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‘Drunk’ robot vacuum cleaners are causing havoc in homes
‘Drunk’ robot vacuum cleaners made by Roomba are running amok in homes after a recent software update sent them out of control.
Owners of Roomba vacuum cleaners have been reporting some altogether unusual behaviour from their machines after a software update rendered them “drunk” and unable to function properly.
In a statement emailed to USA Today, company iRobot said some i7 and s9 models of the robot vacuum have been experiencing technical issues after a recent software update.
“We’ve worked with impacted customers to roll their robot’s software back, and we are also implementing an update to ensure any similar issues are avoided moving forward,” iRobot said.
It added that the new update will be rolled out in the next couple of weeks.
The statement comes after owners of the robot vacuum cleaners took to social media to report that their machines were behaving as if “drunk”.
“[What’s] up with the 3.12.8 release? My tickets were closed and I wasn’t rolled back. These robots looks drunk since the update [sic]. Mounting complaints in the forums continue. Some folks who were rolled back got rolled forward and the issues came back. HELP!” Wrote one disgruntled Twitter user.
@iRobot what's up with the 3.12.8 release? My tickets were closed and I wasn't rolled back. These robots looks drunk since the update. Mounting complaints in the forums continue. Some folks who were rolled back got rolled forward and the issues came back. HELP!
— Anthony Virtuoso (@AnthonyVirtuoso) February 21, 2021
According to the Independent, users have said that their robots have been struggling to do their jobs, instead spinning around in circles, slamming into furniture and getting stuck in the middle of the room – leaving them without charge.
“It will bang itself against the same wall 20 times before moving on,” wrote on Redditor.
Like many smart home devices, Roombas update themselves automatically, meaning that owners may not be aware that a vacuum has downloaded the software causing the issue.