I’ve had a robot lawn mower for 4 months—here are the real pros and cons

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Released Oct 10, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT

Cory Gunther is a senior author and Newsletter Editor at Valnet, covering innovative tech, Android, and more for How-To Geek. He’s covered Android, cars and trucks, and innovation for over a years. When he’s not examining the most recent gizmo, you can discover him off-roading in his Toyota truck, repairing stated truck, or doing something outdoors with family and friends.

He’s covered CES, SEMA, and MWC and evaluated many phones, TVs, speakers, EVs, e-bikes, and more. Before Valnet, Cory worked for GottaBeMobileHis writing has actually likewise appeared on SlashGearInputMagand AndroidCentral. He’s edited 9,000 short articles.

After 4 months of letting a robotic mower handle my lawn through insane weather condition, hot summer season, items in the lawn, and day-to-day wear, was it worth it? Is the yard truly greener on the other side? The benefit is wonderful, however it’s not without its peculiarities. While I definitely like it, and it conserves my weekend, I have ideas.

I like messing in the garage and doing lawn work, however in some cases life obstructs or more vital things show up. In an area like Texas, staying up to date with yard care is quite crucial. I turned to a robotic mower and have not recalled, however there are growing discomforts.

Yard upkeep is still needed

This is definitely the future

Previously this year, I got the Segway Navimow X430 robotic lawn mower and put it through its rates. I discussed a couple of missteps or benefits and drawbacks in my evaluation, however after utilizing it for a while longer, I have a couple of more ideas. Clearly, your mileage might differ based upon the brand name or design you have, place, lawn type, and a number of other elements. There are numerous things I didn’t consider or think about at first that others will need to know about.

I still enjoy the choice, and it’s doing a quite strong task. There’s absolutely nothing much better than awakening Saturday early morning and delighting in some coffee, hanging with the kids, and viewing college football while the lawn mower does all the effort outside. Believe me, it’s extremely gratifying.

I delight in having the ability to set a schedule or bring up the app to start a trim. Periodically, I’ll see it’s going to drizzle the next day, and before cooking supper or while barbecuing some steaks, I’ll bring up the app, struck start, and return to enjoying my life. Whatever is extremely configurable in the app, from start times to preventing rain, and I can alter the cut height at a minute’s notification.

I can’t overemphasize the benefit. It’s really been a game-changer in my home.

It’s not all self-governing; you still have to handle the lawn, edges, weed-whack, and utilize a string trimmer. It does not do whatever, a minimum of not yet, although there are some designs with lawn edger accessories.

No matter the number of times I redraw the borders, allow “Edge Sense,” or make software application tweaks, I can’t get it close enough to the edge in every location. It walks around the lawn fine, and gets relatively close, however the fence line gets thick after a couple of weeks, and I need to bust out my reliable Ryobi string trimmer.

For whatever factor, my specific design has a hard time much more near my raised patio area. It constantly cuts about 6– 8 inches away, leaving that location to outgrow control. The primary location around my patio area is never ever cut close enough and looks a little untidy. And striking it with the string trimmer every couple of weeks leaves a great deal of grass-clipping accumulations, and ultimately I’ll require a yard dethatcher.

If I attempt to require the lawn mower more detailed, it either keeps trimming too far out or increases onto the outdoor patio, scuffing my epoxy surface. It’s a lose-lose, so I’ve simply turned to edging before I understand the lawn mower is going to begin.

Do not forget that you’ll still need to do a little upkeep on the lawn mower, much like a gas or electrical design, such as changing or honing the blades. It’s been quite problem-free up until now, however it’s time to switch out the blades currently, considering that they’re much smaller sized than those on a routine lawn mower.

I’ve discovered that to get the lawn to look the method I desire, I have to let it cut the whole backyard two times per session. See, a lot of robotic lawn mowers utilize light, free-swinging razor blades rather of high-lift suction decks. As an outcome, it can look a little unequal after the very first pass, however much cleaner after a 2nd go. I’m refraining from doing the work, so that’s great, however it’s worth bearing in mind.

Handling those weeds

Robotic lawn mowers do not bag your clippings

I live beyond Dallas, and the weeds are definitely wild here. Naturally, any property owner requires to stay up to date with pre -and post-emergent services, spot-treat weeds, and take other actions to keep that turf looking smooth and golf-course green. I’ve never ever resided in a state where yard care is such a full-time task.

Depending upon where you live and the kind of lawn you have, weeds can rapidly leave control. To avoid the spread of seeds, I’ve constantly bagged my clippings till I get the weeds under control in the spring and late summer season. This assists avoid weeds from quickly spreading out, however you can’t do that with a robotic lawn mower.

My backyard is great and cut, however there are even more weeds than I anticipated just since my procedure and treatment requires to alter. No matter what I attempted, all the pricey options, I still have weeds all over. A huge part of that is likely due to not bagging. Pre-emergent weed preventer is your buddy.

Tech isn’t constantly suggested to live outdoors

I might actually utilize a robotic garage

And lastly, I didn’t recognize how essential it would be to purchase the optional robotic mower garage. I didn’t wish to invest $350 on the Segway garagehowever I most likely need to have developed some sort of shelter or cover.

Heavy rain, humidity, early morning dew, blazing hot heat, dirt, dust, lawn clippings, and more all wind up covering your mower. Certainly, it’s constructed to manage the components, and mine is definitely waterproof. I put it under the outdoor patio cover when it rains hard, however that’s insufficient.

In simply over 4 months, all the buttons, screens, and electronic camera sensing units are revealing clear indications of direct exposure to the aspects. The buttons are covered in limescale, difficult water areas, and gunk.

The front video cameras and sensing units have water areas on the lenses that I can’t appear to eliminate. I’ve attempted a number of various cleaners. As an outcome, it’ll sometimes fire off a mistake or stop cutting due to the 3D video camera sensing unit having a hard time. I can overlook it or strike “start,” and it continues, however it’s another thing to stress over.

My larger issue is how things take care of just 4 months. How will those buttons or electronic cameras want a couple of years of sitting outdoors? We’ll need to wait and see. Believe me, you’ll wish to purchase or construct a cover for your robotic mower.

I still like it, and it’s method more impactful than a robotic vacuum

At the end of the day, I still definitely enjoy this robotic mower, and I seem like it’s a far much better financial investment than a robotic vacuum. Having one less thing to stress over all week long is extremely essential, and having the ability to invest that time with my young child, seeing sports, or doing other things makes it worth the financial investment.

Sure, there’s a high preliminary expense, upkeep is still needed, and it’s not the fastest lawn mower. The benefit, automation, peaceful operation, and much healthier lawn from regular, much shorter cuts make this one of my preferred gizmos around the home. I have no remorses.

Segway Navimow X430 Robot Lawn Mower

Brand name

Segway Navimow X4

Cutting Width

17-inch

The Segway Navimow X430 is a capable robotic mower developed to keep your lawn looking excellent. Able to cut a location approximately 1 acre, 4WD for 84 % slopes, and zero-turn innovation for damage-free mowing. There’s no requirement for an external antenna or limit wires, and it supports EFLS tri-frequency Network RTK integrated with 360 ° Vision for simple obstacle-avoidance mowing.

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