smart SILENO life 1000
2 independent reviewsRead the findings →GARDENA's mid-sized boundary-wire mower, with an app you can use from anywhere. It's quiet and copes well with lawns broken up by trees, beds and paths. It needs fairly even ground and dislikes long wet spells.
See the alternatives below, or switch market.
Where it sits in GARDENA’s range
- SILENO city (250 to 600m², basic and smart)Smaller lawns, same wire approach
- SILENO minimo 500Simplest model, Bluetooth only
- smart SILENO life 1000This model
- smart SILENO free 1200Similar size of lawn, no boundary wire
- GARDENA smart SILENO maxBigger wired model for larger lawns
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What reviewers found
Two home tests of the 1,000m² set. connect living tested it in 2023 with GARDENA's LONA mapping and scored it 83 out of 100, praising the easy app and a very good cut. M3 ran it for two weeks in 2022 on a garden close to 1,000m² and gave it 4 out of 5, liking how it got round trees and paths. Both found the cut neat, but M3 hit more snags, with holes, a stone and wet grass all causing trouble.
connect living, hands-on, Jun 2023 · M3, hands-on, Two weeks, Jun 2022 (Tested in 2022, before the LONA mapping software)
Cut quality and edges
Reviewers rate it highlyconnect living called the cut very good and nearly perfect, and M3 found it cut finely and kept the garden tidy once it was running. connect living still saw a few blades left by beds and fences.
Setup and boundaries
Reviewers rate it highlyIt needs a boundary wire, which connect living found took time but was straightforward with the manual and measuring guide, and pairing the hub was quick. M3 also found setup simple, though a complicated garden takes longer to map.
Navigation
Reviewers rate it highlyM3 saw it get round trees, a stone path and planting well without extra wire. connect living found its map-based zones, for areas to avoid or mow more often, made mowing noticeably easier.
Slopes and rough ground
Not enough evidenceOnly M3 tested rough ground: it handled the slopes, but its small wheels struggled with holes and bumps, and it sometimes stuck on a protruding stone. No other review we use covered this.
Obstacles and safety
Not enough evidenceNone of the reviews we use tested it with toys, pets or wildlife. connect living notes it bumps into obstacles rather than seeing them.
Weather
Not enough evidenceOnly M3 ran it in the rain: light showers were fine, but in long wet spells clippings stuck underneath and could jam the blade disc. No other review we use covered this.
App and software
Reviewers rate it highlyconnect living found the app easy, with a helper that suggests a mowing plan, and M3 rated it good, with alerts when the mower hits trouble and zones you can switch off for a day.
Upkeep
Not enough evidenceNone of the reviews we use has covered blade changes or cleaning in any depth yet.
Reliability and support
Not enough evidenceNone of the reviews we use has run it long-term or judged GARDENA's support. M3 tested it for two weeks.
Value
Not enough evidenceNone of the reviews we use has judged its value for money yet.
Verdicts come from independent, hands-on, finished reviews. An area needs at least two of them before we say more than “Not enough evidence”. We don't score robots ourselves. How this works
A neat cut once it's settled
connect living called the result very good and nearly perfect, helped by a setting that matches how long it mows to how fast the grass grows. M3 also found it cut finely and kept the garden tidy once it was running. Neither saw a flawless edge, though: connect living found a few blades of grass left standing by beds and fences. Expect to trim along borders now and then.
Good in a broken-up garden
M3's test garden had trees, gravel paths, planting and slopes, and the mower got round them well. It also has a corridor mode for passages down to 60cm, and you can set several starting points along the guide wire so it reaches distant areas. connect living found the zone settings, including areas it must avoid and areas it should cover more often, made mowing noticeably easier. This is the reason to choose it over GARDENA's simpler models.
Wants a fairly even lawn
The small wheels are the weak spot. M3 found some holes and bumps too much for it and filled them with soil, and it sometimes got stuck on one protruding stone, depending on the angle it came at it from. It bumps into obstacles rather than seeing them, per connect living. Level out dips and deal with anything sticking up before you leave it to run alone.
Setup takes time, but it's clear
connect living said laying the wire took time but was straightforward with the manual and the supplied measuring guide, and pairing with the smart hub was quick. M3 agreed setup was simple, though a complicated garden takes longer to map. With LONA switched on, connect living found it built a map of the garden over the first few days of mowing and then showed its position in the app.
Fine in showers, not long wet spells
M3 saw no trouble in light rain, but warns that in long, properly wet spells, clippings stick underneath and can block the blade disc, so it's better to pause it. It has a frost sensor that stops it mowing in the cold, per the specifications. If you live somewhere very wet, plan on cleaning the underside more often.
Both reviewers tested the 1,000m² set. M3's 2022 test came before GARDENA's LONA mapping software; connect living tested the 2023 version with LONA.
Our take
Should you buy the smart SILENO life 1000?
Best for: Lawns divided by beds and passages, with a boundary wire installed. Skip it if: You do not want to install a wire around the lawn.
Buy it if your lawn is up to about 1,000m², fairly even underfoot and split up by trees, beds or passages, and you're happy to lay a wire once for a quiet, app-controlled mower. If you'd rather skip the wire, GARDENA's own smart SILENO free or the Husqvarna Automower 305E NERA work without one. For a smaller, simpler lawn, the SILENO city does the same job in a smaller body.
The smart SILENO life is GARDENA's mid-sized wired mower, sitting above the SILENO city and below the bigger models. It still needs a wire pegged round the lawn, plus a guide wire to help it reach distant corners. The smart set adds a hub that links it to your home internet, so you can run it from the app anywhere, and GARDENA's LONA software, which uses satellite positioning to map the garden, show where the mower is and let you set zones.
What you get is a quiet, compact mower that copes with a garden broken up by trees, beds and paths, and an app that makes it easy to steer where it mows. What you give up is the easy install of a wire-free mower, and it still mows at random. Its small wheels also want a fairly even lawn.
GARDENA lists an older SILENO life set as a legacy model, so check you're buying the current version.
Before you buy
The questions people ask about this one
Does it need a boundary wire?
Yes. It uses a physical wire round the lawn and comes with 200m of it and 300 pegs, per the specifications. connect living found laying it took time but was straightforward. If you want no wire at all, GARDENA's smart SILENO free is the wire-free model of a similar size.
Can it handle two lawns or a narrow passage?
Yes, that's its strength. M3 notes a corridor mode for passages down to 60cm and several starting points along the guide wire to reach separate areas. connect living found the app's zones, including no-go areas, made it easy to control where it mows.
Will it cope with my slope?
Inside the lawn, GARDENA claims up to 35%, but only 10% along the wire, per the specifications. M3 found it handled the slopes in its test garden, but its small wheels struggled with holes and bumps. If a steep bank runs along the edge of your lawn, that 10% limit matters.
What happens when it rains?
Light rain is fine: M3 saw no problems. In long wet spells, though, clippings built up underneath and could jam the blade disc, so M3 suggests pausing it. It's rated IPX5 and has a frost sensor, per the specifications.
How close does it cut to the edge?
Not quite to it. connect living found a few blades of grass left standing by beds and fences despite an otherwise very good cut. As with most boundary-wire mowers, keep a strimmer for the borders.
How noisy is it for neighbours?
Quiet. GARDENA rates it at 57dB, per the specifications, and M3 lists the same figure. Neither tester found the noise worth complaining about, so running it while you're in the garden, or early in the day, shouldn't bother anyone.
Alternatives
Other robot lawn mowers to compare.
SILENO city (250 to 600m², basic and smart)
Why consider it: GARDENA's smaller wired mower is very quiet and good at narrow strips, and both of its testers liked it in awkward layouts.
The compromise: It's meant for smaller lawns, and both testers measured about 10cm left uncut at the edges.
Automower 305E NERA
Why consider it: No boundary wire, and one tester praised a superb striped finish, edges included.
The compromise: It needs open sky and Wi-Fi across the lawn, and a tester in a tree-lined garden struggled with reception.
Indego range (XS 300, S+ 500, M+ 700)
Why consider it: A wired mower that maps the lawn and mows in neat rows, which two testers liked.
The compromise: Both found the install fussy, and Bosch no longer lists it.
Specs
Full specifications
Each specification names its source. Manufacturer claims are not independent test results; unconfirmed figures are labelled.
Owner reviews
Do you own the smart SILENO life 1000?
Tell people how it’s held up: cleaning, maintenance, faults and support. Owner accounts are shown separately from independent reviews.
Sources
Where this page’s findings come from
Editorial reviews
- connect living: Gardena Smart Sileno Life im Test (1,000m² set) ↗83 / 100Hands-on
- M3: Gardena Smart Sileno Life: test ↗4 / 5Hands-on, Two weeks · Tested in 2022, before the LONA mapping software
Sources
- GARDENA: smart SILENO life 1000m² Set (UK) ↗Manufacturer
Videos
- Omar Aresu: Abri automatique - Gardena Smart Sileno Life 1000 ↗
- Search YouTube for GARDENA smart SILENO life 1000 ↗Search results may include company demonstrations or similar models. Check the source and model name; a demonstration is not an independent performance test.