If the Roomba is not connected to the cloud and showing “Cloud Can’t Talk To Roomba“ Error , you won’t be able to use functions as scheduling, or use your smartphone as a remote control for the vacuum cleaner. You can fix this error and restore the cloud connection by simply restarting the router, phone, and the Roomba.
Roomba robot vacuum cleaners have quite a few convenient smart features that the majority of users take advantage of on a daily basis. And, of course, such an error as “The Cloud Can’t Talk to Roomba” can ruin the whole impression of the device.
What if restarting all the devices did not work? You’ll find a step-by-step troubleshooting guide below.
What Is “The Cloud Can’t Talk to Roomba” Error?
There are a few different ways in which your Roomba can tell you that there’s something wrong, depending on the model that you have.
The majority of error messages are typically shown via a blinking indicator and a narrated voice that either names the error or says ‘uh-oh’.
A Wi-Fi-connected Roomba will display the error in the iRobot Home application through a push notification.
If your vacuum cleaner is showing the “The Cloud Can’t Talk to Roomba” error, you will not only get a notification, but you will also notice that you can’t control the vacuum from your phone any longer.
The device can stop communicating with the cloud for three main reasons:
- There is no Wi-Fi connection
- There are issues with the location of the router (it’s most likely placed too far away from the robot’s usual path)
- You are using the 5 GHz Wi-Fi network and your model is not compatible with it
Why is My iRobot App Not Connecting To The Cloud?
When Roomba is connected to the cloud it lets us use the smart cleaning features that comes with it. However, when the robot is not connected to the cloud schedules and other important features becomes unavailable to use.
There are three main reasons why the roomba app can’t talk to cloud or establish cloud connection i.e., roomba is not connected to the internet, 2.4 GHz network is not available or there is an issue with the router.
When wifi connection is not available, the robot don’t get working internet connection and stops communicating with the cloud.
You might get a “try again” message whenthe robot gets disconnected from the internet or has no connection at all. This “Try Again” message simply means that you should reconnect your vacuum to the cloud.
How To Resolve “The Cloud Can’t Talk To Roomba” Error Message?
If you want to be able to enjoy all the smart features of the robot vacuum cleaner, there are a few things that you can do to reconnect your Roomba to the cloud.
As you might not know for sure what caused the error, you might want to try out each method, one by one.
Check Your Router Unit
The Wi-Fi range should be covering your home evenly, in order for the Roomba to work its magic.
Make sure that the wifi router is located in the center of the house and place the robot’s home base close to a place where the signal is extra strong.
If you have an old router, it simply might not be powerful enough to cover your entire house, and that’s what’s causing the error. If you have a mesh router, you can add another device to ensure full coverage.
Another thing that you should check is whether the router supports the same Wi-Fi band as your Roomba.
Some robots do not support 5 GHz connectivity, and if you want them to function, you would have to switch to a 2.4 GHz network. Do bear in mind that some models cannot connect to Wi-Fi at all.
| Model | 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi Band | 5 GHz Wi-Fi Band |
| Models below Roomba 670 | No | No |
| Roomba 6xx | Yes | No |
| Roomba 8xx | Yes | No |
| Roomba 9xx | Yes | No |
| Roomba i1-i5 | Yes | No |
| Roomba i6-i8 | Yes | Yes |
| Roomba j7 | Yes | Yes |
| Roomba s9 | Yes | Yes |
| Braava m6 | Yes | Yes |
Restart Your Router
Such a simple solution might help solve a lot of connection issues. Do not use a button that is labeled ‘reset’ or ‘restart’ as this will initiate a factory reset and you will lose all settings.
Instead:
- Unplug your router and modem.
- Wait for at least 30 seconds.
- Plug the modem back in. The device should power on in a few seconds, but if it doesn’t, use the power button.
- Wait for about a minute.
- Plug in your router. You might need to press the power button if the device does not switch on in a few seconds.
- Wait for 2 minutes. This will give the router enough time to boot up and your computers and smartphones would be able to establish a new connection with the router.
- Test to see if the problem went away.
Reduce Network Usage
In some cases, you might not be able to take full advantage of everything the iRobot Home app has to offer if too many devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
If you’re streaming or downloading or uploading something at the moment, your Roomba may struggle to receive the necessary signals from the router.
In such a case, you might want to use the robot when you’re away and when the rest of the devices in the house that require a Wi-Fi connection are not operating.
Restart Your Phone
Restarting your phone can help quickly clear up any temporary bugs and glitches that might be causing the error.
Typically, all you would have to do is hold the power button located on the side of your smartphone and then tap or slide ‘power off’ once it appears on the screen.
Restart the Roomba Robot
You can perform the reboot from the app by navigating to ‘product settings’ and selecting ‘reboot Roomba’. But such a solution might not work if you’re experiencing the “The Cloud Can’t Talk to Roomba” error.
Depending on the model of the robot that you have, the instructions might vary, but on most models, you would simply have to press and hold the clean button for around 20 seconds.
It might take up to 90 seconds for the Roomba to reboot. Once it’s done, you should see the light ring turn off.
Reconnect Your Roomba to the Wi-Fi
If you manage to re-pair the robot with your Wi-Fi network, the connection with the cloud might restore automatically.
- Make sure that your phone is connected to the same Wi-Fi network that you’ll be using for the robot.
- Open the iRobot Home app and navigate to ‘product setting’ – ‘wi-fi settings’. Select ‘reconnect’ or ‘change product wi-fi’.
- At this point, you would have to enter your Wi-Fi password. This will reconnect the robot to the network.
Reconnect Your Roomba to the iRobot Home App
- You might have to delete your Roomba from the app by selecting it and choosing ‘delete’. If you want to go the extra mile, you can delete the app and install it again.
- Turn on Bluetooth on your smartphone.
- Select ‘add your product’ in the application (tap the three lines in the upper left corner).
- The app will display the name of the network that the smartphone is connected to. Confirm this is the network that you want to use and type in the password.
- Follow the guidance in the app, in order to activate Roomba.
Remove Roomba’s Battery
The final thing that you can try is removing the device’s battery for 24 hours.
Flip the Roomba over, open up the battery compartment, and unplug the battery from the robot.
Contact iRobot Customer Support
Always remember that at any point in the process, you can choose to contact the company’s customer care.
You can send a message directly from the website or speak to a support specialist by calling 1-866-747-6268. Be prepared to describe the issue that you’re having and what steps you have already taken.
Most iRobot Roomba products come with a 1-year limited warranty. So, if it’s impossible to fix the issue, you might be sent a new robot.
You can also read our guide on frequently asked Roomba questions Can A Roomba Go Over Thresholds And Bumps?
Does Roomba Need the Cloud?
You can continue using your robot vacuum cleaner, even if the cloud error shows. You just won’t have access to a few smart features like cleaning performance reports, cleaning history, and scheduling.
You also won’t be able to use your phone as Roomba’s remote control, but, overall, the vacuum cleaner would still be able to do its main job.
In fact, some people voluntarily choose to not set up their Roomba with the iRobot Home application as they don’t want the usage data to be stored and processed by the app.
The vacuum cleaner collects all sorts of different data while cleaning your house. It will build a map of your home, keep track of the date and time of every single cleaning cycle, and so on.
Though iRobot states that this data is used only to improve the performance of the company’s products and it’s not sold to third parties, it is understandable why certain people would prefer to ignore the cloud technology altogether.
What Data Does Roomba Use?
iRobot says that Roomba vacuum collects your floor plan, cleaning performance, cleaning history, App ususge and device information data.
Roomba collects this data to enhance the device performance and bring new features and services for its customers. They don’t sell this data to third parties for marketing.
But what does these data means? Lets see each data types in details.
- Floor Plan Data: The first thing that a robot vacuum do is build a map of your home and for this it uses its sensors and cameras. This data is used by roomba to navigate through all your rooms and avoid furnitures and falling from stairs.
- Cleaning Performance Data: This data is used by Roomba to let you know when the brushes, filters and other parts need to be replaced.
- Cleaning History Data: The cleaning history data is a track of each cleaning cycle date, time and duration of the cleaning session.
- App Usage Data: The iRobot App allows user to control Roomba remotely. This data is collected by iRobot Roomba to learn your usage patterns, what features you use and how often you use them.
- Device Information: The information of the robot is what it collects which includes serial number, model number and the version of the software device is using.
Why Does My Roomba is Taking So Long to Connect to the internet?
There are five main reasons why your Roomba taking so long to connect to the internet.
- Wi-Fi Signal is Poor: Roomba is a smart robot vacuum and need a working Wifi connection. When wifi signal signal is poor or unstable, your robot can take a long time to connect to the internet. If your wifi router is placed far away from Roomba, use a wi-fi range extender to maximixe signal strength.
- Router Compatibility Issues: There could be a router compability issue if you are using a very old roter which is not compatible with your new Roomba model.
- Network Congestion: Are there many smart appliances in your home that use wifi connection? If this is the case, try diconnection some of your smart devices or you can go for a faster internet service provider.
- Software Issues With Your Roomba: Like all smart devices, Roomba do need to have the latest firmware to run with optimal performance. Make sure your Roomba is running on latest firmware.
- Security or Firewall Settings: Sometimes a strict security settings or firewall can prevent Roomba from connecting to internet. Make sure to go to your router’s network settings and check that Roomba is allowed for connection.
Final Thoughts
“The Cloud Can’t Talk to Roomba” is one of the most annoying errors as it prevents you from taking advantage of the smart functions that your Roomba has.
Fortunately, in the absolute majority of cases, all you would have to do is restart all these devices involved (your router, phone, and vacuum cleaner). If that did not help, you might have to reconnect the Roomba to the app or even remove the robot’s battery for 24 hours.
If you can’t seem to solve the problem on your own, don’t worry. You can always contact iRobot customer support and they would be happy to guide you through the troubleshooting process.