Roombas are one of the greatest innovations of our times. They make our lives so much easier by taking away the burden of cleaning the house every day. With the push of just a few buttons or just a few commands from your phone, you can clean your house effectively. 

Roombas are smart devices that map out your entire house and navigate their way around the house without any external assistance. Once you start the cleaning cycle, the Roomba will clean the entire area and go back to its home base where it can be charged for the next cycle. However, sometimes Roombas take forever to go to their home base. Let us look at why it might be taking so long for your Roomba to go back to its home. 

Why Does Roomba Take So Long To Go Home?

Possible reasons why it is taking your Roomba too long to go home

Picking your Roomba up while it is cleaning

You should never pick your Roomba up while it is cleaning and place it somewhere else. This can interrupt the navigation of your device and cause it to take a very long time to go home. If for any reason you picked your Roomba up, set it near the home base and click the home button on it or use your phone to send your Roomba home. 

The home base isn’t set up in a proper place

This is the most common reason why Roombas take forever to go home. If the Roomba needs to navigate a difficult way or cross many obstacles to go home, it may take a lot of time. Ensure that the Roomba has a clear path to go home that is simple and obstacle-free. Don’t keep the Rumba’s home near stairs, mirrors, or any other device that emits infra-red rays. 

Software Issues

If you can’t find any possible reason why your Roomba is taking a long time to go home, it could be a problem with the device too. You can take it to the store from where you brought it or to a service centre to get it checked. However ensure everything before taking it to the service centre, because in most cases this happens due to something in the environment. 

A problem with the connection

If other things seem fine and yet your Roomba can’t navigate its way home, check to see if there is any damage in the wires connecting the home base to the power outlet or any other cords. Plugin the charger to see whether it is working properly. Ensure to see that there isn’t anything around the home base that is reflecting the light of the base. 

Another home base nearby

If you have more than one Roomba, make sure that the two home bases aren’t near each other. In case there is more than one home base in a certain area, the Roomba might get confused about its home and just wander around trying to look for its home. So keep home bases a good distance apart, and if possible in two different rooms. 

If there is any dirt or sticker on the home base

If the home base has a layer of dust collected on it, or if there are finger smudges on its surface, it might be difficult for your Roomba to navigate its way as the home base’s signal might not reach it. Moreover, if there are any foreign objects like stickers, paint or cover on the home base, it might be difficult for the Roomba to navigate its way home. When you are cleaning the home base, make sure you do it only with melamine foam. 

Where to set a Roomba’s home base?

For the Roomba to return back to its home base it needs to detect the infrared signals emitted by the home base. If the infrared signal doesn’t reach the Roomba clearly it might have difficulties in navigating the home base. Here are a few tips that you can use to set up the home base of your Roomba in a proper place. 

The home base should be in an open area that is free of clutter 

There should be enough space around the Roomba’s home space for it to move around and navigate its way freely. The way to the Roomba’s home should not be filled with clutter as it will make the process difficult for the Roomba. 

A place with good Wi-Fi

The home base should be set up in a place that receives good Wi-Fi signals to make the process of navigating its home easy for the Roomba. If you see good signal strength on your phone in the location where the home base is set, it is safe to assume that your device is also receiving good signals. 

The home base should be placed on a level surface

The home base of your Roomba should be on a flat surface and should rest against a flat wall. This not only helps your Roomba get to its home easily but it also makes the Roomba clean better. Don’t keep the home base of your Roomba near the stairs as it might fall down while trying to navigate its home. 

Conclusion

If your home base is in a proper place and you can’t spot any other problem, try sending the Roomba home manually once. After the cleaning process is done, clean the Roomba’s bin and put it near the home base. Press the home button on your Roomba or use your phone to send the Roomba home. Keeping it near the home base after the cleaning process can solve the problem. But if the problem persists or you should get your Roomba checked. 

Taking care of a Roomba and its home base is really crucial to ensure that the Roomba works properly and lasts a long time. So wipe your Roomba and the home base routinely and don’t ignore any issue that you might notice in your device.