Customers shouldn't need to be concerned because the company going down should not brick your PHYSICAL PRODUCTS
And yet, here we are
this post was submitted on 17 Nov 2025
439 points (98.9% liked)
Selfhosted
53066 readers
414 users here now
A place to share alternatives to popular online services that can be self-hosted without giving up privacy or locking you into a service you don't control.
Rules:
-
Be civil: we're here to support and learn from one another. Insults won't be tolerated. Flame wars are frowned upon.
-
No spam posting.
-
Posts have to be centered around self-hosting. There are other communities for discussing hardware or home computing. If it's not obvious why your post topic revolves around selfhosting, please include details to make it clear.
-
Don't duplicate the full text of your blog or github here. Just post the link for folks to click.
-
Submission headline should match the article title (don’t cherry-pick information from the title to fit your agenda).
-
No trolling.
Resources:
- selfh.st Newsletter and index of selfhosted software and apps
- awesome-selfhosted software
- awesome-sysadmin resources
- Self-Hosted Podcast from Jupiter Broadcasting
Any issues on the community? Report it using the report flag.
Questions? DM the mods!
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
I've got one, and it works well enough when offline.
If not, I could set up Home Assistant and self-host it.
It's a shame, as Mozilla gave iRobot one of the better privacy ratings. That's the only reason I allowed it in my house to begin with.
My lil neato bot from 2017/2018ish makes a perimeter map around my place each time it deploys, then makes back and forth sweeps. It's got a built in weekly timer by the quarter hour to schedule sweeps. It beeps at me when its bin is full. Why do robot vacuums need the internet?
load more comments
(1 replies)
load more comments
(3 replies)
I hope they open source it before dying (if they do end up going under)
There is at least one Robo vac that does not rely on the cloud, and personally I can't imagine feeling comfortable with a robovac being cloud connected for no reason.
Oh look, another example of a product that worked fine without internet connectivity and was improved by adding extra bullshit you don't actually need that then gets worse when those features can't function properly because their server is offline.
We got a basic roomba 650 (the one that crashes into stuff and randomly cleans) like 10 years ago and it still works fine (well, as well as it ever worked which wasn't great), you program the time and day of the week with physical buttons, and leave it alone.
Yeah. I've got an 870 that's still cleaning. It gets stuck under furniture and needs to be rescued at least once a week, and last week it lost its ~~ass~~ dustbin somehow mid clean, but it's still kicking.
load more comments
(8 replies)
If only there was such a thing like bluetooth to connect mobile apps to local devices
Mobile apps bit rot pretty quickly when they stop updating them. A web UI would be better. A server or internet connection is not needed, a web UI can be hosted directly on the device.
An accessible documented API would be better. A standardized one for all vacuums would be best.
load more comments
(1 replies)
load more comments
(4 replies)
This potential dilemma just further highlights that cloud-connected devices should be enhanced by connectivity, not reliant on it.
This should be everyone's takeaway.
The problem isn't the company possibly going out of business, its the loss of online service nerfing the device that is the real issue.
load more comments
(2 replies)
This is why IoT isn't sustainable. If you don't have total control you're fucked.
Why proprietary cloud-based IoT isn't sustainable.
Definitely. I use home assistant but I found a lot of things require enabling integrations with other platforms. They're bricks if that platform decides they are.
How did they squander being the name in autonomous vacuum devices..? It’s kinda baffling tbh.
Well, Chinese manufactures cloned the design and came in well under price, took the Chinese market, then improved the product and challenged iRobot globally.
Embrace, extend, extinguish.
A big part of it is also that in the grand scheme of things, roombas are kind of gimmicky because they don't really do the time consuming parts of cleaning, like moving furniture or dusting baseboards. The value proposition of paying more for different tiers of branded mediocrity just isn't there.
I would not say they cloned the design. The first breakthrough for Roborock was the S5, which had LiDAR and a map. Both was not something iRobot had at the time. iRobot simply chose to not innovate in the areas people wanted first. People didn’t like the random cleaning that the roombas did for a long time compared to the structured of almost everybody else.
I used to work at iRobot. Chinese manufacturers cloned Roomba so well that parts from their robot like wheels assemblies could be dropped in and the Roomba would work.
The issue is that iRobot decided not to litigate patent infringement in China because it’s an uphill battle.
I agree that iRobot was very slow to innovate. They were on the brink of releasing a lawn mower robot but covid hit and the C suites made the decision to kill that product and fire that team to reduce risk…
load more comments
(3 replies)
How did they squander being the name in autonomous vacuum devices..?
Letting a picture of a customer using the bathroom leak onto Facebook cannot have helped.
Really? It's not a mystery. China. For the past 5+ years they have had better and cheaper vacuums. Meanwhile innovation has been at a standstill with irobot for the past decade.
For anyone interested in owning their vacuum robot check out Valetudo
Idk, the dev seems.... hostile. And prevents the project from becoming a community effort. Also:
Feature-parity is a non-goal for Valetudo, and if you’re wondering which features “you might lose”, Valetudo is not for you.
I mean, I do wonder if I will lose features, therefore I guess I should look elsewhere.
And prevents the project from becoming a community effort.
No, I am not doing that, because I cannot do that. That is the whole thing with FOSS code.
If there was a community of builders picking it up and doing something community-driven, I could not do anything about it, nor would I want to.
They would be required to not call it Valetudo + not use the logo, so that they cannot coast off the brand and reputation of course - and that I would absolutely expect from anyone -, but other than that anyone can do whatever.
Why this hasn't happened yet, I cannot say for certain, but my hypothesis is that no one actually wants to put in the work. Likely both because work is work and work is annoying, but also because what exists now just works so what would you even do other than slap another name on it and feel good about yourself.
But putting that aside, I'd like to ask a different question: Why wouldn't I want that?
If community is nice, friendly, warm and full of heart, why would I oppose that? I am, after all, just like you. A human that would like to have fun, pleasant and nice interactions with other like-minded humans. I, like everyone else, am a social creature that enjoys being seen as a fellow human and member of a group.
So why would I oppose that?
The answer to that might be, that the mental model of "community project" does not actually in reality and execution fit any of what I described right now.
Of course, I cannot and will not rule out that it is just me and that I am the problem, but even if that is the case, then I still need to exist and need space to exist. "Just be normal" just means "stop being you"
It would be quite weird to not allow me to exist within the space I created from nothing from the ground up, wouldn't it? If even that isn't a place I would be allowed to be in, then where is?
load more comments
(5 replies)
load more comments
(3 replies)
load more comments
(5 replies)
I bought a robot vacuum, rooted it, and installed Valetudo (Wyze WVCR200S w/motherboard from a Viomi V6 - same robot).
I don't have to worry about this shit anymore. The vacuum still does the vacuum thing whether or not it's connected to the internet.
load more comments
(6 replies)
It would be easy enough to force vendors to make the URL the device connects to, configurable and to publish the API the device is using. Two minuscule changes that can prolong the life of devices by decades.
To be fair, many roombas have a mini DIN connector somewhere, which opens up the possibility for external control - what I plan to do when mine stops working due to server shutdown. However, getting replacement parts will get more and more tricky as time goes by.
I just had to through out a mostly functional airfryer because the drawer rail disintegrated and the replacement part is no longer manufactured. The oldest one I could get was a "new" version with more plastic and a slightly bigger size, so it didn't fit by about 5%.
It really should be illegal, there is no logical reason for 500 slightly different models and inoperability of basic functions (drawers, APIs, ...) aside from malignant greed and planet destruction.
load more comments
(6 replies)
load more comments
(1 replies)
Chinese robot cleaners are much better and cheaper than iRobot. No wonder iRobot is failing.
Sure, if you want China to have videos of you, your kids and your home. Roomba so far has the "best" privacy policy from all the companies. I am not saying its warranted, it never is with proprietary software/hardware, but Chinese companies are known for ignoring laws regarding privacy.
From a non US Perspective (most of the world) this is a non issue.
Because for the rest of the world the answer to this dilemma boils down to:
Do you want to be shook down by the big guy in the left corner with the can of coke in his hand or do you prefer to be fucked over by that big Asian guy in the right corner who's slurping on his bubble tea?
I choose the one who demands the least.
load more comments
(7 replies)
Catastrophe because we gave up the broom and mop. Oh no.
If it doesn’t work when the cloud is down, it’s not your thing. Don’t buy it. 8sleep is only the most recent example.
load more comments
(8 replies)
Glad we have dumb "roomba" that has just one physical sensor when he bumps into something and infra for detecting docking station and for remote control. It does the job and that's the main thing. Over the years only had to replace the battery.
load more comments
(4 replies)
For 99% of everything, if I don't have 100% control over a physical thing in my possession, I refuse to buy it.
The exceptions are things like my phone because it's a necessary device these days and there aren't a lot of options for something not locked down to all hell. Though it looks like that could change eventually with a Linux phone.
Kitchen appliances, washing machines, cars, and beds do not need to be connected to the web. Hell even most of the smart features they claim require the network to function could be done without connectivity. Just program that shit into the god damn device instead of outsourcing the workload to an offsite server farm.
load more comments
(7 replies)
Truly the Kodak of this generation
Kodak said "we don't believe digital photography will take over" and iRobot is like "we've tried nothing and we're all out of ideas"
load more comments
(1 replies)
The entire problem is that automobiles have become an accepted housing option, and Roombas don't operate well in a vehicular environment, thus drastically cutting into their sale.
view more: next ›