iRobot Roomba 104 Vac

Yes, on hard floors and ordinary low carpet. The Roomba 104 picks up dust, crumbs and dog hair well on both, which covers most homes with mixed flooring. Larger debris is less certain, and the odd bigger piece gets left behind, so kitchens and entryways may still need a quick check after a run.

It's mixed. The first mapping run is often quick and thorough, with careful passes along the edges. Other times the Roomba 104 takes routes that look erratic, and updating a saved map after you move furniture can be a chore. Expect to spend some time in the app getting the map the way you want it.

Not always. A recurring problem with the Roomba 104 is units that stop working or lose their battery within a few months to a year, and some warranty replacements have gone the same way. Keep the receipt, register it, and raise battery or charging trouble early while the warranty still covers it.

Rugs and floor vents are the usual traps. The Roomba 104 can also suck up small objects and carry on, or keep pushing at the same spot without working its way free. Picking up socks and small toys before a run, and blocking off a problem rug with a keep-out zone, means fewer rescue trips.

Sometimes not. The Roomba 104 charges through contacts on a small dock, and it can struggle to line up with them, especially when the dock isn't fixed in place and slides around. Securing the dock so it can't move, with open floor in front of it, makes a missed charge less likely.

For mapped cleaning, yes. The buttons on the Roomba 104 start a basic clean, but room targeting, keep-out zones and schedules all run through the iRobot Home app, which needs a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network. That reliance is a sore point for some, and a couple of units kept dropping their Wi-Fi connection.