The Neato Robotics Botvac D7 is another expensive robot vacuum whose main competitor is the Roomba 980. Both are priced similarly and go after similar markets, clean obsessed people with some budget to spare. A few more customers had issues with this vacuum than the Roomba, with 14% of the reviews giving the product 1 star, but 74% gave either a 4 or 5-star review.
Neato D7 robot vacuum
The Neato Robotics Botvac D7 allows you to control the vacuum using voice controls thru your Amazon Alexa or your Google Home devices as well as an app on your phone. This phone application is how you will initially set up and control your vacuum. Next, the app guides you by mapping the floor plan with which you plan to use the vacuum. Note – your D7 can only be associated with a one-floor plan, so if you have a two-story home and want to use the D7 on both floors, you will need to have two units. Once the floor map gets created, the unit directs itself with this LaserSmart map and real-time object detection. It is recommended that you get any USB or charging cables and small toys and other clutter out of the way as these could get sucked up and tangle in the device and shut it down. The D7 is rated to work for roughly 2 hours on a charge before heading back to the dock to recharge.
One interesting design feature of the D7 is that the unit has a squared front, unlike other popular vacuums with rounded edges. This design allows the unit to do a better job of reaching and cleaning corners. The design is an essential feature for us pet owners, as that’s where the fur tends to accumulate.
See our Best Robot Vacuums to Buy
One of the very consistent issues with this unit has to do with wifi. The majority of the negative reviews and low ratings for this product focused on setup problems relating to wifi. The unit is supposed to be able to take advantage of both 2.4GHz and 5GHz wifi signals. Still, many frustrations had to do with accessing one or the other or disconnecting frequently, or not even connecting. This connection issue is where the additional 5% of poor ratings came. Even with people who gave high ratings for the product, several people indicated that people should wait to get the kinks out before purchasing the product.
With 74% of the people giving the product good ratings, I focused on the pet owners. Although we didn’t find many pet owners split on the product, quite the opposite; many pet owners indicate that their house has never been cleaner since they got their D7.
We recommend that if you have any potential wifi problems or you need someone to help you set up products like this, you may want to steer away from this one as you could be frustrated. However, if you don’t have problems like this in your home, we recommend this product, albeit with some reservations.
Be sure to check out our Robot Vacuum Buyers Guide
