Roomba is very responsive and keeps you informed of possible damage or error in the machine. But, You must first know the cause of the error and what possible solutions will definitely resolve your error.
What is Roomba Error 6 | Causes
Roomba displays error 6 when there is a cliff detected or Cliff sensors are dirty or Roomba goes to a location where there is dark light. It will interpret dark colors as potential drop-off risks. This may cause the vacuum to go back and forth as it tries to avoid areas of the black (or very dark) carpet to keep itself from danger.
Roomba Error 6 | 7 Steps fix
1. Clean Cliff Sensors
Follow the steps mentioned below in order to clean cliff sensors (outside of sensors)
- First of all, remove the dustbin.
- Now, remove the battery cover (4 screws).
- You can remove the battery.
- Remove the bumper trim (8 or 10 screws).
- Check the sensor from the body of the Roomba using a flat-head screwdriver.
- Carefully separate the clear portion of the sensor from the black portion of the sensor.
- Cleaning-cliff-sensors-on-an-iRobot-Roomba
- Wash and dry the clear portion of the sensor with a cotton swab.
- Blow the dust out of the black portion of the sensor.
- Reinstall the sensor (excessive force may be required).
- Wiggle the sensor to ensure it has snapped into place fully.
- Repeat for other sensors.
- You should now reassemble the Roomba.
| Learn More: How do I clean Roomba® cliff sensors? |
2. Reposition Cliff Sensors (Dark border Cliff Off Sensors Fixed)
This solution is a bit time-consuming but it has proven its worth and fixed the error many times for most of the people.
- First of all, remove the side brush (sweepers) with the help of a screwdriver.
- Now, you will remove the back cover of Roomba. Make sure that you remove all the screws and open the base cover carefully as it is a bit delicate.
- Now, remove all the ten screws which will be on the corner side of the machine.
- Make sure you remove the Roomba battery carefully to avoid any harm to it.
- There will be a bumper on the front side of the device, don’t remove it first as it will be fixed with a wire.
- Hold the front plastic cover of Roomba and pull it out carefully.
- Now, remove the top screws with the help of a screwdriver to reach to device system’s display. Your front base layer will be removed.
- There will be two discs right in the center, remove that carefully and keep them near you to place them exactly where they were aligned.
- There will be a plastic cover above the motherboard which you will remove before opening the motherboard.
- Take your wifi antenna off delicately. It will be located near Roomba’s motherboard.
- Now, remove the motherboard carefully as there are studs along the motherboard to open it. Make sure that you plug out the bumper’s wire which we have discussed and left attached in the previous step.
- Now, you will find four cliff sensors alongside the corners of the device which you can see below.
- Now take a metallic thing having a nook i-e; a knife to remove the sensors from the Roomba. You will see two glaring lights on the Roomba.
- Loose its outer packaging and remove it. You will see two LEDs, where one is a little darker called the receiver and the other lighter one is the transmitter. (Usually, people use white foil paper to trick this which does not work for every Roomba )
- You should reposition them in such a way that they will be pointing out to each other.
- You need to do this with all of your sensors.
- Take some shrink wrap and gather your sensors’ wire parallel to each other and melt it to close it with the fire’s warmth.
- Now, close everything carefully and you are done.
iRobot Roomba 675 Robot Vacuum
Works with Alexa, Good for Pet Hair, Carpets
| Reading Recommendation: Fix Roomba Error 5 |
3. Virtual Walls for Roomba
- The virtual walls keep Roomba in the area you want to clean and out of the areas you don’t.
- To set up the dual-mode virtual wall, install two AA batteries
- To select virtual mode, slide the switch to the up position.
- The top ring will blink five times and then stop when the virtual mode is set up.
- Virtual mode creates an invisible 10ft cone-shaped barrier that Roomba will not cross.
- Be sure that the indicator on top of the virtual wall is pointing in the direction you want to get blocked.
- Please note that next time, when the virtual wall blinks repeatedly, it means that the batteries are low and need to get replaced.
- The halo mode on your dual-mode virtual wall keeps your Roomba away from items you want to protect creating an invisible 4ft diameter keep-out zone.
- To select Halo mode, you need to slide down the button. The ring will pulse five times.
When the tower is set to emit a linear border near a drop-off, it can result in the best of both worlds: A Roomba that will vacuum over any dark surface while avoiding actual drop-off threats… Just remember to change the batteries in the virtual wall barrier every 6 months to ensure your Roomba does not decide to go cliff jumping!
| Recommendation: Roomba Error 2 | Fix in Seconds |
4. Fix Roomba’s transition to carpet
Generally, Roomba stops and reverses its position when there is a dark and a little height carpet. In this case, I have an Aluminium sheet installed below the carpet which has made the carpet a little higher. My Roomba stops when it tries to cross onto the carpet.
First of all, I popped out the wheel from Roomba and attached a tiny washer to it to make it a little higher. You can try a normal or small size washer depending on which would fit and doesn’t make it lose. Now, you should try your Roomba on carpet flour.
5. Move Roomba to a New Location
You can try this simple fix and fix your Roomba without doing any settings or troubleshooting with your Roomba. When your Roomba faces any cliff or unbalanced surface, it stops and turns its face back.
Usually, you can do minor settings in your home to make Roomba work smoothly. Just make sure that you don’t have any of the below-mentioned things or simply remove them from the area where you want Roomba to clean.
- Dark-colored carpets.
- Stairs Edging (Roomba can’t climb)
- Low lights in the room (Leaving Roomba in dark)
| Reading Guide: Roomba Error 1 | Fixed |
6. Keep Roomba Software Updated
- First of all, open your Roomba app.
- Here you can see the ‘Update’ option will be opened for you.
- Click on the Update option.
- Make sure that your Roomba is on charge as it can take a bit of time to get the device updated.
You must keep your device’s firmware updated to ensure smooth performance and avoid any bugs.
7. Reboot Your Roomba
Most electronic devices work properly when they are restarted after any issue in them. Because, sometimes, there may be a software malfunction that is stopping the device to work properly.
a) For S and I series models
- First of all, press Clean and hold it for about 20 seconds until the white LED starts spinning wait for a few seconds.
- Now, let the Roomba turn on and check if it is working properly.
b) For the 700, 800, and 900 series
- First of all, press Clean and hold it for about 20 seconds until you hear a beep.
- Now, let the Roomba turn on and your device will be rebooted.
| Must Read: Roomba Charging Error 2 | Fix in Seconds |
How to Reset a Roomba
If you are unable to get the solution from all the above-mentioned methods, you must try resetting your Roomba which will surely help you.
- First of all, hold on to Spot and Doc for almost 10 seconds until it gets off.
- Now, turn it back on without the cover.
- So, you will experience a bigger light without the cover.
(I have done this reset for my model 560 series but it is almost the same for other models as well.)
- You should leave the button when you hear a special beep.
- Now, your reset will be completed.
- Make sure that you keep the Roomba on the charging base for a little longer time.
iRobot Roomba E5 Robot Vacuum
Works with Alexa, Good for Pet Hair, Carpets
Contact Support
If you have tried all the approaches mentioned above and you are unable to find the solution, this indicates that the problem is in your device by the factory. You must contact the official support of Roomba.
They will surely guide you to the best and resolve your problem. Hopefully, You will get a new battery.
Related:
- Roomba Error 15 | How To Fix in Seconds
About Author
Originally from Pakistan Azam, the Founder of smarthomehut.com has a keen interest in Audio products and has used multiple Audio and sound-related products with almost every version of the headphones and AirPods.
Azam has got a degree in Bachelors in Computer Science with a specialization in Home Automation and Security having experience of 3 years in automation, which has allowed him to guide people on what He has learned, observed, and analyzed to solve their problems with tech and automated gadgets.
He has done jobs in various companies across Pakistan i,e; Tech Resolver Ltd and Soft Care Ltd.
Now, He has been writing detailed information on every issue and every feature of headphones, Alexa (Echo devices), Home security devices AirPods, or earbuds and also reviewing them for 2 years.
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