ThunderThighs wrote:I think airplane mode means that the battery is COMPLETELY drained for safe transport on in the airplane cargo hold. That's why they suggest a full 24hrs charging before the first use.

27 hours later....still on the charging base....and still nothing.

ThunderThighs wrote:I think airplane mode means that the battery is COMPLETELY drained for safe transport on in the airplane cargo hold. That's why they suggest a full 24hrs charging before the first use.

I did a full 24 hour charge, and set it to run at 3:30. It had stopped by 3:40 and said the battery was dead (it had previously said the battery had been full). It didn't even find its way back to the charger (or even head that way) it just shuts fully off in the middle of the cycle.

I called the phone number included in the packet to see if I could find any additional info.

The guy said my error was actually unique. that most folks call with a "charging" issue. That they didn't charge long enough, etc. He said mine is a defective battery (from what he can tell over the phone). My replacement will be in the mail tomorrow. It will come with a return label to send the old unit back.

All in all, they were quite friendly and helpful.

ThunderThighs wrote:I think airplane mode means that the battery is COMPLETELY drained for safe transport on in the airplane cargo hold. That's why they suggest a full 24hrs charging before the first use.

60 hrs now and still no signs of life. Will call Neato again Monday.

shookercooker wrote:60 hrs now and still no signs of life. Will call Neato again Monday.

yeah I'm right there with you....going on 38 hours of "charging" now. Concerned that when I call to have it returned, I end up with some POS refurbished unit....

Just called Neato support, very easy people to deal with.

My Neato has been giving me a stuck wheel error, when there is nothing stuck there, I've been given instructions on how to clear the error.

We'll see. Not like I haven't seen power cycling work before.

OK, mine showed up 1/2 hr ago. As others have found, DOA. Called Neato, very friendly folks. If it's common/probable that there would be NO LCD screen indicator due to 'ship in airplane mode', why the heck don't they say that in the Quick Start Guide???? Why on earth would they tell you to dock it & READ THE LCD SCREEN if it's going to be BLANK?? Anyway, I was told after 6 hrs it should give an indication that something good is happening. And, that CS is open 24/7.....
Update in...oh.....6 hrs or so.

Hi - Neato here.

The humans back at Neato Robotics have noticed that a few of you are having problems with your new Neato Robots. The robots are put into "Shipping Mode" (possibly referred to erroneously as "Airplane Mode" by Customer Service, sorry if this caused any confusion!) prior to shipment -- this prevents the robot from turning on in the package during shipment. (This is actually a requirement in some countries.) However, the robot *is* supposed to come back to life once you have it plugged in! An unusually long start-up time is not normal Neato Robot behavior, so we are looking into these isolated instances.

If you have had your new Neato robot plugged in to a live outlet for 24 hours and there is still no sign of life, please call our 24x7 Customer Care department at 1.877.296.3286 in the U.S. or 1.408.848.1063 outside the U.S. and we will most certainly take care of you.

Thanks for your patience as we resolve this issue. Soon you will be up and running and can cross vacuuming off of your "to do" list!

gaf545 wrote:OK, mine showed up 1/2 hr ago. As others have found, DOA. Called Neato, very friendly folks. If it's common/probable that there would be NO LCD screen indicator due to 'ship in airplane mode', why the heck don't they say that in the Quick Start Guide???? Why on earth would they tell you to dock it & READ THE LCD SCREEN if it's going to be BLANK?? Anyway, I was told after 6 hrs it should give an indication that something good is happening. And, that CS is open 24/7.....
Update in...oh.....6 hrs or so.

Hi there - Yes, sorry about the confusion about the "airplane mode". It's not in the documentation because what happened to your robot is not "normal". Glad you are in touch with Customer Care -- they will take care of you! Thx. N

lgoforth wrote:yeah I'm right there with you....going on 38 hours of "charging" now. Concerned that when I call to have it returned, I end up with some POS refurbished unit....

Hi - So sorry that you have had this problem. I also wanted to reassure you that you won't get "some POS refurbished unit" -- It will be a new unit. Please call Customer Care so they can help you with a replacement. Thanks for your patience.

ThunderThighs wrote:I think airplane mode means that the battery is COMPLETELY drained for safe transport on in the airplane cargo hold. That's why they suggest a full 24hrs charging before the first use.

Yes, this is exactly what "airplane" (*SHIPPING*) mode is. Thanks for your clarification! n

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.

Thank you for saving a Neato from doom. I guess it really really wanted something that was in the basement. :-o

neatogrrl wrote:Hi there - Yes, sorry about the confusion about the "airplane mode". It's not in the documentation because what happened to your robot is not "normal". Glad you are in touch with Customer Care -- they will take care of you! Thx. N

Thanks for posting here Neatogrrl.
It's now been 7 hrs & there's no sign of life in my robot. I will wait until 24 hrs have passed to see if a miracle occurs. I can hardly wait to see it in action! That's what makes this so frustrating.... pure anticipation.

lgoforth wrote: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.

Hi - we understand your frustration and I can assure you that Neato isn't "pawing off units". We are investigating why this has happened to a few units (it's definitely not normal) and our 24x7 Customer Care department will take care of you. It is likely that when you first called, this problem had not been seen before and the representative was trying their best to troubleshoot it with you. Please call them back and they will make it right. Thanks again. N

ThunderThighs wrote:I think airplane mode means that the battery is COMPLETELY drained for safe transport on in the airplane cargo hold. That's why they suggest a full 24hrs charging before the first use.

After 72 hours and no signs of life I finally stopped cpr (cuss, pray, resign). Called Neato- they are sending a replacement tomorrow with return shipping label.
Easy people to deal with. Hope R2d # two works better.

neatogrrl wrote:Hi - So sorry that you have had this problem. I also wanted to reassure you that you won't get "some POS refurbished unit" -- It will be a new unit. Please call Customer Care so they can help you with a replacement. Thanks for your patience.

Thank you! I contacted today and they said a new one would be shipped out today. I didnt get the promised shipping confirmation email, but am hoping for the best. Thanks again!

Ditto. 30 hrs & no sign of life. Called Neato & replacement is on its way. Update in a few days. Hope one of you who got a replacement updates.

gaf545 wrote:Ditto. 30 hrs & no sign of life. Called Neato & replacement is on its way. Update in a few days. Hope one of you who got a replacement updates.

Agree - hope someone with a replacement updates. Did anyone get a confirmation email with their tracking number? The rep I spoke to Monday said they'd email me with the tracking number, but so far, 24 hours later, no email, no tracking number. And based on my history with this company so far, that makes me a little leery....

lgoforth wrote:Agree - hope someone with a replacement updates. Did anyone get a confirmation email with their tracking number? The rep I spoke to Monday said they'd email me with the tracking number, but so far, 24 hours later, no email, no tracking number. And based on my history with this company so far, that makes me a little leery....

I spoke to Gina. She said 2-day shipping, would send an email w/tracking # (haven't received so far) & that I needed to send her my Woot invoice, which I forgot to do, but just sent via email. I'll bet yours is on the way.

gaf545 wrote:I spoke to Gina. She said 2-day shipping, would send an email w/tracking # (haven't received so far) & that I needed to send her my Woot invoice, which I forgot to do, but just sent via email. I'll bet yours is on the way.

I hope so! I'll find out tomorrow morning. I had to send my woot invoice also and the serial number from the bottom of my unit, both of which I sent over on Monday.

gaf545 wrote:I spoke to Gina. She said 2-day shipping, would send an email w/tracking # (haven't received so far) & that I needed to send her my Woot invoice, which I forgot to do, but just sent via email. I'll bet yours is on the way.

I too called on Monday, while on the line emailed a copy of my invoice while giving her the SN's. She said I would get a shipping confirmation today. as of 10:30 edt still nothing. Hey Neatogrrl what's up?

shookercooker wrote:I too called on Monday, while on the line emailed a copy of my invoice while giving her the SN's. She said I would get a shipping confirmation today. as of 10:30 edt still nothing. Hey Neatogrrl what's up?

Soooooo, I finally got an email with shipping information. Now, keep in mind, I called first thing Monday morning (this is after calling every few hours ALL WEEKEND LONG only to be repeatedly told it had shipped in airplane mode and I had to wait 24 hours for it to charge)...anyway, I called first thing Monday morning, was assured it would be shipped THAT DAY, and I would get an email confirmation with the tracking number, I'd have a new unit by Wednesday and would be singing Neato's praises by Thursday.

I never received the email confirmation with the tracking number on Monday, as promised. I gave them the benefit of the doubt and looked for it on Tuesday, and never recieved it on Tuesday. It finally came through early this mornnig. "Fabulous," I thought, "little late but seeing as how the replacement was shipped on Monday, I'll have the new unit today, I can deal with a late-sent email."

Oh, but wait, there's more. I decided to track the package. Wasn't shipped until Tuesday. Wait, what? I called first thing Monday, was assured it was going to be shipped that day, I'd have it by Wednesday, but when I track the package, it wasn't even shipped until a day later, and it's not scheduled to be delivered until Thursday.

My confidence in Neato at this point is waning....I am, once again, highly pissed at this whole escapade.

Strike 2, Neato, strike 2.

Woodman668 wrote:Just called Neato support, very easy people to deal with.

My Neato has been giving me a stuck wheel error, when there is nothing stuck there, I've been given instructions on how to clear the error.

We'll see. Not like I haven't seen power cycling work before.

Well, power cycling caused the right wheel to start acting weird. So now it just crawls around looking at me with sad robotic eyes asking for the final bullet.

That being the case I went back to Neato and I should have my new one sometime this week. I have no idea how many people bought these last week but I imagine their shipping department is hammered. For a free shipping replacement I'll wait an extra day or two. I've had to pay shipping enough on replacements that I appreciate the difference.

There seems to be about 7 of us having issues. Unless there's a bunch who haven't come back to complain. Haven't had any buyers that are pleased either.

No email w/tracking info yet.

Mine lit up, but it doesn't appear to be charging. The light is green. Is there a charging indicator? I swear there was one when I first plugged it in, but when I came back in an hour it was telling me to plug it in and would do nothing but tell me to charge the unit. I will wait longer but I'm not hopeful, it doesn't appear to be charging.

Round 2 - here we go.
Received my replacement today. I'm at work, but I went ahead and opened everything and plugged it in. It immediately lit up and is charging. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

lgoforth wrote:Round 2 - here we go.
Received my replacement today. I'm at work, but I went ahead and opened everything and plugged it in. It immediately lit up and is charging. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

WaHOOOO! Yea! How wonderful that you got an immediate Sign of Life on this one. Got fingers, eyes & toes crossed for ya.

gaf545 wrote:WaHOOOO! Yea! How wonderful that you got an immediate Sign of Life on this one. Got fingers, eyes & toes crossed for ya.

Thank you! That was my reaction also! After a few hours of charging, I now have a blinking green light. I'm at work though so I can't run it here. Cannot wait to get home and try it out.

lgoforth wrote:Thank you! That was my reaction also! After a few hours of charging, I now have a blinking green light. I'm at work though so I can't run it here. Cannot wait to get home and try it out.

Just wanted to give one final (hopefully) update. Used the new replacement Neato at home today and it was pretty awesome! Hoping that others who had defective units shipped to them originally get good replacements as well. Neato was easy to work with and if I had to guess, they charged/tested this one before sending it to me as it came almost fully charged but it appeared brand new/unused. Definitely looking forward to the next time Woot offers one so I'll have another for the upstairs part of the house. Thanks Woot and thanks Neato Robotics for a happy ending!

lgoforth wrote:Just wanted to give one final (hopefully) update. Used the new replacement Neato at home today and it was pretty awesome! Hoping that others who had defective units shipped to them originally get good replacements as well. Neato was easy to work with and if I had to guess, they charged/tested this one before sending it to me as it came almost fully charged but it appeared brand new/unused. Definitely looking forward to the next time Woot offers one so I'll have another for the upstairs part of the house. Thanks Woot and thanks Neato Robotics for a happy ending!

Thanks for the update. Pleased for you that all's well that ends well. I'm expecting delivery of my replacement today, so I'll update later. I know....you're gnawing on nails waiting to hear.

lgoforth wrote:Just wanted to give one final (hopefully) update. Used the new replacement Neato at home today and it was pretty awesome! Hoping that others who had defective units shipped to them originally get good replacements as well. Neato was easy to work with and if I had to guess, they charged/tested this one before sending it to me as it came almost fully charged but it appeared brand new/unused. Definitely looking forward to the next time Woot offers one so I'll have another for the upstairs part of the house. Thanks Woot and thanks Neato Robotics for a happy ending!

Mine is supposed to arrive on the 25th. It too was shipped out a day later than promised.I'm hoping it works as well as yours.

Update:

Robot arrived safely & immediately showed Signs of Life upon docking. Sat on my counter charging happily. Light turned green in about 6 hours.
Couldn't wait any longer so set it to clean while we all watched. Worked very well. Got stuck once & then needed to find c. station & got lost. Maybe it thought it was still on the counter?? Must have been tired after the long journey.

So far, so very good. Thanks to Woot! & Neato.

gaf545 wrote:Update:

Robot arrived safely & immediately showed Signs of Life upon docking. Sat on my counter charging happily. Light turned green in about 6 hours.
Couldn't wait any longer so set it to clean while we all watched. Worked very well. Got stuck once & then needed to find c. station & got lost. Maybe it thought it was still on the counter?? Must have been tired after the long journey.

So far, so very good. Thanks to Woot! & Neato.

Yay! Glad to hear your story has a happy ending also! :-)

Catrine wrote:I got this after my Roomba failed after several years use. IT is NOT at all as good as Roomba.
It does not do a good job around chair legs, and close to walls. It does not have that little horizontal "whisk" Romba has that picks up the small stuff in the corners.
It is not good in large areas, I have to run it 3 times for it to cover the combined kitchen and family room.
Roombas "light houses" are much better and easier to use that the strip you get to divide rooms into areas.
I do not recommend this product.

So you must be on crack...
Neato is much more effective at cleaning my home than the Roomba. The only VERY minor advantage of the Roomba is the side whisker brush. Otherwise the Neato's square front cleans corners much better. Overall the Neato is a least twice as good as the Roomba.
Plus the "light house" is not needed by the Neato because it does not do a room in a random pattern so when it has completed one room it goes to the next.

I cannot say how happy I am with my NEATO!!! (note: we've nicknamed him MO from WALL-E). He is a bit loud when he goes off to do his thang at midnight, but with 95% non-carpeted, yet lots of rugs, flooring, he is AWESOME! And it is AMAZING how much he still picks up if we run him every night even AFTER we've Dyson'd the house earlier that day! He does have to return to base quite a bit, but we have lots of twists and turns and furniture that he has to figure out, plus those rugs too. He does leave a few spittles of things but I'll keep him and cannot wait until I can buy another one for the basement! It also forces the kids(6yr old twins) to pick things off the floor b/c if "MO" chokes on anything, that thing is garbage-bound or grounded. Please WOOT, offer another one just like this!!! Santa needs to bring me another, or maybe 2 for the 2nd floor but we cannot afford them at $300 right now. THANK YOU NEATOR!