Ecovacs Deebot Brush Malfunction, Battery Problems May Prompt Lawsuit

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are looking into whether a class action lawsuit can be filed on behalf of people who experienced problems with their Ecovacs Deebot-brand vacuums.

Owners of these robot vacuums have complained about various types of malfunctions—from a main brush malfunction to sensor and battery problems—and attorneys have reason to believe the vacuums may be defective.

What Problems Are Being Reported?

Ecovacs Deebot owners have complained about various problems with the vacuums, including the main brush malfunctioning or not spinning, and issues with the batteries and sensors.

One of the most common problems reported, which usually occurs in the N79 model, is a “main brush malfunction” message accompanied by what some consumers now refer to as the “4 beeps of death.” When this malfunction occurs, the brush stops spinning and the vacuum beeps four times before returning to its dock.

Many users say the problems with their vacuum started happening right before or after its warranty expired, and some owners say they had their Deebot replaced only to have the new vacuum start exhibiting the same problems.

Below is a sampling of complaints posted online [sic throughout]:

I bought this and after approximately 13 months it stopped working. Since it was out of warranty I have done all the brush cleaning and battery resetting and plugging in the power cord directly to the vacuum as suggested by customer service. Then I bought a new battery. Still got the red flashing light with 4 beeps. Then I went to Youtube and did all the various tips and tricks suggested. Still get the 4 beeps with a red light. Bought a different vacuum, swapped batteries and Deebot was back to new. The battery ran down and won't recharge. It's not the charger and it's not the battery...”
— Wishing it worked, Ecovacs.com

I bought it and used it 3 times. Main brush malfunction could not be corrected. I felt this malfunction with only 3 uses and no obvious reason for this problem, I returned it and bought a different robot.”
— Unsatisfied, Ecovacs.com

Update after using for a year and a half the deebot started to have a lot of issues with lds malfunction, vacuum brush stopped working and the map was messing up. Brought the robot rock s4 max for the first floor around the same time and no issues at all. My advice would be to avoid this product cause the first one we brought we had to return cause it kept having problems.”
— David, Amazon.com

For now, a 1-star review since mine seems to be defective out of the box. After a few minutes of running, the Deebot declared it had an "LDS Malfunction". The only "fix" for this malfunction is to "gently tap the Laser Distance Sensor", according to the Ecovacs app. Of course, that did not fix anything and the robot continues to complain about an LDS Malfunction and stopped working. I'm returning for refund. I may buy another and see if this one is just a lemon.”
— Jordan G., Amazon.com

…On April 9, 2018 my Deebot had a main brush malfunction. It would not work after cleaning it thoroughly, removing all debris, and even letting it run without the main brush like I was asked to do by customer service. They decided to send me a new one since the troubleshooting did not work. FAST FORWARD to April 28, 2019 when my Deebot started having the SAME exact problem as before. Obviously this is a product issue. The customer service representative tried to say the battery was just dead when the robot had been on charge for TWO DAYS. The four beeps mean main brush malfunction. I did everything as I did last April when this same thing happened and it is still not working. Their customer service said my warranty is up as and the only thing I can do is take it to a vacuum repair shop myself…”
— Andrea D., Amazon.com

Worked well for the first month or two, and now it's essentially useless. And I ordered two unfortunately and they both have the same problem. They'd be great if they'd actually get 25% of the way through vacuuming one room before starting to malfunction and beep. Both of them. I clean the filters, make sure the beater brush his don't have anything stuck to them, make sure the drop sensors are clear, and yet they still start beeping and come to a stop 5 minutes after starting them for some reason or another…”
— Amazon Customer, Amazon.com

I was initially happy with the deebot N79 when it worked. Unfortunately, it started having problems within 4 months of purchasing it. Customer service sent me a replacement and that one lasted about 6 months before starting to malfunction. It would just spin in circles over and over, then error out. I was able to troubleshoot it a bit with customer service but it never quite worked as intended without a lot of monitoring and fuss. Now it has completely stopped working and none of the troubleshooting and resetting will fix it…”
— amazon customer, Amazon.com

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