In recent weeks we have tried the Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo 920 automatic vacuum cleaner. There is a lot to say, so we will try to be short and concise right away: there is still a little bit to improve, but among all those we have tried so far , is the best. Here because.
In pack
Being a robot that sucks and washes, it is clearly equipped with a greater number of accessories than traditional vacuum cleaners that sweep only, but like others that offer the same functions, it is the most equipped we have had the opportunity to try to date.
Specifically, in the package you will find the robot, the charging station and its power cable, two side brushes and a microfiber cloth for wet cleaning.
Together with these there is a second box containing the instruction manual for use, two further spare side brushes, a replacement filter and a second protective cover of the central brush to be replaced when the one already installed in the robot will be completely worn.
Finally, an even smaller third box contains five disposable dry cleaning cloths.
As did
The robot is a bit bigger and heavier than most traditional automatic vacuums but is slightly thinner than several mapping-equipped automatic robots we've tried in the past. There is that half a centimeter less which, in our case, proved to be essential for the cleaning of our apartment as Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo 920 managed to pass without problems under a piece of furniture and the sofa in the living room where others they ended up hopelessly getting stuck. For the rest it is constructively solid like many others that are positioned in the same price range.
Among the peculiarities of this model are the quick coupling-release system of the protective cover of the central rotating brush, the upper access to the dust collection tank and the easy positioning of the On-Off switch, which is located below. of the top cover next to the reset button.
The brush for cleaning and maintenance of the robot is located under the main cover in a special compartment, to have it always at hand and significantly reduce the risk of forgetting it somewhere.
Furthermore, compared to other robots that wash and vacuum, these two functions are accompanied by two separate tanks instead of just one for both: in addition to the one for collecting the dirt just described, there is in fact a second one on the back. It is hooked and unhooked by pulling a small lever and has sufficient capacity to be able to completely wash a flooring of over 70 square meters with a medium jet (but we will talk about this later).
Based on our tests, this solution is much more convenient and practical, especially from the point of view of maintenance, because it allows you to leave the water tank to dry outdoors even for several days without having to give up daily dry cleaning.
Another point in favor concerns the integration of the power supply inside the charging station without affecting the dimensions. Almost all the others normally use an external power supply which requires more space in the socket and sometimes makes it impossible to use the adjacent ones normally. In this case, on the other hand, a single cable starts from the charging station and ends with the classic Italian plug, a cable which, among other things, can be intelligently rolled up and collected on the bottom of the base.
We did not like the choice of installing a single button to manually manage the robot's ignition and return home: others usually use two separate keys which, compared to the different pressure that must be exerted on that of Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo 920 to control these two functions (a click to start and pause the suction, a prolonged click of three seconds to send it back to the charging station), are more practical and intuitive.
Wet cleaning
Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo 920 is a robot that can easily replace the daily use of the traditional vacuum cleaner but, like others of its kind, it will not let you hang up a mop and rag. In fact, its washing function is not the one offered by dedicated automatic scrubbers but is more a finishing to occasionally accompany dry cleaning.
There is no button to tell the robot to wash or vacuum because everything is managed with intelligence by some sensors that detect the presence of water in the tank and the relative cloth on the bottom. In the sense that if we do not install the rag and if we do not put water in the special tank, then starting the robot you will only benefit from its function as a vacuum cleaner. Conversely, parallel to the latter, the device will dispense a quantity of water previously defined to collect the finest dust that the robot was unable to vacuum.
The main advantage of this solution managed by Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo 920 compared to other cheaper robots that do not use a mapping system concerns the latter technology. Here, in fact, the device will never pass over the same point twice, so the wheels will always remain dry, thus avoiding dirtying the freshly wet floor.
For effective use of this function from the very first steps of the robot, it is necessary to moisten the cloth under the tap by squeezing it well before installing it in its housing. As we mentioned at the beginning, from the combined application it is possible to select the quantity of water delivered during the operation of the robot on four different levels (low, medium, high or very high flow).
If you have a pet in your home, you should choose low flow to minimize the risk that a paw in the wet can adversely affect the cleanliness of the floor. However, keep in mind that a higher level of water flow also corresponds to a greater cleanliness of the surface.
The writer, with a dog at home (which, with these active robots, becomes rather restless), has used the wet wash function a couple of times with medium flow, manually managing the cleaning on two different times of the day. At first we washed the living area of the house, segregating the dog in the sleeping area. Then, with the floor completely dry, we completed the cleaning of the sleeping area by moving the whole family to the living area. In this way we were able to benefit from all the benefits of combined dry and wet cleaning with minimal effort.
The delivery of water with medium flow, according to our point of view, represents the right compromise between a successful cleaning in a sufficiently rapid time. The mop is complete, even if the most stubborn stains are clearly not removed (also because no detergent can be used).
With the medium flow and the water tank full to the brim, it allows you to take full advantage of the function for an area of about 75 square meters. Our house, which has a floor of about this size, was in fact completely cleaned with a damp cloth. At the end, there were very few drops left in the water tank.
Due to the aforementioned limits, wet cleaning is therefore to be avoided if you have a pet that roams around the house and you do not have the possibility to manually manage the cleaning of the flooring in several stages.
Dry cleaning
As far as dry cleaning is concerned, there is very little to add to the fact that this robot has enough energy to be able to completely and effectively sweep an area of 75 square meters without ever stopping.
For larger floors, artificial intelligence comes into play. Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo 920 is able to return autonomously to the base to recharge the battery and pick up where it left off when it has enough energy to be able to start again.
Therefore, whether you have dogs or cats does not matter: if you leave all the doors open and program the automatic start at a certain time of day, this robot will ensure a precise cleaning of the floor without having to lift a finger, even if it is not present at home. not even a family member. Just remember to periodically empty the dirt collection tank, roughly every 1-2 days if you have pets at home and you have programmed the automatic start for each day of the week.
Configuration
To use Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo 920 you need to install the ECOVACS HOME app on your smartphone. For iPhones, the download link is this, the version compatible with Android phones can be found here.
The configuration is child-resistant: just remember that you need to have a WiFi network available. For the rest, just follow the instructions on the screen, which at a certain point will require scanning the QR code attached with a sticker on the upper body for the correct recognition of the model during installation. Forward-forward-forward, and in a few minutes the robot will be ready to go.
The software
The one that accompanies Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo 920 is currently the best smartphone application that we have had the opportunity to submit to our tests to date.
First of all, it is highly customizable: you can even assign a name of your own invention to each robot in case you buy more than one to recognize them at a glance.
It also offers easier control over the selective cleaning of individual rooms. After mapping the house during the very first cleaning, the system analyzes the floor plan, recognizes the various areas of the house and assigns each of them a letter.
If you want to clean just one room, just access the section of the app called Area and click on the relevant letter, then press the cleaning start button: the robot automatically detaches itself from the charging base and moves to the desired room, then it sweeps the entire walkable surface. When finished, go back alone to the charging station to restore the energy consumed.
It is also possible to clean several rooms with a specific order. It is sufficient to follow the same procedure selecting, in the desired order, the letters of the rooms to be cleaned. The robot will then do the rest.
Among the other functions there is the multi-floor mapping, which however we have not had the opportunity to try because we do not have a house with several floors. Basically it allows you to create more than one map in order to use the robot by manually moving it on the individual floors of the house.
As for others, it is also possible to set virtual barriers to ensure that the r obot do not sweep or wash specific areas of the house. This function, as already explained in the reviews of other robots equipped with a mapping system, is very useful because it ensures the complete cleaning of the floor without hitches.
At the first use it will be enough to follow the robot in the mapping of the house to discover all the points of the house where the device fits (some rocking chairs and carpets, but also sofas and particularly low furniture are the norm). At that point in the app, all you have to do is highlight these areas so that the device does not even come close.
If you ignore this step, then while you are shopping or in the office you will most likely receive the notification on your smartphone with which the system informs you that the robot is stuck somewhere. So when you get home you will have to take it out and start cleaning again.
In order to be used, these three functions (virtual barriers, multi-floor map and selective cleaning) must be enabled in the app settings within the Advanced mode item. If you do not activate it, they will simply not show up in the app and you will only be able to use the robot in automatic mode (but at that point you would do well to save money by buying a less intelligent model).
Among the other customizations it is possible to select the suction power between standard and maximum, the latter more expensive in terms of energy. We have always used only the standard and we had a great time: the robot sucks up even the most stubborn hairs and dirt without problems and autonomously enters maximum mode (however you have to activate the switch under Suction with automatic increase in the settings) in all those areas where the sensors detect carpets or a greater presence of dirt.
There is also the Do Not Disturb mode which significantly reduces noise but also the suction capacity: it is convenient if you forget to turn on the robot and want to sweep the floor at night. We didn't try it because we preferred it to start every morning at 9:00, but knowing that it is there can always be handy.
You can then activate a reminder that reminds us to install the disposable cleaning cloth. We tell you the truth: we have not tried them because we have not found the need, but this is also one of those options that make Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo 920 special because traditional suction can be combined with the passage of a cloth for electrostatic dust collection. . If you notice that after the daily wipe there is still some dust, then consider turning on this reminder to remind you to use the supplied cloth.
Then there is the Continuous cleaning option which, as already mentioned, causes the robot to return autonomously to the base to recharge the battery if it has not swept the entire mapped surface.
The section of the app that we liked the most is the one called Cleaning program. From here you can configure one or more programs to automatically start the robot. We have created only one, starting at 9:00 in the morning, for all days of the week. But you can also create several for individual days of the month, perhaps assigning different rooms to different days of the week. Or you can start the daily cleaning of the whole house and then repeat a second pass of one or more rooms at a later time.
A separate mention should be made for the section of the app Use accessories. Here the system keeps track of the consumption of the various parts, specifically marking how many hours remain for the use of side brushes (150 hours), central brush (300 hours) and filter (120 hours) before their eventual replacement. We tried Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo 920 for just over two weeks for a total of about 20 hours of use so we can't tell you for sure if the timing assumed by the software correspond with the actual wear of the various parts. Otherwise there are no limits in case you want to continue using the robot with the same components at the end of the recommended hours: just press the reset button under each component and the count starts all over again.
From the app it is also possible to follow the movements of the robot in real time. Compared to other competing solutions, here the movement is fluid and corresponds precisely to the point where the vacuum cleaner is really located, without any latency between the movement and the mapping.
By the way: the return to the charging station is completely silent. Other robots continue to vacuum even at the end of the cleaning while this turns off the vacuum cleaner and then returns to the base.
Finally Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo 920 speaks Italian. Not only is the app localized in our language but also the voice announcements (which can possibly be disabled in the Verbal Report section from the application settings) can be adjusted to the Italian language, to be downloaded for free with a separate package.
This is also a huge advantage, especially for those who don't chew English well. Other automatic robots with the same function that we have tried in the past not only had only the English language available, but it was not even possible to disable this option.
In our opinion, the verbal report is very useful for detoxifying from the smartphone. In fact, if you have programmed the automatic daily start of the vacuum cleaner then, even with the phone off, you can follow the various phases acoustically. In fact, leaving this option active, the robot will announce with a sentence the start and end of cleaning as well as the consequent return to the charging base. Not only that: if it gets stuck, it will always let you know through its built-in speaker as well as remind you that the wet washing mode is active if you have just inserted the tank full of water with cloth in tow.
There is still room for improvement
Difficult to find faults with Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo 920, but we try the same by telling you how we could improve (who knows, maybe the manufacturer is reading us and could evaluate our suggestions for future developments). While it is true that WiFi is necessarily required to work (those who do not have it can always opt for less performing models), there is currently no manual mode. Or if there is, we haven't found it.
That is, it lacks a remote control, if not physical at least virtual, to decide to clean a certain area of the room without having to take out the manual vacuum cleaner. Not everyone has one or not everyone wants to buy one in order to be able to collect the crumbs from the freshly shaken tablecloth in a few seconds. With a remote control with the classic directional darts it would be possible to move it here and there to your liking and perform these small tasks effortlessly. True, there is selective room cleaning that is perhaps even more intuitive, but do-it-yourselfers may miss it.
Let's look further and think about a Pro version. What more could it have? Well, there is at least one company that operates in this sector and that has demonstrated how, with a clearly higher price, there are the technologies to be able to equip these devices with an automatic emptying system of the dirt collection tank. In the end, with Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo 920 this is the only thing you need to remember to do, on pain of a floor that will gradually turn out to be less and less clean: so why not completely automate this phase too?
Conclusions
Dreams and desires aside, if you want to forget about cleaning the floors there is not a single reason not to buy Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo 920. We will still try to write some “cons” at the bottom of the review, but on balance it is the best automatic vacuum cleaner currently tested by our editorial staff, especially for the price for which it is proposed. Point.
Retail price
Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo 920 can be bought on Amazon for € 499.99 including shipping. Money really well spent: give us a little thought for Christmas, maybe it goes on sale with Black Friday (in case, we suggest you follow us in the next few weeks).
Pro
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