As a family with three young children, our yard is everything. The kids spend all their free time outside and my husband and I are always working on outdoor projects. Caring for our property often feels like a full-time job. We used to have a lawn service but when we trimmed our budget, that was one of the first expenses to go. My husband reluctantly took on the very big and time-consuming job of cutting our grass. That is, until we discovered the Segway Navimow.
I have to admit, a robot lawnmower seemed too good to be true. But we were willing to try anything to get a little time back in our weekend while managing the lawn. After testing the Segway Navimow for several weeks this summer, here’s where the Navimow shines and where it still struggles.
Setup is easy, mapping requires patience
The Segway Navimow stood out the moment I took it out of the box, which, by the way, was a breeze. Don’t let the large package scare you; once you get the charging station set up in your preferred location and download the app, you’re ready to start mapping.
Unlike its competitors, Navimow doesn’t need boundary wires. Instead, it uses GPS and AI navigation to map your yard. Since our yard is so big, we divided the locations into zones. For example, Zone 1 is a smaller fenced in plot of land in the backyard where we have a firepit, a koi pond and a garden. Zone 2 is near the pool and swing set. Zone 3 is further back where we keep our shed. Zones 4 and 5 are in the front yard.
Mapping the yard feels a lot like playing with an extra-large remote-controlled car. To “draw” the path for the robot, you need to manually take it through where it needs to go, at least one time.
Instead of digging a perimeter cable around the yard, I walked the mower along the edges with the app and it built a virtual map. It’s a lot less backbreaking, though I had to redo parts of the mapping when GPS reception faltered. Placement of the antenna is critical; if you’ve got lots of trees or tall houses nearby, expect to edit this a few times.
Performance: smart navigation with basic cuts
Once mapped, the Navimow gets to work. The mowing pattern is pretty good, not great and you definitely need to weed whack afterwards to go over the many parts of the lawn that the mower missed. It doesn’t always get everything and the lines are not as clean as a traditional mower, but it’s much quieter than a typical mower, so it could run it in the early morning or evening without annoying the neighbors.
Slopes aren’t its strong suit. My yard is pretty flat but the mower struggled with traction in a few spots. It does a decent job on slopes and handles obstacles like rogue sticks and thick tree roots well. You definitely need to do a sweep of branches, pine cones and anything else on the lawn beforehand. While I don’t have any steep drops on my lawn, there’s also no cliff detection, so I recommend fencing off drop-offs manually.
App experience: feature-rich but not flawless
Segway’s app is one of the better ones I’ve tried, giving me a real-time view of where the mower was and which zones it has covered. It is straightforward and doesn’t take much time to get used to. The tutorial is helpful, so don’t skip it. Scheduling is straightforward, and I appreciated the ability to create multiple mowing areas (zones). You can also determine the length of the cutting through the app. I stuck to no more than 3” and no less than 2.5.”
Still, the experience isn’t perfect. When the mower is out of rage or disconnects from Bluetooth, it’s game over. Initializing Bluetooth also took longer, for reasons unknown. Connectivity dropped a couple of times, and features like 4G backup require a subscription. It’s not a dealbreaker, but worth knowing before you buy.
Maintenance: easy, but frequent
Like most robot mowers, the Navimow uses three small blades that need replacement. The frequency of which you replace them depends on how often you use the mower, but count on every five weeks in the summer months. It’s quick and inexpensive, but not completely hands-off. I also had to rinse off grass clippings regularly. Firmware updates happen often in the early weeks, which meant babysitting at first. Once dialed in, though, it settled into a routine.
Final thoughts
The Segway Navimow is one of the smartest, easiest-to-use robot mowers I’ve tested. The lack of boundary wires is a huge plus for me and the overall cutting experience delivers a fairly decent job.
But it’s not perfect: GPS setup can be finicky, steep yards are off-limits and ongoing maintenance is part of the deal. If your yard is hilly or cluttered with twigs, pine cones and other debris, you might want to hold off.
If you’ve got a flat, open lawn and you’re tired of weekend mowing, this is an excellent option that feels a step ahead of the competition.
