OK, this is a bit of a stretch here but here it goes. One of my Robot-vac returns to charge great I’ve watched it many times DOC and Starting to Charge great! While it’s charging I’ve noticed that the unit started to lower itself again and again till it bottoms out dropping the ability to charge and eventually shutting down and off-line. Does anybody have any ideas??
Thanks!
Quick note I have 2 units and only one does this.
By chance, is the Wyze Robot Vacuum (WRV) you are having this issue with on carpet?
Charger is against the shoe molding?
This happened to me as I saw a similar issue with 1 of 2 WRVs on carpet.
On Carpet, there is a slight slope where the tack strip is which is lower in most cases than where the padding is under the carpet. When the WRV backups up to charge it pushes the charging dock back and it tilts a little and you get the misalignment.
If it is on carpet, I would suggest a plastic or firm mat under the WRV. This corrected my slip of the dock issue.
If not on carpet, check to make sure the wheel area is free of all debris and not causing the wheels/wheel assembly to sit properly.
I wasn’t aware that the wheel height on the WRV was dynamically adjustable by the unit. I always assumed that it was static adjustment thru a simple spring tensioner. I haven’t seen a tear down image of the mechanical bits yet.
So the question is… What is settling? The wheels into the surface it is on or the wheels up into the WRV?
EDIT: Good candidate for a V3 profile view Timelapse video w\ a ruler in frame!
I’m w\ @R.Good on the suggestion for an open floor hard surface test to determine if it is the WRV or the floor. If the wheels are loosing tension and receding into the base, it’s time for a warranty return.
Thanks, @R.Good for the insight here!
Your absolutely correct about this movement on carpets especially carpets with padding. I decided to validate alignments when docking by placing it on a hard sheet of plexiglass and taping down the docking base temporarily and it’s still off to the lower part of the charging contacts. If I move the vac slightly forward by hand it automatically tries to return to contacts and thus, tells me it’s charging Verbally …lol
what would really work great if the Base Height could be adjustable to your needs then install a “Velcro strip” to secure it down in place.
Currently, I have reached out to Wyze support for a base platform if they have them that would be the best if they do! Altimently It would really help If they changed the base by making it adjustable from the base bottom to adjust the total height.
Rgards @stargazeriinh
I too thought the wheels at “Rest State” would disengage However, it continually will maintain connectivity. so it has to use the wheels to drive it backwards into the base. When this happens it lowers the contacts of the vac, causing the motion of lowering the vacuum contacts down more to slip off the contacts with this end results in POWER OFF. With the plexiglass base, I have had no problems yet but, still testing stage. Regards
@R.Good@SlabSlayer , ALL
I too thought the wheels at “Rest State” would disengage However, it continually will maintain connectivity. so it has to use the wheels to drive it backwards into the base. When this happens it lowers the contacts of the vac, causing the motion of lowering the vacuum contacts down more to slip off the contacts with this end results in POWER OFF. With the plexiglass base, I have had no problems yet but, still testing stage. Regards
Since the wheel height is not dynamically adjusted by the vacuum but is instead a simple spring tension adjustment based on the weight of the vacuum, it sounds like the vacuum in this case isn’t really lowering the body over time. I would suspect that the charging location isn’t level and the vacuum is backing into a spot where the wheels rest in a dip. This would explain why it is now working while in a new plexi base.
The other thing to consider, as already mentioned, is the ability to lock down the charging station a bit better so that the vacuum does not push it back during its docking approach. Any sliding or tipping there could cause a misalignment. A brick on top should provide enough weight to test that.
I had this problem and put a slab of drywall underneath my Base and WRV to keep them level until I can get around to buying a little square of thin plywood or something else flat instead. The vacuum is heavier than the Base, so on my carpet they don’t line up.
Thanks all, for your help here!! and some really good questions with good answers.
After a quick review and testing, this is what I’ve come up with and I believe is the best solution for Wyze and the end-users /customers. So here it goes!
We all agree that the base tends to move around, mainly because the robot is docking and sometimes pushes it around. Answer: Secure it in place somehow, with tape, glue, screws, velcro, and brackets. Most of this means permanent which is really not the best option. At least not for me anyway!
With my finger I moved the vacuum away from the charge/base 1/4 inch away very lightly and noticed the vacuum unit very slowly moves back into charge mode all by itself, trying to charge the vac unit. I had thought the wheels raised but I was wrong it raised with a forward motion to clean only. It turns out to be the constant backward direction that forces the base to tilt or move around. I put a tolerance, gauge that measures outside dia/pressure as long as the unit is connected properly. However, with most homes having carpet or wood floors someone walking around will cause a slight shift and the unit will start to recover putting more pressure on the connectors to charge finally, the connection gets offset or dislodged. End results after time the unit will shut off, till I can put it back together. So I myself need the base to be mounted on a platform of sorts. that is good but it won’t solve the alignment problems of having contacts movement 1/16in. up and down being spring loaded.
Base solutions - I have redesigned the base/charging unit that would give the best of all worlds Please IN MY OPTION! This would give you the option to adjust and do proper alignment once you have selected the place you want to set up your vacuum system. Floor with velcro, carpet but up against the walls with no push-back if desired, or even place with velcro on a board/plastic surface. Simply put your Robot in place with the base look at the connector’s alignment and adjust the bottom alignment screws for a perfect alignment.
I have provided a drawing in hope that WYZE will like to use it. Thanks again everyone for your sincere help here!!
Thanks, @carverofchoice for that info here. You are right it only helps to hold in place only, but does nothing for the alignment of the connections! I’m hoping Wyze will use my design that would go a long way with product sales too! LOL
Best Regards. And thanks again for your help and input I do appreciate you too! @stargazeriinh Capt. Rob
I’m hoping that if Wyze makes another Robot Vacuum they will make a dock with a plastic platform on the bottom for the WRV to sit on that is attached to the dock, so that carpet doesn’t affect it in any way. Maybe even a dock that auto-empties the dust-bin!
Spoke to Wyze Support on the phone and they were very nice but very limited on what to do! They wanted to replace my unit but my unit was not the problem. They told me that they do not have a base platform yet. LOL
I lead her to this FORUM, and she told me that no support personnel actually read our chit-chat…lol I think we are really on our own,
Regards, @stargazeriinh
You would be surprised. A number of the PMs, Devs, and Community managers pop into random threads from time to time and are pretty active in the beta threads.
I even had a marketing person from Wyze reach out to ask if they could use one of my posts in a news letter after discussing how I use the leak sensors. Oh!, and my kitchen was showcased in an email after I installed the BR30 bulbs.
Wyze’s community involvement is one of the things that has been a value add in my opinion.
There is a lot of innovation in the community too. Keep at it!
When beta FW is released the PMs post here and you can interact with them and report any findings.
In addition to FW testing, Wyze invites their community to product testing as well. These are tougher to get selected for as they have 10’s of thousands of people apply with limited test units. More info here
That’s great for some but, I’m trying to start a business and need over 300++ units. That is my problem they are currently unreliable for my needs. I can’t have people as babysitters to a units that moves around and maybe docks correctly 25% to 50% if the time.
Regards @stargazeriinh
