November 28, 2025
Press to clean, press to scream
Neato vacuum robots to stop working
Smart vacs lose brains: app is dead, button lives — fans furious, pedants fact-check
TLDR: Vorwerk is shutting down Neato’s cloud, killing app features and maps, but the vacuums still run if you press the button. Comments split between fact-checkers, local-first purists, and calls for laws to stop “cloud kills,” highlighting how fragile smart gadgets are when servers disappear.
Neato’s parent company Vorwerk just announced the cloud for its Lidar-loving vacuum robots is shutting down, citing “new cybersecurity rules” and “regulatory changes.” The robots won’t be fully dead, they’ll still clean if you press the button, but the internet is not having it. First shot fired: Proofread0592 storms in with “Your title is wrong,” dunking on doom headlines while reminding everyone the bots do still work—manually. Owner simonlondon lays out the pain plainly: app control, mapped floor plans, schedules, and no-go zones are gone. Cue the memes: “Your smart vacuum just entered the Press-The-Button era,” and “No-go zones? More like go-everywhere chaos.” Meanwhile, privacy and reliability hardliners are flexing: hamstergene argues these robots never needed a cloud at all, roasting the design that turns a smart device into a “manual dud” the moment servers go poof. The loudest hot take? Regulation. qingcharles wants laws forcing companies to stash device docs and crypto keys in escrow so owners aren’t stranded when a cloud shuts down. Jazgot connects the drama to dead online games and says the “stop killing games” movement should expand to all software. Vorwerk says warranties remain, support stays at neatorobotics.com, and your data is safer. The crowd says: cool, but our smart home feels suddenly, well, less smart.
Key Points
- •Neato Robotics ceased operations in 2023 after committing to five years of cloud support for its products.
- •Vorwerk maintained the Neato cloud platform post-closure to honor the five-year service promise.
- •Evolving cybersecurity standards and regulatory requirements make the current cloud infrastructure unsustainable.
- •Neato cloud services are being phased out, but robots will still operate manually via the device button.
- •Manufacturer warranties remain valid, support resources stay available online, and other Vorwerk products are unaffected.