How To Reset A Roomba - Reboot Roomba 500, 650, 690, 770, 780, 880, 960, 980

The fix is simpler than you think. A proper reset wipes your Roomba's memory clean and lets it learn your new home from scratch. Whether you're setting up a used Roomba, switching homes, or troubleshooting connection issues, you'll need to know how to reset Roomba correctly.

This article covers everything you need to know about how to reset Roomba and manage different models through their programmable functions. You'll learn exactly how to reboot your Roomba and get the most out of it.

Find out more about the robotic vacuums called Roomba

About the Roomba Robots

Let's examine and compare the various iRobot vacuum models. We'll briefly cover the main features you can get from these robots and how you can benefit from them.

600 Series

The 600 series, with its latest product, the Roomba 964, is Roomba's budget robot vacuum that will introduce you to a smarter way of cleaning your home. Some notable models you can still get from retailers are the Roomba 650 and Roomba 690. They all come with the standard Roomba build and a dual-brush system that enhances cleaning capability.

While it lacks some smart features compared to other Roomba models, we found it effective for regular floor cleaning. This is thanks to the two brush rollers that follow a proven cleaning sequence: loosening dirt, lifting it, and suctioning it away.

Best for: Budget-conscious users who want reliable automated cleaning without smart features.

i3 Series

For those interested in a smart cleaning experience, the Roomba i3 series is a great choice. With the latest iRobot Roomba i3+ or the Roomba 3550, you can comfortably let the vacuum clean your floors.

The robot vacuum now comes with anti-tangle brushes that offer great performance on both floors and carpets, so you don't have to deal with tangled hair. With enhanced suction that's 10x more powerful than the standard 600 series, the Roomba i3+ can easily handle your cleaning tasks.

Using smart navigation, the vacuum cleans more efficiently, which improves performance. Instead of constantly bumping into edges and objects while navigating around the house, it will steadily build a map of your entire home. As a result, it can quickly and effectively clean your floors.

Best of all, with the self-emptying system at the charging base, your vacuum will automatically clean itself up and get charged for the next run.

Best for: Pet owners and busy households who want hands-off cleaning.

If you want more intelligent features, choose the i3.

i7 Series

If you want even better navigation, the iRobot Roomba i7, which replaces its predecessor the Roomba 770, will offer a smarter and more controllable user experience while maintaining all the benefits and hardware from the i3 series.

Along with the patterned row-by-row cleaning and mapping feature, the robots also have a built-in camera. This is beneficial if you want your Roomba i7 to map your house faster and more accurately.

Unlike the i3+, which only maps floors in its memory for cleaning purposes, the i7+ provides a visualized and interactive version of your floor map. This enables many handy settings, like creating keep-out zones or making further adjustments to cleaning programs. We'll explore this in more detail in the guides below on resetting and programming your Roomba.

Best for: Multi-room homes where you need precise control over cleaning zones and schedules.

Smarter experiences will be provided by the S7 series.

S9 Series

Finally, if you need the perfect cleaning assistant for your house, the Roomba 960, Roomba 980, or the latest Roomba s9+ are great options. Not only do they come with all the desirable features from the lesser models or the old Roomba 880, but these premium models from Roomba also offer exceptional performance.

You'll get a major upgrade in suction power, with 40x the amount of suction compared to the 600 series. This allows the vacuum to effectively pick up dirt and debris on your floors and carpets while reducing total running time.

Along with many smart cleaning features from the i7 series, the S9 can now work together with the Roomba robotic mop, specifically the Braava jet m6. This paired system will clean your home following your created schedules.

Best for: Large homes or anyone who wants the most powerful automated cleaning available.

How to Reset and Reprogram Your Roomba

The following guides are for all Roomba iRobot users, from the old 980 to the latest S9 series and many other models. We'll show you how to reset your Roomba's settings and reprogram them for specific cleaning purposes.

To make it easier, each process is categorized into different sections for your models. Old Roomba iRobot models only come with physical button controls while newer ones can work with the iRobot Home app. This makes the two different when it comes to managing and programming. By dividing the article into sections, we'll ensure you can always find the right guides for your product.

How to Reset Old Settings and Programs

Your vacuum will need a complete factory reset to get rid of all current settings and programs installed on it. Here's how to reset Roomba for a new house:

On Non-Wi-Fi Connected Models

The classic button design or remote-controlled Roomba models like the Roomba 650, 770, 800, and many others require you to use physical buttons. Across different models, there are subtle differences you need to know.

If your model is the classic 500, 600, 700, or 800 series, the control buttons will have the Spot and Dock buttons available. Turn on the vacuum and press these two buttons simultaneously for 10 seconds. The vacuum will reset itself once you hear a beep sound.

To reset the device, press the appropriate Spot and Dock button.

If you have newer models that have abandoned the two buttons around the Clean button, press the Clean button for 10 seconds to reset the vacuum. Let go once you hear the beeping sound and the Roomba battery reset will be completed.

On Wi-Fi Connected Models

All the latest iRobot models from Roomba can now connect to your Wi-Fi network, providing many convenient features. Using the iRobot HOME App makes it easy to reset your devices.

Make sure both your phone and iRobot are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Open the dedicated Roomba app on your device and access Settings. Look for the Remove/Factory Reset option with the respective name of your robot next to it. Choose this option and tap Accept on your phone to start resetting your Roomba robot.

To reset Wi-Fi-connected models, utilize the specific app.

How to Set Up and Operate Your Robot

After your vacuum has been completely reset with its memory erased, it's time to make a new setup and schedule. The following instructions will show you how to reset your Roomba schedule:

On Non-Wi-Fi Connected Models

For older models that use physical buttons, the setup process will be a little more challenging and require you to pay more attention. For different models, the steps can be slightly different. We've divided our guides into specific tutorials with step-by-step instructions for your Roomba robots.

The Old 500 and 600 Series

Setting the Time

To ensure your vacuum operates properly, the time on your Roomba robot must be set correctly. Press and hold the Clock button, then adjust the Day, Hour, and Minute with the respective buttons. Release the Clock button to set the time.

If you want to change from the current 12-hour format to the 24-hour one, or vice versa, press and hold down the Clock button again. Simultaneously press the Day and Minute buttons for 3 seconds to see the current format, then release and press them again to switch to the other format.

Setting the Schedule

You can schedule your vacuum to automatically clean once a day by pressing and holding down the Schedule button. Adjust the Day, Hour, and Minute settings with the respective buttons, then release the Schedule button to complete the process. After this, your vacuum will be programmed to automatically clean your home at the desired time.

Monitoring the Schedule

While using the vacuum, you can also monitor your schedule thanks to the provided options.

Press and hold the Schedule button, then press the Day button to view the scheduled time. If you want to make changes, use the Hour and Minute buttons to adjust your schedule. Release the Schedule button to apply the changes.

While viewing the schedule, you can press the Day button for a couple of seconds to delete the current schedule on the vacuum.

The Old 700 and 800 Series

The buttons on the 700 and 800 series are slightly repositioned, so you might find them somewhat different from the old 500 and 600 series. However, when it comes to general instructions, the steps are similar. If you've had experience with previous models, you won't have any problems working with these devices.

Setting the Clock

Press the Clock button to enable the Day, Hour, and Minute buttons. Unlike the 500 and 600 series, you don't need to continue holding down the button. Adjust the clock with the respective buttons and press OK to confirm the changes.

Setting the Schedule

To schedule the vacuum, select the Schedule button after you've finished configuring the time. The Day, Hour, and Minute buttons will be available for you to adjust. Select your preferred cleaning time and press OK to finish the process.

Monitoring the Schedule

To view the current scheduled program, press the Schedule button, then select the Day button to view it. At this stage, you can press the Hour and Minute buttons to change the schedule, or press and hold the Day button for five seconds to delete your current plan. Press OK to confirm the changes and return to the starting menu.

Delete your schedule

On Wi-Fi Connected Models

In the following guides, we'll show you how to turn off your Roomba robotic vacuum or program your schedules without having to touch the device. All you need is to connect your vacuum to the same Wi-Fi connection as your mobile phone. Go to the Google Play Store or App Store to get the iRobot® HOME App for your respective devices, and you're good to go.

The 600, 800, and 900 Series

For older Roomba robotic vacuums, certain smart control options won't be available. However, you can still perform standard operations through the app.

Open the installed app on your device. Upon entering, it will show the current Roomba devices you're connected to. Select the respective device to manage it.

Scheduling Your Vacuum

To schedule the model, scroll down the menu to look for the Schedule option. Enter the section to open up the Schedule interface. You can manually adjust the cleaning time, just like on non-Wi-Fi connected models.

Make Changes to the Cleaning Programs

On the Roomba app, you'll have all the virtual control buttons and available settings, including options for how to reset Roomba, allowing you to control your robotic vacuum without touching it. Choose the Clean button for the robot to get to work, and press it again to stop the vacuum. Let the robot return to its base with the Send Home button to recharge and automatically empty the bin.

You can also make changes to the cleaning programs at a much more detailed level:

• Change the vacuuming behavior with Detailed Clean, Quiet Clean, or Custom Clean mode
• Make adjustments to Cleaning Passes by switching between Automatic, One Pass, or Two Passes cleaning
• Change Bin Behaviors to pause when it's full or continue cleaning

Smart cleaning procedures can be enabled through the dedicated app

Connect to Smart Home Devices

Your robotic vacuum is also capable of delivering a completely automated cleaning experience thanks to voice commands via your Google Home or Amazon Alexa assistant.

To complete the setup, your smart home assistant must be connected to the same Wi-Fi as your phone and robot vacuum. You'll also need to have your smart assistant app installed and properly configured first.

On the starting interface of the app, look for the Smart Home menu. Open the menu and select Connected Accounts & Devices. This should show the available devices in your home, whether it's Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and so on.

Choose the desired assistant and open the dedicated app to complete the linking process. After that, you can operate your devices via voice commands. Tell it to start, stop, return to base, empty the bin, or change cleaning programs with just a single command.

The Latest S and I Series

On the latest iRobot devices, Roomba has introduced a wide range of new controls and options for you to work with in the mobile app, allowing you to have even better management over the system.

For these models, you'll have all the benefits of using the mentioned features on the iRobot® HOME App while still being able to adjust cleaning operations at a deeper level, particularly with the use of Roomba's Imprint™ Smart Map.

This is a dedicated mapping technology developed for your premium S and I robot vacuum series, which allows the devices to work more accurately and effectively. However, your vacuum will need time to steadily build the correct map of your home, so you won't be able to use this feature right away. Depending on the specific models and your home's coverage, this process won't take the same amount of time. Learn more about it with the following articles.

Schedule Your Vacuum

Scheduling your smart vacuum follows the same steps as other Wi-Fi connected models from Roomba. However, after adjusting certain times of day for the vacuum to run, you can move on to more specific settings.

Assuming the robot vacuum has completed the imprint mapping process, look for the Location menu to customize the cleaning programs. Choose certain rooms you want to clean or for the vacuum to stay away from by checking or unchecking their respective boxes.

You can select the Repeat option for the vacuum to start cleaning your home at the scheduled time each day. Or uncheck all the boxes after you've selected the Repeat option.

Using your gadgets is much simpler with the smart Roomba app.

Working with Keep-Out Zones

On premium models that come with built-in cameras, particularly the Roomba i7+ and S9+, you can enjoy working with keep-out zones, which provide even more customization to their vacuuming plans and make the device one of the best vacuum cleaners available.

With the imprint map ready, you can create keep-out zones easily:

• Access the standard map view interface, then enable the Keep-Out Zone feature and select the Add Keep Out Zone option
• Drag on the screen to create rectangular keep-out zones on the map
• Select certain zones and drag them around to freely position them in different areas of your room
• Finish the keep-out zones by pressing Place

Add new keep-out zones to your already-configured map whenever you want by repeating the same process.

To improve your vacuum's performance, the iRobot app will also study the cleaning reports to note difficult areas where your robot often gets stuck, then provides you with helpful suggestions for keep-out zones in these respective areas.

If you want to delete any keep-out zones from your customized map, access the Keep-Out Zone feature. Select the map you want to delete and choose the trash icon to have it removed.

To further control your device, you can set up keep-out zones.

Common Reset Issues and Solutions

Roomba won't reset with buttons: Make sure you're holding the correct buttons for your model. Try holding for 15 seconds instead of 10. If still failing, charge the battery fully and try again.

App won't complete factory reset: Check that your phone and Roomba are on the same 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network (not 5GHz). Restart both the app and your Roomba, then try again.

Roomba resets but won't reconnect to Wi-Fi: After reset, you'll need to set up Wi-Fi from scratch. Go through the initial setup process in the app as if it's a new device.

Maps aren't rebuilding after reset: This is normal. Your Roomba needs 3-5 full cleaning cycles to rebuild accurate maps. Avoid moving it manually or interrupting runs during this period.

Your Complete Roomba Reset Guide

For Roomba robotic vacuum owners, this comprehensive guide on how to reset Roomba and reprogram it is invaluable. You'll find the right tutorials for all your Roomba robotic vacuum models, as well as explore advanced features on other devices.

Whether you're setting up a used Roomba, moving to a new home, or troubleshooting connection issues, you now have the complete reset and setup process for every model from the 600 series to the latest s9+.