iRobot Roomba j7/j7+ Robot Vacuum Review

This vacuum has amazing build quality. Its body is made of high-grade plastic, with a gloss-finish outer casing and glossy top cover. The vacuum's camera sits at the front and features a small LED light to help it see obstructions and hazards. There are a few obvious weak points in the vacuum's construction, and while its internal dustbin could break if you were to drop it, it still feels sturdier than most other robot vacuums' dustbins. Its dock also feels very well-built and even features premium touches like a leatherette pull tab to lift open the external dustbin lid.

The out-of-the-box setup is very easy, with no actual assembly required. You only really need to pair the vacuum with its charging station, and if you buy the j7+ variant, the external dirt compartment comes with a dirtbag already in place.

The j7+ variant of this vacuum has several parts requiring regular maintenance, but thankfully, they're quite easy to access. You can also check the 'Maintenance' tab in its companion app to watch instructional videos for maintaining different components.

• Dustbin: The internal dustbin can be removed by pressing the release button on the side of the vacuum. If there's any leftover debris inside the internal dustbin, you can wipe it out with a dry cloth or tap it against the side of a trash can. If necessary, you can wash it with water, but be sure to remove the filter beforehand. The dirt compartment should dry for 24 hours before you put it back in the vacuum.
• Dirtbag: The dirtbag can simply be pulled out of its housing inside the charging station. It isn't reusable and must be thrown away when it's full, which is indicated by the status light on the docking station switching from white to red. The status light also turns red when the dustbin is blocked, though you also receive an in-app warning when this occurs. A cover on the dirtbag prevents dust and debris from spilling out when removing it. If you purchase the standard j7 model, you won't have to worry about maintaining the self-emptying base station.
• High-Efficiency Exhaust Filter: The filter is located inside the dirt compartment. You can clean it by tapping it against the side of a trash can once or twice a week, depending on your usage habits. You shouldn't wash it with water.
• Brushrolls: The brushrolls can be accessed by lifting the brush guard on the bottom of the vacuum and pulling them out. Depending on your usage habits, you should clean them by removing any hair tangles or debris once or twice a week. Putting them back in place can be difficult since they need to be precisely aligned in their housing.
• Side Brush: The side brush is under the vacuum, and you should clean it of any stuck-on debris once a month.
• Wheel: You can pull the front caster wheel out of the vacuum and then pushed out of its socket. You should clear it of any tangled hair or debris every two weeks.
• Sensors and Charging Contacts: The sensors and charging contacts on the vacuum and docking station should be wiped clean with a dry cloth every two weeks.

The '+' variant of the iRobot j7 incurs very high recurring costs since it has several parts that need regular replacing.

• High-Efficiency Exhaust Filter: You should replace the exhaust filter every two months.
• Rubber Brushrolls: You should replace the brushrolls every six to 12 months.
• Front Wheel: You should replace the front wheel every 12 months, though it isn't currently listed on the manufacturer's website.
• Side Brush: The manufacturer recommends replacing this every three months.
• Dirtbag: You need to throw away and replace the dirtbag when it's full. This won't be a concern if you purchase the vacuum without the self-emptying station.

iRobot sells replacement parts as individual packs, but you can also buy a 'Replenishment Kit' on its website that includes brushrolls, three side brushes, and three exhaust filters.

This vacuum is pretty easy to store. Its base station is designed differently compared to older iRobot models like the iRobot Roomba i3, with a wider and deeper design that's much shorter, so you can fit it under a taller table or under a low-mounted shelf.

The iRobot j7's internal dustbin is quite small, just like other models in the manufacturer's lineup. However, if you go for the '+' variant, which comes with a self-emptying base station, you won't have to empty it yourself. It has an integrated fill sensor, which lets you know when the dustbin or dock station dustbag is full.

The iRobot j7+'s has a docking station with self-emptying capability. It sucks debris from the vacuum's internal dustbin into a 2.4L dirtbag. The manufacturer advertises these bags as being spacious enough to hold 60 days' worth of debris, which aligns with other self-empty stations with similarly sized dustbags. The dock also has a storage slot for an additional dirtbag, so you can quickly swap in a new bag after one has been filled.

• iRobot j7 robot vacuum
• Recharge dock
• Charging cable
• 2x High-efficiency exhaust filters
• Dustbin
• 2x Side brush (one is already fitted to the vacuum)
• 2x Multi-surface rubber brushrolls with bearings
• Getting started guide

The j7+ variant of this vacuum comes with all of these components, along with:

• Self-emptying station (replaces standard charging dock)
• 2x Dirtbags

The iRobot j7 has strong overall battery performance. It can run for more than 100 minutes on a single charge, and since there are no dedicated power modes, you shouldn't see too significant a deviation from that in the real world. While it takes notably longer to recharge than the iRobot Roomba i7, it does have longer battery life. The indicator light under the clean button changes from white to red as its charge level drops, and you can keep an eye on its precise battery level by checking its companion app. You might want to consider the Roborock Q5 if you're looking for a self-emptying robot vacuum with a much longer maximum battery life and don't mind a slower recharge time.

The iRobot j7's front camera is advertised as being capable of identifying hazards like pet waste or power cables and avoiding them. It also features a headlight to help the camera see in dimmer conditions. Still, you might want to consider an alternative like the Roborock S7 MaxV if you want a vacuum with LIDAR mapping for superior low-light mapping and maneuverability. The iRobot j7 has a surface detection feature and consequently adjusts its head height depending on the floor type that it's on, though you can't adjust this manually. It can also identify areas with a higher concentration of dirt and focus on cleaning those spots.

This vacuum delivers good performance on bare floors. It's capable of sucking up most kinds of solid debris, ranging from bulky material like cereal to lightweight debris like sand, but its side brush tends to fling around some debris, which the vacuum might not necessarily clean up afterward.

This vacuum does a good job of handling debris on high-pile carpets. It struggles a little with debris that's been pressed right up against walls and in corners, especially fine material like sand. That said, it does a better job with larger debris like rice or cereal.

This vacuum performs decently well on low-pile carpets. It's quite effective in dealing with large and medium-sized debris like cereal or rice on this surface type but struggles with finer material like sand, especially along walls or in corners.

This vacuum delivers decent pet hair cleaning performance. It can clear away surface-level strands of hair, but it tends to leave behind a small amount of shorter hair.

This vacuum's airflow performance is adequate for a robovac, though certainly nothing special. It falls well short of more premium options like the Roborock S8, or indeed the iRobot Roomba S9, and will have a slightly harder time dealing with large amounts of heavyweight debris.

The iRobot j7 is remarkably quiet. You'll hear what people nearby are saying even when the vacuum is running in its most powerful suction mode.

The iRobot j7 does a good job of adapting to larger obstacles. It's small enough to clean under chairs and tables, and it can clean up close to furniture legs without getting permanently stuck. It also cleans in an organized pattern and immediately returns to its docking station after it's finished with its current task. However, you may need to clean the area around the cable yourself if you want a complete clean. It can also bump into tasseled rugs with some regularity, and may even get stuck.

The iRobot j7+ does an outstanding job of avoiding obstacles, but with a few caveats. Like the iRobot Roomba j9+, its camera-based PrecisionVision hazard identification system is highly consistent and very reliable in spotting hazards, especially on bare floors. It isn't likely to get stuck on hazards like socks or power cables, and while it might nudge larger obstacles like shoes, it exhibits consistent behavior in correctly identifying and avoiding pet waste. Performance degrades slightly on carpets but by a far lesser margin than some other robot vacuums.

With all that being said, the system does cause the vacuum to behave in a very conservative manner, as it does give a lot of these obstacles a very generous berth, to the point where there is a slight loss of coverage around some of them. If your risk tolerance is a little higher and you don't mind your vacuum brushing up against obstacles as it cleans, you could also consider something like the Dreame L10s Ultra.

This vacuum's low-profile design allows it to pass under the vast majority of obstacles. It's a good option if you have any couches or TV stands that sit closer to the ground.

This vacuum does a decent job of crossing thresholds. While it won't mount really high-room thresholds, it won't have too much trouble navigating over the majority of room dividers.

The iRobot j7 is reasonably effective in sealing in fine particles. While there are no specific claims regarding the vacuum's sealing performance, it does come with a high-efficiency filter advertised to trap 99% of dog and cat dander allergens.

The iRobot j7 has middling crack-cleaning performance compared to manually-operated vacuums, but it does a relatively good job for a robot vacuum. Its side brush helps dislodge debris in cracks, but it lacks the necessary suction force to draw debris from deep within crevices.

The iRobot Roomba j7 has terrible stain-clearing performance. Unlike comparably priced alternatives like the Ecovacs DEEBOT OZMO T8 AIVI, this vacuum doesn't have any sort of mopping capability to help clean dried-on stains with water.

The iRobot j7 has an exceptional range of automation features. Aside from its most obvious self-emptying capability, it's advertised as being capable of recognizing your schedule and organizing its cleaning sessions around it. It's fully compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices, meaning you can control it with voice commands. Unfortunately, its camera-based navigation system is much slower to map out its coverage area than LIDAR alternatives, like the Roborock S8+/S8.

The iRobot Home app is good. You can access a virtual map of its coverage area with the app. You can then use it to set up virtual boundary markers, place no-go zones, or set up precise cleaning zones. Unfortunately, the interface is somewhat buggy, and it's missing common features found on alternatives, like pin-and-go capability. If you have a compatible Braava Jet M-Series robot mop, the "Imprint Link Technology" feature allows it to start mopping automatically after the iRobot j7 is finished vacuuming.