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
Amazon Customer –
Login required to use my own vacuum cleaner?
I feel like I am renting this thing. It occasionally forgets (usually after a power outage) and needs login complete with password (upper case-lower case-special char). I also have to check a box on terms of service. This has happened many times and occasionally locks me out for a while. I need to clean my floors now and not play the “mother may I” game.
J. Alexander –
Doesn’t run without WiFi
Love this vaccuum. However, I wish you could run it manually if WiFi is down. This happened after a hurricane.
It would have been nice if they sent me the right product but they sent me a gray and black water tank treatment –
Great
Loved it so much I got a 2nd one
Maria Somoza –
Fine
I paid so much money for this because my fur babies let out so much fur. This does not even pick their fur up and it’s so loud. I’m not happy with it but I can’t send it back
Cubicle Warrior –
Works better than I expected
I have to be honest; I didn’t have high expectations about this vacuum. Even though it has good ratings, I just didn’t think it would do a good job, decent maybe, but not good. I was wrong. The setup was easy, just follow the instructions. For the initial mapping we picked up any small obstacles and moved things like ottomans so the vacuum could get around them to build an accurate map. I think that’s key. Make sure doors are open to secondary rooms and have the floor relatively clear of obstacles for the mapping. After that it did an outstanding job and getting in the nooks and corners all over the main floor. I was really impressed. Yes, you might have to go around and get some of the harder to reach areas once a month, but this thing does a really good job of keeping the high traffic areas pretty clean a couple times per week. We couldn’t be happier with the results. We have had one time where it didn’t return to the base correctly which prevented it from charging, but other than that it’s worked flawlessly.
Ray Ray –
Works
Have several of these vacs and just pickup rugs and hit goooo.
Racer805 –
Works well
Easy to set up, works well in my condo. Picks up cat litter and hair well from my wooden floors. I run it daily. Only issue I’ve had was with the brush roller, I’ve had to remove it and untangle hair, and replace. I’m a first time user and pleasantly surprised.
Lsakemi –
Regrets
I thought I’d save some money buying this refurbished robot, but it did not work. Frustrating experience.
B Mel –
So far so good!
I bought it in July and this tool has made me sooooo happy! I HATE VACUUMING and now, I start my Sharkira and let her do her work. And I feel so good that my place can be vacuumed everyday if I wish to, and that I will not have to do it. She is amazing, works great on my wooden floors, area rugs and tiles. I have 2 levels I use her on and only set up the map for level 2 as I cannot figure out how to set up maps for many levels. I carry her downstairs and press vacuum and she just does it without a map, which has been a relief. The mapping was simple and quick. I have steep staircases and she never flew downstairs 🙂 So easy to empty and clean, WHY DID I WAIT SO MUCH???? Her hips definitely don’t lie.
Mel –
Sub par cleaning and many errors
I am truly disappointed in this unit! I had which high hopes as this model boosts better performance than older models. However, this vacuum only picked up a fraction of the dirt and fur balls from my pets and didn’t seem to clean the entire space each time. About three weeks in it quit working and was continually having errors which it vocalized. I called shark, they sent a replacement unit and the same thing happened to this one! My previous Model AV1010AE was AMAZING and so I thought this one would be outstanding but NOPE! I do NOT recommend this model of shark robots!
Jenny Barker –
Baby Shark really saves me time
Set up was a breeze. It mapped out my house and went to work. I love the app on my phone, it lets me design the areas of my home … kitchen, foyer, bedroom, etc. The vacuum does a fairly good job, even if it does occasionally miss a piece of pet food, or it may sweep a piece of dirt on to an area it’s already been. It does seem to sense if it needs to vacuum an area more completely, like the cat litter that surrounds the litter box … I can hear the litter going into the vacuum louder then softer and softer as more of it is sucked up. I mapped out the house when we were first moving in so I had too many boxes still on the floor. I suggest you try to remove everything you can during mapping so that the machine gets the entire picture, then it will work around chairs, etc. There is only a single room that does not get cleaned by Baby Shark, and that is one of the bedrooms with a shag rug. The sweepers got caught up in the fibers of the rug and I had to untangle them. I wish I could figure out how to have the vacuum do the rest of the room except the rug … I think I can set up a more exact no-go zone eventually. You can set up a routine for the vacuum, but it’s only a single routine. I was hoping to set up a routine to vacuum different rooms on different days, but that’s beyond the (current) app’s limitations. It is a bit loud when in the same room so I usually have it clean when I leave to drive kids to school. It seems to have a bit of an erratic pattern of cleaning but it still manages to get under chairs and close to baseboards. Corners are kind of hit-or-miss. It’s not perfect, but I don’t have to get out the broom much at all anymore, so I’m very pleased. I can heartily recommend … and I plan to give these as gifts at Christmas!
Melissa –
I love this robot vac!
This is a great little robot vacuum! It has done a great job, getting the cat hair and my hair out of my carpets without getting tangled up like most of my vacuums. I have very long hair and shed more than the cat, which is usually a problem with the rollers, but this little guy has handled it with ease. It has a self cleaning roller and also comes with a tool to cut any residual hair that may have managed to stay on the roller. I love that it empties itself… If it feels like it’s gotten too full while it’s still cleaning, it’ll go back to the station empty itself and continue to clean until it’s finished. My carpets and rugs are noticeably cleaner and this new version is even better about mapping out the house than my original one. I’m very pleased with him, so far.
Sue Tilcock –
Great Vacuum
Cleans both carpet and wood floors very well
Paige Putman –
It rattles
The media could not be loaded. It cleans well but you can’t run it when you’re home because of the rattle. Not impressed. I’ve cleaned the bin, the brush, the wheels… nothing changes.
Julie –
Died within two months despite battery change
Clunky, loud
Katharine M. O’Brian –
Great product!
Works like a charm!!!!!
Kaan Demirel –
so far it’s working perfectly
Although I have seen some bad comments, I can say after a month; it does everything it promises. I have not had any real problems so far. All I can say is; if you drive in a carpeted house, the garbage container fills up in less than a month. I empty it every two weeks.
dale broussard –
Happy wife
Wife didn’t want one but I got it anyway. She loves it. Does a great job with dog hair.
Karen Richards –
Suction
I love shark vacuum’s however the suction on this sucks
Amazon Customer –
So Loud!
I’ve had other brands of vacuum bots before, but this is the loudest by far. It also seems more glitchy and doesn’t clean on schedule or when I send it to spot clean at times. I may return it.
KT –
Loss of suction for no reason
Brand new filters, bins cleaned, sensors cleaned and still get error message stating loss of suction. It is terrible for dog hair and never emptied the hair into the bin. Save your money and buy something else that will last and actually pick up dog hair. Also very poor mapping of your house. This was a huge mistake.
Albert R –
Pretty good sweeper
The media could not be loaded. I used it about 4 or 5 times to clean the house and this is how it did with small dog hair. As u can see in video, it got a big ball of hair and trash.
Kevin gagne –
Junk
Only vacuums for a minute or two until it gives an error code. Under powered to pick up dog hair. Would not recommend.
Guy Roberts –
This machine makes me so happy!
3 cats and 1 dog, hardwood/vinyl flooring….’nuff said. We used to get hair bunching up in corners, and just generally all over the place. So easy to set up, let it discover your house, set up different rooms, and schedule it to run every day. We keep our bedroom shut all the time, so each day or two I open the door and tell it to clean the bedroom and bathroom. This is my favorite toy right now, and I have quite a few to choose from! Well with the money for a clean floor.
Michael Moran –
This shark robot vacuum is awesome!
I love this product. We got 3 cats and this robot picks it all up easily and never gets clogged or stuck! It’s easy to empty the dirt and hair once a month from the base. It does everything I need it to do. Just make sure to take wires and cat toys off the floor so they don’t interfere with the robot. I truly love this robot, helps me clean the house and I can do more important things.
Kindle Customer –
Brush roll always stuck
I bought this in May and in July it started acting up. Constantly says brush roll is stuck. I’ll clean it and set it back down to clean. And it repeats this process. It hasn’t worked properly in over a month. I bought it to clean while at work (busy single mom) and it hasn’t been able to complete the cleaning cycle in quite some time, leaving a very duty floor and no vacuum to clean it. This vacuum is way too expensive to break after six months. Don’t waste your money like I did.
Deanna Thomas –
Poor item and customer service
This sounded like it was broken Returned it and never received a refund
Janet Fritz –
Reliable Cleaning
I have pets and having this vacuum run each day really keeps my home looking better and staying cleaner. It’s easy to set up the vacuum and the APP. Its definitely a value for the price I paid.
Sherrell’s –
Best purchase ever
The stress of keeping up with the house, work, and kids schedules finally hit my limit last week while kids were playing outside and I spent hours vacuuming the house and mopping floors. I stopped and started looking at robot vacuums for help and landed on this product. It arrived this week and my husband and I were utterly shocked the first day we came home to spotless floors. It is the best product I’ve ever purchased to give use time back in our week. I highly recommend! We have a one level house and when cleaning all areas except my kids rooms it will cover about 1500sq ft. Yesterday it took 150minutes to cover this space. It is thorough and well worth the money!
Judith A. Riggs –
Love it!
Love this Shark!! Easy to set up in the app, sends messages when needed, does a great job cleaning. The emptying feature is awesome. It’s not too loud and easy to program.
Verigam –
Easily clogged
This is the 2nd one I have purchased. Both are EASILY clogged with pet hair, requiring you to pull out and clean out the filter on the unit. Apparently this hair is not blown into the large collection unit so it stays in the Shark and must be cleaned after every other cycle. Having three cats I understand there is a lot of hair but they should NOT advertise it’s cleaning power if it is so easily clogged. I probably won’t buy another. NOT RECOMMENDED.
SkiUtah61 –
I absolutely love this vacuum
I have 2 Labrador dogs that live in the house. Clearly, I need a good vacuum. This is the answer I have been looking for! I truly love everything about this robotic vacuum.
Bill C –
Works ok. We are satisfied.
Gets confused sometimes, but we have a lot of items for it to navigate.
Amazon Customer –
Save money!
If you have multiple animals like I do, save money and get the 30 day. I got the 45 day and end up emptying every other day. So far no complaints. I make sure everything is picked up before I have it run
TJD –
Good, but not for pet hair.
I had an older version of the shark and it would always get clogged with pet hair after two or three runs. This one claimed to be good for pet hair. Unfortunately, same exact issue. After two or three runs, it has to be taken apart and cleaned to get rid of the clogs. Everything else is pretty cool. The app is great. Mapping is great. lidar is cool.
Laurie –
Sharkie
I’m happy that it mapped out our house first.
Wanderlust Photography LLC | Wanderlust Boudoir –
Only lasts about a year. Roomba is better.
Only lasts about a year. I originally bought it in July 2022, the vacuum itself when out in May 2023. A replacement was sent to me that wasn’t even the the same as the original I purchased, it’s now August 2024 and the replacement has gone out as well and they will not replace it. I’ve had a roomba for 7 years and it’s still going strong. If you’re weighing the options between brands, go with the rumba.
Janice Cahill –
Ultra Robo Vacuum
Doesn’t get every nook and cranny but is helpful for the very elderly.
JMS –
doesn’t last long
The cool features like the carpet mode and avoiding things and following the app stopped working within weeks. It still vacuums, but I have to babysit because it gets stuck in corners, vacuums stuff up it should be avoiding, etc.
S. Paulissen –
Takes Stress from my Life
I am not tech savvy: took me a while to set it up. Now I run it daily. Picks up so much dog hair. Love that it evacuates into a larger, easy to empty bin. Love not buying bags. Our only issue is keeping our limited mobility, senior dog out of its way. Don’t want a vacuumed tail incident! I am so happy I got this vacuum.
Erika Lundy Wellness –
Exceeds expectations
The media could not be loaded. I did a ton of research before buying a robo vac. This is perfect and I can’t understand how or why any additional technology would be needed or why I’d want to pay more for it. This vacuum gets the house so clean and the self empty is absolutely necessary so you don’t have to worry about it not getting a full cleaning in because it gets too full. It just goes to the base, empties itself and then goes back to its last location. My biggest concerns in buying one of these were a vacuum that constantly got stuck on things and a vacuum that missed cleaning areas if furniture was in a slightly different location. This vac is fantastic, cleans every inch of my home, transitions from hardwood to carpet with no problems and I’m amazed at the areas it fits itself into so it can clean. It gets under my dish washer and fridge, transitions on and off my marble near the fireplace and handles our welcome mats without issue. It also seems to have a certain level of intelligence where it has gotten more confident in certain areas of my home. Set up and mapping was so simple. Another cool feature is that you can update your map at any time to add different rooms or change dimensions. For example I have an open kitchen/family room. At first I labeled that area as 1 room. I then edited and created 2 rooms so that I can select just one of those areas if I want to get an individual area cleaned at any given time. Let me address some of the negatives I read in reviews. Noise- not too noisy, when emptying it’s a little loud for about 6 seconds, no big deal. Battery life- no problem for me. I can spot clean any time I want. I have it scheduled to do a full clean at 12:00am every night. As a result it doesn’t matter if it stops to charge in between cleanings. App limitations- not a problem for me, I prefer the simplicity. You can on demand have it clean one room or multiple rooms with the touch of a button. You can have it spot clean an area by touching the area on the map. Scheduled cleaning- only lets you schedule all rooms, you can’t schedule just 1 room. Not a problem. I select rooms as needed throughout the day, for example if kids were messy at lunch I select kitchen. But I like that it cleans my entire first floor every night. Also while it’s cleaning you can alternate the power which is nice. Bin storage- some people say it won’t last 45 days, I’m not gross enough to let it sit for 45 days. But there is more than enough space to not worry about it overfilling if I’m on vacation for a while. Otherwise we tend to empty it every couple days because we love seeing how much dirt it collected lol. In review, this is the best product at the best value. Anything more expensive isn’t needed because this gets the job done (amazing cleaning without getting stuck on things). Anything cheaper I wouldn’t have confidence in cleaning power/navigating. I rarely leave Amazon reviews but based on all the research I did I felt I should pass this info along to all of you.
C. Cline –
Called support 3 times
Could not get wifi set up. Called support 3 times. Finally got someone that said.. is your location on on your phone… low and behold that was the problem the whole time. I have a rug with a black border. The robot wouldn’t go over it. Thought it was a cliff. Have to cover up the cliff sensors with white paper and tape. You would think as sophisticated as this is I would be able to turn off the cliff sensors with the app..
spanky –
Tenacious vacuum, works great!
Easy to set up. Easy to maintain. Ferociously cleaned 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit carpet after 7 years of neglect. Yes, had to empty the canister several times for the first few runs but carpet looks brand new now. I don’t give 5 stars easily. This Shark robot vacuum is a must have for anyone that works 40+ hours a week.
Brennan Zill –
One of My Best Purchases!
I was so incredibly skeptical that a robot vacuum would be helpful, but boy was I wrong! We named her Coral (because Coral Shark) and she is wonderful! She does a great job with all of the dog hair in my house. We have 2 dogs, and they SHED! My floors are now always clean, and Coral does a fantastic job getting all the fur up. Even in the corners! She does occasionally get stuck on a chew toy, but otherwise, she mapped the house very well and completes her scheduled clean without issue 99% of the time. I was also unsure about how my very prey driven dogs would react to the robot vacuum, and to my surprise they complete ignore her now. At first they cautiously followed her around and jumped out of her way when she turns around. I highly recommend for anyone who feels the need to vacuum every day, and deals with the constant shedding of their fuzzy family members.
turkey –
Sharknado
The vacuum won’t connect to my wi-fi, only to the phone. I am using on manual mode. Push clean and watch it bump off the woodwork.
Ophiacus –
Wife Loves It!!
Our old automatic vacuum didn’t empty itself and it’s cleaning “logic” wasn’t very advanced. This model is awesome! It seems very deliberate and the battery life is great. We should have bought a model like this sooner.
Sarah Carciobolo –
DO NOT BUY
I have bought 3 one these the past 2 months – 1st one wouldn’t connect to WiFi, the 2nd and 3rd wouldn’t turn on, called shark multiple times, no one can help me get a refund, only can help me return the 3rd broken vacuum so now I’m out $500 waiting for a reply but when I call the number provided for customer service they can’t help me. Buy a roomba instead
nancy britt –
Love it!
This vacuum is amazing…it empties itself and charges itself then picks up where it left off. The only thing that is quirky is its logistics. It vacuums part of a room and then goes to another room then back to the first room to finish. I have a very good sweeper that does a good job but this little vacuum sweeps up even more than my sweeper. I nicknamed my “the maid”. Highly recommend this vacuum.
Cheryl l Page –
My Biscuit vac
Love biscuit.Had a Neato vac before but they went out of business,decided to try the vac and absolutely love it .Have long haired dog and it picks up hair really good .
Sonnyboy –
Not a upgrade
I think my older sharks clean better. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.