kierara wrote:This just made me snort LOL. I'm imagining poor little NEATO with it's tiny electronic voice (picture the turrets from Portal 2) tweeting about abandonment issues, internal fears, and emotional abuse. Amazing.

oh my god yes! I would love to find a way to have the Neato randomly spout turret lines!

http://theportalwiki.com/wiki/Turret_voice_lines

PemberDucky wrote:nuisance?! poppycock! feel free to make some noise so we can help you out. or just because noise is fun.

i've alerted CS that they'll be hearing from you, so now they've had notification from two different avenues.

(in the meantime, i should advise you to check your SPAM folder. they may have responded to your initial email.)

Thank you very much! I promise I did check my spam folder already and found nothing there. I know there are a lot of busy monkeys around there, but I'll send another e-mail just to be sure it goes through, and I'll do it from my e-mail inbox so I can verify that it actually gets sent. Thanks for the help and for the noise!

lmiyoshi wrote:Woot! Our foster dog peed on my old Neato a few weeks ago, killing the electronics and negating the warranty... Anybody want to adopt an adorable chihuahua mix? heheheh.

Don't need a dog, but if you still have the old Neato, I'm interested in having a go at harvesting parts that didn't die.

jeremiahj wrote:LOL. No way. This little guy raises and lowers itself (back wheels) based on flooring type and obstacles. Do your research, you will see that this company makes the Roomba models look plain dumb.

Although, my new Neato has a lot more problems with thresholds than my previous Roomba. The newer versions of the Roombas go over things a lot better than the original designs.

I actually added a plastic strip to the bumper on my Roomba to keep it from going over the tall threshold to my bathroom. Then the brush motor died. That is the 2nd one to do that.

I have loved my Roombas, but they cost a lot and didn't last very long. I am hoping the Neato will last longer (although I won't be surprised if it doesn't even last a year).

starbuck8968 wrote:Can anyone comment on the reliability of these? Would you recommend the extended warranty?

VERY reliable friend has one and been running it almost everyday for the last couple months...very shedding cat,large house with mostly tile-hardwood floors...he LOVES it! bought his at CostCo its the older version but it came with extra filters and blades. Neato is very effective and easily lifts itself over thresholds
he did raise all his furniture to a 4.5 inch height so that it could get to the edges of the walls. If I didn't need to buy furniture i would get one too!!!!

This is the best Neato/Roomba comparison forum I've found. Looks like Neato is better at sucking (self lol)/cleaning high pile carpet and the brushes are much easier to deal with. That said, for wood floors and mats they will probably clean fairly similarly. http://www.robotreviews.com/chat/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=15809

Bought my XV12 from home.woot 2 weeks ago. I live in an apartment that is hardwood in the kitchen and living room, tile in the bathrooms, and low pile carpet in the bedrooms. I set it for 2:00pm everyday. I have a 60 pound dog that sheds as if she hates her own hair. I mean this dog SHEDS.

I will agree with those that said it will get stuck. That said, if you watch it the first couple of times, you can find WHERE it will get stuck. Do that, and then you can appropriately block those areas or change the set up. I have two things in my house that it will get stuck under. They seem to be the perfectly wrong height, meaning Neato can start to get under them and then can't get out. I blocked both with the black/brown magnetic strip. The poster who said they need to be taped on hardwood is 100% correct. Neato will just push it around otherwise. On carpet, as he said, no need to tape. I run it every day and the container is FULL. It grosses me out to think what I was missing before.

Now that I have things figured out, it has gone 8 days without getting stuck.

One bonus to it, is that one of its limitations has made me keep my apartment cleaner. I know the thing will not clean properly if there are things on the floor (or it will try to eat them). Knowing this makes me sure there isn't crap laying on my floor. My hampers, and my wife, have never been so happy. So, my advice? Buy one. Clean crap off your floors before you leave, and be at home the first couple of times so you can see where it might get stuck and plan accordingly.

Giving this a go since I'm on my second Roomba and it just doesn't seem to have the kick I need.

Does Woot ship these items SmartPost? I am still getting used to the new layout and couldn't find info on the shipping method they are using for these.

I bought one a year ago, and I love it. It can do in one pass what I was previously using two Roombas to manage. The Roombas were incredibly unreliable and their batteries would wear out in about a year. The Neato's battery hasn't seemed to diminish at all.

One serious problem with mine: it can't seem to see one particular stairwell if it comes at it from one particular angle. It just drives right over and bounces down into the basement. These things are built like tanks, though. Not a scratch on it.

Neato did replace that unit, thinking it was a bad floor sensor, but the new one does the same exact thing. I guess there's a bug in it's detection system. I just put down some of the included mag-strip. Problem solved.

fishinabarrel wrote:I bought one a year ago, and I love it. It can do in one pass what I was previously using two Roombas to manage. The Roombas were incredibly unreliable and their batteries would wear out in about a year. The Neato's battery hasn't seemed to diminish at all.

One serious problem with mine: it can't seem to see one particular stairwell if it comes at it from one particular angle. It just drives right over and bounces down into the basement. These things are built like tanks, though. Not a scratch on it.

Neato did replace that unit, thinking it was a bad floor sensor, but the new one does the same exact thing. I guess there's a bug in it's detection system. I just put down some of the included mag-strip. Problem solved.

That's awesome, on both the build quality and the customer service!
I'd suggest telling them again though, and that you're not interested in another replacement, but just so they can work on improving it for the next version, since it does appear to be a design flaw and not a defect of a specific unit.

Ordered one earlier today, sounds like I won't regret it!

Although this is still a good deal, the regular price on this is $429.00, not $599....

http://www.neatorobotics.com/product/vacuums/xv-21/

Good robotic vacuum, more powerful and requires far less maintenance than the Roomba.

blarneystone wrote:Personally, I've owned Roombas for years (I currently have 4 w/one working. And a working scooba. And an Oreck upright)

I bought one of these during the last sale and it is SO much better for vaccuuming. More suction, better recovery. I've had it running daily and it picks up so much, the Mrs. asks "did our old vacuums actually work? Or did they just run over the floor and make it look like it?"

Wow, high praise. Thanks for the feedback!

wootmeorelse wrote:The link to moof changes daily, so a site like this may help.

moofinder

Awesome! Thanks for the link!

it kinda looks like a super nintendo

ROGETRAY wrote:Check here for an answer...

You can either opt for regular shipping (which can vary between different shipping methods, including SmartPost) or the One-Day Shipping option.
Depending on the item we're selling, the shipping options can change from time to time.

Sincerely,
Woot Staff

Thanks for the reply but I'm still not seeing the information I was looking for. I had read that page but it does not give the method used (ground, SmartPost, etc.) like the old Woot had on the product page.

I didn't get any options on the shipping page when I bought this item. I just got the $5. for everything presumably because it was after 11:30 a.m. CST? I don't know.

So is this product shipped via SmartPost or ground?

I'm so psyched I came across this at the last minute. These go for $430 on Amazon.

I had ordering anxiety as I didn't notice this on woot until there was about 15 minutes left. I placed an order then needed to cancel it to change payment methods. tick.. tick.. tick.. tick.. I placed another order which I must have fat fingered. tick.. tick.. tick.. so I ended up emailing woot support right about midnight asking them to un-cancel my order.

this morning, @woot confirmed my order has been placed! These lil NEATO bot vacs are great for everything except getting stuff close to the walls and in corners.

ThunderThighs wrote:How about another non answer?

We actually now use a variety of shipping methods including USPS, UPS, FedEx, and the ever loved SmartPost.

The shipping method is dependent on whether the item is shipped from our warehouse, drop shipped (direct from vendor), or shipped via Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). When using FBA, we instruct our vendor to deliver the product to one or more fulfillment centers from which the product will then be shipped. Please note that we are not part of the Prime or Super Saver Shipping program.

One item can actually be shipped various ways depending where you live as we ship out of multiple warehouses as well.

I believe this item is being drop shipped from our vendor so it's most likely going FedEx or UPS.

That's about as specific as we can get unfortunately. Maybe that helped?

I'm cool with that reply. I am having it shipped to work and we have separate facilities for receiving postal mail versus packages and we have to let them know in advance if a personal package is coming.

Thanks for the non answer that was actually a really good answer.

Ordered two days ago but hasn't shipped yet? This normal - anybody else experiencing this? Haven't bought anything off here for quite a while.

kregan77 wrote:Ordered two days ago but hasn't shipped yet? This normal - anybody else experiencing this? Haven't bought anything off here for quite a while.

It takes between 3 and 5 days to get it shipped off, although they're usually faster. When I bought my neato from the last sale, I hadn't received a shipping notification and when I wrote to customer service, they were really nice about it and sent me the tracking number. The next day my account also showed that it was on its way. So there's a good chance it may have already shipped with no notification, or it's about to ship within the next two days or so!

Still waiting on shipping info also.

Today's Groupon includes the XV-11 for $299, free shipping. Makes the Woot look even better!

ThunderThighs wrote:Better than the allergy/pet? Pfffffft.

No, no, no. I wasn't clear, apparently. Groupon for non-pet/allergy model XV-11 was same price as WOOT for pet/allergy model XV-21. Which makes WOOT the Best Deal Ever.

I got mine yesterday. First run - went to charge after ~30 minutes. Today tried it again - same story: cleans for 28 minutes and goes to charge. Is this normal? On Neato website it says 1-1.5 hours. Are they overestimating two/three-fold?

How long did you charge it before the first use? How long is your carpet?

Mine apparently has locked up it's left wheel. I can't find anything in there that would be blocking.

Do I go to Woot or Neato for a replacement?

edit: Sent an email to CS at Woot. Still disappointed this didn't even make it a full day.

uh, I unboxed mine this morning. Doesn't even power on, doesn't charge. Totally DOA. What.The.Frick?

I love spending 300 bucks on something that isn't going to work. This is awesome. Who else wans 300 bucks?? First come first serve!

I called Neato - they said the items are all shipped in "airplane mode" and it takes a full 24 hours to charge before it shows any sign of life. This sounds like total BS to me since others are opening theirs and using them right away....thoughts/experiences?

PS. I am FURIOUS right now.

lgoforth wrote:uh, I unboxed mine this morning. Doesn't even power on, doesn't charge. Totally DOA. What.The.Frick?

Same thing happened with mine. Nothing at all happens when I dock it. I even gave Neato the benefit of the doubt and let it charge for more than 24 hours. I just sent Woot an email, anyone have any idea how long they usually take to respond?

piecutter wrote:Same thing happened with mine. Nothing at all happens when I dock it. I even gave Neato the benefit of the doubt and let it charge for more than 24 hours. I just sent Woot an email, anyone have any idea how long they usually take to respond?

I also got mine yesterday. It wasn't working at first, but I had issues with the charging bar. I moved it away from the wall and it seemd to start working. I charged it for a few hours, then turned it on, it vaccumed for about 5 mins, then shut of and said it was low battery. It then charged over night, turned it on this am, and it worked for about 5-10 mins again, then just shut off in the middle of the room with low battery. Am i doing something wrong?

piecutter wrote:Same thing happened with mine. Nothing at all happens when I dock it. I even gave Neato the benefit of the doubt and let it charge for more than 24 hours. I just sent Woot an email, anyone have any idea how long they usually take to respond?

According to the cookie-cutter response you'll get from Neato if you call them, they ship them in "airplane mode" so it takes 24 hours to charge. I'm curious what they say if you call them since you have waited the obligatory 24 hours. They wont even talk to me until it's been "charging" for 24 hours. So, basically they are making me wait until tomorrow morning to find out I have some sort of dead-on-arrival POS unit. Nice.

This is fun. I get to read about others who pull their unit out of the box, place it against the charging base and at least get a flicker of light. I get a dark, quiet unit and unsympathetic Neato customer service person. And I have yet to see anything in writing from anyone at Neato with this "airplane mode" shipping reference. Everything document or bit of info I have says to take it out, plug in the charging base, set it against it and it lights up asking you to select a language. Guess mine is deaf and/or speaks no language.

ROGETRAY wrote:We also suggest you charge the unit for 24 hrs (first charge) and then attempting to use the vacuum. If you still encounter issues, please see post above

That makes since, but oddly enough, it shows it at full charge within moments of returning it to the charger. It doesn't appear to be charging? Either way, all 3 times I have tried it, it just stopped in the middle of a room and shut down. It didn't try and relocate the base. I'll wait 24 hours before running it again and see what happens.

Add me to the list of DOA Neatos. I called the company and was told it was in airplane mode (must have been a long flight) and to let it charge for 16 hours then push the power button twice. Not a quiver. Had to leave for the weekend so it will be docked for 60 hours. If there is not a resurrection by then I guess I will have to write customer service or call Neato's faith healers.

What's even more fun is that the instruction manual tells you that you can bypass the charging base and plug the battery pack directly into the unit. "Super," I think to myself, "maybe it's the charging base and I'll have better luck plugging the unit into the battery pack." I follow the instructions and guess what?? Yeah, the plug doesn't fit. Perfect. I mean, did I really expect it to fit? For real. I think Neato pawned a bunch of sh*tty units off on the poor unsuspecting Woot buyers and I am furious.