Customers frequently mention the Rogue 970's positive navigation and relatively quiet operation, while also noting ease of setup. However, concerns exist regarding the app's functionality and the accuracy of its mapping features, as well as battery life and dust bin capacity.
This summary was generated by AI based on customer reviews.
The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.
Page 1 Showing 1-20 of 78 reviews
Pros mentioned:
Navigation, Noise level
Cons mentioned:
Battery life, Dust bin
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Awesome - Much Better Than I Was Expecting
|
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I wasn't too sure about this vacuum going into using it. Hoover doesn't exactly have a reputation for robot vacuums and I wasn't sure how this would hold up next to something like a Roomba. After spending the weekend using it though I've come away extremely impressed with the Rogue's cleaning and navigation abilities. There are some issues with the app right now - I wish I could give this 4.5 stars, but I’m going to give it 5 stars trusting that Hoover can fix the issues with the app.
The box contains what you'd expect and includes the vacuum, base station, and a cleaning tool. There are some status LEDs on the top of the vacuum and the dust bin is stored in the center, accessible by flipping up the lid and pressing a button to pop it out. I really like the dust bin design and it seems like it's bigger than our Roomba 690's bin, though I couldn't confirm if this actually true.
Setting it up was pretty easy through the app and after getting the Rogue connected to WiFi I sent it off into 'Recon Mode', which sends the vacuum off to map out your floor with it's built-in laser sensors. I did this on both floors of my home and the mapping didn't take longer than 5-10 minutes on either floor; my second floor has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and I was especially impressed at the speed that it was able to navigate and map all these rooms. My maps don't look as good as the ones in Hoover's pictures, but I'm impressed with their accuracy. The app doesn't save maps for multiple floors, so if you move the vacuum between floors you'll have to remap them each time (I think Hoover also recommends you do this if you move the base station to another part of your floor as well).
Once the mapping was done I set off to clean my first floor, which is consists of a hallway, living room, and kitchen, with no doors separating them and all hardwood. It cleaned the entire floor without a much issue. One thing I did notice was that the Rogue was not a ‘brave’ as my Roomba about getting under things and really working itself in. This might have more to do with the fact that my Roomba has relies on its bumpers instead of lasers, but there were a couple of corner spots the Rogue didn’t quite get into. The noise level wasn’t bad - I would say it’s slightly louder than my Roomba, but it sounds more like a loud desk fan where the Roomba sounds like an RC car, which is more pleasant to my ears.
Moving upstairs I was most excited to try the Rogue here. I discovered while moving the vacuum upstairs that it has 3 power modes - Stealth, Normal, and Beast. It’s automatically set to Normal mode, but since my upstairs is all carpet I decided to try Beast mode out. Beast mode ups the noise and power level noticeably and it did a really good job cleaning our carpet. I did seem to cut the battery life in about half, but was able to get through the entire floor with just enough juice left to make it back to the charger. Watching the vacuum run upstairs I could see how it navigates much better. From what I can see it moves from room to room, does the edges, and then does a back and forth to fill in the middle space. It’s very methodical and easy to see where it’s been and where it’s going to next. The app even gives you a live view of where the vacuum is and what areas it’s cleaned.
I did run into two problems while cleaning upstairs. The first problem was that the vacuum clogged with hair and fur once and I had to clear it out. Granted, it had been a couple of weeks since I last vacuumed upstairs and I imagine this is something that will occur less with regular cleanings, but it’s something to note. My second problem was with a TV stand that is just about the same height as the vacuum, but a little shorter. It led to the vacuum wedging itself underneath and getting stuck. The Hoover app allows you to set up virtual boundaries to prevent this sort of thing, but as it stands right now the virtual boundaries are really hard to set up in the app. When adding a virtual boundary the app freezes the map in whatever view you had it in and often creates the boundary offscreen with no way to grab and move it to where you need to go. Even when I finally got it into the position I wanted it to be in, adjusting it on a small scale to avoid something like a piece of furniture tested me. Hopefully this is something Hoover will improve in the future. I also had to empty the dust bin a few times while it was cleaning upstairs, but that’s understandable given the size of the area.
Overall I have a lot more good things than bad to say about the Rogue. It’s not perfect, but most of the time it’s so good I don’t remember that.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Hoover
Posted .
Thank you for your review! We are continually updating the app and making improvements. Stay tuned for updates coming soon!
Pros mentioned:
Cleaning performance, Navigation
Cons mentioned:
App functionality
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Awesome cleaner with some setbacks
|
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Hoover is a name that im sure most of us grew up with seeing in our household. So who better then to produce a robotic vacuum cleaner from a name you know and trust. Lets talk about some of the cool features and also some of the setbacks and find out if this may be a right fit for you. First off if this is your first go at buying a robotic vacuum let me talk briefly about what to expect. Out of the box your going to get a charging station with power cord, the actual bot, two side rollers and the waste bin. Out of the box Hoover gives you this undercover secret agent type feel with the cleaner. They give you a folder with "Top Secret" orders to get it started. Your going to get about two hours of run time and when the battery level gets low the cleaner will automatically return to its docking station to charge itself back up. This is pretty much the standard for just about every robotic cleaner out there. But lets talk about what makes this really stand out and hold it back.
First off Hoover really centers alot around you using their app. The reason i say this is because the actual bot itself has only a play/pause button. So what this means is that without the app all you can do is basically wake it up and have it clean at its own pace. Without the app you cant utilize the different cleaning modes available or even set up cleaning schedules. So this is pretty much where im seeing most new robotic vacuum cleaners go now, which is the way of an app to control your unit remotely from anywhere at anytime. However this is where i found the first and most frustrating problem yet. In order to use the app you have to link the two together but before you can do that your Hoover vacuum needs to be connected to your WiFi. All im going to say is if you are not tech savvy you will have a hard time doing this and if you are, well your still going to struggle a bit. The problem i had with connecting it to my wifi was for starters it only wants the 2.5gHz line which is fine by me. However every time i tried to connect to my WiFi my signal would drop out and it would keep giving me an error message. It seems my SSID was holding it up however i was under the impression that it was supposed to be user friendly and that i wouldn't have to dive that far into my settings. It took me a good 15 mins to get it connected and that was only after me researching trouble boards for a solution. Next was the app. The app at first was no where to be found but then after a little more digging i finally found it. It seems this product may still be in beta testing because the app i found reads like this "Hoover Home ( unreleased)". It goes on to tell me that the app is still in development and may be unstable. Great!! Needless to say i was getting very upset and on the verge of giving this 1 star. So why the change of heart? Well i realized that after getting in contact with the manufacture they assured me that through firmware updates the app would continue to improve and become more user friendly. I understand that no product is perfect and only gets better with time so i gave the app another go. To my surprise i finally got the two to link up and this is where i really saw the unit shine.
Once you get past the very annoying and frustrating hiccups (which as of writing this review they still exist) you will get to see what exactly makes this such a great unit. The app allows you to name your bot and set up schedules. It will let you know when the waste bin is full and it will also let you pick from three different modes which are quiet, standard and best mode!!!! You heard right this thing has a beast mode. Lets talk about its recon feature first. Right off the bat Hoover ask for you to put the robot in to "Recon" mode. While in recon the Rogue 970 will act like just about every other unit out there. It starts roaming around aimlessly bumping into just about everything acting like a clumsy bot. Whats its actually doing is its trying to map out your floor plan so that it can clean in straight lines and knows automatically what obstacles are where so it can avoid it. But what is key to this feature is that it allows you to create virtual barriers that the unit is not allowed to go. So let me explain this a bit if your new to this. As smart as some of these bots are there are some things they just cant see and avoid. Electrical cables are the big concern and reason in my opinion for barriers. So lets say you dont want the bot to go in your children's room due to the fact that theres lots of small toys and electrical cables it may suck up. Some of the cheaper bots will not provide anything so this forces you to have lay an obstacle down such as a chair or maybe a box to block its path. Some of my other bots that i own have magnetic strips that you lay down and the unit will not cross the line. Other units make you buy add on sensors that need to be equiped in order to accomplish this task. Hoover however has built into its units technology a system that will map out your floorplan and then allow you to mark what areas you want it to avoid. This feature is awesome cause it means you dont have to lay anything down or buy any add ons. If you look in the picture i provided you can see how the floor layout looks. i know, it looks like a 6yr old drew it but when you think about the technology behind its processing, its actually pretty impressive. And believe me when you mark an area that is off limits it will not go near that area at all. Also once it learns your floor plan it then begins to vacuum in a normal manner now. So after it is done doing its job you now have these nice straight carpet lines from it moving up and down instead of moving in an erratic manner like most other bots. Now what happens if it sucks up a power cord or sock by accident? Well in most cases depending on how big the piece is it will shut itself down and send you a message. However power cables will not be detected and will not stop the unit. It will suck up cables and continue to keep on moving with a tail hanging out. Don't let this discourage you however cause this is pretty much an issue for just about all units on the market including the higher end ones.
So how well does it clean? Quite well to tell you the truth. The Rogue 970 will clean just about any and all animal hair out of most carpets. Its suction power is quite strong, so strong that i wouldn't use it on shag carpet and area rugs with long or thick fibers cause it will yank it so hard that the unit will get itself stuck. As far as the three modes go so far unless im looking at them wrong they seem to be related to sound and suction power. Quite mode is as it says. Its very quiet and makes almost no noise and also seems to do very light cleaning. Standard is slightly louder and is just about what your going to use for everyday use as far as suction power goes. Beast mode, well it is as the name says. The noise is louder for sure but nothing ear blowing. Its still quieter than an upright, the main difference is in beast mode you will get the the max suction power available for deep cleaning and it appears to drain the battery alot faster in beast mode. The waste bin is a little smaller than i would of liked. Its enough to clean one room then after that your going to have to empty it. If you forget to empty it no worries, the unit will let you know its full via a light on the actual unit itself or the app. The units optical sensors seem to be very heightened. Its able to very easily recognize most obstacles without bumping into them and has no problem with stairs. The unit will not attempt to go over a stair case, its sensors pick up on it then turn it around right away. It also has no issue going over transitions or area rugs either.
Heres my final verdict. You need to understand something when buying robotic vacuum cleaners and that is that no unit out there is perfect or flawless. Its more of a give and take. The biggest set back for me and this unit is the fact that all the bugs are not worked out. Im upset that Hoover would let something go that still seems like its in beta testing and not in its final stages. This doesnt bother me too much because i know over time its going to improve through firmware updates. However if you are looking for a 100% out of the box user friendly set up, then as of right now this may not be for you. But if you can get past the clunky set up and see all the potential and technology that this unit has to offer then i think your going to be very happy. This is by far my favorite cleaner now that it is all set up and working properly. The technology packed inside this unit is some of the most advance i have seen so far. In my opinion this the first cleaner i have owned or seen that will clean in perfectly straight lines. Who knows by the time you buy this product all bugs may be worked out and it may be a perfect unit after all. Either way this is a good unit for me and if you do decide to buy one just make sure you know someone who is slightly tech savvy.
The Good:
-Two hour battery life
-Beast Mode!!!
-Smart technology for floor mapping
-endless barrier set ups
-Smart obstacle avoidance
The Bad:
-Horrible WiFi set up
-An incomplete app
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Hoover
Posted .
Thank you for your thorough review! We are continually working on updating the app and improving the overall user experience. Stay tuned for additional features and updates coming soon. We appreciate the feedback!
Pros mentioned:
Cleaning performance, Obstacle avoidance
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Smart Rogue Bot BUT Caught by its APP
|
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Hoover Rogue Robot 970 Vacuum
Setup/Testing/Conclusion
I have to first praise Hoover’s marketing team for doing such a wonderful job with the PR for this robot. Everything from the design of the box, the materials used for the manuals and other goodies within the box; all were done with quality and really thought out ideas. So GOOD JOB there Hoover!!
Setting up the robot was not too difficult. Being that the Hoover Home app was not available on Android when I was first setting up the robot, I did it on my iOS device. Once I was able to connect the Rogue 970 to the app, the very first thing I did was complete a full charge (that is what the instructions tell you to do!). Once the Rogue 970 had a full charge, the next thing I did was recon mode. I found that you can’t necessarily use the robot unless you did the recon mode first. Basically in recon mode, the Rogue 970 will scout out your home and load the map into the app. I found this feature VERY awesome and new to the robotic vacuum cleaning world. Once the Rogue 970 has completed its recon mission, you will have the ability to set up barriers as well as send the Rogue on its next mission; to clean. I didn’t send it right away to clean after its recon mission and instead waited a couple days… To my surprise, my map that was originally already on the app was gone! Someone stole the intel! Well… Not necessarily. I think the app glitched and erased the map. So I ended up having to do the recon mode again which was kinda a waste of time.
Speaking of the Hoover Home app, it definitely needs some work. When I mean it needs some work, it legitimately NEEDS work. The app is very unstable and its glitchy. I lost my mapped out home twice for no reason and in addition, it keeps saying that the Rogue 970 is disconnected. I tried refreshing the tabs back and forth within the app but it didn’t work. The only way to actually get things “connected” again was to close out the app completely and restart it. Even after doing this I still could not locate my maps. I noticed that Hoover updated the “system” tab so now if you click filter, dirt cup, brush roll, or side brushes; it’ll take you to YouTube where there are videos to show you how to clean them which is kinda neat. Hopefully they’ll add the feature where you can also purchase spare filters and brushes so that you can easily purchase replacements when needed.
Now to the cleaning. Overall, the cleaning that the Rogue 970 does is average with a couple other robots that I own. I purchased a Roomba years ago in addition to a Samsung cleaning bot and the Rogue 970 is about the same… Where the Rogue 970 shines is that it doesn’t “always” run into things. It actually does a decent job avoiding objects and not crashing into things like the Roomba and Samsung do. Also, it has a system/pattern in place so that it actually cleans how a person would vacuum as opposed to going everywhere like my Roomba does. Although the Rogue 970 is smarter, it was completely “dumb” when it saw my glass sliding closet doors. It thought there was more room to go so it kept crashing into the glass, thankfully not hard enough to the point where it broke my glass closet sliding doors. With a full charge, it was able to clean my living room, kitchen, one bathroom and one bedroom. The Rogue 970 never made it to my other bedroom or bathroom unfortunately. Overall, it did a pretty decent job with cleaning. When cleaning the dust bin, I found my spouse’s hair and some dust. My place wasn’t too dirty to begin with. Once the Rogue 970 has completed its mission, you can use the included brush to clean the brushes as well as rinse the dust cup and filter. Make sure everything is dry before you send the Rogue 970 on its next mission!
A couple things I would’ve liked to see is the ability to do spot clean and specific room cleaning. I noticed in some of the documents I received that you are technically able to do that. But I tried everything and there’s no option to do that currently. I’m guessing the app needs work as I mentioned above. I also ran into this weird thing where the Rogue 970 kinda “skipped” here and there when it was cleaning. When I mean skipping I mean stuttering, it was weird; this was on hard wood floors. In conclusion, I feel like the Rogue 970 has GREAT potential. In the state of where it is now, I would have to give it a 3 out of 5 stars. As mentioned, the cleaning was on par with other bots except for that the Rogue 970 doesn’t ALWAYS bump into stuff. The app needs A LOT of work… Perhaps Hoover should’ve waited to release the Rogue 970 after the app was fine tuned and polished. Being that the Rogue 970 is driven by the app, you NEED the app. So once Hoover is able to get the app all good to go, I’m sure the Rogue 970 will accomplish all its missions. But as of current… The Rogue 970 has been spotted by the enemy.
Quick Features on the Product
A Smart Vacuum. Not just a ROBOT
Smartwall Technology (Create virtual boundaries in the Hoover Home App to customize what areas are off limits to Rogue)
Robart Technology with Memory (Rogue intelligently maps and remembers your home for an optimized and efficient cleaning mission)
Auto Docking (Rogue returns to base to charge when the cleaning mission is complete)
Wi-Fi Connected (Connect to Rogue wherever you are for commands and mission updates)
Hoover Home App (Schedule and interact with Rogue through the free Hoover Home App)
Voice Control (Control Rogue with vocal commands issued through AMazon Alexa and Google Home Assistant)
Tri-Clean System (Rogue utilizes a trifecta of agitation, brushing, and suction to pick up dirt, dust and pet hair for an advanced clean on multiple floor types
Dirt Detection (With specialized sensors, Rogue recognizes dirtier areas on your floor for a concentrated clean)
Rogue Control Center (One convenient location for commands, alerts and indicators, such as dirt cup full, battery level and Wi-Fi status
Run Time (Rogue has up to 120 minutes of fade-free run time)
What's in the box?
Rogue 970 Robot
Charging Dock/Base
Cleaning Brush
Quick User Guide
User Manual
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Hoover
Posted .
Thank you for the review and feedback! We are continually updating and improving the app so thank you for being patient. Stay tuned for new features and improvements coming soon!
Pros mentioned:
Cleaning performance, Navigation
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Finally a SMART robot vacuum! I'll tell you why.
|
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Pros:
*Vacuums in straight lines
*Boundaries are set via app
*Futuristic looking
Cons:
*Roller brush gets clogged easy
*Doesn’t pickup as much as competition
*App needs improvements
What drew me into this robot vacuum is the fact that the Rogue can vacuum in straight lines! I maybe a bit OCD when it comes to vacuum lines in my carpets but my previous shark robot vacuum did the old “bump and go” vacuum method. That vacuum wasn’t particularly smart but relied on hitting things with the bumper and changing directions as it vacuumed till the battery depleted 60 mins later. This results in a weird zig zaggy pattern all over your carpet. Might not be bad for folks with hard floors but this drove me crazy seeing the carpet patterns. This is where the Rogue 970 comes in and saves my saneness.
The setup was easy and I was able to get the Rogue hooked up to my wifi in very little effort. The app was in the iphone app store and ready to be paired to your robot. Once paired, the manual recommends that you hit the “recon” mode. This mode commands the robot to explore the room and use its sensors to map out the layout. Its very neat seeing it draw a map of my living room live within the app as it roamed around. It saw my coffee table, couches, kitchen area, etc. Once the recon mode is complete, the robot returns home to charge. After the map is updated in the app of your living room, you can set “virtual” boundaries to keep the robot from going into. This if fantastic as it doesn’t require additional physical items to put down to set the boundaries. I know the kitchen table with the chairs loves to trap my prior robot vacuum so I set a boundary over the kitchen table. After a bit of tinkering with the virtual boundaries, your robot will not be stuck in random places.
I set a schedule so the robot will clean during the day so the carpets will be fresh and vacuumed before I arrive home from work. Knowing that the Rogue will always find its home and not be stuck on any obstacles is very important to me. My previous robot would always find a new spot to be stuck on.
What makes this robot smarter than other robots? It’s the ability to map the areas that you want cleaned so it can actually vacuum in straight lines! You can even use the app to see the progress of the robot within the app. The app shows your floor plan with greyed out areas indicating the path that the robot already took. So if your house is large enough to expend it’s battery life before a full clean, it will return to the base to charge to go out again on its own to complete the areas and rooms that it missed earlier. Pretty smart! The rogue even has 3 distinct vacuum strength modes from whisper quiet to a “beast mode” where it sounds like a regular upright vacuum.
Summary:
The Rogue met and exceeded my expectations on vacuuming in straight lines. The app needs improving but that can easily be fixed with app updates. The app is a little clunky to navigate and the level of suction power you want your robot to stay at always defaults to “regular” when id prefer “beast mode”. This is all done within the app so I feel that could easily be fixed with an update. What’s keeping me from fully endorsing this Rogue is that my “less smart” Shark robot appears to pickup more dust and dirt than this Rogue. I check the dustbin after it vacuums and im always surprised on how little it finds. The dustbin in the dumber shark robot is always full after a round of vacuuming. I’m guessing its due to the roller brush design underneath the robot. The Rogue’s brush design clogs with hair and fuzz resulting in an inefficient roller after a few days. The Shark’s roller brush is rarely wrapped up in hair like the Rogue resulting in a better clean. I would get the world’s best robot vacuum if I could combine the smartness of the Rogue with Shark’s roller brush.
I would still recommend this robot vacuum as it vacuums in straight lines and replaces my need to do a manual vacuum with the upright. I got better things to do in life than vacuum!
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Hoover
Posted .
Thank you for the review and feedback! We are continually working on updating the app and the overall user experience so stay tuned for more updates coming soon!
Pros mentioned:
Cleaning performance
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Promising vacuum plagued by a horrible app
|
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I’ve spent a solid week with the Hoover Rogue 970 to be able to say this:
Wait.
The Rogue 970 feels like a beta product. And sometimes, it doesn’t even feel like it’s beta-worthy.
The unboxing experience is pleasant and simple. I advise consulting the getting started guide so you don’t miss anything important. The most important thing is to place the dock in a location that has enough space for the bot to navigate. Hoover also recommends charging the Rogue 970 for about 3 hours (or until 100% is reached) before first use.
The vacuum itself has two buttons: a pause/play button, and a home button. The pause/play button will send the bot out to clean, and the home button will send the bot back to the dock to charge.
Your first time running the bot, it will run in “recon” mode (short for reconnaissance) in which it will explore its surroundings and map out the area. It may not scan everything the first time, but each time after, it will discover areas that it previously missed.
Because the Rogue maps out the area unlike cheaper robot vacuums, it vacuums in a pattern, rather than sporadically and randomly. What this means is that you get more professional-looking vacuum path marks in the carpet, rather than random path marks. It certainly looks impressive compared to other vacuums. But even beyond that, it means that the Rogue is efficient. Because it maps out the area, it knows where everything is, and it doesn’t vacuum in a redundant fashion. You won’t typically see the Rogue intentionally vacuum the same area multiple times in the same session. Why should it? The Rogue takes the one-and-done approach by trying to cover the entire area once. It’s much more predictable, and more reliable in that regard. If you purposely placed dust and lint on your floor, the expectations is that the Rogue will clean that area every time it runs.
But this is where things start to fall apart.
The Rogue isn’t small. It’s taller than some other robot vacuums, so it doesn’t fit under some furniture as easily. In fact, I found that the Rogue lodged itself under my entertainment center (which is very low) and it took quite a bit of force for me to dislodge it. I ended up putting a decently-sized object at the opening under the entertainment center to prevent it from entering, but I shouldn’t have to do that. That’s certainly silly.
Additionally, the Rogue has a larger diameter than some other robots, as well. In my case, the Rogue cannot travel through my dining chair legs. So there are plenty of areas that go uncleaned because of this size issue. My other robot vacuum has a smaller diameter but did a decent job navigating through chairs.
One thing I also noticed with the Rogue is that if it finds a way to travel between two close objects, sometimes it struggles to find its way out. For example, I had two barstool chairs up against a wall, and the Rogue managed to travel into the space between the two chairs. However, it was unable to leave that space, as it failed to find an exit—even though the exit strategy was as simple as backing up. Problems such as this seem relatively trivial in comparison to all the other complicated situations the software has to handle.
I’ve also run into weird situations where the bot doesn’t even run on its schedule (which I’ll explain more about), or it just fails to return to its docking station, even though it isn’t stuck anywhere. This inconsistency is certainly frustrating.
Okay, so how about the Hoover Home app? This is probably the worst aspect about the Rogue. As a software engineer, myself, the Hoover Home app seems like a poorly designed app created by a third-party that Hoover contracted. The app lacks responsiveness, the controls take too long to load, and the bot’s mapped area takes too long to load, as well. My first time using the app, the recon mode didn’t start saving the map until a few attempts at cleaning. And when I switched between the iOS and Android app, it forced me to do the recon mode all over again, even though it had already mapped out my house once. The best part of the Hoover Home App is setting the cleaning schedule so that you can hopefully never open the app again. But unfortunately, the only way to know if your Rogue has completed its cleaning mission is to open the app and read the mission history.
As for the cleaning performance, the Rogue is okay. Probably best for flat surfaces, rather than carpet, though. It’s been a week and my other previous robot vacuum managed to pick up substantially more lint and dust. That being said, it’s possible that my previous robot vacuum just cleaned up so much that there’s not much for the Hoover to clean. I’d advise you to look at other reviews regarding the cleaning performance.
However, like many others, I will echo one thing: the Rogue seems promising. But the app is atrocious, and the only saving grace is being able to set the schedule from within the app.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Hoover
Posted .
Thank you for the review and feedback! We are continually updating the app to improve the overall user experience. A couple of the weird situations you had where Rogue didn't run on schedule or didn't return to the docking station were addressed in app and firmware updates that were pushed last week. Keep an eye out for any Hoover Home updates!
Pros mentioned:
Cleaning performance
Cons mentioned:
Mapping
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Recommended with Reservation
|
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I received this unit from Hoover, it's a lovely addition to take care of daily vacuuming in our family room that was once just an attic, on our third floor of our 140 year old home. This floor is all carpet and houses quite a bit of furniture and is oddly shaped. I did try this unit on our first floor that has hard woods with area rugs throughout, and it did not play well with the variety of surfaces, it would get hung up on the rugs while it was going over them and launch into the air, thus confusing it's position in the room, making the mapping of the room nearly impossible. I love that this unit will actually map out the floor plan giving you the ability to draw in smart walls keeping it out of where it may get hung up. It's mapping is not as accurate as I would like, and maybe it has to do with our family room and it's furniture. I do feel it would do better in a completely empty and regular shaped room, which is not realistic, but it tries really hard to get the mapping right. Due to this inaccuracy, it occasionally won't find it's home/charger and just quits in the middle of the room. It is my hope that it's mapping of our room will get better with time, as I have noticed it will modify the map data as things are moved, added, or removed. The vacuuming technology of this unit picks up well, the dirt cap has dirt in it every time it is run. I feel this is great for animal lovers, as it picks up the extra dirt, fur, and other stuff that comes with pet ownership. I appreciate that it has three different levels of cleaning, Stealth, Normal, and Beast, for a variety of situations. I initially used the Apple iOS app and was disappointed that Hoover's Android app was not ready for release. The iOS app was horrible, there were several parts of the app that just did not work. Much to my surprise, a few days into my review, I happened to check back on the Google Play Store and found that they had released the app and I am happy to report it is fully functioning and may only need a little work in the mapping and smart wall category. I feel I could recommend this unit to a family or friend, but with reservation. I think this particular design is on a case by case basis. It may work well for you home layout, and it may not. All in all it is a pretty slick design that needs a little work on it's mapping features. If it can't find it's home it's really no that smart. But with some updates in both the app software and the robots firmware it could really shine.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Hoover
Posted .
Thank you for your review and feedback! We are continually working on improving the app and the overall user experience. A couple tips for the most accurate map:
-Always start Rogue from the dock -Place the dock on a hard surface -If possible, place the dock toward the center of your home -Make sure Rogue is fully charged before starting Recon Mode
Pros mentioned:
Cleaning performance, Navigation
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Good cleaning bad app
|
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I was happy to receive my new Rogue vacuum because of all the cool features that’s packed. Hoover tried to make setup as easy as possible and I’m sure many people will appreciate that. To start your cleaning mission with the Rogue all you need is an outlet for the charger with enough room to place the docking station. I did my 3 hour charge and by hitting the play button the Rogue was on its way to help me clean my floors.
You can see how it is analyzing your rooms so it can have a map ready to clean everywhere possible. The Rogue is a smart vacuum for many reasons. Compared to my other robot vacuum it navigates without bumping into everything which eliminates the extra noise.
After the Rogue completed the cleaning it easily returned to its docking station. I checked the small canister and I will say it picked up a lot. I’m proud to say that the Rogue performed amazingly well when it comes to cleaning and that is the main objective.
With the design I do like it but I would like to see it shorter in height so it can fit under more furnitures. The Rogue has trouble going under my tv stand and sofa.
The app I cannot review properly. I did download the iOS app but I cannot get it to connect to the WiFi. I followed step by step directions to have it working but I continue to get a connection error. I’m not new to using WiFi so I can say that I know enough to know the basics of connecting a device to my router. I tried for hours and on different days but still no success. I included a picture showing the error. The error came up even when I made the WiFi insecure with no security password.
Many of the features of the Rogue are from using the app so because I cannot access it I cannot give this a higher review without using the app. I will update my review with a comment if and when I can finally use the app.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Hoover
Posted .
Thank you for the review! We're sorry you were unable to get connected. If you reach out to us at [email protected], we can help you personally. In the meantime, here are a few things to try: In the app, delete Rogue from the device screen by swiping left and pressing the trashcan. Completely close out the Hoover Home app. Factory reset Rogue by holding the Play/Pause button for 10 seconds. Wait for Rogue to reboot back up and then reopen the Hoover Home App. Try to set Rogue up again by pressing the + button.
Cons mentioned:
Battery life
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
Feels like they rushed this product
|
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I had high hopes for this robot vacuum. The idea of a really smart vacuum that you could tell to go to certain areas and leave others alone was appealing. In actuality though, this robot doesn't meet my expectations.
I should point out that I have another robot vacuum that does a better job. My Hoover Rogue 970 will not dock properly. It always makes it near its dock, but never onto it. Also, the batteries seem to drain very quickly. It always has to stop before it has done the whole floor; about 1500 sq. ft. or less of area that I want it to clean. Another alarming issue is that when it is done, it has very little dirt/debris in the catch bin. I have run my other robot vacuum immediately after the Hoover Rogue 970 and it has docked with a full dirt chamber. I have been running the Rogue in normal mode. Perhaps I need to up it to Beast Mode to pick up dirt, but then the battery will die even faster. I have tried different things to make the Rogue work properly but nothing has worked as of yet. I've tried deleting all maps and running the recon mode again, I have tried moving the dock to a more wide open wall space. Suffice it to say that it has been a disappointment.
Some positives about the product are that it can be run through Alexa and Google Assistant. The app has finally been released and it allows you to do things like set up a cleaning schedule, view its map of your home, create smartwalls to prevent it from going into certain areas, change the mode to stealth, normal or beast mode, start cleaning, dock (or at least attempt to dock), etc.
Maybe Hoover can send out an update to make it work better, but as of right now I'd say there are better options out there for robot vacuums.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Hoover
Posted .
Thank you for your review. We're sorry that Rogue is not meeting your expectations. The behavior Rogue is exhibiting does not seem typical. If you can reach out to us at [email protected], we would love to talk to you. A couple tips in the meantime, especially on the docking behavior:
-Ensure Rogue always starts from the dock -Place the dock on a hard surface with sufficient room on both sides
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
A solid performer
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
We bought this as a replacement for our Bissell robot that we've had for several years. I liked the idea of the remote control app and the price was right. At some point I expect I'll get one of the home automation systems and this promises to integrate with them. I don't have any experience with Alexa or Google, yet. :)
We've had it for 2 weeks now and it is performing well. The app has been updated at least once since we got it and that fixed a minor issue with the wifi disconnecting from my home network. It's been working reliably now for several days.
The first floor of our house is about 2500 square feet and it takes the robot about 2 hours to sweep through the space. Sometimes it needs to return to base to recharge but seems to head right back to area where it left off. Our floors are all hardwood and it does a great job of picking up grass clippings and dirt that I track in.
The map it builds of the house is really cool. It knows exactly where all the furniture is and displays a line drawing of the floor plan. I have an IR camera in one of the rooms it vacuums and watching the IR beam is it maps is very cool!
I'm lazy and this thing does a tedious chore for me. I definitely recommend it!
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Hoover
Posted .
Thank you for your review! Rogue is the perfect addition for those that enjoy being lazy!
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Great smart vacuum for your home
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This vacuum has been easy to use and it is very good at cleaning floors. I was surprised how well it cleaned my carpet (for a robot). I had a few hiccups starting the app but the instructions helped me through. Once into the app everything is very self explanatory.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Hoover
Posted .
Thank you for your review! We're so glad you are happy with Rogue!
Pros mentioned:
Navigation, Obstacle avoidance
Cons mentioned:
App functionality, Dust bin, Mapping
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
It's robot fighting time!
|
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I've used other robot vacuums so I had a good idea of what to expect in this one. I also had a few hopes for it.
I'm going to go over the robot's effectiveness first as a vacuum, then I'll discuss the setup and app functionality after.
I'm impressed with this robot's navigation ability; it can move itself around the floor very well without bumping into chairs or walls. I was also really impressed with its mobility. It actually climbed up and over my bathroom scale. Ok, the scale is pretty thin, but the other robot vacuums I've used don't go over obstacles nearly as well, they tend to hang up on the edges of thick rugs. It's also run over cables without getting tangled, however it gobbled up a shoelace and had to cry for help.
Another cool feature is that it tells you when the dust bin is full. At least, there's an indicator on the bot. It doesn't alarm in the app, and it just keeps going even on a full dust bin.
Speaking of which -- it does a great job of picking up dog hair, and it even picked up some really super fine dust particles that my other vacuums weren't able to pick up.
The downside -- I sure hope they continue to improve the software and app.
It's totally dependent on its app if you want to have intelligent control over it. Otherwise, just charge it up and hit run and it will manage itself just fine. I wanted to see how well the app worked.
Hoover guys -- you lost a star for the app. First, there's two Hoover apps for Android, and neither of them control this. Please get it added to one of your Android apps! Fortunately, I also have an iPhone, so I was able to get Hoover Home from the App Store.
Getting the robot connected to the app was pretty easy, but the app itself needs some refinement. It has a Recon mode to map out your floorplan, but it isn't easy to find the way to get that mode started. The Smart Wall feature was confusing to me, but once I watched the tutorial on it, it's pretty easy to use. However -- this robot forgot its map. Twice. It also behaved funky a couple of times -- it just stopped. I hit the run button, the brushes spun a bit then it stopped again. I tried to have it run from the app, and nothing happened. I hit the home button on the bot and in the app and nothing. So I powered it off and powered it back on. It worked, but it forgot its map.
I'm really happy to have this, and scheduling it to run frequently will do a great job of keeping my floor clean!
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Hoover
Posted .
Thank you for your review! Both the Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hoover.home) and the iPhone (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hoover-home/id1239882212?mt=8) versions of the app are available. We are also continually working on improving the app and the overall user experience which will fix some of the bugs you mentioned above. If you reach out to us at [email protected], we can assist you with any additional questions or concerns.
Pros mentioned:
Cleaning performance, Navigation
Cons mentioned:
Mapping
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
So close to being a great vacuum!
|
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Hoover, a name that is synonymous with vacuums, we’ve all probably had a Hoover at one point in our lives. It makes perfect sense for them to get into the robotic vacuum cleaning fray!
Behind the cute spy mission/James Bond marketing material is an app controlled vacuum that shows a lot of promise.
Setup:
Fairly simple to setup, download the “Hoover Home” app (there are several Hoover apps in the iPhone App Store). There is nothing to put together, just take it out of the box and plug in it's charging station. There are 3 performance modes you can choose from on the app: stealth, normal and beast. I left it on normal for most of my tests. Stealth mode was a bit more quiet and beast mode obviously, more loud.
Rogue in action:
To start, you want to send Rogue on a recon mission. This little vacuum will map out the entire area it's supposed to clean. Of course, you'll need to make sure there's nothing blocking Rogue's path or anything to get tangled on such as wires. In my first try, the recon mission was a partial successfully. Rogue only mapped out 1 of the rooms on the first floor of my house, the kitchen/dinette area. The vacuum failed to discover the other rooms on the first floor such as the family room, living room etc. On the app, you can view what Rogue had mapped out. I deleted the map and sent Rogue on another recon mission, this time Rogue mapped out the entire floor, except for an area where it got itself stuck under a coffee table. Other trouble spots I noticed was the dinette table where the design of the chair legs gives the Rogue a hard time. For these areas, you can setup a "smartwall" so the vacuum stays away from there. For this function, the app is a bit finicky to use, you click "map-create smartwall" this plops a large box that you re-size and move around to where you want it. I found that I had to delete and repeat the process a few times before I got it where I want it to go. Once you get the mapping and smartwalls done, you're ready for Rogue to start vacuuming. I found Rogue to be fairly precise in its navigating, it was able to navigate itself between the legs of a row of 4 barstools. Rogue methodically vacuums the area it had mapped out, going back and fourth, as if it was mowing a virtual lawn.
As we used the Rogue over the course of a week, we noticed it wasn't going close to the cabinets and walls. The edges of the room is where all the dirt and dust accumulates and it's missing it! It seems to stay about 1.5' to 2" away from the walls. One other issue we experienced several times was the app losing connectivity to the Rogue. I would get an "Oops! There was an error trying to connect to the robot, please try again". To fix this, I reset had to power the device off and on.
On the positive side, the vacuum seems to do a decent job cleaning up, this is evidenced by the large amount of dust that's collected in the dust bin every few days. The dirt bin is very easy to take out and empty, you simply open the lid, press a button, the dust bin lifts up and you remove. Being able to set a schedule for the Rogue to vacuum is a very nice feature. Like clockwork, every afternoon the Rogue wakes up and starts scurrying around cleaning my kids mess! Just a side note, the Rogue did not set off my security system motion detectors, but you might want to be careful when scheduling at a time you're away and alarm is on.
Alexa:
Rogue works with Alexa, all you need to do is add the "Hoover Robot" skill. You can then ask Alexa to "start/stop mission"or "return to base". I tried this and it worked without issues, pretty neat.
Conclusion:
This hard working device is very well designed and thought out. With all its bumpers and sensors, it navigates my house effectively. The app is fairly intuitive to use and has all the features and functionality one would need. However, there are some issues as I've summarized in the "cons" that needs to be worked out before I can wholeheartedly recommend this device.
Pros:
- control your Rogue from anywhere
- maps out your house/apartment and through the app
- Virtual barriers, neat feature
- 3 power settings
Cons:
- doesn’t get close to the edges of the walls, where most dirt tends to end up
- Loses connection frequently
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Cons mentioned:
Battery life
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
Don't Buy It because the App Doesn't Work
|
|
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The robot wants to work but the app that controls it will not make contact. I bought two for home and condo. Got the one at condo hooked up via bluetooth but could not control it. The one at home will not pair with the base. Further, it has been charging for about 9 hours now and is still charging. Physically, the dirt cup is quite small and one will need to vacuum very often for it to work.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
Until a firmware update is released, stay away
|
|
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
To keep it short and simple, I bought this vac and I returned this vac after only a week. It was plagued with software issues and firmware issues. I reached out to Hoover many times for support. Each time their customer service was not helpful and they never kept their commitments of calling me back at all. In the end, the product itself is awesome and works really well. The problem is the software and firmware is so bad that it renders all of the features of the vacuum useless. It can only be activated from the most basic of modes manually and it forgets everything it stores. If an updated firmware is released I’d give it a shot again. Until then, stick with something like the Neato Botvac Connected or the upcoming Neato D7 Botvac Connected.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Does better than other but doesn't meet 100%
|
|
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This vaccume came home with me and for tile and 2 bedrooms with mid length carpet it's worked great my phone has not saved a map on app even though it's reconed 4 times 2 on s9 2 on iPhone8 nothing but it does let me send it out to clean with phones and send it home and change between stealth normal and beast mode gets my entire 1400 SQ ft condo clean and Everytime finds a dust bin full of nonsense it can be walked by and push started before you head out the door also ......my only issues to keep this bad boy from 100% and 5 stars is the fact my map won't save and the fact a few times it's just dead stopped in my floor when it needed to return to base and ends up being turned off to get home or picked up and sat on base because multiple times of cell apps and button pushes it starts up moves closer to base then stops and turns off it's done this a few times but after the hard power switch flip returns to normal and keeps me content with any time I go out for work my house is swept and vacuumed ps no pets or children just 2 adults
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Cleaning performance
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Price needs to come down
|
|
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The price on these was 199 but then I messed up and didn't buy it ended up pay 299 and on my s9 app works just fine and Hoover cleans even better 3 modes 1400 SQ foot apartment and it cleans it all on low or mid mode
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Room for improvement
|
|
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Not impressed with the app
Not impressed with the docking station
The robot vacuume itself is ok
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Cons mentioned:
App functionality
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Great starter
|
|
Posted . Owned for 2 weeks when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Cleans great but the app doesn't work. Overall great for the price I paid!
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Navigation, Noise level, Setup
Cons mentioned:
App functionality, Battery life
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Quieter than our upright and does a great job!
|
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
My wife had been eager to try out a robot vacuum and this certainly didn't disappoint us. The setup and use was straight forward, the app took a bit of getting used to, but no complaints after we got the hang of it.
Our furniture style is high enough above the floor that this little guy can scoot right underneath most everything that we have.
There is an option to create boundaries, we haven't needed to try that, but I expect that may be handy for some people.
We tried all three settings and basically, as you'd expect, as the cleaning level is increased, the battery drains more quickly and the vacuum gets louder - our upper floor is small enough that battery life hasn't been an issue even using the highest setting. On the low setting, I am able to take a nap without the noise bugging me.
I'd have to say that it is better than we expected and pretty cool to have around. Saves us time and trouble.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Navigation, Noise level
Cons mentioned:
App functionality
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
Above Average Robot Vacuum but Horrible App
|
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
First, let me say that I was pretty impressed with the build quality and appearance of the Hoover Rogue. I was also impressed with its ability to navigate without ramming into every object in its path like another robot vacuum I have had the displeasure of using. The Hoover Rogue performed much butter and did a good job of getting dirt, dust, and hair on my hardwood floor and tile surfaces. This can all be done out of the box without downloading the app.
However, you need the app to take full advantage of the Rogue. Unfortunately, it took me quite a while to get the Rogue and app connected via my home WiFi. I've read that this has something to do with the SSID and whether or not you have a dual band (2.5GHz and 5GHz). I am pretty tech savvy and it was a struggle. No new product in this day should ever have that much problems connecting right out of the box. Additionally, the app is clunky. I realize this can be easily fixed via updates, but you shouldn't have to wait. This should've all been resolved prior to the release.
As far as cleaning, its much better suited for hardwood floors and/or tiles. It will clean carpets, but it's a very superficial clean--not like one you would get with an upright vac. That's what people need to understand. The Rogue will never replace an upright vac for carpet/rugs. It will, however, take care of light maintenance cleaning. I have two thin/light runner rugs that would sometimes fold up/crumple when the Rogue tried to go over it. It worked sometimes, but not every time. A heavier area rug I have didn't have this problem.
All in all, I would've given the Rogue 3-3.5 stars simply because it was much better than my previous robot vacuum in almost every way. Why so low then? Because I just think robot vacuums are mostly an interesting trinket to impress your friends and family rather than serving a real practical use that would justify the price. I deducted 1.5-2 stars because of the problems connecting. I think the Rogue has a lot of promise for those who find it useful and worthwhile, but as it stands, there are lots of kinks to work out. It would've been worthwhile for Hoover to withhold the release until they were fixed but I'm sure there was a rush to market for the holidays.
Pros:
-Optical sensors work well
-Doesn't ram furniture/walls
-Quiet
-Suction
Cons:
-Connectivity
-App
-Dust bin size
-Price for function
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Hoover
Posted .
Thank you for your review! We are continually updating the app and improving the overall user experience. Stay tuned for updates coming soon. Thank you for the feedback!