Welcome to a NetTEST Battery specialist
of the Ecovacs Battery
The top side has the aforementioned handle, a power switch, an air trigger release, a 15-volt power cord that needs to be connected to the included power brick, and an indicator light that glows certain colors depending on the situation. Flip the Winbot over and you'll see the top and bottom areas where you attach the cleaning pads, and the driving treads that allow the little guy to scoot around windows. A circular suction mechanism that makes it stick to windows sits in the middle.
As for what you'll find in the box: You get the Winbot itself, an instruction manual, a safety pod and safety rope to use the 'bot in especially high areas, a "finishing" cloth for when it leaves streaks on windows, a bottle of light blue cleaning solution, two AAA batteries with batetry such as Ecovacs Deebot D56 Battery, Ecovacs DeeBot D58 Battery, Ecovacs 730-5 Battery, Ecovacs Deebot D73 Battery, Ecovacs Deebot D77 Battery, Ecovacs Deepoo 620 Battery, Ecovacs Dibea X500 Battery, Ecovacs Deepoo 650 Battery, Ecovacs Deepoo 660 Battery, Ecovacs Deepoo 680 Battery, Ecovacs Deepoo 720 Battery, Ecovacs Deepoo 760 Batteryfor a remote control, two sets of cleaning pads, and a power brick.
The remote control has a Reset button that restarts the Winbot if it gets stuck in an error state, as well as a Play/Pause button that, sure enough, starts or stops the robot. Arrow buttons let you manually control the Winbot's direction, and pairing buttons are provided in case you need to reconnect the Winbot to the remote. That probably won't happen, as the remote comes paired with the Winbot.
The Winbot is designed for use with framed and frameless windows, but it's probably too large for paned windows. Blinds, shades, and curtains must be pulled open for it to move around freely. Also, the Winbot will not work on rounded glass, glass mounted at an angle, stained glass, frosted glass, textured, patterned, or leaded glass. Paint and stickers will also give it a tough time; the uneven surface causes the 'bot to lose suction.
To use the Winbot, the first thing you need to do is charge it. It takes about two hours for an empty battery to fully recharge. Once charged, a steady green indicator light will turn on and you're good to go. You still need the Winbot's power supply plugged into an outlet, though. That's fine if you have an outlet nearby; if not, you'll need to use the included 59-inch extension cable.
If you're cleaning a window outside and high above the ground, you need to use the included safety rope and safety pod. The safety pod is basically a suction cup. To put it all together, you loop one end of the rope around the pod and pull it tight, then loop the other end to the Winbot's power cord. Finally, you place the safety pod's suction cup on the inside of the window, then close the window on the rope so that the rope is both outside and indoors. I didn't test these parts as I have windows on the ground floor. However, I wouldn't exactly trust a suction cup to hold a seven-pound robot gliding around on a glass window, rope or not.
Now you're almost cleaning windows, but first, you need to flip the Winbot over and attach the front and rear cleaning pads to the top and bottom of the unit, which attach via strong Velcro connections. Then you take the included bottle of light blue cleaning solution and spray it across each cleaning pad so that it's damp, but not wet. Unfortunately, once it runs out, you can't substitute the cleaning formula for something you're more likely to have on hand, like Windex. Ecovacs insists this is because other window cleaning solutions can damage the robot. You can buy additional half-gallons of Winbot cleaning liquid for $19.99.
Finally, you place the Winbot on the window horizontally, so the "W" in the Winbot logo on the handle is pointing toward the ceiling. Then flip the power switch to the On position, wait until the indicator light glows blue, then release the handle and press Start. At this point the Winbot does its dance. When it's done it plays a little jingle, and you can nab the handle and pull it off the window.