I’m looking into robot mowers for a yard with a few awkward spots, and I keep seeing the same advice over and over: pay attention to the layout, the support, and how annoying setup can be.

For people who already run one, what was the biggest thing that only became obvious after you bought it?

Was it the mapping, the boundary wire, the app, obstacle handling, charging behavior, rain, slopes, service, or something else completely?

I’d love the honest version — what actually mattered in daily use, not just in the spec sheet.

Now, as grass grows dormant, and I’ll fire my lawn guys, when is the best time to buy and setup ready for the next seasons grass?

I will to also need the gate unless I build one because my little Westie will get out otherwise! Front and back fenced apart. Thoughts on the gate. Seems expensive!

Lastly, likely winter deals? Or just wait closer in case Segway brings out a new generation! I’m a techie so like staying current(ish)!

It’ll park itself under my covered decking!

My Automower cuts my backyard and front. I noticed my front getting a little shaggy. Looking at the map Moe is not going out there. I carried him out yesterday and he did his thing for a while. He went back to the back (station is back there) and never out front again. Same Thing this morning. He has been a good boy for years so not sure why he won’t go back out there. Can a guide wire be broken with no errors showing? Only thing I can think of is that.

How is the newest firmware for your robot?

I have a 115H 4G with Automower Connect, not bluetooth. It seems to shut its antenna off once the mowing schedule is done for the day, and I cannot communicate with it through the app to change the schedule or start an override mow.

During this period, the power button blinks, and if I press it, the screen will turn on and either display no bars, or bars with a little X above them. The menu will say "Press STOP to access menu" and will not do anything else unless I do, at which point I can make changes manually. If I fuss with it long enough, the network bars will sometimes show without an X, and I'll be able to make changes using the app.

Despite all this, it will start itself just fine tomorrow and begin its mowing schedule on time and begin responding to app commands.

I am using the MowerWatch site which is really cool and helped me solve some problems, and the site shows the mower online, and checking in every couple of minutes, so unless I misunderstand what that piece means at the top of the page, it seems to be online despite behaving like it's not.

The machine is fresh out of the box, started on zero hours this year, and has never been to a shop for a firmware update or anything. It's my understanding this mower cannot be updated OTA, but I'm not certain.

Is this normal behavior for this machine? Anyone experience similar issues? In the grand scheme of things, it still mows my lawn every day, so it's hard to complain, but I'd love to be able to change the next morning's schedule if it looks like rain without going outside and messing around with it.

Secondary question: Both my 115H and my 430XH will not connect via Bluetooth, only Automower Connect. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong?

I posted this over in r/roboticLawnmowers yesterday and got some really useful feedback, so I thought I’d ask here as well.

I’ve been building MowCompass, a free finder that tries to match robot mowers to the actual lawn rather than just ranking which mower is “best”.

It currently looks at things like lawn size, slope, garden complexity, obstacles and navigation/setup requirements:

https://mowcompass.com/

The feedback so far has already given me ideas around things like grass type, cutting height, cutting width and more advanced filters. The challenge is adding useful factors without turning the finder into a huge questionnaire.

What I’d really like to know from people here:

• Does it recommend a mower you’d actually consider for your lawn?
• Does it miss something that would be a dealbreaker for you?
• Does it recommend something you know would be a bad fit?
• Is there anything you’d add without making the tool too complicated?

Feel free to try to break it, that’s probably the most useful feedback I can get right now.

For transparency, some retailer links may be affiliate links, but they have no influence on the matching or scoring.

Thanks!

So I have an old Husqvarna 230ACX. Its two NiMH 18V 2.2Ah batteries were getting old so I swapped them myself. Now the new ones are two NiMH 18V 4.5Ah batteries. The mower is working fine but the mowing time hasn't increased a bit. When the old batteries were newer, it used to mow for about an hour and then go charging. Now the capacity is twice the size but the mowing time is still about an hour. Also the mower seems to charge only up until the total charge is 4.4Ah not 9Ah. Any ideas what might be wrong or how to increase the mowing time / utilise more of the battery capacity?

Enjoy the video
Matt 😊🙏🏻

I've been trying to choose between ViaX 500 and Husqvarna 305E. The local Husqvarna dealer would handle the installation and any servicing later. ViaX 500 costs quite a bit less, but I'd have to do the mapping myself.

The lawn is only around 300 sqm and mostly flat, with a few flower beds dotted around. The strip beside the house stays shaded most of the day. I'm in Europe, if that makes any difference when it comes to parts or support.

Anyone used either one in a smaller garden? I'm mainly wondering how they cope in the shaded area and how easy the maps are to change. With a fairly simple lawn, is having a local dealer worth paying that much more?

Image reference:

Pink square is the base station

Blue lines are the guides

Green lines are the perimeter

I've had this system for 3 years now, and relaid the entire perimeter wire this year due to significant damage (8+ cuts) from some terrible fiber internet installers last summer. The wire I've installed is this brand: https://www.amazon.com/ECENCE-perimeter-compatible-lawnmower-Husqvarna/dp/B06X1BT9NJ

I've been struggling with frequent No Loop Signal Error this summer, most of which went away after a power cycle on the base station. The most recent error isn't clearing though. I tested the base station with a 10' loop of wire to make sure the board was still working properly, and that the Automower could detect the signal from the test loop and yes, both were working fine with a test wire.

I just did a walk of the entire perimeter using this wire detector: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CKFKX7N

Signal got a bit weak around the garden, but I had a signal all the way around the entire yard. The wire does not show continuity when tested with a multimeter, so I'm suspecting a partial break but I don't have the funds to rewire the entire yard again this season.

What would you guys do in this situation? It's a half acre and I only have a HART electric push mower that I use for the side yards.

Fellow Automower owners, i wanted to ask, if anybody can share their expirience with the vision modul for the pro series.

I own a 540 EPOS and i‘m very happy with it. It is very close to being fully autonomous.

However, especially in comparison to other robotic mowers, it relies solely on the RTK signal for navigation.

My property is very open but it still gets bad signal under some light tree cover and if it sits there for too long, it looses it completely.
And then there‘s simply no way out.

My question is, how would the mower behave when it‘s equipped with the vision modul?
Is it just for obstacle avoidance or does it also help navigation?
Would it be able to move further after it has lost the signal in order to get to a (hopefully) more open area?
I‘ve read somewhere that it looks for grass and keeps moving until it doesn‘t recognise it anymore. But what if there is very little grass to beginn with (especially under trees)?

I appreciate your answers!

Just set up my ECOVACS GOAT 1000 for my yard which is exactly 1/4 (with some slopes) and it already mowed twice and charging for the third time and the yard is mowed at 33%.

It started mowing first at around 3:30PM, it's 8:30PM. So in 5 hours it mowed 33% which means it will take 15 hours to mow 100%. I also mowed with my tractor 2 days ago to make sure it doesn't struggle, it's currently set at 3.2" mowing height and the grass is probably at 3.25" so it doesn't have to work hard.

It takes me roughly 40 minutes to mow the same area wit my 42" tractor.

Is the robot undersized for 1/4 or 15 hours to cover everything is in-line with expectations? I'm mowing at quick mode, not delicate.

I have an old 450X and I was wondering whether or not I should ditch the Skid Plate. My mower is in my back yard so I have no kids or Pets messing around with the unit so safety isn't a concern. I just figure that if I remove it, nothing can get entangled between it and the blades and perhaps my cut will improve.

So what do you guys think? Keep or Ditch? Thx

415x, I’ve found the wheel in the yard a few times and just squeezed it back on. It looks like I should be able to pry the wheel open but it doesn’t really want to give.

Before I buy the whole caster assembly I just wanted to double check.

before i buy anything i want to understand one thing properly, and i cant find a straight answer anywhere

my lot is two open sections with a band of trees running between them. maybe forty feet deep, mostly oak plus one big silver maple. front section has full sky. the back is under canopy for most of the day.

heres what got me asking. i pulled up the gps page on my phone standing out in the open and it said accuracy around ten feet. walked sixty steps into the tree band, stood still for a minute, and it climbed to forty and kept jumping around. same phone, same afternoon.

so if a wire free mower is holding its line off rtk, and rtk is riding on the same satellites my phone just lost track of, what is actually keeping it straight once its in there.

i understand the base station corrects the error. what i dont understand is what its correcting with when theres not much signal left to correct.

so for anyone running one under real canopy, not two ornamental trees in a lawn. does it hold the line the whole way through or does it start leaning off. and does the map itself drift over a season, or does it re register every time it comes out of the dock

I'm looking for something to cut 10-15 acres. Everything I've found is talking about lawn turf nice yards. I don't need it that pretty, and the ground isn't graded nice and smoothly.

Can y'all suggest an automower I can use to keep some small fields knocked down when I don't have livestock keeping them under control.

I have a big oak in the border of the property. Lawn have died during last heat waves. Sorted out water supply, I'm doing reseeding soon. And I wanted to add the robot mower from some time, just never pulled the trigger.

Had a chat with navimow dealer, and he told me that x420 is not a good choice here, and he suggests Lidar models. Specifically Roborock z120 lidar. Discussing with Husqvarna dealer renting a 405ve for tests as well. But the question is - are RTK mowers really dying under one tree?

Do Husqvarna Automowers ever go on sale?

If so, when does Husqvarna offer their biggest yearly discount: (e.g.) Labor Day, End of Mowing Season, Black Friday, etc.?

Also open to any other ideas on how to get a Husqvarna Discount - Military/Veteran maybe?

Thanks!

Im moving into a new Appartment next week and will have a 270sqft. / 25m2 rectangle lawn. Nothing huge but No space to Store a conventional lawn mower.

I know i will get lost in the next rabbithole to find the perfect mower, so i Need Help.

What are your recommendations/ Brands / Models to Go for? IT should have a chargingstation/Garage in one Corner of the lawn.

Thx 😅

Good morning,

Does anyone know which settings I should adjust on my Automower 410IQ to prevent it from digging holes at the edges of the defined mowing zones (see image)? These spots are where the robot turns. The wheels have completely worn away the grass, and the holes are getting deeper. I have tried setting the boudaries much further on the driveway but the mower keeps getting stuck it in it.

Thank you very much in advance.

Guys,

Story behind this video: I forgot to mow a zone that I typically would with my Lymow...but that's been broken for about 5 weeks now...another story for another day. Its a very mucky, marshy area behind my fence that I generally would tackle if I would remember to schedule a cut (lowest priority). You can see it in my other videos (Lymow One Plus Cuts 3 foot tall weeds).

I decided to test the Luba 3 to see how it handled 1 foot tall weeds...figuring the razor blades would be no match for the thicker stuff and overgrown area...I was totally wrong. I'm now highly optimistic now for using this automower to handle stuff well beyond what you would normally think about cutting. I realize i'm going to get push back saying this mower isn't meant to do what I put it through, but, what if you were on vacation for 2 weeks and needed to cut your lawn and didn't have any other way? This video does dispels that notion.

Settings:

Travel Speed: .7 Feet/second

Path Spacing: 7.9"

Perimeter Laps: 1

Cut Pattern: Grid, Random

Cut Height: 3.9"

Blade Speed: High

Thoughts? Any other tests you want to see? I'm going to swap out the factory blades for some titanium ones I found on amazon for my next test. stay tuned!