Eufy E20: two-minute review
The Eufy E20 is an ingenious piece of design.
It frequently head-butted the (open) kitchen door and pushed shoes instead of driving cleanly around them.
I also had to remove tangled hair from the roller brush more frequently than with some other robotic vacuums.
Crumb mix sprinkled on hard floor, ready for suction test(Image credit: Future)
That’s the short version; read on for my full Eufy E20 review.
At list price, it costs$550/550/ AU$999, which makes it a mid-range robotic vacuum.
While this 3-in-1 design is unusual, it’s not completely unique.
That option is US-only, and costs $699.99 / (about 560 / AU$1,110).
However that self-emptying robot comes with a powered rotating mop, which the E20 lacks.
Below both sits the $450Eufy L60, which has the same self-emptying design but also lacks a mop.
All that’s missing is a mop.
The stick attachment for using the vacuum as a handheld is 34 inches (86cm) long.
The handheld section uses a bagless design and can be emptied manually.
Installing and setting up the Eufy E20 is easy.
It even reversed then drove forward more quickly after failing on its first attempt.
During daily use, I found the E20’s navigation to be a little clumsy and inconsistent.
Although I’ve highlighted a few unfortunate failings here, the E20 mostly performed well.
In a larger home with more open space I can see if performing better.
Before I get to the specific cleaning challenges, I should talk about the E20’s handheld function.
A long press of the same button turns the vacuum on and off.
Although the manual vacuum works well and has plenty of power, it is rather loud.
All that’s missing is a mop, but at this price point that omission is understandable.
In this case, a second pass wasn’t required.
I then repeated the test on carpet, and the results were less impressive.
Unable to reach the target point.
This error shows up when a custom cleaning zone includes an area beyond the confines of the map.
Most of the crumb mix was picked up using Standard mode, but some still remained.
A single pass on the next mode, called Turbo (66 dB), picked up all debris.
Crumb mix sprinkled on hard floor, ready for suction test(Image credit: Future)
After this, the robot emptied its dust bin (79 dB) and put itself on charge.
The room was left almost spotless, with practically no debris missed at all.
I repeated the oats test on carpet and found that two passes with Standard mode was the best option.
Results after cleaning in quiet mode(Image credit: Future)
The robot did a great job, picking up all debris save for just two stray oats.
Finally, obstacle avoidance.
Unfortunately, it didn’t care for the USB cable, and ate it almost immediately.
Crumb mix sprinkled on carpet, ready for suction test(Image credit: Future)
This wrapped around the roller brush, stopping the robot and causing it to ask for help.
No damage was caused, but it was clearly a failure.
The USB cable is less than 15mm wide, but is of course much longer than that.
Results in quiet suction mode(Image credit: Future)
Eufy E20 review: app
Eufy’s app is a good one.
Part of the setup process includes telling the robot to create a map by exploring your home.
Should you buy the Eufy E20?
Results in standard mode(Image credit: Future)
4.5 / 5
Performance
Strong suction in all three modes makes for good cleaning on a variety of surfaces.
Navigation can be erratic, however.
3.5 / 5
App
Simple, stable and easy to use.
Oats sprinkled on hard floor, ready for suction test(Image credit: Future)
A good range of options to adjust a cleaning schedule, and info on when parts need replacing.
If you already own a handheld or stick vacuum, then obviously the E20 isn’t for you.
You don’t need a robomop
The E20 does not have any mopping functionality at all.
Results in quiet mode(Image credit: Future)
Granted, this is true of all robovacs.
It entirely replaced my own handheld vacuum and was used to clean every room.
Read we test robot vacuum cleaners.
Results after two passes in standard mode(Image credit: Future)
Oats sprinkled on carpet, ready for suction test(Image credit: Future)
Results after two passes in standard mode(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Eufy)
(Image credit: Eufy)
