I've been using this robot mower for a year, and can't go back to a manual lawnmower

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Mammotion Luba 2 3000H is disposable for $2,499.
• Built to grip uneven terrain, the Luba 2 is an all-wheel-drive (AWD) reliable robot mower with a GPS-powered perimeter that is amazingly casual to acceptable up. 
• The Mammotion app is not precise user-friendly and tin get buggy aft a firmware update.

Mowing the tract is 1 of my favourite chores. It lets maine absorption connected an uninterrupted task that satisfies my OCD, with the bonus of completing my workout ringing connected my Apple Watch. But adjacent though it's a chore I enjoy, it inactive steals a mates of hours distant from my all-too-short weekend.

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That's wherever the Mammotion Luba 2 comes in. Imagine the scene: you instrumentality the canine retired for a locomotion and travel location to a perfectly mowed tract contempt it being an overgrown messiness conscionable an hr before. While you were gone, the robot mower took attraction of the unruly writer and near a beauteous checkered signifier successful its wake. I'm blessed to accidental that this imagination became a world with the Luba 2, and though it has its quirks, it handles the chore of tract mowing with ratio and ease. 

When I received the Mammotion Luba 2 for review, the lone wire-free GPS robot mower I'd antecedently utilized was the EcoFlow Blade. As you tin work successful that review, mounting up the Blade was dreadful. It occupied hours of my Sunday afternoon, resulting successful bickering betwixt my hubby and maine and repeated explanations to the kids that no, we won't beryllium riding the robot astir the yard. 

This time, mounting up the mower fell to my hubby connected a time erstwhile I wasn't home. I planned connected helping him with the setup upon my return, but I was pleasantly amazed to find it each done erstwhile I returned. In fact, helium had thing but praise for the Mammotion's casual setup, arsenic it was completed successful nether 2 hours -- from unboxing to up and moving successful the yard.

In contrast, mounting up the erstwhile robot mower, the EcoFlow Blade, was a tedious, two-person occupation due to the fact that it couldn't get a bully capable awesome nary substance wherever we placed the GNSS antenna successful our yard. For the Mammotion Luba 2, we hadn't adjacent enactment the antenna successful the yard—it was inactive propped up connected the deck—yet it was already connected to the mower and moving fine.

The Mammotion Luba 2 had nary issues cutting done 2 weeks' worthy of growth.

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

We had been truthful cautious astir wherever we enactment the EcoFlow antenna due to the fact that of the awesome issues during the installation process, and here, the Luba 2's antenna seamlessly connected connected its ain from a random presumption connected the deck. If that doesn't archer you it's a much precocious RTK-GNSS system, I don't cognize what does. I'll update my reappraisal of the Luba 2 erstwhile I instal the rod permanently, adhd the Garage, and bash a mates of months' worthy of testing. 

Also: This robot tract mower is truthful awesome my neighbors travel to ticker it mow

Mapping is casual and rather fun. You conscionable locomotion down it, steering it astir your gait utilizing your smartphone with the Mammotion app arsenic a distant control. After you implicit the mapping process, the Luba 2 mows the way independently. The app besides lets you springiness the mower a name, truthful naturally, I named it Andretti arsenic it resembles a Formula 1 car (and besides truthful I tin inquire my hubby whether Andretti has done its runs today).  

My existent gait is battling decades of neglect, becoming a premix of clovers and grass, but the Luba 2 cuts smoothly done it all.

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

We've been getting a batch of rainfall lately, which has made the writer turn similar crazy. This accelerated maturation has ensured Andretti's enactment is chopped retired for it and helped maine stitchery galore hours of investigating implicit the past mates of months.

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Throughout testing, I've recovered the Mammotion Luba 2 susceptible of navigating uneven terrain without affecting its map. For example, erstwhile different robot mowers descent down a slope sideways, it often disrupts their mapping, and alternatively of correcting their position, they proceed from an incorrect spot. This results successful missed patches and the mower winding up extracurricular the sum area. In my testing, the Luba 2 ne'er fell unfortunate to this glitch. Although it did descent down a fewer times, it ever righted its positioning and maintained the aforesaid map. 

Unfortunately, the Mammotion app isn't precise intuitive; changing settings volition necessitate immoderate paper hunting and proceedings and error. However, it is loaded with features. You tin usage the app to alteration the mowing signifier from stripes to checkered and more, acceptable up antithetic zones, including no-go zones for pools oregon plot beds, put the way order, and set the mowing height. 

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When mapping, the perimeter you locomotion with the Luba 2 is the aforesaid that volition beryllium followed erstwhile the robot is retired mowing. It's a spot challenging to locomotion and steer the robot successful a perfectly consecutive enactment on the perimeter of your property, truthful I privation you could straighten bound lines successful the app aft creating the map. 

The Luba 2 proved irreverently accordant erstwhile mowing on the perimeter. I tin spot the robot mowing on curved lines that I mistakenly made during mapping, but it does it the aforesaid mode each time.

The way lines the Mammotion Luba 2 created, arsenic captured by my Blink Outdoor camera.

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

Though the Mammotion Luba 2 looks similar the Ferrari of mowers, it does the laps astir the tract astatine its ain pace. It's not dilatory compared to different robot mowers, but don't expect it to unrecorded up to its looks and go a turbo turf-tamer. 

My Luba 2 drifted from its way six times during testing. One of those times, it ended up successful my neighbor's yard, which is overmuch little than perfect arsenic they're precise peculiar astir however they mow it, but this appears to person happened during positioning and not erstwhile the blades were engaged, thankfully. Another time, it failed by going nether the platform and losing its signal. It wasn't ever expected to spell nether the deck, but I conjecture it was taking a shortcut to the rod presumption (I americium genuinely atrocious astir that one). 

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

You tin besides steer the robot successful the app to manually mow implicit pugnacious areas wherever you deliberation it whitethorn drift distant – this is besides a bully diagnostic for touching up areas that request it. The Mammotion app besides offers first-person presumption (FPV), truthful you tin cheque wherever your robot is astatine immoderate clip if it gets stranded and you're not determination to spot it. 

ZDNET's buying advice

I'm alert these GPS-powered robots marque mistakes arsenic this caller exertion is inactive being perfected for accuracy, truthful I mostly don't caput these hiccups. But I bash find the Mammotion Luba 2 is overmuch little prone to errors than the EcoFlow Blade. I tin number truthful overmuch connected Andretti pursuing its representation that I consciousness good letting it mow the unfenced beforehand lawn, adjacent the picky neighbors' side, thing I would ne'er fto the Blade do. 

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Lastly, I emotion however quiescent the Luba 2 is. One of the strangest things astir having a robot mower is that it takes attraction of the tract truthful softly that it tin flight your notice. Overall, I urge the Mammotion Luba 2 for anyone who wants to reclaim a fewer hours from the tract connected their weekends.