Redroad MGC500 Robot Lawn Mower Review

Redroad, known for its range of robot vacuums and vacuum cleaners, offers the MGC500 robot lawn mower. This mower, available on Amazon.ca, promises efficient and smart lawn care. iPhone in Canada was sent this robot lawn mower for review, so let’s take a look at what it can do.

Key Features:

• Precise Positioning with C-ToF Technology: Ensures accurate path planning and efficient lawn coverage.
• Spot Mowing: Efficiently handles specific areas.
• Avoids Things in the Way: Automatically navigates around obstacles.
• Quiet Operation: Operates at less than 57 dB.
• Cable Break Detection: Detects breaks in the perimeter cable and assists in repairs. Kit includes tool to fix broken cables
• Automatic Cutter Head Lift: Adjusts cutting force for dense patches.

Unboxing and Setup

The MGC500 comes with all necessary components for setup. The initial step involves placing the base charging station on a flat surface with access to AC power. The most labor-intensive task is laying the perimeter line to define the mowing area, requiring a rubber mallet, hammer and a wire cutter for setup.

The image from Redroad shows the base hammered down in four corners and two longer metal rods near the front of the base:

To start your install you just unroll the perimeter line from the base and around your yard:

First, you need to find a level part of your lawn for the base. Installing the base is easy as you just hammer in pegs to secure the charging base. From here, you connect one end of the boundary line to the base, then run the other end of the line around the perimeter of grass you want to be cut. Just end the perimeter line by running it back to the base.

You just insert the perimeter line wire ends into the terminals (like hooking up old speaker wires):

After the physical setup, the RHome Smart Life app is used to connect the lawn mower to home Wi-Fi, including a quick software update. Starting the mower involves entering a 4-digit PIN (default is 0000). The mower first maps the perimeter and then mows in a bow-tie pattern.

Performance

The MGC500 efficiently returns to its base to recharge when the battery is low and resumes mowing once charged. However, the base must be on a flat surface to avoid issues with the mower docking correctly.

The app provides basic functionality (it could use a makeover), including starting the mower and monitoring its status, though it occasionally showed a “device offline” error and also “the device is shutdown”. It turns out this was because the mower didn’t dock properly and was unable to charge and ran out of battery. After I tweaked the docking station to be completely level, it fixed the problem.

You can see the progress of the Redroad’s lawn mowing progress in the app in real-time and location of the mower. Below, you can see the 100% completed job of the area inside the perimeter line:

You can see there’s also a huge red ‘stop’ button on the mower if you need to manually pause it. There’s no need to use the app for an emergency pause of the mower.

In testing, the MGC500 performed well in cutting grass, operating quietly and efficiently mulching with its three blades. It managed to mow everything within the perimeter line, essentially automating the grass cutting of the bulk of the backyard. In the future, we could extend the perimeter line to target the entire yard and free up even more time. Grass outside of the perimeter line will take manual mowing and trimming, still saving you time.

You can take a look below at the areas outside of the perimeter line with overgrown grass. If that playground wasn’t there, it would be able to mow even more grass. Seeing a robot lawn mower in action is actually really satisfying, as you know you’ve just freed up your time to go do something else (like the next task on the wife’s never-ending to do list).

The Redroad lawn mower was also very quiet, to the point where you can’t really even hear it running. You can chill on the deck without the excess noise of a gas mower and the fumes.

Additional Features:

• High Adaptability: Handles slopes up to 45%, avoids obstacles, and can mow small areas in quick mode. The IPX6 rating means it can mow in light rain and supports easy cleaning.
• Easy Cleaning: IPX6 rating allows it to be rinsed with water.
• Automatic Recharging: Returns to its base when the battery drops below 15%.
• Rain Sensors: Returns for recharging during rain.

Conclusion

The Redroad MGC500 robot lawn mower offers a range of intelligent features for efficient lawn maintenance. Despite some setup challenges and minor app issues, it significantly reduces the time and effort required for lawn care.

A good use case for a robot lawn mower is if you have a rental property or a cabin, as the robot’s cost can be cheaper than paying a landscaper. If you have a backyard that needs mowing while you’re on vacation, this Redroad lawn mower can be scheduled to mow your lawn by itself while you are away.

Priced at $899 CAD after a current $200 off coupon, the Redroad MGC500 robot lawn mower is one to consider automated lawn mowing tasks to free up your time.

Thanks to Redroad for supporting iPhone in Canada and independent media ahead of Amazon’s Prime Day.