There are two common reasons why your Roomba cant find home. Firstly, your Roomba could be stuck without going back to its station if the wifi signal at the base station is very poor.
Secondly, it could happen if the Roomba sensor is blocked by an object in front of it or clogged with dirt.
Any of the above scenarios could cause the Roomba not to find a home; however, I will break down all you need to do when faced with this and how you can prevent it from happening again.
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Why is it a Problem if Roomba cant Find Home?
A Roomba is a wireless robot vacuum that requires charging when its battery level drops.
It can only be charged at the charging station, which is often situated in front of an electrical outlet. And the Roomba can be charged and automatically emptied there as well.
While cleaning, your Roomba returns to its charging station when its batteries run low. The Roomba vacuum also returns to the charging station after cleaning the surrounding area.
If all these happen, why can’t the Roomba find home? Let’s go over all of the reasons why Roomba cant find home.
Why Roomba Can’t Find Home?
Apart from the obstacles your Roomba might be blocked with, There are numerous reasons why your Roomba is unable to locate them, and since you are stuck with this, Let’s break down.
- There are too many obstructions in front of or around the base station.
- The base station isn’t getting any electricity.
- Roomba’s cleaning action has been interrupted and not properly restarted.
- The parking sensor at the charging station is filthy.
- The charging station was relocated.
- The WiFi signal is weak or the frequency is incorrect.
Now that you’re aware of all the reasons why your Roomba cant find home, let’s go over what you need to do to fix the problem.
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How to Repair a Roomba that Isn’t Finding Its Charging Station
Your Roomba not finding its way home isn’t absurd. It generally happens, and there are ways to troubleshoot it. You do not need to be technical to fix this unless the issue is coming from the sensor being damaged.
However, even if you are not handy, you can fix it. All you need to do is carefully follow the steps below.
Remove any obstacles around the station
Obstacles around the charging station are often the source of problems. It’s crucial to provide ample room around the base station for unfettered movement. The parking sensor may be disabled if there is a barrier too close to the charging station.
Roomba advises keeping at least 0.5 meters—and even 1.5 meters—of clear space on both sides and in front of the charging station.
Doing this will put you in a better position to prevent obstacles from hindering your Roomba from getting to the dock.
Don’t relocate the base station once it is installed
Stop changing your Roomba’s location too frequently.
This is another important consideration you ought to take note of.
If you do this, your Roomba may have difficulty locating your house after cleaning it.
Check the base station’s power supply
Another issue that may not be immediately apparent is when the power source is shut off.
When the charging station cable is not correctly inserted into the socket, the power supply to the charging station might become an issue.
So you want to ensure that the power station is correctly positioned in the base station and that the power outlet is fully operational.
Charging station for clean parking sensors
The base station has a sensor that enables the Roomba to locate it when the cleaning cycle is complete or the battery needs to be recharged.
The robot vacuum cleaner cannot be connected if this sensor is unclean. After all, the automated vacuum cleaner is unable to identify it.
Therefore, it’s crucial to ensure that the parking sensor is clean.
You may carefully wipe the base station’s sensor with a dry, clean cloth.
Afterwards, clean the Roomba robot vacuum’s sensors as well.
Check the WiFi connection strength and frequency
You must make sure your wireless network is both powerful and steady at the base station as well as in the surrounding area.
This is important since your Roomba vacuum may have trouble locating the house if the wifi signal is spotty in one of these locations.
Another issue you should watch out for is obstacles, since they may weaken the wifi signal in a particular area.
Keep in mind that solid walls can either reduce or completely block your WiFi signal.
It’s also crucial to be aware that some earlier Roomba models are incompatible with 5GHz connections. So check that your Roomba is set to 2.4 GHz, as most Roomba models support it.
Roomba seems lost
If your Roomba seems lost, it must have come across an obstacle that blocks the WiFi from reaching it. You can deal with notwithstanding by checking for specks of dirt in the sensor or confirming the wifi. Signal where you’ve found the Roomba vacuum problem: there is a form of obstruction or obstacle around the Roomba vacuum.
Roomba’s Home Base is not working
If your Roomba home base isn’t working, the first thing you have to test is the power outlet that is connected to it.
You can do that by connecting another electronic gadget to the outlet to see if the Home Base is working perfectly. If it isn’t, then the power outlet might have an issue, but if the power outlet is working, then it is a technical issue and needs the service of an electrician.
Roomba becomes stuck at home base
If your Roomba keeps getting stuck on the home base, you have to check for any form of obstruction, etc., in between the vacuum and the home base. If there are none, perform a power reset.
Here is how to do a power reset.
- Turn your Roomba on its side.
- Locate the four screws that are holding the battery latch in place.
- Remove the battery from the Roomba.
- Remove it and let it sit aside for 5 minutes.
- Now reinstall the battery afterwards.
Conclusion
You should have figured out how to fix “Roomba cant find home” and what caused it in the first place by now.
If your Roomba hasn’t been able to find its home after trying all the steps above, Contact iRobot Roomba customer support.
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