Ecovacs Deebot T20 Pro: Powerful Suction, Wipe Lift, Improved Station

The Ecovacs Deebot T20 Pro robot vacuum cleaner is a new product for 2023, the company's flagship at the time of writing. Priced between $70 and $10.40, or $900 to $1,350, this device boasts a multitude of modern features. These include an object detection system, a wiper lift function when driving onto carpets, a combined self-cleaning and wiper rinsing station, and even the ability to connect the station to both water and sewer lines by purchasing the appropriate module. In short, a lot has been implemented, and accordingly, much remains to be tested. So, below, I'll thoroughly test the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Pro, then discuss its pros and cons, and express my opinion on whether this robot vacuum is worth buying. At the end of the review A link to purchase this robot and a promo code for a discount have been posted. So, let's get started!

Equipment

The robot vacuum cleaner arrived in a branded box like this:

In addition to the robot and station itself, the delivery kit includes:

1. Power adapter with Chinese plug.
2. Power adapter with a plug for a European socket.
3. Two napkin holders.
4. Robot documentation in Chinese.
5. Instructions that the seller translated into Russian.

The package is minimal. There are no spare accessories included. It's worth noting that the utility connection kit is sold separately. It comes in a box like this:

Its package includes:

1. Plastic pipes for connecting the station to the water supply and sewerage system.
2. A perforated hose in which you can hide the tubes from the station.
3. A magnetic control unit through which water flows from the water supply to the station.
4. Angle adapter for connecting tubes to the station.
5. Straight through branch from 1/2 inch to plastic 1/4 with ball valve.
6. Plastic pipe fittings.
7. John Guest type corner connectors.
8. A set of screws for fixing the module in the station.
9. Documentation in Chinese.

Appearance

Now let's take a look at the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Pro's design. Let's start with the robot vacuum itself. It's finished in a white and gray color scheme. Its round body stands approximately 103 mm above the floor.

Wall sensors are mounted on both sides of the bumper. A system of sensors is installed in the center to detect and accurately avoid obstacles. This technology is called TrueDetect. It's important to note that only obstacle avoidance is implemented. Remote home monitoring via camera is unfortunately not available.

The body has a single control button. Navigation is handled by a lidar sensor with a spring-loaded lid. The dust container is located under the top cover, which is held in place by magnets. Next to the container is a power switch and a QR code for connecting the robot to a Wi-Fi network. The dust container and filtration system are washable with water. The filtration system is triple: mesh, HEPA, and foam filters. The container capacity is 400 ml.

The robot also has a small 80 ml water tank, hidden inside the body. Water is automatically pumped into the tank at the station and dispensed onto the cleaning pads during cleaning.

Six fall protection sensors are installed underneath. A carpet detection sensor is located next to the swivel roller. There are two side brushes, three-beam and quick-release.

The central brush unit is floating. The brush itself is made of bristles and petals. One end can be disassembled to remove tangled hair and fur.

The cloth holders are held in place by a special ball-type latch, minimizing the risk of them accidentally coming loose during cleaning. The cloths are attached to the holders with Velcro. The structure is very dense. A key upgrade for this model is that the cloth holders automatically lift 9 mm when entering carpets. This allows the robot vacuum to simultaneously vacuum and mop, leaving carpets dry and clean.

Now let's look at the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Pro's self-cleaning station. The platform where the robot enters the station is, unfortunately, non-removable. Above it is a compartment with a waste bag. The bag holds up to 3 liters of dry waste. It's important to note that the bag is four-layered, with the inside, as I understand it, containing a layer of a membrane with silver ions and a layer of black activated carbon, providing antibacterial protection. Another disinfection stage is the station's silver ion module, located at the rear. Overall, judging by the promotional materials, the station has an interesting antibacterial protection system. Unfortunately, I can't evaluate its effectiveness. There's a single control button on the top of the station.

Under the top cover are the dirty and clean water tanks, each holding 4 liters. Right out of the box, there was a cardboard box containing a brush and detergent between the tanks. Ideally, this should be a plastic compartment, but for some reason, this batch didn't include one. It's a strange solution. It's also very strange that the station still doesn't have a tank for automatically dispensing detergent when rinsing the wipes. It still has to be added manually from a bottle. Perhaps they thought it was enough that this feature was already implemented in the automatic module for connecting to the water supply and sewerage system.

It's important to note that the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Pro station connects to both the water supply and the sewer system with the purchase of the appropriate module. The connections are located on the back, behind the cover. Next to them is a module containing silver ions for water disinfection.

Here's what the module for connecting to utility networks looks like:

It has a compartment for clean water, a compartment for dirty water (with a coarse filter), and a compartment for adding detergent, which will be automatically mixed in during the rinsing process. I'll show you how this module works in detail during my testing.

And finally, I'd like to highlight that the wipes are rinsed at the station using water heated to 55 degrees Celsius. This, in theory, improves the quality of the wipes' rinsing. It's not a unique solution, but in my opinion, it's a very smart one.

In conclusion, I can say that the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Pro has received a number of minor improvements compared to its predecessor. Ecovacs Deebot X1 OmniBut the main features are, of course, automatic lifting of the cloths on carpets, the ability to connect the station to utility lines, and rinsing the cloths with hot water. The upgrade is important, but not the most advanced compared to the 2023 flagships from other companies.

Technical specifications

The main characteristics of the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Pro, as stated by the manufacturer:

• Navigation: Lidar + TrueDetect
• Li-Ion battery 6000 mAh
• Suction power up to 6000 Pa
• Dust collector 400 ml
• Water tank 80 ml
• Tanks in the station: 4 + 4 l
• Bag in the station: 3 l
• Obstacle clearance up to 20 mm
• Robot dimensions: 362*103 mm
• Station dimensions: 430*450*580 mm

It's worth highlighting the increased suction power, which will certainly be verified in tests, and, as noted earlier, the increased capacity of the water tanks.

For those interested, the height of the station with the lid raised is 78.5 cm.

Functional capabilities

Speaking of the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Pro's features, the robot vacuum is controlled via the proprietary Ecovacs Home mobile app. Since this is a Chinese version, you need a Chinese phone number to log in. The seller should provide all the necessary access rights. At least that's what happened to me, so I highly recommend this seller. I left a link to purchase the robot in the video comments. Access rights are unique to each buyer. Connecting the robot to the app was straightforward. It's important to note that the app interface is in English, but the robot itself only speaks Chinese, so it's best to disable voice notifications completely. This is one of the robot's main drawbacks—the lack of a Russian language option. However, this isn't as inconvenient as it sounds. Once everything is set up, you can forget about it. Further operation is as simple as pressing the start button, and the robot begins cleaning.

Key features of the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Pro:

• Self-cleaning.
• Rinsing napkins at the station.
• Drying napkins with hot air.
• Rinse the wipes with hot water.
• Identifying objects on the floor.
• Saving multiple cleaning maps in memory.
• 3D map of the room.
• 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 rinsing wipes (10, 15, 25 minutes).
• Perimeter cleaning mode.
• Cleaning log.
• Setting up cleaning according to a schedule.
• User mode.
• Automatic power increase on carpet.
• Carpet cleaning in wet cleaning mode.
• Automatic lifting of napkins when driving onto carpets.

An interesting feature is the perimeter cleaning mode, called "Corner Deep Cleaning" in the app. This mode isn't meant to deeply clean corners, but rather to have the robot's back end brush against baseboards and furniture as it goes around the perimeter. The side cleaning pads don't extend beyond the edge of the body, leaving unwashed areas, but this mode allows the pads to reach the edges of the cleaning area. It's a unique solution that somewhat alleviates the problem of scrubbing along the baseboard. I just couldn't figure out how to force this mode. I tried forcing it again after the first pass. I reset the settings, but the robot still cleaned in the standard mode. Apparently, this is somehow activated by software, as specified by the manufacturer, once a week.

Another interesting feature of the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Pro is its integrated YIKO voice assistant, which allows voice control without third-party apps. It's a cool idea, but Russian commands are not supported—only English ones—and even those aren't working properly, according to reviews.

It's also worth noting once again that the remote home monitoring feature has been removed from this model. Otherwise, the features and settings are quite extensive, allowing for flexible cleaning settings to suit individual needs.

Testing

A detailed video review of the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Pro, 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 Ecovacs Deebot T20 Pro's navigation in a room with obstacles. The robot vacuum first moves around the perimeter of the room, then cleans the entire available area in a serpentine pattern. It detected the dryer's legs and carefully navigated around them. However, it didn't get between the dryer's legs. I think that was just a coincidence. It did, however, sweep around the box and the chair legs separately, then returned to the station. The test was successful.

Speaking of navigation within the house, the robot vacuum cleans room by room, following the perimeter, then in a serpentine pattern. Every 15 minutes, as I've determined, it returns to the station and rinses its cloths, then resumes cleaning from where it left off. There are no uncleaned areas left; this model has excellent navigation!

Identifying objects on the floor

However, the object detection system remains underdeveloped, no matter how many sensors and cameras Ecovacs engineers have implemented. The robot vacuum has brushed against a floor scale, a slipper, a sneaker, and the charging cord. While these items didn't disable it, it was still in contact with them, and, for example, the brush cord would have gotten tangled up just a bit more. And after the cleaning cycle was complete, it even ran over a simulated pet surprise. So, the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Pro is cleaner than similar products without object detection, that's a fact. But the system itself definitely needs some improvement.

Suction power

The suction power was very impressive. The robot vacuum was able to thoroughly vacuum debris from every crevice, including those as small as 10 mm. This is definitely a very powerful robot vacuum, and judging by the results, I can say it cleaned debris better than its predecessor, the X1 Omni, or its main competitor in 2023, the Dreame Bot X10 Pro. The suction power is simply incredible!

Dry cleaning

The quality of picking up debris of various textures on laminate flooring is good. It only leaves a small amount of debris in corners, which round robot vacuums can't reach. However, it does sweep up corners better than other round robot vacuums. Only a small amount of debris remains in the corners. A small amount of hair and pet hair got caught on the center and side brushes, but all the debris was collected in the dust bin. Test passed!

Carpet cleaning

The Ecovacs Deebot T20 Pro also does a good job of cleaning carpets. The carpet was thoroughly cleaned! That's a plus!

Wiping off dirt

This robot vacuum cleaner handles dirt removal effectively, even with a stop at the cleaning station to rinse the cloths. This is the main advantage of such robots. Dirt won't be ground into the floor during the entire cleaning process. Consequently, in just a few passes, the robot can actually clean the floor, not just mop it. I'll note that immediately after leaving the station, the robot first ran around the perimeter in "Corner Deep Cleaning" mode, more thoroughly cleaning the dirt along the baseboards. The non-rinsable strip is much smaller. And even then, it's not a strip, but rather small areas, mostly between these passes with its rear end. Overall, it has the best result among robot vacuum cleaners in this test so far.

Removing difficult stains

I was also very pleased that the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Pro can remove even the toughest stains, like dried-on coffee and sauce stains in my case. This robot's wipers press down harder on the floor than similar robots with similar wipers, making wet cleaning more effective.

Wet cleaning and carpets

When it comes to wet cleaning on carpets, you can choose from three different robot behaviors. The first is to automatically lift the pads when entering carpets, allowing the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Pro to simultaneously vacuum and mop, leaving carpets dry and clean. The second option is to enable automatic carpet avoidance in wet cleaning mode. The third, somewhat confusing, mode involves driving across the carpet with rotating pads that press against the carpet. I don't see the point in using it. However, lifting the pads on carpets is exactly what Ecovacs robot vacuums have been missing.

Station efficiency and maintenance

I also tested the effectiveness of the station itself. Regarding the quality of the wiper rinsing, after cleaning the floor, the wipers are in a poor condition. Even after rinsing, I can say they are actually clean. A minimal amount of dirt is removed under the pressure of warm water. However, I also noticed no difference between rinsing the wiper with room temperature water and hot water, as I did with the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Pro. Perhaps there is a difference, and it's a small but significant advantage compared to its competitors.

Drying wipes with hot air is truly effective. After the drying cycle, the wipes are completely dry and odor-free. That's a plus!

But cleaning the station isn't the most pleasant experience. Since the platform isn't removable, you have to clean it on the station itself. Ecovacs engineers have simplified this process a bit: simply hold down the button on the station for 5 seconds, after which the robot moves off the station, filling the tray with water, allowing you to thoroughly clean the inside with a brush. Then, hold the button again, and the water drains into the dirty water tank. However, you can't clean the ramp itself this way; you'll have to scrub it with a cloth. Not very convenient.

Connecting the station to utilities

I'll show you how the utility connection module works separately. First, you need to assemble the system. It's very simple. Open the top cover of the station, remove the tanks and the box between them. Remove the two rubber plugs. Install the module itself. Screw it to the station with a screw from above, and close the cover.

Now remove the cover on the back wall and install the angled adapter to connect the tubes to the station. Attach it with the two screws included. Next, connect the tubes to the angled adapter. Measure the correct length to accommodate the angled connectors at the bottom.

Place the station in a suitable location near the sewer and water supply connections. Install a pass-through outlet. Connect the magnetic control unit to the outlet with pipes. I've made a temporary drain for now, just to demonstrate the module in operation. But ideally, buy a sink trap with a branch pipe for the station's pipe. Open the faucet on the outlet, and water begins to pump into the station. Now we can start the wipes' rinse function and check that everything is working.

Clean water was pumped into the appropriate reservoir, and the level gradually dropped as the wipes rinsed. The water then drained from the station's tray through the drain pipe. The module is functioning correctly. I strongly recommend adding a branded detergent to the central compartment to improve the quality of the wipes' rinsing, the floor cleaning, and to minimize streaks on the floor.

That's basically the entire connection process. This module is definitely worth considering, as it increases the robot vacuum's battery life and significantly simplifies maintenance. It's a very cool feature, which will be available on most flagship models in 2023.

Self-cleaning quality

The dust bin's self-cleaning performance is near perfect. I ran the robot vacuum in a room with a lot of debris. It cleaned everything, but we saw that the dust bin was full. We returned the robot vacuum to the docking station and saw that the dust bin was completely empty after self-cleaning.

Self-cleaning is well implemented in this model! Much better than the previously released X1 Omni, and even more so Ecovacs Deebot T10+.

Obstacle clearance

The robot easily navigates 2 cm high thresholds, lifting up the napkins as it goes. That's a plus!

Driving on black surfaces

It's also not afraid of black surfaces, easily driving on completely black carpet. This is another advantage of the robot!

Noise level

As for the noise level, it's in the 60-65 dB range. Considering its high power, I can say it's a fairly quiet robot vacuum!

Personal opinion

The Ecovacs Deebot T20 Pro has been thoroughly reviewed and tested. our evaluation system he managed to gain 184 points and rise to the TOP-5 in overall ranking of tested robotic vacuum cleaners.

I'll share my thoughts on the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Pro. I liked the following:

1. High-quality waste collection on both hard surfaces and carpets.
2. It sweeps up corners better than most other round robots.
3. Effectively removes dirt from the floor.
4. High suction power.
5. Capable of cleaning areas right up to the baseboard thanks to the “Corner Deep Cleaning” mode.
6. Availability of a station for self-cleaning the dust collector, rinsing and drying wipes.
7. Spacious tanks at the station.
8. Multi-stage waste and water disinfection system at the station.
9. The station can be connected to the sewer and water supply by purchasing the appropriate module.
10. Rinsing wipes with hot water.
11. High-quality self-cleaning.
12. Automatic lifting of napkins when driving onto carpets.
13. Touch objects and furniture more accurately thanks to the object detection system.
14. A large number of functions in the application.
15. Not afraid of black coatings.
16. Good cross-country ability.
17. Low noise level.
18. High quality assembly.
19. Well, and the presence of two side brushes, for those who find this fundamentally important.

Speaking about the disadvantages, there are the following comments about the robot:

1. The system for identifying objects requires improvement.
2. There is no function to remotely monitor your home through the robot camera.
3. The model is designed for the Chinese market, so the app interface is in English, the built-in voice assistant does not work, and the robot connects to the app only via a Chinese phone number.
4. Full service and warranty support from the manufacturers are not provided. Again, this is because this version is for the Chinese market.
5. Does not support popular voice assistants.
6. Non-removable platform for rinsing wipes (not convenient to clean).
7. There is no automatic detergent supply in the standard station configuration.

Overall, the robot vacuum cleaner left a very good impression, and the comments I've listed are not particularly critical. I consider it one of the best robot vacuums of 2023, and in terms of cleaning performance, it's clearly ahead of its competitors so far. If you're looking for a reliable robot that will effectively handle its primary task with the highest battery life available, definitely consider this model. I've included a link to purchase from a trusted seller in the video description.

That's all from me! If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments. Happy shopping, everyone. Bye!