iRobot Roomba 900 series error codes

Roomba 900 series errors: what the numbers mean

The 900 series Roombas (such as the 960, 980 and 985) announce an error number and a spoken message, and many of the numbers refer to something you can see: error 1 is a wheel hanging down, error 10 a wheel that will not move, error 14 a bin that is not seated and error 17 a cleaning job that could not finish. The robot says what to do, usually to place it on a flat surface and press Clean, or to remove and replace the bin.

Turn the robot over and look for the obvious: a wheel packed with hair, a bin or filter not seated, a stuck brush or a dirty cliff sensor. Wipe the sensors and the charging contacts with a dry cloth, empty the bin and restart by holding Clean for about ten seconds. A robot that cannot return to the dock needs the dock plugged in and clear of obstacles. Errors that return after cleaning point to a worn part or battery, which iRobot support can help with.

The 900 series Roombas have a battery that wears with use, and many errors that look like faults, such as stopping mid-run or failing to return to the dock, come from a tired battery. Check the run time compared with when the robot was new. Clean the dock contacts and the robot's charging contacts with a dry cloth, and keep the dock against a wall with clear space either side. If the battery is the issue, iRobot sells a replacement that fits without tools on most models.

Robot vacuums spend most of their life on carpets, rugs and thresholds, so many 900 series errors are really route problems. Look at where the robot stopped: a spot with a rug fringe, a cable or a sill is a clue. Use the iRobot app's map or the virtual wall to keep the robot away from places it keeps getting stuck, and tuck cords and fringes away before a run. Clean the side brush, the main brushes and the debris extractors weekly, because a single wrapped thread can trigger the debris extractor and brush errors, and empty the bin after every run. These habits prevent most of the errors on this page.

The Roomba's cliff sensors are small windows on the underside that look for drops, and they pick up dust and pet hair. Wipe them with a dry cloth every time you clean the brushes. If the robot keeps reporting a cliff or a wheel error on a dark carpet, the sensors may be reading the dark surface as a drop, and a virtual wall or a change of the cleaning area helps.