Deebot N20 Pro Plus review: Housemate habits

Getting a robot vacuum cleaner is a bit like getting a roommate. At first it’s exciting, and you can’t wait to get to know each other. Sure, they have their quirks, but it's all part of their charm. But as time goes on those quirks turn to annoyances. You get sick of their messes, or the weird sounds they make. At a certain point you find yourself wondering whether it would just be better to do this yourself.

Just like my first roommate, the longer I spent with the N20 Pro Plus, the rougher its edges became. While on paper the device looks like a catch - lower price than its competitors, with similar specs and features - it doesn’t quite live up to its promises. Don’t get me wrong, the N20 Pro Plus is a proficient cleaning device, but its quirks make it hard to live with.

One thing I’ll say about living with the N20 Pro Plus, is that kid loves to clean. Every day it heads out to vacuum the floor, and for the most part it does so thoroughly. On hard floor its 8,000pa suction removes around 85% of small and medium debris, while on carpet that it is closer to 90%. What it does with the remaining 10-15% is questionable though.

The Pro Plus has a tendency to move mess from one space to another. Kinda like the robot vacuum equivalent of tossing mess behind the couch where no one can see it. During testing I found piles of oats and sprinkles (my usual testing mediums), deposited up to 10 metres from where they started. These loads were usually around thresholds where the vacuum had to lift, or lower itself, like transitioning to and from carpet. This isn’t an uncommon occurrence with robovacs at this pricepoint, but it is frustrating none-the-less. Despite most of the mess being cleaned up, these scattered bits of debris made the space feel messier, like when you’ve got an objectively clean home but the recycling is overflowing.

In part, I could chalk the redistribution of mess down to the ZeroTangle rollers. While these rollers are designed to reduce the problem of hair wrapping around the roller, it didn’t live up to that promise. I had to untangle, or unblock this roller multiple times throughout the testing period. Probably more than I have had to with any other robovac I have tested this year. The problem seemed to come from the comb-like design on the body of the vacuum. While it is supposed to comb the hair off the roller so that it can be sucked into the dustbin, I found that hair, dog fur, and sewing thread would routinely get stuck. Not only does this negate the anti-tangle tech, but it also created a kind of nest that smaller debris could get stuck in. My bet is that when the N20 Pro Plus lifts between the hard floor and the carpet, these smaller pieces were dislodged. Hence, the moving messes. 

Where the Pro Plus surprised me was with mopping. Despite only having a microfibre mop pad (the least effective of the robot vacuum mopping options), it was able to adequately clean up sticky messes. It uses Ecovacs’ OZMO Pro 2.0 Vibrating Mopping System, which operates exactly how it sounds - the mop pad vibrates. This adds more pressure and friction to the floor, lifting mess and stains more effectively. In testing it was able to pull both maple syrup and tomato sauce from the floor to the point where it visibly was clean, but there was a sticky residue left over. Once again, this performance is pretty standard for robovacs at this price point, but the N20 Pro Plus squeaks while it does it. As the vibrations jerk it back and forth, it squeaks. Over, and over again. Imagine 20-30 minutes of rhythmic squeaking every day. It’s annoying.

Other options around this pricepoint (like the Roborock Qrevo S) include similar mopping performance, self-cleaning mops, and carpet auto-lift, without the ruckus. For the N20 Pro Plus you need to manually put the mopping attachment on, and it will simply avoid carpets rather than lifting the mop out of the way when it encounters them. That leaves the N20 Pro Plus a bit behind the competition.

Considering its price, the N20 Pro Plus is clever. Its object detection and avoidance is solid on everything except for cables and cords. Comparable devices have the same problem, but it is still frustrating to have to chase the vacuum around, or untangle it if I forget to toss my chargers to higher ground. These kinds of issues can usually be fixed by creating No-Go Zones within the Ecovacs app, but that is becoming more difficult as time goes on.

I’ve reviewed a handful of Ecovacs robots this year, and in previous years, and before that I bought a few. I’m well versed in navigating the Ecovacs app, but this year it feels like it has had a notable decline. While it used to be easy enough to split up, and group rooms, these days the app is slow to respond, if it responds at all. I’ve found myself needing to force close it on multiple occasions, which sometimes works to fix it. Sometimes it doesn’t.

This isn’t a reflection on the N20 Pro Plus in particular, but it is something to keep in mind when you’re looking to buy a robot vacuum cleaner. So much of your interaction with the device is done through this app, so if it isn’t working properly you really limit what you can do. Not being able to text your house mate is okay for a little bit, but long term it is going to cause some problems.

Although the N20 Pro Plus is very much your usual flying saucer robovac, it’s docking station breaks the mould. Rather than self-emptying into a dust bag, which is the norm for most, this robovac empties into the PureCyclone Station. A bagless solution, similar to a Dyson, the chamber has a four stage filter, and a clever click open mechanism to easily empty the debris straight into the bin. This system produces less waste, and costs less to maintain by cutting back on consumables. 

Unlike Dyson vacuums, emptying the canister is relatively painless. Although debris can get stuck up the top, the filter’s flaps use a soft plastic that makes it easy to slide past and get to those harder to reach spaces.

Apart from the dust canister, the rest of the base station is simple. It comes with a drip tray to keep any wet mops, or extra dust off the floor, but you’ll still need to clean the mop pad yourself.

The Deebot N20 Pro Plus costs $999 in Australia, but you can already grab deals that bring that price down.

The N20 Pro Plus implements a lot of clever ideas, but to mixed results. Like house mates, robot vacuum cleaners are supposed to ease the burden, but when they don’t live up to that expectation it can be easier to go it alone. The Deebot N20 Pro Plus has a lot going for it, but its squeaky operation, tangle-prone roller, and its habit of moving messes around makes it needier than it should be. Despite its bagless design, and excellent feature ideation, it fell short of its promises. Rather than easing the burden, it added to it.

With the amount of time I spent cleaning up after the N20 Pro Plus, untangling it from cords, and clearing out jams, I could have just as easily given the place a once-over with the stick vacuum, and a hard floor cleaner. Sure it's more physical labour, but it makes for less psychic damage. Some people may have a higher threshold for these issues than I do. Maybe you don’t care if your room mate hums when they clean, or you’re fine with cleaning up after them a bit. If that's the case then the N20 Pro Plus might be for you. For me though, while the Pro Plus is good for short stints, it's not something I’d want to shack up with long term.