The Botvac D5 Connected is made for cleaning a modern smart home with pets, people, hard flooring and carpets. It connects to your smartphone with Wi-Fi connectivity and the Neato app.
Introduction
You can start and stop the robot with its start button, but you need the Neato app to get access to all the functions. The Botvac D5 Connected does not have a handheld remote control. It uses the smartphone app. Thus, you need a Wi-Fi network connection and a smart device with either Android or iOS. Download the Neato app and set up your free account.
Our review discusses its features, Wi-Fi connectivity and smart device app. We also do a quick comparison between the various Botvac Connected vacuum cleaning robots.
Botvac D5 Connected: Overview
The Botvac D5 Connected has a top-loading, large dust bin and ultra performance filter. The large “Neato” logo covers the Lasersmart navigation system. There is only one button for starting the robotic vacuum. Two LED lights act as indicators. The INFO LED shows the Wi-Fi connection status, cleaning status and errors. The BATTERY LED shows the charge and battery errors.
This robotic vacuum has a very wide brush. It also has a single side brush for sweeping edges. The battery compartment is located underneath the robotic cleaner. The Botvac D5 Connected uses a high-capacity lithium-ion battery. Other features to mention are the drop sensors, wall sensor, wheels and battery charging contacts.
What is included?
The biggest included item might be the integrated charging base. The charging base gets its power via a power cord from the wall outlet (it does not use an adapter). The robot vacuum can find the charging base when its battery power is low, recharge itself, and then resume cleaning until it has vacuumed all the floors. It can do up to three recharge and resume cleaning runs to cover up to 4500 square feet of floor. Each cleaning run lasts for about 90 minutes.
The Botvac D5 Connected uses a large combo brush and a smaller side brush to sweep floors and brush carpets. The pet hair and dust is vacuumed into its dust bin.
It has an ultra performance filter, which is great for removing pet dander and other allergens from the floor and carpet. The dust bin should be cleaned after every successful cleaning cycle. The filter might need replacement after one or two months, depending on how frequently the robotic vacuum was used.
A cleaning tool is included for removing hair and dust from the brushes and filter. The tool has a filter comb and a fiber cutter for cutting coiled hair and fibers.
A boundary marker strip is also included. Use it for keeping the robotic vacuum from cleaning taboo areas such as pet bowls and water bowls. The Botvac cleaners use this cheap boundary marker instead of the more popular virtual wall technology. At least you do not have to buy batteries for the boundary marker strips.
How is the robot vacuum connected?
The Neato app and a home Wi-Fi connection gives you the ability to use your smart device to start or pause the robot from a remote location. You can also receive notifications and alerts from the robot (OMG your floors are so dirty, and please buy some milk LOL). The app also shows the battery status and maintenance alerts.
You may download the Neato app from Google Play or from the Apple App Store. Create, verify, add and connect your account to the Botvac D5 Connected. The Neato app provides instructions for pairing the robotic vacuum cleaner with the app. The robot only supports 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi networks. You can also download and use the Neato app on multiple smart devices in the same home.
Please note that the Botvac D5 Connected is now also compatible with Amazon Alexa devices.
What can you do with the Neato app?
Certain features are only available when you use the Neato app. You cannot create a weekly schedule, receive notifications or get cleaning statistics without the app. However, you can still start the robot vacuum or initiate the spot cleaning function with the start button.
The most basic function available on the app is for automatic floor cleaning of multiple rooms. You can start, pause, stop and resume the house cleaning run. You may also command the robot to return to its charging dock.
Got a dirty spot on the floor? Command the robot to spot clean the area. You can also tell it to clean the spot twice.
The Neato app gives you the ability to schedule its cleaning for up to seven days at specific times. You can also turn the schedule function off if you are going away from the house for a few days.
Enable push notifications and the Botvac D5 Connected will send you notifications of its current battery and cleaning status. The Neato app can also be used for updating the software of the robot vacuum.
Botvac D5 Connected vs. D3
These Neato robotic vacuum cleaners are similar, except for a few minor differences. The D3 Connected (reviewed here) does not have a side brush. It ships with a standard filter and an ordinary capacity lithium-ion battery. Its maximum cleaning run is therefore limited to 60 minutes. It can only clean up to 1800 square feet every day.
We do not know why there is both a D3 and a D5 Connected model. Why not combine all the features into a single model and call it the ‘Botvac Connected’ or something. Oh! Wait a minute, it seems like Neato already has a robot vacuum called the Botvac Connected.
Botvac D5 Connected vs. Botvac Connected
The name is almost the same, but the price is different. The D5 Connected has a list price of almost $600 while the Botvac Connected costs almost $800. The recommended retail price seems to be the biggest difference between these two robot vacuums.
The only other differences we could find was that the Botvac Connected includes a spiral blade brush and a slightly stronger battery with a run time of up to 120 minutes. The top cover looks a little different, but that seems to be it. You may read our review of the Botvac Connected here.
Which Botvac should you get?
Should you buy the Botvac Connected, the D3 or the D5?
The Botvac Connected has almost the same features as the Botvac D5 Connected, but it costs up to $200 more.
The D3 Connected has limited app functionality, a slightly weaker battery and no side brush.
We might buy the Botvac D5 Connected because it has a high-capacity lithium-ion battery, a side brush and access to all the functions of the Neato app.
Furthermore, you might even consider getting the D7 model, which has a longer runtime per charge (read the D7 review).
All things considered, the Botvac D5 Connected is a delightfully smart robotic vacuum cleaner. Even so, it needs the Wi-Fi and app to gain access to advanced features such as scheduling (buy it on Amazon).