Ecovacs Deebot N79 Main Brush Error Fix - Four Beeps 

Hey Erik, I am a 53 year old housewife from Bavaria/Germany. And guess what .... I could fix my Ecovac Deebot with the help of your video. Thank you so much!!!

Super video -- you saved me $200! My issues were motor armature lubrication and hair in the gearbox. Below are additional Ecovacs Deebot N79 maintenance notes. 1) Label each type of screw with a post-it unless your name is MacGyver! Example names: bumper, deep-seated, outside wheel, motor to gearbox, gearbox assembly, etc. 2) Oil the motor armature. Twist the metal pinion gear on the motor back and forth to work in the lube. Wipe away excess lube. For me, the lube made the armature easier to rotate! 3) The big plastic gear inside the motor gearbox (a.k.a. "housing") should move easily. Remove debris like hairs. 4) The two tiny motor screws have washers and are secured with Loctite. Optionally, add threadlocker blue Loctite to prevent the screws from loosening over time from vibration. 5) After the gearbox is reassembled, move the belt with your finger. The belt should move smoothly and with some resistance. 6) Remember to dust the sensors under the bumper before reattaching the bumper. 7) Bumper reassembly. Plug in the bumper first. This takes dexterity because the plug doesn't reach far. Next, kind of snap together the two-piece bumper assembly. I previously replaced the battery with "AnhoTech Replacement Battery Compatible with Ecovacs Deebot N79S." It is critical to verify the battery plug shape before you order. Otherwise, battery replacement is easy. Maybe we'll get another two years of N79 service? Cheers!

This video was great. It gave me the courage to take my Deebot apart. :). I cleaned the motor as you suggested, with a razor, but it did not seem to help. Still got the 3 beeps. So I disassembled the unit again and took the brush motor out entirely and turned the gear spindle end by hand. It was quite difficult. I sprayed the motor down with WD40 and turned the spindle a few times and it began spinning much more freely. I sprayed out the motor with some pressurized air to remove excess WD40. Runs perfect now. Thanks for your inspiring tutorial.

NOTE: Be sure that your motor shaft turns when you finish removing the hair and dirt. Mine was almost impossible to turn. I used sewing machine oil to lubricate the motor shaft on the gear side (the side that fits into the belt). Then I rotated the gear back and forth until the shaft moved freely. Thanks to James Hymel below for the suggestion. Great video by the way. My $10 Deebot that I bought for "parts or repair" is now running great.

I had this issue arise two days ago. I watched a RU-vid video from the Ecovacs mfg that gave four "of the only reasons" likely causing the problem and this motor issue was NOT one of them. I did all of the troubleshooting. I found this video which made the most sense given my findings. I did test it without the main brush and the deebot ran fine without stopping and beeping every few minutes. I believe because the motor gear was not turning the brush and had no strain on the gear, the unit assumed everything was fine. But I felt this was the last likely cause given ruling everything out except for a possible damaged circuit. Your video was perfectly done. I easily disassembled the unit and found foreign matter around the base of the gear and also in the casing containing the belt. My Deebot (affectionately named scooter) is back on the road again working like a champ. Thanks for saving me a few hundred dollars on a new unit!

Lo primero perdona por expresarme en español pero es que así estoy seguro de que me sabré expresar bien. Grandísimo video, y gracias también a los comentarios de la gente. Pese a ser un manazas para estas cosas me he decidido a abrir el robot y he conseguido arreglarlo gracias a tus consejos. Un saludo y muchísimas gracias por vídeos así que sirven para ahorrarnos un dinero y alegar la vida de nuestros aparatos

I'd given up on my Deebot after this error just kept going and going. I cleaned every brush to a T, ordered replacement brushes, but no avail. This video was a lifesaver. One more thing to consider - when you unscrew the motor assembly from the main body, and open up the plastic cover, there is a black plastic wheel (around which the belt goes). If you pry out the wheel , I noticed hair inside entangled which I cleaned out. Not sure how much it contributed but worth considering for other users.

Erick thank you so much...it worked like a charm...your instructions were fantastic...you are truly an asset to the RU-vid community., God Bless You.

Did the trick on my DeeBot. I noticed the brush wasn't rotating and then the unit would stop after about 1min. Would restart, but would stop shortly after. There was a good tuft of fur/hair/dust in that little gearbox. Put it back together and still same issue. Then I found this video and cleaned the crud between the gear and motor housing -- and there was a lot despite not really being visible. Put it back together and the dude is back in action. THANK YOU!

I have had my deebot for 5 years and it just recently started beeping 4 times. I did all the items on the standard trouble shooting list and none of it worked. I watched your video and followed your instructions, it works amazing again! Thank you!

Thank you so much! I replaced my main brush but was still getting the error, and my Deebot was out of warranty, so I got brave and followed your instructions. There was only a tiny bit of hair around the spindle, but with the addition of some WD40, I was able to get it moving again. I somehow did this without losing any screws or messing up putting it back together. And now my Deebot is totally clean and running as good as new! Thank you again for your video - without it I would not have been brave enough to try this.

My sincerest thanks to Eric and Ms. Googly Eyes Deebot Vac for helping me to get my Robot Cleaner running again! I’m 66 with arthritis & I’m SO PROUD I did it! Thank you Erik!

Thanks a ton bud. This error was driving me nuts and I was about to toss our vacuum in the trash. Now he’s working again!

Thank you very much for posting this!!! My 2nd Deebot is 10 days short of being out of warranty but we did not want to go through the hassle of making a claim. We followed the video and now our 2nd "Rosie" is working great. We weren't able to figure out why our first Deebot stopped working but we still have it. Tomorrow, we'll be trying this on that one also. Thank you again.

My Deebot N79 has been weir. After cleaning and replacing all the expendable parts, still threw the Main Brush Malfunction error. After following instructions provided in your video my Deebot is working like new again! Thank you so much!

Just disassembled my vacuum after changes the brushes and then watching this video. The gear was a little stiff to twist so per someone's comment I put a little wd40 in there and spun it. Got more hair out with the razor blade. Pulled out piles of cat fur on the crevices of the vacuum and cleaned the sensors. Assembled and tested. We're rocking and rolling. Thanks for sharing!!!

I had the exact situation as another poster- I’m on my second machine after first was returned under warranty for the same problem. I’m no longer under warranty so I tried this cleaning process. I found a wad of cat hair around the motor. Now my robot is humming along again. Thank you!!!

I had the same problem. Your instructions were spot on. Thanks for posting your video. Saved me from spending a bunch of money on a new vacuum.

Dude! I never post on RU-vid videos, but this one deserves it! Thank you for ending my unbelievable frustration. Well done.

This video got our Deebot 500 back up and running. I had bought a new main brush and battery which didn't work. Just taking the top off we found lots of fluff and debris around the air outlet and we only got a very small about of hair off from the motor with a stanley blade. Enough to make the difference though and very pleased to have my cleaning buddy back!

Your instructions were spot on!. Deebot is working great! When I used the razor to clear out the motor I didn’t even really see much dirt in there. I was thinking as I was putting the robot back together it must be something else. To my surprise, it runs great now. So if you don’t see any dirt or hair come out, don’t fret, just give it a try.

This work perfectly! I cannot believe how much dog here was actually around the motor and within the housing... I had to cut out quite a bit. Works great now.

Great video! Thank you! I had noticed that the brush motor seemed to be frozen (I had placed an X on the brush to see if my suspicion was correct and confirmed that the main brush was not spinning at all) I cleaned the motor per your suggestion (got a surprisingly amount of hair off - we had a German Shepherd) and put it back together and it still did not work. However, I disassembled it again, took the brush motor apart again and noticed what someone had mentioned about how hard it was to turn the gear. I cleaned it again and took even more hair out (Truly amazing how much hair can get packed in such a small area!!). After making sure there was no more hair, I sprayed the motor with some Dry Lube as it was also suggested (suggestion was WD40) by someone else and noticed that the gear was spinning much more freely. I assembled it again and it is working now. Thank you!

Thank you so much for this video! I kept replacing the brushes but the beeping wouldn't stop and someone recommended your video. There's no way I would have thought to take apart the motor on my own. Heck, I didn't even know where the motor was. Lo and behold, there were two HUGE chunks of hair/lint in the motor. Your instructions were clear and easy to follow. My Deebot is working like new now. Thanks again!

You may have just saved my Deebot. I'm on my second one that Ecovacs replaced after the first one got this error under warranty. A year later I was getting the same thing . Nothing worked to fix it and I always kept the brushes clean. But I just ran through these steps and it's been running for over 30 minutes so far with no error. Fingers are crossed that I'll get more life out of it. Thanks so much!

Thanks this helped fix my N79s error on the app saying "main brush malfunction". Once I got to the motor, there did not seem to be any visible fibers or hair wrapped around the motor shaft, but I ran the blade through the gap as shown. There was some slight black dust. Perhaps it is the collection of grime that gives some resistance to the motor and causes the error. I also used a piece of dental floss to clean the gap thoroughly. New life in my bot now!

Yes thank you! I bought a new battery thinking that was it, worked for a week then stopped working. I could barely spin the brush with my hands so I took it part like you did and the brush motor was completely filled with hair, I removed it all now works perfect!!

Thank you for this video. I am not very handy, but I was able to disassemble my Deebot unit and clean him just like you did in the video. I also used a motorized air blower to clean out all the dust and debris. Even better, I was able to assemble it again and it runs like new. It was so annoying it would just randomly stop over and over again. I hated that.

I performed this operation today on my little buddy, and it worked perfectly. It absolutely resolved the issue. When Erik says one of the screws is a "different size" (mid-body, left), it's the head that's the different size, so be aware. It really is an entirely reasonable and simple operation, so long as you follow the procedure described. I took a very long time with the razor, and blew it out each time I scratched it down, but hold the motor up to the light and really get that spindle clean so long as you have it out. You'll be happy you did. An excellent, clear video that did the job 100%. Thank you for posting this, and both for showing each step and for being calm throughout. I'm sure it'll be encouraging even for the least confident person. You can do this! :D Bravo, Erik. Nicely done.

THANK YOU!!!! You would not believe all the gunked up fur that was in the motor housing on the belt. No wonder it wouldn't work. You just saved me a bunch of money! Thanks!

Had a "Main Brush Malfunction" error and was ready to buy a new one after 1.5yrs and was pretty bummed out. Tried this video and everything was just as you described and it works again!!! Highly recommend this vid before giving up on your N79s.

Thank you so much 😃 This did the trick for my 3 year old Deebot. Moved into an apartment with a roommate who has two long haired cats and I believe their hair was the main culprit 😯

This was a great video to show me how to clean the motor of my N79s. It needed it. It didn’t fully resolve my issue but knowing how to do this is extremely helpful. I went thru the comments and found where the main brush wasn’t rolling. I forced mine to roll while it was it was turned off and then it was off and running. No more annoying beeps! Thanks again!

Anyone who says cleaning the motor didn't work should read this post and watch my video. This is a great video and it filled the huge void caused by Ecovac's lack of support. Since they don't have a service center where you can send your vacuum's to be repaired they should be posting content like this. But enough griping :-) I wanted to share that I followed this video and my vac worked for a while but eventually was throwing the same error code. I took it apart again and cleaned it again to the point where I thought I had pulled all the fur out of the gap between the gear and the motor. What was left was appeared to be a hard surface and I believed it to be a rubber O-ring. When the 4 beep error code occurred within 20 seconds of starting it I took it apart again. I kept slicing in between the gear and the motor with a razor blade working at different angles until I finally began to see material coming loose. I was eventually able to work it to the point where I could pull out a frayed piece of the tightly wound fur as seen in my video. I kept pulling out material and starting all over again to free more until I reached the point where I could see a clear gap all the way down to the spindle between the gear and the motor. I've posted a short video demonstrating this at this link: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qGaxFeqxnVQ.html

Oh my gosh!! You did it!! You showed a great video on what to do to keep our Deebot going!! Important to really clean that area you showed with the knife and added wd 40 to help with movement!! .My husband followed All your great videos and instuctions!!! Thank you for solving the issue!! And yes there was lots!! Of dog hair ( 2 dogs) inside the unit! We've had the unit, I believe 4yrs? Was much worth the time to disassemble and reassemble instead of buying another unit! And she is still working as I type this. Thank you!!🎉

The hero we need but no the hero we deserve right now! Thank you so much!

Great video! I definitely had to clean my motor. Unfortunately was still have problems. It turns out the brush was the issue. Something with the bearing wasn't spinning. I took the brush apart thanks to another RU-vid video and cleaned it out. Still was having issues, then I tried to manually spin the brush while it was seated in the vacuum and I noticed it wasn't rotating. I ended up using force to make it rotate. Now the brush spins and the vacuum works. Something must have been stuck. What's funny was that it was a new brush, only a month or so old.

Thank you! I previously tried replacing the battery and super cleaning every part of the thing and still it stopped with the 4 beeps. After opening it up to get to the motor I found a huge chunk of impacted hair stuck in the belt. That explains why it couldn't run and why the motor sounded strange. I didn't need to open up and clean the motor because it looked clean. I've had the Deebot for 3 years and hope to keep it going a lot longer, thanks to you!

Exact solution to Scout's (our Deebot 600) problem. Clear instructions. We did have to spend a fair amount of time cleaning out all the dirt under the gear, but works perfectly now. BTW, another symptom that we had was that she kept turning off the brushes and vacuum to try to get herself unstuck.

This appears to have worked perfectly - thanks for taking the time to document this. The amount of cruft I removed was miniscule but it did the trick. Before doing this my DeeBot 500 would move normally but would repeatedly stop brushing for a few seconds every few seconds.

Great video followed your excellent tutorial after re assembly it kept bleeping no panic put it on the charge and now it’s away again happily vacuuming, your video was soooo good I would have just followed the next steps it gave me confidence to give it a go. Thank you again brilliant

Great video -- I actually had a 2 beep error. it would run for 5 seconds and then stop solid red light and two beeps. -- indication of a problem with the side brush motors (which we didn't use). After seeing your video, it inspired me to open up the Deebot and clean the main motor. By disconnecting the side brush motors - it eliminated the error message and allows the Deebot to run -- and bonus -- it will run longer on a single charge.

THANKS! Worked great! I was getting the "Main Brush Malfunction" error and it stopped picking up stuff. I followed your instructions and the motor belt enclosure was so packed that it actually broke the cover (at the 2:15 mark). Mine is only 2 months old but with an English Long-Haired Mastiff, I didn't want to wait for warranty support. Back up and running, and picking up half a dog every use!

Thank you so much! I've been trying to find a solution to the 4 beeps for months! I couldn't believe all the dog hair that made its way to the motor.

Really appreciate this video. I was just about to pop for the new motor and replace it. Found this, and now my bot works again. Thank you!

Thanks for the video. My unit didn't have any visible debris/hair/etc on the motor shaft, but the shaft was "stiff" and required manual turning to loosen it up. I added a single drop of lubricating oil to the shaft between the pinion gear and the motor housing. Unit now works.

Awesome video. You nailed it, all the way down to where the fibers were collecting on the drive shaft of the motor. The vacuum is 1.5 years old and this saved me from buying a new one. Works like new.

Thanks for this video! I had the same problem and followed your directions exactly.....and problem solved! I would never have tried this out on my own, and I certainly never would have thought that dog hair caught in that little crevice was the problem, but you were spot on. Thanks for the help and the clear instructions on taking it apart!

Brilliant. Really helpful. I was a bit fustrated with my Deebot until I found your video. I appreciate it a lot. Thanks!

Thanks! I Followed your instructions and the Deebot N79 now works flawlessly! I also lubricated the motor spindle at the point that hair accumulates as other commentators suggested. Cheers!

Thank you so much! This totally fixed my problem and your suggestion to run it without the main brush attached helped me identify the motor as the issue!

VERY helpful! Thought I'd cleaned it enough 1st time but still didn't work. Did it a second time and noticed SHAFT STILL NOT REALLY TURNING FREELY. It should turn pretty freely. Found that floss and lots of blowing really helped me get my shaft on main brush motor turning again.

Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge Erik and for others who have liked and added their experiences. The video gave me the confidence to attempt this cleaning and maintenance fix which appears to have worked. It has given me a lot of satisfaction that I could repair my Ecovac and get back to coming home to tidy floors.

Hey, just wanted to say thanks for this video. I was able to get mine working again after following your instructions. Found out it's my damn bathroom rug that's clogging up that motor shaft. Fine point tweezers and an Xacto knife did the trick.

Thanks for the video! I recovered my cleaner through same. However I did more. I used an old toothbrush and eyelash plucker to remove all the minute hair strands stuck in there. To my disbelief that motor become completely free after patiently removing all the hair and the axle could even move horizontally by few mm's.😊

You are a genius. Thank you so very much for posting this video. It worked like a dream on my N79W. Thank you thank you thank you!

Terrific video - it's doing a public service. Helped me repair my Deebot N79.

Amazing! I was about to toss it to the garbage and now it's working as day one. Thanks a lot!

Okay, so I did all this, and my vacuum is ridiculously clean!!! Holy dustballs came out when I used compressed air in there. However, it still didn't work. I kept searching online and one person said that when they did this cleaning (of the motor) they also said they WD-40'd the gears so they turned freely (makes sense!). Well, I had already put all the screws back in so had no intention of doing that ; ) Then I found the Holy Grail of answers...and it's stupid simple... TAKE OUT your main brush, and turn your machine on and let it clean for awhile without it (no beeps!), then stop it and put the main brush BACK IN. IT WORKED. Hope it makes your day as much as it did mine, now to find some GOOGLY EYES for him!

Thank you for this video! This was exactly the fix for my Deebot and my wife is very happy now!

Great video explaining where the motor was for this error. My issue was likely dust and not hair, but some WD40 and it was turning great! hopefully another 2 years of no issues. Thanks!

Thank you for the tip. I was having the same issue and I follow your steps. I did not find any hair around the motor but it is working now! Yahoo!!!

Great tutorial! There was a huge wad of cat hair around the motor pulley. My robot vacuum is finally running well again.

Thanks a lot, I have just fixed my robot with your instructions

Very nice, thank you. For my vacuum the loud noise was coming from the side air exhaust port being clogged but this made getting to that easy.

Thanks for the video. I was able to fix my deebot n79 as well. The motor was really dirty.

Great! Mine had the same problem. I just followed your instructions and it worked. Thanks a lot!

Thanks. Great vid. Great step by step instructions. My vac seems to be OK now.

Thank you! It fixed the problem on mine after cleaning the main brush motor.

Works perfect after the same cleaning process. I did not have to go that deep to the motor. Brushes and wheel was good enough. Thank you :)

Thank you so much for this video!! With your help I was able to fix my ECOVACS 👍

Be patient.... I did once, still beeped. 2nd time still beeped. Then after a while, it stopped. So thank you very much Erik. :)

This definitely works thank you. Don’t be afraid that you won’t be a to reassemble it.

Thank you so much for this video. Lifesaver! I actually started by replacing the battery since mine was beeping on the dock to start. After that, I immediately started getting the main brush malfunction beeps. I followed your instructions and got a lot of hair and debris out of the motor parts but still got the errors. Took it apart a second time and sprayed with WD40 as some others suggested and it’s working like a charm again!

Great video on how to access the main brush motor. Took my N79 apart because it was making a terrible sound and the motor itself is just shot. Lots of play in the shaft.

Thank you so much, Erik! I was about to throw my ebot out and this video saved it. It's running like a champ again. Good as new!!

You are right on. Putting it back together but there was a bunch of hair around the shaft

Thank you soooooooo much. It's now working just like a brand new one! You made my day!

Great video, just I watched the video then I fixed my little friend. Works perfectly now, thank you so much.

This was great. My Deboot is working like a charm.. Thank you!

Mine was full of hair inside there and this seems to have done the trick! Thanks for the great video

Thanks for the help with this video. Saved me $90 in repair or a new vacuum.

Thanks for posting. I had the same problem and this video allowed me to repair it myself (and I feel pretty good about it!!). Very useful video.

This worked. My issue was that the debit would work ... not well... for about a minute. Red light and 4 beeps.

Thanks Erik for sharing this. You saved my Deebot from the tip.

This was my exact issue! Thanks! I have a deebot 601 and kept getting multiple tangled brush errors. Such an easy fix. Only thing I wish you showed in detail was removing the electrical clips inside to fully remove the hood. Either way, I did it without removing the top completely (I have a large tendency to breaking those electrical clips)

Unfortunately, I did all of this. And I still get the dreaded 4 beeps

When the vacuum started giving the error, I thought it was the replacement battery I purchased less than a year ago. I bought all the replacement parts and still giving error. Then I watched this video, followed the instructions and it is now fixed! How in the world did you figure this out?!? Thanks!

Oh thank you! We have 3 double coated dogs, the inside of deebot was packed with hair 🤣 seems to be working like new again!

This worked fantastic! Thank you! I already bought an actual roomba before I found this video so now I have a robot vacuum for my garage! Haha

Spot on mate! Fixed the problem first time!

Same issue, after 2 years of dog hair mine was giving the 4 beeps. I did what you suggested and cleaned out the spindle and used some 3-1 oil until it was spinning nicely. Also popped off the other sprocket (comes off if gently pry at base) and that was full of dog fur too. Running as normal now.

Fantastic! Cat hair in the motor, life is much better now. Thanx and Goddess Bless!

Thanks, seems to be a common problem. Mine didn't have debris around the actual motor gear but the cog at the other end of the belt inside the housing. I used WD40, compressed air and also some folded paper to get into the gap, because I was concerned that a knife blade might cut the plastic components.

UPDATE: The motor inside did need cleaning , But that did not solve the beep problem for me. Per the recommendation of other viewers in this reply thread, I replaced the battery, and the problem was instantly solve. Thanks to all!

So if you're like me, did these steps, cleaned a bunch of stuff, but yet still have the beeps, TRY ONE MORE THING! I found another place that's worth targeting. It's easy to get to too. So on the brush rod itself. One end has a screw in it, while the other has a little metal ball (it's the side that motor turns). Pull off the cap with the metal ball. You'll probably notice it doesn't spin very well in your hand. Mine suffered from the same problem as the motor (but farrrr worse - so much hair). To pop out the bearing and get inside, you need to push the metal rod into a hard surface (slowly!) - I pushed it into a table top (careful it might leave an indentation!). Once the rod pushes through, the ball will come out, and the pieces can be cleaned. There was a whole lot of gunk in mine. I sprayed some WD-40 around it too just to make sure it spun better. After cleaning, press the rod and ball back in the way it was before and snap everything back together! Once I did that (after my first attempts just cleaning the motor), my beeps have gone away!

Thanks for this video!. May be the problem with my Deebot.

Thanks for this fix. Resolved my problem!

you are beast bro! actually it worked on my Deebot DN622 after trying a lot of options.

This was exactly what I needed. Perfect video man! Great job! By the way, it fixed the problem. Thanks for the video!