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Does the iRobot Roomba j7+ work without internet?
Mostly. The iRobot Roomba j7+ does its job on your network and survives an outage, but it still phones home to iRobot for something along the way.
Verdict · as sold
Local, cloud optionalDoes its job on your network, but still phones home for something. Usually an account.
- Checked
- 7/7 checked
- Brand
- iRobot · US
- Model
- Roomba j7+
- Released
- 2021
- Home Assistant
roomba· vendor cloud: once, at setup- Track record
- Not reviewed yet
Seven questions, as sold.
7 of 7 checked. Every yes or no links to its source and the date it was checked. Nothing here assumes a flash: that’s the next section.
- Works with the internet cut 01 · Yes
Does the main function survive with the WAN cable pulled?
iRobot: "a Wi-Fi or App connection is not required for Roomba and Braava jet to clean"; Clean, Dock and Spot Clean work from the robot, app scheduling does not.
- No vendor account needed 02 · No
Can it be set up without creating an account with the manufacturer?
"An iRobot account is required to utilize the digital features in the iRobot Home App for our connected products."
- Documented local API 03 · Yes
Is there a publicly documented local protocol: HTTP, MQTT, ONVIF, RTSP, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Matter, Modbus?
Home Assistant's integration is local_push over the robot's MQTT server; the protocol is documented by the community dorita980 project, not by iRobot.
- Can be firewalled off for good 04 · Yes
Can it be cut off from the internet permanently without anything breaking?
dorita980 sends commands "directly over wifi to your robot", says no internet connection is needed, and recommends blocking the robot's internet access to stop OTA updates; fetch the j7's password from the cloud before you do.
- Firmware updates without the cloud 05 · No
Can it be updated by hand, with no forced auto-update?
"A Wi-Fi connected robot will automatically update its software if a new version is available when it's connected to ... the internet"; no manual or local path and no opt-out.
- Runs alternative firmware 06 · No
Can it run ESPHome, Tasmota, OpenBeken, Valetudo or OpenIPC?
No iRobot model appears on Valetudo's supported-robots list.
- Home Assistant talks to it locally 07 · Yes
Is the Home Assistant integration local_push or local_polling?
iot_class: local_push
Already own one? Into Home Assistant, then.
A different question from the verdict. Home Assistant can talk to a device locally and still need iRobot’s servers to get started, or for good. This is what the integration itself needs.
Yes, with one catch. You log in to iRobot once to get the local key. After that Home Assistant talks to the iRobot Roomba j7+ directly, and the vendor's servers can go.
- Route
- Built-in integration
- Integration
roomba- Vendor cloud
- Once, at setup
- Verified
- 2026-09-22
The integration speaks to the robot's own MQTT server on the LAN (local_push), but for the j7 the docs say the library cannot pull the password locally and it must be retrieved from the cloud with dorita980 and your iRobot account. After that, nothing goes through iRobot.
Question 08 · the company
iRobot’s track record.
Nothing on record. That isn’t a clean bill yet: it takes a proper look through the vendor’s changelog, and that hasn’t been done for iRobot. iRobot filed for Chapter 11 on 2025-12-14 with a plan for Picea, its contract manufacturer and lender, to take 100% ownership; the announcement promised "no anticipated disruption to its app functionality" or product support (media.irobot.com). Its post-transaction page repeats that there are no planned changes to app functionality and that software updates continue (irobot.com). A bankruptcy is not a revocation; no cut to cloud services or local access has been sourced as of the verification date. Roomba robots have no documented local API, so there is also nothing local on record to have been removed.
Editor’s note
In plain words.
The j7+ is the odd one out: the robot runs its own MQTT server, so once you have its BLID and password Home Assistant controls it entirely on the LAN and you can firewall it for good. The catch is getting that password, which for the j7 means an iRobot account and a cloud fetch, and updates that only ever arrive from iRobot. iRobot filed for Chapter 11 on 14 December 2025 (SEC 8-K: sec.gov), which makes the local route worth setting up now.
Wrong? Probably somewhere.
Say where. A link and a sentence is enough. Every claim above carries its source so it can be checked.