The Hoover Company is a global corporation that makes and sells floor care products. Established more than a century ago, Hoover later became the industry leader in electric vacuum cleaner technology. In the UK and the rest of Europe, people say Hoover when they mean “vacuum cleaners.” Is it any wonder that the company is also producing robot vacuums?
One of its robot vacuums is the Hoover Quest 800.
Special Holiday Pricing Update: The Hoover Quest 800 is currently available here for a discount.
The Skinny on the Hoover Quest 800
The Hoover Quest 800 uses QuestNav 2.0 technology to find its way across the floor. This navigation technology allows the robot vacuum to go around or under furniture. It also employs different cleaning patterns and techniques to give your floor a more thorough clean. The cleaning modes are random, wall follow, and spot clean.
When the power runs low, Hoover Quest 800 would find its way back to the docking station to recharge.
Aside from that, the Hoover Quest 800 has cliff sensors to make sure that it does not fall off stairs. It also uses the tri-clean system, which effectively picks up the dust, dirt, dander and debris from your floors, off wall, and near corners. You can use it to clean tile, hardwood, and other types of floors. The tri-clean system makes use of the brush roll, side brush and powerful suction to clean. Moreover, if you see a spot that is particularly dirty, you can direct the Hoover Quest 800 to that area and press “spot clean” on your mobile phone to make sure that all areas are clean.
You can use the Hoover Invisible Wall to keep the robot vacuum out of rooms you do not want it to clean. Other accessories aside from the pair of invisible walls are the microfiber dust pad and the extra side brush.
Aside from the remote control included, Hoover gives you a feature that few robot vacuums have: the ability to be controlled using your smartphone. Unlike high-end Roombas, this robot vacuum makes use of Bluetooth technology instead of Wi-Fi.
Mobile app
The Hoover app allows you to control your robot. You can use the mobile app to tell the vacuum where to go, to start or stop the cleaning process, or to go back to its docking station.
Aside from that, the mobile app allows you to check on your Hoover Quest 800 easily and conveniently. Through the app, you can see the battery status, you can set the cleaning method, and you can turn on the Quiet Mode. The mobile app also gives you maintenance alerts, as well as a quick link to the product manual and troubleshooting tips. There is also an option to help you register your Hoover Quest 800.
The Hoover app also gives you an easy way to schedule your cleaning, allowing you to set a schedule even on a per day basis.
Alternatives to Hoover Quest800
There are several alternatives to the Hoover Quest 800 that also feature app control. These include the Roomba 960, Roomba 980, and the Dyson 360 Eye.
The Hoover Quest 800 is the most affordable option among the four. It is also the only one that offers Bluetooth connectivity. However, it is also the only one that still uses a nickel metal hydride battery and that does not have mapping capabilities to help it clean more efficiently.
Additionally, the Hoover Quest 800 offers the same running time as the Roomba 980 – cleaning for two hours on a single charge and beating out the Roomba 960 and the Dyson 360 Eye (75 minutes and 45 minutes, respectively).
If you are more concerned about the places that it can reach, then you should appreciate that Hoover’s robot vacuum is smaller and shorter than both Roomba 980 and Roomba 960, allowing it to get into tighter spaces and under more furniture. But the Dyson 360 Eye is smaller at 9 inches in diameter but it is higher at 4.72 inches. When it comes to weight, the Hoover Quest 800, Roomba 980 and 960 are comparatively similar at around 8.5 pounds but the Dyson 360 Eye.
If you are prone to allergies, or if you want to have cleaner air at home, then choose the Roomba 960 or 980, which use HEPA filters.
All of these robot vacuums recharge automatically when their battery runs out, and they all have an easy scheduling feature.
Side by side comparison
| Hoover Quest 800 | Roomba 960 | Roomba 980 | Dyson 360 Eye | |
| Price | Check here | Check here | Check here | Check here |
| Dimension (d x h, inches) | 12.5 x 2.9 | 13.8 x 3.6 | 13.8 x 3.6 | 9.0 x 4.72 |
| Weight (lbs) | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.6 | 5.4 |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi |
| Remote Control | Yes | No | No | No |
| Brush features | Removable | Counter-rotating | Counter-rotating | Full-width brush bar |
| Battery Type | Nickel metal hydride | Lithium ion | Lithium ion | Lithium ion |
| Run Time (mins.) | 120 | 75 | 120 | 45 |
| Auto recharge? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Resume after charging? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pull Out Bin | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bin capacity (liters) | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.33 |
| Navigation | QuestNav | iAdapt | iAdapt | 360-degree Vision System |
| HEPA Filter? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mapping | None | Camera | Camera | Camera |
What you would love about the Quest 800
The Hoover Quest 800 can clean a wide variety of floors. If you have carpets and small rugs, you can make use of the microfiber dust pad to get a more efficient clean.
The Hoover Quest 800 has a dustbin that can hold 0.4 liters of dirt and dust, allowing you to clean longer before needing to empty the bin. It holds enough dirt to clean a medium-sized room without having to empty the dustbin.
Moreover, with its pull out bin, it is very easy to empty full dustbins. It also has a replaceable and rinseable filter, so that you can be extra sure that you are not recycling the dirty air back out. You can use the filter for 12 months before needing to replace it.
There is also a separate remote control that you can use so that if you live with other people in the house, they do not have to get your smartphone to start cleaning. This also means that if you do not have compatible smartphones or tablets, you can still operate your robot vacuum or set a schedule.
What could be better
The use of Bluetooth technology might make it easier for you to pair the robot vacuum with your smartphone, but it is quite limited compared to Wi-Fi technology. For one, you have to be within Bluetooth range to operate the Hoover Quest 800. You also do not have the ability to operate the robot vacuum when you are out of the house.
While the Hoover Quest 800 has an intelligent navigation technology, it does not have a mapping system that allows it to get a sense of the floor that it is cleaning. It means that when compared to other robot vacuums, the Quest 800 moves more randomly and might be more prone to miss a spot or two. Other robot vacuums have a more purposeful navigation technology and mapping technology.
The Hoover Quest 800 also has a nickel metal hydride battery, which you may need to replace sooner than a lithium ion battery. Other robot vacuums already use a lithium ion battery. You also need up to 5.5 hours to recharge it, and this could mean a longer overall cleaning time for those with big rooms as the vacuum may have to recharge more than once and wait several hours before it can resume cleaning.
The Hoover Quest 800 also does not automatically resume cleaning after charging and you do not have any means of controlling it when you are out of Bluetooth range. That means you would need to start it when you get home or schedule it beforehand. With much larger rooms, this could mean you would either need to stay home when you clean or be content coming home to a half-clean floor.
Additionally, the filter used for the Hoover Quest 800 is not HEPA, so this model may not be the ideal one if you are prone to allergies.
Final recommendations on the Hoover Quest 800
The Hoover Quest 800 is a competent robot vacuum that is easy to use and schedule. It provides a very efficient clean using its proprietary QuestNav 2.0 technology. Simply said, this robot vacuum does a good job at cleaning your rooms regardless of floor type and regardless of whether it’s carpeted or not. If you have small rooms, the Quest 800 Robotic Vacuum is the perfect choice. It can clean for 120 minutes non-stop so smaller rooms can be clean with just one run. For bigger rooms, however, you would need to wait another five hours or so until the vacuum is fully recharged.
Bottom Line: The Hoover Quest 800 is a more hands-on robot vacuum than the Roomba 960, the Roomba 980, or the Dyson 360 Eye. This robot vacuum is not the type that you can start, leave, and trust to completely clean an entire room without intervention, especially for bigger rooms.
Okay, final words for real…
If you like to leave your robot vacuum to clean the house while you run errands or while at work, then this might not be for you. However, at its price range (see the steep discounts here), it has more features similar to its more costly counterparts, making it worth a try.
Personally, I’d rather opt for the more advanced Roomba 960 here, but it is MUCH more expensive.
Another cheaper alternative might be the Roomba 690 (has WiFi control, but older tech).
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