Robot mower beta tester guide: what to test and log
To beta test a robot mower well, run the same short checks each week, record the conditions every time (weather, grass, slope, battery) and back every fault with a timestamped photo or clip. BetaSuite: Tester's Toolkit (betasuite.app) is an iPhone, iPad and Android app built for this: it burns the date and time into every photo and video and turns your sessions into a report for the manufacturer. The checklist below works with any tool, and there is a free 11-step protocol to import.
How people get into robot mower betas
Mower makers mostly recruit where their owners already are: the brand's forum or Facebook group, its newsletter and social channels and, for new brands, their crowdfunding backers. A recruitment post links to a short application, and the questions are mostly about your lawn, because the maker wants a spread of real gardens rather than a panel of experts. Have these ready:
- Size and layout: the mowing area, how many separate zones and how narrow the passages between them are.
- Slope and ground: your steepest slope, soft or bumpy patches, and edges that drop away.
- Obstacles and boundaries: trees, beds and play equipment, and whether the edges are open or fenced.
- Signal: Wi-Fi or mobile coverage across the lawn, and how much of it sits under trees or beside walls, which matters for mowers that navigate by GPS or RTK.
- Photos or a short video of the lawn.
Two real recruitment pages show the pattern. Lymow's Lymow One beta tester page asks 15 questions about your experience and lawn conditions, the last one for photos or video of the lawn, for a two-month test. Roborock's LawnLab AU programme (applications closed 20 December 2025) asked Australian applicants for real photos or videos of their lawns, required an NDA before the mower shipped, and wanted feedback as photos, videos and written observations. Both pages were checked on 4 October 2026. Programmes open and close, so check the dates before you apply. BetaSuite isn't connected with either brand.
Getting picked is the start. Read the agreement for what you may photograph and post, and apply only if you can keep testing for the whole period. The rest of this guide is how to do that well.
What to test in a robot mower beta
A robot mower beta is mostly about edge cases, because every lawn is different and the weather changes every day. Cover each area below at least once, then repeat the ones that fail so you can say how often they fail.
| Area | What you are checking | Evidence worth capturing |
|---|---|---|
| Set-up and mapping | Time taken, retries, and how closely the boundary or map matches your real lawn. Does it survive a restart or an update? | Photos of the install (dock, boundary wire or reference station) and a screenshot of the map. |
| Docking and charging | Finds the dock from the far end of the lawn, lines up cleanly and charges every time, including after rain. | A clip of the return trip and a photo of the charging contacts. |
| Cut quality | Even height, no missed strips, no scalping, no uncut edges. The same result in dry and damp grass. | A photo of the worst spot with a tape measure or ruler beside the grass. |
| Obstacles and boundaries | Trees, furniture, toys, hoses and garden edges. How hard it bumps, and whether it stays inside the boundary. | A clip of each encounter and photos of any marks or damage. |
| Slopes and terrain | Your steepest slope, a wet slope and soft ground. Wheel slip, stalling, ruts and torn turf. | A clip from the side of the slope and photos of any marks. |
| Weather | Rain and wet-grass response, hot afternoons, frost and wind. Does it do what the manual says? | Clips and screenshots with the date, time and weather visible. |
| Safety systems | Lift and tilt stop, collision response, PIN or lock, theft alarm. Only the checks the manufacturer tells you to do. | A short clip of each check. |
| App and connectivity | First pairing, dropped connections, schedules, zones, notification accuracy and firmware updates. | A screen recording, plus a screenshot of any error with the time visible. |
| Noise and running time | Noise at the fence line, night-time running, area mown per charge and recharge time. | Notes with the time and the battery percentage at the start and end. |
Safety first. Treat the blade as live at all times. Never put your hands or feet near a mower that is switched on, and test lift or tilt cut-offs only the way the manual describes. Keep children and pets off the lawn while you test, and don't leave an unproven mower running unattended near water, a road or a drop. Check your beta agreement for anything else it requires.
Conditions to record every time
A fault you can't reproduce is just a story. Log the same details every time so engineers can line your problem up against everyone else's.
| Record | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Date, time and time zone | Engineers can match your report to the mower's own logs, if the manufacturer collects them. |
| Weather and ground | Rain in the last 24 hours, wet or dry grass, temperature and wind. Mower behaviour often depends on these. |
| Grass | Height before and after, the season and how fast it is growing. Long, fast-growing grass loads the blades and motor differently. |
| Lawn layout | Which zone, the slope, and anything that has moved since last time (toys, furniture, a hose). |
| Mower state | Battery percentage at the start and end, cut height, schedule, zones and any custom settings. |
| Software | Mower firmware and app version. Note them again after every update. |
| Changes | Anything different since the last run: a new blade, a moved dock, a new Wi-Fi router, a firmware update. |
BetaSuite adds the date and time to every photo and video for you, and can add GPS, live weather, the season and the time zone, each of which you can turn on or off in Settings.
A first-week routine
Adjust this to your brief. The point is to do the same checks in the same order, so a change in the result means something changed in the mower.
| When | Focus |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Install and map. Photograph the dock and the boundary wire or base station. Note the firmware. Take baseline photos of the lawn from the same two or three spots. |
| Days 2–3 | First full mows in dry weather. Watch the first return to the dock in person. Run the obstacle checks. |
| Days 4–5 | Slopes, edges and narrow passages. Test the schedule and the app controls (zones, pause, resume). |
| Days 6–7 | Let it work on its own and check the result each evening. Log every stop, error code and stuck event. |
| First rain | Note what it does in real rain or on wet grass. Don't hose the mower to force the test. |
| Every week | Repeat the baseline photos from the same spots. After any firmware update, repeat the set-up, docking and obstacle checks. |
A pass/fail checklist for a robot mower
Agree your thresholds with the manufacturer's brief first. If it doesn't give any, write your own before you start (for example, "no uncut strip wider than 10 cm") so you aren't judging after the fact.
- Completes set-up and mapping without a reset or a call to support.
- Pairs with the app first time and stays connected for a full mow.
- Starts on schedule, finishes and returns to the dock on its own.
- Finds the dock from the far end of the lawn and charges every time.
- Leaves no missed strips or scalped patches beyond your threshold.
- Detects and avoids fixed obstacles without hitting them hard or marking them.
- Climbs your steepest slope (within its rated limit) without slipping, stalling or tearing the turf.
- Stops the blade when lifted or tilted, if the manufacturer asks you to check this.
- Handles rain and wet grass the way the manual says.
- Stays inside the boundary for the whole test period.
- Has no unexplained error codes, stops or stuck events in a week.
- Installs a firmware update without losing the map or your settings.
A fail isn't a verdict on the mower. It's a finding. Write it up with the conditions and a clip.
How to capture evidence engineers can use
- Film the whole event, not just the fault. Ten seconds before, the fault itself, and ten seconds after.
- Start wide, then close. First the mower in its surroundings, then the detail: the contacts, the wheel, the error on the app.
- Put the app and the mower in one clip. Dual recording in BetaSuite records your phone's screen and the rear camera into a single video, so what the app says and what the mower is doing sit side by side on one timeline.
- Use a reference. A tape measure beside the grass shows cut height. A coin or ruler shows the size of a mark or a gouge.
- Burn the time into the picture. A stamp that is part of the image travels with the file. File metadata is often stripped when a photo is shared or compressed. BetaSuite stamps every photo and video, with optional GPS, weather, season and time zone. More on that in the timestamp camera app guide.
- Catch the intermittent faults. Mowers do odd things when you aren't filming. With Instant Capture, BetaSuite keeps a rolling buffer and saves the last 15–30 seconds when you tap, so you can work near the mower and still catch the moment. Without a tool like that, film the start of every run you can watch.
- Mark it as it happens. Add a one-tap marker or a quick voice note with the time, then write it up properly later.
- One issue per clip. Name it by what happened ("Stuck at the bin, north lawn"), not "Video 14".
What to send the manufacturer
A good report is short at the top, specific in the middle and backed up at the bottom. See how to write a beta test report for the full structure.
| Section | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| At a glance | Model and serial number, firmware and app versions, test dates, lawn size and slope, and how the mower finds its way (boundary wire, GPS or RTK, vision). Three sentences on how it went. |
| Findings, worst first | Safety issues first, then anything that stops the mower working, then annoyances. For each one: what happened, what you expected, how to repeat it, how often it happens and the conditions. |
| Evidence | Time-stamped photos and clips matched to each finding by name or time. |
| What worked | A short list. Engineers also need to know what not to change. |
| Data files | A CSV or JSON of your findings if they ask, so they can load it into their own tools. BetaSuite reports can ship with both. |
Here is the format for one finding. The values are made up, to show the shape.
Title: Stops short of the dock with a "charging contact" error Severity: High (the mower runs flat) Expected: Docks and charges after every mow Actual: Stopped about 2 m from the dock and showed a contact error Frequency: 3 of the last 5 returns, all after rain Conditions: Wet grass, 14°C, firmware 1.2.3, battery 22% Evidence: Wide clip then close-up of the contacts, stamped 12:31:07
Want to see a finished report? Open the sample report (PDF). It has an At a Glance summary, findings sorted by severity and an image appendix.
Running it in BetaSuite
- Create a project for the mower, and note the model, serial number and firmware in your first session.
- Import the free protocol below.
- Start a session each time you test. Capture the photos and clips the steps ask for, and drop a marker whenever something happens.
- At the end of the week, generate a PDF or Word report with an At a Glance summary and findings by severity, plus JSON and CSV data files if you want them.
Screens from the app's built-in demo project, with made-up data.
AI summaries are optional and opt-in. For units under NDA, Confidential Mode blocks cloud AI and cloud uploads, and warns you before you share or export anything. Everything is stored on your device, with no account.
Free BetaSuite protocol: robot mower field test
This is a ready-made, 11-step protocol for the first week with a robot mower. It was built with the site's own Protocol Builder, so the link below is a real import link. It mixes pass/fail checks with a choice, a multiple-choice and a rating question, and asks for a photo, video or dual recording where the evidence matters. For the general idea, see the test protocol template.
Robot mower field test · 11 steps · free to import and edit
- Set-up: finish the boundary or map set-up exactly as the manual describes. The app confirms the lawn is mapped and the mower is ready, with no retry or reset. Screenshot: the finished map in the app.
- Pairing: the mower pairs with its companion app on the first attempt and stays connected for the whole first mow.
- Return to dock: send the mower home from the far end of the lawn. It finds the dock, lines up and starts charging first time. Record the mower and the app's status together.
- Finished lawn: after a full dry-weather mow the cut is even, with no missed strips, scalped patches or uncut edges, and no repeated bumping in narrow passages. Photo: the worst spot.
- Obstacles: with a tree, garden furniture and a bin on the lawn, the mower detects each one and turns away. It doesn't get stuck, hit hard or mark the obstacle.
- Slope: on the steepest part of your lawn (within the rated slope), the mower climbs and mows without wheel slip, stalling or tearing the turf.
- Safety stop: only if your beta brief covers it, and following the manufacturer's steps, lifting or tilting the mower stops the blade straight away. Keep hands and feet clear of the blade.
- Wet lawn or rain: what did the mower do?
- Schedule: a scheduled mow starts on time, covers the lawn and returns to the dock on its own.
- Which problems did you see this week? Tick all that apply.
- How confident would you be leaving this mower to work unattended? 1 = not at all, 5 = completely.
Show the raw code
How to import it
- On your phone, tap Open this protocol. If BetaSuite is installed, it opens its import sheet with the code filled in. If the link opens in your browser instead, tap Copy code there (or here).
- In BetaSuite, open Test protocols, choose Import and paste the code or link.
- Edit any step to suit your unit, then run it. Your answers are saved to a session and roll up into the report. Protocols, sessions and reports are part of Advanced mode; if you're in Basic mode, Test protocols offers to switch for you.
Want to change the steps first? Open the link in the free Protocol Builder. It runs in your browser with no account, and you can generate a fresh code from your edits. Running a whole beta programme? See how to give every tester the same protocol and merge the results.
When BetaSuite is the wrong choice
BetaSuite covers everything from a single stamped photo to a full report for the manufacturer. It is the wrong tool only when:
- You need data from the mower itself. BetaSuite doesn't connect to the mower, so it can't read its logs, error history or GPS track. You note what the app shows, or record the screen.
- You want unattended monitoring. A phone isn't a security camera. BetaSuite records the moments you start or save, so use a separate fixed camera if you need to watch the lawn while you're out.
- You want to test an app, not hardware. BetaSuite is not a TestFlight or Google Play testing tool. See what a hardware beta testing app needs to do.
Don't need a report? If the manufacturer takes findings through its own portal or form, or you only want stamped photos and video, switch BetaSuite to Basic mode (Settings > App mode). It keeps every capture tool, including dual recording and Instant Capture, and leaves out projects, sessions and reports, so it works as a plain timestamp camera. Attach the files wherever the manufacturer asks, and switch back to Advanced at any time without losing anything.
If you run the programme rather than test in it, see the programme page. For the longer case for the app, see why BetaSuite.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I become a robot mower beta tester?
- Follow the brands you are interested in where they talk to owners (their forum or Facebook group, newsletter and social channels) and apply when a recruitment post goes up. Expect questions about your lawn's size, slope, obstacles and signal, and a request for photos or a short video of it. Answer honestly, read the NDA before you sign, and apply only if you can test for the whole period.
- What is a robot mower beta test?
- A pre-release or early-access trial where a manufacturer lets real owners run an unfinished mower, firmware or app on real lawns and report faults before general release. The tester's job is to find problems in real conditions and describe them so engineers can reproduce them.
- How long should a robot mower beta test run?
- As long as the programme asks. As a guide, run it long enough to see dry weather, wet weather and at least one firmware update. For most lawns that means several weeks rather than a few days.
- What should I record when a robot mower gets stuck?
- Photograph it where it is before you move it. Then note the time, the weather and ground, what the app says and the battery level. Once it is safe, film it getting free if that helps show the cause. Log how often it happens, not just the one time.
- Can I use BetaSuite for a mower under NDA?
- Yes. Everything is stored on your device with no account. Confidential Mode blocks cloud AI and cloud uploads, and warns you before you share or export anything. Photos and videos also go to your camera roll by default, so if your photo library syncs to the cloud, turn Camera Roll off in Settings → Save Destinations before you turn Confidential Mode on. Check your NDA first for what you may photograph and what you may send, and by what route.
- Is BetaSuite a TestFlight alternative?
- No. BetaSuite: Tester's Toolkit is not an app-beta tool and has no connection to TestFlight or Google Play testing tracks. It is for people who beta test physical products in the field and need timestamped evidence and a report for the manufacturer.
- Is BetaSuite a subscription?
- No. It is a one-time purchase from the App Store or Google Play, with no subscription, no ads and no account. Each store sets the price.
Related guides
Start testing with timestamped evidence
BetaSuite: Tester's Toolkit burns the date and time into every photo and video, then turns your sessions, markers and findings into a PDF or Word report, on iPhone, iPad and Android. Only need a timestamp camera? Use Basic mode.
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