Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni | UK Review

The X1 series from Ecovacs includes three variants.

The table below illustrates the similarities and differences:

These robot vacuum cleaners are essentially very similar. If mopping capability is a high priority of yours, then the models with the rotating mopping pads (Turbo or Omni) are the better choice for you.

Another feature that could affect your decision is the station. It all depends on what your preferences are:

• Auto-empty station only: Deebot X1 Plus
• Washing station only (with cold air drying of the mopping pads): Deebot X1 Turbo

Both emptying station and washing station (with hot air drying of the mop pads): X1 Omni

In addition to washing the mop cloths (see next chapter "Mop station"), the mobile dust box in the robot is also emptied at the multifunction station.

This provides many advantages for you.

But first, let's take a look at exactly how the process works. 👇

How exactly does the Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI base station work?

As soon as the robot vacuum cleaner docks at the station, the entire contents of the mobile dust box are emptied.

This dust ends up in a large dust bag in the station itself.

The dust bag in the station is a 3-litre disposable bag.

Depending on how dirty your home is or how often you use the robot vacuum cleaner, you will need to change the bag every 1-2 months.

It’s a simple task:

• Remove the bag with one hand. The bag closes automatically so no dirt can escape.
• Dispose of the bag in the rubbish.
• Insert new bag.

As mentioned: The dust bag is a disposable bag. We generally consider this to be a disadvantage.

Due to follow-up costs and environmental considerations (unnecessary waste), we have to deduct points here. 💰 🌍

Your Deebot X1 OMNI order includes a spare dust bag, so you are sorted for the first few months.

The bags can also be purchased online at Amazon UK* when needed.

Advantages of the auto-empty station

The emptying station of the Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI offers numerous advantages:

Elimination of one of the most common and unpleasant maintenance tasks: emptying the mobile dust box by hand.

Without an emptying station, you have to regularly empty the dust box found in the robot itself (in extreme cases, even after every cleaning).

From now on, the emptying station will do this job for you. 👍

No contact with household dust

Emptying the mobile dust box is an unpleasant task, especially for allergy sufferers. Allergic reactions can be triggered by (unavoidable) contact with house dust. 🤧

Thanks to the emptying station, contact with household dust is completely eliminated. Allergy sufferers will be particularly pleased with this. 👍

P.S.: The dust chamber in the emptying station is equipped with another filter. This also removes dirt from the air during the emptying process before the robot exits again.

Automation = Relaxation

Thanks to the auto-empty station, floor cleaning becomes even more hands-off. 🤏

This leaves you more time for the finer things in life. 🏝️ 🍹

Our experience with the Deebot X1 emptying station

We have only had positive experiences with the Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI emptying station.

The mobile dust box was completely emptied almost 100% of the time. And if (due to bulky dirt) not all the contents were removed, it doesn't matter. The next emptying stage generally does the trick. 😊

In practice, the emptying station works very well. It saves you a lot of work, time and hassle.

The X1 OMNI is a hybrid device: the robot can vacuum and mop the floor at the same time.

Mopping is supposed to be one of the top features of the Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI. Can this robot replace manual cleaning?

This is what we wanted to find out in our review. 👇

Rotating Mops (OZMO Pro Turbo Technology)

The Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI uses two rotating mops that are attached to the underside with a magnet. These rotate in opposite directions. The technology is called "OZMO Pro Turbo".

The mops rotate up to 180 times per minute (simulating scrubbing by hand), which makes it easier to loosen and remove even stubborn dirt. 🧼

We’ve found that the mops are only mediocre in quality. They are neither particularly fluffy nor do they have special fringed tentacles to grab dirt more effectively.

Additional contact pressure

Another important factor for successful mopping is contact pressure.

And Ecovacs has two aces up its sleeve here:

• On the one hand, the robot mop's own weight of 4.4 kg is quite high.
• Furthermore, a special spring construction is integrated, which exerts additional contact pressure on the two mopping pads.

In our testing, we found that this design did not work optimally. The pressure on the mopping pads seemed too low. (In everyday life it is quite sufficient, but the robot reached its limits in the extreme test - see next chapter).

The bottom line is this: The idea of applying additional pressure to the mop is good. However, it did not perform ideally in practice.

More could have been achieved in this regard.

Water flow level

The water flow level can be set in the mobile app. 💧

You can even decide how high the water output should be for each individual room.

(For example, the sensitive floor in the living room can be mopped with a little water and the tiled floor in the bathroom with a lot of water).

If you set the water flow to the highest level, you may find large amounts of water in places where the robot spends more time.

(Around a dining table with 16 chair legs is a typical example). 🪑

At the highest water setting, we also observed some water splashing to the sides during cleaning.

We found the medium water flow level to be the most suitable.

We also noticed the following: Immediately after being washed at the station, the mopping pads receive hardly any water from the robot’s internal supply.

The robot only begins to release water after about five minutes.

As such, the first five minutes after washing tend to be a little too dry.

This approach is probably in place to allow larger areas to be cleaned.

Nevertheless, this setting is less than ideal.

Mops are regularly washed out at the station

The mopping pads are cleaned at regular intervals at the mopping station.

(You can find out exactly how this works in the "Mopping station" chapter).

The result: floors are mopped with a clean mop. Dirt is therefore not distributed around your home, but instead ends up in the dirty water tank.

This improves the cleanliness of your floors enormously. 💎

Testing the mop function under extreme conditions

To test the mopping performance, we created artificial stains on different types of floors (tiles, laminate, PVC) and let them soak in for approx. 2 hours.

The robot mopped over the corresponding areas up to 4 times.

This is what the result looked like:

Tiles

PVC

Laminate

Mopping along skirting boards

Due to the placement of the mopping pads, a gap of about 5 cm around skirting boards remains uncleaned.

Conclusion on the mopping test

On paper, the Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI has everything you need for a good mopping performance.

Nevertheless, we have to say: we would have expected a little more (especially in the "extreme mopping test").

The weaknesses mentioned (quality of the mop, water splashes, contact pressure) dampen the overall impression.

Just to be clear, the result is by no means "bad". On the contrary, in everyday use (and that is what matters) you will be very satisfied with the mopping performance.

But it is also clear that the robot cannot replace manual mopping. The goal is simply to reduce the frequency of manual mopping.

And the X1 OMNI will fulfil this purpose.

During the vacuuming test (in the test area and at home) we wanted to challenge the cleaning performance of the Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI.

Laminate flooring

On laminate flooring, the robovac doesn't have too much trouble.

The powerful suction force of 5000 Pa. ensures that dirt disappears easily from the floor.

Carpet

On the carpet, the cleaning performance was good.

The Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI has a "carpet boost mode". As soon as a carpet is driven over, the robot automatically increases the suction power.

And this is what the result looked like. 👇

Short pile carpet

Long pile carpet

The robot also does its job quite well on carpet:

In summary, the result was good, but not "outstanding". There are robotic vacuum cleaners on the market that perform better.

Cleaning performance at home

Our extreme test in the vacuum area gives a good indication of how reliable the suction power is. And that's where the Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI has already proven its qualities.

Just as important, if not more so, is the question of how well the robot vacuum cleaner copes with everyday life in the home.

To do this, we observed the Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI at work in our home for several weeks.

The robot coped very well with our everyday dirt (two-person household, no pets).

The combination of this robot’s vacuuming and mopping abilities provides a fantastic cleaning experience at home. 💎

Since dirt tends to accumulate in corners (but also along skirting boards), we naturally wanted to know how the Eccovacs Deebot X1 OMNI performed here when put to the test.

The robot vacuum cleaner navigates safely along the skirting boards. Special wall sensors are equipped to ensure this.

Dirt is captured by the side brush and guided towards the suction opening.

When mopping, a gap of approx. 5cm remains unmopped along the skirting boards. This is because the two mops do not extend across the full width of the unit.

When the obstacle detection technology (AIVI 3.0 technology) is switched on, the X1 OMNI (sometimes) does not travel all the way into the corners.

We found this a little disappointing.

Because this is obviously a software problem, we hope that it can be fixed in a timely manner.

Good navigation is one of the most important features of a robot vacuum cleaner.

The Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI relies on laser navigation. We took a closer look at this in our testing.

The LDS sensor (Laser Distance Sensor) can be found in the typical laser tower on the top surface of the robot.

This is constantly scanning the surroundings. This allows the robot to orientate itself quickly and precisely.

In practice, the laser navigation worked very well. Your home is scanned in a structured way.

The robot took about 55 minutes to finish cleaning our 80 m² flat. That's quite a long time compared to other robots with laser navigation.

Large objects such as furniture are marked on the map and circumnavigated.

But laser navigation reaches its limits with flatter objects (smaller than 10 cm). These are overlooked when navigating...

... For this reason, the cleaning robot is equipped with special technology that allows it to also spot these flat objects and safely avoid them (see next section). 👇

Obstacle detection: Even flat objects are avoided with AIVI 3D technology

Flat objects have always been a challenge for robot vacuum cleaners. 🔌

The robot sucks them in, the brush gets blocked, and you can’t clean anymore…

The Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI wants to prevent this with special solutions for obstacle detection. Strictly speaking, there are two technologies on board:

• Camera (AIVI 3.0)
• Laser scanning (TrueDetect 3D)

In previous models, only one or the other was used.

The camera and the laser are installed in the front of the robot hoover, so the household helper can scan the floor for flat objects.

If an object is detected, the robot hoover gradually slows down its travel speed and reduces the rotation speed of the side brushes. This further reduces the probability of getting stuck.

And this is how it looks in practice:

On a very positive note, obstacle detection worked well even in (very) poor lighting conditions. 🌒 👍

We’ve put the obstacle detection feature to the test. 👇

P.S. A tick between brackets indicates the robot recognised the object but still made contact with it. (✅)

Cable test

Cables of any kind (mobile phone or laptop charging cables) are often left lying on the floor. 🔌

Vacuumed-up cables are something you definitely want to avoid with robot vacuum cleaners, as they will block the brushes and end your cleaning session early.

During our testing, the Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI did not entirely wow us.

But still: The cables that the robot did detect were bypassed very safely.

Dog excrement

Pet excrement is another source of danger. 💩

If the robot vacuum cleaner fails to detect this, it can end up a real mess...

The Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI totally impressed us in this test. All objects were reliably detected.

And because it was so good: here is the top performance again on video.

Miscellaneous flat objects

We have spread various flat items around the room. 🧦

We then observed the X1 OMNI at work.

The test result was good, but not perfect. 👍

Slightly taller objects

Taller objects are not quite so critical, in our view. 👠

Because even if the robot overlooks them during the cleaning session, in the worst case they are merely pushed around a bit. The little household helper won't choke on them.

Another good result! All objects were detected and safely avoided.

Which homes need obstacle detection?

Households that aren’t always perfectly in order and have objects lying on the floor from time to time can really benefit from obstacle detection technology.

It allows you to clean your floors even if your home is not totally tidy, without having to worry about your hoover getting caught up in cables.

But as we’ve learned from our tests, it’s probably best not to blindly rely on this technology.

Problems with obstacle detection technology

While using the Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI in our home, we noticed a few things.

• Corners were sometimes not fully approached.
• Individual areas were omitted from the cleaning because obstacles were falsely detected by the device.
• A whole room was even left out once during cleaning (for whatever reason).
• In some cases, the little household helper lingered for an extremely long time and cleaned some areas several times.

(These difficulties occur quite rarely or may not occur at all. We could not find any regularity in our tests).

The numerous technologies (LDS navigation, 3D laser, front camera, a multitude of sensors, ...) do not yet seem to be perfectly coordinated.

Some points have to be deducted for this.

We’re hopeful that the manufacturer will quickly get to grips with these difficulties by means of an update.

If you frequently experience navigation problems, deactivate the AIVI 3D technology. Navigation works fine without it.

Testing the navigation of the Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI: Our conclusion

Laser navigation is one of the best options for navigation among robot vacuum cleaners. And it also performed well in the case of the X1 OMNI.

In addition, the X1 OMNI uses two technologies (camera + laser) to avoid flat objects independently. This obstacle detection also impressed us in our testing.

In summary, it can be said: The navigation has convinced us. You cannot ask for a stronger performance with the technology available today. 👏

That is one side of the coin.... 🥇

On the other hand, the aforementioned "blackouts" (when the AIVI 3D technology is switched on) caused us some frustration. 🤦

The numerous technologies do not yet seem to harmonise perfectly with each other.

We hope the manufacturer will improve this situation as quickly as possible with an update.

In addition to cleaning floors, the Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI can also be used as:

• a security camera 📷
• and a communication tool.📞

In this chapter, we will describe our experiences with the two features.

Video Manager surveillance - Security feature

The front of the robot features a camera. 📷

This is primarily responsible for object detection.

But you can also use this camera to keep an eye on your home. 👀

How to use this function:

• Launch the Ecovacs app.
• Click on the "Video Manager" option.
• You will see a live feed of your flat.

There are different options available to you. 👇

Tap to go

Certain points are marked on your home map. (P. S.: You can add more points as you wish).

Tap one of these points and the robot sets off for the corresponding spot. 📍

A live image is always transmitted to your mobile phone.

Hands-free steering

Like a computer game, you can control the Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI yourself around your home using arrow keys. ⬆️⬇️⬅️➡️

This way you can steer the robot to the desired area you wish to view.

Home Patrol

Let the Ecovacs X1 OMNI patrol your home. 👮

You can select several points on the map of your home, which the robot vacuum cleaner will move to one by one.

Pictures (and videos if you wish) of the journey are always saved on your mobile phone.

You can even create a schedule of the times at which the robot vacuum cleaner should patrol the flat. 🗓️

Are the video surveillance features of the Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI useful?

Thanks to these features, completely new areas of application arise for your robot. 🤖

The Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI can not only clean your home, but also serve as a "moving surveillance camera".

The quality of the videos and photos is extremely high. The images are displayed razor-sharp in the app.

For example, if you are going away for a longer period of time, you can check on your flat after a week or so.

But it can also be handy to have a quick look at your home for other reasons:

• What does the dog actually do when I’m away?
• Did I turn off the cooker?
• Was the front door/balcony door/ ... closed when leaving home?
• …and so on.

Quickly open the app and you'll know for sure.

As security is becoming more and more important, these monitoring features are particularly compelling.

Two-way communication

The robot hoover offers another interesting function: two-way video and voice communication. 📞

This means you can "call your flat" when you’re out and about and...

• Talk to family members 👨👩👧👦
• Or communicate with your pets ("Dog, get off the couch").🐶

Since there are microphones in the laser tower, your conversation partner can even respond (just like a real Skype phone call).

We find this feature quite gimmicky. A WhatsApp video call is usually more convenient, after all. 📲

Data security

The Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI uses a camera and microphones to provide the security and communication features described above. 🎙️ 📷

So it is understandable that some people have data protection concerns.

Ecovacs is also aware of the issue. They’ve taken some measures to ease your mind:

• The robot vacuum cleaner has received a privacy and security certification from TÜV Rheinland, an independent, third-party organisation that certifies devices that meet the specifications of ETSI TS 303 645. This standard is a cybersecurity assessment for consumer IoT products.
• Data is encrypted during transfer to the cloud
• Ecovacs Europe GmbH complies with the requirements of the European Data Protection Regulation.

Furthermore, you can secure access to the camera with a 4-digit code.

And as soon as the camera is active, the robot hoover informs you by voice output.

Even so, it is more than understandable for people to feel uncomfortable at the thought of a robot vacuum cleaner with a camera.

If you are one of them, then the device is certainly not for you.

However, if this is your preference, we would recommend a different (cheaper) device without these features.

Alternatively, you check out our Deebot N8+ review. This cleaning robot is also part of the Ecovacs family and has similar features on board, but does without a camera or microphones.

You have two options in this department:

• Voice control with Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home
• Voice control with Yiko (Ecovacs’ proprietary voice assistant)

Alexa and Google Home

You can use one of these popular assistants to control your Deebot X1 OMNI by voice. 🗣️

All you have to do is activate the Alexa Skill and the robot is immediately paired with Alexa.

Below you will find an overview of the possible commands.

The range of voice commands for Alexa is limited.

Ecovacs’ own voice assistant "Yiko" provides significantly more commands. 👇

Voice control with "Yiko" (Ecovacs’ proprietary voice assistant)

As an alternative to Alexa or Google Assistant, you can also use "Yiko", Ecovacs' integrated voice assistant.

You will find three small holes in the laser tower. The microphones are positioned here so that Yiko can receive your voice commands. 🎙️

Among them are interesting options such as "Yiko, come and clean here". Then the room you’re in will be cleaned.

Yiko supports voice commands in multiple languages.

Below we have compiled all the voice commands for Yiko:

During our test, we came across some advantages but also some disadvantages:

An integrated voice assistant in a robot vacuum cleaner is a compelling idea (in principle, at least).

If you don't have an Alexa / Google voice assistant at home, you can now get some chores done using just your voice.

In the Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI App, three different suction power settings can be set. The volume also varies according to this selection. 🔊

We were able to measure the following values in our review:

• Quiet level: 50 dB
• Standard level: 52 dB
• Max level: 56 dB

The volume of the mops being cleaned at the base station is also quite low. (58 dB). When the two pads are drying, a quiet ventilation noise is produced (40 dB). This noise is not really disturbing.

In contrast, the emptying process is quite loud (approx. 70 dB). However, since this does not last more than ten seconds, it’s not too big of a deal. (Perhaps don’t carry out the self-drainage process at night, though). 🙉

If you are very sensitive to noise, the Deebot X1 OMNI is a good choice. It is one of the quieter vacuum robots on the market.

It’s important to know what is included in your order when you buy an Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI, as well as how difficult the setup is.

We’ve outlined our experience here.

Assembly and first steps

Let's have a look at the steps that need to be taken before you carry out your first robot cleaning session:

• Remove the robot vacuum cleaner and the station from the packaging.
• Find a suitable place in your home. Attention: There should be about 50 cm of free space to the front and sides so that the device can move around the station undisturbed. In addition, the station should be easily accessible for you because you often have to fill/empty the water containers.
• Connect the station to the mains and place the robot vacuum cleaner on it so that the battery can be charged. 🔌
• In the meantime, you can set up the app. The steps for this can be found in the "Mobile phone app" chapter. 📱
• When the battery is fully charged, you can send the robot hoover to create a map of your home. (More on this in the "Home mapping" chapter). 🗺️
• Now your household assistant is 100% ready for use. The map is stored in the Ecovacs Home app and you can access all the app features that make your daily cleaning tasks much easier.

Package contents

The delivery package includes only the absolute essentials.

• All-in-one base station (auto-empty station and cleaning station)
• 4 mops (2 of which are replacements)
• Cleaning brush for the mopping station
• Small tool to remove stuck hairs (e.g. in the brushes)
• 2 bags for the emptying station
• Instructions

We have extensively tested and reviewed the Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI.

And we have to note: This luxury robot is packed to the brim with technology. 🤖

Between the auto-empty station, the self-cleaning station, the rotating mop pads, camera monitoring, automatic obstacle detection, etc…

…the numerous functions all play their part in making daily floor cleaning almost completely automatic.

However, during testing, we noticed that the many features are not yet perfectly coordinated. Again and again, small issues occurred in various areas.

Nevertheless, something like this should not happen with a device in this price range - we expect absolute perfection.

If price is not an issue for you, then this luxury cleaning assistant is a top-of-the-range option with every feature you could ask for from a robot vacuum cleaner.

If that’s not the case, check out our alternatives - they also have some pretty handy features, just at a lower price tag. 👇