title = “Use the 2.4GHz band.” type = “.report.” source_topic = “How to fix a robot vacuum that keeps losing Wi-Fi connection mid-cycle?”

Use the 2.4GHz band.

Yes, that’s almost certainly the issue.

Robot vacuums have tiny, cheap Wi-Fi chips. They barely handle 2.4GHz, let alone 5GHz. Most routers broadcast both bands under one name (band steering), and the vacuum gets confused or drops signal mid-cycle as it moves away from the router.

Fix: split the bands. Give your 2.4GHz network a different name (e.g., “Home-2G”) and connect the vacuum to that. Or temporarily disable 5GHz on your router while you set up the vacuum, then re-enable it. Also make sure the charging dock is within decent range of the router — vacuums often lose connection when they wander into a far corner of the house.

A firmware update on the vacuum can also help, but the band trick fixes 9 out of 10 cases.

Your vacuum isn’t broken; your network is just too fancy for it.