iRobot Roomba 692 Vacuum Review

The iRobot Roomba 692 is well-built. It's made of hard, dense plastic, though its drive and swivel wheels are rubber. While its matte plastic dustbin is somewhat fragile, this component still feels sturdier than the dustbins of comparable robot vacuums, like the Shark ION Robot 2020.

Setting it up is quite easy and doesn't involve any assembly, requiring only that you plug in its dock station.

The iRobot Roomba 692 has many parts that need periodic cleaning.

• Dustbin: The dustbin can be removed by pressing the release button. Be warned that its door opens toward the user, so be careful when emptying it to avoid spilling any debris over yourself. You should empty it over a trash bin after every use.
• Brushrolls: You can access the bristle and beater brushrolls by removing the brushroll compartment door under the vacuum. You should clean the brushes and their bearings once or twice a week, depending on whether or not you have pets. They tend to collect quite a bit of pet hair, so you'll need to clean them pretty often.
• Filter: The filter is inside the dustbin, and you can pull it out via release tabs. You should clean it once or twice a week, depending on if you have pets, by tapping it against the edge of a garbage can to dislodge any stuck-on debris. Make sure to remove it and clean it before emptying the dustbin.
• Side brush: You need to unscrew the side brush from the bottom of the vacuum to remove it. You should clear it of stuck-on debris and hair once a month.
• Front wheel: While you can pull the wheel out of its socket by hand, this can be a little difficult, and you might find this process easier by using a tool to gain a little more leverage. You should clean it of any stuck-on debris every two weeks. Also, make sure to remove any stuck-on debris from its socket to allow it to spin freely.
• Sensors/Charging pads: You should wipe down the sensors and charging pads on the vacuum and dock station with a clean dry cloth once a month.

The iRobot Roomba 692 Robot Vacuum incurs high recurring costs.

• Filter: You should replace the filter every two months.
• Brushrolls: You should replace the brushrolls every six to 12 months.
• Front wheel: You should replace the front wheel every 12 months.

All these components can be purchased individually or as a single "Replenishment Kit" from iRobot's website.

The iRobot Roomba 692 is fantastically easy to store. It has a compact body, and its charging station takes up very little room.

The iRobot Roomba 692's dirt compartment is reasonably sized. While it's larger than the one found in the iRobot Roomba 675, it doesn't have a max fill sensor to let you know once it's reached max capacity.

• iRobot Roomba 692 Robot Vacuum
• AeroVac dustbin
• 1x AeroVac filter
• 1x Side brush (attached to vacuum)
• Beater brush
• Bristle brush
• Charging dock
• Charging cable
• User guide

This vacuum's range is limited only by its remaining battery life and the room left in its dustbin. It also can't climb or descend stairs.

The iRobot Roomba 692 is quite portable. It's not very heavy, but unlike the iRobot Roomba 614, it doesn't have a carrying handle to help you move it from room to room.

The iRobot Roomba 692 has fantastic battery performance. It doesn't have any distinct power mode presets, but instead, it adjusts its suction level automatically based on current cleaning conditions. Depending on your home's mix of floor types, you can expect roughly 120 minutes of runtime on a single charge. You can monitor its remaining charge through the iRobot Home companion app. The battery indicator light on top of the vacuum will provide a rough estimate of the battery's charge level while it's docked. It turns from solid amber to solid green once it's fully charged. For a similar robot vacuum with even longer battery life, check out the iRobot Roomba 694.

The iRobot Roomba 692 has a couple of quality-of-life features. It has an onboard surface sensor that lets it automatically adjust its height to suit different surface types, from carpets to hardwood floors. While you can't select its power setting manually, the vacuum can automatically increase its suction power. It can also detect areas with higher concentrations of dirt and clean them more thoroughly.

The iRobot Roomba 692 robot comes with a couple of tools and accessories. Its twin-brushroll design works by having the beater brush crush debris so its bristle brush can pick up smaller debris fragments more easily. Its side brush pushes debris from the edges of the vacuum towards its main cleaning path.

The iRobot Roomba 692 does an excellent job of cleaning bare floors. It clears away small debris like rice and bulkier material like cereal without much difficulty. That said, suction performance does drop by a noticeable degree as its dustbin fills up, especially when dealing with heavier debris.

The iRobot Roomba 692 performs poorly on low-pile carpet. It sucks up most large debris like sand but struggles quite a bit when dealing with finer material like baking soda.

The iRobot Roomba 692's performance on high-pile carpet is passable. Like its performance on low-pile carpet, it's effective at dealing with large debris like sand, though it may take an extra pass to clear it all. Unfortunately, it has a hard time with finer materials like baking soda. If you're looking for a cheap robot vacuum that performs better on this surface type, consider the yeedi K650.

The iRobot Roomba 692 does an alright job of handling pet hair. It'll probably require more than one pass to fully clear away this kind of debris on bare floors and low and high-pile carpet.

The iRobot Roomba 692's real-world suction performance isn't especially strong compared to most conventional manually-operated vacuums. Like most robot vacuums, its suction inlet is positioned too high above the contact surface to generate a tight seal on bare surfaces.

The iRobot Roomba 692 is very quiet. You can hear what people nearby are saying even when the vacuum is running in the same room as you.

This vacuum has decent maneuverability. While it uses random instead of smart pathing to plot routes and therefore can't generate permanent maps of its coverage area, it still does a good job of cleaning most parts of a room. Unfortunately, it has some trouble cleaning spots close to obstacles like furniture. Its automatic head height adjustment feature helps clean uneven surfaces like rugs, though it can occasionally get stuck on rug tassels. It can navigate under furniture like tables or couches thanks to its compact size, and it won't get stuck on low-lying obstructions like electrical cords, though it can push and drag them around.

The iRobot Roomba 692 does a terrible job of sealing in fine particles. It doesn't have a HEPA filter, and allergens can blow out of its exhaust port.

The iRobot Roomba 692 has poor crack-cleaning performance compared to manually-operated vacuums, but it's pretty effective for a robot vacuum. Its side brush helps dislodge debris in cracks, and its side brushes don't throw debris everywhere as it cleans. Still, you're better off cleaning crevices with a conventional vacuum, as it struggles to lift debris in all but the shallowest cracks.

The iRobot Roomba 692 does a terrible job of handling stains. It lacks any mopping attachment that would help scrub away dried-on messes.

The iRobot Roomba 692 has an okay range of physical automation features. It doesn't require an internet connection to work, as there are dedicated buttons on top of its body to have it clean, return to its dock, or spot clean a small area. It's fully compatible with physical boundary strips to prevent it from entering certain areas, but they aren't bundled with the vacuum.

The iRobot HOME companion app is good. It lets you check cleaning history and battery life, schedule cleaning jobs, and receive push notifications. You can also use it to command the vacuum to return to its charging dock and to set up voice commands with Amazon Alexa or Google Home devices. Since this vacuum doesn't generate a permanent map of its coverage area, you can't schedule cleaning sessions for specific rooms or create virtual boundary markers through the app. That said, you can purchase physical boundary markers from the manufacturer, which you can use to prevent the vacuum from entering certain areas. If you want a vacuum with more advanced automation features, including the ability to set virtual boundaries, you may prefer the Wyze Robot Vacuum.