Smart home devices are widening in range and are getting more popular these days. While the usual smart home devices would flip a light on or control your house’s thermostat, there are robot vacuums as well that can clean up entire houses on their own.

However, that doesn’t mean that they’re flawless. In this article, we’re looking at Roomba error 17, the reasons behind the problem and what you can do to solve the issue. 

Also read: Are Humanoid Robots a good idea? What does the future hold?

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What causes Roomba error 17?

Error code 17 indicates that the robot had a problem during the cleanup job and has cancelled the process. There could be several reasons why this might be happening. 

• The space to be cleaned is too large.
• The carpet to be cleaned is too thick.
• Not enough light for the robot to navigate.
• Mechanical issues.
• Dirty floor tracking sensor. 
• Excessive clutter in an area. 

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How to fix this?

Here are six fixes you can try to resolve the Roomba error 17.

Clean all sensors

Roomba error 17 can pop up if the floor tracking sensor is too dirty, causing the Roomba to lose its sense of navigation. Clean up all the sensors on your robot and restart the cleaning job to see if that fixes your problem.

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Change the location of the Home Base

If the Roomba’s home base is kept near a strong source of IR radiation, such as a strong incandescent bulb, the radiation emitted from the appliance can affect Roomba’s IR sensors. Try moving the home base to an area away from such appliances to resolve the error. 

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Have enough light

Along with its IR sensors, the robot also uses natural light to move around in your house. While this doesn’t require a lot of light, some basic lighting is necessary for the robot to run properly. If you’re running the Roomba in dim conditions, try turning on a few lights to see if that gets the robot going. 

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Restart your Roomba

Restarting a device to fix temporary errors is a common solution for just about any electronic device, including the Roomba error 17. Here’s how. 

For S and I series models

Hold the Clean button for around 20 seconds until the white LED ring around the bin’s lid starts spinning clockwise. Wait for the Roomba to turn back on and see if the issue persists. 

For the 700, 800 and 900 series 

Hold down the Clean button until you hear a beep. Give the Roomba a couple of minutes to start and run the cleaning schedule again. Error 14 shouldn’t be a problem now. 

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Perform a factory reset

You can also perform a factory reset on your Roomba to resolve firmware issues. Do keep in mind that you’ll need to have the robot paired with your phone and the iRobot app installed for this to work. 

You have to head over to the in-app settings and select factory reset. After this, the robot will automatically reinstall its firmware, eliminating any firmware issues in the process and also Roomba error 17.

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Contact support

If nothing else works, your best option is to contact iRobot support and possibly send the robot in for repairs. 

Also read: 7 must-have wireless gadgets to kick off 2020