The iRobot Roomba 675 Wi-Fi connected robot vacuum is the classic entry-level Roomba — the model that made app-controlled robot cleaning affordable for most households. It won’t map your home like the pricier models, but for daily maintenance on floors and low-pile rugs it does the core job well. This guide covers what it does, how it cleans, and who it’s right for, with the 675 typically priced between $200 and $280.
Where the 675 Sits in the Lineup
Roomba numbers roughly track features: higher numbers add mapping, stronger suction, and self-emptying bins. The 675 lives at the entry level, sharing the same round chassis and three-stage cleaning system as the popular 600 series. What you give up versus a mid or high-end Roomba is smart mapping and keep-out zones; what you keep is reliable, scheduled cleaning at a fraction of the cost. For many homes, that trade is exactly right.
How It Cleans
The 675 uses iRobot’s three-stage cleaning system built around dual multi-surface brushes and a side brush:
- Dual rubber-and-bristle brushes loosen and lift debris from hard floors and carpets.
- Edge-sweeping side brush flicks dust out of corners and along baseboards.
- Suction pulls it all into the bin.
It transitions automatically from hardwood to tile to low-pile rugs. Performance is strong on hard floors and thin rugs; deep, plush carpet is where its modest suction shows its limits. Pet hair and everyday crumbs, dust, and tracked-in dirt are its bread and butter.
Navigation Style
This is the biggest thing to understand about the 675: it cleans by a semi-random bounce pattern using iAdapt navigation and a suite of sensors, not by building a map of your home. It roams, changes direction when it bumps an obstacle, and covers the room over time rather than in tidy rows. Dirt Detect sensors make it spend extra effort on messier spots. The upside is simplicity and low cost; the downside is it can miss a patch on one pass and won’t let you draw no-go zones in the app.
Sensors and Safety
Cliff-detection sensors keep the 675 from tumbling down stairs — it senses the drop and turns away, so it’s safe to run on a floor with an open staircase. It also slows down as it approaches walls and furniture to avoid hard hits. It doesn’t have a camera or advanced obstacle avoidance, so pick up cords, socks, and pet messes before a run, since it can push or tangle on them.
The Wi-Fi App and Scheduling
The “Wi-Fi connected” part is what elevates the 675 over a bare-bones robot. Through the iRobot Home app you can:
- Start, stop, and dock the vacuum from your phone, anywhere.
- Set a cleaning schedule — for example, every weekday at 9 a.m. while you’re out.
- Get status and maintenance notifications.
It also works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, so you can start a clean by voice: “Alexa, tell Roomba to vacuum.” Scheduling is the feature owners value most — set it once and the floors get maintained without you thinking about it.
Battery and Recharge
The 675 runs up to about 90 minutes on a charge, enough to cover an apartment or the main floor of a modest house. When the battery runs low, it returns to its Home Base charging dock on its own. On the 675, though, it does not automatically resume where it left off after charging — you restart the job. For larger homes, that means running it room by room or scheduling shorter, more frequent cleans. A full recharge takes a couple of hours.
Maintenance
Keeping a 675 working well takes a few minutes a week:
- Empty the bin after each run, or at least every couple of runs.
- Clean the brushes of tangled hair every week or two — the brush caps pop off by hand.
- Wipe the sensors and charging contacts with a dry cloth so it navigates and docks reliably.
- Replace the filter every couple of months and the brushes and side brush every 6 to 12 months depending on use.
Replacement parts are inexpensive and widely available, which helps the 675 stay useful for years.
Who Should Buy the 675
The 675 is the right pick if you want affordable, hands-off daily maintenance on mostly hard floors and low-pile rugs, and you don’t need mapping or keep-out zones. It’s ideal for apartments, single-level homes, and anyone tired of pushing an upright around for light everyday dust and pet hair. Look higher up the range if you have a large multi-room home, thick carpet, or you want the robot to map, avoid specific areas, or empty itself.
Roomba 675 vs. Higher Models
Knowing what you give up clarifies whether the 675 is enough. Step up to the Roomba i-series or j-series and you gain smart mapping (the robot learns your floor plan and cleans in efficient rows), keep-out zones you draw in the app, stronger suction for deep carpet, and on some models a self-emptying Clean Base that dumps the bin for you for weeks. The j-series adds camera-based obstacle avoidance that dodges cords and pet messes. All of that costs two to four times what the 675 does. If you have a large multi-room home, thick carpet, pets that have accidents, or you simply hate emptying a bin, the upgrade is worth it. If your home is smaller with hard floors and you just want scheduled maintenance, the 675 does the same core job for far less money.
Getting the Best Results
A few habits make the 675 far more effective. Run it frequently — daily or every other day — so dust never builds up enough to overwhelm its modest suction; consistent light cleaning beats occasional deep cleaning for a robot in this class. Tidy the floor before each run by picking up cords, socks, and small rugs it could snag on. Use the Home Base placement guidance: put the dock against a wall with clear space on either side so the robot can find and re-dock reliably. Because the 675 navigates by bouncing rather than mapping, running it room by room with doors closed helps it fully cover each space instead of wandering. Empty the bin after every run for a home with pets, and the little robot keeps hard floors genuinely clean with almost no effort from you.
How It Handles Pets and Different Floors
Pet owners are among the biggest buyers of the 675, and it handles daily hair well within its class. The dual multi-surface rubber brushes pick up fur from hard floors and low-pile rugs, though you’ll want to clear tangled hair from the brushes more often in a pet home — every few days rather than weekly. It’s not a deep-carpet cleaner, so shag and thick plush rugs are where its suction falls short; for those, a traditional vacuum still does the heavy lifting and the 675 handles the daily maintenance in between. On hard floors — hardwood, tile, laminate, vinyl — it excels, gliding across transitions and reaching under low furniture and kickboards a stick vacuum misses. One caution for pet homes: without camera obstacle avoidance, the 675 can run through a pet accident, so if that’s a risk, keep it on a schedule for times you’re home to supervise, or step up to a j-series model that dodges messes.
Cost and Value
- Roomba 675 unit: $200 to $280
- Replacement filters: $10 to $20 for a pack
- Brush and side-brush replacements: $15 to $40
For the money, the iRobot Roomba 675 Wi-Fi connected robot vacuum delivers the core Roomba promise: schedule it in the app, let it roam while you’re out, and come home to maintained floors. Keep the bin empty and the brushes clean, run it often on hard floors, and it earns its keep as the affordable workhorse of the Roomba family.
