Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 robot vacuum and mop review

In the robot vacuum feature arms race, manufacturers seem to be cramming more and more tech into these cleaning bots, with varying success. Look no further than the latest hybrid offering from Ecovacs. In our Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 review, we found a feature-rich robot vacuum and mop that didn’t quite deliver on its promise. 

The $649 Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 is packed with features, and has two optional accessories: an oscillating mopping attachment and a self-emptying dustbin. Is the T8 and its accompanying accessories—which jacks up the price to Roomba levels—worth it?

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Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8: Price and availability

I reviewed the Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 with the Auto-Empty Station and Ozmo Pro Mopping System, which costs $999. The Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 is also available for $649 with a regular dustbin and dock at major online retailers. 

Like Barbie with her dream house, Ecovacs sells a number of accessories for the Deebot T8 to make the robot vacuum a better and more convenient cleaner. An auto-emptying charging station and accompanying dustbin costs $249; much like iRobot’s self-emptying base, it uses disposable vacuum bags that should be replaced monthly. A three pack of bags is available from Ecovacs’ site for $19.99. I was unable to find them available on other major retail sites. 

Ecovacs also sells the Ozmo Pro Mopping System, a vibrating mopping attachment that the company says oscillates 480 times per minute for greater scrubbing power. It’s available for $99, but only can only use disposable cleaning pads and water to get the job done. Those are also available on Ecovacs’ site in packs of 25 for $24.99.

The $799 Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI, released earlier this year, adds an object recognition camera that doubles as a roving home surveillance monitor. 

Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8: Design

The Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 bears more than a passing resemblance to another feature-packed robot vacuum, the Roborock S6 MaxV. Both measure 13.9-inches across, both cleverly conceal their dustbin and brush cleaning tool under a plastic lid, and both have a mapping sensor under a raised disc emblazoned with their respective companies’ logos. 

To be honest, I initially thought they were the same robot vacuum. But a closer look reveals the differences. At 3.7 inches high, the Deebot Ozmo T8 is a tenth of an inch shorter than the S6 MaxV. A single button for cleaning resides on the top of the T8 while a large red power switch sits under the plastic hood.

Flip the Deebot Ozmo T8 over to reveal two chunky rubberized wheels, a small swivelling wheel near the front and a bevy of sensors. A pair of tri-spoked brushes that are angled downward at the front of the bot feed debris into the bristle-and-rubber fin brushroll. A removable water reservoir resides at the rear of the T8. 

The onboard dustbin has a plastic handle that also serves as the release mechanism for the bin. A red button the side gently opens the bin and allows for easy access for cleaning the filters.

The basic dock that’s included with the Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 is small and unobtrusive, much like the one included with the Roborock S6 MaxV. I appreciated the large cord-wrapping area and the two pieces of rubber on the underside that kept the base in place when the vacuum was docking. One minor complaint: The giant “Caution” electrical warning in three languages affixed to the top of the dock. Surely they could have found a less obnoxious location for a sticker that’s not supposed to be removed. We’ve seen less prominent placement on other vacuum bases.

Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8: Cleaning performance

The Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 has plenty of features, but the company forgot to beef up the most important one: actual vacuuming ability. 

Like the Roborock S6 MaxV, the T8 wound its way around my baseboards, outlining an area before vacuuming the center of the room in a serpentine pattern. It didn’t avoid objects with the same carefulness of the S6 MaxV, which identified obstacles on its map with a photo (the T8 AIVI does this), but it’s also not as rough with them as the iRobot Roomba s9. The T8 gingerly nudged around a stuffed dog toy in its path, but eventually cleaned around it. Despite its wide diameter, the robot vac deftly maneuvered around chair legs. It was able to summit thresholds fairly easily, too. 

While its navigation was impressive, its suction was not. Though the Ozmo T8 initially appeared to pick up all of a small line of breadcrumbs on the kitchen floor, I quickly discovered its side brushes had spread crumbs all over, leaving more for me to clean up.

The Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 performed similarly in our lab tests, earning an overall pickup rate of 79.95%, 11 points less than the Roborock S6 MavV. It was better than the Shark IQ (70.5), but that’s not saying much.

On hardwood floors, the Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 had a tendency to spread debris around instead of sucking it up. We noticed this especially with the Cheerios. The two brushes at the front of the vacuum are angled downward, which results in greater contact with the floor. Unfortunately, instead of feeding cereal into the vacuum’s maw, the brushes sent pieces flying to the corners of our test area.

This habit bore out in our test results, too, as the Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 picked up just 86.35% of the cereal, much less than the Roborock S6 MaxV (97.8) and the Roomba s9 (90). Though the T8 fared better with kitty litter, its score of 92.3 still fell below both the S6 MaxV and the s9.

If there’s one group who should avoid the Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8, it’s pet owners. The T8 picked up a disappointing 57.5% of dog hair from our hardwood floor, nearly 20 points less than the Roborock S6 MaxV’s less-than-impressive 78% pick up rate. The Roomba s9 was the winner here, collecting 99% of Fido’s fur from the floor.

The Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 performed better on carpet, but we still wouldn’t trust it to clean up pet hair. The robot vacuum picked up just 58% of dog hair in our carpet test, besting only the Shark IQ’s 50% pick up rate. The T8 scored far below both the Roborock S6 MaxV (83) and the Roomba s9 (97).

When it came to vacuuming up cereal on carpet, the Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 proved to be more capable, picking up 92.9%, slightly less than the Roomba s9’s 95%, but much more than the Shark IQ (70%).

The Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 edged out the Roborock S6 MaxV in our kitty litter tests with a score of 92. Still, it couldn’t beat the Roomba s9’s perfect score.

One plus of the Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 is that it’s a quiet cleaner. I was able to easily have a conversation at normal volume while the T8 was running in my kitchen. It was noticeably quieter than the iRobot Roomba s9 vacuuming the same area.

Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8: Mopping performance

The out-of-the-box mopping ability of the T8 is comparable to the Roborock S6 MaxV. It’s a feature and fine for a basic once over on your floors, but if you truly want a robot to wash your floors, look to a dedicated robot mop like the iRobot Braava Jet M6.

When mopping, I found that I had to increase the water level from the default “Medium” to “High” just to see the T8’s path on the floor. On the “High” and “Ultra High” water settings, there’s a cautionary note: “High water flow level may cause the robot to slip.” I never observed the bot slipping on either setting, but you may want to watch your step. 

A separate $99 Ozmo Pro oscillating mopping attachment performed better but was much louder. (More on that in the next section).The only cleaning agent available for either is water. 

Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8: Accessories

Similar to the Roomba s9+ and Shark IQ, you can purchase the Ozmo T8 with or without the $249 Auto-Empty Station, which automatically empties the on-board dustbin and replaces the charging dock. 

The Ecovacs self-emptying station required a bit more out-of-the-box setup than both the iRobot and Shark self-emptying docks. How much more? Let’s put it this way: In a first for any robot vacuum I’ve reviewed, a screwdriver was required. The large, plastic base must be manually attached to the auto-emptying upper portion. It was awkward, but manageable once I deciphered the pictogram manual. 

Installing the specialized auto-emptying dustbin in the Deebot Ozmo T8 was less clear. Two black plastic rectangular ducts on the vacuum require a plastic skeleton key (included) that must be removed before the auto-emptying dustbin will fit into the Ozmo T8 correctly. Presumably, you’ll only do this once, but the whole process gave me flashbacks to assembling an IKEA dresser.

The self-emptying base worked well and cleared debris out of the onboard dustbin. Like the iRobot base, it is very loud when it’s running. The Ecovacs base also ran for almost twice as long as the iRobot base, taking 26 seconds to empty itself. The iRobot Roomba s9+ base took 15 seconds.

Looking for more mopping oomph? Ecovacs also sells the $99 Ozmo Pro Mopping System, which works with the Deebot Ozmo T8, T8+ and T8 AIVI robots. This accessory replaces the onboard water tank and removable mopping plate with a motorized mopping plate and water reservoir. Ecovacs says the Ozmo Pro will scrub and remove “up to 99.26% of bacteria on floors” using water alone. It’s a bold statement and one I wouldn't bet a sandwich on, even if it’s picked up within the traditional five-second rule.

When attached to the Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8, the Ozmo Pro worked better than the mopping attachment included with the bot. It easily clicked into the rear of the vacuum in place of the included tank, too. The Ozmo Pro picked up more dirt on its disposable pad and lessened the visibility of water spots around my dog’s water bowl. Surprisingly, it was much louder than the vacuum running on its own, likely due to the plate oscillating on the floor. Still, we recommend a dedicated mopping bot like the iRobot Braava jet m6 or the iLife Shinebot W400 if you really hate washing your floors.

Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8: Setup, app, and mapping

Commanding the Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 to do your dirty work is primarily done through the Ecovacs Home app (Android and iOS). You can choose specific areas to clean and specify the order in which you would like them cleaned. Though there’s not a “spot” cleaning option, you can draw a custom box to have the T8 clean one particular area. It’s a nice option, but a bit cumbersome for a quick clean up.

Cleaning power is also heavily customizable. Choose from cleaning an area once or twice and vacuuming in Quiet, Standard, Max, or Max+ mode. Additionally, the mopping mode lets you choose from Low, Medium, High, or Ultra High water flow levels.

As if that’s not enough, there are additional options for turning on auto-boost suction, enabling obstacle avoidance, continuing cleaning after recharging, and Advanced Mode, which enables specific area cleaning, custom cleaning, virtual boundaries and multi-floor mapping. It’s odd that these features aren’t automatically enabled since Advanced Mode is needed to create and save maps.

The Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 generated a map with impressive speed. After its initial run, not only did it have a mostly accurate map of my first floor, but it also divided up areas with incredible accuracy. The app used letters to label each space, which is a nice touch, although you can clarify the area names by choosing from a list of common room names. The app uses icons on the map to identify rooms. For example, an icon of a bathtub with a shower appeared in place of the word “Bathroom.”

It’s also possible to edit the map to add virtual boundaries and no-mop zones. In my testing, the Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 mostly excelled at adhering to these virtual boundaries and no-mop zones, though the front of the bot flirted with going on to my designated no-mop zone dining room rug a few times. Thankfully, the mop end of the T8 never fully went on to the rug.

Unfortunately, while the Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 was quick to generate a map, it was inconsistent. At one point, I reset the map, which triggers the bot to create a new one. Instead of the six well-divided areas from the first map, I got two: One for my breakfast bar and kitchen table area and one for the rest of the first floor. This should not have been a big deal because there’s an option to divide and merge areas on the map. I divided up section A by drawing a horizontal line at the entrance to the bathroom and drawing a vertical line to separate my living room and dining room. But I couldn’t divide section A any further without encountering an error. 

When I asked Ecovacs about this, a member of their product team explained that an area couldn’t be divided across a previously divided area. For instance, a square room cannot be divided into four quarters. Frustrated, I gave up and created another new map. The new map had the same impressive room divisions as the first one, including an extra one near the dog food bowls. An Ecovacs representative told me the T8 uses a laser to navigate, so the brightness of a room shouldn’t be a factor. My advice: if the map looks wonky the first time, reset it and try again. 

The Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 is capable of creating multi-floor maps, but kicking off that process is confusing—to both the user and the vacuum. When I ran the T8 on my second floor, which included bringing the dock upstairs, the app didn’t recognize it as a new floor. Instead, it created a bizarre mashup map of my first and second floors.

After speaking with a representative from Ecovacs, he advised that the map identified as “New Map” in the app must be saved before a separate, second map can be created. There is a tutorial within the map section of the app, but it doesn’t mention saving the first map before creating a second. After resetting the Franken-map, I was able to create new maps of both my first and second floors.

Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 review: Verdict

There’s a lot going on with the Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8. Unfortunately, most of it is meh. Its vacuuming performance—particularly with pet hair—is lackluster, and its included mopping attachment doesn’t add much value to the bot’s $649 price tag. The app could be more intuitive and it still has a few too many rough edges. There’s a lot of promise with the T8, but it doesn’t fully deliver.

The whole package we tested, which included the self-emptying waste bin and oscillating mop attachment, costs $999.97. For that much money, there are better options, such as the $749 hybrid Roborock S6 MaxV or the $1,099 iRobot Roomba s9+ with self-emptying bin. Or consider a budget dedicated mopping robot such as the iRobot Braava jet 240 paired with a mapping robot vac like the Neato D4 for keeping your floors clean.

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