iRobot Roomba 105 Vac Robot + AutoEmpty Dock review

About the iRobot Roomba 105 Vac

The Roomba 105 Vac sweeps and vacuums only. It has no mop and no water tank. Cleaning runs through a three-stage system: suction, a multi-surface bristle brush and an edge-sweeping brush. It has four suction levels, and spot cleaning runs in one area for up to 5 minutes.

Navigation uses ClearView LiDAR, which works in the dark. The robot cleans in neat rows and stores up to three maps, including multiple floors. iRobot says it maps a 1,000 sq ft space in about 10 minutes. It has no camera, so it does not identify cords or pet messes. Keep-out zones, room targeting, room skipping and passes per room are set in the Roomba Home app.

The AutoEmpty Dock pulls debris from the robot's bin into a sealed bag. iRobot says the bag holds up to 75 days of debris and traps 99% of allergens as small as 0.7 microns. Setup needs a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network, though the phone can return to 5 GHz afterward. Voice control works with Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant. The box holds the robot, the dock and one extra filter. iRobot lists a 60-day home trial on its page.

What owners report about the iRobot Roomba 105 Vac

Owner feedback for this exact model is thin, so what follows is limited to what retailer reviews and one independent lab-style review show. Owners like the dock, which cuts how often they handle the bin. Many say suction handles pet hair, dust and crumbs, and several find it quieter than older Roombas. Setup and scheduling in the app are described as easy, and room-specific cleaning gets use.

Complaints are more mixed. Some owners report the app showing the robot offline when it is not. Some say the dock empties inconsistently. A few report the robot failing within months, and some say it struggles on rugs during first mapping. Battery life worries owners with larger homes, where a run can take long and need a recharge. Vacuum Wars measured about 630 sq ft per charge, and found weak flat pet-hair pickup, though it got hair wrapped on the brush out less often than a rival it compared. Some negative retailer reviews mention a mop, which this model lacks; that belongs to the Combo versions.

Who the iRobot Roomba 105 Vac suits

Buy it if you want a self-emptying robot with mapped, orderly runs for a budget price, and your floors are mostly hard surfaces or low rugs. It fits a home with a few rooms where you can clear cords and socks first.

Look elsewhere if you want mopping: the eufy Omni C28 or Roborock Q7 M5+ add it. For cords and pet accidents, the iRobot Roomba Max 775X Combo has camera-based object recognition. At 4.09 inches tall, it may not fit under low furniture, and a bigger home or thick carpet calls for stronger suction, such as the Dreame X60 Max Ultra Complete.

Questions about the iRobot Roomba 105 Vac