If your Roomba is blinking red light, your battery is almost empty, and you should directly plug it into the charging station. If the light is spinning in a clockwise direction, the battery level is 15%, and your battery will die soon.
Your Roomba dust bin is empty, and you still see a flashing light on your iRobot Roomba; why? The reason is that Roomba doesn’t display a red light only when the dustbin is full. There can be other reasons that can cause your device to send error messages and display a red light.
Roomba has different indicator lights patterns for various statuses and warnings. Don’t freak out if your Roomba is flashing a red light. Examine the light pattern and how it is moving.
To learn more about Roomba’s red light flashing and how you can troubleshoot it, follow this quick guide:
Why is My Roomba Flashing Red Light?
You can explain the glowing red light on the Roomba robot vacuum by seeing its movement and glowing pattern.
First, we must know all kinds of red-light movements to figure out what’s wrong with our device. The red light can spin, flash, swipe down, or stay lit. This differentiation in the movement pattern makes the signal’s meaning different.
Below, I am mentioning different movements of the red light on Roomba robot vacuum cleaners and what they mean: (1)
| Light Pattern | Light Description | What They Mean |
 | Red Light Flashing | Roomba Battery is drained out. |
 | Red light waves down | Roomba Dust container is full. |
 | Red light stays on (solid) | Problem with roomba. Press CLEAN button to hear the error code. |
 | Red light Spinning Clockwise | Battery reached below 15%. (Low battery level) |
Red light spinning
The red light starts spinning clockwise when the battery level reaches 15%. You should immediately direct the device to the dock station, as the charging would soon be exhausted.
Red light flashing
The Roomba battery is drained and will stop working at this level. It would be best to take your robot vacuum to the charging station.
Solid Red Light (Roomba Red Circle)
There is an unspecified error with the machine. You can press the ‘Clean‘ button to hear the error code and then use the error code guide or the App to know what’s wrong.
Red light waving down
When the red light slowly fades downwards, the dust can of the Roomba is full, and you need to empty it for the device to continue cleaning.
Problems Indicated By The Red Light Ring On Roomba
Obviously, red light isn’t a great sign, and there is indeed an issue with your robot if you observe a Roomba having a red light.
You should know that there are multiple things that the red light can represent, as you must have noticed there are various patterns in which the light illuminates off and around the ‘Clean button.
You can see it flashing, solid glowing, or spinning in a circle and determine the reason for the red light by examining how it flashes.
The device faces an error
There is a problem with your Roomba, which you can discover by knowing the error code if you observe a steady red solid glow on your Roomba that is neither flashing nor swirling around.
To know how to deal with it, either open your irobot Home App and hit the troubleshooting option, or press the “Clean” button.
On your iRobot App, you will get a voice message explaining the error.
Roomba’s dustbin is full
While the robot vacuum cleans your house, it has a dirt container that collects all the dirt and needs to be cleaned whenever the machine is done working.
When the dustbin gets full in the middle of cleaning and needs emptying to continue performing its job, it will send a signal as a red light pattern.
You can clean and empty the dustbin of your robot vacuum to make the red light go away. [Check our another blog on how to empty Roomba bin?]
Roomba’s battery is depleted
Roomba shows two different light patterns when the battery gets depleted.
You will see a different red light pattern when the battery level is below 15% and a different pattern when the battery gets fully drained out.
The machine does this for you to be alert in advance and send the Roomba to dock before dying down in the middle of cleaning duties.
When the battery gets fully charged, the light ring will become solid white. [Check our another post to know more about Roomba White Light Patterns and What Does It Mean]
How do I Fix The Red Light on My Roomba?
Once you know why a particular problem exists, getting rid of it is simpler. Now that you understand why your Roomba has a red light and how it glows, you can quickly diagnose and troubleshoot the problem.
Here, I mention the method to fix the red light glowing in different patterns on your iRobot Roomba vacuum:
Roomba Solid Red Light
You have an error whenever you have a solid red light on a Roomba. You must press the ‘Clean‘ button to know what’s wrong.
After pressing the button, you will hear an error code; you can go to the App or refer to the user guide to check what that particular error code indicates.
The problems may be various, including jammed brushes and dirty-choked gearboxes.
Overall, cleaning the Roomba robot vacuum ensures that your machine performs smoothly and you get no red lights.
Cleaning the iRobot Roomba vacuum at periodic intervals is what I suggest to increase the overall lifespan of your cleaning robot.
Roomba Flashing/Blinking Red Light
A flashing red light on the Roomba indicates the depleted battery. You cannot dictate your Roomba for cleaning duties at such a battery level.
The method to fix this is to send the Roomba to the dock station for charging immediately.
If you get too many flashing red lights, your battery will inevitably die down before its average lifetime.
I suggest to complete the charging cycle on your Roomba as often as possible since that would prevent battery loss during cleaning; hence, no solid red light.
Red Light Rotates Clockwise
When your battery level hits 15%, you will see the red light on the Roomba rotating clockwise. While your robot vacuum will still be working at this point, to make sure that it continues working, you will have to plug it into the charging station soon.
This happens before the red-light flashing phenomenon, where the Roomba stops functioning completely.
Red Light Ring Waves Down
As we discussed in the previous section, a red light waving downwards in a circle means your Roomba dustbin is completely short of space and needs emptying before working again.
So, all you have to do to make the red light go away is dump the contents of the trash canister outside and wipe it with a clean cloth.
In addition to making sure that the dustbin is all empty, make sure that the filter is not clogged.
How To Tell If Your Roomba Is Charging? Or NOT Charging!
There are few Roomba models (Roomba 500, 600 series; Roomba 700, 800, 900 series; Roomba i1, i3) where you can easily find out whether your Roomba is charging.
Here are a few light indicators which shows your Roomba is charging:
- Roomba 500, 600 series: You will notice white light pulsing every 4 seconds when you these Roomba models on charge.
- Roomba 700, 800, 900 series: A solid White light is on for 60 seconds when you put your Roomba on charging. After that you will not see any light until it is fully charged.
- Roomba i1, i3: On these models, White light remains on while charging.
- Roomba i7, s9, and Braava m6: There is No light to show the robot is charging.
When the charging light is red, it may be challenging to determine if your Roomba is charging.
Here’s my helpful suggestion: wait for an hour and observe if the red light disappears.
To fully charge your Roomba from a depleted battery, it typically takes a minimum of two hours. After charging for one-hour, you Roomba will no longer be in the low battery range. This information will assist you in managing your Roomba’s charging time effectively.
In the iRobot HOME app, you can easily check the battery status for newer Roombas.
Simply open the App and look for the battery indicator icon at the top-right corner of the display. It’s a quick and convenient way to stay updated on your Roomba’s power level.
The battery indicator on the app works even when your Roomba has low battery. However, if the battery level is critically low, the app may not connect to your Roomba. In this situation, simply wait until your Roomba regains some charge and give it another try.
If your Roomba’s battery remains low even after an hour, there might be an issue with either the Roomba itself, the charging dock, or the connection between them. (Here’s our guide on what to do if your Roomba is not charging.)
What Should I Do if My Roomba Won’t Charge?
Roomba charging issues can be caused by a few common reasons. If you find that your Roomba indicator lights is showing that your Roomba is not receiving power, here are some helpful fixes you can try:
- Try plugging your Roomba into a different power outlet.
- Take a microfiber cloth and gently clean the charging contact points on both the Roomba and the base.
- Reset your Roomba by holding down the clean and dock buttons until you hear a beep sound.
- Remove the battery and then reinstall it.
- Perform a factory reset on your Roomba by holding down the clean button for ten seconds.
- If all else fails, consider replacing your Roomba’s battery.
- For the 600, 800, and 900 series, use this battery.
- For the i1, i3, i7, and s9 series, use this battery.
If you’re facing a charging issue with your Roomba, don’t worry! There’s no need to replace the whole unit.
However, if you have an older model, it might be worth considering the cost of upgrading to a newer Roomba.
Buying a new battery may not be the best investment if your Roomba is reaching the end of its lifespan.
Bonus Tip: check ‘Robot Health’ Using The iRobot App
For instance, if you own a comparatively recent model of iRobot Roomba: j7+, you must know that the iRobot app has a section called Robot Health. Under this section, the App shows whenever a problem with a particular element of your robot vacuum requires maintenance.
To navigate Robot Health, you must enter your iRobot account and click the settings icon. Next to your device’s name, you can find this option under the details about your robot vacuum cleaner labeled “Robot Health.”
This specifies the precise number of effective hours the filter and brushes will endure working.
By checking the remaining minutes, you can approximate when you must replace them. You can avoid red lights and error codes if you know this detail.
It doesn’t take a second guess to know that if you are maintaining your device correctly and regularly taking care of its cleaning and maintenance needs, then it will significantly increase the lifespan of your iRobot Roomba.
Summary
If you see a red light on your irobot Roomba, there can be multiple reasons behind it:
- If the red light is spinning, the battery level has fallen below 15%.
- If the red light is flashing, your battery is completely out of power, and you must send the Robot vacuum device to the dock at the charging station before you can send it for the cleaning duties.
- If the red light waves downwards slowly, the trash can needs to be emptied.
If you have a Roomba which is flashing blue, read our troubleshooting guide on fixing Roomba Blue Light.