failure mode

Roomba i2 Cleans randomly / misses areas / gets lost

Symptom: The robot wanders, repeats areas, cleans in random directions instead of neat rows, misses whole areas, or can't finish. The Clean Map report looks broken or it returns to start without finishing. Likely root causes: Dirty floor-tracking sensor on the underside (the i2 navigates by floor tracking, not a camera); Robot picked up / moved mid-clean, so it lost its place and Recharge & Resume can't work; Clean not started from the dock (the i2 needs a known starting point to resume); Very shiny, dark, or featureless floor the tracking sensor can't read well; Dirty cliff or wall sensors, or a stuck bumper, throwing off navigation; Software glitch needing a reboot; clutter the robot keeps getting tangled in Next steps if owner-level checks fail: Robot still won't drive straight rows or keeps getting lost after cleaning the sensors and a reboot — a sensor or mainboard fault is likely; contact iRobot Customer Care 1-877-855-8593

Failure mode code

FM-19

Diagnostic overview

Symptom: The robot wanders, repeats areas, cleans in random directions instead of neat rows, misses whole areas, or can't finish. The Clean Map report looks broken or it returns to start without finishing. Likely root causes: Dirty floor-tracking sensor on the underside (the i2 navigates by floor tracking, not a camera); Robot picked up / moved mid-clean, so it lost its place and Recharge & Resume can't work; Clean not started from the dock (the i2 needs a known starting point to resume); Very shiny, dark, or featureless floor the tracking sensor can't read well; Dirty cliff or wall sensors, or a stuck bumper, throwing off navigation; Software glitch needing a reboot; clutter the robot keeps getting tangled in Next steps if owner-level checks fail: Robot still won't drive straight rows or keeps getting lost after cleaning the sensors and a reboot — a sensor or mainboard fault is likely; contact iRobot Customer Care 1-877-855-8593

Common Fixes

  • Cleaning tool
  • Charging dock / Clean Base
  • Floor-tracking sensor
  • Front bumper
  • Home Base

Related symptoms

  • Roomba i2 Navigation

    The robot wanders, repeats areas, cleans in random directions instead of neat rows, misses whole areas, or can't finish. The Clean Map report looks broken or it returns to start without finishing.

Included in the full manual

  • root cause analysis
  • tools needed
  • step-by-step repair procedure
  • diagrams
  • exploded views
  • post-repair checks

Public pages show a preview only. Purchase the full manual to download complete repair steps, diagrams, and verification procedures.

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Common symptoms

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