A Robot Vacuum From a Strong Brand
Founded back in 2006, ECOVACS is a long-time player in the robotics industry. While it doesn’t seem to get the attention that the Roomba does, ECOVACS remains a solid company that produces innovative and sexy looking products. It’s partnership with Marvel Comics back in 2015 has brought new and deserving attention to its line of smart appliances.
The DEEBOT N79S robot vacuum is a step up from the N79. It addresses some of the issues that led people to shy away from it. The additions have created a value packed robotic vacuum at a very affordable price. Let’s take a look at what the DEEBOT N79S robotic vacuum has to offer.
Appearance
The dark gray color of the vacuum and its shape are certainly not going to win any awards for uniqueness or innovation. This is standard robot vacuum fare but at this price, that isn’t surprising. It will blend in with most utility area designs.
Looking underneath the N79S, two rubberized treads and laser sensors team up to maneuver this robot vacuum around like many of its high priced competitors.
Features of the DEEBOT N79S
ECOVACS put a lot of thought into this model. You’re getting a lot of bang for your bucks with all of the features they managed to include at this price point.
Multiple Cleaning Modes
The DEEBOT N79S is built with three brushes, enabling it to attach three basic floor-cleaning tasks with three cleaning modes. Think of them as attachments for a standard vacuum.
- Auto Mode: Your basic cleaning mode. The N79S cleans the entire floor.
- Spot Mode: This is the “cereal hits the floor” mode. The vacuum maneuvers in a spiral pattern, covering the area many times in order to pick up all of the debris.
- Edge Mode: Just as your standard vacuum has edge tools, the N79S has a brush for thoroughly cleaning the edges of your carpet and for getting a little more dirt out from the baseboards.
- Single Room: You can also program the robot to clean a single room.
Auto Mode isn’t as mundane as you’d expect. Through the use of what ECOVACS refers to as Smart Motion technology, the N79S creates a route that sends the vacuum on a cleaning path that creates multiple passes of the same area. This ensures that dirt that may have been missed on the first pass can be grabbed up on a subsequent pass.
Click here to check out the DEEBOT N79S on Amazon.com
Voice Commands
One feature that was obviously lacking in the original N79 was limited voice command ability. ECOVACS addresses this with Alexa and Google Assistant voice control. Their Smart App gives you control over cleaning modes, scheduling and even shows status updates, including battery life. If you don’t have a smart phone, no problem. The N79S also comes with its own remote control that you can lose in-between the couch cushions.
Did you really lose the remote? That’s not a problem either. There’s an auto-start button on top of the machine, allowing you to start the vacuum and send it on its merry cleaning way with one touch of the power button.
Max Mode Power (Deep Suckage)
The DEEBOT N79S also features a Max Mode Power. This is for those deep cleaning moments when the potted plant decides it wants a life of its own and tries to flee but doesn’t get any farther than the living room carpet. It’s also very efficient at grabbing pet hair. Max Mode cleans at two times the rate of the normal cleaning mode.
Couple Max Mode with the Small Area mode and you have a very efficient, stress-free way of getting up all of that concentrated dirt. While you certainly won’t need this every day, it’s certainly nice to know it’s available when you do.
Long Run Time
The 110 minute listed run time is more comforting that you’ll realize. If you’re familiar with the telltale sound of a battery running down, you’re also familiar with the undercurrent thought in your head of wondering if your vacuum will make it back to the charging station before you have to get up and help it along. The N79S is not only smart enough to clean, it’s also smart enough to know when to quit and head back to the charging station.
Anti-drop Sensors
The N79S has anti-drop sensors to prevent it from tumbling down the stairs. Why all robot vacuums don’t have this is anyone’s guess. This technology has been around for 50 years. We found the bumpers to be sufficient in keeping the furniture safe from collisions although it will try and run through some objects a couple of times before giving up and going around whatever is in the way. You will have to find a way to hide your cables and electrical cords. No one has ground-dragging curtains anymore, do they? If so, you might want to rethink your décor.
Dimensions of the N79S
The N79S is almost 14 inches in diameter and 3.27 inches high.
Dustbin Capacity
The dust bin capacity is 520ml which is a little light if you have an ambitious cleaning schedule set up for your vacuum.
Setting Up the N79S
Set up is pretty straightforward. If you’re having problems with the Wii-Fi, be sure you’re on a 2.4GHz network. Most DEEBOT robotics don’t recognize 5GHz. Some owners have mentioned that it took a few attempts to get this model connected but once it did, the rest of the setup was a breeze. Being sure the vacuum remains close to the router during the setup process seems to help hold the connection.
To get it running with Alexa, enable the ECOVACS’ Skill in the Alexa app.
Alternatively, you can run the vacuum in manual mode by using the touchscreen on both, the phone app and the remote control.
Restarting the DEEBOT N79S and Other Notes
If you need to reset the schedule on the N79S, simply press and hold the START/PAUSE switch for three seconds. When you hear three consecutive beeps, it’s been reset successfully.
Another thing to note is that it can actually pick up more than just dirt. Small items can get caught in the brushes. If the vacuum stops and no amount of throwing your phone across the room seems to help, check the brushes and dust bin.
Overall Performance of the DEEBOT N79S
As for performance, the DEEBOT N79S is an admirable robotic vacuum. The sensors are adept enough to keep it from playing bumper pool with your furniture although you may have to help it get out of a tight spot every now and then (the robot beeps when it requires your assistance). It doesn’t distinguish between floor coverings like many of the higher priced models but the spiral cleaning motion of Spot Mode and the 2x suction power of Max Mode will give you enough versatility to get most of your daily cleaning done without extra effort on your part.
The noise factor actually isn’t a factor. You’ll hear it when it’s in the vicinity but it’s hardly noticeable once it’s on its way to other areas. It actually chugs along rather quietly in comparison with other robotic vacuums.
Verdict: While the DEEBOT N79S is getting a little long in the tooth, it’s still a strong performer and a great value. The recent drop in price should be enough to encourage anyone who has been considering making their first purchase of a robot vacuum to take the plunge into the wonderful world of robotic servants.