Xiaomi Mijia 5C (OV42CN): improved floor cleaning, object avoidance, 15,000 Pa

Hello to all readers of this project! This review will focus on the Xiaomi Mijia 5C robot vacuum cleaner. Model number OV42CN. Its price at the time of writing starts at $250. For this price, the robot features a gentle object avoidance system, an improved side brush designed to reduce hair tangling, an updated edge-adjusting mechanism, suction power reaching 15,000 Pa, and an all-in-one cleaning station. Overall, this is an interesting set of features that allows the robot to compete successfully in its price segment. Below, I'll thoroughly test the Xiaomi Mijia 5C, highlight its pros and cons based on my test results, and then express my opinion on the robot. So, let's get started!

Equipment

Let's start with the package contents. The robot vacuum cleaner arrived in this branded box:

The standard delivery package includes the robot itself with a station, two holders with napkins, a power adapter with a Chinese plug and an adapter for a European socket, as well as an operating manual in Chinese.

Appearance

Now let's take a look at the design of the Xiaomi Mijia 5C. The robot vacuum cleaner itself is round and comes in white.

A wall sensor is mounted on the right. A sensor detecting large obstacles in front of the robot is located in the center of the bumper. The robot's body is 93 mm high from the floor.

The lidar is equipped with a spring-loaded cover to prevent the robot from getting stuck under furniture. Two mechanical control buttons are located next to it.

The dust container is located under the top cover. The filtration system is based solely on a HEPA filter, which is washable with water. The container holds approximately 290 ml. The robot does not have a water tank. The cloths are only moistened at the washing station during the wash cycle.

There are three fall protection sensors. There is no carpet sensor, although we can see that there is a window for it, but it is covered with a plug. The side brush design has been updated. It now has two beams instead of three, allowing tangled hair and fur to be removed from the brush without compromising cleaning performance. The side brush does not extend into corners.

The central brush block is stationary, but the squeegee itself moves. The central brush is made of bristles and petals. Surprisingly, it's not removable. Only the cap on one side can be removed.

Behind the brush we see combs for detangling tangled hair and wool.

The robot cleans the floor with two round, rotating pads, which are held in place with Velcro in the usual way. Behind one of the pads, we see the mechanism that extends the holder to the edge of the body. It's been redesigned.

The robot's arm now extends completely out of the body through the side arm. According to the manufacturer, this solution has increased the cleaning depth by 68% and improved edge cleaning efficiency by 83%. This means the robot can now clean corners better, reach deeper under furniture, and clean areas around furniture and other objects more thoroughly. We'll test the effectiveness of this solution in our tests.

I would like to add that the wipes are automatically raised during dry cleaning, when returning to the station, and when cleaning in areas with carpets.

As for the station, the Xiaomi Mijia 5C self-cleans, washes the wipes with room-temperature water, and dries the wipes with warm air at 45 degrees Celsius after cleaning.

I'd like to point out right away that this station doesn't connect to the water supply or sewer system, which is a significant drawback compared to some of its predecessors in the Xiaomi lineup. A separate built-in station is available for connection to utility lines.

The robot's ramp is non-removable, as is the wiper cleaning platform. Only the coarse liquid filter is removable. The bottom itself has been updated and is flat, which should likely make cleaning the station easier.

A standard-style waste bag is located under the lid at the front. The station does not have a container for automatically mixing detergent.

Water tanks with a capacity of 4 liters each are installed on top.

We see that the new Mijia 5C has received several important design updates, but some components have also become worse. All the pros and cons we've identified will be discussed in the review summary. Let's move on!

Technical specifications

The main characteristics of the Xiaomi Mijia 5C, as stated by the manufacturer:

Robot vacuum cleaner:

• Li-Ion battery 5200 mAh.
• Suction power up to 15,000 Pa.
• Cleaning area> 200 sq.m.
• Dust collector: ≈290 ml.
• Water tank: none.
• Obstacle clearance up to 20 mm.
• Dimensions: 355*93 mm.

Station:

• Clean water tank: 4 l.
• Dirty water tank: 4 l.
• Bag in the station: 2.5 l.
• Dimensions (W*D*H): 260*320*495 mm.

Overall, everything here is on par with similar devices. While the suction power isn't the strongest in the lineup, it's nevertheless high, and as experience shows, it's not the numbers that matter, but the results on the bench, which will certainly be demonstrated in tests.

Functional capabilities

Regarding controls, the robot vacuum cleaner is designed for the Chinese market and therefore connects to Mi Home via the China region. There are no regional locks, so don't worry. At the time of writing, the interface is in English, which isn't ideal. The robot speaks Chinese. There are descriptions online of how to localize the voice notifications, but at the time of writing, this is only available on Android smartphones.

Main features of Xiaomi Mijia 5C:

• Self-cleaning dust collector.
• Washing napkins at the station (without heating water).
• Drying napkins with warm air (45°C).
• Moving the napkin to the baseboard.
• Identifying objects on the floor.
• Saving multiple cleaning maps in memory.
• Automatic zoning of premises into rooms.
• Selecting areas and rooms for cleaning.
• Virtual walls and no-go zones (and for wet cleaning mode).
• Suction power adjustment.
• Setting the frequency of washing napkins.
• Cleaning log.
• Setting up cleaning according to a schedule.
• Automatic power increase on carpet.
• Carpet cleaning in wet cleaning mode.
• Lifting napkins when driving onto carpets.

Nothing new has been added, but overall there are a large number of options for flexible customization of cleaning parameters.

Testing

A detailed video review of the Xiaomi Mijia 5C, including all tests, has already been prepared and published on the channel:

Navigation

And finally, let's move on to the tests. First, we'll test the Xiaomi Mijia 5C's navigation in a room with obstacles. After leaving the station, the robot vacuum first moves around the perimeter of the room, then cleans the entire available area in a serpentine pattern. It carefully navigated around the dryer's legs. It also swept around the box and the chrome legs, returning to rinse the wipes in between. No unusual maneuvers were detected, so the test was successful.

Speaking of navigation within the house, the robot vacuum cleaner cleans room by room, following the perimeter, then in a serpentine pattern. After every 10 square meters, as I've determined, it returns to the station and washes the wipes, then resumes cleaning from where it left off. There are no uncleaned areas left; this model has excellent navigation!

Cleaning behind the curtains

Like most lidar-based robot vacuums, this one can't clean behind curtains and drapes by avoiding them. This is worth keeping in mind.

Passing under low furniture

The minimum height at which the robot can drive was also tested. It's clear that the robot can enter and clean within the standard 10 cm clearance, which is good!

Autonomy

I also tested the battery life when running the robot at maximum power with wet cleaning enabled. It lasted 90 minutes, cleaning 78 square meters of usable space. In reality, that's a little less than two full cleanings of a two-bedroom apartment. However, I should note that there's a resume cleaning mode after charging in the base station, so this model can clean twice as much. In my opinion, the robot's battery life is average.

Definition of objects

As for the object bypass system, the situation here is very interesting!

In good lighting, the robot managed to carefully navigate around six of the six household objects without hitting anything—wow! It also managed to navigate around all three socks. Of the four wires, it navigated around two and chewed two, wrapping them around napkin holders. As for the animal surprises, the robot only managed to navigate around one of the six; the rest were either run over or chewed.

In complete darkness, the results were almost identical. It avoided all six of the six household objects, but missed the simulated pet surprise, so I'm giving it a score of 5 out of 6. The robot managed to avoid all three socks. However, out of the four wires, it still only avoided two. It displaced one and chewed one. In the case of the pet surprise, the robot surprisingly identified and accurately avoided all six traps. It's unclear why the results were better in complete darkness than in good lighting.

In any case, the object detection system actually works and helps the robot avoid obstacles that could disable it. While the sensors aren't perfect, they're still more effective than most similar robots with similar object avoidance systems.

Suction power

But the actual suction power is disappointing. In "Quiet" and "Standard" modes, the robot couldn't clean even a 2 mm gap. In "Boost" and "Turbo" modes, the robot achieved a partial 2 mm result, so its suction power is quite average. For comparison, Xiaomi Mijia M40s showed a result of 10 mm, and M40 I was able to clean out all the debris from 14 mm.

Dry cleaning

The collection quality of various types of debris on laminate flooring is good. Only a little debris remains in the corners, where round robotic vacuums can't sweep. However, the outer corners are cleaned well, which is a plus.

Let's look at the condition of the cleaning module. The side brush is completely clean and free of hair, which is its main advantage. However, the central brush is tangled with hair and pet hair, which is quite expected.

Anti-tangle Hair Protection

I also tested how the brushes handled detangling hair and fur in more challenging conditions. I laid hair of varying lengths on the floor. The robot picked it up, and we saw the same situation: the side brush was completely clean, but the center brush was tangled with hair.

In a domestic environment, after a week of use in an apartment with a pet and two girls, we also see that the result has not changed - a little hair has tangled around the central brush, and the side brush is clean.

Carpet cleaning

As for cleaning carpets, the robot thoroughly cleans low-pile carpets. However, on medium-pile carpets, the brushes are less effective at picking up debris, partly because the central brush unit doesn't float, which reduces suction power. Additionally, the object detection system can recognize pile as an obstacle, prompting the robot to avoid certain areas of the carpet. In short, medium-pile carpets aren't its strong suit.

Wet cleaning and carpets

As for wet cleaning on carpeted floors, there's always a caveat. Since the robot lacks a carpet detection sensor, it can't automatically detect carpeted areas. You need to manually define them on the map. After that, you'll be prompted to choose one of four interaction modes: avoiding carpets, driving over carpets without cleaning, driving over carpets with rotating pads, and driving over carpets with raised pads.

Another interesting thing is that if you don't specify a carpeted area on the map, the robot will avoid carpeted surfaces, detecting them as obstacles. At least that's what happened in my case. But if you set a carpeted area, the robot will begin driving onto the carpet, prioritizing the specified area over signals from the bumper sensor.

Self-cleaning

Immediately after the "dirty tests," I checked how well the robot vacuum cleaner self-cleans. After the self-cleaning, the dust bin was empty, so this robot has a good self-cleaning feature!

Wiping off dirt

This robot vacuum cleaner does a good job of removing dirt. It leaves no streaks or marks, and it can even thoroughly clean along walls and furniture thanks to its edge-adjustable cleaning pad.

I'd like to point out that the updated holder release mechanism truly improves the cleaning efficiency of floors in corners, both internal and external, and the robot vacuum cleaner also cleans the floor around chair legs more thoroughly. As you can see, there's no dirt left at all. That's a plus!

Removing stains

When it comes to removing tough stains, the robot was able to remove even dried-on coffee and sauce stains. Surprisingly, it only needed six passes to remove the stains, which is a very good result, on par with premium competitors. And there's no need to heat the water or add detergent, and the wipes are just ordinary ones. Amazing!

Washing quality of napkins

I'd like to immediately talk about the effectiveness of the station itself. Let's start with the cleaning quality of the wipes. Even after extensive testing, the wipes look significantly better after washing with the station. However, it's still noticeable that the color of the wipes has changed and they aren't perfectly cleaned, which is due to the lack of water heating and automatic detergent mixing.

In a domestic setting, after washing the floor, the wipes are thoroughly rinsed at the station. They appear clean.

The station itself is easy to clean. The app features a special mode that, when activated, causes the robot to move away from the station and the tray to fill with water. All you have to do is scrub the cloth washing area with a brush, remove and clean the coarse filter, and, after the water drains automatically, wipe the bottom with a cloth if necessary.

Overall it's not difficult, but I find it more convenient when the entire platform can be completely removed and washed in the sink.

The drying temperature for the wipes after washing exceeds 46 degrees, which is even higher than stated. No complaints about the station!

Obstacle clearance

The robot vacuum can physically cross 2 cm high thresholds, but sensors on the bumper can detect thresholds as obstacles. It's not possible to set threshold zones on the map, as is the case with competing brands.

Therefore, here, as an option, you can install a carpeted area in the threshold area and select a transit mode; this will probably help solve the issue of moving the thresholds.

Driving on black surfaces

The robot vacuum cleaner is not afraid of black surfaces, easily moving across a completely black carpet. That's a plus!

Noise level

As for the noise level, it ranges from 57 to 80 dB. At maximum power, the robot is very loud, which is not good, considering its actual power is quite standard! The station's noise level during self-cleaning is around 73 to 77 dB. And this is already a standard result.

Personal opinion

The Xiaomi Mijia 5C robot vacuum cleaner has been thoroughly reviewed and tested. our evaluation system he managed to gain 161 pointsThe result isn't particularly high compared to its predecessors in the line, but this is due to a number of issues that will be discussed below. Otherwise, for the robot's price, the rating is quite standard.

Overall rating of tested robot vacuum cleaners: https://robovac.washerhouse.com/en/rejtingi/robovac-obshhij-rejting-robotov-pylesosov-robo.html.

I'll highlight the robot's pros and cons, then share my opinion. I liked the following:

1. The updated edge-adjusting wiper holder system truly improves floor cleaning efficiency. The robot more thoroughly cleans along chair legs, walls, under furniture, and in corners.
2. The robot vacuum cleaner copes with cleaning difficult stains on the floor faster than many similar ones.
3. The updated dual-beam side brush prevents hair and fur from tangling without compromising the quality of debris collection.
4. Careful avoidance of objects is achieved thanks to a system of sensors on the bumper. While this system isn't perfect, the robot is clearly more careful than most of its competitors.
5. High-quality dry and wet cleaning on hard surfaces and low-pile carpets.
6. The presence of an all-in-one station for this price is a big plus.
7. The app allows you to flexibly configure cleaning parameters.
8. Good cross-country ability.
9. Spacious tanks at the station.
10. The robot vacuum cleaner is not afraid of black floor coverings.
11. A version with an ultra-thin built-in station is available for sale.
12. And, of course, the price is optimal, considering its capabilities. The robot doesn't have many competitors within the $300 range; I'd say you can count them on your fingers, if we're talking about models with an all-in-one station.

As for the shortcomings, there are quite a few of them as well. The main ones I've identified are:

1. The claimed increased suction power wasn't confirmed in real-world tests. In reality, the robot's power was normal.
2. The station version reviewed here doesn't connect to the sewer or water supply, as a separate built-in station is available for that purpose. It was still great to have a choice between standard tanks and a module for connecting to the sewer and water supply within a single station.
3. As is typical for Xiaomi, the assembly has been reduced in price. The robot has no carpet sensor, a non-detachable central brush, a fixed turbo brush unit, no built-in water tank, no automatic detergent mixing function, and no water heating at the station.
4. Another familiar detail: the robot vacuum cleaner is designed for the Chinese market. It doesn't speak Russian, and the app is in English. Furthermore, there's no full-fledged service or warranty support from the manufacturer. Yes, you can teach it to speak Russian later, but that's an additional hassle, especially if you have an iPhone.
5. There are issues cleaning medium-pile carpets. The robot avoids certain areas of the carpet, detecting the pile as an obstacle, precisely because of the sensor system on the bumper. Even if it can easily access fluffy carpets, the power and pressure of the turbo brush are insufficient to thoroughly collect debris on such surfaces.
6. The robot vacuum cleaner does not sweep out debris in corners because the central brush does not extend like in older models.
7. Increased noise level at maximum power.

As a result, there seems to be a dual opinion about the robot, but let's not forget its price. Therefore, when choosing this model, the first thing to consider is the price. At $250–$300, it's clearly one of the best options, if not the best. It offers high-quality floor cleaning over large areas, a station, accurate cleaning of objects, and generally good app functionality. Considering the design and comments, I would recommend this model primarily for cleaning hard floors and low-pile carpets. It's well suited for these conditions.

On that note, I'd like to end this review. If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments. Happy shopping, everyone. Bye!