There are a few reasons why your Roomba keeps gettings stuck and you can fix this issue quickly by following some troubleshooting tips.
The guide below defines different problems which cause Roomba to get stuck and explains the relevant solutions to resolve the issue.
Why Roomba Keeps Getting Stuck | Problems & Solutions
Cords and Cables on Floor
One big reason your Roomba gets stuck is the cluster of desktop computer cords, charging cables, tiny wires, and power strips. This issue is generally in old model generations such as the First and the Second generation.
Roomba gets easily trapped between these wires and cords, making it impossible for Roomba to move freely.
Fix your Cords with a wall
You must fix all of your wires, cords, and charging cables with the wall or at least tape them to keep them in one place only.
Different electricity wires and connection cables make the room surface unplan which cause the Roombas not to go to that area of the rooms where these wire are spread over.
Clutter Messed up on Floor
Different types of small wooden items, clothes, and toys create clutter on the floor which hinders the movement of Roomba.
If Roomba detects any kind of these objects, it will stop immediately, it will notify you “Move Roomba to a new location” and will try to restart itself.
A. Remove Clutter
Different household items in the room cause obstacles to cleaning.
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If you have created a mess of furniture and other decoration items in the room then try to throw them away from the room and try to remap the room and make sure that this time, you make the room clean and simple on its surface.
For Accurate Mapping:
- Do several cleaning sessions a day.
- Avoid placing dark or patterned carpets.
- Remove mismatched surfaced furniture, especially low-lying furniture.
All these points above will ensure your Roomba cleans all rooms.
B. Install Furniture Risers
If you have too many wooden objects, furniture, coffee chair, or lounge chair and think it is impossible to remove or replace them, buying risers that will uplift your furniture by 3 inches is better.
I have picked the best furniture risers for you which you can also have for your Roomba’s better doing its cleaning work.
Here, You can Buy Furniture Risers.
Roomba is not charged well
Roomba creates multiple issues and its performance is disturbed when it is low in charge. If your Roomba is getting stuck again and again, you just need to check its charging.
Related:
Charge Your Roomba
Place your Roomba at its charging station and make sure that its contact points are clean and Doc terminals are contacting the charging points of Roomba well.
Make sure that your Doc is also connected to a power source to enable charging. Now, let it charge for an hour and check after a while if Roomba has cleared its cleaning cycle.
If Roomba is charging accurately, but there is a defect in Roomba’s device, you must need to check the motor and replace it.
Thick and Dark Rugs in the Room
We have seen multiple people facing this issue which is only found in older generations of Roomba such as the Roomba 1450 model. These Roomba devices consider dark rugs as cliffs which irritate their cleaning process.
Remove Dark Rugs/ Turn off Sensors
If you turn off/block sensors you can do this by wrapping tinfoil around all holes on the sides of the back cover. Roomba won’t be able to detect cliffs and staircases and in this case, it is more probably going to fall off the surface.
You should remove the dark rugs before cleaning your room. Although this issue hasn’t been reported by people who own the latest models of Roomba.
No Sufficient Light in Room
Roomba is an AI device that uses motion sensors, optic sensors, and Infrared technology. It requires sufficient light in the room to clean properly and identify objects completely. But, not enough light can cause Roomba to stuck.
Provide Sufficient Light in all Rooms
Roombas clean their house and their rooms very efficiently with their advanced technology and proper navigation system.
Roombas navigation system is operated through the camera installed in the device. These cameras locate the room’s position and its areas with the help of light. In the absence of proper light, Roombas are not able to detect the proper mapping of the house which creates a hassle in cleaning the room properly.
Make sure that all your rooms have adequate lighting installed to make them work and clean efficiently. Dark light disables Roomba to complete cleaning Job.
Power Reset Roomba
Sometimes, a simple refresh gives electrical gadgets a new restart and they start performing normally. We must remove the power supply from Roomba and wait for a few minutes to let it refresh and restart it.
- Turn your Roomba upside down.
- Open all the screws fixed on the back of the Roomba.
- Now, open the back cover of Roomba and draw its battery.
- Give Roomba almost 15 minutes of rest.
- Now, re-install the battery in the right positions.
- Now, restart Roomba and test its cleaning cycle.
This Refresh approach has resolved multiple unknown errors and I hope, it will also help your Roomba if there are no outside obstacles.
Unclean Roomba Wheels
Sometimes, the wheel or the axle part of the wheel is dirty which causes Roomba squeaks.
The wheel may be jammed or hair may be stuck in the middle of the wheel and its installation point at the device which causes Roomba to stuck.
I)Clean in Side Wheels:
- First, look at the middle hole of your Wheel where you can have access to the axle of your Roomba wheel.
- Now, take a Dry Lubrication or Teflon film. I suggest you use ‘Blaster Dry Lube with Teflon’ as it dries up very quickly.
- Now, take a stray and attach it with its tip, and spray right in the center of the hole.
II)Clean Front Caster Wheel
If your Caster Wheel is not moving freely or squeaking, you need to clean it.
- First, firmly hold this caster wheel’s assembly to remove it from the robot.
- Push firmly on the wheel to remove it from the wheel housing.
- Remove any hair or debris from the wheel.
- Now, re-install the wheel into the housing ensuring that both sides of the axle snap firmly into place.
- Now, remove dust and debris from the front wheel cavity.
- Re-install the caster wheel assembly into Robot.
- Congratulations! The wheel is all right now with no squeaking.
Wet Floors
We have seen multiple people who have faced electrical malfunction issues in their Roomba devices. They have reported that they use Roomba on a wet floor.
Dry the Wet Floors
You must dry your floors if they are wet before operating Roomba on the floors. It will also ensure fast and easy cleaning of floors.
Create a Different Route
Roomba has the power to clean and vacuum your home by automatically mapping your home. But, Roomba can also create different and customizable maps according to the structure and design of your home.
- Open your Roomba iRobot app
- Open Mission tab in the app.
- Now, you can check the Route which Roomba has made.
- You can now press configure button and customize your route for better performance of Roomba cleaning.
Clean Roomba
Take out the dustbin from the Roomba device and check whether there is dust gathered in it or not. If there are debris particles, you need to clean the dustbin where a lot of dust could stuck.
Now, head over to the bin area. This empty room can store a lot of dust which is causing the connection blocked. You must clean this area as well before inserting the dustbin into Roomba.
You can pull out the dust remnants with your hand and you can also use a scissor to cut little hair which is stuck around the side brush on the backside of Roomba.
- To clean Roomba from the inside, you have to open its back cover carefully after unscrewing all the screws.
- You can use compressed air to pull out all the dust from inside because after so many turns around the home leave dust particles inside Roomba.
- Now, put back the Roomba cover in its place carefully and tighten all the screws.
Update Roomba
- First, connect your Roomba vacuum to Wi-Fi.
- Make sure that Roomba is on its charging base and getting charged.
- Open your iRobot app.
- You will see ‘Update’ on your Home screen.
- Click on it and tap on the ‘Request Update’ button.
- Now, wait for a few hours to get it fully updated.
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.)
- It would be best if you left 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.
Contact Roomba Support
If you have tried all the approaches mentioned above and cannot 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.
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Interesting Troubleshoot to fix Roomba Keeps Getting Stuck
- Block Furniture from your app. You can block specific parts of the room and different objects in the room to allow Roomba to move freely without any distractions.
- No Go Zones can be set which disallows Roomba to go into that area.
- Next troubleshooting has been explained well in this video below
Frequently Asked Questions
How To Prevent Roomba From Getting Stuck Under Couch?
You can use couch cushions and pool noodles of the right size which will block the front area of the couch and will disallow Roomba to get under the couch.
What happens when Roomba gets stuck?
First, it will shut off and it will give you an alarm which indicates Roomba is stuck somewhere.
How To Prevent Roomba From Getting Stuck Under Bed?
You can use furniture extenders which can be very helpful in case of Roomba cleaning the room and washing the floor. Basically, it will extend the height of furniture objects and beds.
You can also use pool noodles to block the opening of the bed.
Why does Roomba get stuck in a corner?
When cleaning the Roomba will avoid the home base by 10″-12″ so it may have been caught between the wall, the cabinet, and the signal from the home base. Try putting the home base on a flat stretch of wall at least 3′ from a corner.
About Author
Mahnoor has graduated from AI Security Specific Program at PIASS. She has a special interest in technology especially Automated gadgets and Automated Robots. She has also studied programming and Windows security.
She is now serving as Professor at PIASS teaching a major in AI. She has got herself into content gathering and now at smarthomehut, she often writes about Alexa programming skills and how different automated related devices and how tackle their various issues.
You can find her @
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