Is my Roomba charging? The lights and how long it takes

The light ring on the i, j and s Series

These robots show their state with a light ring around the CLEAN button (around the lid on the s9). On the dock the robot is charging or resting. This is what the light means, according to iRobot:

On the i Series the ring also shows how full the battery is, so a glance at it tells you how far the charge has got.

The battery light on the 700, 800 and 900 series

The 700 and 800 series have a battery light on the robot. This is what its colour means, from iRobot’s pages on the 700 series and the 800 series:

On the e Series and the 900 series the battery light starts to pulse once the robot is docked properly, to show that it is charging.

The lights are off: is it still charging?

Usually yes. The light on most models’ Home Base stays on for only about 4 seconds. On the e Series and the 900 series every light on the robot also goes out within a minute of docking, to save energy. On the i Series it depends on the model: the i1 and i3 keep their lights on, the i7 does not.

1. Press CLEAN once. The robot then shows the battery level.
2. Or open the iRobot Home app. A battery icon sits at the top right.
3. The CLEAN screen reads "Ready to clean. Charging" while the battery is not yet full, and "Ready to clean. Fully charged" once it is. These are the English texts from iRobot’s support page. An app set to your language may word them differently.

On the Roomba Combo 10 Max the dock has a light of its own. It is on when the robot is on the dock and charging. It is off when the robot is not on the dock, is not charging, or when the dock is asleep. The dock falls asleep after 60 seconds, and a tap on CLEAN or a look in the app shows the status.

How long does charging take?

At least two hours under normal conditions, iRobot says on its pages about the i Series, the e Series and the 700, 800 and 900 series. For the 700 and 800 series iRobot advises letting the first charge run overnight. An empty robot needs a moment to wake up: up to a minute on the i Series, up to 30 seconds on the e Series and the 900 series.

If a 700 or 800 series robot has been off its dock for a long time, it starts a special 16-hour charge by itself that refreshes the battery. The battery light then pulses quickly. Try not to interrupt it. This does not apply to a lithium-ion battery.

If the robot is on its dock and still not full after 3 hours, go to the next step.

What if it does not charge?

Follow iRobot’s steps on its page Roomba not charging. The core of them:

1. Look for a light on the dock. If there is none, check that the cord is fully inserted at both ends and that the outlet has power, for instance with a lamp. The Essentials 1, the 200/2000 series and the 100/1000 with a standard charging dock have no dock light, so for them this is normal.
2. Look after the robot: cleaning the charging contacts, the brushes and the caster wheel is step 3 of iRobot’s page.
3. If the robot or the battery is new, place the robot with the new battery on the dock. A new lithium-ion battery has to be woken up there before its first use.
4. If a new Roomba of the 100/1000, 200/2000 or Max 700 series shuts down right after leaving the dock, take it off the dock, put it on a flat surface and hold the power button for at least 30 seconds. Let go, tap the button once more to check that no light comes on, and put the robot back on the dock within 4 minutes.

When you place a Roomba 200/2000 on its dock by hand, leave a small gap of about 1 cm between the dock and the bumper. Push it too far in and it no longer makes a proper connection with the charging contacts.

Still not charging?

If none of this helps, contact iRobot’s customer care. According to iRobot a new battery is sold in the iRobot Store or by an authorised retailer. How to reboot a Roomba is in how to reset a Roomba, and what iRobot’s bankruptcy means for your warranty is in iRobot after the bankruptcy.

If you are thinking of a new robot, see where Roombas stand in the tests first. Today 24 iRobot models are on sale, from € 147, and the best-placed of them, the iRobot Roomba Combo J7+, is number 62 of 76 in our ranking. These are the iRobot models, with their prices on 3 October 2026:

* Foreign shop: delivery cost and VAT to the Netherlands estimated.

Every model of the brand is on the iRobot page, and the advisor finds the robot that suits your home in seven questions.