J9 and j8 might seem the same on paper but they are not. J9 has more suction and better performance than j8.
Comparison
Robot Vacuums
iRobot Roomba Combo j9+
Best Retractable Mop Vacuum
The iRobot Roomba Combo j9+ brings iRobot's best-in-class obstacle avoidance to a vacuum-and-mop combination — and crucially, its mop arm retracts completely off the floor when the robot detects carpet, so it genuinely vacuums dry on carpet without you having to manage which mode it's in. For Canadian homes with mixed flooring, this is iRobot's smartest robot.
9 mentions · 5 threadslast mention Sep 20255.7/ 10
ClearPick Score
Buyer Beware
Score informed by 9 owner mentions across 5 Reddit threads · see every quote ↓
2 positive2 mixed5 negative
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Best Retractable Mop Vacuum
iRobot Roomba Combo j9+
~$899 CAD est. on Amazon.ca
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Every mention, sourced
Real comments from Reddit, linked to the original thread. Nothing paraphrased.
The J9 has much better suction than the J8. If you have any carpet, the J9 will do a much better job picking up all that dog hair than the J8. It should also be better at knowing where that dog hair typically is for future runs
Comparison
I also think you need to give the vacuums some time to further learn the geometry of our homes. I heard IRobot uses incremental learning so I'm keep ovserving how it learns... I just cant buy Chinese branded things with cameras and microphones.. I love Chinese culture and people but just cant trust what CCP would do with the data..
Mention
I had this problem as well. I ended up needing to set a static IP address in my router for the Roomba. After that, no problems.
Mention
Same issue here with a J9+. But I enabled child lock on day 1 and I still have the issue randomly. I kind of think this is a server-side problem and they'll fix it on their own.
Complaint
I am dealing with this exact same thing and im about to chuck it against a wall.. God this is awful. The vacuum in itself works fine and im impressed with it. But its all pointless if it cant empty the bin or refill the tank.
Complaint
reporting from luxembourg: had the same problem with my brand new j9+ twice in the last 2 weeks. my 9 months pregnant wife freaked out when it started at 2:30 AM by itself, supposedly because of "robot button press"... this is turning into a terrible experience... I really liked the technology, but I'm about to return it I'm afraid.
Complaint
That Roomba video from Vacuum Wars is almost 2 years old now, while the Dreame L50 is a very fresh review. Robots have come a long way in two years, and what was acceptable then is a poor value today. You can get much better combo robots today for less money than the j9.
Comparison
Recently (2 weeks) I bought J9+ (Combo). I have a big problem with this because from time to time... it starts vacuuming itself (this happens even 2-3 times a day). The schedule is empty, and the app shows that vacuuming was started using a button on the robot (it definitely wasn't). Restoring the robot to factory settings did not help.
Complaint
✅ What Works
- Meaningfully better suction and pet hair pickup than the J8
- Learns home layout well over repeated runs, per owners
- Static-IP workaround resolves app connectivity dropouts for some
⚠️ Worth Knowing
- Multiple reports of the robot starting itself unexpectedly, including overnight, with no clear cause
- App connectivity issues, including the clean base disappearing from the app
- Privacy concerns raised about a camera-equipped, cloud-connected robot
- Value questioned relative to newer, cheaper combo robots on the market today
- Score revised from an earlier pass in this same correction sweep to accurately reflect the sentiment split above — treat this as the current, corrected figure.
ClearPick Verdict
Of 9 tracked mentions, 5 are negative and 2 mixed. The standout complaint, raised in 3 separate mentions, is the robot randomly starting itself with no schedule set, including at 2:30 AM startling a pregnant owner — the app attributes it to a "robot button press" that owners say didn't happen, and a factory reset didn't resolve it for at least one user. App/connectivity issues, including the clean base disappearing from the app, are also reported, with one workaround being to assign the Roomba a static IP address. On performance, suction and pet hair pickup earn genuine praise as an upgrade over the J8. Some owners also raise privacy concerns about a camera-equipped robot connected to the cloud. Worth it for the cleaning and mapping performance if you're comfortable troubleshooting connectivity quirks; skip it if unexplained auto-starts or privacy concerns are dealbreakers.
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