Put it in the center of your main hallway or living room.

Yes, against a wall. But pick the wall that’s closest to the geographic center of your home’s floor plan. That minimizes the average distance your robot has to travel from any room back to base.

Robot vacuums don’t plan their return path based on where you put the dock—they just navigate from wherever they finish cleaning. If the dock is on one end of the house and the robot finishes in the far corner on the other end, that’s a long trek. Center the dock and you cut that distance down for the most common routes.

A few practical checks: make sure there’s at least three feet of clear space in front of the dock and no obstacles blocking the robot’s approach. Hallways and open living rooms usually work best. Avoid tucking it under furniture or in a tight corner—that forces the robot to do extra maneuvering just to leave or return.

The center won’t always be perfect if your cleaning schedule prioritizes certain rooms. But for a general “I don’t want to think about it” setup, center wins.