Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 Review

A little over a year ago, I reviewed the excellent Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 Max. Xiaomi have now launched the Robot Vacuum 5 and the Robot Vacuum 5 Pro.

The Robot Vacuum X20 Max was impressive, but the new Robot Vacuum 5 ups the spec with a new retractable dToF radar and a massively increased suction of 20000Pa.

Related Reviews

Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 Specification

Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 vs Vacuum 5 Pro Specification / Features

The Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 Pro is effectively the same as the Vacuum 5 but with a couple of significant features:

• Triple Camera System: Providing a real-time home view and obstacle marking
• AI Obstacle Avoidance: An artificial intelligence obstacle recognition system with an HD camera, which helps to avoid even the smallest objects on the floor and plan the route more effectively.

The  Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5  uses S-Cross obstacle avoidance technology for precise navigation. 

The Pro model costs £150 more than the model I have reviewed. If I were spending my own money, I would be inclined to spend the extra on the Pro, just because I am lazy and it annoys me when I need to save my robot vacuum. That being said, is £150 extra worth it just to save a few minutes a week?

Features

Navigation and Obstacle Avoidance

The headline feature here is the dToF (Direct Time-of-Flight) Smart Retractable Radar. This LiDAR-based navigation system can physically retract into the robot’s body, reducing the overall height to 88mm. This allows the vacuum to clean under furniture with as little as 9.5cm clearance – a useful trick for getting under low-slung sofas and bed frames that would normally be off-limits.

For obstacle detection, Xiaomi has equipped the unit with what they call S-Cross dual-line structured light technology. This uses two laser lines projected ahead of the robot to detect objects in its path. The company claims millimetre-level precision, with accuracy within 2mm at close range (50-100mm) and within 10mm at distances up to 500mm. A PSD edge sensor measures distance from walls and furniture for more accurate path planning.

An ultrasonic sensor handles carpet detection, automatically identifying when the robot transitions from hard floor to carpet. When detected, the mop pads lift by up to 15mm to prevent wetting the carpet fibres.

Suction and Cleaning Performance

Xiaomi rates the fan blower suction at up to 20000Pa, which puts it in line with current flagship models from competitors. The main brush and side brush both feature anti-tangle designs intended to reduce hair wrap during cleaning.

The robot includes an extendable mop arm and a robotic arm for the side brush. Xiaomi claims this dual-extension system allows for 0mm edge cleaning along walls and up to 100% corner coverage in standard right-angle corners. Standard mopping mode operates at 54dB according to the spec sheet.

Base Station Capabilities

The all-in-one base station handles several maintenance tasks automatically. It includes a mop washing system with adjustable water temperature settings – room temperature, warm, and hot water options. Hot air drying is rated at 99% effectiveness within 2 hours.

The base features a self-cleaning tray with integrated scrapers that washes itself during the mop cleaning cycle, which should reduce the manual scrubbing that some base stations require over time.

For dust collection, the station uses a 2.5L dust bag. Xiaomi claims this can last over 75 days based on their testing in a 120 square metre home with daily cleaning cycles. The clean water tank holds 4L while the dirty water tank has a 3.8L capacity. A full clean water tank should cover over 400 square metres of mopping area on the lowest water output setting.

Battery and Runtime

The robot runs on a 5200mAh battery (nominal capacity) with a rated power consumption of 55W. Xiaomi quotes up to 140 minutes of cleaning time in standard vacuuming and mopping mode from a full charge. Charging time is listed at 6 hours or less.

Connectivity and Smart Features

On the wireless side, the vacuum supports Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ax on the 2.4GHz band along with Bluetooth 5.2. It requires Android 9.0 or iOS 12.0 and above for app connectivity through the Xiaomi Home app.

Voice control is available through both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, though availability varies by region. The Xiaomi Home app also allows for automation and smart scene creation – linking the vacuum to other Xiaomi smart home devices for scheduled routines.

Design

The overall aesthetic is typical Xiaomi – minimalist white plastic with a glossy finish on top. It’s not particularly exciting to look at, but it’s inoffensive and should blend into most homes. The glossy white top does show dust and fingerprints easily, so it won’t look pristine for long.

Build quality feels solid. The robot has some heft to it at 3.75kg, and the plastics don’t feel cheap. The base station is substantial – it’s not something you’ll be moving around frequently. The water tanks are transparent, which makes it easy to see fill levels at a glance.

One unique design feature you won’t see on most other robot vacuums is the retractable dToF radar sensor, which allows the robot vacuum to squeeze under furniture.

Similar to the Dreame L40 Ultra, this has an extending brush and mop pad, allowing it to provide improved edge and corner cleaning.

One downside to this design is that I find the mop pads are not quite as good for normal mopping in comparison to the roller design on the SwitchBot S20 and Yeedi S16 Plus.

Set Up

The initial setup through the Xiaomi Home app is straightforward. Download the app, create an account if you don’t have one, and follow the prompts to connect the vacuum to your Wi-Fi network. The whole process took about 5 minutes. The app walks you through the first mapping run, where the robot explores your home and creates a floor plan.

Once mapped, you can edit room names, set room boundaries (which the app usually gets right automatically), and configure per-room settings. You can set different suction levels, water flow rates, and cleaning sequences for each room. For instance, I have the kitchen set to higher suction and water flow, while the bedrooms use standard settings.

The app also tracks consumable life – main brush, side brush, filter, mop pads, and dust bag. It’ll send you notifications when these need replacing, which removes the guesswork. You can order replacement parts directly through the app in some regions, though in the UK, you’re better off checking Amazon.

Xiaomi Home App

Everything is controlled through the Xiaomi Home app. The interface allows you to name rooms, set schedules, choose suction and water levels per zone, and draw virtual no-go areas. The mapping process is quick; the robot will perform an initial run to scan the boundaries of your rooms without cleaning, generating a map in minutes.

Home Assistant

The Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 lacks matter support like robot vacuums from SwitchBot and Yeedi that I have reviewed recently. There is also no native Home Assistant support, but there is the Xiaomi Miot plugin that is available from the Home Assistant Community Store.

If you already have HACS installed, then the integration is very simple. Just download the package, then use the new integration to add your vacuum. You have options to authenticate with a token or your Mi account details.

For simplicity, I used my credentials and had to go through 2FA authentication.

You can then import all your devices from your Xiaomi account. I chose to manually select them as I have a bunch that are not currently in use.

Once added, you have much more control than the aforementioned Matter enabled robot vacuums.

It is not perfect, though. You don’t have options for specific room cleaning, for example, but you should be able to create some decent automations with the options available.

For Controls you have:

• Alarm
• Back Mop Wash
• Dock
• End Charging
• Identify
• Mode
• Pause
• Physical Control Locked
• Resume
• Robot Cleaner (Cleaning / Idle)
• Start Cleanup
• Start Dry
• Start Dust Arrest
• Start Eject
• Start Mop
• Start Mop Wash
• Start Only Sweep
• Start Sweep Mop
• Stop And Gocharge
• Stop Dry
• Stop Mop Wash
• Suction
• Sweep Type

For Sensors you have:

• Battery Level
• Charging State
• Cleaning Area
• Cleaning Time
• Mop Life Level
• Mop Status
• Status (sweeping / cleaning / idle)
• Voltage

You then also have configuration and diagnostic options.

Mapping / Navigation

The mapping process is efficient and accurate. On the first run, the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 took about 15 minutes to map my 50 square metre home. The resulting map was impressively accurate – it correctly identified all rooms, positioned furniture reasonably well, and even detected the kitchen threshold.

The dToF navigation is reliable. The robot rarely gets confused about its location or struggles to find its way back to the dock. I’ve had it run into minor issues a couple of times when I moved furniture mid-clean (which confuses any robot vacuum), but a quick pause and resume sorted it out.

Route planning is logical. It follows a methodical back-and-forth pattern in open spaces and navigates around obstacles without excessive ping-ponging. One minor criticism: it sometimes makes odd detours that don’t seem necessary, adding a few minutes to the cleaning cycle. I suspect this is related to its edge-cleaning behaviour, where it might deviate from the optimal path to ensure it covers wall edges properly.

The retractable radar works as advertised. After the initial mapping, the vacuum identified three areas where it could retract and clean underneath – two sofas and the bed frame. It tackles these areas separately after completing the main clean. The transition is seamless; you just hear a slight mechanical sound as the radar retracts, and then it scurries under the furniture. It’s satisfying to watch, even if it does add time to the overall cleaning cycle.

Multi-floor mapping is supported, though you need to physically carry the robot to different floors. It’ll create separate maps for each floor and remember them. I tested this by taking it upstairs and it correctly created a new map without getting confused with the downstairs layout.

Vacuuming Performance

For general vacuuming, the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 performs well. On hard floors (I have laminate in my kitchen and toilet), it picks up dust, crumbs, pet hair, and other typical household debris without issue. The 20000Pa suction is more than adequate – I’d even say it’s overkill for hard floors, and the standard mode is perfectly sufficient.

On carpets and rugs, performance is similarly good. I have a couple of low-pile rugs in the living room and a medium-pile rug in the bedroom. The vacuum transitions onto these without hesitation, and the automatic suction boost (when using smart mode) kicks in reliably. Carpet cleaning results are thorough – after a pass, the rugs look noticeably cleaner, with embedded dust and hair effectively extracted.

The anti-tangle brush system does help with hair management. My partner has long hair, and she sheds constantly. I don’t know how she still has hair. Over the past few weeks of using this robot vacuum, some hair wrapped around the brush ends, but the central section stayed mostly clear thanks to the cutting blades. This is better than older designs, where you’d end up with a solid hair wrap requiring scissors, and I found that this would inevitably cause damage to the rollers with the fins all being damaged.  With this, it’s not entirely maintenance-free, you still need to trim hair from the brush ends every few weeks.

Edge cleaning is a genuine improvement over standard robot vacuums. The extending side brush makes a noticeable difference, sweeping debris from along the skirting boards that would normally be left behind.

Corner cleaning is acceptable but not perfect. In standard 90-degree corners, I’d estimate it achieves about 85-90% coverage, there’s usually a small section of dust left in the very corner. The extending mop and brush help, but they can’t quite reach the absolute corner point. This is better than most, but if you’re particular about corners, you’ll still be doing occasional manual touch-ups.

Mopping Performance

The mopping function is where the Xiaomi shows both its strengths and limitations. For light mopping – general dust and light marks – it does a perfectly adequate job. The oscillating pads provide active scrubbing action (unlike old static-pad designs), and with the hot water wash in the base station, the pads stay reasonably clean.

For more stubborn marks such as dried food spills, sticky residue, scuff marks and larger liquid spillages, the performance isn’t quite as good. As I mentioned earlier, the oscillating pad design doesn’t provide the continuous scrubbing action of a roller mop. In side-by-side comparisons with my SwitchBot S20 (which uses a roller mop), the SwitchBot handled stubborn marks slightly better and was much more effective at cleaning larger spills of liquid without spreading it around.

In general, I find most/all robot vacuums struggle with stubborn marks as they are unable to apply enough pressure to scrub the mark clean. I generally rely on my robot vacuums to do daily maintenance, reducing the need for more thorough manual cleaning.

Water distribution is consistent. You can adjust water flow in the app on a per-room basis, which is useful. I use low flow for the living room (less durable laminate) and high flow for the kitchen (tile that needs more water). The floors dry relatively quickly, and I’ve never had issues with over-wetting.

The mop pad lift works reliably for carpet avoidance. I tested it on various rugs and it consistently lifted the pads before making contact. There’s a slight lag as the ultrasonic sensor detects the carpet, so the very edge of a rug might get briefly touched, but it’s not enough to wet the carpet. I did notice the pads were still rotating when going over my carpet, which made me concerned it was trying to mop the carpet, but the carpet was not damp in the slightest, and the robot was traversing over the carpet without any friction.

Battery Life

The Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 has a 5200 mAh battery, and Xiaomi claims it can run for 140 minutes of continuous cleaning (when set to Vacuuming and Mopping under Standard mode and fully charged).

I live in a typical British 2-story home that has a smaller footprint than many homes in places like the US.

Robot vacuums report around 50m2 floor area, and every robot vacuum I have received in recent years is able to complete a clean without returning to the base station.

Xiaomi is no exception. I have a daily schedule set up where I have suction set to strong and the water output for mopping set to maximum, and the path set to deep. The vacuum completes the cleaning in one pass, taking around 75 minutes.

That leaves plenty of headroom for larger homes or multiple cleaning passes.

For larger homes, you can use the auto-resume function. If the battery runs low mid-clean, the robot returns to the dock, charges to 80% (which takes about 60-90 minutes), and then resumes from where it left off. I tested this by deliberately starting a clean with a low battery, and the process worked flawlessly.

The 6-hour full charge time is a bit slow, but if, like me, you only run the vacuum once a day, then it is not an issue in the slightest; even twice a day would be fine.

Price and Alternative Options

The Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 and the Robot Vacuum 5 Pro are priced at £599.99 and £749.99, respectively and are available now from mi.com.

I wrote this article during the Black Friday period, so the alternative options maybe a bit biased due to discounts:

• Eufy Omni C20 has an RRP of £600 and was available for £350.
• eufy X10 Pro Omni has an RRP of £800 and was available for £500
• Roborock QV 35S has an RRP of £700 and was available for £380
• SwitchBot S20 has an RRP of £800 and was available for £400.

Overall

The Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 is a superb robot vacuum and mop.

The vacuuming performance is excellent, with powerful 20000Pa suction that handles hard floors and carpets effectively.

The base station works as expected, with hot water mop washing and auto-drying that genuinely reduces maintenance.

The retractable radar is a clever feature that sets it apart from competitors, enabling under-furniture cleaning that most robots can’t manage.

The mopping performance is good but not market-leading. The oscillating pads handle light mopping well, but they struggle with stubborn marks and bigger spillages compared to roller-mop designs (though does better with corners).

Navigation and obstacle avoidance are reliable for general use. The S-Cross system handles larger obstacles well, though it can’t match camera-based systems for identifying and avoiding small objects. Edge and corner cleaning is notably better than standard robot vacuums, thanks to the extending side brush and mop, though corners still aren’t perfectly cleaned.

I haven’t tested the Pro model with its superior navigation and obstacle avoidance, and I am in two minds if the extra £150 is worth it just to save me rescuing my robot vacuum once or twice a week.

The lack of Matter support is slightly disappointing when smaller brands have integrated this feature, but if you plan to integrate it into Home Assistant, the HACS plugin provides superior functionality to what you’d likely get with Matter.

At £600, the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 is attractively priced. There are cheaper robot vacuums with similar mopping/vacuuming functionality, but most of these lack the advanced features you get with the Xiaomi, such as an extendable mop/sweeper, and retractable radar.

While I have said I am in two minds about the value proposition of the Pro model, the AI-powered camera-based obstacle avoidance and extensive feature set put it in a more premium category, and there are not many robot vacuums that can compete on features at the £750 price point.

Overall, I think the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum 5 is an excellent robot vacuum and can give it a strong recommendation.

I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.

As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.

I’m proud to share that Vuelio has consistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of the top technology blogs in the UK. With my dedication to technology and drive to share my insights, I aim to continue providing my readers with engaging and informative content.