Ultenic D5S Pro – robot vacuum power for a low, low price (robovac/mop cleaning review)

The Ultenic D5S Pro is a lower-cost robot vacuum and mop with excellent vacuuming power. To keep costs down, it does not have LiDAR, IR, or camera navigation, limiting its use in some homes.

Being a reviewer spoiled by the best 3D LiDAR mapping and lots of App smarts, it is normal for me to expect a little more than a basic robovac. But it is what it is – a good robot vacuum and maintenance mop, and for the price, you don’t ask too many questions.

To segue. My sister-in-law has an Aldi special (a Dumbot) that did not cost much. It sits in the corner of a large open plan, hardwood floored space, and it trundles out and removes pet hair and detritus every day – she is wrapt. When I questioned why she did not buy an intelligent one at a higher price, she responded that it does all she needs.

So the nicest thing I can say about the Ultenic D5S Pro is that it does everything a typical, lower-cost robovac can do – only better.

Ultenic D5S Pro

Website	Manufacturer product page and Robot my Life product page
Price	RRP $450 but on introductory special at A$279 inc Australia wide shipping includes a 30-day money-back guarantee
From	Robot my Life Shop
Warranty	12-months ACL from Robot My Life
Company	Ultenic is a China-based company and a fast-emerging brand in Europe and Asia. It has several R&D patents.
Inbox	D5Spro robot vacuum with vacuum dustbin/filter, dual whiskers and cleaning brush 2 x spare Whisker brushes Charging station, Power cord, charger 1 x spare filter Cleaning brush Remote control Magnetic strip Mopping pad and combo water tank

First impression – well made

Having just reviewed its smart brother Ultenic T10 hybrid robot vacuum and mop that auto empties (review), it meets our expectations of good Ultenic build quality.

It is a typical round robot with dual side-whiskers and a 16cm rotation brush. It has a 400ml vacuum dustbin, a 300/200ml combo mop/vac dustbin, and a flat microfibre mop plate.

The Ultenic website is over-enthusiastic about its features

The website paints a picture of a low cost, powerful, 4-in-one robot vacuum. It does not tell mistruths so much as ‘omit’ what we consider are vital facts. Someone looking for a bargain may not be happy if it does not meet their expectations of a typical SLAM LiDAR robovac/mop. You will also find inconsistencies between the Ultenic site and the Robot My Life site (pre-release info).

That is not to say it does a lousy job – it is a powerful but unintelligent robovac.  

Navigation – not as you may expect

This does not have LiDAR (2D or 3D), IR, or a camera, so it does not generate a map so much as use a mix of Wi-Fi, its relationship to the base station, internal logic and bumper system to get around.

It does not create a map with user-definable rooms or no-go zones. It starts off each time by cleaning the edges of the room closest to the base station, then zigzags to clean the interior before moving on to the next room. We found it was relatively efficient over four weeks of testing, apparently cleaning all the areas. But it also went over a lot of ground two to three times. It took nearly twice long to cover the same area as its smart brother, the U10.

No map means you can’t tell it to clean specific rooms, and the lack of no-go zones requires the use of magnetic strips to cordon them off.

The only downside for all unintelligent robovacs is that they can get ‘lost’ if Wi-Fi signals are weak. It tends to wander around until it picks the base signal up making it home 75% of the time (and we have strong Wi-Fi).

Bump, bump, bump

This requires a full house preparation because it bumps its way around walls and larger obstacles as it does not have electronic avoidance systems. See Five tips for choosing a robovac/mop for house prep.

Spot cleaning and single room clean

Place the D5S Pro where you want to clean and select spot clean. It will clean a 1m spiral area. Or select room clean (make sure you shut the door) and select room clean.

Vacuum efficiency

We use 100g of test detritus ranging from sand to rice bubbles. It has a 2500Pa ‘max’ setting.

Its standard mode is around 1100Pa, and eco is about 700Pa. It claims an automatic ultra-carpet-boost for longer pile, but we did not see this in action. You can manually set the suction level in the App.

On the whole, it did a good job picking up more than many more expensive robovacs – probably due to the dual side whiskers.

• Hard floors 96% – only leaves the edges for a stick vac clean
• Sisal ridged carpet 79% – leaving detritus in the carpet hollows
• Short pile carpet 87% – mainly leaving lint

As part of the test, we immediately ran the Dyson V15 Detect stick vac over the same area. It does edges, and we could see that it picked up the fine dust that the Ultenic did not.

Combo water tank/dustbin

This is for combo mop and vacuum. The water tank holds 300ml, and water flow is via a pressurised pump and three pin-hole outlets.

We estimate the dustbin capacity at 200ml, and after 50m2, it was pretty full returning to the station.

Water volumes are low, medium (default), and high. Low was too low, and medium left a fine film of water on the hard floors that dried in minutes.

Mop efficiency – just average

There is no waterproof plate under the base station, so you must remember to remove the mopping attachment before charging or storing it.

A typical microfibre cloth mop uses a Y-cleaning pattern over the floor. It has no scrubbing action and limited downwards pressure. We use dried coffee and milk stains for the test, and it will not remove them. It is a ‘maintenance’ mop.

And like all similar robomops, you have to manually place it in hard floor areas (like bathrooms) off carpeted areas to prevent carpet mopping.

Maintenance

• Main brush – 300 hours
• Brush guard – 3-6 months when silicone strip is worn
• Side whiskers – 200 hours
• Main vacuum dustbin filter – 150 hours, shake clean – not washable

The App keeps track of use, and the parts are readily available from Robot-My-Life. No prices yet but they should be reasonable.

Battery

Ultenic claims up to 120 minutes of cleaning or mopping, but that is on its lowest Eco power mode. Still, on standard mode, we regularly achieved 70 minutes and about 50m2 before going home. We did a test run at Max 2500pa, and the battery ran down in 47 minutes. Recharge using the 15V/.6A/9W charger is average – about 4-5 hours.

Obstacles, under furniture and sills

It will endeavour to move/bump around obstacles, which is OK for larger items. It can get caught on smaller things like Lego bricks, and it needs a thorough house prep.

At 7.3cm heigh, it easily gets into places under furniture and cupboard overhangs.

Sill height negotiation is 15mm (most are 20mm), and it got stuck on a few higher sills.

Noise

About 55db in Eco, 60 in standard and 65 in Max.

The App – very basic

It is the same App as the Ultenic T10, but its features match its capabilities. You can

• Schedule clean, but without a map, this means the entire home area
• Check consumables and maintenance times
• Find your bot
• Change suction levels (eco, standard and max)
• Change mop water levels (mop mode requires tank change)

Remote control

It mimics the App controls for Auto, Timer, cleaning pattern etc. It has a small LCD screen to show the mode.

Ultenic D5S Pro wrap up

Item		Explanation	Grade
Shape	Round	Round shape robovacs have issues with edge and corner cleaning	Pass
Lidar	No	Uses bumpers and internal logic	Basic
Sensor	No
Maps	No
Map edit	No
Ultenic App	App	Google Play Store or Apple App store Basic modes include vacuum, mop or both, suction (eco, normal, max), water volume (three levels), battery level and cleaning diary, up to seven schedules	Pass
Remote	IR	Mimics the App. Line of sight for 3-5m. AAA batteries supplied.	Pass
Edge		Unable to clean edges and corners – same as all round robovacs	Fail
Carpet		It depends on the carpet type and is supposed to have an auto boost for long pile or dense carpet	Pass
Sills	15mm	Lower than most mop plate round robovacs	Pass-
Other Sensors	Collision and cliff	Typical forward bumper sensor and cliff detector stops it from going down the stairs	Pass
Suction	2500Pa	On max, if you use it otherwise similar to other round robovacs	Pass
Dustbin	400ml	Adequate	Pass+
Combo water/vac	300/100ml	Adequate for 50m2 or more – depends on the setting	Pass
Battery life		Claimed 120 minutes on Eco setting, but the reality is about 80 on standard and 47 minutes on max.	Pass+
Battery	2600mAh	14.4V/2.6A/37W	Pass
Wi-Fi	2.4GHz	Same as most robot vacuum/mops	Pass
Size		32.51 cm x 32.51 cm x 7.29 cm, 2.49 kg	Pass
Voice assistance		OK Google or Alexa set in App – not tested	Pass
Dock		Recharge time is about 4 to 5 hours No wet base for the mop, so remove it for charging	Pass
Warranty	12-months	Standard but the 30-day money-back guarantee is excellent	Pass

Cybershack view – The Ultenic D5S Pro goes back to the past

My first reaction was, where is the map? Then I realised that LiDAR mapping and SLAM are missing in action – just like the robovacs of the past. That is a cost compromise.

Now it is unnecessary to have all the bells and whistles when you shop on price. To its credit, it does an excellent job vacuuming hard floors, and it is above-average on carpet.

Me, I would buy its bigger brother, the Ultentic U10, as it has it all, but it is $650 – a big jump.

We recommend it for hard floors with few obstacles and sills.

Rating

If you want a simple ‘bump’ navigation robot for a lower cost, this passes all tests. Add to that the money-back guarantee, support from Robot My Life and good vacuum power and it gets a few extra points.

But to be clear, we are rating this as a non-intelligent robovac/mop.