The Roborock S6 is a premium robot vacuum. It delivers superb performance on bare floors, and it's equipped with a mopping attachment that can help clean wet spills or stuck-on grime. The vacuum also delivers okay performance on low and high-pile carpet. It offers a wide array of automation features through its companion app, allowing you to set up virtual boundary lines or schedule cleaning sessions for individual rooms. Unfortunately, it has demanding maintenance needs and has many parts that need to be replaced every few months, depending on your usage.
Our Verdict
The Roborock S6 is great for cleaning bare floors. It clears everything from pet hair to bulky debris like cereal with ease. It comes with a mop attachment to clean sticky messes, although we don't currently test it. However, this vacuum does have many parts that require regular cleaning or even replacement. Thankfully, its companion app lets you know which accessories need to be replaced and when.
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Effective smart pathing feature.
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Picks up pet hair on all surfaces.
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Exceptional performance on bare floors.
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Many recurring costs and it requires ongoing maintenance.
The Roborock S6 is satisfactory for low-pile carpet. While it can pick up dog hair without a problem and clears a decent amount of larger debris like sand, it struggles a lot more with fine debris like baking soda. Thankfully, it does an excellent job of maneuvering itself and offers a wide range of automation features through its companion app. Unfortunately, recurring costs are high, and it also has demanding maintenance needs.
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Effective smart pathing feature.
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Picks up pet hair on all surfaces.
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Struggles to pick up small debris.
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Many recurring costs and it requires ongoing maintenance.
The Roborock S6 is okay for high-pile carpet. While it can easily climb on top of high-pile carpet and maneuver around, it has trouble picking up fine debris like baking soda and larger debris like sand, though it does a fantastic job of cleaning pet hair. This vacuum has many parts that require regular cleaning and incurs high recurring costs.
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Effective smart pathing feature.
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Picks up pet hair on all surfaces.
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Struggles to pick up small and large debris.
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Many recurring costs and it requires ongoing maintenance.
The Roborock S6 is excellent for cleaning up pet hair. It does an excellent job of picking up hair on all surface types and does a good job of filtering out allergens. However, it does need regular maintenance for many components, which also need to be replaced regularly. Luckily, Roborock includes a cleaning tool that can help you detangle hair from the brushroll, which is also removable for easier access.
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Picks up pet hair on all surfaces.
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Removable brushroll.
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Good air filtration peformance.
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Many recurring costs and it requires ongoing maintenance.
The Roborock S6 isn't designed to be used on stairs.
The Roborock S6 isn't designed to be used in cars.
- 7.7 Bare Floor
- 6.9 Low-Pile Carpet
- 6.5 High-Pile Carpet
- 5.3 Pets
- 5.9 Stairs
- 4.7 Cars
- 4.7 Workshop
- Updated Dec 14, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 0.7.
- Updated Oct 17, 2022: We've corrected an error in this review stating that this vacuum has a HEPA-efficiency exhaust filter. This isn't the case, and all mentions of this vacuum having a HEPA filter have been removed.
- Updated Sep 23, 2022: We've set the 'Scheduled Start Buttons' field in the 'Physical Automation' section to 'No', as you need to use the vacuum's companion app to schedule a cleaning session in advance. All relevant scores and text have been updated.
- Updated Aug 03, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.6.
- Updated Jul 13, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.5.
- Updated Jul 22, 2021: Updated review for accuracy and clarity.
- Updated Jul 14, 2020: Review published.
- Updated Jul 09, 2020: Early access published.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Roborock S6 is available in two color variants: 'Black' and 'White'. We tested the 'Black' variant, but expect the other color variant to perform similarly overall.
This vacuum shares much in common with the newer Roborock S6 MaxV and Roborock S6 Pure. The MaxV features additional optical sensors to better identify obstacles. Meanwhile, the Pure is equipped with a larger water reservoir for its mopping attachment and has fewer physical control buttons. However, it should be noted that we haven't tested the Pure yet.
Let us know in the discussions below if you've come across another variant of this vacuum so that we can update our review.
Compared To Other Robot Vacuums
The Roborock S6 is a good overall robot vacuum. Just like the Roborock S5, it has a mop attachment so that it can clean sticky messes around the house, although we don't currently test this. Unlike many other robot vacuums, it can also maneuver on and clean high-pile carpet, although it isn't as good at cleaning this surface as the Neato Botvac D7.
If you're searching for alternatives, you can take a look at our list of recommendations of the best robot vacuums, the best robotic vacuums for hardwood floors, and the best robot vacuums for carpets.
The Roborock S7 is better for most uses than the Roborock S6, though they each have their own advantages. The S6 has a bigger dirt compartment, is a little lighter and takes less time to charge while offering a similar overall runtime. Conversely, the S7 is more effective on carpets and has a more advanced mopping function, which does a better job of scrubbing away stains and can be raised when the vacuum is maneuvering on carpets. The S7 is also fully compatible with a self-emptying dock.
The Roborock S6 is a better robot vacuum than the Roborock S4. The S6 cleans all surface types much better, especially because it can climb onto high-pile carpet, and it has a mopping feature, although we don't currently test for this. It also has slightly better maneuverability, and build quality. That being said, the battery life of both vacuums is very similar, so if you don't have carpet in your home, the S4 could be a good alternative.
The Roborock S6 is a slightly better robot vacuum than the Roborock S5. The S6 has a similar mopping feature, but it comes with disposable mopping cloths, so you don't have to worry about it dragging messy spills around the house. In terms of performance, it also does a better job with small and large debris as well as pet hair on any surface type. It has slightly better maneuverability, and it feels a better built. That being said, both vacuums have very similar battery life.
The Roborock S6 and Roborock E4 perform very similarly overall. The E4 is slightly more compact, easier to carry, and does a little bit better on high-pile carpet. Meanwhile, the S6 features a sturdier design, a more advanced LIDAR navigation system, and superior maneuverability. The S6 features a mop attachment to clean up wet messes, while a mopping kit is available for the E4, though we don't currently test the effectiveness of either feature.
The Roborock S6 is better than the Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum. The Roborock is better-built, has an automatic surface-type adjustment feature, maneuvers itself around obstacles with less difficulty, and has more advanced automation capabilities, including support for virtual boundary markers and scheduling for individual room cleaning sessions. It also performs better on bare floors and can clear debris on high-pile carpet. Meanwhile, the Xiaomi performs a little better on low-pile carpet.
The Roborock S6 MaxV and the Roborock S6 are similar vacuums, and you may prefer either one, depending on your preferences. The S6 delivers a better cleaning performance on every surface type and has longer battery life. However, the S6 MaxV has a 'ReactiveAI' feature that uses cameras on the front of the vacuum to detect obstacles and move around them. It's also slightly smaller. Both models come with mopping attachments, but we don't test that feature currently.
The Roborock S6 is a better hybrid robot mop/vacuum than the Ecovacs DEEBOT OZMO T8 AIVI. The Roborock is easier to maintain, has a larger dirt compartment, and offers a better battery performance. It does a better job on bare floors as well as low-pile carpet, and its maneuverability is better. However, the Ecovacs has a camera that you can use to monitor your home from its companion app, and its recurring costs are lower.
The Roborock S6 is a better robot vacuum than the Shark AI Robot. The Roborock is better-built, easier to maintain, and has a mopping feature, although we don't currently test it. It also offers better performance on all surface types. However, the Shark has a slightly better battery performance.
The Roborock S7 MaxV is better than the Roborock S6. The S7 MaxV has a hazard-avoidance function, a far more effective mopping feature, and delivers stronger performance across all surface types. Unlike the S6, it's also fully compatible with a self-emptying station, which reduces hands-on maintenance requirements. That said, the S6 has fewer parts that need regular cleaning and a larger internal dustbin.
The Roborock S6 is better than the iRobot Roomba j7. The Roborock incurs lower recurring costs, has fewer parts that need regular cleaning, has a longer battery life, comes with a mopping attachment for dealing with sticky messes on bare floors, and delivers superior performance on bare floors and low-pile carpet. The iRobot has more advanced automation features like its hazard detection capability that enables it to automatically identify and maneuver around pet waste, and, if you go for the j7+ variant, its self-emptying function, letting it dump any accumulated debris from its internal dustbin to an external dirt compartment on its charging dock, reducing hands-on maintenance requirements. The iRobot also performs better on high-pile carpet and charges a lot faster.
The Roborock S6 and the Wyze Robot Vacuum are very similar robot vacuums, but the Roborock is better for most uses. The Roborock's dirt compartment is much bigger, and it has a better battery performance. It also has an automatic surface type adjustment feature. On the other hand, the Wyze is easier to maintain and delivers significantly better performance on high-pile carpets.
The Roborock S6 is better than the iRobot Roomba i3. The Roborock is better-built, less demanding in maintenance, incurs fewer recurring costs, maneuvers over obstructions like electrical cords with less difficulty, and delivers notably superior performance on bare floors and low-pile carpet. It also comes with a mopping attachment, though we don't currently test that feature. Meanwhile, the iRobot features an automatic dirt disposal function, as it can empty its internal dustbin into an external dirt compartment built into its charging dock. It also charges faster than the Roborock, though its maximum runtime is much shorter.
The Roborock S6 and iRobot Roomba S9 are somewhat evenly matched but for different reasons. The Roborock is slightly easier to maintain, incurs marginally lower recurring costs, has a longer overall battery life, and is more effective with clearing large debris, like cereal, on bare floors. It also has a mop attachment to deal with wet messes. Conversely, the iRobot performs better on carpeted surfaces, has a slightly larger dirt compartment, and charges almost twice as fast.
The Roborock S6 is a better vacuum than the iRobot Roomba 981. The Roborock has a better performance on high-pile carpets, more advanced automation features, and longer battery life. On the other hand, the iRobot charges faster and has a slightly bigger dirt compartment.
The Roborock S6 is a better vacuum than the Roborock S4 Max for most uses. The S6 has a significantly better performance on bare floors and low-pile carpets. It doesn't clear as much larger debris from high-pile carpets, but picks up more pet hair from that surface type and doesn't lose as much suction as its dirt compartment fills. On the other hand, the Max is a bit smaller and lighter, which makes it more portable.
The Roborock S6 is better for more use cases than the iRobot Roomba i4. The Roborock feels better-built, incurs fewer recurring costs, has a larger dirt compartment, maneuvers more effectively, and delivers superior performance on bare floors and low-pile carpet. It also comes with a mopping attachment, though we don't currently test that function. Meanwhile, the iRobot does a much better job of sucking up larger debris, such as sand, from high-pile carpets.
The Roborock S6 is a better robot vacuum than the Shark IQ Robot AV992 Series. The Roborock has a better performance on bare floors. It also has better build quality, less demanding maintenance needs, and incurs fewer recurring costs. On the other hand, the Shark delivers better performance on high-pile carpets.
The Roborock S6 is slightly better than the Neato D8. The Roborock is better built, incurs fewer recurring costs, has a longer battery life, maneuvers itself around obstacles like electrical cords with less difficulty, and delivers better performance on bare floors and low-pile carpet. It also has a mopping attachment for dealing with sticky messes on bare floors. Meanwhile, the Neato is significantly more effective on high-pile carpet, has fewer parts that require regular cleaning, comes with a larger dustbin, and charges much faster.
The Roborock S6 is better overall than the Shark IQ Robot. The Roborock is better-built and has superior battery performance. It also delivers better overall cleaning capability on bare floors and low-pile carpet while maneuvering far more effectively. That said, the Shark picks up a little more material on shaggy carpets.
The Roborock S6 is a better robot vacuum for bare floors than the iRobot Roomba i7. Although we don't currently test for it, the Roborock comes with a mop feature that attaches to its underside, allowing you to clean sticky messes. It feels better-built, is easier to maintain, and has fewer recurring costs. It has better battery performance, and it does a significantly better job on bare floors. However, the iRobot cleans carpet more thoroughly as it can pick up more small and large debris. It also comes with an automatic dirt disposal feature in its charging dock, where the robot returns to the dock and empties its dirt compartment into a larger dirtbag for easier disposal.
The Roborock S6 is better than the iRobot Roomba 960 as it performs much better on any type of surface, especially bare floors. It's better-built, easier to maintain, and its battery lasts much longer, although it takes longer to charge. However, the iRobot has a slightly bigger dirt compartment.
The Roborock S6 is a much better robot vacuum overall than the iRobot Roomba E5. It has a better build quality, less recurring costs, and its dirt compartment is larger. Its battery lasts longer on a single charge, and you can adjust its surface type strength either automatically or manually, which is nice. It also does a better job overall and all surface types cleaning small and large debris as well as pet hair, and it can maneuver much better too. There's even a mop feature for cleaning wet spills, although we don't test for it, and there are even more automation features available using its companion app.
The Neato Botvac D7 and the Roborock S6 are similarly performing vacuums with different qualities. The Neato is better at capturing all debris on low and high pile carpet, and while its battery doesn't last as long as the Roborock, it has a shorter charge time, and it has removable batteries, which is nice. It's also easier to maintain, but it has slightly more recurring costs. The Roborock, on the other hand, is better for bare floors, and it even has a mopping feature to help clean wet messes, but we don't currently test for this.
Test Results
The Roborock S6 has excellent build quality. It's made of high-grade plastic and has some metallic accents that give it a premium look. Its durable rubber wheels help the vacuum climb up onto high-pile carpet. Its glossy-finish top cover can be lifted to access the dirt compartment, the Wi-Fi indicator light, and the system reset button. There are also three buttons on its top so you can control it without using the app. Compared to the Roborock S5, it uses a five-pronged side brush which is made of silicone and plastic and has a brushroll with longer, softer bristles. Its mopping attachment can be used to help clean your floor of built-up grime, but we don't currently test for this.
This vacuum is pretty easy to set up out-of-the-box, requiring only that you pair it with the charging dock and connect it to the Mi Home or Roborock apps if desired.
The Roborock S6 robot vacuum is somewhat difficult to maintain, and a lot of its parts need ongoing maintenance.
- Brushroll: The brushroll can be accessed by taking off the plastic cover underneath the vacuum and then pulling it out. It comes with a cleaning tool that has a brush on one end and a hook blade on the other end so that you can cut hair from the brushroll. The brushroll needs to be cleaned once or twice a week, depending on your usage.
- Side brush: You need a screwdriver to remove this brush and to screw it back into place. It needs to be cleaned once a month.
- Dirt compartment: The dirt compartment can be accessed by lifting up the top cover then pulling it out. It needs frequent emptying due to its size and can be washed out with water, but make sure that it's fully dried before using it again.
- E11 Filter: The filter is found inside the dirt compartment. You need to unclip it from the compartment in order to remove it. It should be washed every two weeks. Make sure to let it dry completely before reinstalling it.
- Wheel: The omnidirectional wheel located at the back of the vacuum can be simply pulled from its socket. That said, it requires some effort to do so, so you may want to use a pair of pliers. You should clear it of any stuck-on debris once a month.
- Sensors: If there's dust and debris building up on the sensors, you can wipe them down with a dry cloth.
- Mop attachment: We don't currently test for this but the mopping cloth needs to be cleaned after each use.
- Disposable mop cloth: We don't currently test for this either but the disposable mopping cloth should be discarded after every use.
- Water tank filter: If you're using the mopping attachment, you need to replace this filter every one to three months.
The Mi Home app lets you know which parts need to be replaced based on the total hours used. This is only for when you need to buy a new part and not clean a specific piece.
The Roborock S6 has many recurring costs.
- Brushroll: The brushroll should be replaced every six to 12 months, or after 300 hours of use.
- Side brush: The side brush should be swapped out ever three to six months, or after 200 hours of use.
- E11 Filter: The E11 filter has an estimated service life of three to six months, or after 150 hours of use.
- Mop attachment: We don't currently test for this but the mopping cloth needs to be replaced every six to 12 months.
- Disposable mop cloth: We don't currently test for this either but the disposable mopping cloth should be discarded after every use.
- Water tank filter: We don't currently test for this, but you need to replace this filter every one to three months.
These parts are available from Roborock's Amazon store. Its companion app has a 'Maintenance' tab which gives you a rough estimate of each parts' remaining service life.
The Roborock S6 is very easy to store. It mounts to the charging station by itself and has a plastic base so that the vacuum can rest upon it without its mop cloths dripping water on one spot of your floor. There's cord storage on the back with a cover.
The Roborock S6 has a decently-sized dirt compartment. It doesn't have a physical dirt compartment indicator, so you need to either constantly monitor it or let the companion app remind you after you run multiple cleaning jobs. If you don't want to worry about the compartment filling up, you can also empty it after each use, though its overall capacity is larger than that of the Roborock S7.
- Roborock S6 vacuum
- Charging dock
- Charging cable
- 2x E11 filters
- Main brushroll
- Dirt compartment
- Brushroll guard
- Main brushroll cleaning tool
- Water container
- 2x mopping cloths (one already located on the water container)
- 10x disposable mop cloths (one already on mounting plate)
- Mounting plate for disposable mop cloth
- 6x water filters (two already placed inside the water container)
- User guide
The Roborock S6 has an unlimited range as long as it still has sufficient battery life and room left in its dirt compartment. Unfortunately, it can't go up or down stairs.
The Roborock S6 has good portability. Without its water container, it's a somewhat light robot vacuum to transport around the house. It lacks a carrying handle, though.
The Roborock S6 has outstanding battery performance. An indicator light on its top gives you a rough estimate of the remaining battery life. When the light is white, the battery is above 20%, and when it's lit red, the battery has less than 20% charge left. On its most powerful 'Max' mode, it lasts just under two hours, and on its least powerful 'Silent' mode, it supplies slightly over three hours of runtime, which is similar to the Roborock S5. However, this can vary in the real world. If the vacuum's battery drops below 20%, it abandons its current cleaning task and returns to its charging dock.
The Roborock S6 has a few extra features. It has four different suction power modes: 'Silent', 'Balanced', 'Turbo', and 'Max'. It can also automatically adjust to the surface type it's on by changing its brushroll's speed. When it gets near walls and edges, it spins faster to pick up more debris, while if it's in the middle of a room, it spins slower to prevent debris from getting picked up. Unlike other Roborock vacuums, the Roborock S6 also has a carpet mode that can be turned on/off on the app, which allows the robot to automatically change its power mode when cleaning carpet.
The Roborock S6 has a side brush to direct debris from the outside of the vacuum towards its main brushroll. It comes with a small hook blade to help cut hair away from the brushrolls. There are also two reusable mop mats as well as a mop water container that can be used to clear sticky messes or grime on bare floors. Unlike the Roborock S5, it comes with 10 disposable mop cloths that you can throw away after a cleaning job. There's also a mounting plate that allows you to attach the disposable mop cloths to the water container, but we don't currently test this feature.
The Roborock S6 has exceptional performance on bare floors. It can easily capture pet hair and small debris like rice. Unlike the iRobot Roomba i7, it can also pick up a lot of bulky debris like cereal. However, some of this debris can get stuck in the tunnel between the brushroll and the compartment.
The Roborock S6 is okay on low-pile carpet. It does a fantastic job of cleaning pet hair, but it struggles a bit more with large debris like sand and has an even harder time with fine debris like baking soda. Consider the iRobot Roomba S9 if you're looking for a robot vacuum with better performance on this kind of surface.
The Roborock S6 delivers fair performance on high-pile carpet. While it picks up pet hair with ease, it equally struggles to clean fine and large debris like baking soda or sand, and it can take several passes for it to fully clean this surface type. If you're looking for a robot vacuum with slightly better high-pile carpet performance, check out the Neato Botvac D7.
The Roborock S6 has excellent maneuverability. It uses laser sensor navigation to move around effectively and map its coverage area, and it can use smart pathing to become more efficient with each cleaning job. Its small size allows it to get underneath couches or tables, but it gets stuck on tassels and pulls electrical cords around. Luckily, you can use its companion app to set up virtual boundary markers that the vacuum won't cross.
The Roborock S6 has decent automation features. Using either the Mi Home or Roborock apps allow you to set boundaries and schedule cleaning times for specific rooms or set up virtual boundary markers on its coverage map. You can check the status of various parts, examine your cleaning history, and adjust suction power or surface type settings. If you don't want to use the app, there are buttons on the top of the vacuum to control it. Pressing the 'Clean' button enables a full house clean, the 'Spot Clean' button enables it to clean a small area, and the 'Recharge' button sends the vacuum back to its dock.
