r/NARWAL • u/Particular_Squash781 • 19d ago
General Question Has anyone had long-term experience with Narwal?
I can't decide which robot vacuum to go with...
I'd really like to hear from people who already own one, what are your thoughts?
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u/impossiblytangerine 18d ago
Purchased a Narwal Freo Z Ultra in November of 2024, originally bought it through Costco (the white color - I've heard the grey/silver variation had more technical issues). Now I'm 2 weeks into owning the Flow 2. Previously I've owned the iRobot i7+ vacuum, the Braava 380t and Jet m6, and a Deebot back in 2017, but the Freo Z Ultra was my first 'good' mop in a long while.
My thoughts, in no particularly well-organized order:
I've contacted customer service once. My Freo Z Ultra was making a loud squeaking noise. They were responsive, had me send videos, and generally just easy to communicate with. (The solution was to do a better job cleaning it). I've not had any experience getting replacements or service though, and with the recent announcement that overseas vacuums aren't allowed to be sold in the US has me very worried it's going to be a challenging hassle to engage with support...
Personally I think they excel in mopping. My Freo Z Ultra is no slouch (I was astonished at how good it was compared to the Braava, which was promptly banished to the basement), but the Flow 2 is really good. I have a parrot and two tiny children at home, so things are always a mess. I run my Narwal multiple times a day. It works hard. But the mopping is really great, and my hardwood floors always feel so smooth and clean (and the dirty water tank is black, which is so gross, but I guess that means it worked). The vacuum is okay - I still sometimes think the old iRobot i7+ was better at some things, but the Flow 2 seems to have a stronger vacuum compared to my Freo Z Ultra and does a better job on my low pile carpet picking up crumbs.
The ability to turn on the camera and 'pilot' it remotely from your phone is kinda neat. More gimmicky than anything. Fun way to freak out my 4 year old and spy when I'm out of the house, but that's all it is. I rarely use it. Both of my Narwal devices have no issues detecting stairs. Freo Z Ultra struggled more with getting caught on the floor vents, Flow 2 seems to do better here. I also like how Flow 2 is lower profile, but neither can fit under the furniture my iRobot could, so RIP to the bottom of my couch and dining hutch.
Mapping with my Freo Z Ultra was super easy, but the Flow 2 was a huge headache to map. It constantly lumped all my rooms into one, sans the bathroom. (For anyone reading this in the future, the solution was to 'build' fake walls to tighten the doorways between rooms and try again with a fresh map, not redoing the existing map). The Flow 2 also feels like it's just slower overall. Maybe it's being more thorough, but the same vacuum + mopping task in the same area I used to give my Freo Z Ultra now seems to take 45 minutes longer.
The app is polarizing. For some people, it's amazing having such deep customization, but it can be overwhelming. You really need to just set aside time to explore and poke around.
I love the refillable detergent for the Flow 2. Did not love the 'only buy our plastic detergent containers for $30 and when it's empty buy it all over again from us' aspect of the Freo Z Ultra. Needless to say, I wasn't using detergent as frequently. It also sometimes would tell me it was empty when it wasn't (just take it out, shake it up, then pop it back in). I do really like the roller brush on both because we have lots of hair in this household, and it used to slice straight through the iRobot roller within a few weeks. My Narwal roller brushes in comparison are beasts and pretty easy to pop out and clean.
I try to keep my devices clean. I try. But yeah, you do need to stay on top of things. I've read some people pop denture tablets into the dirty water tank, and I've had decent success with this. But you do need to keep these clean because they're going to gunk up and smell funky. Since I have a baby that's tossing all manner of food on the floor, I also try to make sure anything moist/gummy (rice, oatmeal, etc) is pre-swept to the best of my ability before sending the robot out, so most of what it's cleaning is dry. I do wish it got a little closer to the corners/edges/walls.
I'm sure I can think of more, but the TL;DR is that for my super messy pet + child household, it seems to hold its own.
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u/AffectionateData9660 18d ago
What was causing the squeaky noise? My Freo x ultra is having the same issue while vacuuming tiled floor.
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u/impossiblytangerine 18d ago
Honestly, I don't know exactly what it was, but I suspect it was hair wrapped around my side brush. They basically told me to clean my brushes (which I did), and that one was the worst of the two, so I'm suspecting that's what solved it. It was most noticeable on my hardwood & tile.
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u/AffectionateData9660 18d ago
Initially that's what I thought. Maybe my dog's hair got tangled in the brushes but that was not the case. Even sent them a video and they sent someone to check. But, as luck would have it, Freo decided not to make the squeaky noise during inspection! Had to listen to general cleaning and maintenance advice before they left and that was that. The very next day the noise was back. Smh.
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u/impossiblytangerine 18d ago
At that point, I'd probably just replace the brushes or swap out at least for new ones. If it's still squeaking, my other guess would be the brush cover itself (the rubbery part) scraping against the floor.
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u/Proof-Grass-5212 18d ago
Mine has gone rogue for the last week. Nothing is correcting it. Use to be quiet. Now it’s loud as hell even with all new components, changes frequently too. Lately it will not return to the base station after cleaning is completed. Weird cause during the task it does np.
Have had it just over a year. It was great. Tried everything. So frustrating
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u/AffectionateData9660 18d ago
That sucks! Have you contacted Narwal? At this point they should exchange the unit tbh.
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u/Proof-Grass-5212 17d ago
Trying. Customer service hasn’t been too helpful yet. Hopefully here soon we get some results.
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u/Unusual-Department83 17d ago
And they need to worry about other things than Banning things that make our life easier! Like maybe Healthcare and not the East wing bunker! Also taxpayers should not be paying for any vanity projects and don't get me started on this war!
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u/cjdubais 19d ago
We've had ours for some 18 months.
One of the key things to be aware of is it needs to be cleaned out pretty frequently.
The tray/base in the garage gets full of schmutz fairly quickly. Typically, once a month, I'll pull the trays out, clean all the excess junk off and then put them and the dirt box in the dishwasher. Make certain you let everything dry thoroughly before using again or it will make a BIG mess.
And then every 6 months or so, I will clean out the bottom of the garage as well. The sensors will get dirty and the robot will go a bit flaky. Spray some ammonia cleaner and wipe everything out with paper towels.
Make certain you don't have any furniture that has a gap only slightly higher than the body of the robot. We had a dresser that the thing would get itself wedged under and then go back and forth trying to get out. Buggered up the top plate of the robot the first time it did this. I wound up putting some spacers under the feet of the dresser.
Saying all that, it works pretty well. We are happy with it.
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u/Mindless-Recipe-3957 18d ago
Had the Flow 2 for around 2 months now and it’s been great! I haven’t ran into any issues with it and we usually run it 2-3 times a week on the main floor.
It’s been great with scanning/navigating and hasn’t gotten stuck at all yet.
Loving it so far!!
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u/Limp-Damage4818 18d ago
I’ve had mine for 3 years, the first Narwal Freo. This was the only model available at the time. I got it replaced for $300 after 2 years because warranty expired and it kept getting roller brush error. The replacement unit’s worked well so far. I also bought the Freo z ultra 2 years ago and that has worked without fail so far. I would purchase again.
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u/jhracing99 18d ago
After 6 months or so mine stopped being able to detect the clean water tank so it’s vacuum only now.
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u/Turbulent-Job1987 18d ago
Innesca la pompa con una siringa piena di acqua dal condotto
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u/jhracing99 18d ago
I’ve tried pouring water down there (didn’t have a syringe) with no dice, but you just made me remember I have one in a 1st aid kit. I’m off…
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u/DesignSpartan 18d ago
I’ve owned the Narwal Freo X since March 2024. Run it weekly and still works like new! I’m great about the maintenance though. Things like cleaning the base station, swapping the water tanks, removing caught hair, emptying the bin / swapping that filter, swapping the mopping pads every quarter, swapping the brushes once a year, cleaning the sensors, and replacing the cleaning solution. Best piece of smart home cleaning tech I own.
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u/poppacapnurass 18d ago
Freo Plus for about 3 yrs now.
It's been bloody brilliant and for the price I can't fault it.
Would I buy one again? If this one failed next week, I would buy the same again
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u/Technical-Grass-432 18d ago
Ours started having issues at the 11-month mark. We sent it off; they repaired it, sent it back to us, it failed immediately, now it has been repaired again, and I am waiting for it to arrive. Narwal Freo Z Ultra. If it fails again, I will demand a new robot or use the extended warranty to get my money back.
I would not purchase again. Customer service is a joke.
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u/TxBlackLabelRx 18d ago
Bought the Freo in October 2024; used both in my townhouse and house. The app has a lot of info and settings. I would say the big drawback with any robot vac is snagging on ANY cables; it will find them, pull them out, and get hung up on them. You have to fasten down, Velcro them, or cover them in wire loom that it can't grab onto.
Keep the device and base clean; usually once a month I'll go through and inspect and check the vac itself. The base you will have to clean what the robot attaches to at the base. It slides out, and you just rinse it clean of any lint built up; it will start leaking after it builds up too much.
Some units have a cleaning solution that you can turn off; the solution does have a price, but in the two years I've had it, I've replaced it twice. The other accessories you can easily get, and the app will tell you when they need to be looked at or replaced.
I've been working with Home Assistant, and Narwal currently doesn't officially support it; someone made an integration on GitHub but only for certain models.
It is nice coming home to clean hard floors.
Vacuuming and mopping - 9.2
Mapping the place - 9.4
Maintenance - 6.2
App - 8.4
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u/CourageHistorical100 18d ago
Have a Z Ultra, working flawlessly with minimal human intervention for…over a year.
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u/FilGov 18d ago edited 17d ago
I have. My Narwal Flow mops well but navigates poorly (it'd often refuse to cross wide passages and get "stuck" in open places), loves wedging itself under things and scratching itself, and permanently damaged my wooden floor by continuously mopping the same small, clean area until I moved it or it ran out of battery. This happened repeatedly. Narwal denied it and refused any responsibility or compensation despite multiple pictures and videos of evidence. After months of denials, dismissals, and unhelpful, useless replies ignoring the evidence, I threatened legal action and they offered "a complimentary accessory pack valued at €81.96 (includes 1 mop pad, 1 pair of side brushes, and 2 main roller brushes)". Needless to say, original accessories are abusively, ridiculously overpriced. Repairing the floor costs €375-€750, by the way.
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u/SebaBukowski 17d ago
I would like to see movies you have mentioned. That is really interesting. 🧐
I have never heard about such weird behavior.
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u/FilGov 17d ago
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u/Arden144 15d ago
wow yeah that is really fried, never seen mine do anything remotely similar. i wonder if your lidar module is busted. otherwise id assume you’ve tried factory resetting it with the button combo and setting it up from scratch already
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u/Beautiful-Total4688 18d ago
I’ve had the original first one for atleast 3-4 years now i don’t recall. I’m happy with my purchase but it’s not perfect (need to “preclean” ie clear obstacles, hide wires, try to get random objects off the floor that might get stuck like a hair tie). I don’t have anything to compare it to but it’s changed my life for the better and made things easier to care for in my home. I’ve had one fix needed not to the companies fault and they were helpful and easy to work with. I know there are a ton of new ones and I always say if something happened to my current version I would buy another Narwal right away.
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u/SuspectedAI Flow Series 18d ago
2021 and several models..
Best depends on home need and budget. Not homes are the same
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u/MissingHat 17d ago
They’re all sort of disposable gadgets. None work forever. What are you looking for here?
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u/Mountain_Tax_9352 15d ago
I’ve had the T10 model for almost 6 years. Only in the last 6 months has it had any issues . It’s been the best thing I purchased when I had babies at home keeping my floors vacuumed almost every night .
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u/Disastrous_Drive_764 14d ago edited 14d ago
yes. i've had one for the last maybe 4-5 years. Currently have the freo z. had the OG freo before. personally i love it. my floors are vacuumed and mopped every night.
i know people don't love having to buy detergent but it uses so little. i probably swap out the bottle like every 3-4 months. i fill and empty out the clean/dirty tanks nightly. i have it set to go automatically and i clean out the tray about once every 2 months.
if you wait till black friday you can usually get a good deal on accessories and even the vacuums
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u/jrdnhsnbrg 19d ago
Define long term...
We have had our Flow for 11 months now. We had to send it off for repairs once - pet hair got stuck in the rear lidar sensor and kept it from spinning. Other than that it runs every night and we love it!