ILIFE V9e Robotic Vacuum Cleaner
ILIFE V9e Robotic Vacuum Cleaner is a very popular robot vacuum cleaner intended for vacuuming bare floors and low-pile carpets in small to medium-sized homes and apartments.
ILIFE V9e robot vacuum features excellent suction and air filtration, very good dirt cup capacity, but it lacks an advanced navigation system and mapping features, commonly found at units intended for large homes and apartments that often cost several times more.
Published: October 25, 2021.
ILIFE V9e Robot Vacuum Features and Specifications
ILIFE V9e robot vacuum cleaner is a rather compact, but unusually tall robot vacuum cleaner with physical dimensions of 12.2 x 11.8 x 4.4 inches (310 x 300 x 112 mm) and it weighs 6.4 pounds (2.9 kg) - most similar units feature height in the 3-3.5 inches (~76-89 mm) range.
Nonetheless, ILIFE V9e is able to reach under most floor objects like furniture, sofas, beds, and similar.
ILIFE V9e robot vacuum is intended for vacuuming various types of dirt from bare floors and low-pile carpets using par of side brushes and very strong suction that can reach up to 4000 Pascals (Pa) - most residential robot vacuums feature maximum suction up to 1500-2000 Pascals (Pa).
However, ILIFE V9e doesn't feature a rotating brushroll that would be very helpful in deep cleaning of medium and even high-pile carpets and area rugs.
In order to navigate the home, ILIFE V9e features a set of sensors and very good climbing capability, helping the unit climb carpets up to 0.8 inches (~20 mm) tall.
Set of onboard sensors include obstacle sensors, contact/touch sensor (bumper), and cliff sensor - again, ILIFE V9e doesn't feature an advanced navigation system based on LIDAR or anything similar.
Also, ILIFE V9e doesn't include a magnetic strip sensor (Hal sensor) nor does it support the use of virtual walls - for short, if You want to confine the unit to a certain room, close the door.
Although it is not officially recommended, some users apply black matte tape on the floor, mimicking cliff - in most situations, ILIFE V9e will detect black matte tape as a "false cliff" and stop.
Note: ILIFE V9e and similar robot vacuums feature cliff sensors on the front of the unit - depending on the navigation/cleaning mode and the layout of the floor objects and obstacles, ILIFE V9e may run onto the cliff (or false cliff) driving backward, which ensures almost certain falling down.
ILIFE V9e doesn't support the "Recharge and Resume" feature, but when the battery is discharged, it can locate the charging station and dock automatically - to help the robot locate and dock with the charging station, be sure to leave one meter of free space around the charging station and two meters of free space in front of it.
When the battery is discharged, it takes ~300 minutes to recharge it completely again. On the other hand, unit's runtime on a single battery charge depends on the floor types, most common dirt and suction setting - the stronger the suction, the shorter the runtime.
On average, ILIFE V9e operates 100-120 minutes on a single battery charge.
ILIFE V9e comes with a dirt cup featuring a capacity of 700 ml, which is an excellent capacity for the vacuum cleaner in this class.
Also, air filtration system ensures the capture of 99.95% of 0.3 microns or larger particles, which is a High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) H13 level of air filtration - ILIFE V9e expels practically clean air, which may be very important not only for people having asthma, allergies, and similar health issues but for all people not wanting the dirt to reenter the living quarters.
Air filtration system combines cyclonic action with high-performance air filter and HEPA air filter.
How to Control ILIFE V9e?
ILIFE V9e is a WiFi-enabled unit that supports the use of a 2.4G network, but not the 5G wireless network - this should generally not be a problem, but it is good to know.
The unit can be almost fully controlled with an IR controller - it allows the user to start and stop the unit, to set the cleaning mode, schedule cleaning, etc.
However, a full set of controls are available via the smartphone ILIFEHOME App, which also includes additional cleaning mode (S-mode), and provides additional information, like cleaning history and part maintenance.
Also, ILIFE V9e supports the use of Amazon Alexa and/or Google Home Assistant (both are sold separately).
ILIFE V9e Cleaning Modes
ILIFE V9e supports a total of 5 different cleaning modes, including Auto Mode, Spot Mode, Edge Mode, Max. Mode and S-Mode.
Auto Cleaning Mode
While in auto cleaning mode, the unit navigates the area trying to find the edges, and then cleans within those borders.
Again, ILIFE V9e features a simple navigation system that is unable to create nor save a map of the area or cleaned map.
Personally, Auto Cleaning Mode should be left as the default cleaning mode in most situations.
Spot Cleaning Mode
Spot cleaning mode is intended for cleaning areas with piles of dirt.
In spots cleaning mode, the unit vacuums certain areas using a spiral pattern.
Edge Cleaning Mode
In edge cleaning mode, the ILIFE V9e detects the edge of the walls and vacuums alongside using rotating side brushes and its suction.
Max. Cleaning Mode
In max. cleaning mode, the suction is increased to a maximum (other modes feature maximum suction of 3000 Pa) - this cleaning mode is used for vacuuming piles of stubborn dirt.
Also, this mode discharges the onboard battery the fastest.
S-Mode
S cleaning mode is available only when using ILIFEHOME App - S-mode is basically auto mode with more thorough (Smarter?) area border detection, often leading to better floor cleaning.
Note: ILIFE V9e robot vacuum cleaner is relatively simple to set, use and maintain robot vacuum cleaner. But, when it arrives, be sure to thoroughly read the manual in order to get accustomed to your new robot vacuum cleaner.
ILIFE V9e Robot Vacuum Maintenance
ILIFE V9e features a relatively large dirt bin of 700 ml which doesn't have to be emptied after each cleaning task.
However, if You have time, empty the dirt bin after each cleaning task.
Also:
- high-performance air filter should be cleaned weekly or even twice per week (families with pets) and replaced every 3-6 months,
- HEPA air filter should be cleaned every 2-3 weeks or even every week (families with pets) and should be replaced every 6-12 months,
- side brushes should be cleaned weekly and replaced when physically worn,
- charging dock, vacuum's body, sensors, and the rest of the unit should be cleaned weekly.
ILIFE V9e robot vacuum cleaner comes with 12-months limited warranty.
Long Story Short: ILIFE V9e is a simple to use and rather affordable robot vacuum which supports the use of an IR remote controller and ILIFEHOME App.
ILIFE V9e cleans well bare floors and low-pile carpets, but for better vacuuming on medium-pile carpets, it lacks a rotating brushroll.
Although the unit doesn't feature an advanced navigation system, it cleans rooms thoroughly - if it starts to miss certain areas, rearrange the furniture a little bit, letting the unit pass through.
If You are looking for a well-balanced robot vacuum cleaner with excellent suction and air filtration, consider this one.
For more reviews and recommendations, feel free to check the ILIFE V9e Robot Vacuum Amazon link (link opens in the new window).