I’m looking for a vacuum robot preferably under 500€ and with a cleaning station. My main concern is that most robot vacuum providers seem to need to be connected to the internet. Are there any providers that either don’t need that, where I can block the internet connection or any other way not getting a spy in my home? I’m fine with it if some work is needed
“I’m looking for a privacy respecting vacuum robot” must be one of the most dystopian sentences I’ve read in quite some time.
I mean there is no lack of dystopian stuff going around these days. But if you imagine someone saying that 30 years ago, that someone would have conceivably ended up in a lunatic asylum. In 2024 however, it’s a perfectly valid and apropos question.
What a sad, sad world we live in…
“I’m looking for a privacy respecting vacuum robot” must be one of the most dystopian sentences I’ve read in quite some time.
I think this one is just as good:
Philips changes terms after the sale: requires data-sharing account to use a light bulb…
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR2j-r3pmng (Louis Rossman)
The problem is that they are closed off systems; you need to do full on reverse engineering to even understand what you are dealing with; plus there is the fact that these appliances are expensive and, unlike people modding consoles, there isn’t mutch gained for the majority of users
+1 for Valetudo! I’ve installed it once via OTA and twice by FEL. The OTA was obviously a breeze, but FEL wasn’t that bad. I just watched videos on YouTube for the disassembly and took my time doing each step. I love the UI and the fact that I can SSH into them just for the sheer coolness of it! I think one great thing about it is that it doesn’t affect the software that the robot uses for all its tasks and functions (e.g. vacuuming, mopping, sensors), just that it replaced the cloud and runs it on device.
I’d definitely recommended valetudo, but wanted to mention that eufy has some easily repairable non WiFi vacs that work reasonably well with no smart features. Eufy has a rough track record regarding privacy with their other smart products but can’t spy without a connection.
You can check out Valetudo. It is a custom firmware you can flash on many robot vacuum cleaners. Think of it as a layer between the robot and the manufacturer’s cloud that exposes the robot’s capabilities locally thus making the connection with manufacturer’s cloud redundant. There is a section with supported robots and instructions on their site making it very easy to install.
Because Valetudo is not a custom firmware, it cannot change anything about how the robot operates.
Source: https://valetudo.cloud/pages/general/newcomer-guide.html
Check out valetudo https://github.com/Hypfer/Valetudo
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