I’m going to tell you that my Roomba S9 Plus is pursued, but do not dwell on the pursuit. The buttons are stuck, which may or may not be related. I’ve been living with the ghostly Roomba and its broken buttons since last year when it was still under warranty, but it’s only recently that it’s been waking me up in the middle of the night. When I finally contacted iRobot for support, they told me that my Roomba was dead (undead?!), and that it would be impossible for them to fix it.
I have to live with the ghostly Roomba or destroy it.
Again, let’s not dwell on the haunting part. There are many things you can replace on a Roomba. Of course you can replace the filters. You can replace all cleaning elements, such as brushes and sweepers.
You can replace the battery, but you will need a screwdriver and some patience. However, the buttons are sacred. If the buttons get stuck, iRobot support says they cannot be replaced. There is no way to fix my Roomba S9 with broken buttons, and there is no solution that will rid the robot of its ghosts.
A broken Roomba acts as if it is haunted
Okay, now the spooky stuff. One day I was sitting in my living room and the Roomba started vacuuming. On it’s own. No schedule, nothing. I sent him home again. It happened all the time, once a week at first, but it happened at inopportune times.
My robot would start cleaning on its own at 3am. I had a suspicion and turned on the child lock. Instead of cleaning himself, he now shouts loudly: ‘The buttons are disabled. Use your iRobot Home app to clean.”
Something was pressing the buttons. I’m not saying it was a specific spirit, but it has been a difficult and tragic few years for many of us. I know people who have passed away and would like my floors cleaned. I know others who might want to bother me at night for fun. Once you believe there is a ghost in your robot vacuum, and are unhappy with unswept floors, that idea will stick.
Eventually the unprovoked screaming started happening daily. I thoroughly cleaned the Roomba and replaced all cleaning parts. I connected it to a surge protector after reading on Reddit that power surges can cause the vacuum to start a cleaning session. I vacuumed the vacuum cleaner myself to remove dust and dirt. Nothing helped.
My ghostly vacuum cleaner becomes a poltergeist
One night the troubled Roomba went too far. It started shouting over and over again: “The buttons are disabled. Use your iRobot Home app to clean.” Again and again. There is no mute setting for the Roomba. A reboot didn’t help. My Roomba was tormenting me.
I turn it off by pressing and holding the power button. There was silence. I went to bed. Then I heard the beeping sound of the Roomba starting up. The robot refused to die.
I covered the Roomba with thick blankets to muffle the noise, but eventually the battery died. I contacted Roomba and they showed me how to completely remove the battery to do a hard reset. The hard reset failed. The screaming continued.
They suggested I set a Do Not Disturb period all day and night. That really worked! At least for a few days. My robot was silent. Then, in the middle of the night (always!), it started ringing as it turned off. Then it sounded again and turned on. Down. Upwards. Down. Upwards. It kept happening. I unscrewed the battery and now it lies on my table like an autopsy patient.
There’s no fix for a ghostly Roomba or stuck buttons
This was my first robot vacuum cleaner and I’m not going to replace it
iRobot Support says: “The issue you describe means that the robot’s buttons are stuck, and unfortunately this issue cannot be repaired.” They can’t fix it. My 18 month old Roomba S9 Plus, which I got on sale for about $800 in November 2022 is kaput.
That is totally unacceptable. There has to be a way to solve this problem, and not just for me, for all owners. There can be no glitch that causes the robot to die, without hope of repair. iRobot needs to have a way to fix this problem, or it needs to offer Roomba S9 owners a way to trade in our robots for one that actually works and is eligible for repair if it breaks.
This was my first robot vacuum cleaner and I won’t be replacing it anytime soon because it’s a huge expense that I can’t afford right now. Maybe I’ll reconsider iRobot in the future if I hear that reliability and service have improved. Until then, I need another option. Maybe I’ll get a dust breaker, or maybe I’ll call the… Ghostbusters.