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Does the Roborock S5 Max work without internet?
Not out of the box. The Roborock S5 Max phones home to Roborock as sold. Flash it with Valetudo and it stops, for good.
Verdict · as sold
Local after flashingPhones home as sold. New firmware stops that, warranty not included.
Flashable. Put Valetudo on it and it becomes fully local. Details below.
- Checked
- 6/7 checked
- Brand
- Roborock · CN
- Model
- S5 Max
- Home Assistant
roborock· vendor cloud: always- Track record
- Not reviewed yet
Seven questions, as sold.
6 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?
Roborock's FAQ, which lists the S5 Max, says it does full-home and spot cleanups and returns to the dock by button without Wi-Fi; scheduled cleaning and suction selection need the app.
- No vendor account needed 02 · No
Can it be set up without creating an account with the manufacturer?
Roborock's app-setup guide for the S5 Max has you "register for a Roborock account by your phone number" before the robot can be added.
- Documented local API 03 · Yes
Is there a publicly documented local protocol: HTTP, MQTT, ONVIF, RTSP, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Matter, Modbus?
Home Assistant "uses local communication for commands and polling"; the protocol is the reverse-engineered python-roborock one, not something Roborock publishes.
- Can be firewalled off for good 04 · No
Can it be cut off from the internet permanently without anything breaking?
"When the vacuum is disconnected from the internet, it blocks its local API until it can reach the Roborock servers."
- Firmware updates without the cloud 05 · Not checked
Can it be updated by hand, with no forced auto-update?
- Runs alternative firmware 06 · Yes
Can it run ESPHome, Tasmota, OpenBeken, Valetudo or OpenIPC?
Listed as supported by Valetudo.
- Home Assistant talks to it locally 07 · Yes
Is the Home Assistant integration local_push or local_polling?
iot_class is local_polling, and the same docs warn that cloud access is still required.
Already own one? Into Home Assistant, then.
A different question from the verdict. Home Assistant can talk to a device locally and still need Roborock’s servers to get started, or for good. This is what the integration itself needs.
Yes, but through Roborock. The integration talks to Roborock's servers rather than to the Roborock S5 Max itself, so it only works while Roborock keeps those servers up.
- Route
- Built-in integration
- Integration
roborock- Vendor cloud
- Always
- Verified
- 2026-09-22
Setup needs a Roborock account; commands and polling then go to the robot directly, but the docs say cloud access is still required for it to work: maps and routines are always fetched through the cloud, and the robot blocks its local API whenever it cannot reach Roborock's servers.
The way out: new firmware.
What flashing gets you, and what it costs. The guide is the community’s own and is linked here so it stays current.
- Firmware
- Valetudo
- Method
- fel
- Afterwards
- Fully local
- Verified
- 2026-09-21
Rooting voids the warranty and can brick the robot. Valetudo documents the procedure per model and keeps it current. Valetudo notes the S5 Max needs full disassembly.
Flashing voids the warranty and can brick the device. Read the whole guide before starting.
Question 08 · the company
Roborock’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 Roborock. No documented removal of the local (miio-style) API from sold robots found. Roborock has progressively hardened later models against rooting, which is not the same thing as removing local control from hardware already sold. The Home Assistant integration still connects locally after a one-time cloud login for the key; the December 2025 breakage reports were on the HA side. Nothing opened establishes false either.
Editor’s note
In plain words.
Cut the internet and the S5 Max still cleans, spot-cleans and docks from its buttons, but the app, schedules and every local integration go dark: the robot refuses local commands until it can reach Roborock again. The account is mandatory to pair it at all. The way out is Valetudo, which replaces the cloud entirely but requires taking the robot apart.
Wrong? Probably somewhere.
Say where. A link and a sentence is enough. Every claim above carries its source so it can be checked.