The convenience of using Roborock vacuums allows households to use their time wisely instead of focusing only on the tasks of cleaning, mopping, and sweeping the floors.
Through the innovations that Roborock and other robovacuums have brought to users, you can spend time with family while your smart home device completes monotonous tasks on your behalf. You only need to pair your vacuum to your mobile phone and WIFI through an app, then the robot will do all the cleaning tasks.
Regardless of the supposed convenience, there are inevitable instances we cannot avoid due to the nature of the machines. Given enough time, everything will break down or encounter technical issues.
One of the main concerns of Roborock vacuum cleaners that we will focus on in this article is the charging issue. More specifically, Roborocks commonly experience a failure to charge.
Needless to say, when you have invested a few hundred dollars in the product, any battery or charging issues can be unnerving.
There are two primary ways to deal with this concern. We need to determine whether the offender is the charging base or the robot vacuum, itself.
- According to the Roborock technical support team, the common cause of charging failure for robot cleaners is a poor connection between the charging docks and the machines. Therefore, most of the troubleshooting steps we will provide below are related to the docking station.
- When in doubt, a soft reset or factory reset of the vacuum can also serve to fix many basic problems.
Roborock Not Charging? Check the Docking station connection
The best thing you can do to rectify the charging issue of your Roborock is to look closely at the Docking Station.
In checking the base or docking charger of your machine, take note of the following:
Are the charging contacts of either the docking station or the vacuum dirty?
The charging contacts (perhaps obviously) are the parts responsible for transmitting the power from the docking charger to the Roborock vacuum cleaner. To ensure that electrical current can flow between the two devices, you must ensure there is no blockage on the pins of the charging contacts.
Usually, if you encounter this problem, you will see an Error 13 or 22.
Error 13 – Charging Error, Clean charging contacts and retry
Error 22 – Dock Locator Error, clean and retry
Check if any dirt has accumulated on the charging contacts of the docking station and the robot. Wipe both devices’ charging contacts or ports gently with a clean and dry cloth.
Also remember to clean the charging station itself. Any dust that stays on the charging ports or contacts can cause a delay or blockage of electric current transmission between the two devices.
*Many users have reported that fine grit sandpaper can be used on the charging connections to clean debris and buildup. Don’t go overboard and damage your vacuum, but this can be a valuable trick.
The Vacuum’s Charging Contacts Can’t Securely Touch the Dock’s Charging Ports
You have to double-check if the robot cleaner is reaching the charging contacts or ports of the docking station. If the docking station is not positioned flat against the floor, the robot struggles to touch the charging ports of the docking station.
Ensure that the docking station is placed on a level surface. Avoid placing the dock on any stand or elevated area that your robot cleaner cannot reach for charging.
Another tip you can consider if you are having an issue with charging is removing the mop on the robot while charging.
The mop at the bottom of the machine can elevate the unit by a few millimeters. Therefore, when the robot enters the docking station to charge, the charging contacts of the machine cannot reach the charging ports of the docking station. As a result, both units’ charging stations will be lined up poorly with each other.
So during charging mode, it is better to dismantle the mop temporarily to ensure that both units’ charging ports can reach each other.
After those procedures, your robot cleaner should start charging without interruptions until the machine has reached full battery. Below are the guidelines for how long each Roborock model’s charging time is (for your reference).
- Roborock E4 – 360 mins of charging time
- Roborock E5 – 360 mins of charging time
- Roborock Q series – 220 mins
- Roborock S4 – 220 mins
- Roborock S5 Max – 360 mins
- Roborock S6 Pure/S6 Max V – 360 mins
- Roborock S7 – 360 mins
Before moving on, you should verify that no charging contacts are bent or broken. Hopefully you would have noticed this by now, but sometimes it is hard to detect minor bending of ports.
Perform a Power or Factory Reset
If you have attempted all the adjustments and troubleshooting steps provided above and still haven’t resolved the problem, it is likely that there is something faulty in the software or internal components of the vacuum.
At this point, we recommend you do a power or system reset, which we will provide the steps for below. In performing the power reset, ensure that the vacuum is not connected to the docking station.
- To reset, simply press and hold the power button for about 15 to 20 seconds and wait for the indicator light to flash several times. The unit is reset if you see the indicator or power light flash.
Performing a Factory Reset
For the Roborock E model series.
- Press and hold the power and home buttons simultaneously until you hear a voice prompt, “Restoring Factory Settings.” Once you hear the prompt, the unit is successfully restored to its factory settings.
For the Roborock Q and S model series
- Press and hold the arrow up button and the “Reset” button simultaneously until a voice notification says, “Restoring the Initial Version.” It indicates that the machine has been restored to factory settings.
Reset the Charging Base
To reset the charging base, simply unplug the base from the power source. After waiting 2-3 minutes, plug the base back into a power source.
The charging base should now be reset.
A Charging “Trick”
This “fix” is inconvenient, but it still beats replacing an expensive device.
Simply flip your Roborock and the charger upside down, and manually position them so the charging ports make contact.
You will probably need to place something heavy on top of the vacuum and charger so that the contact remains stable.
Roborock still isn’t charging?
Note: If after doing all the given procedures the same issue still occurs, it is likely either a defective charging station, or the robot’s motherboard and/or battery is defective.
*If you are convinced that the failure is due to the battery itself, it is relatively inexpensive to purchase a replacement battery. Because there are some unscrupulous sellers of aftermarket components, be sure to find legitimate, high-quality replacement parts.
At this point, there are a few directions you can take.
- For a device that is still under warranty, contact the Roborock support team first to discuss recommended actions and other troubleshooting steps.
- If you are lacking in DIY skills, or if you value your time highly, it is probably time to purchase a new robovacuum. Don’t simply dispose of your defective Roborock, though — many of these errors can be repaired by skilled DIYers, and these folks will give you a few bucks for your “broken” device.
- If you are skilled at electronics repairs and DIY, there are some likely culprits that you can address before giving up and spending ~$500 on a new vacuum. We will give a teaser on these, but obviously you will want to do some further research before taking anything apart or buying replacement components.
DIY Solutions
There are a whole host of solutions that might work, but will require DIY skills. Obviously, you need to start with a proper diagnosis. Next, you need to have the skills to execute the needed repairs.
Common failure points of Roborock vacuums include:
Failed motherboard and/or bad fuse on the motherboard
The “fix” here depends on whether you have a blown fuse or a motherboard that needs to be replaced in total. Either part can be replaced, but the fuse will obviously be much cheaper. To do this, you will have to be capable of basic soldering.
Replace battery
This replacement isn’t challenging (and the parts are inexpensive), but you still need to keep a couple items in mind.
First, you need to be certain that a bad battery is the cause of your device’s failure. There is no point in spending $40+ on a replacement part only to find that it doesn’t fix the issue.
Next, it is tremendously important to verify that the battery you purchase is a legitimate part that is compatible with your Roborock model.
Replace charging dock
Replacement charging docks can be more challenging to find.
As was mentioned above, it is important to start with a proper diagnosis. In other words, you need to be 100% certain that the charging dock is the issue. Lastly, you want to be certain that the dock is compatible with your Roborock model before spending money on a replacement.
Conclusion
Charging issues occur with almost any battery-powered device, and the Roborock is no exception. But it is less likely to happen if the unit is properly installed and positioned according to the technical standards set for the unit.
Often these failures are due to a bad motherboard, blown fuse, or a battery that has outlived its usefulness. But in other cases, something as simple as resetting the vacuum or cleaning the charging components is enough to fix the problem.
