iRobot Roomba 870 Troubleshooting

"Your Roomba does not move the way it is supposed to and/or it has sporadic movement."

Check to see if your Roomba has broken or damaged main wheels on the bottom. The main wheels are the two big wheels with treads. If there are any physical damages to the main wheels or the wheels are wobbly, there is an issue. Try tightening the two screws located near each of the wheels and see if that helps. If not, check the Main Wheel Repair Guide for help with replacing the damaged main wheel.

Replacement wheel modules can be found here.

Check to see if the Roomba has a broken or damaged side wheel. The side wheel is the smaller wheel that swivels. Any physical damages to the side wheel will require a replacement. Check out the Caster/Side Wheel Replacement for help with replacing the damaged wheel.

Replacement wheel modules can be found here.

Check to make sure that none of the wheels have any debris or dirt stuck in them. The dirt can inhibit the wheel's motion and negatively affect its performance. If this is the issue, clean out the dirt/debris. Check to see if this fixes your issue. If not, look at our wheel replacement guides linked below.

Main Wheel Repair Guide

Caster/Side Wheel Replacement

"Your Roomba does not make it back to the charging station once it finishes cleaning and instead dies somewhere else."

Your battery could be operating at a poor level. A new battery will help, however before spending the money to buy a new one, watch this helpful Cnet video on increasing Roomba battery life which can save both your battery and your wallet. Check out the Battery Replacement guide for help installing a new battery.

You can buy a replacement battery here.

The charging station is too far away from where the Roomba is when it finishes cleaning. Try moving the charging station to a more central location. This way, the Roomba will not get lost trying to find its way back to the charging station.

"Your Roomba can no longer move properly once it gets onto darker carpet or the floor or it avoids moving onto dark carpets/floors all together.

The Roomba's cliff sensors are located on the bottom of the device and designed to prevent the Roomba from falling off a cliff. Oftentimes, it mistakes darker carpets and floors for edges of cliffs and avoids going on to these surfaces. This fix can be as easy as wiping down the Roomba's sensors with a clean dry cloth. If this does not solve the problem we recommend contacting iRobot customer care for advice on resolving the issue, as diagnostics and replacement of the Roomba cliff sensors is a lengthy and technically challenging task

"Even right after charging the Roomba, it dies."

Your battery could be operating at a poor level. A new battery will help, however before spending the money to buy a new one, watch this helpful Cnet video on increasing Roomba battery life which can save both your battery and your wallet. Check out the Battery Replacement guide for help installing a new battery.

You can buy a replacement battery here.

Your Roomba could also be experiencing software issues. Make sure the software is running properly by resetting your Roomba. To reset your Roomba, press and hold the clean button for 10 seconds until the display reads "rSt". If this does not work, the battery is the cause of the issue and should be replaced. Check out the Battery Replacement guide.

"The Roomba is not picking up any of the dirt it goes over and is not cleaning."

The bin is full and needs to be cleaned out. The bin is easy to remove and just requires a tug. When putting it back, make sure you hear it click into place. Otherwise it will not pick up any dirt. If this does not solve the problem then try replacing the air filter with a new one that can be found here . Check out this short video explaining this easy process.

If the bin is empty, the air filter is clean, and the Roomba is still not working, the bin needs to be replaced. Replacing an old bin with a new one is easy, as it only needs to be clicked into place to work.

You can buy a replacement bin here.

If the Roomba is having trouble cleaning in tight spaces, it needs to have its side brush replaced. Follow the first step of our Side Brush and Motor Repair Guide for help replacing the side brush.

You can buy a replacement side brush here.

If the side brush is not spinning, then your Roomba's side brush motor will need to be replaced. Check out our Side Brush and Motor Repair Guide for help replacing the side brush motor.

A new side brush module can be found here.