Versatile, powerful, and easy to set up, the Roborock S7 has a couple of minor shortcomings (only one mop is included, for example, and initial room mapping can be flakey).

Overall, however, the Roborock S7 cleans to a standard that will convince you to leave your old vacuum, mop, and bucket in the cupboard.


Key Features
  • Mop attachment
  • 5200mAh battery
  • Accurate room mapping and navigation
  • Child lock
  • Ultrasonic carpet/rug detection
Specifications
  • Weight: 10.4lbs (4.7kg)
  • Collection Capacity: 470ml
  • Wattage: 68W
  • Filters: Washable
  • Brand: Roborock
  • Suction Power: 2500Pa
Pros
  • Multiple configurations and power settings
  • Excellent mobile app
  • Per-room vacuum and mopping configuration
  • Scheduler
  • Can vacuum and mop at the same time
Cons
  • Can't use detergent when mopping
  • Doesn't vacuum corners
  • Can't mop right up to the skirting board or kickboards
Buy This Product
Roborock S7

The first powered vacuum cleaners appeared around 120 years ago. In that time, they largely stayed the same, until the arrival of robot vacuum cleaners like the Roborock. But at no time did anyone have the chance to use a vacuum cleaner that also mopped the floor at the same time.

Until now.

Boasting a multispeed mop and other enhancements over previous models, the Roborock S7 uses surface recognition technology to avoid mopping carpets, rugs, and any other surface you would rather it avoided. To find out how this works out in practice, we tested the Roborock S7.

Unboxing the Roborock S7

Robotic vacuums are rarely small. The Roborock S7 ships in a bulky 15 lbs (7kg) box, measuring 15.7 x 19 x 5.8 inches (399 x 483 x 149mm). The contents are well-packaged with molded recycled cardboard.

Inside, you'll find the Roborock S7 itself, along with the dock and a one-meter power cable. Also in the box are a single mop cloth and mop bracket, along with the water tank. These are optional extras that don't need to be permanently fitted for everyday vacuuming.

Roborock S7 robot vacuum cleaner

Also in the box is the user manual and a guidebook to assist with connecting the Roborock S7 and your chosen mobile app to your network.

Unlike earlier models, the Roborock S7 does not feature a moisture protector for your floor.

What Does Roborock S7 Do That Others Don't?

The robot vacuum cleaner can be seen as the greatest household labor-saving device since the dishwasher.

You might think that when you've seen one robot vacuum cleaner, you've seen them all, but this hasn't been the case. Over the past few years, we've reviewed six Roborock smart vacuum cleaners. Roborock has progressed from having the mop as an afterthought to making it a key feature, diverting along the way with some pet poop avoidance.

Roborock S7 robot vacuum cleaner

With the S7, aside from a few design revisions, the Roborock is more adept at mopping. Although it's fair to say that it doesn't mop in the same way you do. That probably involved a bucket of hot water, detergent, and a mop.

In the Roborock S7 (or any other version) there is no way to use cleaning detergent. While this is good for the environment, it's not great for stains. You also can't use this robovac to mop up spillages. Instead, it's more of a buffer, but with multiple speeds available for this action, the mop is capable of cleaning more than earlier models.

Roborock S7 System Specifications

The Roborock S7 robot vacuum cleaner is available in black or white, measures roughly 14 inches diameter and 3.8 inches tall (353d x 96.5h mm), and weighs 10.4 lbs (4.7kg).

The 68W motor provides a suction power of 2500Pa, with dirt and dust deposited into a 470ml capacity bin. This is manually removed unless you buy the Roborock Auto-Empty Dock, which this system is compatible with but not available at the time of review. The included water tank is 300ml.

Roborock S7 robot vacuum cleaner

Running time without the mop bracket attached is maximum of 180 minutes from the 5200mAh battery, which should cover over 300sqm. The same charge will mop over 200sqm. Charging takes six hours.

The S7 has a 0.79-inch (2cm) obstacle crossing feature, enough to navigate rugs and doormats. Six cliff sensors prevent the robovac falling down stairs. Other hardware features include a floating all-rubber brush, detachable for maintenance purposes, a side brush, and bumpers.

Ultra-sonic carpet detection, sonic vibration mopping, pressure mopping, dynamic Z-shaped cleaning pattern, and an auto-lifting mop combine to make the Roborock S7 potentially the best mopping robovac system around. No-mop zones can also be set.

Roborock S7 robot vacuum cleaner

On the software side, the Roborock S7 has high-precision, real-time mapping, customized room cleaning, up to four levels of mapping, automatic room recognition with naming and individual room and zone cleaning.

For safety, the Roborock S7 has a child lock function, preventing little fingers from playing with the buttons and initiating unwanted cleans.

Cleaning and Maintenance

The various components of the Roborock S7 can be cleaned and replaced. Various cleaning tips are provided in the user guide, inluding keeping the contacts on the charger clean and removing hair from the wheels and brush. Meanwhile, the main device should be wiped down regularly with slightly damp cloth.

Roborock S7 robot vacuum cleaner

Replacements are available should the bin, reservoir, or any brushes become damaged. These can also be removed and cleaned, as can the dust filter. You can also buy addtional mops, which is useful.

To help you attend to maintenance, the Roborock app features a screen displaying the condition of the components. This helps you to identify when they need replacing and/or cleaning.

Setting Up Roborock S7's Dock and Pairing the App

With everything unpacked, the dock must be placed in a suitable area, plugged in, and the Roborock S7 placed on it to charge. Finding the right place for a dock is difficult, especially in smaller homes. The devices need to be placed with plenty of space on either side so that the dock and vacuum can communicate, as well as give the Roborock S7 an easy route home.

We placed it under an antique display cabinet and hoped for the best.

Once the Roborock was charging I set up the app. Over the years the Roborock app has evolved considerably, making it far more usable than ever. Almost all features have been noticeably upgraded, from the main interface and menus to the mapping screen.

Roborock S7 robot vacuum cleaner

Syncing with the app (we used the Android version) requires connecting to the appropriate network and following the steps to add the dock to the same network. It's straightforward and should probably work on the first or second attempt. Once connected, you can use the app to remotely control the Roborock S7. Note that there is no IR remote control or any other means of interacting with the device than via the app.

Mapping, Zoning, and Cleaning

The Roborock S7's first trip out takes a bit of time as it maps the area. How long this will take depends on how much you want it to map, as well as the area of your property. This model can store maps for up to four levels of your property, making it particularly useful, although of course, you'll need to move it manually between floors.

With the initial mapping and clean complete, you can then use the Roborock S7, via the app, to clean specific areas or rooms. Different settings can be specified for each room, too. So, you might instruct it to clean the spare room on low settings and the kitchen with the full intensity mop.

Roborock S7 robot vacuum cleaner

It's worth pointing out at this stage that Roborock robot vacuum cleaners do not require any special zoning strips to prevent access to unwanted areas. Zoning is made possible via smart mapping and by selecting a specific area of the map and hitting the Clean button. Meanwhile, individual rooms can be designated in the app, so the Roborock S7 might bypass a few doors to vacuum and mop a single room on your command.

Standard Vacuum on Hard Floors and Rugs

Vacuum performance from the Roborock S7 is satisfactory. Our usual robovac doesn't have zoning or room recognition, or any form of advanced mapping. As magnetic strips are a pain, using older robovacs meant barricading particular parts of the room – such as the entrance to the open-plan kitchen – to avoid unwanted cleaning.

Happily, Roborock S7 doesn't have this problem. The room and clean zone features are welcome enhancements, saving a lot of messing around. You basically tell it where to clean, and off it goes.

Roborock S7 robot vacuum cleaner

Some hazards should be kept in mind. Shoelaces, for example, can get caught on the side brush, causing the robovac to stop. A clear (if not clean) floor is required before you start. Corners and areas that would usually require a vacuum cleaner hose attachment to reach remain unreachable. And, of course, the Roborock S7 can't clean dusty curtains or cobweb-ridden corners of the ceiling.

VibraRise ultrasonic carpet recognition technology, however, helps the Roborock S7 distinguish between hard floors and carpets, adjusting power accordingly. This recognition is also vital for a successful clean with the mop attachment fitted.

Does the Roborock S7 Actually Mop Your Floor, or Buff It?

Setting up the mop is straightforward. The mop cloth slides into the mounting bracket, where it attached by strips of hook-and-loop fasteners. Giving a few moments of attention to the mounting bracket, you can see there is a panel that oscillates (up to 3,000 times a minute) as it cleans.

Roborock S7 robot vacuum cleaner

With the bracket mounted in the Roborock, the water tank can be filled and inserted above. Both devices are at the back of the vacuum cleaner, with the water piped to the mop cloth below.

But for a robot vacuum cleaner that highlights the advancements of its mop technology, the Roborock S7 has a key shortcoming. It only has one mop.

That aside, it appears to do a good job. You just need to wash it – with detergent – between mop cleans. When we reviewed the Roborock S6 MaxV, I observed:

"…the lack of support for detergent means that mopping is sadly closer to buffing. Our floor looked great after, but quick use of an antibacterial floor wipe in the same area revealed that more could have been picked up. The Roborock S6 had been running on maximum settings, so it should have made the best possible clean."

How does the S7 compare? Well, without both devices available for a side-by-side comparison it is difficult to say. Certainly, mopping appears to be at least adequate on the basic intensity clean-and-mop mode.

Roborock S7 robot vacuum cleaner

Stepping things up to the no-clean, mop only intensity, which uses more water, seems to clean more dirt, while the maximum intensity uses more water still for greater cleaning. There's also a special "Mop Route" that can be activated, switching from the Standard clean to Deep – which takes longer to clean.

Testing the mop showed that the most intense settings did the job of cleaning dried-up mess on the wooden flooring. In terms of taking the job of mopping out of your hands, this can be considered a success.

As the kit only includes one mop cloth, however, you'll have to wait until your mop is washed before mopping again. This is a bit of a frustration, especially as after the initial deep-clean, it's smart to keep the floor buffed with a standard daily mop.

If there is a shortcoming with mopping, it is that the Roborock S7 can't mop into corners or along the edges of the floor.

Roborock S7: Mopping, Maximized

Understandably, the Roborock S7 is replacing our older robovac. The standard and depth of clean, the flexibility for rugs and carpets, the intensity of the mopping, and its ability to clean where it is told to clean without relying on barriers or magnetic strips makes it a must-have.

There is a very strong chance that the Roborock S7 will make your vacuum cleaner and your mop and bucket redundant. It's safe to say this robovac has met my expectations, it's cleaned the downstairs of my modest home daily for the past month with barely an issue, and its biggest drawback is that it can't clean behind things.

Under the circumstances, and until robovacs resemble C-3PO with a hose attachment, that's acceptable.

And yet… there's only one mop.