Roborock Q7 Max+/Max Robot Vacuum Review

The Roborock Q7 Max feels well-built. It's similar in feel to the closely related Roborock Q5, with a body made mainly from matte-finish plastic. Like the Q5, while it feels sturdy for the most part, it doesn't quite live up to the high expectations set by Roborock's other offerings, with a lighter, more hollow-feeling body. Right out of the box, it has a rubber brushroll, but it's fully compatible with the bristled roller found on older models like the Roborock S4. The vacuum's dustbin and water tank for its mopping system are a single piece; you'll need to replace the entire component even if you only damage a single side. If you want a better-built robot vacuum, the eufy X10 Pro Omni is worth a look.

Out-of-the-box assembly is pretty simple. The vacuum requires no assembly, but if you go for the Q7 Max+ model, note that the included self-emptying base station comes in two pieces. A small screwdriver for assembling the two halves is included and stored in the bottom part of the charging station.

The Roborock Q7 Max is easy to maintain. You can keep tabs on the maintenance intervals of different components through the vacuum's companion app.

• Dirt compartment/Water tank: The internal dustbin can be removed by pressing the release tabs on either end of the dirt compartment. If necessary, you can empty it over a trash bin or wash it with water, but remove the filter beforehand. The dirt compartment must dry for 24 hours before you put it back in the vacuum. If you buy the Q7 Max+ variant or buy the Auto-Empty Dock Pure separately, the vacuum will automatically transfer debris from its dustbin into the dirtbag inside the charging dock.
• Base station dirtbag: If you go for the Q7 Max+ variant, you'll need to dispose of the dirtbag inside the self-emptying station once it fills up. You can do so by simply pulling the bag out of its housing after you remove the station's top cover. Once removed, the dirtbag's plastic cap falls into place to seal it closed, preventing dust and debris from spilling out, so you don't need to worry about releasing a big plume of dust. You can use the small screwdriver packaged with the base station to remove debris clogging the inlet to the dirtbag.
• E11 filter: The filter is located inside the dirt compartment and can be unclipped from its housing pretty easily. It has a simple design and is relatively easy to clean. You should rinse it under water every two weeks.
• Brushroll: You can access the brushroll by lifting the brush guard on the bottom of the vacuum and pulling it out. You should clean it by removing any tangled hair or stuck-on debris once or twice a week, depending on whether or not you have any pets. You can easily slide out the internal bearing to clear out any tangled hair; this is where most pet hair accumulates.
• Side brush: Unfortunately, you'll need a screwdriver to remove the retaining screw holding the side brush in place, so it isn't quite as easy to clean as most of the other components on this vacuum. You should clear away any stuck-on debris once a month.
• Omni-directional wheel: The omni-directional wheel takes quite a bit of effort to pull free of its socket, and you'll probably need to use a pair of pliers for extra leverage. You should clear it of any tangled hair or debris every month.

Ultimately, the vacuum is designed to make it easy to maintain. For the most part, components requiring regular cleaning are easy to access and clean.

The Roborock Q7 Max+ incurs high recurring costs. Note that the entry-level Q7 Max model, which comes without the self-emptying dock, will incur lower recurring costs since you don't need to replace its base station's dirtbag.

• Brushroll: The brushroll needs replacing after 300 hours of use or every six to 12 months. A replacement can be purchased here.
• Side brush: The side brush has a service life of 200 hours, or after three to six months of use. You can buy a two-pack of replacement parts here.
• E11 filter: The filter needs replacing following 150 hours of use according to the maintenance tab of the companion app, which works out to somewhere between three and six months of use. You can buy replacements in packs of two here.
• Base station dirtbag: Each dirtbag is advertised to hold seven weeks' worth of debris. You can buy a six-pack of bags here.

Most parts are also sold through Roborock's Amazon store, and you can use the 'Maintenance' tab in the vacuum's companion app to check each part's estimated remaining service life.

The Roborock Q7 Max+ variant of this vacuum is reasonably compact. The vacuum itself isn't noticeably larger than most other robot vacuums on the market. Meanwhile, its docking station is taller and marginally narrower than that of the iRobot j7+, which could make it a bit of a nuisance to fit in rooms where space is at a premium. If you're dead set on using this vacuum in especially cramped quarters, you might be better served by going for the basic Q7 Max model without the self-emptying base station. On the other hand, if you don't mind a larger base station, you could consider the Roborock Q Revo, which has a multifunction dock that not only empties the vacuum's internal dustbin but also refills its water tank and washes and dries its mopping pads.

This vacuum's internal dustbin is tiny. If you go for the standard Q7 Max, you'll have to empty its dustbin manually at the end of practically every cleaning session, while in the case of the Q7 Max+, you'll need to return to its docking station quite often. While it will issue reminders through its companion app to check the dustbin regularly, there's no actual sensor to tell you how full it is.

The Roborock Q7 Max+ comes with a self-emptying base station. Unlike the Roborock Qrevo, it doesn't have mop-washing functionality or a water tank refill system. It uses 2.00 L dirtbags, which are slightly smaller than the norm, but should still be sufficient to hold debris from a couple of weeks worth of cleaning sessions.

• Roborock Q7 Max robot vacuum
• Auto-Empty Dock Pure self-emptying charging station with lid (Only included with Q7 Max+ model)
• Charging Station (Only included with Q7 Max model)
• Charging cable
• 1x E11 filter
• Dirt compartment
• 1x Side brush
• 1x Brushroll
• Brushroll guard
• 2x Dirtbags (Only included with Q7 Max+ model)
• 1x Mopping attachment and mop pad
• Getting Started/User guide

The Roborock Q7 Max has excellent battery performance. Its lithium-ion battery has a fairly generous 5200 mAh capacity. In its low-power 'Quiet' mode, it can run for almost four hours, which comfortably exceeds the advertised maximum battery life of 180 minutes and gives it plenty of time to deal with lightweight debris. Its battery life drops to a little over 80 minutes in its high-power 'Max' mode, which is still plenty for dealing with smaller stubborn messes. That being said, it takes quite a while to recharge; if you don't mind exchanging a longer runtime for a shorter recharge time, the Shark IQ 2-in-1 could be worth a look. The vacuum stops its cleaning task once its charge level drops below 20%, at which point it attempts to return to its charging station.

The Roborock Q7 Max has a few extra convenience features. Except for its mopping attachment, it's similar to the Roborock Q5. You can swap between four different suction power levels through its companion app: the low-power 'Quiet' mode for conserving battery life when cleaning lightweight debris, the default 'Balanced' mode, the more powerful 'Turbo' mode for cleaning more stubborn or heavier debris, and the most potent 'Max' mode for cleaning messes on carpets. Its 'Carpet Mode' feature automatically increases the suction power to 'Max' when it maneuvers onto carpeted floors. You can adjust the water flow to its mop pad too, which is helpful if you have multiple types of hard floors in your home, as stains on some surfaces require more water to clear away.

The Roborock Q7 Max's real-world performance isn't all that strong. The manufacturer advertises its suction motor to produce 4200Pa of suction power, significantly more than the Roborock Q5's 2700Pa of advertised suction power. Still, this figure is meaningless in the real world, where both vacuums deliver similar overall suction and debris pickup performance. Unfortunately, like most robot vacuums, its suction inlet is positioned too high above the contact surface to generate a tight seal on bare surfaces, resulting in low real-world suction power measurements.

This vacuum is remarkably quiet in normal operation, and you won't have any trouble hearing nearby conversations even when the vacuum is running in the same room. However, expect a slightly less discrete cleaning experience if your home features a lot of rugs and carpeted floors: noise levels can reach as high as 69.9dBA when it's set to its 'Max' suction mode, which it'll automatically set itself to when cleaning carpets. In contrast, noise levels drop to as little as 58.7dBA when the vacuum is in its low-power 'Quiet' setting.

This vacuum does a great job of maneuvering itself. Like most other Roborock vacuums, it cleans in an organized pattern after mapping out its coverage area, starting by cleaning the perimeter of a room before working its way inwards in a series of back-and-forth lines. It's small enough to squeeze under most tables and chairs too. However, unlike the pricier Roborock S7 MaxV and Roborock S8, it lacks a real-time hazard identification system that would allow it to spot and react to obstacles like power cords. It also has trouble climbing onto thick carpeting, despite its advertised claim of being able to climb obstacles 0.8 in (2 cm) in height. Rug tassels can also get caught in the brushroll.

The Roborock Q7 Max has poor air filtration performance. Despite its high-efficiency E11 filter, fine particles can still escape from its exhaust.

This vacuum has poor crack-cleaning performance. It struggles with drawing up fine debris wedged deep within crevices, but its side brush also tends to scatter debris around rather than direct it towards the suction inlet. Running the vacuum in the 'Max+' suction mode doesn't make much of a difference here either, with the final results of said test seen here. Still, the Q7 does a better job of cleaning out debris in cracks compared to the cheaper Q5, which throws around a lot more fine debris from cracks.

This vacuum's stain-clearing performance is poor even when it's set to its 'High' water flow mode. On the upside, installing the mop pads is easy, as seen here. Unlike the pricier Roborock S8, its mopping pad doesn't vibrate to scrub away stains, so it isn't as efficient when dealing with tougher messes. The manufacturer recommends pre-soaking the mopping pad before letting it run. If you want a more thorough clean, we recommend doing a second mopping run, the results of which you can see here. Check out the Roborock Qrevo S if you want a robot vacuum that does a better job of dealing with stains.

The Roborock Q7 Max isn't designed for dealing with liquid spills. It can clear away small spills by soaking them away with its mopping pads, but having the vacuum suck up liquid will likely result in damage.

The Roborock Q7 Max has a very wide range of physical automation features. If you opt for the Q7 Max+ variant, it comes bundled with a Auto-Empty Dock Pure base station, which reduces hands-on maintenance requirements. If you buy a basic Q7 Max and want this self-emptying capability further down the line, you can buy the Auto-Empty Dock Pure separately. You can use the vacuum without an internet connection using only the two buttons on its top cover, though you lose out on quite a bit of functionality when doing this. Pressing and holding the power button turns the vacuum off, and tapping it makes it start and stop a cleaning session. Tapping the 'Home' button sends it back to its dock. As the name implies, pressing the 'Spot Clean' button has the vacuum clean a small area while holding it down engages the child lock. It's fully compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Apple Siri devices, meaning you can control it with voice commands.

The Roborock companion app has a wide range of features and is easy to use. You can view a quick tour of the app here. The vacuum offers multi-floor mapping capability, allowing it to save four different coverage maps so that you can use it on any floor in your house. Using the coverage map, you can set room names, split up areas, change surface types, set up 'No-Go' zones, and create virtual boundary lines for areas you don't want the vacuum to enter. You can also schedule cleaning sessions for individual areas, set individual suction modes for different areas, or see cleaning session history.

You can view the map of its coverage area in standard 2D or 3D viewing modes, the latter of which can be customized by swapping out furniture models and editing the texture of the floor.

You can direct the vacuum manually by selecting a room you want it to go to using the 'Pin n Go' function or by using the in-app directional buttons. You can also use the app to check the maintenance status of various components, change the auto-empty settings, adjust the voice used for audio prompts, adjust its charging behavior to only recharge off-peak hours, and set up its 'Do Not Disturb' mode.