Ecovacs Deebot T30 Pro Omni – your value Gen 5 robovac/mop (cleaning review)

04/12/2024
By Ray Shaw
In Reviews

The Ecovacs Deebot T30 Pro Omni is a value Gen 5 offering 3D Mapping and IR obstacle detection with a new, smaller Omni cleaning station.

CyberShack has defined robot vacuum/mops in our guide Five tips for choosing a robovac/mop (2024 cleaning guide) to help you understand the differences between Gen 1 Dumbots to Gen 5 Brainybots and the latest techniques to achieve one-pass, whole-of-home cleaning nirvana.

The guide helps you to decide what features you need and sets price expectations accordingly.

For example, this is the value entry-level Gen 5 at $1799 and cannot be compared to the premium $2499 Ecovacs Deebot X5 Pro Omni – its best yet for one-pass, whole-of-home cleaning. It shares some features but has been made to meet a price point.

Ecovacs Deebot T30 Pro Omni versus T30 Omni

The T30 Omni model without the ‘Pro’ in the name is slightly cheaper and does not have Yiko voice control, double mop function, true edge, or variable power.

Australian review: Ecovacs Deebot T30 Pro Omni

Website	Website Product Page Manual
Price 1/12/24	$1799 but seen on Black Friday for $1299, so negotiate
From	Ecovacs Online, JB Hi-Fi, Bing Lee, Good Guys, eBay Ecovacs store Avoid online and international stores as they don’t have an AU warranty.
Colours	Black
Warranty	2-year ACL
Made in	China
Company	Ecovacs Robotics is a Chinese technology company best known for leading the development of in-home robotic appliances. Founded in 1998 by Qian Dongqi, Ecovacs has a commanding lead in the Chinese market and is #1 in Australia.
About	CyberShack cleaning news and reviews CyberShack Ecovacs news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

First impression – Pass

It is a typical round 353 x 351 x 104mm robot vacuum/mop with dual rotating mop pads.

To be fair, most robovac/mops are round, and that design means smaller 13cm rotating brushes using multiple overlapping passes to clean the same area as the wider, premium, 17-20cm brushes. Invariably, they have a top LiDAR turret and cannot clean edges under cupboard overhangs of less than 110mm.

To compensate, some (like this) have an extendable right-side mop but realise that while this helps keep edges cleaner, there are better solutions with extendable whiskers, crab-walk motion and even square designs.

It has a new squat base station at 409 x 490 x 480mm, cleverly enabled by elongating the water tanks.

It has a new feature – a gentle kick to the bumper will commence cleaning.

Ecovacs makes good gear and has local warehousing and support in Sydney.

Gen 5 sensors

Gen 5 sensors should mean they can do one-pass, whole-of-home cleaning with little to no home preparation. We will discuss that later. This has:

Top-mounted 3D LiDAR TrueMapping out to 8m – produces a detailed 2 and 3D map
Front infrared cross-path lights for obstacle detection effective to 350mm
Front mono camera (this is a crucial feature of Gen 5 obstacle detection, but more expensive ones have AI RGB cameras)
Left and right edge sensors
Carpet detection sensor
Cliff detection sensors
Bumper sensor

It is missing sensors for dustbin fill and water level.

Warranty – Passable

While two years is adequate, it is not class-leading. In addition, it states that shipping and handling costs may be charged.

It is fair to charge an inspection and transport fee if the goods are not found faulty.

A class-leading warranty, however, accepts responsibility for freight both ways (as strongly suggested by ACL – read Why Australian Consumer Law warranties are vital for tech). And under ACL, you are entitled to return it to the retailer as it is legally responsible. ACL strongly condemns retailers that suggest you must deal with the manufacturer directly.

Setup – Pass+

Download the Ecovacs App for Android or iOS. Scan the barcode and follow the instructions to connect to 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. The app will update the firmware if necessary.

The quick map takes <6 minutes for 100m2.

Home Prep – Pass

Our guide outlines the best house prep practice. Follow this fully for at least the quick map and first one-pass clean.

After that, we did moderate prep, lifting chairs, footstools, shoes, shoelaces, power cables, clothes on the floor, etc. You should then be able to leave it for unattended cleaning. It did not get stuck in any panellists’ test home.

The App – Pass

The App includes (and we suggest using all defaults)

Up to four (3+1) maps (useful for multi-floor or partial floor cleans. The cleaning station must be moved to the applicable floor).
Actual 2D 3D map renderings).
Select vacuuming, mopping, or both.
Adjusting suction power (4 levels – 11,000Pa is maximum)
Smart boost on carpet
Mop intensity (Fast, Standard, High, Deep+)
Customise allows for individual room settings.
Scheduling
Carpet settings – lift 9mm (for 5mm carpet or less), Auto-loft, bypass or no lift. You can enable vacuum carpet first without mopping pads.
Dock Settings: Mop wash frequency (15 minutes default), Mop washing mode (light, balanced or deep) and mop drying time (2, 3, or 4 hours)
Post-cleaning reports
Voice commands through Yiko, Google Home, Siri, and Alexa
Child Lock and Do not Disturb.
Housekeeper AI mode to dynamically adjust its cleaning according to your home environment and cleaning preferences.

Privacy – Pass

As usual, we recommend using a junk email address for added privacy.

Obstacle detection – Pass

This has no AI like the premium Deebot X5. The combination of cross-structured IR light beams and the mono camera detects larger objects. In fact, we rarely saw it bump into anything, so it scores well over ‘bump and grind’ bots.

To be clear, It cannot recognise and categorise objects. It avoids larger obstacles quite well without knowing what they are and how to avoid them.

It is approximately 104mm high and too high to fit under some cupboard overhangs and beds.

It did not get lost and always returned to base.

Vacuum efficiency – Pass

It has a 13cm combo bristle and rubber roller brush, which means more passes and slower coverage. The zero-tangle comb works quite well.

The 300ml internal robot dustbin is adequate, as it returns frequently to empty the bin and wash the mops.

Despite 11,000 Pascal’s suction power (on Maximum), it was less efficient than we hoped.

Hardwood: 86%
Short pile carpet: 79%
Longer pile carpet: 70%
Hair (mix of short and long) – picked up most

These figures improved dramatically with a second pass or increasing suction power, but this was at the expense of battery life.

Mopping Tests – Pass

It has dual rotating mop pads with the right pad’s ability to extend to help edge clean. There is a tiny 55ml internal water tank, which means it needs to return to base every 10/1/5/25 minutes.

Our four panellists all commented that the hard floor mop was average. While it was streak-free, it did not remove dried stains or footprints. When I tested it, I set the water level to three and two passes. It did a better job but took twice as long. We did not have an Ecovacs cleaning solution, which may have made a big difference in removing dried-on stains.

Edge clean – Pass

You can set it for TruEdge Adaptive Edge Clean, which extends the right-side mop. There is an extreme and standard mode. Overall, in vacuum/mop mode on hard floors, it came within a centimetre of the wall or cupboard overhang.

In vacuum mode (on carpet), it left at least a 10cm gap. The whiskers collect little detritus from the carpet.

Corner clean – Passable

In extended mop mode, it leaves a small arc of uncleaned corner. In vacuum mode, no round robot adequately cleans corners (see image above).

Sill test – pass

It managed to climb 20mm sill, albeit it had to try several different approach angles.

Speed – Pass

Using the app defaults, it cleans 1m2 every 1.5 minutes, longer than others in this category. It also returns every 15 minutes to dump detritus and wash the mop. On custom settings, it took 120 minutes for 60m2, which exhausted the battery.

Noise – Pass

Up to 65dB. The Omni can get louder when emptying the dustbin and mop washing.

Battery – Pass

Ecovacs claims 200 minutes on its lowest power use mode. Over four weeks of testing, it averaged 120 minutes on default vacuum and mop settings.

It has a 14.4V/5.2A/75W battery and a 20V/2A/40W for 3 hours (no fast charge).

Power use is

Dustbin empty 1000W
Hot water wash 1650W
Hot water dry 1000W

Yiko 2.0 voice control – Pass+

Yiko 2.0 is an enhanced version of Yiko – you can read its voice command list here. It is vastly expanded over Google and Alexa. The three mics are effective to about 6m.

Omni station – Pass+

It has an interesting squat design that takes less width and height than most stations. It is 480 x 490 x 409mm x 10.4kg plus 4kg water with a light strip indicating status. It contains:

4L Clean Water (front)
3.5L Wastewater (rear)
3L Dustbin (under panel)
55° Hot water wash
Hot air drying
No detergent dispenser – place it in the clean water tank.
Easy clean base (see below)

Pet – Fail

No program and pet poo avoidance.

Maintenance

At the end of the cleanup, the Ecovacs Deebot T30 Pro Omni returns to the station for a final 2/3/4 hour mop wash and dry. Drying eliminates the potential for mould and small if not regularly used.

Robot Part	Maintenance Frequency (Once per week infers after each weekly use.)	Replacement Frequency/Cost
Washable Mopping Pad	Can be hand or machine-washed if required	Every 1-2 months $29.90 (4)
Dust Bag		$29.90 (3)
Dual Side Brushes	Inspect every two weeks	Every 3-6 months $14.90 (2)
Floating Bristle/Rubber Brush	Remove cover. Inspect/clean each after use.	Every 6-12 months $49.90
Brush cover	Remove cover. Inspect/clean each after use.	Every 6-12 months $29.90
Filter (Internal Dust Bin)	Fill before/after each use. Check filter gauze and clean	Every 3-6 months $14.90 (2)
TrueDetect 3D Sensor TrueMapping Distance Sensor Driving wheels Anti-Drop Sensors Bumper Charging Contacts OMNI Station Pins	Inspect and wipe over once per week.
Omni Cleaning Sink	Once every two weeks
Clean Water Tank	Fill before/after each use Check filter gauze and clean
Dirty Water Tank	Empty after each use
Dust Collection Cabin	Once per month
OMNI Station	Once per month
Cleaning solution		$37.50 per 1L

While this may sound onerous, it is similar to any other robovac/mop if you want to keep it in top condition. The once-a-week can easily be stretched to every month for typical users.

Inbox

Robot
Omni station
Dust bag
Whisker brush
Roller brush
2 x Mop pads
High-efficiency filter

CyberShack’s view: The Ecovacs Deebot T30 Pro Omni is a value Gen 5 robot.

The Ecovacs Deebot T30 Pro Omni is a value Gen 5 robot, so don’t expect it to perform as well as the premium Gen 5 Ecovacs Deebot X5.

It is pretty good but does not clean or mop as well, its obstacle detection is more limited, and it is slower at 1m2 per 1.5m. But that is what a value Gen 5 is.

To achieve one pass, you must do more house preparation, especially regarding cables, shoelaces, and small objects.

Its lack of AI Obstacle detection and Pet settings means it is not for pets. It can handle their hair OK but will plough into dog poo urine puddles. To avoid that, you need a premium Gen 5.

Best use

Single floor
Predominately hard floors
No pets
Use it more than once a week (schedule).

Panellists comments

All hard floors over one level: It did an average vacuum, leaving odd bits of rubbish around. It has been raining, and the floors are covered in dried water footprints. It did not remove these on one pass. We had to do more house prep to stop it from getting tangled in small objects.
Mix hard and carpet floors on one level: The vacuum on the hard floors was okay—not perfect. The vacuum on the carpet left more detritus than expected. Mopping was average, and changing the water flow did not do much. In the end, it took five passes (over five days) to get the hardwood floors clean.
Pet owner: Handling pet hair was OK, but the lack of pet-specific obstacle detection means it is not for me.
Two-level—tiles on L0 and carpet L1 (retired Engineer): I like how they have rethought the water tanks to lower the station’s profile. I have no complaints about the vacuum/mop on tiles, although it would have been better with a detergent dispenser (like the Dreame L10s, L20, and X40 Ultra). Multi-floor mapping works, but you must move the base station from floor to floor.
30/10/60% carpet/tiles/bamboo hardwood single level (reviewer—me). I like Ecovacs gear and liked the 2023 T20 Omni, but this refresh has not kept up with the competition’s 2024 class-leading features. There are better value Gen 5 robots.

Ecovacs Deebot T30 Pro Omni Rating

We now use a pass mark of 70/100, so the ratings are 10 points lower than any 2023 ratings.

Features: 85 – everything you need, and the Omni station dries the mop pads
Value: 75 – there are better value Gen 5 robots unless you get this on sale
Performance: 85 – Make sure you do full house preparation
Ease of use: 80 – Easy to set up, and Quick Map is excellent. Maintenance is a little more than expected.
Design: 85 – Well made and nice Omni station design.