Shark – AI RV2502AE Wi-Fi Connected Robot Vacuum with XL HEPA Self-Empty Base – Black
$599.99
Last updated on September 2, 2024 4:20 am Details
Photos: Shark – AI RV2502AE Wi-Fi Connected Robot Vacuum with XL HEPA Self-Empty Base – Black
8 reviews for Shark – AI RV2502AE Wi-Fi Connected Robot Vacuum with XL HEPA Self-Empty Base – Black
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Shark – AI RV2502AE Wi-Fi Connected Robot Vacuum with XL HEPA Self-Empty Base – Black
$599.99
TechGuru –
After using the Shark AI self-empty robot vacuum for over a week, this review will address all you need to know to make an informed decision before purchasing this vacuum like setup, app, noise level, mapping capabilities, battery life, self-empty features and so on. I will also be comparing this with another major high end robot manufacturer product that I own that has all the capabilities without AI and self-empty feature. Let’s get started:
What’s in the box: Shark AI Robot, 2 brush attachment (snaps on, no screws), base dock aka self-empty charger, Quick start guide.
Setup: Setup is very easy. Just snap the two front brushes (single prong) in place. Connect the base to outlet and remove all the plastic wrap and charge the machine to 100% before first use (took around 4 hours as there was 40% charge when shipped). Download the Sharkclean app from iOS or google playstore, create a new account if you don’t have one to get started. Once account is verified, you need to just add the device and it quickly detects the machine and adds it. You can name your machine of your choice.
Initial Run: On the first run, machine explores and maps the entire home and does not clean during this process. It just wanders around in different directions in a quite volume. You cannot skip this step and would encourage to view the map on the app to be sure if its satisfactory. You can also redo this and create a new map if required and name various room on the map for spot cleaning.
Main pro on this machine is the low noise level, better precision mapping with option to on-demand deep clean room/ spot clean high traffic zones, HEPA filtration with 60 days of self-emptying XL base.
My old machine from major competitor which is only 2 years old and paid over $800 at the time of release is very loud compared to this Shark. Shark is very quiet, and you don’t need to turn your TV volume or interrupt your phone conversations. Mapping on this machine is more intuitive on the app where you can name your rooms and send the vacuum to clean only to that room on demand which is a cool feature.
Self-empty 60- day capacity base works well and when the setting of evacuate and resume is selected to on, it will empty its dustbin more frequently. You have the option to do extended clean where robot will clean until it must recharge. This self-empty bagless technology is a welcoming feature to leave the vacuum for over a month and half without cleaning or emptying. To empty just press the button and lift the release button to empty the bin. Vacuum makes a loud noise when emptying the dirt which is acceptable after the first time.
Scheduling: You can schedule the robot to clean on a schedule. With my old machine, this feature will not work if the dustbin is full and was little frustrating to find the home not cleaner upon return from work. But with this self-empty XL bin with the option to select on-demand cleaning makes it possible to set the schedule for high traffic areas.
Battery: Battery is good compared and has good 120 minutes cleaning before it needs recharging. My home is 3600 sqft with various flooring (Tile, hardwood, and carpet). Entire home takes 2 charges for deep cleaning and runs for over 2 hours.
App: SharkClean app is very intuitive and easy to use. You can view the history, schedule your runs, view your map, and modify various settings. It has a support option on the app where you find lot of information about the robot without the need to browse online manual. It has how to videos for easy setup, troubleshooting, errors & notifications, FAQ, Manual, Parts, voice control setup for Alexa, google etc. Didn’t crash once and its very stable and loving it.
Voice Control: Supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant and it can be easily setup. For Alexa you need to enable the shark skill on the Alexa skill store and discover the devices on Alexa app. Once done, just say “Alexa tell shark to start cleaning”. You can also Alexa to stop cleaning, find the robot. For Google assistant, you would open the Google home app and click the + sign and set up device-> works with google -> select shark clean or search shark clean and link your account. Works well with both smart home devices with no issues.
Pros: Low noise/Quiet operation, Precision Mapping, AI Laser Navigation with precise row by row cleaning, HEPA 60-day capacity base for dust collection, Self-emptying bagless base, On-demand Spot Cleaning, Extended cleaning time (around 2 hours), Longer battery life, scheduling capability, detecting, and avoiding objects in its path, Intuitive app with option to find all resources in one place, Voice control with Alexa/Google assistant, reasonable pricing.
Cons: Loud noise when emptying, Low suction on normal mode unless ultra-cleaning mode is activated
Overall, its worth the investment if you are in the market for an AI based self-empty robot at a reasonable price. Highly recommend to anyone for its AI and LIDAR technology with the option of no-go zones in the app and for it’s self-empty XL .
3Tcubed –
I’ve tried a lot of robot vacuums, probably 10-12 over the past 5 years. I have a multi-story split level home, to have a robot to clean each area without having to move them, I need 4. I have 2 areas with oriental rugs with fringe (still left on it), some robots I’ve used are unsuitable for rugs with fringe on them. So I first find out if a new robot is going to suck up the fringe and possibly eat it (bad robot). It’s largely been hit an miss, but having learned my lesson, for me it has to be tested. So the Shark – AI Robot Vacuum, succeed in NOT eating the remaining fringe on the rug under my dining room table. This is my great room area, where I want to deploy the Shark – AI Robot vac.
This robot uses LIDAR (think low power laser object detection, it can tell how far away objects are at a distance (and how tall to some extent). This allows it to approach objects without needing to bump into them. IT WORKS (really well)! in doing so it maps out your floorplan showing where it can freely move and where furniture and chair legs might require some neavigation. You do this setup before using the robot the first time. The Shark App was very easy to set up and install, it walked me through the initial set-up process with ease. It then show me how to get more sophisticated naming areas and defining high trafic zones or areas to spot clean. Of course by default you can always have it programed to clean whole area on a scheduled basis. Having used the Shark app before, I must say it’s greatly improved, specifically providing for improved functionality that still easy to understand.
The Shark has 3 suction levels, I found normal worked well, and I could easily watch TV while it was running. On high I think I’d have prefered to be out of the room. On any schedule this set up can be changed. If I had animals around the house I probably would have used the high setting. And you can also specify how often you want the unit to return to its base for evacuation (self emptying into the charging bases large bin, this is relatively loud for about 30s). Depending on how dusty your floors might be they claim the base might only need to be emptied every 6 months (I’d say for my space this would be accurate).
When it was cleaning I threw some obstacles in it’s path, I moved a chair after mapping and put some salt on a carpet and on a hard floor. It normally moves in a very orderly back and forth overlapping path. As I put something “new” in its path it slowed it approach and moved completely around the object, barely touching it. It did a good job with the salt directly in its path, the salt off to the side got blown to the side a bit, but a subsequent pass cleaned it all up. It has two replaceable twirling whiskers, that should pull in dust just outside it’s reach. To some extent these work well on hard floors, but they are much less effective on rugs that meet wall/corners.
Like I said this robot works better than any other I’ve tried some costing 2-3x. Shark has a great deal for you here. If you have room for it, the base is 13″ wide and 14″ tall, it should be placed against a wall with 6″ to the right and left “empty”, so you need at least 2′, where 3′ would be better (so the robot can clean adjacent to the base). I love the idea of not needing to empty the robot every time it’s used, or finding it’s stopped because it’s full. That won’t happen with the Shark – AI Robot Vacuum. It will return to its base to empty itself as often as necessary, then pick back up exactly where it was. It does clean well, and did not eat my fridge. It had no problem crawling up on with rugs on pads. It was thin enough to get under toe kicks (which the robots 5 years ago failed to do). On hard floors it did a great job of getting into almost all corners.
Vacuum robots have continued to improve, having a self emptying robot is a big advance, and Shark had done a great job making this AI robot really smart. Recommended!
Hadtimes –
I loved the bagless concept. The vacuum stuck like it has no detction at all. One rolled hair hold it not moving if it tangled around the brush. It hits objects like it’s nothing. I had bad experience with the Shark more than any others. It’s going back, as I can’t keep babysitting it at all time. You can not schedule it to run more than one time a day, unless you do it by yourself by hit clean now. The no go zone is square box you can’t draw lines.
cinsteadofak –
I currently own another self-emptying robot by another manufacturer and am very pleased with it, but wanted a second self-emptying robot for another floor. I have had many positive experiences with Shark products and was curious on how this Shark AI robot would compare.
The robot vacuum looks a lot like its competitor, but has a large, raised platform for laser guidance (LIDAR). What makes it most different from its competition is that it has a bagless self-emptying base, as well as a single modified roller for cleaning.
Setup
After charging the robot on the base overnight, I was able to easily follow the directions for setup. A voice projected from the unit, but I had a hard time understanding what it said. The initial run to create a map was surprisingly accurate and didn’t take long. I like how I can modify the map to create No-Go zones and permanently block rooms I do not want to include.
Cleaning
I was very impressed with how quickly this robot cleaned all the rooms. I set the cleaning power to “Max” and it seemed quieter than my other vacuum at medium power. The Shark robot seemed to cover all areas while avoiding the areas I requested.
Pros
Quiet
Powerful
LIDAR floor map accuracy
Virtual No-Go zones
Bagless self-emptying base
Low cost
Cons
Taller profile than competitor
After using this AI robot vacuum for about a week, I can state it is very impressive. It has great cleaning power, is quiet, and has great app features, all the while being able to keep the cost low. I would highly recommend this robot vacuum.
Chuck –
I have several indoor cats, so I’m always looking for a new vacuum that will help with the fur. This Shark AI Robot Vacuum with LIDAR Navigation does a great job, and since it empties itself, I can let it run unsupervised.
Unboxing and setup took about 15 minutes; the only real assembly was the attachment of the corner brushes. The vacuum and base station don’t have an over large footprint so you can place the unit practically anywhere. The guide suggests 3ft of space on each side of the base station, but I tried a little less than 2ft and I haven’t had any trouble with the vacuum being unable to get back to the station. Downloading and installing the app was quick and simple, and after the vacuum was fully charged, I started the mapping process. This vacuum mapped my downstairs area, which is about 1800 sq ft, in about 15-20 mins. I thought it would take longer, but when I saw the robot making its way back to the base, I checked the map on the app and was surprised to see an extremely accurate depiction of my first floor layout. Once the mapping was completed, I used the app to mark rooms and a few high traffic zones as well as a couple of no-go zones. The app allows you to clean the whole area or you can specify certain rooms/areas. So far I’m impressed with how the robot covers the areas it cleans as well as how well it cleans those areas. I have a mixture of flooring, thick carpet, area rugs, wood, marble, and tile, and the robot does a great job on all of them. I’m especially impressed with how well it cleans the grouts lines on the kitchen tile. As a test, I threw some fine dirt/dust and other debris that I had in a dustpan onto my kitchen floor making sure to spread it into the grout… the vacuum picked everything! The other thing I really like about his product is that it does a great job of avoiding obstacles; the LIDAR allows it to ‘see’ objects instead of having to bump into them. It still bumps things once in a while, but it doesn’t run into them repeatedly. One big advantage of this vacuum is that when the dust-bin is full, it makes it’s way back to the base station to empty itself. If I have the vacuum clean the entire first level, it usually makes it way back to the base station 2-3 times, although one of those visits is usually to recharge the battery. So as far as the vacuum goes, I think it’s a great product, but I’m hoping they update the app to fix the problems I’m having with it. The problems are more annoyances than major issues. I’ve noticed that almost every time I start the app, it has trouble connecting to my account… at least that’s what I assume the problem is. I have to exit the app a few times for it to finally reset and allow access to the cleaning menu. I’ve also never been able to have the vacuum return to the base by using the dock command from the app. When I initiate that function, it appears that the vacuum receives the command but it continues to clean. I’ve had to use the dock button on the robot itself to get it to dock. I haven’t had time to contact support about this yet, so it could be that the fix is a simple reset of the unit.
Overall, I am very happy with this product. The pathing and coverage of areas to be cleaned is incredibly good, and the vacuum picks up almost everything from any surface. If you’re looking for a product to help you keep up with cleaning the floors, you should try it.
bzma2 –
I owned the RV750 that retired already. The SW has been greatly improved and the app functionality, as well. The first set up to connect the WiFi took longer than older Shark robots. But once you’re connected, this is where the fun begins.
The robot starts with exploring your house first. It’s mapping the floorplan of your house, and it’s very very accurate. It recognizes our kitchen island, etc. Once your floorplan was mapped, you can designate the rooms and label them accordingly. Once you’re done, you can select which rooms you want to clean.
Just like that! It’s very impressive. Our house is always clutter. I hate having to do declutter the whole house first before letting the robot does its job. This way, I have better control on which room I want to clean.
I work for a robotic company, and I must say this robot maps and navigates very very well. The new roll brush is also a lot better in minimizing hair tangles. We have a Siberian Husky, so we use this robotic vacuum a lot! Highly recommended!
jsisko76 –
This is the third robot vacuum I have used over the years so I have quite a bit of experience when it comes to knowing what I like and what I don’t like. This is my first Shark brand vacuum and it does some things better than others for sure.
Pros:
– The self-emptying feature is really cool. You can run this thing for days without having to empty the debris basin as it empties out when it gets back to the dock. You can also use the app to manual empty if you need to. Just don’t forget to clean the filter. Self-emptying is nice, but would love to see a self-filter cleaning model next!
– It can climb up onto secondary carpets well. Other robot vacuums sometimes struggle if you have a carpet on a carpet.
– Good battery life! We had this thing run for about an hour straight on the highest power setting.
– Adjustable suction power is nice. You can get more battery life if you run it on a lower power setting for lighter jobs. But I recommend always running on high as robot vacuums rarely clean anywhere near as well as traditional vacuums.
– AI navigation was great. During testing this model did not get lost or have trouble finding its dock. It also covered every inch of the rooms that I used it in, performing a very thorough job.
– This vacuum runs very quietly! Even at high power, you can watch TV in the background without much issue.
Cons:
-Filters are not as easy to clean as other robot vacuum models. This filter style can be cleaned with a gentle brush, but isn’t as easy as some foam type filters I have used before. I’ve even run some filters through the washer and dryer in the past but you can’t do that with this one. I foresee having to buy a new filter every 6-12 months for this unit. It would be nice if this vacuum shipped with 1 extra filter.
– Suction power could be better. While it is not poor by any means, some vacuums have more juice and will clean more deeply. This is a not so bad trade-off for how quietly it runs, though.
Overall, this is a buy. It is a great set it and forget it vacuum that you can create a regular cleaning schedule for within the app and just pop in to clean the filters a couple times per month. Check it out if you are in the market for a robot vacuum!
Wishkid –
The Shark AI vacuum is simple to use, set it up once and don’t mess with it again. This Vacuum is very simple to set up. Download the app follow a few simple steps and that’s pretty much it. In the box you get the vacuum, the docking station, two brushes and some manuals. Once all setup and connected to the internet, you will start by creating a map of your house. Mine took approx 25 minutes for 1900SQF, and it did a really excellent job on the mapping. I was surprised how accurate it was that the mapping looked like the actual house floor plan.
I am always on top of the cleaning of my house and for the most part is always clean, so I thought. After giving this vac it’s first run I checked on the trash bin and to my surprise I found dirt and other debris. That being said, this vacuum does work and the best part, it does it on it’s own. Something that will differentiate this from other robot vacuums is the way it cleans. This thing is not just going around different places cleaning, it actually does it in a grid pattern meaning better coverage and more consistency cleaning than just random moving around. I noticed that after it cleaned the first zone of the house it went back to the dock, empty itself and then continued to the next zone skipping the previous one, that was pretty impressive.
When it is on it will make some noise of course is a vacuum but is not super loud just loud enough to be noticed. What made a loud noise that actually scared me the first time was the docking station when it does the dust suction from the vacuum. Vacuum seems to be nicely built of course pretty much is made of plastic but the technology behind it and the components inside this thing is what makes it worth. The app is very easy to use and pretty much self explanatory and is a must for the initial setup. For this vacuum to work on it’s own you have to create a schedule within the app. Also in the app you can see when, where and how long it took to clean your house. You can also see a map of the zones it previously cleaned. That feature was not working properly for me at the time of this review. I was able to see the time it took to clean throughout the day but not the actual map.
Another cool feature is that it will work with Alexa and Google Assistance. I tested that with my Google home and it worked like a charm. All I had to do was tell Google Assistant to start shark and that was it, and if you want to send it back to the dock, just say ‘send shark back home”. That was pretty cool, and it worked almost instantly. The dust tray is pretty big, in my opinion. For my home it will take weeks or maybe months to fill it up. I cannot say for others with high traffic and pets. Overall this Vacuum does work and it does it in a systematic way, and the best part is to set it up once don’t mess with it again.