I let Eufy’s newest robot vacuum loose in my busy family home – this is how it navigated scattered toys and messy mealtimes

The Eufy Robot Vacuum Omni C28 was introduced as a more affordable option to the brand's Omni E25 - currently crowned Ideal Home's best robot vacuum - while still offering many of the same automated features, including multi-map creation and detailed app control.

I put it through its paces in my busy family home, navigating scattered toys and spilt cereal. My verdict? It's not perfect, but its strengths - from strong suction to low-maintenance operation - make it a standout accessible option.

In a nutshell

The Eufy Robot Vacuum Omni C28 is a capable, mid-range robovac that offers impressive cleaning power, without the premium price tag of its 5-star-rated sibling, the Eufy Omni E25. With 15,000 Pa suction, it's noticeably more powerful than many robot vacuums in this category, and during testing, it handled everyday debris in my busy household with ease.

Its mopping performance is also a standout feature, while the self-maintaining base station keeps day-to-day upkeep relatively minimal. The docking station is compact enough not to take up too much floor space, but the water tanks are generously sized, so you won't need to refill or empty them too frequently.

The Eufy app is incredibly detailed, and there's not much you can't customise. You can create up to five separate floor maps, schedule cleaning sessions, and even check the remaining lifespan of accessories, like brushes and filters, making it easier to stay on top of maintenance.

The biggest drawback I found was the robot vacuum's navigation. During testing, the robot often bumped into furniture before adjusting its path, and the cleaning patterns sometimes felt inconsistent. It also took a little longer than expected to return to the docking station on occasion. However, its strong suction and overall cleaning performance help to offset some of these quirks.

Eufy Robot Vacuum Omni C28 specifications

• Dimensions: 96 x 326.9 x 110.5 mm (robot), 436.9 x 352.6 x 430 mm (omni station)
• What's included: omni station, robot vacuum, detachable base, safety sheet, quick start guide
• Weight: 11kg
• Suction power: 15,000 Pa 
• Max run time: 251 mins (vacuum only)
• Mop function: Yes Docking station : Yes
• Clean water tank capacity: 2.2 L
• Dirty water tank capacity: 2.2 L
• Disposable Dust Bag Capacity: 3 L
• Charging time: 3.5 hours

How I tested

Rebecca Lawton

I'm Rebecca and I write freelance content for Ideal Home. I'm always on the lookout for home upgrades that make my home life smoother (especially with three young children!)

I tested the Eufy Robot Vacuum Omni C28 in my three-bedroom home, which has both hard flooring and carpets downstairs, and is fully carpeted upstairs. I used it at least twice a day during the testing process, testing the vacuum, mopping and app functionalities.

Unboxing the product, setting up and first impressions

The Eufy Robot Vacuum Omni C28 arrived in a plain cardboard box, which was more compact than I expected. At just over 11kg collectively, it was by no means light, and I did struggle carrying it by myself. However, compared to other models I've tested, such as the Samsung Bespoke Jet Bot Combo, it felt noticeably lighter by comparison.

After opening the outer packaging, I was greeted with another cardboard box - this time branded with the product information. I did have to position the box on its side, and it took a bit of manoeuvring to slide it out, but it wasn't too much of a struggle.

Inside the box, the first thing I saw was a quick start guide - which was a simple series of images illustrating how to assemble the robot vacuum and get started. As some unboxing processes can feel quite overwhelming, I appreciated being able to see straight away what steps were involved. It also included a QR code to scan for the user manual, app download and support video, which I also thought was a useful touch.

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The robot vacuum was packaged in a separate cardboard box, which could be opened with a built-in handle. Inside, the vacuum was wrapped in a layer of plastic packaging and cushioned with foam polystyrene blocks.

The packaging was clearly labelled with recycling codes, including PAP 20 for the corrugated cardboard box, PE- E7, for the expanded polythene foam inserts, and PE-C7 for the polythene plastic wrapping around the robot. The base station was covered with a further type of plastic, labelled PET 1.

While I found the labelling helpful, the mix of different materials and recycling codes did feel quite confusing. From a sustainability perspective, although some elements - such as the cardboard and certain plastics - can be recycled, others, like the foam inserts, typically need to be disposed of with general household waste.

I was pleased to see how protected the contents were, but if I'm nitpicking, I would have appreciated a more simplified packaging approach using fewer materials that could be recycled at home.

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Aside from the different layers of packaging, the actual contents were fairly minimal - which included the robot vacuum, base station, detachable base and user manual. It was refreshing to see that no assembly was required, except attaching the base plate, which slotted onto the bottom of the base station.

Once I'd fixed this in place, I was struck by just how compact the robovac was, and it felt really sleek and well-designed. I particularly appreciated that it didn't take up much floor space, as many robot vacuums that include a docking station are quite bulky and bigger in comparison.

The docking station houses two tanks: one for clean water and one for dirty water. Removing them was straightforward; I simply lifted the lid and slid out the tanks to either empty or refill the water. At just over two litres, both water tanks have a generous capacity.

Before first use, I plugged the cable into the mains and fully charged it as instructed in the manual. There is an LED light indicator that lights up white to indicate it's charging. After 3.5 hours, it was fully charged and ready to use.

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The quick start guide has a QR code printed on it, which links to a support page including the app download, user manual and support videos. I appreciated the level of detail and found it convenient to be able to access everything directly from my phone.

Tapping the 'app download' option took me to the App Store, where I installed the eufy app. The download only took a few seconds, and creating and setting up an account didn't take more than a couple of minutes.

I was pleased to see that the app appeared relatively straightforward at first glance. I tapped the + symbol in the top right corner, selected the C28 model from the 'Robot Vacuum-C Series' and then connected it to my Wi-Fi. The connection took a few attempts, and the app included instructions for resetting Wi-Fi, suggesting it might be a fairly common issue.

Once connected, the robot vacuum appeared on the app's homepage, displaying 'online', allowing me to start cleaning, adjust settings, check progress and set up the maps.

Ease of use

Once I'd set up the app, I took some time to familiarise myself with its features. While there were quite a few layers to explore, it didn't feel complicated - just very detailed, which ultimately makes it more useful.

There are various settings you can tailor, from switching between vacuum and mop functions, to adjusting cleaning intensity, water levels and suction strength. It's worth spending some time exploring these options so you can customise the robot's cleaning preferences to suit your home.

I especially appreciated the child-lock feature, which prevents curious little hands from pressing anything, as well as the 'Do Not Disturb' mode, which keeps the robot silent and prevents it from performing auto-return cleaning during set hours. The app even has an 'Accessory Services' section, where you can easily check the remaining lifespan of components like the side brushes and sensors, as well as when you need to manually clean the filter or water tanks.

One standout feature of the Omni C28 is its app support for multi-floor mapping, which lets you create and save up to five floor plans. The app recommends starting the floor plan from the base station as the robot uses it as a reference point for navigation.

With the docking station in the kitchen, I started by creating a map of my downstairs rooms. The robot vacuum navigated the space efficiently, taking around five minutes to map out the kitchen, conservatory and living room. It accurately detected changes in flooring, from carpets in the living room to laminate in the kitchen, and the multi-map function allowed me to save this layout. I even merged my kitchen and conservatory into a single room.

Once the downstairs map was complete, I tried creating a separate map upstairs, while the base station remained downstairs. This is where the robot vacuum struggled slightly - after partially mapping one of the bedrooms, it alerted me that it was returning to the base station, interrupting the process. As the app does recommend starting each map from the dock, this behaviour is understandable, but it did make mapping the floor without the base station slightly less precise.

You can also set up a cleaning schedule, which I found really handy. I programmed it to run at 9.30 am each day once the kids were at school, and again in the evening once they were in bed. After each session, the app generates a cleaning report, complete with a map of the areas covered and the total cleaning time.

Performance

When it comes to pure suction, the Omni C28 performed impressively. Its 15,000 Pa suction is noticeably stronger than the average robot vacuum, which typically sits between 2,000 - 6,000 Pascals, and it handled everyday messes like crumbs and dust with ease.

Once I'd set up the maps, I let the robot vacuum loose around my floors - and with three messy kids in the house, it certainly had its work cut out. And while it sometimes took a moment to register and avoid certain obstacles, its suction power was incredibly impressive.

Unlike some robot vacuums, which can get clogged with hair and debris, the Omni C28 gathered and sucked up hair without getting clogged, thanks to its DuoSpiral Detangle Brush Technology, which helps prevent strands from wrapping around the brush.

It moved from the hard floors to the rug in my conservatory smoothly, too. I set it to auto-vacuum and mop mode, and it navigated the space efficiently, switching between surfaces without issue and picking up dust, crumbs, and hair along the way.

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As part of how we test at Ideal Home, we put appliances through a series of controlled tests. For these tests, I adjusted the controls so the cleaning intensity was set to Deep, the water level was High and the suction to Max.

While there's no shortage of obstacles in my busy home, I was keen to see how the Omni C28 would handle a more obvious mess, so I scattered some crushed cereal on the floor in its path.

The robovac identified the mess as it passed, but rather than circling the entire area straight away, it vacuumed up around half of the crumbs, before moving onto another section of the room.

Around five minutes later, it returned to pick up most of what remained, although there were still some crumbs left behind. It repeated this pattern once more, before finally lifting the remaining debris. The combination of strong suction and mopping meant my floors were left noticeably cleaner.

I also tested how the C28 handled a simple obstacle by placing a foam roller in its path. The robot approached it closely, but rather than navigating around it, it quickly moved away to another area of the room, completely avoiding the space around the roller. So, although it had an awareness that there was an obstacle, its navigation is over-cautious.

To test the robot's mopping abilities, I then squirted some tomato ketchup on the floor in its path. The robot initially mopped up a small portion of the spill before moving away, then spent some time trying to navigate around a chair leg, before completely moving away from the area and returning several minutes later.

It repeated this process again, until it eventually cleaned up most of the ketchup, but the cleaning felt less methodical than I expected, and it didn't tackle the spill in one go.

I also found the navigation could be quite temperamental at times. The robot occasionally bumped into furniture before adjusting its path, and there were moments when it failed to register an obstacle blocking its route. On a few occasions, it also needed extra time to locate the docking station when returning home.

Cleaning and maintenance

One of the biggest advantages of the Omni C28 is that day-to-day maintenance is relatively minimal, thanks to the self-cleaning docking station.

After each cleaning session, the robot vacuum automatically returns to the dock, where the roller mop is washed and rinsed, helping prevent dirt from spreading across the floor during future cleans. I did notice that the washing process is fairly noisy - louder than I was expecting - but it means you don't need to manually clean the mop after use.

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The base station also houses both a clean and dirty water tank - all I really needed to do was empty the dirty water tank, which I tended to do every few cycles.

The app cleverly tracks the lifespan of various components, with most of the maintenance intervals ranging between 30 and 180 hours of use. So while I haven't reached the stage yet where any components need attention, it's reassuring to know the upkeep is minimal.

It's also worth occasionally checking the roller brush, which can be removed easily by turning the robot vacuum upside down. When I inspected it, I noticed some debris had gathered on the inside of the scraper, which I simply wiped away with a damp paper towel.

The dustbin is cleverly hidden in the main unit and pops out easily for cleaning, too. It can be rinsed with water if needed, but when I checked the app, it still had around 180 hours remaining, suggesting it won't need attention too often.

How does it compare to similar models and its predecessors?

The Eufy Robot Vacuum Omni C28 launched very recently in February 2026, and sits in the middle of the brand's robot vacuum range - offering many of the automated features in the higher-end models, but at a more affordable price point.

The Eufy Robot Vacuum Omni E25 is currently crowned Ideal Home's best robot vacuum cleaner overall, and seriously impressed our Content Editor and Certified Expert in Vacuums, Lauren, during testing. Its 20,000Pa suction power is unmatched, but at 15,000 Pa, the C28 is still a cut above the average robot vacuum cleaner.

I've also previously tested the Samsung Bespoke Jet Bot Combo AI, which really impressed me with its obstacle avoidance abilities thanks to its AI-powered obstacle detection. That said, its suction power is noticeably lower at 6,000Pa, and it comes at a much higher price point.

On a similar level, the Roborock QV 35s is a strong rival, although the suction power isn't as strong as the Omni C28. And if you're looking for a more budget-friendly option, the Hoover HG2 Turbo Slim Hydro is an ideal entry-level model, but it does lack the advanced technology of the mid-high-end options.

Verdict: Should you buy the eufy Robot Vacuum Omni C28?

If you're looking for a powerful robot vacuum that can handle everyday messes with minimal effort, the Eufy Robot Vacuum Omni C28 is a strong contender. Its 15,000Pa suction power is significantly higher than most robot vacuums, allowing it to tackle dust and crumbs across hard floors and carpets with ease.

Maintenance is low too; the self-cleaning docking station automatically empties dust, washes the mop and manages the water tanks, reducing the amount of hands-on upkeep required.

It isn't flawless, though - the navigation can be temperamental and tackling certain messes can take longer than expected, so if precise object-detection is your priority, a higher-end model may be a better fit.

That said, if you value strong cleaning performance and low-maintenance operation at a more competitive price than premium models, the C28 is worth considering. For busy homes looking to stay on top of everyday mess, it's a capable mid-range model that gets the job done where it counts.