Xiaomi Mi Vacuum Cleaner Light Vacuum Review

Build quality is decent. The vacuum is mostly made of plastic, though it does have a lightweight metal wand, most likely made of aluminum. The plastic used in its construction feels reasonably high-grade, but there are a few weak points. The wand has the unfortunate combination of sitting in its socket somewhat loosely, causing it to wiggle very slightly when connected to the motor unit and being difficult to remove from its socket. You'll also have to ensure that the cyclone filter is seated correctly in the dirt compartment, as you can't to connect the wand properly if the filter is misaligned.

User maintenance isn't especially difficult, though this vacuum has a few peculiarities that can make routine upkeep somewhat annoying.

• Dirt compartment: You'll need to remove the wand to remove the dirt compartment and empty it. Removing the wand can take a bit of force, however. You'll also need to ensure that the gasket around the dirt compartment opening is completely free of debris, as any small amount of debris left behind will make it practically impossible to close properly.
• Cyclone: You can remove this component after detaching the dirt compartment and then pulling the cyclone from its housing. From there, you can separate it very easily into its two component pieces, with the inner cotton filter being inside the cyclone. You should wash the assembly once a week. When inserting the cyclone assembly back into the dustbin, you need to make sure that it's aligned correctly, as this component has the unusual design feature of incorporating a pair of pins that connect to the vacuum's wand. If it isn't placed precisely, you can't connect the wand to the vacuum.
• HEPA filter: This filter is located right on top of the cyclone, and you should rinse it once a week.
• Brushroll: The brushroll is pretty easy to access, though it does tend to collect a lot of long hair. Its unusually-designed brushroll has bristles arranged in a series of straight lines rather than arcs curving around the roller. However, this doesn't make it any harder or any easier to clean than any comparable component.

Recurring costs are quite low.

• Filters: You should replace the HEPA filter every two to three months. This part isn't currently listed on the manufacturer's North American storefront, but you can find it on some European versions of the site, as seen here. If you're based in North America, this third-party retailer offers a two-pack of HEPA filters that are listed as being compatible, though we can't confirm that they'll perform identically.
• Cyclone Assembly/Cotton filter: No replacement interval is given for the cotton filter inside the cyclone assembly.

This vacuum is pretty easy to store. The rack station holds the vacuum upright and features two storage slots for both its attachments. However, the rack station doesn't double as a charging station like it does for the Roborock H7, as the vacuum charges separately via a separate power adapter. As such, you'll need to position its storage rack pretty close to a power outlet.

This vacuum's dirt compartment is pretty small. At about a quarter of a liter in capacity, it holds much less debris than a more conventional cordless stick model like the Samsung Jet 60. You can keep tabs on how full the dustbin is by looking through the observation window.

• Xiaomi Mi Vacuum Cleaner Light cordless stick vacuum
• Vacuum body
• Dirt compartment
• Cyclone assembly
• HEPA filter
• Wand
• Vacuum head with brushroll
• Quick User Guide / Instruction Manual
• Various tools and brushes
  • Crevice tool
  • Soft bristle dusting brush
• Rack station
  • Wall-mount storage rack
  • Power supply

Note: Despite being purchased from Xiaomi's store on amazon.com, we received this vacuum with an EU-specific plug. Let us know in the discussions if your unit also came with the wrong type of power supply.

Since this is a cordless vacuum, the range is limited only by the remaining battery life and the room left within its dirt compartment. Unfortunately, its wand is fixed in length, so you can't extend it to help you reach far away areas.

It's an amazingly lightweight vacuum. At just over four pounds, it weighs noticeably less than even other highly portable stick vacuums like the Dyson V12 Detect Slim. The overall feel of the vacuum is somewhat unbalanced, with the majority of the weight concentrated in the motor unit.

Battery performance is good. You can expect about fifty minutes of runtime in its standard power setting. That drops to about 15 minutes when using it in its 'MAX' power mode, which is a significant drop but not at all surprising for a vacuum of this type. Unfortunately, it takes over four hours to recharge, which is quite slow. That said, it recharges in less time than the advertised figure of five hours.

Note: Despite being purchased from Xiaomi's store on amazon.com, we received this vacuum with an EU-specific plug. To conduct battery testing, we used an EU-to-US plug adapter. It's unclear whether or not the use of this adapter led to a difference in recharge time.

The Xiaomi Mi Vacuum Cleaner Light has relatively few extra convenience features. There are two power settings: 'Standard' and 'MAX', which you can activate by pressing the labeled button. The LED light above the buttons turns red when the charge drops to a low level.

This vacuum only comes with a crevice tool and a soft-bristle dusting brush, which has an extremely small nozzle.

You can detach the vacuum's wand and floorhead to use it as a handheld vacuum. You can attach all of the tools to the end of the wand to further extend your reach, but be aware that the wand itself isn't telescopic.

This vacuum delivers excellent performance on bare floors in its 'MAX' power setting, as it easily clears away both small debris like rice and bulkier debris like cereal.

Low-pile carpet performance is poor, even in the vacuum's 'MAX' mode. This vacuum struggles with larger debris like sand and has even more trouble dealing with fine, lightweight debris like baking soda that's been embedded in low-pile carpet fibers.

This vacuum does an okay job of handling debris on high-pile carpet. It's reasonably effective in clearing away fine debris like baking soda but struggles somewhat with larger debris like sand. This vacuum also exhibits unusual behavior on carpets. When pulling it towards you in a sweeping motion, the floorhead can bounce up and down, causing it to lose contact with the ground and limiting its ability to clean.

This vacuum does a great job of handling pet hair. It can easily clear away this debris on bare floors, though you might need to make an extra pass on carpets to collect everything.

Suction performance is poor. Even at its 'MAX' setting, this vacuum doesn't exert nearly as much force as more conventional cordless stick vacuums like the Roborock H7.

The Xiaomi Mi Vacuum Cleaner Light is very quiet. It's even quieter than higher-end models like the Dyson V12 Detect Slim, though it's still likely that you'll have trouble hearing what nearby people are saying while the vacuum is running.

The Xiaomi Mi Vacuum Cleaner Light is pretty easy to maneuver. Its slim, lightweight design makes it pretty easy to maneuver in tight spots or lift over obstructions, though it feels pretty rear-heavy, with most of its weight being suspended by your hand. Swapping attachments is pretty easy, though the narrow suction inlets for its soft-bristle dusting brush and crevice tool means they're unsuited for cleaning larger areas, like countertops or large couch cushions. Its floorhead also tends to bounce upwards when pulling the vacuum towards you.

This vacuum performs badly when clearing pet hair from furniture using its included tools. The crevice tool has too narrow a suction inlet to be practical for cleaning larger upholstered areas, while pet hair tends to get clumped in the bristles of the dusting brush rather than being sucked into the vacuum. A miniature turbo brush, or even a simple upholstery nozzle, would go some way toward improving its ability to clear away hair on fabric. Any increase in performance in this regard is negligible when using it in its 'MAX' mode, so you're better off leaving it in its less power-hungry standard setting when cleaning furniture.

The Xiaomi Mi Vacuum Cleaner Light does a great job of sealing in fine allergens like dust or pet dander. While the vacuum manual and the accessory page for the vacuum's filter list it as having an H13 HEPA rating, this isn't listed on the webpage for the vacuum itself. Regardless of its actual rating, the filtration performance test indicates that it's pretty effective in trapping allergens.

The Xiaomi Mi Vacuum Cleaner Light does a poor job of dealing with debris in cracks when used in its conventional stick configuration with its floorhead. It doesn't exert enough suction power to pull debris from crevices, while its brushroll does little to sweep it free. Using the vacuum in its 'MAX' setting does little to improve performance in this regard, with the results of said test seen here. If you need to clean any crevices with this vacuum, you should use the crevice tool.

The Xiaomi Mi Vacuum Cleaner Light has no impact on stains when used with its conventional floorhead. Unlike the Samsung Jet 75, it isn't compatible with any dedicated mopping floorhead.