Operation Via Buttons
There’s one single button on top of the Ecovacs Deebot N8.
![The control button on top of the Ecovacs Deebot N8]()
With this, you can start/stop the robot vacuum or send it back to the charging station.
But that’s not precisely a fully-fledged integration into the "smart home"...
Ecovacs Home App: Control Via Smartphone
The Ecovacs Home App (iOS /Android) offers more control options.
![Ecovacs Home App available for download in the App Store]()
Setting Up And Using The Ecovacs Home App
Once you’ve downloaded the app, you have to register with an email address and password.
Next, you have to add your Ecovacs Deebot N8 robot vacuum to the app. To do this, open the Ecovacs Home App and scan the QR code under the robot's lid.
![Scanning the QR code with the Ecovacs Home App]()
Then your robot vacuum cleaner connects itself to your Wi-Fi. All you need to do is follow the instructions on the screen.
Attention: You have to switch off the mobile data connection to set up the app successfully. You can do this by simply activating the “flight mode” on your smartphone (of course, you have to keep the Wi-Fi activated).
After about 3-5 minutes, the setup is complete.
From now on, you have access to the full functionality of the Ecovacs Home App.
Functionality And Settings
The Ecovacs Home App offers numerous useful functions that make household cleaning much more straightforward.
Let’s take a look at the most important settings:
Control Water Flow / Suction Level Per Room
You can set the water flow and suction level for each room in the mobile app.
You can also choose whether the robot should clean a room once or twice.
![Setting the suction level and water intensity level per room for the Deebot N8.]()
Setting Up No-Go Zones And No-Mop Zones (Virtual boundaries)
You can set up areas that your robot vacuum cleaner shouldn’t enter (no-go zones).
Furthermore, you can also set areas where the vacuum cleaner shouldn’t mop the floor (no-mop zones). The vacuum cleaner avoids these areas as soon as you attach the water tank with the mopping plate.
![Setting up no-mop zones or no-go zones in the Ecovacs Home App.]()
Saving Multiple Maps
In the mobile app, you can save a total of 2 maps (for two floors). You can edit the second map as you wish as soon as the robot created it.
![Saving multiple maps in the Ecovacs Home App]()
Maintenance:
The mobile app also lets you know when to replace specific components (e.g. HEPA filter, side brush etc.).
Consider this information as a guide. Just because the app tells you that you should replace the side brushes, that doesn’t mean it’s really necessary. Just check it out if you are in doubt ?
![Maintenance instructions of the Ecovacs Deebot N8+’s components in the Ecovacs Home App.]()
Creating Cleaning Plans
You can save your weekly cleaning schedule in the app with three simple clicks. This way, the robot cleans your flat on the days you want without you having to think about it all the time.
![Creating a cleaning schedule in the Ecovacs Home App]()
Naming Rooms
You could also assign symbols to the rooms. That’s not only good for orientation, but it’s also quite helpful.
Thanks to the symbols, you can send the robot vacuum to individual rooms via voice control. See the chapter "Voice control" for more details.
![Naming the individual rooms in the Ecovacs Home App]()
Merging/Separating Rooms
The robot vacuum independently separates rooms when it creates the map. That works very well in most cases. However, if you still want to change the rooms, you can easily do that in the app.
In our case, the room layout was perfect, and we didn't have to change anything manually.
![Merging or separating rooms in the Ecovacs Home App]()
More features in the Ecovacs Home app:
- Activate/deactivate the independent obstacle detection (TrueDetect 3D).
- Specify times when the vacuum-mopping robot shouldn’t clean (Do-Not-Disturb times).
- Determine the cleaning sequence (which room should it clean first?)
- Activate/deactivate the carpet detection function. It automatically increases the suction power to the maximum level whenever the robot drives onto a carpet.
- Set up specific areas that the robot should clean (Spot Cleaning).
- View past cleaning runs (cleaning history)
- Set the language (German, English, etc.).
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Adjust the volume of the voice output. That’s quite handy because the robot vacuum cleaner communicates with you from time to time (e.g. "Water tank attached", "Cleaning started", "Cleaning finished", "Drive to charging station", etc.).
- Perform firmware updates.
- Choose your location (UK)
- Contact the Ecovacs customer support in the UK via live chat.
Conclusion On The Ecovacs Home App
The app works very well.
The selection of functions is unique.
The structure is logical.
The design is appealing.
However, the recurring minor errors and bugs were small drawbacks, e.g.:
- The robot vacuum is displayed as offline
- The map is twisted (then you have to let the robot create the map again)
- The map is not displayed.
But, you can usually fix these bugs by restarting the app.
The good news is that the manufacturer is aware of the problem.
Ecovacs is diligent and constantly improves the app. Thus, they fix minor bugs at regular intervals and even add new functions for free (e.g. "Setting the water intensity level/suction power per room" became available in the UK after an update in November 2020).
All in all, we can say:
Ecovacs Home is a great app that simplifies your daily floor cleaning with many functions and settings. The Ecovacs Home app will surely be one of the best apps on the robot vacuum market once the manufacturer fixes the software problems.
Voice Control
In addition to the mobile app, you can also control the N8 via voice assistant. The system currently supports both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
Now, you can integrate the robot vacuum into your smart home and control it via voice commands.
You can use the following commands with Alexa.
![Voice commands of the Ecovacs Deebot N8 at a glance]()
As you can see, voice control covers the essential features.
You can even send the Ecovacs Deebot N8 Plus to individual rooms via voice command.
"Alexa, tell Deebot to clean the kitchen",... and your little housekeeper will make its way to the kitchen.
That’s pretty neat!