Yarbo Robot Review: My Real Experience with the Autonomous Modular Robot
Unfiltered Yarbo review from a real customer who spent months testing the autonomous modular yard robot. Honest experiences with the Yarbo lawn mower, snow blower, and leaf blower modules. Read this before you buy.
Why This Yarbo Review Exists
I bought the Yarbo autonomous robot with high hopes after seeing all the polished marketing videos. The reality of owning a Yarbo? It's complicated.
This isn't another sponsored Yarbo review or marketing fluff piece. This is my actual experience as a real Yarbo customer who spent real money and dealt with real Yarbo problems.
You'll find both the good and the frustrating aspects of the Yarbo robot here, because that's what honest Yarbo reviews should be.
Yarbo Robot Review: The Good, The Bad, and The Reality
Yarbo Hardware Feels Solid and Durable
The Yarbo doesn't feel like a toy - it's built to last. Stands up to weather well and I'm not concerned about leaving it outside year-round.
Yarbo's Modular Design is Very Clever
Swapping between Yarbo's mower, snowblower, and leaf blower attachments is genuinely easy. The modular system lets you add new modules as they're released without feeling left behind.
Yarbo Support Team is Responsive
Email responses are just "ok", but Yarbo phone support is much better. They work with you to understand issues and offer advice quickly.
Consistent Yarbo Updates (Double-Edged)
Regular firmware updates show they're actively developing. Though many are "duh" features that should have existed from day one, they badly need this rapid development.
Yarbo is Really Fun When It Works
Having the Yarbo follow you around the yard or watching it work autonomously is genuinely satisfying. When it's working properly, it feels great.
Yarbo "Autonomous" is Generous Marketing
Multiple cameras that seem unable to do basic obstacle detection. Yarbo needed a hotfix to avoid driving under cars - something I expected to work from day one.
Yarbo Lawnmower Performance is Wimpy
Too many clippings? Storm debris? Wet grass? Any of these stops the Yarbo dead. Feels built for Arizona golf courses, not real homes with weather.
Yarbo Snow Performance is Terrible
Yarbo constantly gets stuck on my gravel driveway, even in light snow. I spend more time rescuing it than it saves me.
Yarbo GPS Issues Despite Clear Skies
Lives on a farm with clear skies, charging station 6ft from house. Still have to manually drive Yarbo to get GPS signal almost every time.
My Experiences with the Yarbo
A chronological look at the operational challenges I've faced with my Yarbo robot throughout the year. These are real issues that affected my ability to use the Yarbo as intended.
The Reality Check: How Many Successful Mows?
Before diving into the specific issues, let me answer the most important question:How many times have I been able to successfully mow my yard this season?
Partial Successes
About 6 times - including times where I only mowed part of the yard
Complete Successes
Only 2 times - full yard mowing without intervention
For a $5,000+ autonomous lawn mower, this success rate is unacceptable. Here's what went wrong:
The Reality Check
These aren't isolated incidents - they represent fundamental issues with the Yarbo's autonomous capabilities. While the hardware feels solid, the software and real-world performance don't match the marketing promises. Each of these issues required constant intervention, defeating the purpose of an autonomous robot.
My Property Layout - For Context
To help you understand my situation and validate that my expectations aren't unreasonable, here's what I'm working with:
This isn't a golf course in Arizona - it's a typical family property with normal weather and reasonable complexity. The Yarbo should handle this setup without constant intervention.
Additional Yarbo Frustrations(In Detail)
Here are some Yarbo issues I've encountered which are upsetting, but might be more specific to me and when I purchased it. Regardless, I think it helps tell the whole story. If you're considering a Yarbo purchase, these are the examples of situations you might face as well.
Yarbo just released a new "Pro" lawnmower module that supposedly fixes the problems with the original Yarbo mower. The idea that I should buy another Yarbo module when I haven't even completed one mowing season with the existing one is infuriating.
Yes, the Yarbo Pro looks like it might solve some issues, but why should I invest more money in a Yarbo product that didn't work as advertised in the first place?
The Yarbo return policy was a big factor in my purchase decision. I was assured returning the Yarbo would be easy if it didn't meet expectations. But here's what actually happened with my Yarbo order:
- • Ordered Yarbo in May 2024, told it would ship in late summer
- • Yarbo shipping pushed to September, then even farther
- • Actually received the Yarbo end of December
- • 30-day Yarbo return window started immediately upon activating the core unit
- • Only had Yarbo snowblower module to test, didn't receive our first snow until after the window
- • Couldn't test the Yarbo lawnmower for another 5 months(my main reason for buying)
- • This effectively requires freight to ship it back. This isn't as simple as an Amazon return by any means.
- • Basically stuck with Yarbo after activation
I carefully mapped Yarbo edges around trees, fences, etc. My expectation: the Yarbo would follow the path I drove and mow those areas. Reality: Yarbo stays much farther out and doesn't get close to perimeters.
I'm told to map "over" areas for tighter Yarbo mowing, but you can't do that with physical impediments like fences. Result: I still need a string trimmer for large areas of my complicated yard.
It's always unclear what the Yarbo is doing. My family watches the Yarbo mow paths, then sit there backing up and adjusting repeatedly before continuing. Why? No idea. The lack of transparency in Yarbo's decision-making is frustrating.
I've double-checked all iOS settings - Yarbo notifications SHOULD work. But frequently I find the Yarbo just sitting in the yard, upset about some "obstacle" (usually not actually an obstacle).
I have to manually check the Yarbo app, back it up 2 feet, and tell it to start again. Then the Yarbo continues happily. This is not autonomous Yarbo operation.
As a lifelong gamer, I should love the Yarbo controller. Instead, it's clunky, error-prone, and unintuitive. You have to memorize Yarbo button combinations with no visual guide.
I end up using my phone to control the Yarbo instead, which is miserable in winter. At minimum, Yarbo should have included decals showing key functions.
There's no single Yarbo user manual that's consistently updated. Instead, you get a collection of miscellaneous Yarbo knowledge base articles with no connection to each other. Finding Yarbo answers is a treasure hunt.
Update: Yarbo just released a wiki that is linked from their support page, which aims to bring more of this into one place. It remains to be seen, but this might solve some of my documentation frustrations.
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What Yarbo Should Focus On
I want the Yarbo product to succeed. Here's what I think would make the biggest difference for future Yarbo customers.
Fix the Yarbo camera system, GPS reliability, and obstacle detection. If I have to manually intervene multiple times per Yarbo session, it's not autonomous. The fact that a Yarbo hotfix was needed to prevent it from driving under cars shows how basic the Yarbo problems are.
The Yarbo lawnmower needs to handle normal yard debris, wet grass, and typical weather conditions. If you encounter yard debris, use one of the 6 cameras to maneuver around it. The Yarbo snow blower needs to work on gravel driveways without getting stuck every few minutes. Build Yarbo for real homes, not perfect conditions.
Stop releasing Yarbo "Pro" modules that fix problems the original Yarbo should have solved, or at least create a more reasonable upgrade path for existing customers. Fix the existing Yarbo product before asking customers to buy more Yarbo modules. Stop creating unrealistic marketing videos that don't reflect the reality of the Yarbo.