Roborock QV 35A Review: 6 Months Later (2026)

Why We Upgraded from the Roborock S5

We ran a Roborock S5 for almost three years. It was a solid robot vacuum, but the mopping was basically just dragging a damp cloth around. The navigation was fine for open rooms but it would bump into things constantly. When the S5 started losing suction, we decided it was time to move up.

The QV 35A caught our attention because it promised better suction, actual mopping pressure, and a dock that handles emptying and mop washing. We have had it running daily for six months now, so here is where things stand.

Suction Power

The jump from the S5 to the QV 35A is immediately noticeable. It picks up crumbs, dust, and fine debris on hard floors without any issue. On carpet, it automatically boosts suction and lifts the mop pad so it does not drag a wet pad across your rugs. That carpet detection was something we did not have before, and it makes a real difference.

We have medium-pile carpet in the living room and hard floors everywhere else. The QV 35A handles the transition between surfaces without getting stuck or confused.

Pet Hair Performance

We have two cats, and this was the main reason we upgraded. The S5 would get tangled with longer fur and we had to clean the brush roll every few days. The QV 35A has a rubber brush design that resists tangles much better. We still check it once a week, but it rarely needs manual cleaning. The dustbin auto-empties into the dock, so we basically just forget about it between bag changes.

Cat hair on furniture is still a manual job, obviously. But floors stay clean between runs, which is the whole point.

Mopping

This is where the QV 35A really separates itself from older Roborock models. It applies actual downward pressure when mopping, and the dock washes and dries the mop pads automatically. We run it on our kitchen tile and bathroom floors, and it does pick up sticky spots and light stains that the S5 never touched.

It will not replace a proper hands-and-knees scrub for really stubborn messes. But for daily maintenance mopping, it keeps things noticeably cleaner.

Navigation and Coverage

LiDAR navigation is a big step up from what we had before. The QV 35A maps your home on the first run, and you can set room-specific cleaning schedules and no-go zones in the app. It rarely gets stuck. In six months, we have had to rescue it maybe twice, both times because it wedged itself under a low shelf we should have blocked off.

It handles chair legs, tight spaces between furniture, and doorway thresholds without issues. The coverage map in the app shows it reaching pretty much every accessible spot.

The Dock Station

The dock handles auto-emptying, mop washing, and mop drying. It works well. The trade-off is size. This thing is big. You need a solid 18 inches of clearance in front of it and a dedicated spot along a wall. We put ours in the laundry room, which works fine, but if you are tight on space in your main living area, plan ahead.

You will need to refill the clean water tank and empty the dirty water tank every week or so, depending on how often you mop. Dust bags last about 6-8 weeks for us.

The App

The Roborock app gives you a lot of control. Room-specific suction and mop settings, schedules, no-go zones, and cleaning history. It took us a few days to figure out everything and set up our routines. Once configured, we barely open it. The app is not bad, it just has a lot of menus and options that are not always obvious at first.

One thing to know: you can set a specific cleaning order for rooms, which is nice if you want the kitchen mopped last so the pads are cleaner for it.

Noise Level

On standard suction, it is quiet enough to run while watching TV in the next room. On max suction (which it uses on carpet), it gets louder. Not unbearable, but you will notice it. We schedule ours to run during work hours, so it is rarely a problem.

What We Do Not Love

• •2.4GHz WiFi only. If your router runs a combined 2.4/5GHz network, you might need to split them or create a separate 2.4GHz SSID for setup. This was mildly annoying.
• •The dock is large. Already mentioned this, but it bears repeating. Measure your space before buying.
• •App learning curve. There are a lot of features buried in submenus. Give yourself a few sessions to explore everything.

Bottom Line

After six months, the Roborock QV 35A is the best home purchase we have made this year. The floors are genuinely cleaner than when we were running the S5 daily. Mopping actually works now, pet hair is handled, and we spend maybe five minutes a week on maintenance. If you have pets or just want clean floors without thinking about it, this one delivers.