High-end flagship is a seriously impressive multi-skilled cleaner
Aside from not having a camera to spot and avoid common obstacles, the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni is a an absolute powerhouse. It vacuums well on all surfaces, but it’s the mopping that’s the star of the show. With dual spinning microfibre pads and hot water, this robot makes short work of deep stains, keeping hard floors at their best with very little effort. With the mop lifting up to 9mm from the floor, this model can scoot over shortpile carpet, making it more flexible than its predecessor. For those with primarily hard floors and relatively clutter-free houses, the Deebot T20 Omni is a great choice.
Pros
- Excellent mopping
- Powerful vacuuming
- Flexible app
- Clever self-emptying and self-cleaning dock
Cons
- Options are spread around the app
- No camera for detailed object avoidance
- Quite expensive
- Yiko is a bit rubbish
Key features
- Type: Vacuum and mopping.
- Docking: Self cleaning and mop washing docking station.
- Navigation system: LiDAR – TrueDetect 3D 3.0 with TrueMapping 2.0
Mopping robot vacuum cleaners are great for hard floors, but dealing with carpets can be tricky. There’s no point in having a robot that either mops carpets and soaks them, or completely avoids carpeted areas, making it impossible to navigate your entire home. The Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni is here to try and deal with this.
An update on the X1 Omni: the Deebot T20 Omni has the same quality mopping system, using two scrubbing pads, plus a self-empty and self-clean station, but its mopping pads can now lift off the ground, making it possible for the robot to move over shortpile carpet without soaking them.
Its mopping remains the best in class, even better than the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra, making this high-end robot an ideal choice for those with mostly hard floors but with a few rugs or a smaller amount of carpet.
It’s not cheap, with a price-tag that’s officially $1,099 / £1,299 – but can currently be pre-ordered for less than that – but it is one of the best multi-skilled robot vacuum cleaners you can currently buy.
Read of for our full Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni review to find out why.
Design and components
- Dock cleans mop pads
- Hot water – 55 degrees
- 3D sensors at front
As its dock self-empties and washes the mopping cloths automatically, it is quite large at 448x 430x 578mm.
Taller than it is wide, this dock will not fit under furniture, so needs some dedicated space. I have just the right amount of space between a drinks cabinet and an external door to make mine, just about, fit.
The dock here is very similar to the one on the X1 Omni. Flip open the top, and there’s access to the dual 4-litre tanks.
The one on the left holds dirty water, retrieved by cleaning the mopping cloths automatically; the one on the right holds clean water. Ecovacs sells optional cleaning detergent, which can be added to the clean water tanks to give a deeper clean and leave your floors smelling fresher.
(Image credit: The Ambient)
Depending on the mopping mode used, these tanks should last for at least a week or normal use, and both the app and base station warn you when it’s time to refill, the latter by speaking. There are a couple of differences.
First, this station heats water to 55°C, using warm water to mop. There’s the same hot hair drying procedure, which prevents odours or mould from building up on the mopping cloths.
Secondly, the X1 had a pull-out insert between the tanks, which held spare mopping cloths and a cleaning brush. That’s gone from the T20, with the brush just sitting loose between the two tanks.
This brush should be used to clean out the dock’s base, as it can get quite mucky over time.
Round and low-profile, the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni robot is very similar to its predecessor. It has a LiDAR dome on top, which the robot uses for fast and accurate mapping.
However, there’s no longer a camera at the front; replaced with 3D sensors to detect obstacles as the robot approaches. This system is not quite as good as a camera-based system, and it means that the remote view function isn’t available on this model.
With the X1, I could start the robot manually and scan around, treating it as a remote-controlled security camera of sorts.
(Image credit: The Ambient)
Flip the robot over, and the layout underneath is slightly different. Here, there’s a rubber roller, rather than a brush. This is designed to reduce hair entanglement and works pretty well – handy if you have pets.
A razer’s still in the box if you get hair caught.
While the dual, round, spinning mopping pads look the same as on the previous model, they’re designed to lift 9mm off the ground when a carpet is detected.
That’s a slightly higher lift than on the Roborock S8 Pro, and should let this robot clear shortpile carpet and rugs.
(Image credit: The Ambient)
I should point out that the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra can also lift its roller off the ground, which lets it mop-only without trailing dirt, and return to base without rubbing its dirty roller over the clean floor.
It’s good to see two side-sweeper brushes, as the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni can sweep dirt from the edges of the room no matter which direction it’s travelling in.
Pop the top lid off, and there’s a 400ml bin, which can be removed and emptied manually. Not that you’ll need to, as dirt is sucked out an into the 2.5-litre bin bags stored in the cleaning dock.
(Image credit: The Ambient)
Typically, a bag should last between four and six weeks, with replacements easily and quite cheaply available.
Features and in use
- 6000Pa high rating suction
- Warm water mopping
- Comprehensive app
Ecovacs has upped the suction of this model to a maximum of 6000pa, which makes it one of the most powerful robot vacuum cleaners that money can buy. And it’s noticeable in daily usage.
Moving around between hard floors and carpets, it did very well in open spaces, sucking deep spills out of carpet and cleaning up hard floors.
(Image credit: The Ambient)
Edge performance was best when I changed the object detection mode, letting the robot get very close to the edges of my kitchen, picking up practically all dirt. Manual cleaning is required every few weeks to get right into corners, but this robot is good for day-to-day use.
For the most part, navigation is very good. Dealing with larger objects, such as tables, chairs and counters, the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni could easily swing around them, avoiding getting trapped.
As there’s no camera for AI image recognition, as with the iRobot Roomba j7+ or Roborock S8, I didn’t find this robot as good at avoiding regular obstacles: it ran over a cable I left on the floor and pushed shoes around.
If you want a robot where you don’t have to clean up before using it, then go for an alternative.
There’s a button on the cleaning station and one on the robot. They can be used to start a clean, so you can quickly get going without using the app or voice assistant.
Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni: Mopping function
Mopping is where the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni excels. Using its dual, spinning mopping pads, this robot agitates dirt and removes it from hard surfaces.
It helps that hot water is used, and that detergent can be added to the clean water tank to give an even deeper clean.
(Image credit: The Ambient)
Regular, loose dirt can be removed in a single pass. A double pass usually does the trick for deeper stains ingrained in the floor.
Even after leaving the house for a couple of weeks’ holiday and returning to a muddy floor thanks to the cats, the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni can bring a floor back to its best, making it shiny and new.
Edge performance is excellent, too, and the robot can mop right up the skirting board. It can’t quite get into corners, but for the most part, I only have to tackle my floors with a regular floor cleaner once a month, leaving the T20 to do the heavy lifting. Overall, I think that this is the best robot mop.
Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni: App and digital assistants
LiDAR allows the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni to quickly map an area on a single pass. The first time the robot does this, it creates a map, trying to guess where rooms are.
The guesses were quite accurate, but it’s easy to rectify mistakes. Multiple maps for multi-level homes are supported.
Maps can have no-go and no-mop zones and boundaries. While you largely won’t have to worry about no-mop zones, as the mopping pads lift, they’re useful for delicate hard floors or rugs that you want to protect.
Maps can also hold furniture, using the simple interface to drop objects, such as tables and sofas, into roughly the right area.
These bits of furniture can then be used to start a specific clean, such as telling the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni to clean around a dining table once you’ve finished eating
(Image credit: The Ambient)
Cleaning options are spread out through the app, which can sometimes make them a little hard to find. Options include the cleaning mode (standard, deep or fast); whether to vacuum only, mop only or vacuum and mop; the number of passes (1 or 2); the suction strength (quiet, standard or strong); the mopping pad wetness (low, normal, high); the mopping pad cleaning interval; and how often to empty the bin.
I go with vacuum and mop, strong suction, and normal mopping pad wetness, with a single pass set for regular dirt, and two passes when the floor is very dirty. It’s worth experimenting to get the right mix for your floors.
(Image credit: The Ambient)
It’s easy to start a clean, using the simple interface. The simplest option is Auto, which cleans everywhere, but you can also tell the robot to clean a specific area, around a bit of furniture, or you can even draw a box on the map and tell the T20 to clean there only.
As well as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant support, which let you start and stop a clean with your voice, there’s the built-in “OK Yiko” assistant. In practice, it’s hard to get Yiko to understand what I was asking, and it was triggered by accident quite a few times while watching TV.
Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni: Battery life and maintenance
Battery life is quoted at up to 170 minutes, with the robot set to the lowest power mode. It’s unlikely that you’ll run the T20 in this mode, but what’s important is that even on higher power modes, the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni has enough juice for big jobs, including a double pass of my downstairs, with enough power left to tackle some spot cleaning jobs.
There’s little maintenance with this cleaner, as it largely sorts itself out. When prompted, you’ll need to swap the bin bag and sort out the water tanks. Once a month, it’s worth taking the bin out of the robot, cleaning its filter, and checking its rollers and brushes for entanglements.
Press and hold the button on the dock for five seconds, and it will send the robot out and fill up the tray with water so that you can clean it; press again for five seconds to suck up the dirty water.
Final thoughts
The Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni is one of the best robot cleaners out there, going up against the likes of the Roborock S8 Pro at the very highest end of automated cleaning.
The mopping is way above anything we’ve ever tested before and the rest of the feature set is also on a par with industry leaders.
It’s a fantastic option, especially for larger homes with big hard floor areas.
How we test
When we publish our reviews, you can rest assured that they are the result of “living with” long term tests.
Robot cleaners usually live within an ecosystem, or a range of products that – supposedly – all work in harmony. And they are designed to offer a range of different cleaning options. Therefore, it’s impossible to use a robo cleaner for a week and deliver a verdict.
Because we’re testing smart home kit all day, everyday, we know what matters and how a particular smart cleaning machine compares to alternatives that you might also be considering.
Our reviews are comprehensive, objective and fair and, of course, we are never paid directly to review a device.
Read our guide on how we test robot vacuum cleaners to learn more.
FAQS
Does the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni work with Alexa?
Yes, both Alexa and Google Home are compatible and there’s also a native voice assistant called Yiko.
Does the Deebot T20 Omni use hot water?
It does, the water is heated to 55 degrees for mopping.
Is Ecovacs better than Roborock?
The two Chinese brands are very much the best in the business now, you won’t be disappointed with either.
Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni: Specs
| Type | Mopping and vacuuming, white, with docking station | |
| UK RRP | £1,299 | |
| US RRP | £1,099 | |
| Robot Size | 362 x 362 x103.5mm | |
| Dock size | 448x 430x 578mm | |
| Release date | 2023 | |
| Suction | 6000Pa | |
| Ecosystems | Google Home, Amazon Alexa | |
| Bin capacity | 400ml | |
| Water tank | 4l in dock | |
| Battery size | 5200mAh | |
| Runtime | 170 mins for dust and mop – standard mode | |
| Charge time | 6.5 hours | |
| Dock type | Self cleaning, water emptying, mop cleaning |
