Robot vacuum cleaners have been my companion for many years, starting with a Roomba iRobot and the first model from Vorwerk to the current Vorwerk robot vacuum cleaner VR200, which I bought shortly after the market launch. The advantage of the Vorwerk device at that time was that, in addition to the alleged Vorwerk suction quality, it is also possible to automate daily cleaning. At that time, only a few devices could do that. The fact that he remembers where he was when he runs out of power and refuels and returns to this place is also a great relief. And since I can already look back on a longer history with Vorwerk, I switched from Roomba to Vorwerk.
Why a robot vacuum cleaner at all?
A robot vacuum cleaner also has disadvantages, because of course its suction power is not comparable to that of a “normal” vacuum cleaner, at least with the devices of the higher classes. The Vorwerk robot vacuum cleaner also beats an inexpensive vacuum cleaner. But compared to the normal “Kobold”, the VR200 lags a bit behind.
On the other hand, there is the automatic cleaning of the floor, you have to spend less time vacuuming the floor yourself. And with the VR200 you can even set when the robot vacuum cleaner should drive through the apartment, preferably when you are not there yourself. The question you have to ask yourself is whether the lower suction power is still sufficient. For us, it was, because we only have wooden floors, no pets, no long hair, etc.
The vacuuming process of the Vorwerk robot vacuum cleaner
You can start the Vorwerk robot vacuum cleaner in four ways:
- Directly on the device
- Via the included remote control
- About the app
- or via a predefined program that lets the VR200 drive off automatically.
The robot vacuums for as long as its battery lasts and then returns to the station, where it recharges and then, once fully charged, resumes where it left off. It is supposed to manage up to 120sqm with one battery charge, but it definitely can’t do that, sometimes not even half. Of course, this may be due to minimal obstacles that we find (see next section), but we have to reckon with a vacuuming process of several hours, including charging in between.
I understand the principle of the VR200 in such a way that the brushes loosen the dirt and then throw it to the suction port for eating. So, the brush is an important part of the robot vacuum cleaner. This does not mean the small brush on the edge, which in my opinion has extremely little power. Maybe it’s just there to feel good, so that you think that the corners are cleaned somehow.
The suction result is good for our case, although you can’t completely do without a “real” vacuum cleaner if you want to have the corners really clean.
Overcoming obstacles: The VR200 is unpredictable
The main reason for us to buy the successor model directly was above all the feature that small obstacles can be overcome. Our kitchen chairs offer such a small obstacle, smaller than 2cm, which is specified as a limit value at Vorwerk. And indeed, sometimes the robot vacuum cleaner makes it. But sometimes he doesn’t make it. Unfortunately, it is not possible to predict when he will make it and when he will not.
So you can see very clearly on the photo that he almost made it, but somehow he is still missing something. He had made it to the next chair without any problems. Unfortunately, this also means that you can NOT rely on the robot to automatically vacuum the apartment when you are not at home. Instead, the robot vacuum cleaner sends its notifications that something is in the way. But when you’re at work, that’s not helpful either. The VR200 also likes to get wedged under the sofa, and I always wonder why it doesn’t just drive back again. Sometimes he complains because he is supposedly stuck somewhere, but in fact he has enough free space to turn.
Of course, you could put the border magnetic tapes under the sofa, but on the one hand it looks ugly, on the other hand I would have liked to vacuum it under the sofa. And of course, I could also put the chairs up before I go to work. But even then, the Vorwerk robot vacuum cleaner likes to get stuck somewhere where there is actually no reason to do so.
The app for the VR200 would be really great if, for example, you could see the picture that the VR200 has taken of the apartment and you as a user could determine which areas of the apartment the robot vacuum cleaner would not be allowed to enter. However, you can only start the robot and receive messages from it. I don’t imagine that would be so difficult, to be honest.
Defect after warranty expiry – Planned obsolescence?
Our VR200 didn’t want to vacuum anymore two months after the warranty expired. The help on the net did not bring any relief, a visit to the Vorwerk shop on Jungfernstieg resulted in the device having to be sent in. “With a request for goodwill” in view of the damage shortly after the expiration of the warranty, the seller wrote on the note. But apparently no one at Vorwerk was interested in that. After almost 2 weeks, I received a DHL mail that a package from Fiege Logistik Wuppertal GmbH was on its way, and indeed the Vorwerk vacuum cleaner robot was in it. And a bill for 140€. Main brush drive completely renewed 39€, brush renewed 25€, cover dust compartment 4€, expense fee 72€. The adjustment was included in the price.
Wow. As I said: We have no long hair, no pets, just ancient floorboards. No daily use. What exactly can break? As I said, I had never experienced a Vorwerk device breaking, my grandmother’s vacuum cleaners lasted for decades. Of course, devices are more complex today. But here it is not the electronics that have broken. But what every vacuum cleaner has, and has done so for decades. Brush drive. Brush. That feels like planned obsolescence to me. If you don’t know what the term obsolescence means, you should definitely watch the documentary Buy for the Garbage Dump (if you can’t see it on Arte right now, then it can certainly be found on YouTube). The first light bulbs were designed in such a way that they were not designed to break at some point. Of course, there is not so much money to be made with this. And so devices today are designed in such a way that they break down after a certain time.
Of course, Vorwerk cannot be accused of planned obsolescence. But if what has always made a Vorwerk vacuum cleaner special for me, namely quality and durability, no longer applies today, phew, why spend so much money?
My experience with the Vorwerk robot vacuum cleaner: Conclusion
Can I give a clear purchase recommendation for the Vorwerk VR200 robot vacuum cleaner? No. For 749€, the Vorwerk device does not offer the quality you can expect for this price, because if you have to pay 140€ again after 2 years and 2 months, then something is going wrong. Overcoming obstacles is not reliable. The app is a joke. The next robot vacuum cleaner will not be a Vorwerk device.
Comments (since February 2020 the comment function has been removed from my blog):
Helga Ritter says
- November 2018 at 15:29 Hello Mr. Alby, I can only agree with your report and would like to send you my letter from today to Mr. Michael Auer, CEO of Vorwerk. For this I need an e-mail address. Thank you very much.
C. Kulig says
- November 2018 at 18:16 Hello Mr. Alby, I was so naïve to buy three devices for different locations. After three years, none of these rooms still has a Vorwerk. The best feedback from Vorwerk was this, that the original sound of the vacuum cleaner cannot cope with the dust! Should not be a problem in a small apartment of 50 m². Maybe I have a little evil dust fairy, or is the micro dust of the diesels from the adjacent road to blame…? A clear NO GO for Vorwerk! Over two thousand euros per bin.
Markus says
- February 2019 at 12:53 Hello, I can only agree. My robot lasted less than 3 years and was only used once a week. After 2 3/4 years, the display no longer flashed green, but was orange. So I called service and did a hard reset. No reaction. The device was sent in via a Vorwerk store with the request to check goodwill. After 2 weeks, the reply that the charging device was defective and could no longer be repaired. However, they offer me a replacement device for “only” € 347. A personal letter to a managing director was answered by an employee, but not a syllable was mentioned in the goodwill. One can assume a pronounced arrogance. The device cannot be recommended. It does not vacuum corners. It hangs from the feet of rocking chairs. He scratched the rather flat foot of my recliner. Currently, 2 tigers, 1 goblin, 1 handheld vacuum cleaner and a Thermomix from Vorwerk are in use in our household. There were never any problems here. However, it seems to be becoming common in Germany for premium manufacturers not to admit their mistakes and leave the “stupid” consumer out in the cold. For me, Vorwerk is done and the first Dyson has already found its way in. For the time being, I’ve had enough of the topic of robot vacuums.
I. Di Giulio says
- February 2019 at 16:16 Hello, unfortunately I can only agree. 99% of the time the Vorwerk does not make it back to the station. A return with inspection by Vorwerk did not achieve any improvement either. He is constantly standing in front of the curtain or a wall and reports that his path is blocked… And all he would have to do is drive backwards! Today I got our old Roomba back into operation and it found its way back to the station without any problems. For me, never again Vorwerk.
Florian Vilser says
- October 2019 at 10:55 Can I sign like this, but I would insinuate Vorwerk obsolescence. The first time the laser drive broke down after 1.5 years. The second time after 3 years. This is no coincidence. Here, money is made in an outrageous way with a kind of subscription with regular repairs. The same applies to our VT 300 vacuum cleaner. I’m sorry to have to sum it up like this, but: Hands off Vorwerk!
Vorwerk has managed to become a case for the consumer protection center.
Carina b. says
- December 2019 at 18:40 Hello, unfortunately I can only agree with your report. The first 2 years the vorwerk robot vacuumed well except for small problems. Shortly after the expiry of the 2-year warranty, however, it started. More and more often I came home and the vacuum cleaner got stuck somewhere, even though the apartment hasn’t changed. Either he got stuck on horizontal chair legs, bucked himself up between 2 chair legs or just stood in the middle of the room and didn’t drive any further because something was in the way. The climbing aid is therefore – as long as you do not have an apartment in which small obstacles have to be overcome – only a potential source of error. In the meantime, even more errors have been added. More often he does not find his way back to the station or tries to dock with other furnishings. The on/off button also only works sporadically. Often I have to press 10 to 20 times until the robot actually starts. Recently, he also ignored the magnetic tape and simply ran over it. Now he is about 3 years old and has brought the error message that the brush is blocked. I then cleaned the entire robot including removed the brush. Although the brush and also the roller bearing were completely clean afterwards, the error message still came. I contacted the customer service of vorwerk, they offered me a repair for 199 euros. I think that’s an outrageous amount, the robot has already cost 700 euto and didn’t work at all after 3 years. Of course, I didn’t have it repaired for this price. I’d rather buy a cheaper other robot, even if it should also break after 2 years, this is still cheaper than Vorwerk in the future probably more often for 199 euros to have repaired. Fortunately, after internet research, I found out that the problem with the blocked roller is solved by spraying the swivel bearing with silicone spray. I tried it and it actually worked out great. The robot has driven again. I was super happy, but already 2 days later the next problem. Now comes the error message 3000 that the robot cannot navigate. So it simply goes off and is no longer usable again. I am really very disappointed with vorwerk, I thought I would spend more money on good quality but unfortunately that was a fallacy. If I can’t find a solution for the new mistake now, the vorwerk will end up in the trash and I’ll get another cheaper brand.