Roomba steps up the game in robotic vacuum tech by adding voice command features that easily work with Google Home or Google Assistant. This smart upgrade makes life a breeze. Just say a command, and watch as the machine starts cleaning, pauses, or heads back to its charging spot whenever you want.
Does Roomba work with Google Home?
Extensive Compatibility
Roomba cleaners can suck in dirt, pet hair, and any other microscopic dust particles. To automatically navigate, they come with smart home mapping technology, which enables them to map out your entire home and with some models, label each room. That way, you can make your Roomba clean specific rooms instead of performing a complete home cleaning session.
On top of these features, you can use voice commands via your Google Home / Google Assistant smart speaker. Just like any other Google Assistant compatible device, you can talk to Roomba robots in natural language and make them do things such as start cleaning or return to the dock to recharge.
What Roomba Models can connect to Google Home or Google Assistant?
Google Home and Google Assistant have grown a lot in popularity over the past few years. People are more comfortable controlling their smart devices with voice commands than ever, and Roomba robots always have a suite of commands ready.
Most modern Roomba models can connect to Google Home and Google Assistant. Roomba e5, e6 89x, 69x, 67x, Roomba 96x, 98x, Roomba i7, s9, and Braava jet m6 are such models. Furthermore, along with English, all these models support a handful of other languages as well.
The information on this page is accurate as of the time of writing. As things change quite quickly in technology, if any of the information on this page becomes out of date, please leave a comment at the bottom of the page and we will rectify it
Get the Apps
To connect your Roomba vacuum cleaner to Google Home and command with Google Assistant you will need to have both apps set up on your phone. Here are the links to get set up. If you already have this set up then skip to the next section.
How do I connect Roomba with my Google Home Smart Speaker?
You can connect your Roomba cleaner with your Google Home Smart Speaker via the Google Home app. Google Home, Google Home Mini, Google Nest Mini, Google Home Max, Google Nest Hub, Google Nest Hub Max.
Before you proceed, make sure your Roomba cleaner and the iRobot Home app are connected. Also, both devices have to be running on the latest software version.
- When setting up your Roomba device for the first time, download the iRobot iOS or Android App and follow the steps to activate the robot.
- Once complete, launch the Google Home app.
- Select Menu on the left of the screen.
- Tap Home Control.
- Tap the + icon.
- Go to Set up Device.
- Select “Have Already Something Set Up?”
- Go to the upper right of the screen and look for “iRobot”
- Tap iRobot Smart Home
- Put in your iRobot account credentials and sign in.
- Your Roomba is now connected to Google Home.
Commands
Single Roomba Robot
After you have linked your Roomba robot with Google Assistant using the Google Home app, you can use simple voice commands to control it.
To make the Roomba cleaner start cleaning your home, simply say
“Hey Google, start vacuuming.”
Saying the words “Hey Google, start Roomba” or “Hey Google, start cleaning.” will have the same effect. If you need to make the Roomba pause immediately, say the words
“Hey Google, pause cleaning.”
To make Roomba start cleaning again, use the command
“Hey Google, resume Roomba.”
Now if you want to completely cancel the cleaning schedule, say the words
“Hey Google, stop vacuuming.”
After the Roomba has stopped cleaning, give the command
“Hey Google, dock Roomba”
This will send the Roomba back to its Home Base.
If you make your Roomba clean your room and want to know how the cleaning is coming along, you can say the words
“Hey Google, what is Roomba doing?”
to check up on the device’s status.
Single M-Series Roomba Robot
Roomba M Series, also referred to as Braava jet® m Series, are special Roomba robot cleaners that were built for mopping your home.
Using the Google Assistant Voice commands, you can make an M-Series start mopping, pause mopping, cancel mopping schedule, resume mopping from where it left off, ask for its current location, and make it return to Home Base for docking.
To have your M-Series Roomba robot perform any of the tasks mentioned above, just say the words
“Hey Google, tell Roomba to (action i.e. start/resume/cancel mopping)”
The M-Series Roomba robots also come with Imprint™ Link Technology, which means you can have them mopping specific rooms. To do so, make sure you add the name of the room you want it to mop with the voice command.
Multiple Roomba Robots
If you have a big home, it might be worth investing in multiple Roomba robots. You can easily control all Roomba robot cleaners using the same Google Home app. The only important thing to remember is to mention the name of the Roomba robot you want to use. Make sure you give proper names to your Roomba robots and avoid including any emoji characters.
Another tip is to use names for the robots other than “Roomba” or “Braava”. You can use names such as “Alpha”, “Bravo”, “Charlie”, which are very easy to remember.
After you have made sure all your Roomba robots have a separate name, you can use the voice command
“Hey Google, start vacuum cleaning with (Roomba Robot Name)”.
For example, if you do decide to name one of your Roomba robots “Alpha”, saying the words “Hey Google, start vacuum cleaning with Alpha” will activate the Roomba robot named Alpha.
If you want to pause Alpha or any other of your Roomba robots in the middle of cleaning, say the words
“Hey Google, pause cleaning with (Roomba Robot Name)”
To make the robot resume cleaning, say the words
“Hey Google, resume cleaning with (Roomba Robot Name)”
Robots with Smart Mapping technology
Roomba robots are smarter than you think. Just like a human maid, your Roomba cleaner can teach itself the inner layout of your home, how many rooms you have, how to get to each room, and other important information.
This is called Home Mapping. After your Roomba robot has successfully registered each room in your apartment, it stores that information using the Imprint Smart Map feature.
Moreover, you can label or name these rooms using the Google Smart Home app.
For instance, you can name your bedroom as “Alan’s Bedroom”, and another as “Guest Bedroom.” You can get more creative with the names, as long as you are not using anything confusing or emoji characters.
Once that is done, you can make your Roomba robot clean any specific room. Say the command
“Hey Google, clean (Room Name)”
Moreover, if you have multiple Roomba robot cleaners connected to your Google Home app, you need to specify both the room names and the robot name you want to assign the new cleaning task to.
For example, if you want to use a Roomba robot named “Alpha” to clean your “Alpha Bedroom”, simply say the voice commands
“Hey Google, make Alpha clean Alpha Bedroom”
Extend Roomba with IFTTT
Difficulty: Intermediate
IFTTT, which is short for “If This Then That”, is a web-based service that lets people use simple conditional statements to make multiple apps / products work together. Using IFTTT, you can make your Roomba robot start cleaning right after you leave for work. Similarly, you can configure Roomba to dock itself as soon as you return home.
If you are annoyed by the little sound that Roomba makes while cleaning your room, you can make it pause cleaning as soon as you receive a phone call.
And the best part is, these applets (IFTTT conditional statements) are freely available with the IFTTT app. You can even make your very own applet from scratch. How fun is that?
Check it out here – https://ifttt.com/irobot
Common Questions about Roomba and Google Home
What if I can't connect to Google Home or Google Assistant?
Google Home is the link between your Roomba robot cleaners and your Google Assistant voice commands. When you make a voice command, it first goes through your Google Home app on your phone/tablet, and then it communicates with your Roomba. This makes it important that your Roomba is connected to Google Home.
If you fail to connect your Roomba robot with Google Home, it could indicate out of date software. Update the software on your Google Home, iRobot® Home app, and Roomba robot, and you are good to go. If not, retry the connection process detailed above.
Why are my Roomba voice commands not working?
As of April 30th 2020, Google Home updated its voice commands.
To use the new commands, you first need to unlink your Roomba robot from the Google Home app. Follow the steps below to do so:
1. Launch the Google Home app on your device.
2. From there, select “Unlink from iRobot Integration.”
3. Now relaunch the Google Home app and navigate to Add >> Set up Device >> Works with Google.
4. Search for iRobot Smart Home and complete the setup.
After you have updated your connection, you can use the new voice commands.
Does Roomba work with Google Home?
Yes, it does. You can control your Roomba cleaners and moppers using the Google Home app. Moreover, the app also lets you control multiple Roomba robot cleaners simultaneously with simple voice commands.
The Verdict
Roomba makes smart homes a reality. With robot cleaners and moppers that you can control using simple voice commands, Roomba makes life easier for every homeowner.
In this article, you have learned how to connect Roomba with Google Home, how to use voice commands, how to control multiple Roomba robots, and how to connect Roomba with IFTTT.