Having a Roomba around makes cleaning much easier and more fun. Luckily for millions of households, it comes at a meager price too! Sometimes the Roomba flashes an orange light, and any Roomba owner should know what this light means.
The orange flashing light indicates that the Roomba’s battery is drained. If it’s docked, the orang light means it’s charging. Sometimes, it may indicate the battery is faulty or the charging dock isn’t transmitting voltage properly. Charging your Roomba for 16 hours or changing the battery should fix it.
This article will try to quell your fears as it explores the common causes and some fixes too!
Read on to know more!
Roomba Is Flashing Orange: Common Causes and Fixes
Most electronic devices use the color orange to denote the device is charging. However, the flashing is not as common. Is your Roomba flashing orange to get you to do something? If so, what does it want?
Why Is My Roomba Flashing?
A flashing orange light can communicate several things. Your Roomba is telling you that either its battery is drained, it’s not receiving its needed voltage, or it simply needs its battery replaced.
1. The Roomba’s Battery Is Drained
Although I know you can’t get enough of your Roomba, using it for too long without charging will eventually drain the battery. It’s probably flashing orange to let you know it requires a long charge. Hate to break it to you, but you may have to charge your Roomba the entire day.
How To Fix
Although it’s usually as easy as charging your Roomba like you always do, You might want to do a quick reset just in case.
- If your Roomba is plugged in, plug it out.
- Hold the dock and spot button. This will reset your Roomba.
- Plug your Roomba back in. Charge your Roomba for 16 hours at least.
- Unplug it and check to see if the light still flashes orange.
Once your Roomba enters the 16-hour charge period, it can’t be interrupted. During this time, the CLEAN button will pulse orange.
2. The Roomba’s Charging Dock Has a Problem
If your Roomba doesn’t get its required voltage, it won’t operate properly. The Roomba is capable of detecting its voltage by itself, and it will alert you of a problem via the orange flashing light.
A faulty charging dock may prevent your Roomba from getting the required voltage. Although fixing this might be a bit trickier, it’s still easy!
To Fix
To get around the voltage issue, you’ll need to bypass the charging dock.
- Unplug the connector on the left side of your charging dock.
- Look for the connector hole on the front of your Roomba and plug the connector into the hole.
- Leave the connector in for 16 hours.
- Check again to see if the light still flashes.
3. The Roomba’s Battery Is Faulty
Some Roomba models still have nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries that can be pretty difficult to work with. This is because these batteries self-discharge at a rate of 1 to 5% of their stored power per day. Self-discharging happens when a battery continues to lose power even when it is not in use. Self-discharge tends to be faster in warmer climates.
What you will have to do is switch to a more modern type of battery—a lithium-ion one.
If you have a newer Roomba, you most likely have a Li-ion type of battery already. Keep in mind that lithium-ion batteries will also deteriorate after enough time passes. Either way, the fix is very similar.
Check out this Youtube video that shows the current versions of Roomba compared.
To Fix
Doing this fix entails opening the unit to change the battery.
- Turn your Roomba over. You will see five screws, with the fifth one being on the brush.
- Unscrew and open the unit.
- You should see the battery immediately. It is purple and green and may have the iRobot logo.
- Place your replacement battery. The Roomba should immediately make a sound, signaling that it’s functioning once the battery is in.
- Check if the light still flashes orange.
How Can You Tell If Your Roomba Is Charging?
You can tell if your Roomba is charging because it will show an orange light. It will show a green light once it’s done charging. Note that this orange light should be pulsing, not flashing.
If it’s flashing, refer to the above sections for fixes.
In newer models, you can check the battery’s status using the iRobot Home app. But for the models that aren’t capable of connecting to WiFi, you will have to rely on the colored lights.
What Do All The Different Color Lights Mean In My Roomba?
We already established what orange means, but what about the other colors?
A red light in your Roomba means that the battery is empty and needs to be charged. Solid green means the Roomba is fully charged. An orange while the Roomba is docked means it’s recharging.
You shouldn’t overcharge your Roomba. This could lead to battery issues, so when you see the green light, it’s best to unplug it.
How Do I Manually Reset My Roomba?
Many Roomba users recommend doing a manual reset on your Roomba when you replace the batteries. The reset prevents the unit from malfunctioning.
To manually reset your Roomba, turn it on and hold the spot and dock buttons simultaneously for 10 seconds or until the CLEAN light shuts off. You should hear a tune afterward as a sign that the Roomba is reset.
You can further confirm if it has been reset by pressing the clock button. If it shows 12:00 instead of the time you had it set for, that means the manual reset is successful.
Summary
Your Roomba flashing an orange light isn’t a cause for panic. If it’s docked, it simply means the battery is charging. If it’s not docked, then it might be signaling minor battery-related problems. By simply doing a reset, a charging dock bypass, or a battery change, you can get your Roomba functioning normally in no time.
As useful as Roombas are, you sometimes need a more heavy-duty device for cleaning difficult spaces—for example, a Dyson vacuum. If you’re having trouble with your Dyson vacuum, check my article on why the brush might stop spinning.
