Neato Botvac D5 Connected Navigating Robot Vacuum Review

With the Botvac D5 Connected, Neato is trying to democratize connected vacuums. A little less expensive than usual, this new robot has an unprecedented function: it can be ordered to work via Facebook Messenger.

Last year, we tested the Neato Botvac connected, a robot vacuum cleaner connected to a formidable efficiency to which was added a connected brick. The integration of Wi-Fi technology makes it possible to control the robot remotely and set up a daily schedule more easily. A high-end product, sold for 799 euros, which is now available in a slightly more affordable version with the Botvac D5 Connected. More affordable can be, but not sold as far as it costs all the same 650 euros.

Physically, there is very little difference between the two products. We will not dwell on the subject. If the fairly classic design of the device is rather a good thing, we would have liked that Neato does not remove the screen on the Botvac Connected. Thus, to control the advanced functions of the vacuum cleaner, such as the programming of cleaning cycles, it is necessary to rely exclusively on the mobile application called Neato. Compatible with iOS and Android, we salute its ease of use.

The link between the smartphone and the vacuum cleaner is established via Wi-Fi. And since it is not a direct connection between the two devices, it is necessary to associate the robot to the home network. This procedure is very well detailed in the mobile application. In a few minutes, the D5 Connected is identified on our network and remotely controllable.

Attention, there is no question of the move from left to right, but to start or stop a remote cycle. We also define a day-to-day programming very easily. It is obviously possible to launch a cleaning procedure at any time, either via the dedicated icon of the application, or from the physical button on the top of the device.

Always thanks to the application and its Wi-Fi connection, in case of error on the cleaning cycle, the vacuum cleaner is responsible for sending an alert which appears in the form of a notification on the mobile. A practical "plus" that allows you to intervene quickly if the vacuum is blocked in cables or curtains, for example. The Botvac D5 Connected also alerts you when it's done.

The application contains a summary of the cleaning history, which gives an idea of the weekly activity of the vacuum cleaner.

Neato offers a really original function on the Botvac Connected: the possibility to give him orders via Facebook Messenger. For this, you must associate his Neato account to his Facebook account. The procedure is quite simple, but only feasible from the Neato Facebook page and not from the mobile application. Once on the wall of Neato, there is a link to configure the robot. Then simply follow the procedure of association of his Facebook account Neato account and voila. It is possible to discuss with the device as "chat bot" ... summarily however.

Via Facebook Messenger, the D5 Connected becomes a kind of interlocutor that can be asked to get started, or to stop. This is not an insane interest in the absolute, except that you can access his robot vacuum cleaner from a computer. Note that after the first connection via Facebook Messenger, it becomes possible to control the vacuum via his smartphone as if we were talking with a contact Messenger.

In addition to its connected functions, the Botvac D5 Connected is, like its big brother, a cleaning monster. Its laser scanning technology integrated in the dome located on the top of the device allows it to locate very precisely the room in which it evolves.

Not surprisingly, the D5 is as efficient as the D85 connected and, unfortunately, just as noisy. In this case, we measured 62 dB at one meter from the unit. As much to tell you that the programming mode, which allows you to start cleaning when you're not at home, is quickly appreciated.

Especially since thanks to its intelligence, the D5 Connected performs well, even in a fairly complex space. For example, in our kitchen open to a living room, after a learning phase that is about 4 or 5 cycles of cleaning the room, the robot has managed to do a very good job.

The large brush (26.5 cm) makes it possible to pick up a maximum of dirt with each passage. Like other brand vacuum cleaners, the chassis of the Neato D5 Connect adopts a D-shape. A feature that allows it to marry the corners of the room.

Nevertheless, the manufacturer plans to reinforce a small brush, installed a little more in the center of the device, to better clean the baseboards of walls.

The choice of this layout however prevents it from reaching the angles, as it is the case on competing models. Nevertheless, it is clear that the end result is there: it's clean after the passage of the D5 Connected.

If the device is so effective, it is that it does not reluctant to the task. Its autonomy of approximately 1:15, in the average, allows him to work long enough to clean the largest rooms of the house.

The good capacity of the tray also allows not to worry too much. Unless the floors are very dirty, it is necessary to empty it once or twice a week. There is another parameter that will change the maintenance of the robot vacuum cleaner: the number of people with long hair at home.

This is an element that robot vacuum cleaners still have a hard time managing. The hair is wrapped very easily around the central brush and there, no choice, it is necessary to cut and clean ... an operation not always obvious or pleasant, especially since Neato does not provide tools to do so that is the case with some competitors.

Finally, we will end on a disappointment that we have already encountered for several generations of Botvac. To delimit the work surface, Neato delivers a tape to lay or stick to the floor, which the vacuum cleaner interprets as a virtual barrier.

The concern is that it measures only about 2 meters. It is little to delimit all the parts in which one wishes to make work the robot, or to separate large open areas. And then this band of brown color is really not aesthetic once installed on the ground.

In short, we clearly prefer competitive solutions, which consist of placing a ground stud, which acts as a virtual barrier.