The Shark ION Robot R76, which is referred to as the Shark ION Robot RV761 in some international markets, is a basic robot vacuum. It feels decently well-built, has a fantastically long battery life, and performs impressively well overall on bare floors. However, it struggles with clearing pet hair on most surfaces and struggles with fine debris on carpeted floors. Its random pathing navigation system also makes it somewhat inefficient when covering an area.
Our Verdict
The Shark ION Robot R76 is okay for bare floors. It clears small and bulky debris without difficulty, but pet hair can get caught in its brushroll, brush guard, and wheels rather than being sucked into its dust bin. It also isn't the best at maneuvering itself over obstructions like electrical cords, and like many robot vacuums, it incurs high recurring costs and has many parts that need regular cleaning.
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Fantastic battery life.
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Comes with physical boundary strips.
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Decent build quality.
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Mediocre maneuverability.
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High recurring costs and demanding maintenance requirements.
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Struggles with pet hair.
The Shark ION Robot RV761 is inadequate for vacuuming low-pile carpet. It struggles with cleaning pet hair, which can get caught in its brush roll, brush guard, and wheels instead of being sucked into its dustbin, and it has a very hard time dealing with fine and large debris. It also tends to drag around or get stuck on obstacles like rugs or power cables. Otherwise, it has a very long battery life and feels decently well-built.
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Fantastic battery life.
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Comes with physical boundary strips.
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Decent build quality.
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Mediocre maneuverability.
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High recurring costs and demanding maintenance requirements.
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Struggles with pet hair.
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Has a hard time clearing fine debris.
The Shark ION Robot R76 is mediocre for cleaning high-pile carpet. It does a great job of dealing with larger debris, but some amount of this material can get stuck at the back of its brush guard rather than being sucked into its dustbin. This vacuum also struggles with very fine debris and pet hair on this surface type. Unfortunately, it can drag around some high-pile carpets too.
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Fantastic battery life.
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Comes with physical boundary strips.
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Decent build quality.
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Clears most larger debris.
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Mediocre maneuverability.
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High recurring costs and demanding maintenance requirements.
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Struggles with pet hair.
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Has a hard time clearing fine debris.
The Shark ION Robot RV761 is a poor option for dealing with pet hair. Pet hair usually gets caught in its brush roll, brush guard, and wheels rather than sucked into its dust bin. While it feels well-built, many parts need regular cleaning or replacing. Thankfully, you can remove its brushroll for easier cleaning of tangled hair. It's also worth noting that this vacuum has a built-in anti-tangle comb advertised to reduce the risk of hair getting tangled within the machine.
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Decent build quality.
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High recurring costs and demanding maintenance requirements.
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Struggles with pet hair.
The Shark ION Robot RV761 is a robot vacuum and isn't designed to clean stairs.
The Shark ION Robot RV761 is a robot vacuum and isn't designed to clean cars.
- 7.2 Bare Floor
- 6.6 Low-Pile Carpet
- 6.7 High-Pile Carpet
- 5.1 Pets
- 5.9 Stairs
- 4.8 Cars
- 4.3 Workshop
- Updated Sep 07, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- Updated Sep 06, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Jan 07, 2022: Review published.
- Updated Jan 04, 2022: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Shark ION Robot R76 is only available in one color variant: 'Black/Navy Blue'. You can see the label for our test unit here. It should be mentioned that this robot vacuum is also called the Shark ION Robot RV761 in some international markets.
If you come across another variant of this vacuum, let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.
Compared To Other Vacuums
The Shark RV761 is a simple robot vacuum. It's very similar in design to the Shark ION Robot R77, though there are a few slight differences. The R77 charges much faster while offering a similar overall battery life, but the R76 clears more debris on bare floors as well as low and high-pile carpet. Unlike the Shark IQ Robot, the R76 doesn't have a smart-pathing navigation system, so you can't direct the vacuum to certain places within your home or set up virtual boundary markers. It's also incapable of resuming a cleaning session from where it left off after returning to its charging dock.
If you're looking for an alternative, take a look at our list of recommendations of the best robot vacuums for hardwood floors, the best robot vacuums for carpet, and the best budget robot vacuums.
The eufy RoboVac 25C is better than the Shark ION Robot R76. The eufy takes less time to recharge and delivers better overall performance on bare floors as well as low and high-pile carpet. You can also use it without an internet connection, thanks to its included remote control. However, the Shark comes with a set of physical boundary strips that you can use to prevent it from entering certain areas. It also has longer battery life.
The Shark ION Robot R76 and iRobot Roomba j7 each have their advantages, meaning one might suit you better than the other, depending on your needs. The Shark incurs lower recurring costs, is easier to store, and clears more debris on bare floors. Conversely, the far more expensive j7 has an advanced mapping system that yields much better maneuverability and allows you to set up virtual boundary lines or schedule cleaning sessions for specific rooms in your home. If you go for the more expensive j7+ model, it comes with a self-emptying base station, reducing hands-on maintenance requirements too. It's also advertised as capable of recognizing your schedule and organizing its cleaning session around it. The iRobot also feels much better built and has an allergen-trapping HEPA filter.
The iRobot Roomba 694 is better than the Shark ION Robot RV700 Series. The iRobot feels better-built, has fewer parts needing regular cleaning, and incurs lower recurring costs. It also does a better job of maneuvering itself and charges faster, though the Shark does have a longer battery life. The Shark also has a slightly larger dustbin and comes with a set of physical boundary strips in the box, unlike the iRobot, with which you need to purchase the boundary strips separately.
The Shark AI Robot is better than the Shark ION Robot R76. The AI feels better-built, incurs lower recurring costs, and maneuvers itself far more effectively. Its more sophisticated mapping system lets you set up virtual boundary markers to keep it out of certain areas. Meanwhile, the R76 clears more debris on bare floors and high-pile carpet, though the AI does do a better job on low-pile carpet.
The Shark IQ Robot is better than the Shark ION Robot R76. The IQ is better-built, does a better job of cleaning pet hair from all surfaces, is more effective on carpeted floors, and uses a smart-pathing navigational system that results in superior maneuverability and a more advanced suite of automation features. You can use the IQ's companion app to send it to a specific room, and it's capable of resuming a cleaning session from where it left off if it needed to charge partway through.
The iRobot Roomba 675 and Shark ION Robot RV700 Series each have advantages, meaning one may suit you better than the other, depending on your needs. The iRobot feels better built, has less demanding maintenance requirements, incurs lower recurring costs, and does a better job of maneuvering itself. It also recharges much faster, though the Shark does have longer battery life. The Shark also comes with a set of physical boundary strips to keep it out of certain areas, has a larger dustbin, and delivers better overall performance on bare floors as well as low and high-pile carpet.
Test Results
The Shark ION Robot R76 feels decently well-built. It has a body made of matte-finish hard plastic that feels quite solid. However, the front bumper scratches easily, and the paint on the side of the vacuum, unprotected by any bumper, can flake off if you scrub it. There are a trio of buttons on top of the vacuum: 'Dock', 'Clean', and 'Max'. You can see those buttons here. Meanwhile, the power on/off switch is located on the side of the vacuum, seen here.
Out-of-the-box assembly is rather simple, requiring only that you snap the two included side brushes into place and plug in its docking station.
The Shark RV761 is hard to maintain due to the high number of parts that require regular servicing. Fortunately, they're all easy to access.
- Brushroll: You can access the brushroll by removing the brushroll compartment door under the vacuum and then pulling it out. Although the manufacturer doesn't specify a maintenance interval, you should make sure to remove any tangled hair or stuck-on debris regularly.
- Dustbin: You can take out the dustbin by pressing the release button near the back of the vacuum. You should empty it after every use. The anti-tangle comb attached to the dustbin can collect hair, which you can pull off easily.
- Pre-motor filter: You can find the pre-motor filter inside the dustbin, and it can be removed by pulling on its release tabs. You should clean it weekly by tapping it against the side of a garbage can to dislodge any dust or debris.
- Side brushes: The side brushes can easily be pulled out of their socket. You should check them once a week and remove any tangled hair or stuck-on debris. You can also wipe them with a damp cloth before leaving them to air-dry completely if necessary.
- Drive wheels: You should clean the drive wheels and their housing weekly to make sure that there isn't any significant buildup of dust or debris. You should rotate the wheels while cleaning them to ensure that no debris gets left behind.
- Front wheel: The front wheel can be removed from its socket. That can be somewhat hard, so you may need to use a tool for sufficient leverage. The manufacturer suggests that you clean it weekly.
- Sensors: You should clean the sensors on the vacuum regularly with a dry cloth or cleaning brush.
- Charging pads: You can find the charging pads under the vacuum and on top of the dock station. You should clean them regularly using a dry cloth or cleaning brush to remove any dust or debris that accumulates.
The Shark RV761 has a lot of recurring costs. Fortunately, all the parts that need replacing can be purchased on Shark's website.
- Pre-motor filter: You should replace the pre-motor filter every two months.
- Brushroll: You should replace the brushroll every six to 12 months or whenever it's visibly worn or damaged.
- Side brushes: You should replace the side brushes whenever you notice significant wear or damage.
- Front wheel: You should replace the front wheel every 12 months. This component's model number couldn't be found on the manufacturer's website, but there are similar products available for purchase.
The Shark ION Robot R76 is fantastically easy to store. It's the same size as other Shark robot vacuums like the Shark ION Robot R77 and has a low-profile charging dock.
The Shark ION Robot R76 has unremarkable dustbin capacity. It isn't very big, so you'll probably need to empty it after every cleaning session. There also isn't any sensor to let you know how close it is to being filled.
- Shark ION RV771 vacuum body
- Dustbin
- 2x filters
- 2x side brushes
- Brushroll
- Brushroll guard
- Boundary strip
- Recharging dock
- User guide
The Shark ION R76's range is limited only by the space in its dirt compartment and its remaining battery life. However, it can't go up or down stairs.
The Shark ION Robot R76 is very portable. It doesn't weigh very much, making it easy to carry around, but it doesn't have a built-in carrying handle to give you a more secure grip.
The Shark RV761 has superb battery performance. Running it in its 'Max' suction power mode yields over two hours of runtime, while using it in its more energy-efficient 'Eco' mode extends its runtime to roughly three hours, which should be more than enough for cleaning most areas. The three battery indicator lights on top of the vacuum give you an estimate of how much charge is remaining, as they gradually turn off as its battery runs out. Unfortunately, the battery takes over four hours to completely recharge, notably longer than the Shark ION Robot R77, which offers similar battery life.
The Shark ION RV761 has a few quality of life features. You can toggle between the following suction power modes through its companion app: the energy-efficient 'Eco' mode, the default 'Normal' mode, and the high-power 'Max' mode. There are physical buttons on top of the vacuum, but they only let you select the 'Max' or 'Normal' modes.
The Shark ION Robot RV761 comes with two side brushes, which help push debris from the side of the vacuum into the path of its main brushroll.
The Shark R76 delivers impressive performance on bare floors. In its high-suction 'Max' power mode, it easily clears small and bulky debris like rice and cereal. However, it may need to make another pass to fully clear pet hair. You may want to consider the eufy RoboVac 25C if you're looking for a budget-friendly model that does an even better job on this surface type.
The Shark ION Robot RV761 performs poorly on low-pile carpet. It struggles quite a bit with cleaning pet hair, which gets caught in the brushroll, brush guard, as well as the drive and directional wheels rather than being sucked into the dustbin. Larger debris like sand, meanwhile, tends to get stuck at the brush guard's back brush. You can see the leftover sand here.
The Shark R76's performance on high-pile carpet isn't bad. It does a great job of clearing larger debris like sand, but similar to the results of our low-pile carpet test, some amount of the material can get caught in the brush guard's back brush, as seen here. Pet hair also tends to get stuck in the brushroll, brush guard, as well as the drive and directional wheels rather than being sucked into the dustbin. Lastly, it struggles with finer debris like baking soda.
The Shark ION R76 has mediocre maneuverability. Unlike the smart-pathing Shark IQ Robot, it uses random pathing to cover an area, meaning that it doesn't follow an efficient cleaning route and only moves in a straight path, changing directions after it runs into something. It tends to miss some areas while vacuuming others multiple times. While it can climb over rug tassels without getting stuck, it may struggle to climb over lighter rugs more than once since it tends to move them around on the first pass. It can get caught on electrical cords too. The manufacturer recommends moving obstacles like cables and rugs that can get in its way while cleaning. Thankfully, it's compact, meaning it can clean under low-lying furniture like couches and tables.
The Shark ION RV761 has good automation features. You can use the SharkClean companion app to turn the vacuum on and off remotely, switch between its power settings, make the vacuum return to its dock, schedule cleaning times, or make a noise so you can find it. This vacuum is also compatible with Alexa and Google Home devices, so you can use voice commands to enable some core functions. Although the vacuum comes with boundary marker strips, you can't set up virtual boundary lines in the app.
