Roombas are phenomenal cleaning companions.
They’re small, use little power, and look futuristic, but they love to annoy us in their cold, synthesized voice.
Is there a way to stop a Roomba from talking?
Here’s how to stop a Roomba from talking in 9 simple steps:
- Remove the dust bag and side brush.
- Remove the bottom plate.
- Take the battery pack out.
- Unscrew the bumper plate.
- Push the bumper plate and remove the sensor.
- Turn the Roomba around and remove the cover plate.
- Remove the top plate screws.
- Locate and disconnect the speaker.
- Reassemble the Roomba.
Keep reading to learn how to stop the Roomba from making any sound.
1. Remove the Dust Bag and Side Brush
The first thing you need to do to make Roomba stop talking is to put it upside down on a flat surface and remove its dustbag.
Then, take your screwdriver and remove the screw that holds the side brush. Once it’s out, pick the brush up and place it somewhere safe.
The Roomba uses standard Phillips screws that you can remove with the smaller screwdriver from a screwdriver set, such as the Craftsman Screwdriver Set (available on Amazon.com).
The 5-piece set has comfort-optimized handles for low and high torque applications.
2. Remove the Bottom Plate
There are 4 screws that hold the bottom plate on most Roomba models. You have to unscrew them, and the bottom plate comes off easily.
Make sure to put the screws in a safe place where you can’t lose them.
But don’t worry if you do because you can buy a replacement such as the caSino 187 Bottom Screws (available on Amazon.com).
The product comes with 4 bottom chassis screws for Roombas Series 500, 600, 700, 800, and 900. They’re lightweight and battery-powered.
3. Take the Battery Pack Out
Now that the Roomba is open, the next step you need to do is remove the batteries.
The batteries sit in the middle of the Roomba and look like a bunch of cylinders wrapped in yellow plastic.
The battery pack has 2 green plastic tabs on each side, which you grab to lift the battery pack out.
Reading tip: Roomba Not Charging: 9 Ways To Fix It In 30 Seconds
4. Unscrew the Bumper Plate
The bumper plate has a total of 10 screws that need removing.
Inside the Roomba are Phillips screws, which are much smaller than the outer ones. So grab your smallest Phillips screwdriver for this.
Once the screws are out, you remove the arc plate with the screw holes by gently pulling it out.
5. Push the Bumper Plate and Remove the Sensor
Now that the arc plate is out, you can move the bumper plate by pushing it away from the rest of the body. This will reveal the sensor, which you can recognize by the 2 screws holding it and the cable that connects to the body.
Be gentle with this because you can rip the sensor cable, which will be painful to repair later.
Remove the sensor by unscrewing the 2 screws and take it out. A tiny transparent piece of plastic might fall out, so don’t lose it. The sensor needs it to function correctly.
With the sensor unscrewed, remove the bumper and put it somewhere safe.
6. Turn the Roomba Around and Remove the Cover Plate
The next step is to flip the Roomba upward. Be very careful because the bottom part can be damaged and scratched.
You should now remove the top cover plate. Gently pull the plate up, starting from the dust bag. If you do it right, you’ll hear the snaps clicking.
If you can’t do it with your fingers, use a flat-head screwdriver instead. Be very careful not to scratch the plastic and don’t break the snaps.
Once you unsnap the cover plate, pull it out diagonally.
7. Remove the Top Plate Screws
The Roomba has 10 Phillips screws on top, with an additional smaller Phillips screw in the middle bottom half of the device.
Just like the bottom piece, you pull the top cover once the screws are out, and it’ll come right off.
8. Locate and Disconnect the Speaker
Congratulations! You’ve found the speaker. You don’t even have to remove the speaker completely to stop your Roomba from talking.
Instead, you want to disconnect it from the main motherboard. The speaker is on the bottom left part of the Roomba. It has the same type of cable as the sensor from step 5.
Disconnect the speaker by lifting the transparent plastic and gently pulling the plastic piece of the cable out. Don’t pull on the cable because it can tear easily.
That’s pretty much it. The speaker is disconnected, and the Roomba can’t speak, beep, or make any other sounds.
If you miss the Roomba’s constant blabbering, you can just reconnect the speaker the same way you disconnected it.
9. Reassemble the Roomba
With the speaker disconnected, follow the steps that you took to disassemble the Roomba in reverse order to reassemble it.
Make sure that you fit the panels snuggly and that there are no gaps.
Hint: look at the screw holes to make sure they are perfectly aligned.
Note: Taking your Roomba apart will void your warranty, so do it at your own risk. Also, if the Roomba stops working, you won’t know why because it uses the voice and beeping sounds for troubleshooting.
How To Turn Off Roomba’s Sound
You cannot turn off Roomba’s sound because iRobot doesn’t have a feature that allows you to disable or silence the speaker.
Countless users have complained about their Roomba waking them up at 3 am because it tipped over or the Wi-Fi isn’t working.
If you’re like me, you’ll prefer a good night’s sleep over a clean hallway.
According to a study of everyday life with vacuum robots, the Roomba won’t be replacing your good old vacuum cleaner anytime soon anyway.
If you’re only bothered by the Roomba speaking in the middle of the night, consider turning it off at that time of the day.
Only leave it on while you’re at work, and you’ll be walking into a clean house every day. It won’t stop the Roomba from talking, but nobody will be there to hear it.
You might also want to know: 10 Proven Tips To Make A Roomba Instantly Quieter
Is Disassembling the Roomba Recommended?
Disassembling the Roomba isn’t recommended. You’ll lose your warranty and may damage the robot. The parts that require regular cleaning are easy to remove and don’t require disassembly.
You’re disassembling it at your own risk, and it’s not as easy as it might seem at first.
If your Roomba’s brushes and filters are old and full of dirt, you can replace them with the iRobot Authentic Replacement Parts (available on Amazon.com).
This authentic replacement is compatible with all Roomba 800 and 900 series robots.
The most challenging part will be plugging the actual speaker out of the motherboard because those plastic pins are notorious for getting stuck.
Moreover, you won’t know what’s wrong with your Roomba if something goes wrong.
For example, the dustbag might be full, but you won’t know just by looking at it. Or perhaps the Roomba needs to be recalibrated by rebooting it.
If you’re accustomed to your Roomba and it’s out of warranty anyway, then removing the speaker may be worth the sacrifice.
Final Thoughts
A Roomba is a fantastic little robot vacuum cleaner that cleans the house for you. However, its constant talking and beeping are annoying.
To stop a Roomba from talking, you have to disassemble it and unplug the speaker. iRobot doesn’t have a silent mode in their app.
However, disassembling your Roomba is discouraged because it’ll void your warranty, and you might break something while doing it.
Instead, the best solution is to turn the Roomba off at night and allow it to work while nobody’s home.
Learn more: Can you pick up and move a Roomba?