The Dreame A1 Robotic Lawnmower Shows Promise (but Isn’t Worth the Price Yet)
I’m fascinated by robotic lawnmowers. They are amazing in how affordable they are, allowing people to take care of a lawn they otherwise wouldn’t physically be able to, and eliminating chores, which I’m all for. I guess I was lucky that the first few I tried worked pretty well . However, since then we’ve been underwhelmed by setup issues, unreliable mowing, missed boundaries and, in one case, a stolen lawnmower. While the Dreame A1 Robotic Lawn Mower (regularly $2,594.98, currently on sale for $1,899.99) wasn’t a total bummer, I wasn’t overly impressed with the price.
Dreame is a company that has impressed me in the past with its robot vacuum cleaners, which have consistently been a big hit at CES . The A1 looks like most other robotic lawnmowers – a bulky lawnmower with a charging base. The mower itself is hefty, but it has a handle of sorts to carry it, and it charges on a lightweight base that doesn’t require a garage. The A1 model has a large “stop” button on the front panel that opens a settings panel on the top of the mower. However, this also means that every time you want to change a setting, you’ll be prompted to enter your PIN using manual dialing as you just press stop, which I found annoying. The robot comes pre-assembled, so all you have to do is unbox it. This robot did not have an RTK or GPS tower like my two favorite lawn mowers ( Navimow , Luba 2 ). One less piece of equipment to take care of is great; instead, it uses a patented technology called “Omnisense 3D Ultra-Sensing System”, which is LiDAR (the conventional remote sensing technology built into every robot vacuum cleaner).
Main problems when setting up
For lack of a better term, the A1’s connection to the network was dismal. The first lawnmower I received had a PIN already installed that customer service couldn’t reset or tell me the code for, so it came back. For the second lawn mower, I was able to set a PIN code, but after that I had hours of problems connecting via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. The support service replied that only PIN code 0001 works, which contradicts the purpose of the PIN code. After resetting the PIN and spending many hours closing the app, resetting the cache, opening it again, and getting a little further into the software update and pairing process, it was finally time to send the robot on its maiden voyage.
Robotic lawnmowers do this in different ways: some try to use LiDAR for this purpose (I didn’t find it very effective on the GOAT ). But most (and my preference) use the app as a remote control, guiding the robot around the perimeter of the yard to set a boundary. A1 combines these two methods, which I think is a good idea. Let users map the boundary, then have the lawnbot use LiDAR to navigate within the boundary. However, I struggled to set the limit for A1 as well due to the lack of explanation or nuance in the error codes the robot was producing. Before you can set your first boundary, there is a pre-flight checklist, and whether your robot is on the charging dock or not (it turns out the problem could be both), it still says: “Robot not docked.” -station”. After a few more calls to support, I managed to get the robot to the borderline run. I mapped the backyard, which is a large open space with one obstacle (a fire) in the center.
While mowing, the A1 performs quite well.
The mower did a good job while mowing, moving in a U-shape back and forth (checkerboard enthusiasts will be disappointed as this is not an option, but it is possible to mow around the perimeter or mow down spots). I saw very few stray blades and the cut was close to the fence. You can set the height from about one to three inches. The A1 also handled small inclines and hills well that other mowers like the Navimow struggled with, but it wasn’t as stable as the Luba 2 and got stuck on the slightly steeper inclines that the Luba navigated. The A1 did get around the fire pit easily, but like the Luba 2, it was too conservative in how much space around the pit was left unmowed. Navimow was able to get closer to the obstacles.
A1 also allows you to schedule your mowing. This function worked as expected, except when it rained or became dark while running. Typically at this point the robot returns to the charging station and finishes on its next run or the next day. A1 simply stopped in place, got stuck and did not return to base. Of course, this is problematic because if the lawnmower gets stuck on your front lawn, it can easily be stolen. Otherwise, the mower did a good job of finding base after a run, and while it sounds simple, the GOAT generally didn’t do the same job.
After having some success in the backyard, I added the A1 to the front yard because the A1 can handle multiple “zones,” which not all lawn mowers do. This allows you to separate the areas you want to mow and treat them differently. This is a much more difficult area, there are a lot of flower beds to avoid, and I wanted to see how A1 would do in terms of dodging. With the exception of a few strawberry bushes growing on their property, A1 did a decent job. It fought against the corners of the beds, got stuck on the sides of the bed itself and was difficult to free itself. This ability to handle multiple zones means you may want to consider sharing this robot with your neighbors .
Lack of security features is concerning
The main disadvantage of the A1 is the security system. If you pick up the lawnmower, an annoying alarm will sound, which is good if a burglar picks it up, but terrible if you’re just towing it back to base because it keeps getting stuck. Either way, it’s not a very effective deterrent. In my opinion, the best deterrent is the 4G SIM card built into the hardware and the app feature that uses the SIM card for GPS, ensuring that if the mower is picked up you can pinpoint the location.
Bottom line: it’s not ready yet
The nice thing is that all the problems I encountered with the A1 were software, not hardware. This means that there is some chance that the problems can be resolved with updates. In Dreame’s favor, I was always able to contact customer support by phone, even on vacation, even if they weren’t always particularly helpful. I think at full price (about $2600) there are better lawn mowers out there now that are rated for ½ acre, and that’s what the A1 will cover. Take the Luba 2, which will cover 0.75 acre for $2,500 , or 0.25 acre for about $2,100 , or take the . Navimou’s 25 acres are about half the price.