Your guide to a smart home
We put the Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 through the wringer for you in our extensive performance review... and were thrilled!
Nobody saw this coming: all eyes were on the ‘shining stars’ of the industry - namely Roborock and iRobot - while a much lesser-known competitor made its way up to the top.
Surprise, surprise: it’s the Chinese manufacturer Ecovacs.
Ecovacs hit a home run with the Deebot OZMO 950.
The device is by far better than all previous models of the manufacturer.
But there’s a lot more to Ecovacs’ new vacuum robot.
It is currently one of the absolute top models because it is a true all-rounder with its precise navigation, excellent suction power, and good wiping function.
In the following review report, you can find out what’s so special about the Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 and what our experiences were like with this device.
In our extensive cleaning reviews, we put the suction performance of the Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 through its paces.
We spread lentils, sand, and oat flakes on hard floors and carpets (low-pile and high-pile). Then we waited how the robot vacuum would cope with our dirty challenge in maximum suction mode.
A few details of the Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950:
In the beginning, the Deebot OZMO 950 got down to business on the laminate.
The little household helper did a pretty good job of cleaning up the lentils on hard floors.
A negative side effect while cleaning the lentils was that the grainy, light lentils were somewhat scattered around due to the rotation of the side brushes.
Nevertheless, the Deebot OZMO 950 was able to remove an outstanding 94% of the dirt.
The robot vacuum removed almost everything of the second type of dirt (oat flakes), too.
Here we noticed, too, that the side brushes caused some scattering of a few oat flakes.
The cleaning results of the sand were particularly good.
The OZMO 950 did an extremely thorough job in this review.
The robot vacuum only left 4 g of sand behind.
From our experience, we can tell you that carpets are a greater challenge for the robot vacuum cleaner.
Especially on high carpets, the dirt quickly sinks deep into the carpet.
That’s why it’s rather difficult for robotic vacuums to remove the dirt.
The OZMO 950 is equipped with an automatic carpet detection function, which improves its performance.
It never had a problem with detecting the carpeted area and the robot automatically increased the suction power to the maximum level when it moved over carpets.
This works flawlessly, regardless of whether it is a small runner or larger carpets.
The Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 performed extremely well in our suction review on carpets.
The Ecovacs vacuum robot didn’t have any problems with removing lentils.
It came out with flying colours on both short and long fiber carpet and removed 49 g (98%) of the lentils.
For oatmeal, the review result was also very good.
94% on short carpet and 96% on long fiber carpet are over-the-top results.
What’s more: Neither oat flakes nor lentils were scattered around on the carpets (short / long fiber) by the side brushes.
The last challenge that we put the Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 through in our vacuum review was to face the heavy sand.
And that’s where the robotic vacuum cleaner shows what it’s got: The cleaning result of heavy sand on the carpet was outstanding.
Hardly any other robot vacuum achieves similar top results here!
Short pile carpet: review result for sand (35 g out of 50 g | 70 %)
High-pile carpet: review result for sand (40 g out of 50 g | 80 %)
The Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 came out with flying colors on carpets. On short and long pile carpets, the review result was above average.
If you have a lot of carpeted floors at home, the Deebot OZMO 950 is a very good choice!
But the performance was also very good on hard floors.
A small drawback was that the rotation of the side brushes caused that very light dirt was scattered around from time to time.
Nevertheless, the overall cleaning result achieved a total of 90%, which is very good.
In addition to our detailed reviews, we also observed the Deebot OZMO 950’s performance very closely during everyday cleaning in our flat.
Here, the robotic vacuum cleaner from Ecovacs was very convincing.
Operating the vacuum cleaner is easy-peasy. You just have to open the app, select the rooms to be cleaned and press the start button.
From what we’ve seen, the cleaning result of everyday dirt was very convincing.
You can select 4 different levels of suction power. (Quiet, Standard, Maximum, and Maximum+).
On the lowest suction level, the robot is super quiet and the suction power is also lower.
Nevertheless, we think it’s a great plus that you can choose between 4 different power levels.
The manufacturer states that the Deebot OZMO 950 has a suction power of approx. 1500 Pa at the highest suction level (Maximum+). This is quite a decent value.
The cleaning results of everyday floor cleaning in our flat with a size of 80 m² (no children, no pets, only hard floors) were really good in the "Standard" suction mode.
If you live in a larger household, we recommend selecting the "Maximum" or "Maximum+" suction mode.
The dirt container has a capacity of 430 ml.
If the dirt container is full, the OZMO 950 will pause and you’ll receive a notification to empty the dust bag via the App.
We could vacuum our flat with a size of 80 m² 3-5 times until the dirt container had reached its limits.
The dirt container has a practical handle, with which you can insert and remove it very easily. It also comes in very handy for the transport to empty the dirt container.
The dirt container has a small "dirt retention lid", which ensures that the dirt cannot escape during transport to the trash.
A small disadvantage of the dirt retention lid: During the review, we noticed that small amounts of dirt get stuck because of the lid so they won’t reach the dust container.
Then you only have to push a red button to empty the dirt container above the trash.
Advantage for allergy sufferers: The dirt container is well designed so that there is no contact with the dirt - neither during removal, transport, emptying, or reinsertion.
A high-efficiency filter (HEPA filter) is attached to the dirt container of the Deebot OZMO 950.
This ensures that the air will be cleaned of fine dust before it will be discharged again.
This is an essential feature, especially for allergy sufferers.
The HEPA filter can be detached very easily from the dirt container so you can tap it out over the sink or trash.
Please make sure that the HEPA filter is completely dry before you put it back in. Usually, 24 hours is long enough.
The main brush contains rubber blades and bristles. This design has become a standard for most of the common robot vacuum cleaner models.
Dirt (especially on carpets) can be loosened and vacuumed much more effectively with the help of the bristles.
The Deebot OZMO 950 has two side brushes, unlike many models of competitors, which have only one.
Hairs will wrap themselves around the brush from time to time if you have pets.
This means you have to take out the brush and then remove the stuck hair.
For this purpose, the scope of delivery of the Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 includes a special cleaning tool, which can be found under the cover.
But the Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 also has another quite practical solution in stock for you.
Special suction attachment is included in the scope of delivery. This “direct suction attachment” is specially designed for hair.
This attachment doesn’t have a cleaning brush, which is why pet hair (dog hair, cat hair, etc.) is sucked in directly.
This way, the pet hair can’t wrap itself around the brush.
However, in our reviews, we noticed that the suction power of the attachment with the brush is significantly better than the suction power of the direct suction opening.
Nevertheless, we think that the direct suction attachment is an interesting solution to deal with hairs.
If you have pets, this attachment will definitely come in handy now and then.
The proper cleaning of corners and along edges is a challenge for every robot vacuum cleaner.
Nevertheless, the Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 comes out with flying colors in this discipline.
The robot vacuum drives very close to the strips thanks to its precise navigation.
The durable side brushes ensure that dirt will be removed thoroughly along the strips and then it’ll be transported towards the suction opening.
The OZMO 950 also does a pretty good job while cleaning in corners with its long side brushes.
The Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 is a vacuuming and mopping robot.
Of course, we also took a closer look at the mopping feature in our review.
The 200 ml water tank is attached to the back of the robot. After that comes the wiping plate, including the disposable cleaning cloth.
et Voilà, you are ready to go.
The wiping plate can be attached very easily.
In the beginning, it takes a little more practice and strength to stake out the wiping plate.
But with a little practice, you quickly get the hang of it.
The water supply can be controlled manually via the app in 4 levels (low, medium, high, and very high) thanks to the electric water pump.
The automatic regulation of the water supply via the patented OZMO technology is a fantastic feature.
This gives you even more flexibility and allows you to increase the water supply for an even better cleaning result, which can be really useful if friends and family show up spontaneously.
Next up, the Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 had to mop the floors in our flat (laminate, parquet, and tiles). It achieved the best cleaning results when we used the water setting “very high”.
After mopping our 80 m² flat, the water tank still contained ⅓ of the initial water capacity.
You have to find out for yourself which water intensity level gives you the best cleaning result because that depends a lot on individual circumstances (e.g. size of the home, how dirty it is, or the sensitivity of the floors).
However, since we are already at it, we have to point out a small disadvantage.
There is no waterproof pad for the docking station included in the delivery. This would ensure that the wet wipe of the Deebot OZMO 950 doesn’t wet the floor when charging the battery.
If you don't have this kind of floor type in your home, we recommend getting a small transparent tarpaulin from the DIY store or Amazon UK (here*) and placing it beneath the charging station. Problem solved. You could also remove the wiping plate immediately after each wipe.
The Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 shows another ingenious feature when it comes to carpets.
The carpets will be avoided whenever the water tank is attached
This means that the carpet won’t get wet, because the robot will mop around this area with its wet wipe.
This is a great function that hardly any of the competitors bring to the table - or should we say to the floor?
Some people are rather skeptical about the mopping function.
It’s a fact that none of the vacuum-mopping-robots that are currently on the market - and the Deebot OZMO 950 is one of them - are a good substitute for manual mopping.
The weight of the small mop robot is simply too low. Thus, there’s not enough pressure on the mop so it can’t remove stubborn stains.
But we didn’t hold the vacuum robot to these standards in our reviews.
A comparison was also never the yardstick in our reviews.
If you use the highest water intensity level, a uniform and even water film is left behind. The mopping function thus adds that final touch of cleanliness and freshness to your home.
The bottom line: the flat is a lot cleaner, and you have to wipe much less often by yourself.
If you take a look at the mop every now and then, you’ll be able to see how much dust and dirt the OZMO 950 still wipes away.
Tips and tricks to improve the mopping function can be found in our detailed "Best Robot Vacuum and Mop Combos review" -> "our tips and tricks".
In our experience, efficient navigation is crucial to have a good cleaning performance of a robot vacuum cleaner.
If the vacuum robot just wanders around your home without proper navigation, it probably wouldn’t even clean every room/floor. In this case, not even the best cleaning performance on the market would do you any good.
At first, the Deebot OZMO 950 has to get to know its new home and create (and save) a map.
During its first run, the vacuum robot creates a detailed map of your home. This process is called "mapping".
To make this process run as smoothly and quickly as possible, we advise you to open all doors and remove any obstacles (e.g. clothes lying around, children's toys, cables, etc.).
On its first spree, the Robot Vacuum Cleaner proceeds very systematically.
You can kind of live stream in the app how the map of your flat will be completed step by step.
All the rooms, including doorsteps, will be identified and automatically marked on the map. Large furniture and other furnishings (e.g. couch, dining table, cupboards, etc.) will also be marked on the map.
Furthermore, the OZMO 950 identifies carpets and also marks them on the map.
You can use a lot of interesting settings in the saved map (no-go zones, go-to zones, no-mop zones, room separation, etc.).
We’ll talk more about this in the chapter "Mobile phone app".
The ability to create and save multiple maps is a premium feature of the Deebot OZMO 950.
You can easily create a total of 2 maps of different floors and save them in the app.
Ecovacs calls this technology "Multi Floor Mapping"
This feature comes in very handy for families with multi-storey houses.
To create another map of a second floor, you have to do the following:
1. First make these settings in the app:
2. Place your Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo 950 and its charging station on the second floor.
3. Start the cleaning process
4. A new map of your second floor is created and saved in the App.
5. You can find the second map in the app under the menu item "Map management"
Now you can simply carry the Deebot OZMO 950 to the floor that you want to be cleaned (important: including the charging station!) and the robot vacuum will do a great job. The robot vacuum from Ecovacs automatically identifies which is the right card for the respective floor.
Ecovacs relies on laser navigation technology (LDS technology), as they did for previous models, too.
And it pays off.
LDS technology is currently the best option for robot vacuums.
A big advantage of the LDS navigation is the fact that the robot does a perfect job even when it’s dark.
This means you can let your OZMO 950 clean your home at night if necessary.
The LDS (laser distance sensor) of the Ecovacs vacuum robot is located in the "laser tower".
The laser tower literally represents the "head" of the robot.
It measures the room all the time and is responsible for the precise mapping.
This means that the Deebot OZMO 950 can now systematically clean your home according to a plan.
The Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 cleans in an extremely structured manner. First, the robot vacuum sweeps the room along the sidewalls and then starts cleaning the rest with its usual S-tracks.
The vacuum cleaner navigates through your home quite quickly.
In our reviews, the robot vacuum needed only 41 minutes for our 80 m² flat (40 m² cleaning area).
No areas of the flat are missed, even though it moves at such high speed.
In general, the OZMO 950 avoids furnishings safely and skillfully, because they are marked on the map thanks to the laser navigation technology.
Overall, the obstacle detection is very good and the objects will be avoided.
However, if the Robot Vacuum Cleaner does encounter an obstacle, it identifies it quickly with the help of the contact sensors. These are located behind the bumper.
We noticed that the bumper is used quite often and that can be a bit "rough" sometimes. Lighter objects might even move a little.
Furthermore, we noticed that OZMO 950 occasionally closed the doors due to the "bumping". Unfortunately, it locked itself in at the same time.
The manufacturer states that the Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 should have a maximum obstacle clearance height of 2 cm (0.8 inches).
And it really does.
The robot vacuum manages to overcome a height of 2 cm (0.8 inches), but only under these two conditions:
However, since the household helper is usually on the road with a water tank and the doorsteps often have hard edges (especially in old flats), we took a very close look at this.
In our review, the Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 did not quite manage the 2 cm (0.8 inches). At a height of approx. 1.7 cm (0.6 inches), the robot vacuum reached its limits.
That you can’t quite call the OZMO 950 a climbing champion.
If you live in an old building with high door thresholds (> 2 cm = 0.8 inches), the OZMO 950 might still be something for you. You can simply use a doorstep ramp (available on Amazon in the UK) and your problem will be solved.
The OZMO 950 can also be "controlled" without an app by pressing a button on the top.
By "control" we mean here the basic functions: "start/stop cleaning" and "return to charging station". But this is certainly not what we’d call a "Smart-Home Device" ?.
Ecovacs provides you with "Ecovacs Home", a free app for iOS and Android.
The Ecovacs Home App is the heart of the Deebot OZMO 950.
The app offers you a lot of functions without being confusing or complicated.
The design of the app is also very intuitive and concise.
So if you want to use the full potential of your Deebot OZMO 950, it would be best to get a smartphone :).
Info: The update in April 2020 added a very useful function to your Deebot OZMO 950.
The rooms can now be divided up independently in the app. This allows you to design the saved map as you wish by separating or merging rooms.
Setting up the Ecovac Home App is super easy and intuitive.
All you have to do is scan the QR code that’s underneath the lid. The rest will be explained step by step.
Here’s a checklist for setting up the app:
If you want to take advantage of the full potential of the app, you only have to activate the "Advanced Mode".
This gives you access to the full range of functions of the app.
Here’s an overview of the most important functions:
We made very good experiences with the App during our Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 review.
The app works great and offers a wide variety of useful functions.
This is exactly what we want to see in a real smart device.
It’s just fun to operate the Deebot OZMO 950 with the app while you’re on the go.
Overall, the app is great. But there are a few small bugs here and there that could be fixed.
The OZMO 950 can be controlled via Amazon’s Alexa (Ecovacs Deebot Skill) and Google Assistant.
The voice control also works great.
However, there are not a lot of commands that it understands so far.
You can start, stop, and send the robot vacuum back to the charging station.
We think Ecovacs can do better in the future. A good voice control would be the finishing touch of the overall package.
A powerful 5200 mAh battery ensures that the OZMO 950 can clean your home for up to 5 hours at a time.
That is an extremely good battery runtime. Only the premium models from the competitor Roborock can top that off.
This means that even if you have a big living space, you don't need to worry about the battery capacity.
When the battery is running low, the Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 heads to the docking station.
A full charge of the battery usually takes 4-5 hours.
Besides, the Ecovacs Robot Vacuum Cleaner has a "Recharge & Resume" function.
If the battery runs out in the middle of a cleaning process, the robot vacuum returns to the exact same spot after recharging the battery and continues its cleaning seamlessly.
The volume of the OZMO 950 naturally depends on the selected suction power.
The operating volumes of the individual suction levels are as follows:
The Ecovacs Robot Vacuum Cleaner usually cleans your home at the "Standard" level.
At this volume, it’s possible to have a conversation in the same room, but you wouldn’t really enjoy that.
It’s not a big deal to us that the volume of the robot at the highest power level won’t make it possible to have a pleasant talk on the phone or watch TV in the same room.
After all, the purpose of a robot vacuum is to clean your home when you’re not there.
And if you do want the robot vacuum to do the cleaning while you're there, there are quieter setting options.
The Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 has the usual round shape. Nothing’s really changed here.
The robot vacuum cleaner weighs approx. 4.5 kg.
The OZMO 950 has a diameter of 35 cm (13.8 inches) and a height of 9.3 cm (3.6 inches).
Robots of the same design achieve a height of about 10 cm. This makes the OZMO 950 a tad flatter than many of its competitors.
The appearance of the OZMO 950 is simply a lot nicer than most of its competitors in the UK.
The OZMO 950 is only available in black. That gives it a high-quality and elegant look.
However, due to the colour, the robot vacuum is also quite a dust collector, so you have to clean it with a microfibre cloth once a week.
Furthermore, the surface has been reworked.
Unlike many other robot vacuum cleaners, the surface has a matte look. It’s still only made of plastic, but it looks like a high-quality carbon finish.
When you open the robot, you’ll immediately get another hint of the OZMO 950's exceptional workmanship.
The surface under the cover has a ribbed design. It looks very classy (you could even think that the manufacturer used a textile fabric here).
As usual, the dirt container is located under the cover. You can also see the red on/off button and the Wi-Fi indicator light here.
Furthermore, you’ll also find the cleaning tool down there. That way it’s always within reach and will not get lost.
When you turn around the Robot Vacuum Cleaner, you’ll have a very familiar view.
All important components (cleaning brush, side brushes, rollers, and water tank with wiping cloth) are in their designated places.
All in all, the design and quality of workmanship are flawless and there’s nothing to complain about.
The manufacturer offers a premium quality product.
The charging dock is quite small and looks very well built (height: 9 cm (3.5 inches) x length: 16 cm (6.2 inches) x depth: 12 cm (4.7 inches)).
There is a cable management system behind the charging station.
The (separately detachable) power cable can be taken out to the right or left, whatever works best for you.
Please put the Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 docking station somewhere in your home where there’s some free space. There should be about 50-60 cm (~23 inches) of space to the right and left and about 1.5 metres of free space to the front.
The Robot Vacuum Cleaner needs this space to dock with the charging dock.
The Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 has a very elegant and beautiful packaging.
After opening the packaging, you’ll immediately get a glance at the Ecovacs robot vacuum.
All other accessories of the Deebot OZMO 950 are kept separately in a styrofoam box.
That’s the exact scope of delivery in the UK:
What we were missing in the scope of delivery of the Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 was a transparent plastic mat that can be put under the charging station. This prevents the robot from soaking the floor with the damp cloth when charging the battery (after mopping).
The 5 included disposable wipes are of very good quality. Nevertheless, we don't really see a use for the disposable wipes.
It would be great if they would include another washable / reusable mop instead of the disposable wipes. That would round off the scope of delivery.
Altogether, the scope of delivery of the Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 is more than sufficient. It’s really nice that the manufacturer includes some spare parts and accessories (side brushes, HEPA filter). Especially the direct suction attachment is by far not a standard in the scope of delivery of competitors.
The Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950 came out with flying colors in our review.
Should you buy the robot vacuum cleaner from Ecovacs?
The device offers everything you could hope for in a modern robot vacuum:
The Deebot OZMO 950 also has an acceptable price-performance ratio.
We can say this without a shade of a doubt: the OZMO 950 is a wholehearted purchase recommendation.
As commonly seen in laser-based navigation technologies, the OZMO 950 also has the typical "navigation tower".
The maximum height of the robot vacuum cleaner is 9.3 cm at the top.
This height makes the Deebot OZMO 950 one of the flat review vacuum robots with LDS navigation technology.
And yet, the robot’s height is relatively low in comparison to other models.
To avoid negative surprises, we recommend that you measure the space under your furniture.
What caught us off-guard was the fact that the OZMO 950 also vacuumed under the curtains. It seems like the smart household helper noticed that the curtains do not pose a threat to the LDS navigation tower.
Thanks to the bumper that is installed, the LDS navigation tower can be pushed in quite easily. This protects the laser navigation tower from collisions.
You don't need to worry about abyss detection. The OZMO 950 is 100% fall-proof because it has fall sensors (6 of them) to prevent it, which are pretty standard nowadays.
A separate remote control is not included in the scope of delivery. In our opinion, that’s a bit old-school and wouldn’t help with managing all the functions of a modern robot vacuum cleaner.
If you take into account how many functions this smart housekeeper has, you’ll agree with us that a conventional remote control would be completely overwhelmed.
Yes, Ecovacs products are currently available on Amazon in the UK.
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