In the robot vacuum market, it doesn’t get much better than iRobot. The company is considered to be the originator of the robot vacuum and revolutionize the market with the release of each new product. Just because the company is considered the elite producer of robot vacuums around the world doesn’t mean they don’t run into certain problems. There error codes can let you know exactly what the problem with your device is and what you need to do to fix them.
There are many different types of errors that can display on your Roomba ranging from charging errors to general troubleshooting errors. Some of the errors appear as error codes on the device along with beeps, you are informed of other errors by just the number of beeps from the device. Many of these have easy to fix solutions which can all be found below.
Troubleshooting Errors
1 Beep. Move Roomba to New Location and Restart
When you hear a single beep, it means that there is either a wheel hanging or the Roomba vacuum is stuck. If this happens, the first thing you should do is examine the side wheels to see if there are any obstructions. You can do this by flipping the unit on its back and push the wheels back and forth to ensure that there isn’t anything in the way. You should also turn each wheel separately to determine whether or not they have the same resistance. The final step you should take is to clean the wheel assembly with either a vacuum or air.
2 Beeps. Open Brush Cage and Clean
What this error message means is that the brushes on the Roomba are unable to turn. The first thing you should do when this occurs is to check the brushes on the vacuum to ensure that there is nothing preventing them from turning. You should clean the bearings and the brushes themselves, replace the brushes if required, and also clean gears and brush casing. When it comes to the brushes, one helpful hint would also be to check and make sure they were installed the correct way.
5 Beeps. Spin Roomba’s Side Wheels to Clean
This error will let you know that one of the side wheels on your vacuum is stuck. To fix this issue, first check to see if there are any obstructions that would prevent the wheels from turning. Then, much like with the first error, you will want to put the unit on its back, push the wheels to make sure they aren’t stuck, and then turn them by hand to see if they have the same amount of resistance. You can also clean the wheel assembly with air or a vacuum.
6 Beeps. Move Roomba to New Location and Restart
When you see this error message with six beeps, it will tell you that either the cliff sensors on your unit are dirty or it is stuck over a cliff. To fix this, you simply need to wipe the sensors with a clean cloth and/or use compressed air to clean them off.
7 Beeps. Spin Roomba’s Side Wheels to Clean
Seven beeps and this error message will inform you that one of the side wheels on your Roomba is stuck. Check to see if there are any obstructions in the way that are preventing the wheels from moving. Further examine your vacuum by checking if the resistance on the wheels is the same on both sides. If needed, you can use compressed air or a vacuum to clean out the wheel assembly of any dirt, dust, or debris.
8 Beeps. Roomba is Stuck (not an error code)
When you hear eight beeps, what the Roomba is telling you is that the front wheel is stuck, or the entire vacuum itself is stuck. If this problem persists, you may need to clean the front caster wheel on the Roomba. If this doesn’t help, you will need to replace the front caster.
9 Beeps. Tap Roomba’s Bumper to Clean
The first thing you need to try when you get this error message is clean the Roomba between the frame and the bumper along the entire unit. This message usually means that your device is either stuck or the sensors are dirty. By cleaning in this area, you will be working to clean the sensors so they work as designed. You can also push the bumper on the unit in and out to ensure it is functioning properly.
Error 10. Spin Roomba’s Side Wheels to Clean
This message is the same as several others that are typically found on Roomba products, but this message usually means that the device has not registered an obstacle yet. In larger rooms with little furniture, this is likely the problem. It can also mean that one of the side wheels is stuck. To fix this issue, you will need to check for obstructions, ensure that the same resistance is felt with each wheel, and the final touch will be cleaning the wheel assembly with compressed air or a vacuum.
11 Beeps. Roomba Has Not Encountered Obstacles (not an error code)
Much like with error 10, this error means that the unit hasn’t registered any obstacles. To fix this problem, try using the vacuum in a smaller room where there will be obstacle that the vacuum can find.
12 Beeps. One of Roomba’s Cliff Sensors is Dirty or Broken
The most amount of beeps you will hear on a Roomba product is 12 and this means that one of the cliff sensors is either dirty or broken. To make sure it is not the latter, wipe the cliff sensors off with a cloth and blow off with compressed air. If this error continues, you will need to replace the cliff sensors.
Please Charge Roomba
This basic message means you need more charge to your Roomba by either plugging it into the charger directly or connecting it to the home base.
Please Inspect and Clean Cliff Sensors
This message means the cliff sensors need to be cleaned or replaced. To ensure they need to only be cleaned, blow off with compressed air or wipe with a clean cloth.
Please Inspect and Clean Roomba Wheels
When this error comes up, first check the wheels for obstructions, turn the wheels to make sure they are working with the proper resistance and before it’s ready for operation again, use compressed air or a vacuum to clean the wheel assembly.
Please Remove and Clean Roomba’s Brushes
This error message means that the main brushes on the vacuum are not able to turn as they should. To fix this problem, check to see if there are any obstructions in the form of debris. You can also check to make sure that the brushes are installed the right way. If problems persist, you can also clean the brushes, as well as their bearings.
Charging Errors
1 Blink or Charging Error One
This error message means that the battery is not yet connected. Check to make sure the battery is installed properly and the pull tab has been removed.
2 Blinks or Charging Error Two
This charging error means that there is a charging error that will require it to cool for about an hour. The unit will also need to charged in a cooler environment to make sure it doesn’t overheat further.
3 Blinks or Charging Error Three
This error says that the Roomba has a charging error, which can be corrected by resetting it and recharging it.
5 Blinks or Charging Error Five
This “Roomba has a charging error” message can be corrected multiple ways. One way is to remove the pull tab fully from the vacuum and also by resetting the unit and charging it until the clean light turns green.
6 Blinks or Charging Error Six
When you see this charging error, it means that the Roomba battery has overheated. This can be corrected by letting it charge in a cooler environment and/or by letting it cool off for about an hour.
7 Blinks or Charging Error Seven
The seventh charging error you will see says that the battery on the Roomba is not properly cooling off. If you let the vacuum charge in a cooler environment and let it cool off for an hour and it still overheats, it is likely defective and will need to be replaced.
I keep getting an error5, what does that mean. I have the irobot roomba pet series.
Richardo,
This is likely a charging error. You will probably need to unscrew the battery and check to see if anything is obstructing the battery contact points. Also gently wipe them clean as dust can sometimes build up. Similarly, check the charging contacts on the Roomba charging base (wipe them clean if necessary).
I have a iRobot Roomba 980. I have tried to connect it to my iPhone but it will not accept my password. Since this is my second Roomba 980, I am trying to set it up as a new Roomba as my first one did not work. Do you have any suggestions how to fix this?
This is likely a security issue. If you’ve tried deleting the app “forgetting the old 980” and then re-installing, then you should contact support to reset your account. I’m assuming you initially set up your first 980. I haven’t personally needed to add a second 980 yet, but this is the type of issue iRobot should be able to solve. Because the 980 was just released, most people haven’t had to troubleshoot this yet.
Any else feel free to chime in if you have experience with this….
Hello – I have a Roomba 620 and keep getting “error 6”. I have cleaned everything, including the cliff sensors and wheels. It’s fully charged and I have moved it to multiple locations. I am not sure what else to try? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Hey Stephanie – this is a pain, sorry to hear it. Do you have dark surfaced floors? I know sometimes that may cause problems. It could also mean the cliff sensors are faulty. Cleaning them (what it sounds like you did) is usually my first step. When in doubt, call customer care, they are usually excellent: 1-877-855-8593.
Hello, I have the Roomba 980 with the App and it’s probably 4 months old. Last couple of weeks I’ve encountered problems with the dustbin, it keeps insisting that it is full even after I’ve emptied it; I’ve cleaned the connectors, and everything else that can be cleaned, deleted the App and reinstalled it but still it only runs for a short time (shorter and shorter) before it tells me that the dustbin is full and eventually returns to the base. Yesterday I was unable to even start poor Roomba. Can you help?
Kind regards,
Arne Svare
Hmmm… Haven’t encountered this before, is the battery still showing full? Tech support at iRobot is really good (most cases), so I would reach out to them. It’s hard to diagnose remotely like this as it’s not a common problem (yet).
I am having the exact same issue, roomba 980 purchased in May. Did you find a resolution?
hi, i have a roomba 780. i have put a new battery in but it just keeps going in circles twice then it stops and had red triangle error light come up under clean and says error 5 clean left wheel, it doesnt make any difference. The right hand wheel runs freely but the left is quite tight. have pulled the wheel assembly apart as per manual but the wheel runs freely when you have just the wheel assembly but if you push it back into the electrical contact it just goes tight and wont run freely as it hasnt got a battery in at this stage so we cant work out why its free when its out of the robot, put it back into place where it should be and clicks in then it wont run freely, we are absolutely baffled why this is and it will only go in circles and dont know how to get it to run and i love it and dont want to have to buy another one coz i have brought heaps of spares and want to get it going again, battery is new just have this wheel going around problem and ive googled searched all info on it and need help. thanks so much, marlene dickey nz
This sounds like a good reason to call iRobot support. I’ve heard of this before, but haven’t personally experienced it. The steps you already took would have been my suggestion.
I have a Roomba 650 and it started with Err1 so I took out battery, wiped clean of dust, etc. Tried again and received Err3 message. It doesn’t seem to charge and I called customer support thinking it might be the charger/docking. She basically walked me through taking out battery again, and when I plugged in on dock,”Err 3″ again…at that point, she told me the robot was “dead” and would need replaced…can this really be true? I’ve only had it since Jan 2015. Any suggestions?
Quite possibly. These are the steps I would take as well. I’m assuming you’ve tried it a few times. Sometimes the contacts on the battery need a thorough wipe. Will they give you a replacement?
My iroomba 650 keeps saying that it is having Error 2 – Open roomba’s brush cage and clean brushes. Typically, I can just open it up and clean the obstructions. But now this error happens about every 3 minutes, and there is clearly nothing in the brush cage. Just to be sure there was no brush problem, I installed a brand new set of brushes today. The problem persists. This is very annoying as now the Roomba just won’t keep running and get the floors done.
This sounds like it’s worth a call to iRobot. Haven’t seen it before.
Hi Patrick,
I have a 780 that has recently developed the following behavior: when I press Clean it starts, runs for a few seconds and then stops with the red triangle on and a single beep (no voice message). After that it won’t do anything but beep once when I press clean.
I have already cleaned it, checked the contacts for the dust bin, reset it and tried with a different dust bin. No results so far.
Any suggestions?
Called iRobot? Generally I find their tech support to be quite helpful (hint: you might even get a replacement unit / parts out of it).
Has any had this happen.
My roomba is not charging. The base green light will come on for 4 seconds then the robot just beeps a few times and then repeats. I have checked wheels, changed filter and trash box , cleaned all the sensors and put in a new battery it dose the same thing. What am I missing??
Hi Amy, I’m not sure what the problem is, but try contacting the support, I’m sure they can help you.
I have a 600 series, cleaned everything but keep getting the exclamation point inside the triangle, any suggestions?
Karen
My roomba older model blinks ! Mark, please advise of what this code means. Looking forward to your reply. Thank you
My iRobot when on the dock just beeps. It has a red battery sign and it will beep every 3 seconds.
Could this need a new battery?
Hi Janine. If the red battery light is on and the iRobot is beeping then it probably needs to be charged.
My Roomba is complaining about Charging error 19.
Hello. My irobot roomba 860 doesn’t remember the date and time anymore. what can I do?