Product Features and Description
- Powerful Cleaning: The Shark vacuum delivers intense suction power, effectively lifting dirt and debris from all types of floors, ensuring even the most stubborn messes are addressed.
- Thorough Coverage: Utilizing Matrix Clean Navigation, the vacuum systematically covers your home in a grid pattern, ensuring no spot is missed and performing multiple passes for a comprehensive clean.
- Self-Emptying Convenience: The vacuum features a bagless, self-emptying base that can contain up to 30 days of dirt and utilizes true HEPA filtration to capture 99.97% of dust and allergens as small as 0.3 microns.
- Advanced Home Mapping: Equipped with 360° LiDAR vision, the vacuum accurately maps your home for efficient cleaning, skillfully avoiding obstacles and adapting to changes in the environment.
- Pet-Friendly Design: The vacuum is ideal for pet owners, with strong suction, a self-cleaning brushroll, and a HEPA filtration system that easily handles pet hair, dust, and allergens.
- Voice-Activated Operation: Users can effortlessly control their vacuum using voice commands through Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, setting schedules or initiating on-demand cleaning.
- Long Battery Life: With up to 120 minutes of runtime, the vacuum can clean the whole home on a single charge, and will recharge and resume cleaning if necessary to finish the job.
- Brand: Shark
- Model Name: AI Ultra
- Special Feature: Self-Cleaning Brushroll, Pet Hair Pick Up, Bagless, Self-Emptying
- Color: Dark Grey
- Product Dimensions: 13.7
- Included Components: (2) Side Brushes, Filter, Shark AI Robot, HEPA Self-Empty Base
- Filter Type: Foam
- Battery Life: 120 minutes
- Power Source: Battery Powered
- Are Batteries Included: Yes
- Control Method: Voice
- Compatible Devices: Amazon Alexa, Google Home
- Form Factor: Robotic
- Item Weight: 14.42 pounds
- Manufacturer: SharkNinja
- ASIN: B09H8CWFNK
- Item model number: AV2501S
- Batteries: 1 Lithium Ion batteries required. (included)
- Best Sellers Rank: #49,321 in Home & Kitchen (See Top 100 in Home & Kitchen) #64 in Robotic Vacuums
- Number of pieces: 5
- Warranty Description: 1 year limited warranty.
- Batteries required: Yes
Discover the latest in home cleaning technology with our comprehensive roundup of advanced robot vacuums, including the Shark AV2501S AI Ultra. This innovative device boasts Matrix Clean, home mapping, and a 30-day capacity HEPA bagless self-empty base—ideal for pet owners. Dive deeper into its features and compare with similar products by exploring our detailed reviews here.
The Good, the Bad, and the Product: An In-Depth Review
The vacuum in question has garnered some positive feedback from users who appreciate its functionality and the convenience it offers. Notably, a user named J Jones found the mapping feature of the vacuum to be incredibly efficient, allowing for the labeling and selective cleaning of rooms via an app. This level of automation, combined with the ability to schedule cleaning sessions, provides a significant convenience factor. Users like Kevin Toomey have observed an impressive amount of pet hair collection, attributing this to the device’s advanced navigation capabilities, such as LiDAR mapping. This technology is praised for its precision in navigating around furniture and other obstacles.
The product seems to be relatively quiet, as noted by Taylor Carthas, and is effective on a variety of surfaces including hardwood, tile, and low-profile area rugs, according to Chester H. Leckner. The absence of tangled hair in the brushes is a unique selling point mentioned by deweyduo, which can be particularly beneficial for homes with pets. The device’s self-emptying feature, despite being noisy, is a highlight for some customers, eliminating the need for frequent manual intervention.
Furthermore, for individuals with mobility issues or those who simply detest vacuuming, like Chris D., the robot vacuum offers a hands-off approach to maintaining clean floors. The ease of removing and cleaning the dust bin, as mentioned by Susan H., and the aesthetic of neat carpet lines left behind add to the appeal of the vacuum.
However, the product also has its fair share of criticism, with a number of users reporting significant drawbacks. A common complaint, highlighted by Amanda Lipesky, is the vacuum’s inefficiency on carpet and its inability to effectively handle pet hair. This suggests that the product may not be suitable for homes with pets or those with carpeted floors.
The longevity and durability of the vacuum have been questioned by users like rich, who experienced a breakdown of the unit shortly after the warranty expired and faced challenges with the lack of available replacement parts or repair services. Similarly, patioelf’s experience with a unit that failed to charge and self-empty, despite its high cost, points to reliability issues. Additionally, issues with the device’s software and Wi-Fi connectivity, as described by Sumit@AWS and other users, seem to hinder the full utilization of the product’s smart features, which is a significant downside for a technology-oriented device.
Furthermore, customers like David C. have raised concerns about the product’s lifespan, indicating that the vacuum may not last as long as expected. Others, such as Stephani Perriman and Shelby Loftin, have encountered quality control issues, including receiving units that were previously used or malfunctioned after a brief period of satisfactory performance. User deweyduo’s frustration with the product’s multiple filters, the app’s lack of error notifications, frequent errors, and the high maintenance demands echo the sentiment of unreliability and inconvenience.
In summary, while the vacuum has features that are praised by some, such as its mapping and cleaning abilities, the overall sentiment from users indicates that the product may struggle with pet hair, carpets, and reliability over time, which could be potential deal-breakers for prospective buyers.
What do the stars speak of?
Opinions about this product were divided in such a proportion among the buyers.
The most helpful positive feedback Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2023 by RJMALLAK, and is titled “How did I live without it?”
We have a long haired cat and need daily cleaning. We have had great service from this vacuum. Transitions easily from hardwood to low profile area rugs.
Customer Rating: 5
Helpful Rate: 2
Variation purchased: B09H8CWFNK
People find the following negative one quite helpful. Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2023 by Amanda Lipesky, titled “Idea for non pet owners with no carpet”
Not good for pet hair or Carpet
Customer Rating: 2
Variation purchased: B09H8CWFNK
Andres Sepulveda –
Thank
Is perfect
Terri Templeton –
Vacuum
This is amazing.
K. Howland –
Its a Shark that cleans. You wont be disappointed
The Shark Robot Vacuum is an impressive combination of durability, affordability, and cleaning effectiveness. Built to last, it handles daily cleaning tasks with ease, consistently delivering a spotless home. Its price point is competitive, offering great value for a high-performing smart vacuum. I have it programmed to run in the middle of the night daily. Never gets stuck, never fails to do a great job. One of its standout features is its ability to transition seamlessly between different floor types, including rugs and hard floors, without any hiccups. Whether it’s pet hair, dust, or debris, this robot vacuum tackles it all. If you’re looking for a reliable and efficient cleaning companion, the Shark AV2501S is a fantastic choice! It will get dusty from its journeys around your home, so she needs a wipe down once every few weeks.
Dustin Eisenschink –
Worked for 2 days
The wheel stopped working and doing what the support said to do to to fix it doesn’t work
Bradley Huber –
The battery and constant logins
I like that the vacuum does well with the mapping feature. It does not hold battery well at all and takes an extreme amount of time to charge. Oftentimes, it makes me sign in with my email and password, which feels ridiculous for an appliance and not a banking app. The height of the dock makes it difficult to stow the appliance in a less conspicuous location. I also wish there was the option to map different floors in the home without deleting previous maps. We live in a 3 story home and have no desire to buy 3 of these. I should be able to move the appliance without having to do a full reset. There is one more feature I love on this Shark, and it is the ease of removing hair from the beater bar and access to maintenance within the vacuum itself. This would be good for a person in a single-floored home and a constant place to charge. I think reducing the height by 3-4 inches could be a game-changer for them as one could store it under a couch or bed.
Brenda DePauw –
Worked in the beginning
I think maybe I got a lemon. I bought this in February of 2024 and it worked good for quite a while. The last couple weeks it had been setting it’s own schedule. I could never get the map to work well either. Now it has disconnected itself and because of physical restrictions I am unable to get down on the floor to even attempt to fix it.
Coffee with Books –
I really wanted this to work
Pros: Easy to set up Mapped the house and displayed the map. Easy to schedule cleanings Easy to deeper clean a specific spot Bagless Decent battery life Rolls over transition pieces in doorways and onto lower pile carpet. Cons: It worked well for 3 days then quit. The technician at Shark indicated a “program error was not fixable”. Solution: Only call tech support at Shark. We returned the Shark to Amazon. I recommend buying the three-year warranty. Many of the reviews complain it worked well for about a year.
Amazon Customer –
I wouldn’t recommend the mopper
I’ve been using it for a little over a month, twice a week. Today, I wanted to refill the fluid reservoir, but the lock button came out. I discovered that the lock was broken. Look for something more solid.
mco –
After 2 years I’ve decided I hate it
I bought this on sale and thought it would be an upgrade from our roomba that was on its last mile. It’s not. The roomba despite its many issues still out vacuumed this unit. It’s weak and has a lot of app issues that keep resetting. I’ll eventually get another roomba
Richard –
Works great
Gets the job done.
Diana C –
Super small batter and high maintenance robot
I was excited to receive this vacuum/mop robot as a replacement for my 6yr old roborock. The shipping was fast and had great packaging. I downloaded the app and recharged the unit +24 hours before launching the scanning and 1st cycle. It took x3 full battery charges to clean my house “single floor” 1,800 SqFt. The mopping is the worst, the liquid container is minuscule and manually re-filled 4 times to complete 1 full mopping all around the house. I also tried “vacuum” only at lower power, the unit ran out of battery 3 times, and each charge is 4hr long pause as the unit had to fully recharge in order to resume the cleaning. You need a separate robot to take care of this robot 🙂 For now, I will stick with my old Roborock.
Ashley –
Love the vacuum but the app is horrible.
What’s the point of mapping and zoning if you can’t schedule the zoning? Or choose the route for the bot to go when sending it MANUALLY because I can’t just schedule a specific room. The bot doesn’t feel like its mapped out a house when it is constantly hitting a wall and goes down a hall the opposite direction of the room it was sent to. The “complete” review is also farce, it will say it takes 65 minutes to do a matrix clean, dock itself after 20 minutes and show that it completed the clean. Or it dies during a clean then rather than allowing you to cancel it it will randomly continue the clean at 2 am. The cleaning itself is amazing, but 3 stars because it’s only as good as its weakest link and the app SUCKS.
Stella –
I can’t connect
I can’t connect the vacuum to the phone
Amazon Customer –
Not user friendly
To difficult to get set up to vacuum rooms just gets stuck around and under furniture and tables
Papa Bill –
Does a great job
Very impressed on the great job it does. Picks up all on the carpets. Our carpets look really good. We have two dogs and it cleans the hair up. Would definitely recommend to anyone.
Rythai –
Terrible performance
So many things it claim it does or does well (cleaning only one room vs all for example). Total crap. I’ll be surprised if it last a year as one part broke the first day!
R. Davis –
Fantastic Little Robot Vacuum
We bought this during the 2024 Black Friday sales event. We previously owned a model from a different maker, but that one was a simple “bump” style that we had tired of over the last couple years. We wanted to try a smarter type that could also self-clean, so when this popped up on offer we took a chance and bought it. We have three large dogs that constantly shed, as well as two cats; all are inside pets. We have hardwood floors throughout the house except for the bedrooms, so the plan was for this little guy to handle the hardwood floors while we vacuum the carpets with a standard vacuum cleaner. I haven’t had the chance to do an actual mapping run of the house because we are still in the process of moving in and there are boxes and other items in various areas that haven’t been put away. I’ve only let the little fella roam on his own without mapping, but I hope to have everything put away (or mostly put away) by the end of the year. So far our little robot has done a great job on the hardwood floors. He picks up way more than the other robot vacuum ever did. It’s amazing to watch it dock and empty itself into the base station, then get back to work all on its own. One great feature is how it cleans the brush roller. I’m not sure how it does it, but it does a great job. It does leave some hairs behind on the roller right in the middle when the metal support lies on the brush cover, as well as at the edges of the brush where it attaches to the motor. I wasn’t surprise by that and it should be expected since those areas aren’t easy to access without removing the cover and brush roll from the machine. The hairs came off super easy by hand, though. It was far easier to remove them than with the other vacuum robot we owned. The base station holding tank would probably last 30 days in houses without pets, or with one small pet; however, with our 5 pets it filled up within a few days of running 1-2 times per day. I checked it after about 6-8 days of running and it was quite full. It might have been able to run for another day or two (maybe longer), but I didn’t want to risk it and was already heading to the rubbish bin anyway, so I went ahead and emptied it. The one frustrating thing I’ve found so far is the tall foam filter in the base dumps dirt out when you lift it out to clean it. I discovered that when I was emptying the base for the first time and decided to pull that out to give it a quick clean. Fine dirt just kept dropping out of it while I walked to the front door, leaving a trail of dirt behind. Now I know to only remove that when either outside or above the trash, both of which require lifting the base and taking it somewhere else. I can live with that slight inconvenience since the robot does so much work for me otherwise. Overall I am very pleased with the purchase. I suppose there are more expensive options out there, but this one is fine for our needs. I MIGHT update this review once I have the little guy map the house and start doing fully automated runs.