I was distressed to see Choice reviewing the Hobot R3 Window Cleaner given the grief we have endured with this company.
The window cleaner we bought did not work. They refused to acknowledge so I sent a video showing how it clearly did not work. Their claim? You need to start with clean windows. So…it is not a “window cleaner”??
Since this time (April 2022) we are constantly inundated with spam emails from them. It does not matter what we do, we cannot get off their mail list - is it their passive agressive way of getting back at us for a bad review?
I don’t want anyone else to waste their money on this product.
Thank you for your feedback about the Hobot R3 product. You can also supply feedback on the review page of the Hobot. At the bottom of the page you will find a question about if you found the review helpful or not, if you click no you will get a box that allows you to provide the feedback.
The Hobot R3 window cleaner has got favourable reviews not only by CHOICE but also by many other independent online reviews. Your experience seems an unusual one and could be due to having received a faulty item. I wonder if you’ve made a refund/return claim, and what has been happening since April 2022 (over 3 years ago) concerning your consumer rights?
I suspect automated window cleaners will work more or less successfully depending on location and thus the composition of the ‘dirt’. Would you let us know where you are as it could be advisory?
Simplistically I wonder if there is relevancy if windows in coastal areas are subjected to a sea-salt residue; windows far inland would be mostly dust covered, and typical for most areas a mix of blown dust/dirt, rain and hand-prints; we had an imprint from a bird hitting one at fairly high speed that was difficult to fully eradicate (I presume bird-bodily oils mixed with the existing grime?). Sea-salt residue, especially when dried and set, could be more difficult for an automated device (as well as for a human) and require more ‘elbow grease’ and targeted cleaning products.
@RebeccaCiaramidaro , @BrendanMays , If that thought has any relevance perhaps the test should include ‘what dirt’ was applied for the test, or if it was essentially ‘Marrickville in the wild’. While the review extensively described how the device was tested, it did not include explicit details of what was tested beyond the surfaces.
Could you confirm your purchase date for an R3 as being April 2022 or is yours a different model?
From an AI bot,
The Hobot R3 Window Cleaner was brought to market in 2023. Evidence for this includes a detailed unboxing and review video published in May 2023, which refers to the R3 as the “new Hobot R3 robotic window cleaner,” and highlights it as the latest and most advanced model from Hobot at that time. Additionally, product reviews and retailer listings from late 2023 and mid-2024 consistently describe the R3 as a new or recent release, further confirming its market introduction in 2023
There were earlier Hobot models available in 2022.
Thanks for sharing your experience @Tradge_ic. If anyone else also has tried this device, please feel free to continue adding reviews to this thread.
In answer to your question @PhilT, I think it was just a standard dirty window without a special dirt mix (as we do in some other cases), but that’s something for our teams to consider if testing this product category expands. It’s not a ubiqutous product, but if we see it taking off I can imagine a larger test could occur.
We put in our article that “A robot window cleaner should be used as a maintenance device – to maintain clean windows”, so it’s correct that it’s not designed to handle heavily soiled windows. So it means it should take care of streaks, grime and some dirt when used regularly but not if conditions mean windows are getting very dirty. I can understand the frustration if someone has purchased the product and it hasn’t met expectations, because they are quite expensive.
We’re keen to hear more from people on this, whether you have one and can report or even just on your personal expectations around window vacs. I’ve copied the CHOICE article below for reference.
Thank you @grahroll I have added a response to the article. Yes, we have reported multiple times, tried changing our email address etc but nothing works.
Hi @PhilT - ours was a Hobot 2S. My issue is with Robot Your Life. They refused to achknowledge the unit did not work (despite showing them videos) and that they still spam us constantly (possibly being vindictive because I have spoken out?) Yes, we have reported them but nothing changes.
Filtering your emails so that anything you receive from the business is either sent directly to your bin or sent to your junk file, may be a useful tool for you. While it doesn’t stop them sending you emails, those emails won’t appear in your normal inbox. I find junk mail the safest option, though if you have a very specific set of rules that won’t capture other emails that are similar but not what you want to filter out then the bin can be an effective answer.
If you post what email client/clients you use to read and send your emails, someone here will be able to guide you how to set up the filtering rules. If the emails coming to you come from particular addresses or have particular subjects or have similar content in the body of the emails then filters can be easily framed around those areas.
We sent videos showing how the unit didn’t work and were advised it was not meant to clean windows but to ‘maintain clean windows’. The unit was noisy and literally did nothing. They refused a refund. The only way we got our money back was via a recall from our credit card company.
