iRobot via eBay has
iRobot Roomba j7+ Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum (Certified Refurbished w/ 2-Year Allstate Warranty) on sale for
$279.99 when you apply coupon code
TOPSELLER15 at checkout.
Shipping is free.
Thanks to Deal Hunter
Meowssi for sharing this deal.
Certified - Refurbished:
- eBay has verified that this item has been inspected, tested, cleaned and disinfected by a qualified refurbisher
- Appearance: Pristine, like-new condition.
- Performance: Works like new, meets the manufacturer's specifications.
- Warranty: Two-year warranty serviced by Allstate.
- Packaging: Comes in new, generic packaging with original or new accessories (if applicable).
About this product:
- Avoids common obstacles like socks, shoes, and pet waste
- Edge-sweeping brush
- Empties itself for 60 days
- Smart mapping
- Works with Alexa
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Top Comments
Inevitably I will get some smart@ss that thinks we aren't aware of the fact that most stuff are assembled or manufactured in China. The point is more that the entire software stack on the vacuum and all the data it collects are under Chinese "company" control. I put "company" in quotes, because anyone that has ever dealt with such regimes know it's not just a company. Any large company of sufficient size all have direct ties to the government/CCP.
PS, I'm part Chinese, and being Asian get treated differently than obvious tourists even if they recognize us as tourists when traveling to countries like that.
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Pros:
Easy to set up and program
Works well on hardwood floors.
Relatively inexpensive
Lots of 3rd party replacement parts that work fine and cheaper
Cons:
No great on deep carpet
Battery life not so good - already replaced the battery as the included one would not hold charge
Seems that onboard storage for vacuumed material is small and has to empty frequently
Can't seem to get it to work on 2nd floor that it is supposed to do, seems to get lost.
Overall, is decent to get started with a robovac.
Ended up getting Water Drop Tankless. Far superior in terms of amount of water it can dispense in a day. No more waiting for water to be filled up in a tank. Waste to clean water ratio down from 6:1 to 1:2.
APEc also has a tankless system now. But it's also made in China.
Did you do any testing to check if the filter actually does filter to the quality standard you expect?
I'm actually looking at getting a filtration system for my home as well, but have not done much research yet.
To be frank, a lot of American products are falling behind Chinese made and designed ones. They tend to be significantly cheaper too. Some of that may be due to subsidizing or anti-competitive pricing schemes, but as a consumer it's hard to say, I'm going to pay more for inferior product. So I get it.
After a few hiccups at the start, the Roomba is far better than my roborock at navigation and avoiding objects.
Most importantly if you live in a house with lots of dog hair, or long hair in general, the Roomba doesn't clog up like the roborock. Id have to disassemble the roborock constantly to pull my wife's hair out of it.
Inevitably I will get some smart@ss that thinks we aren't aware of the fact that most stuff are assembled or manufactured in China. The point is more that the entire software stack on the vacuum and all the data it collects are under Chinese "company" control. I put "company" in quotes, because anyone that has ever dealt with such regimes know it's not just a company. Any large company of sufficient size all have direct ties to the government/CCP.
PS, I'm part Chinese, and being Asian get treated differently than obvious tourists even if they recognize us as tourists when traveling to countries like that.
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Instead of pressing the button to wake the robot up (which actually send it around to vacuum), lift the side to disconnect charging and place back down for less frustrating results.
Inevitably I will get some smart@ss that thinks we aren't aware of the fact that most stuff are assembled or manufactured in China. The point is more that the entire software stack on the vacuum and all the data it collects are under Chinese "company" control. I put "company" in quotes, because anyone that has ever dealt with such regimes know it's not just a company. Any large company of sufficient size all have direct ties to the government/CCP.
PS, I'm part Chinese, and being Asian get treated differently than obvious tourists even if they recognize us as tourists when traveling to countries like that.
The former I can somewhat understand but I might be scared regardless of any country of origin of a company. China probably more privacy concerns since as you state, the government has much more ties with supposedly private entities. This is not a problem (I think) with a vast majority of roborock devices so it's almost moot. The software suddenly breaking is not necessarily a worry of mine. Not sure if a person's domestic country would put a block on the software for safety from China reasons. Even if they did, it would only be for software updates. You'd be stuck with the current firmware which is fine enough, I don't have a problem with that. If China disables the software then you are with a paper weight but why would they do that exactly? It's not exactly an essential item for many people worldwide. There is almost no strategic gain to bricking your robot vacuum.
You can buy roomba to support non-Chinese businesses and that's fine but I don't see much reason too actively avoid Roborock.
The former I can somewhat understand but I might be scared regardless of any country of origin of a company. China probably more privacy concerns since as you state, the government has much more ties with supposedly private entities. This is not a problem (I think) with a vast majority of roborock devices so it's almost moot. The software suddenly breaking is not necessarily a worry of mine. Not sure if a person's domestic country would put a block on the software for safety from China reasons. Even if they did, it would only be for software updates. You'd be stuck with the current firmware which is fine enough, I don't have a problem with that. If China disables the software then you are with a paper weight but why would they do that exactly? It's not exactly an essential item for many people worldwide. There is almost no strategic gain to bricking your robot vacuum.
You can buy roomba to support non-Chinese businesses and that's fine but I don't see much reason too actively avoid Roborock.
I don't think the average American citizen understands the threat of Chinese Communist Party (CCP). If you like me, am Asian, and interact with these countries, you'd know. They really are technically authoritarian states, and calling it communist is a misnomer and intentionally misleading.
Here's just one example on US soil: https://www.theguardian
Feel free to google other sources. There's plenty of them out there. If you deal with them on a regular basis, it's very clear this is not out of the norm and instead IS the norm.
What I can tell you, is that even in my capacity as a volunteer contributor to help people less fortunate in these countries, the government will insert their spies in our midst disguised as helpers. They speak English, and when you ask them questions (just small talk), you can tell they lie about their background. This is not abnormal and is the norm there, because they are listening in and ensuring you aren't spreading dissenting information. The type of overstepping legal boundaries we expose in the US, you can't even expose over there. Just imagine how much worse it is.
The main concern about the software isn't that the robot is spying on me and my home. It's the fact that you now have a piece of software that the CCP can control and insert software that attacks other devices in your home. Do you have your robot on auto-update software/firmware? Do you install their app on your phone?
They're now behind your NAT and any vulnerabilities discovered or not, can be taken advantage of. Got a computer? Cameras? Scanners? Printers? Router?
That's why it's important that the software stack is controlled by a non-authoritarian regime.
Not sure how to solve the phone issue but doing a bit of googling online, it does seem like this is a worry for a lot of people. A solution for technical people it seems is isolating the roborock on your wifi, there's also a firmware https://valetudo.cloud/pages/installation/roborock.html [valetudo.cloud]. No phone app kind of ruins the vacuum though even if you are a technical person that does that. May be a solution, who knows, may look into it more since I just got the S8+.
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Not sure how to solve the phone issue but doing a bit of googling online, it does seem like this is a worry for a lot of people. A solution for technical people it seems is isolating the roborock on your wifi, there's also a firmware https://valetudo.cloud/pages/installation/roborock.html [valetudo.cloud]. No phone app kind of ruins the vacuum though even if you are a technical person that does that. May be a solution, who knows, may look into it more since I just got the S8+.
As a rule, I just don't want to fund such a regime that already has too much worldwide power.
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