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ROOMBA·FAULT SYM WARN

Roomba won't dock or return home

Severity: Warning — robot parks wherever the battery runs out 600eijs
Last verified: 2026-07-05 Tools: none Time: ~10 min Difficulty: easy

DIRECT ANSWER

When a Roomba can't find its Home Base, blame dock placement first. The dock wants 1.5 ft of clearance on each side, 4 ft in front, and a wall behind it. Dirty contacts and infrared interference cause the rest.
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COMMON CAUSES · RANKED

1

Dock in a bad spot MOST COMMON

Tucked in a corner, on carpet, or near stairs, the robot's approach path breaks down. iRobot asks for a hard level floor, a wall behind, and 4 ft of clearance from any stairs.

2

Dirty contacts or dock window

The robot finds the dock, bumps it, then backs away because it never detects a charge through the dusty strips.

3

Robot moved or started away from the dock

Carry the robot mid-clean and it loses its bearings — it will hunt for a dock it can no longer locate.

4

Infrared interference UNCOMMON

A Dual Mode Virtual Wall or a second Home Base within 8 ft can drown out the dock's beam.

5

Dock lost power mid-clean UNCOMMON

Someone switched off the power strip. No beam, no homing.

HOW TO FIX IT

No battery or electrical work involved in this fix.

Fix the placement

Wall behind, hard level floor, 1.5 ft clear on each side, 4 ft clear in front, 4 ft from stairs.

Verify dock power

Re-plug the cord at both ends. The light shows about four seconds, then goes dark — that's normal.

Clean contacts and the infrared window

Wipe the charging strips on dock and robot with lightly dampened melamine foam, and dust the clear window on top of the dock.

Remove competing signals

Move Virtual Walls and any second dock at least 8 ft away.

Run the 6-ft test

Place the robot 6 ft from the dock, facing it, and press HOME. If it docks, the fault was placement or interference.

COMPATIBLE PARTS

As an Amazon Associate, RoboFaults earns from qualifying purchases. Prices are shown on the retailer's site.

Home Base charging dock

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Clean the metal charging contacts with a dry cloth before assuming the dock itself has failed.

Check price on Amazon ↗

Sources

Verification

OFFICIAL SOURCE

Last verified: 2026-07-05 · How we verify a fault code

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