Robert’s Blog

Today I had to box up our Roomba, Mr. Bonkers, and send him back to iRobot for replacement. He was a good and faithful robot, but his brush motor died and he just wasn’t getting around like he used to. Fortunately, iRobot’s customer service is pretty great, so they just gave me an RMA number and told me to ship him back and they’ll send out a new one. We’ll miss Mr. Bonkers, but I’m sure his replacement will be just as lovable.

Strangely, our Scooba floor-washing robot also failed us this week. Turns out there’s a problem with the batteries on our particular model. Fortunately, they’re just sending us a new battery and a software update, and we’ll be back in business.

UPDATE - 6/29: Our new Scooba battery and software update arrived on Friday. After a roughly 45-second software update, the floor-washer is back in business. The new Roomba should be here by July 6. Yay!

‘NOTHER UPDATE - 7/6: If ever you need to return your Roomba to iRobot for warranty replacement, be sure not to send the battery back with it. While they don’t specifically say so in their RMA instructions, iRobot considers the battery to be an accessory, and will not send one back with your new robot. A lesson I learned at a cost of $60. (My new battery will arrive sometime next week.)

In my continuing effort to expand my horizons and prevent myself from getting killed while enjoying a little time in the water, I took an advanced scuba course over the weekend. Never hurts to have a little more knowledge and experience.