Amazing until you need a repair
The TLDR: fantastic while they work, but the troubleshooting and repair process is a nightmare.
I got most of my information off of Reddit when choosing a mopping robot to purchase, and so wanted to circle back with my experience in case it helps anyone else with their decision.
I have had a freo Z ultra for about two years, initially using the standalone water tanks, and then subsequently hooked up to plumbing. It was the perfect machine until multiple aspects started to fail starting around 12 months of ownership (charging issues, water overflows, dust bag not being recognized, and an apparently bricked robot twice).
The Narwal service and repair process is appalling, even with the extended warranty. They make it as difficult as possible to get past the screening to a repair ticket. The first time, after several days of back-and-forth, they did eventually return a functioning robot to me. The second time, after numerous email exchanges with incremental requests for pointless troubleshooting of both the base station and the robot (which I couldn’t do because, as I had told them, the app would no longer register the robot), they finally opened a repair ticket, but only after passing it off to a team that requested I repeat again from scratch all the issues that were already documented in the detailed email thread that was forwarded to them.
When they finally returned my robot and base station to me, they were haphazardly packed, dusty and covered in tape with Chinese writing. There were dirty mop pads installed that did not belong to me (I had taken mine off before mailing) with sharpie markings scribbled on them. And at least one of the issues I had flagged had not seemed to have been addressed at all. When I contacted customer support to investigate this, they took two weeks to come back with the response that they are not able to get any information from their third-party service company on what repairs were actually performed, if any. When I said this wasn’t acceptable, they told me I needed to open a new ticket. 🤦♀️
While I can vouch for the Freo Z ultra being fantastic at avoiding obstacles and cleaning hardwood floors when it works, it’s hard to have any faith in the longevity of the expensive offerings from this company. Which is a bummer, because when looking for an effective matter-capable mop with a plumbing hook up, the flow 2 sounds to be the only option on the market while waiting for the Saros 20 refill and drain to be released. If they want to maintain long term customers beyond a single $1000+ purchase, they really need to revamp their Customer Service and repair process.
(as a sidenote for anyone deciding between models – while I was waiting for several months to have the Z repaired, I tried using a Freo X ultra in its place and found that it got lost or tangled in the edge of my rug on a daily basis, a big step down from the Freo Z)