Does my Roomba have Wifi and does it work with Alexa? +List

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Gained early experience with automation technology in the private and industrial sector, can turn his living room into a movie theater with one voice command and is the owner of this website. He is happy to share his accumulated experience with every new article.

Image	Name	Has Wifi?	Alexa & Google Assistant?	Link
*	iRobot Roomba i7+	Yes	Yes	👉 Check Price*
*	iRobot Roomba S9+	Yes	Yes	👉 Check Price*
*	iRobot Roomba i7	Yes	Yes	👉 Check Price*
*	iRobot Roomba 980	Yes	Yes	👉 Check Price*
*	iRobot Roomba 960	Yes	Yes	👉 Check Price*
*	iRobot Roomba e5	Yes	Yes	👉 Check Price*
*	iRobot Roomba 890	Yes	Yes	👉 Check Price*

How do I connect my Roomba to my Wifi?

As long as you have one of the Roomba models that can connect to Wifi (see table above), it is quite easy to connect the robot to your Wifi.

Roomba vacuum cleaners are not compatible with 5 GHz networks. You should consider this before your purchase so that you are not disappointed afterward. As long as you have a router that can connect over 2.4 gigahertz, you’re good to go. But don’t worry – most modern routers support both frequencies!

Here is a step by step guide to connecting your Roomba to your Wifi:

Install the iRobot Home App: First, download the iRobot Home App to your smartphone. You can get the app from the respective app stores of iOS or Android systems.
Activate Robot & Base Station: Before you can set and program your Roomba using the app, make sure it is turned on and the base station is set up and plugged in. When placing the base station, make sure that there are no obstacles in the way for the robot if it wants to return to it. Even if you’ve just unpacked your vacuum cleaner robot, you can still set up the Wifi connection – even during the first charge.
Connect Roomba with App: Once your Roomba is turned on, you can connect it to your wireless network using the app. The first thing the app wants from you is to create an account and select your Roomba.
Connect App to Wifi: After that, the app will automatically detect your Wifi via your smartphone and ask you if you want to use the Wifi for your Roomba. If yes, you have to log into the app with your Wifi name and password.
Connect Roomba to Wifi: Now press the Home and Spot buttons (target sign) simultaneously for a few seconds. After that, a tone should sound and the network sign should light up green. This signal means that Roomba has automatically connected to your wireless network via the app.

It’s not really that hard, is it? Now that it’s connected to the Wifi, you can try controlling it from the app. See if you can change its settings, its name, and its schedules.

iRobot Roomba Home App – Features

With the iRobot Home App, you can do a lot of cool things. The biggest advantage is that you save even more time than with the robot itself.

Since you can control and program it via the app, you even save the time to start it manually.

Here is a list of the most important features of the Roomba App:

Schedules: With the app, you can create individual schedules so that your vacuum cleaner robot can independently vacuum your apartment or house – even if you are not there. If it is also connected to the Wifi, you can do this from anywhere. When you’re at work and you remember that visitors come in the afternoon, you can have it quickly vacuum so that everything is tiptop clean when you get home.
Smart Mapping: With this feature, you can tell the vacuum cleaner robot which rooms to vacuum in which order.
Push notifications: If you want to know what your Roomba does throughout the day, you can turn on push notifications. As soon as the robot has completed a task or has a problem, it will send you a message with its current status.
Reports and statistics: If you want, you can also look at a map that corresponds to your floor plan and shows which areas your Roomba has cleaned and which have not. You can also view statistics and monitor the history over time.
Automatic updates: Since the Roomba is connected to the Internet via Wifi, it can be automatically provided with updates via the app. But don’t worry – the updates aren’t so big that you can feel it in the Internet performance.
Customer support: Within the app, you can send problems and questions directly to the service team of the people at iRobot. The reaction time is quite fast and there are experts on the other side who can help you immediately.

Why does my Roomba not connect to the Wifi?

There aren’t too many reasons why your Roomba can’t connect to the Wifi.

However, the first requirement is that your router can communicate on a 2.4 GHz frequency. However, this should be the case with almost every router, as only a few exceptions do not support 2.4 GHz.

If your router is compatible, make sure Roomba’s base station is located in a location that is not in a shadow from the wireless network. To try this, you could simply put the base station somewhere else and then try again.

Also, make sure that the network light on the Roomba is lit. If not, try reconnecting it by pressing the Home and Spot buttons at the same time.

If it is still stubborn, you should turn off both the base station and the Roomba completely for 1-2 minutes and disconnect them from the power supply, then turn them back on and try again.

If things go wrong, you can contact customer support via the iRobot Home app.

Does my Roomba really need a Wifi connection?

Well, in principle not, but it is much more comfortable to start and program the robot via Alexa or the smartphone than to run to it and press a button…

If you have connected your Roomba to the Wifi, it doesn’t mean it won’t work without the Wifi. If the Wifi should fail or you move and the Wifi or Internet is not yet set up, you can still start the vacuum cleaner robot by using the Clean button.

Alexa Commands for Roombas

Wifi compatible Roombas which you have connected via the iRobot-Home-App can be controlled via Alexa via voice command!

There are dozens of commands and you can view them all here on the official iRobot site at amazon.com*.

Here is an excerpt of the most important and useful commands for Alexa:

“Alexa, ask Roomba to start vacuuming.”
“Alexa, stop vacuuming with Roomba.”
“Alexa, ask Roomba where it is?”
“Alexa, tell Roomba to be quiet.”
“Alexa, tell Roomba to go recharge.”
“Alexa, tell Roomba to schedule cleaning on Monday at 10 AM.”
“Alexa, ask Roomba to vacuum my master bedroom.”

The Wifi Indicator Flashes or is Red – What to do?

If the Wifi indicator light flashes or is red throughout, there was an error connecting the Roomba to your router.

In 99.9% of cases, this problem can be easily solved by restarting the robot, base station and app. Make sure you close the app completely. After that, your Roomba should be able to connect to the Wifi again.

If you are unlucky and belong to the 0.1% group, you should contact customer support in the app.

The Roomba Wifi Hack

Smart vacuum cleaners from Roomba have been around for quite some time. In the beginning, however, the first models had no Wifi support. However, there are some smart people who have found a solution to this problem.

ATTENTION: This solution is only suitable for tinkerers who have some idea of electronic devices!

So if you know something about technology and electronics, you can also try your luck. Find out more on this page: hackster.io – Roomba WiFi Upgrade

Attention: When installing electronic equipment, please be sure to observe the manufacturer’s safety instructions. You have to take care of your own safety. The information on this site only helps you to learn.
Disclosure: This website is the property of Martin Lütkemeyer and is operated by Martin Lütkemeyer. Martin Lütkemeyer is a member of the Amazon Services LLC Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to enable Web sites to earn advertising revenue through advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Links marked with * are affiliate links.