After putting the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner to the test for several weeks, my overall assessment is that it is a fantastic device for keeping floors spotless. However, its impressive hardware is, unfortunately, hindered by its subpar app and lacklustre firmware. In this comprehensive review of the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner, I will delve into the pros and cons of this handy household helper.
- Vacuum and mop: Supports both vacuuming and mopping.
- Battery: A 4900 mAh battery can power the ILIFE A11 up to three hours.
- High suction: Up to 4000 Pa of suction get rid of dust and dirt with ease.
- Advanced mopping: By using a Y pattern, the ILIFE A11 leaves your floors cleaner than comparable products.
Before diving into the details of my review of the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner, it's important to understand my approach. I don't believe in assigning numerical ratings to products, as it may not provide meaningful context for you. Instead, I will be highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the ILIFE A11 and comparing it to other robot vacuum cleaners on the market.
You should also be aware that I was provided this robot vacuum cleaner free of charge from ILIFE. However, no money changed hands and ILIFE does not have any say on what I write about their product.
Verdict
After thoroughly testing the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner in my home for several weeks, I can confidently say that it is a solid purchase. However, if you are looking for deep integration with smart home assistants such as Home Assistant, Google Assistant, or Amazon Alexa, this device may not meet your needs. Additionally, the accompanying app can be prone to freezing and lagging. On the plus side, the ILIFE A11 effectively cleans both carpets and hard floors and does a respectable job with mopping as well.
The good
The bad
The ugly
About this ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner review
This review will focus on the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner as it stands, without comparing it to higher-priced alternatives. Since my previous robot vacuum cleaner was the budget-friendly Xiaomi Robot Vacuum Mop 1C, which is priced about half as much as the ILIFE A11, there will not be many comparisons to other products.
What you can expect from this review is an honest account of my personal experience with the ILIFE A11. I have been using it almost daily since I first set it up, and it has replaced my previous model. Additionally, I have abstained from reading or watching any other reviews of the ILIFE A11 before writing my own. Only after putting my thoughts down on paper (or screen, as it were) did I look for any issues others have found, and verified if they were present in my model.
Unboxing and first impressions
The unboxing experience of the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner deserves to be mentioned. Instead of just including the vacuum and charging dock, ILIFE provides you with the following:
- An extra dust filter that is compatible with both the standard dust box and the 2-in-1 water tank.
- A rubber-only main brush which won't get tangled with hair.
- Two extra side-brushes.
- And finally, two dusters for the mopping functionality.
Before charging the device, you scan a QR code located on its underside, which will take you to a site with links to the Play Store and Apple App Store. As an Android user, this step is as easy as opening up Google Lens and following the links. Why place the QR code on the bottom? As you have to flip the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner over to attach the brushes anyway, there is no chance of missing it.
Two boxes are better than one
One of the bonuses of purchasing the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner is the fact that it comes with two dust boxes. One is your standard dust box with a capacity of 450 ml. The other is a 2-in-1 water tank (200 ml) and dust box (300 ml) combo. Each box comes with a filter already installed, meaning you get three in total with your purchase of this robot vacuum cleaner.
The advantages of separating the two boxes are that the dustbin can be larger and thus only has to be emptied sporadically. It also makes the load the robot vacuum cleaner carts around lighter, which will have a positive effect on its battery life.
Charging the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner
The first thing you will be doing with your ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner is to charge it. While it might sound boring, I do have a few pointers on this subject: The dock is very light due to the power brick being external. While this might be more convenient for the vendor to ship to multiple locations, it does have the downside of the charging dock being accidentally moved—even by the robot vacuum cleaner itself. On the plus side, there is room inside the dock to route and hide any excess cable.
The robot vacuum cleaner charges by backing in to two spring-laden metal bars. The charging mechanism is basically two large pogo pins, if that helps you picture it more easily. This system seems to work better than my previous robot vacuum cleaner, where the charging connector is on the bottom of the device. The spring and large surface make sure that the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner doesn't have to be aligned perfectly to make contact.
I have read reports of the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner not docking correctly, and thus not charging, even though it appears to be doing so. I have not encountered this error thus far. What is clearly the case, is that this robot vacuum does not charge quickly. In fact, it will charge slower than some modern phones using its lousy 36W power supply. A full charge will take up to three hours.
On a more positive note, I have placed the dock in a tighter space than the manual suggests, and the robot vacuum cleaner docks perfectly each time.
If you start a routine and during that the battery dips too low, the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner will return to the dock, charge itself until it has sufficient power, and finish the routine.
First clean with the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner
On the first clean with my new ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner, I made sure I cleared any obstacles so that it could build a perfect map of the floor. And that it did. The map-building on this robot vacuum cleaner is faultless. In some locations, it did include parts of the garden, due to the full-height windows, but I can't report any escape attempts yet.
But it is here that I will first have to mention what was perhaps the biggest letdown during my period with the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner: the ILIFE VAC app. Whenever you launch the app you are first presented with an image of the robot vacuum and only after you click a button will you be able to control it. I understand that this is done with those who own more than a single ILIFE robot vacuum in mind, but if it's just one device, this step is unnecessary. With that in mind, let us discuss the app in detail.
The ILIFE VAC app needs work, a lot of work
It is always a letdown, when a great piece of hardware, such as the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner, comes bundled with an app that isn't fit for purpose. I was desperately waiting for ILIFE to improve their software, but sadly, there hasn't been a single update since it launched.
Luckily for you, I am free to criticize any aspect of this robot vacuum cleaner - and the app certainly is part of the package. If there's one thing that will dissuade you from purchasing the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner, it will be the ILIFE VAC app. I have asked my contact at ILIFE for a timeline of upcoming changes, but lamentably, they couldn't deliver.
Bugs that just shouldn't be a thing
Close to every second time I open the app, I am greeted by a frozen loading icon, as seen in the screenshot. I am using a OnePlus 6 Android smartphone, which isn't the newest, but certainly has enough power to run the app smoothly. Each time this happens, I have to close the app, and relaunch it again. It's not like that is a difficult task, but a functioning app is something you can reasonably expect. Especially if it is crucial to using the hardware it controls.
Overcomplicated zone selection
Once you can open the app, you are greeted by the last used map. This is great because it is most likely what you will want to use. However, do you see that illegible squiggle in each room? That's the room's name. Once you click on the zoned cleaning button, a checkbox appears next to that name, which is impossible to click without zooming in to each room. This might seem nit-picky, but having to repeat the same unnecessary steps each time you want to clean a zone does get frustrating.
My comparison here is the Xiaomi Home app, where you can select any zone simply by pressing anywhere inside it, which is how it should be.
What is a setting, and what is an action?
Unfortunately, I am not done with the app yet. I hope ILIFE takes the time to read this review and takes some notes on the following: The app isn't just buggy, but also badly designed, with seemingly no thought given to how the user will interact with it.
Buttons that will either perform an action or open a menu a strewn about willy-nilly. If I were designing this app, the records and schedule buttons would move in to the settings menu and not be in the main menu. Below the map, the actions, such as start, charge, scrubbing, and edge cleaning, would be placed. The area, manual, and spot cleaning options all change the behaviour of the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner and thus should be next to the map, alongside the room selection button. Finally, the statistics can move above the map, to distance them from the actions.
If ILIFE is looking for some inspiration, the Xiaomi Home app once again does things right. They placed the action buttons below the map and the statistics above it. You access the robot vacuum cleaner's settings by swiping up from the bottom. Additionally, they managed to reduce the number of action buttons because you can simply select a zone and start the cleanup.
Where are my ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner notifications?
To wrap up my criticism of the ILIFE VAC app, I have to mention the lack of notifications. I'm not talking about the vacuum informing you whenever it docks or starts a routine, but error notifications. The ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner will not inform you if it gets stuck. It will simply stop vacuuming, and the only way you have of knowing this fact is by checking whether it has returned to the dock or not.
The lack of notifications becomes irritating whenever I'm working with my headphones on. During this time, I usually want the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner to clean the dining room and kitchen. By the time I have finished working, I might want to retreat to the living room, only to find out that it wasn't cleaned because the robot vacuum cleaner got stuck somewhere along the way.
More than one floor? Not a problem for the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner
With all of that said, the app still is functional. A feature I only become aware of after I had run the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner upstairs, was the fact that it supports multiple floors. It doesn't just clean multiple floors, it will also map them. In my setup, there are currently three floors, between which I can change using the app.
The ability to save more than a single floor comes in handy if you want to use zoned cleaning. It also helps the robot vacuum be more efficient in its cleaning pattern.
The ILIFE VAC scheduler
Another part of the app that isn't broken is the scheduler. This allows you to set up the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner to clean at certain times. You can define the rooms and modes using the settings.
While the scheduler is a nice addition, a more solid integration with the most common home automation services would be desirable. For example, there is no way of running the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner whenever the house is empty using just the app.
The app isn't the only way to control the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner
If you want to forgo the app completely, there is also a little remote that comes in the box, with which you can control the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner. This remote allows you to set up the power and start mopping or vacuum cleaning.
I've found myself using the remote semi-frequently, mainly because it's easier to leave it sitting next to the front door and using it, instead of digging out my phone and launching the buggy app. I do wish there were an option to set some macros on the remote. For example, have the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner clean just certain rooms at the push of a button.
How well does the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner clean?
This section does come with some cautions: namely, the fact that I am not a professional vacuum cleaner tester. But, as I've mentioned, I have been performing real-world tests by actually using the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner. The biggest danger of buying your first robot vacuum cleaner is expecting it to do everything. Especially at this price-point. This machine won't deep clean your home. What it does do is help you maintain a cleaner floor. You will still have to lug out the proper vacuum occasionally, but thanks to the little household helper, with less frequency.
If numbers do mean anything to you, the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner has a maximum 4000 Pa suction, and my impression is that it gets quite loud at that level. However, there is a noticeable improvement coming from a vacuum that had a suction of only 2500 Pa.
ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner real-world vacuuming performance
There isn't much to say about the vacuum cleaning performance of the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner, except that it does an exceptional job. It removes just about anything from a hard floor, and it does it at a decent pace, too.
When vacuuming, the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner will first take a trip around the edges of the selected area. On the one hand, this allows it to later clean the surfaces without having to constantly bang in to the walls. On the other hand, I've noticed that debris stuck in corners will get pushed to the centre of the room during this pass.
To help me show you what you can expect from this robot vacuum cleaner, I spread some flour, rice, coarse brown sugar, and a bit of hard pasta for good measure, all around my hard wood floor. I then used the spot cleaning function to have it focus only on the area where I tipped the mix out on to.
After a first pass, there was still plenty of flour, rice, and sugar left behind. Though, this was my error. The ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner would drive over the hard pasta, which led to the main brush to no longer make contact with the ground. As a consequence, many smaller bits couldn't be picked up. In a second pass, this wasn't an issue any more, as the pasta had all already been removed. It was also during that second pass, the robot vacuum cleaner managed to remove just about everything that was left behind.
Mopping: A step in the right direction
I will preface the performance review with another short bit of criticism. For some reason, the duster has to be attached on the same side as the charging port. That means that every time you want to attach the duster, you will need to roll the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner away from the dock. On my cheaper Xiaomi robot vacuum cleaner, the duster compartment can be attached without first having to move it.
To give you an impression of how well this robot vacuum cleaner mops, I have set up a scenario that occurs semi-frequently around the dining room table: on the floor there are stains from tea being spilt, and some nasty person has dropped a load of tomato sauce on the floor. As with any other vacuum cleaner, it isn't recommended to clean up any wet foods, so I left these to nicely dry out and stick to the floor.
As you can see by the before and after images, the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner has no problem removing stains caused by the misplaced coffee cup. It wasn't quite as successful at removing the red tomato sauce. While it did its best, the patch is still clearly visible. To be clear, I wasn't expecting it to be able to remove it - and neither should you. Only the most expensive models from Roborock might have a chance removing such a stain.
A word on consumables
Just like every vacuum cleaner, this robotic one also has consumables. These include the filters and brushes. What irks me about the filters is that the dust box has a mesh filter, which will stop any large parts from entering the dust filter. On the 2-in-1 water tank, this mesh is missing, meaning it will clog up the filter much faster.
Ideally, the mesh filter would be located on the replaceable filter itself. The mesh will undoubtedly perish at some point, and I'm not looking forward to having to buy a whole new dust box just because of that.
Also confusing is the fact that there appears to be an active carbon mat covering the air outlet. This will remove any odours that might be passing through the ILIFE A11 Robot aVacuum Cleaner. Unfortunately, Active carbon does not last forever, but for some reason ILIFE decided to make this matt non-replaceable.
Obstacle avoidance is not the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner's strong suit
Earlier on in this review, I praised the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner's mapping abilities. Sadly, though, when in use its navigation isn't always up to the task. The robot vacuum cleaner will frequently get stuck on objects that aren't picked up by the LiDAR sensor. I have also had to save it after getting stuck underneath the toilet bowl.
It takes some time for the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner to realize that it is stuck. It will try to pull the curtains from the ceiling before finally giving up, and I've also caught it continuing a routine with a small towel stuck in the main brush. This delayed behaviour is also noticeable when picking the robot vacuum cleaner up while it is running. It takes a good couple of seconds before it stops moving, even with the wheels fully suspended in the air.
Smart home integration leaves a lot to be desired
While the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner does integrate with the Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, the available commands are very basic. Interactions between the two boil down to starting or stopping the robot vacuum and nothing more. To make this feature useful, it needs to allow for zoned cleaning commands. For example, if I could ask the Assistant to clean the dining room after my kids are done eating, it would spare me from having to take out the phone and launch the buggy app.
Due to the lack of features, I haven't even bothered to connect the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner to my Google Assistant - even for this review. As I mentioned, I am basing this review on my real-world experience and as it stands, this feature is useless for me and most likely many others out there.
While I don't have any Amazon Alexa devices, the rating of the skill doesn't make me hopeful that it is any better than the Google Assistant integration.
Can I integrate the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner with Home Assistant?
I can't call this site Home Assistant Guide without at least giving the software a mention. As such, I must mention in this review of the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner that it is in no way compatible with Home Assistant. My contact at ILIFE has informed me that there are no plans for an open API, either. I have searched the Home Assistant forums, Discord, and GitHub and there are no custom components available yet.
Other titbits
While researching this robot vacuum, it came to my attention that it's predecessor, the ILIFE A10, had automatic carpet detection, a feature that the A11 lacks. The ILIFE A10 uses this feature to automatically increase the suction on carpets, and lower it on hard floors. I am unsure whether this is a feature that could be added via a firmware update, or if it requires a specialized sensor. You might be thinking to yourself that this is no big deal, as you plan to run it on full blast every time. However, the lack of carpet detection does come with another downside: the ILIFE A11 Robot Vacuum Cleaner struggles to move on carpets with the mop attached.
- Vacuum and mop: Supports both vacuuming and mopping.
- Battery: A 4900 mAh battery can power the ILIFE A11 up to three hours.
- High suction: Up to 4000 Pa of suction get rid of dust and dirt with ease.
- Advanced mopping: By using a Y pattern, the ILIFE A11 leaves your floors cleaner than comparable products.
