How To Change The Battery On Neato D4 (D7, D8, D9, D10, Botvac)

This is a complete guide on how to change the batteries on your Neato D4 (D7, D8, D9, D10, Botvac) robot vacuum cleaner. The practice is almost identical for all models even including the Botvac models.

The guide on how to change the robot vacuums battery

It’s very easy to change the battery of all Neato models, so you can do this yourself following this guide.

The first step is to turn it off. You do this by holding down the large power button on the top and holding down the left front side of the robot.

You’ll hear the front “button” says click when it’s pressed. You need to hold them for about 10 seconds, it’ll then turn off.

You then turn the robot upside down and get a screwdriver that fits into the screws. After you’ve done screwing the plastic lit should come off easily.

Once the lit has come off you’ll see the battery pack. The battery pack is very easy to take out.

It should be connected to the robot with a 4 pin connector, you can pull this out with whatever force you need – as long as you don’t need the battery again if you do then be a bit careful.

Your new battery should also have the same connector attached to it. For the last part, you need to connect this to the robot vacuum.

It can be a bit hard to reach, so maybe place it softly as deep as you can and then use the screwdriver to connect it fully.

And that is it! Now you just need to screw the lit back on, put it back on the charging dock and let it charge fully. When charged it should function like new again.

How long does the battery in Neato models last?

There is a small capacity difference in the Neato models where the D4 holds the smallest capacity and the D10 holds the largest capacity.

I personally tested the D4’s capacity to be at least 70 minutes. They say 75 minutes on Neato’s website, I believe this to be true.

All models are using pretty much the same type of Lithium-Ion batteries.

Sadly Neato doesn’t really tell exactly how many charge cycles they can do, but it’s several hundred, they are pretty much standard li-ion batteries so they shouldn’t have any problems having 400+ charging cycles.

If you are like my and don’t think that 400+ sounds like a lot or at least reasonable, then think of it this way.

If your robot vacuums twice a week it’s a little over 100 cycles a year and depending on the size of your house or apartment it not even sure it gets 100% discharged, which means even more charging cycles.

The battery should be able to hold a good capacity for several years before you even consider changing it.

Do I need a special battery for my Neato robot vacuum?

Many also ask the question if they can use the same battery pack from a Roomba or a Roborock in a Neato model.

The answer is no.

You need a special battery that is fitted to your Neato model. Luckily they are not that expensive and almost all Neato robot vacuums use the same standard.

There is only once difference, if you buy a Botvac model you’ll need a Ni-MH battery instead of an LI-ION battery.

Also, a lot of third parties have actually made accessories for the Neato robot vacuum models, this also means that you can get third party battery packs, which in term means you can get them really cheap.

But please note, if you decide to save some money and buy a third party battery pack it might not hold the same capacity or charge cycles.

When should I change the battery in my Neato robot vacuum?

This is also depending on the size of your apartment or house and the amount of power, it’ll use in one cleaning session.

You’ll have to consider changing the battery when your robot vacuum cannot finish cleaning everything in once cleaning session.

If your robot vacuum only gets half depleted every time it vacuums, there’ll be no issue before the battery degrades to under 50% of its maximum capacity.

How to maximize your Neato’s battery life

There are several ways you can actually do to prolong the lifespan of your robot vacuum battery.

This actually also applies to all other robot vacuum models like Roomba, Roborock, Eufy Robovac, etc.

1. Make sure the brushes are clean.
   When the robot vacuum is cleaning the room, the brushes will collect hair and dust that it cannot easily get rid of by itself. Here it is important that you make sure it’s as clean as possible before every cleaning session. This is because when hair and dust build-up, the motor that turns the brushes around needs more power to turn it. So the less friction, the less power it’s going to need and the more battery life you’ll get. It might only be a few percentages but this stacks up over the long term.
2. Clean the wheels and maybe lubricate them.
   Actually the exact same reason as the above. Hair and dirt will collect in all the wheels also and this will cause more friction which then means the motor that turns the wheels needs more power to turn them. I think you get it. With most vacuums you have the ability to take the wheels off entirely, to clean them. While you have the wheels off you can choose to lubricate them with oil like WD40 or similar. This will make sure the wheels are turning with the least amount of friction.
3. Make sure to use it often.
   This can seem counterintuitive. But the batteries will actually degrade faster when not used at all, so keep the batteries in shape by using it regularly. If you are going on vacation and are going for over a week, either create a schedule for it to clean through the week or take it off its station so it won’t keep charging it up and degrade the battery.
4. Don’t run the battery completely dry.
   It’s a misconception that your LI-ION battery needs to be completely drained and then fully charged once in a while. It’s absolutely a mistake to do so and can be somewhat harmful even. The most healthy way of charging an LI-ION battery is from 20% to 80% approximately. I know this is pretty hard when the robot just automatically returns to dock and starts charging, but this is okay just let it do its thing.
5. Don’t let it stay in the sun
   Batteries are going to degrade much faster when it’s hot. Batteries don’t like extreme environments, it likes a normal living-room temperature, not too cool and not too hot.
   

Before you buy your new Robot Vacuum Cleaner, check out these helpful articles:

10 Useful Tips When Owning A Robot Vacuum Cleaner

How A Robot Vacuum Cleaner Works

Resources:

https://neatorobotics.com/dk/products/