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Does the Roborock S5 work without internet?
Still checking this one. 3 of 7 criteria ticked so far for the Roborock S5. Good news already: Valetudo runs on it, and with that on board it would be fully local.
Verdict · as sold
UnverifiedNot checked enough to say yet. What is known is shown, with sources.
Flashable. Put Valetudo on it and it becomes fully local. Details below.
- Checked
- 3/7 checked
- Brand
- Roborock · CN
- Model
- S5
- Status
- Discontinued
- Home Assistant
roborock- Track record
- Not reviewed yet
Seven questions, as sold.
3 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 · Not checked
Does the main function survive with the WAN cable pulled?
- No vendor account needed 02 · No
Can it be set up without creating an account with the manufacturer?
The Home Assistant integration is configured with Roborock account credentials, so a vendor account is unavoidable as shipped.
- Documented local API 03 · Not checked
Is there a publicly documented local protocol: HTTP, MQTT, ONVIF, RTSP, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Matter, Modbus?
- Can be firewalled off for good 04 · Not checked
Can it be cut off from the internet permanently without anything breaking?
- 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. Home Assistant polls the robot locally, yet setting it up still requires a Roborock account.
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.
Not checked yet.
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
- Over the air
- 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.
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.
Seeded from Valetudo's supported-robots list: the flashing route is sourced, the seven as-shipped criteria are not yet checked. Verdict stays `unverified` until they are.
Wrong? Probably somewhere.
Say where. A link and a sentence is enough. Every claim above carries its source so it can be checked.