robot vacuums is tight quarters between chair legs. I tested the E4 in these areas, and it could find its way out without getting wedged or stuck.

Can it avoid wires?

I have not tested a robot vacuum that can avoid wires altogether. The S6 MaxV will be able cords to avoid to a certain extent, but it still tangles up with stretched cables out of its line of vision.

The Roborock E4 will not avoid wires. I’d recommend moving these out of the way before running the robot for the best results.

App features of the Roborock E4

The Roborock E4 is only compatible with the Xiaomi Home App. Don’t expect the same level of functionality as you’d get from the S5 or S5 Max.

However, it has one of the more feature-rich apps for the price.

I’ll quickly run through the different features.

Scheduling

You’ll have access to the scheduling feature that lets users specify the time and the frequency – whether you want it to run every day, only on weekdays, only on weekends, or specific days and the cleaning mode.

So far, I have not seen a robot with this level of customization below $300.

Carpet boost

When enabled, the robot will automatically go into the max setting if it detects carpets. I’d recommend turning this feature on if your home has such.

Gentle mode

Only enable this feature for mopping it will lower the motor output to its lowest setting, so it’ll mop a larger area.

Unfortunately, you’ll have to purchase the mop module separately to gain access to this function.

Cleaning history

It shows you how many times the robot has cleaned with the corresponding maps of each cycle.

On top, you’ll see the total time the robot has run and the aggregate area it has covered for all the cleanups.

Maintenance

It provides a heads-up on when to clean and replace components like filters and brushes and when to clean the sensors. Only use the information here as a guide, as it isn’t 100% accurate.

Update firmware

Roborock rolls out software updates periodically to improve the app’s functionality or the robot’s navigation. So be sure to update to the latest firmware when available.

How much power does the Roborock E4 have?

One big surprise for me is the high airflow. The Roborock E4 has more than any of the other Roborock products I’ve tested so far. These include the S5, S5 Max, S6 Pure, and S6 MaxV.

Here are the results of the airflow test in comparison with the other Roborock options.

By default, the E4 doesn’t have the “gentle” setting, which you’ll have to enable separately.

The E4 has 16% more airflow than the S6 Pure, 31.35% more than the S6 MaxV, and 19.2% more than the S5 Max at the highest power setting.

There are margins for error in these tests, but the figures I got were consistent in multiple occurrences.

Unfortunately, the high airflow doesn’t translate to better carpets performance since it lacks the E4 lacks the thoroughness of the S-series robots.

Dust container design and volume

One advantage of not having LIDAR is the extra space inside the housing, enabling Roborock to put in a larger dust bin.

It has a capacity of 0.64-liters – one of the highest in the industry.

One issue with is it doesn’t have a door similar to the S5 Max.

To dispose of contents, you’ll have to remove the filter and shake the bin to empty everything, which can be tricky as dirt can trickle to the sides of the trash container if you’re not careful.

How noisy is the Roborock E4?

I used a sound meter to measure noise from a few feet away.

Here is the decibel level at each power setting:

• Silent: 59.4 dB
• Balanced: 61.3 dB
• Turbo: 62.6 dB
• Max: 64.4 dB

It’s below the 65-decibel mark, so you can still have a decent conversation even with this robot running.

How does the Roborock E4 clean?

One thing consistent with all Roborock products is the design.

All models utilize the same combo brush and side brush (except for the S5 with the older bristle design).

The design and the high airflow make E4 quite efficient at picking up surface debris, which we’ll look at next.

Cleaning Performance

To check how well the E4 handles different debris types, I put it through a rigorous series of tests.

Some have said these aren’t representative of daily cleaning due to the sheer quantity, but I feel it’s an excellent way to gauge a robot’s capability.

If it can handle these messes, daily cleaning will be a breeze.

I tested the E4 on stuff like Quaker oats, coffee, quinoa, pet litter, sand, hair, Cheerios, and Fruit loops.

I scattered the debris in a test area, used the default cleaning cycle, and weighed the bin before and after the test to get the final scores.

First, here are the complete results.

• Overall: 91.05%
• Hard floor: 99.8%
• Sand on hard floor: 99.4%
• Carpet (Surface pickup): 97%
• Carpet (Deep cleaning): 69.83%

The mediocre score in the deep cleaning test dragged the overall total down. However, it was still excellent with the surface pick-up experiments.

Hard floor results

• Quaker oats: 99.4%
• Coffee: 99.8%
• Quinoa: 100%
• Pet litter: 100%

The high airflow of the E4 reveals itself in how well it did on hard floors. It picked up 100% in two tests, with the other in the high 90s.

More impressive was how the E4 was able to achieve this score even with fewer passes than the S5 or S5 Max.

Sand on hard floor test

One of the toughest elements to clean on hard surfaces is sand. And to check the capacity of the E4 to tackle it, I scattered 50 grams. I did two tests, one using the balanced setting and another with the max setting.

There were no issues with the E4 cleaning sand on hard floors. It was able to pick up an average of 99.4% on the two runs.

The pick-up was clean on both runs, with minimal traces of sand left.

Hair wrap test on hard floors

I spread one gram of five to seven-inch human hair on a test area for this test. I believe this is a good barometer of whether or not a robot vacuum has an excellent anti-tangle system.

The E4 was decent, with most of the hair going into the dustbin. Unfortunately, portions of the seven-inch strands got caught up around the edge of the brush.

This test reveals that while the E4 brush has a decent anti-tangle system, it isn’t entirely tangle-free.

Edge cleaning

One issue with circular robots is their poor edge cleaning. The E4 is no exception, as the round shape, rapid spinning brush, and navigation hamper it from cleaning this area.

While it was able to clean a decent portion, it left a chunk of pet litter on the edge and corner. The fast-spinning side brush also scattered pieces of it towards the middle section.

Carpet results

Next, we’ll look at how the E4 did on low and mid-pile carpets. I used the same set of debris from the earlier experiments on this surface.

Low pile results

• Quaker oats: 95.8%
• Coffee grounds: 92.4%
• Quinoa: 100%
• Pet litter: 99.6%

The E4 struggled most with cleaning minuscule particles like coffee grounds on low pile carpet.

One issue I see here is the navigation, as it only went around the test area one and a half times.

If Roborock can tweak the algorithm, so it goes around twice or thrice would improve cleaning performance.

Mid pile results

• Quaker oats: 98.4%
• Coffee grounds: 89.8%
• Quinoa: 100%
• Pet litter: 100%

The scores on mid pile are similar to the low pile results. It cleaned quinoa and pet litter very well, but not so well on coffee grounds.

Again, the issue is the lack of passes, as the E4 only went over the area twice at most.

Deep cleaning test

To check how well the E4 cleans embedded dirt, I rubbed 100 grams of sand on mid-pile carpet and ran it one cycle to see how much it picked up. I did the test three times to get the average score.

The E4 was able to pick up an average of 69.83%, which is a mild disappointment given the high airflow numbers.

Hair wrap on carpet

I did a separate hair wrap test on carpets with the same amount of hair – one gram of five to seven-inch strands.

The E4 did worst on carpet than on hard floors with more hair wrapping on the brush.

Granted, this is an extreme test; however, it reveals you’ll need to check the brush roll and cut the strands that wrap around it.

Large debris test

Picking up large debris won’t be a problem with the E4. It has excellent cleaning dynamics and ample clearance to fit even extra-large stuff like Fruit loops without clogging.

Can the Roborock E4 mop?

Yes, the E4 can mop. It comes with a gravity tank similar to the S6 Pure. However, it lacks the electronic water tank found in the S6 MaxV and S5 Max. So it can only cover a smaller area.

To test the E4’s effectiveness at mopping, I scattered droplets of red wine and grape juice overnight.

The E4 was able to clean most of the stains, but it left residue and tire marks not visible on the photo.

It was a bit sticky and definitely needed more mopping to clean entirely. The water tank was empty after cleaning this small area. So you’ll need frequent refills and extra pads to mop a larger area.

If you’re looking for an effective robot and mop combo, I would still prefer the Roborock S5 Max, S6 MaxV, or the Viomi V3 over this with the more thorough navigation and electronic water tank.

How long with the Roborock E4 run?

The E4 utilizes the same 5,200 mAh Li-ion battery as the S-Series robots like the S5, S5 Max, and S6 MaxV.

It will run for up to 200 minutes on a single charge.

Does the Roborock E4 have recharge and resume?

Yes, according to Roborock, this feature is available in the E4.

This is most useful inside large homes. If the battery runs low, it recharges just enough and then resumes cleaning to complete the job to save time.

Roborock calls this the “top-up charge’.

What comes in the box?

The Roborock E4 comes with the following out of the box.

1. E4 Robot
2. Charging dock
3. Power cable
4. Quick start guide and manual

It doesn’t have an extra filter, side brush, or mopping pad/water tank. So you’ll have to purchase these separately.

Maintenance

All robot vacuums will require some upkeep to keep it running smoothly. The E4 is no exception. Fortunately, such as filter and brushes are readily available on sites like Amazon and Walmart if you live in North America. Or stores like GearBest and AliExpress for those living in Europe and the Far East.

The Xiaomi Home App has a “maintenance” tab that alerts users when to replace brushes and filters or to clean the sensors. So it’s something to look at on occasion to check.

Product Specifications

Where can I buy the Roborock E4?

The Roborock E4 is available in online stores like Amazon. Please check the links below for more details.

• Roborock E4 on Amazon.

Disclaimer: If you buy through the link above, I will earn a commission, but at no extra cost to you. So it’s a win-win for both of us!

Does the Roborock E4 Offer Excellent Value?

The E4 is one of the better value-for-money robot vacuums available.

You’re getting a lot of functionality for the price. It is perhaps the most efficient navigating budget robot with a decent amount of thoroughness.

It isn’t as thorough as Roborock’s premium options like the S6 Pure or S6 MaxV, but it may be the only option capable of cleaning multiple rooms with proficiency at this price range.

The large capacity of 5,200 mAh battery and recharge and resume enable it to tackle even large houses. And the twice gyroscope and “opticEye” enable it to do so without getting lost.

Another feature I like is the app. You’ll have access to features only found in premium options, like unlimited daily schedules with multiple frequency options (weekdays, weekends, custom, etc.).

I have not found this level of customization in other brands at this price range.

The Verdict: One of the Best Budget Robot Vacuum Options

I’m impressed with the Roborock E4 when you factor everything it brings to the table.

It has high-end airflow, efficient navigation, a large dust bin, a long run time, and an app with features only available in premium models.

It’s the only alternative below the $300 range I know of with recharge and resume, meaning if it runs low and hasn’t completed the cycle, it recharges then resumes to finish the task.

To summarize, here are five reasons to buy the Roborock E4: