L40s Ultra
3 independent reviewsRead the findings →A Dreame vacuum and mop with a twin brush, reaching edge tools and mop pads it can leave in the dock. It's at its best on carpet and long hair. It has no camera, though, so clutter trips it up.
Updated
See the alternatives below, or switch market.
Where it sits in Dreame’s range
- L40s Ultra CECheaper, lower suction claim, cold-water mop wash
- L40s UltraThis model
- L40s Ultra AECamera avoidance, but no mop drop-off or reaching brush
- L40 UltraEarlier L40, with a camera for dodging clutter
- L50 UltraNext generation, with climbing legs and a camera
Feedback
What reviewers found
Three tests, and they don't line up neatly. Vacuum Wars measured it in the lab against its two siblings: excellent on carpet and hair tangles, poor at avoiding small objects. CGMagazine liked it a lot at home, praising its pickup and how confidently it got around furniture. How-To Geek agreed about the navigation but found the vacuuming and mopping underwhelming on hard floors. So it's strong on carpet and sure-footed round furniture, but weak with small clutter and less certain on tiled kitchens.
Vacuum Wars, lab test · CGMagazine, hands-on, Aug 2025 · How-To Geek, hands-on, Jan 2026
Hard floors
Mixed resultsCGMagazine found it picked up fine dust, crumbs and hair from hard floors without issue. How-To Geek had the opposite experience on kitchen tile, where it left so many crumbs that the reviewer swept up after it, even on maximum suction.
Carpet and rugs
Reviewers rate it highlyIts clearest strength. Vacuum Wars recorded one of the best carpet deep-clean results it has measured, with the reaching side brush pulling more from corners, and CGMagazine found its pickup impressive on carpet too.
Pet hair
Reviewers rate it highlyVacuum Wars measured strong pickup of flattened pet hair on carpet and saw no tangles at all in its long-hair test, and CGMagazine found it picked up hair without issue.
Mopping
Mixed resultsVacuum Wars found it generally good, and CGMagazine liked that the pads scrub with pressure and lift for carpet. How-To Geek still had to mop up spots the pads didn't scrub hard enough.
Navigation and obstacles
Mixed resultsGood round furniture, poor with small clutter. CGMagazine and How-To Geek saw it handle chairs and tight spaces well, but Vacuum Wars recorded one of the lowest object-avoidance results it has seen, and How-To Geek had it stuck several times on the way home.
Dock and upkeep
Reviewers rate it highlyCGMagazine found the dock washed and hot-air dried the pads quietly after each mop, with no funky smells, and How-To Geek found the dirty-water tank stayed fresh far longer than a rival's.
App and software
Mixed resultsCGMagazine found setup straightforward and per-room schedules easy, but How-To Geek was frustrated that it defaults to cleaning the whole house each time and found translation errors, calling the app functional rather than good.
Noise
Not enough evidenceOnly CGMagazine judged noise, finding the dock's washing and drying quiet. No qualifying review measured the robot while cleaning.
Reliability and support
Not enough evidenceNo qualifying review ran it long term or judged Dreame's support.
Value
Reviewers found problemsHow-To Geek found it doesn't deliver the results you'd expect for the price in a simple home, and even the enthusiastic CGMagazine calls its cost absurd.
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
Excellent carpet and hair results
Vacuum Wars recorded a 92% carpet deep-clean score, which they say ties for third-best of more than 205 robots they've tested. It also picked up 91% of flattened pet hair and had zero tangles in their long-hair test. Its reaching side brush noticeably improved how much came out of corners. CGMagazine found it picked up fine dust, crumbs and hair without issue. If carpet and long hair are what your current robot struggles with, this is the strongest reason to pick it.
Clear the floor first
In Vacuum Wars' obstacle courses it avoided only 7 of 24 objects, among the lowest scores they've recorded, while the camera-equipped L40s Ultra AE avoided 19. That's the biggest difference between the two. CGMagazine and How-To Geek both found it navigated furniture well, including a table ringed by eight chairs in the How-To Geek home. But steering round a sofa isn't the same as spotting a cable or a sock, so plan to tidy up before each run.
Hard floors split the testers
CGMagazine praised its pickup on both carpet and hard floors. How-To Geek found plenty of crumbs left on kitchen tiles even at maximum suction. Nobody knows why the two differ. If your home is mostly tiled, that makes it a less certain fit, and its strong carpet results don't tell you much about tiles.
Mopping is good, not spotless
Vacuum Wars found mopping generally good across the L40s models, with the AE ahead overall. How-To Geek still found spots that needed mopping by hand, while CGMagazine liked the pad lifting and the automatic washing and drying. It did well in the lab comparison, but at home expect to go over the odd mark yourself.
Routes, battery and returning home
Vacuum Wars measured good battery efficiency, estimating about 1,935 square feet per charge. CGMagazine found it finished large layouts without stopping to recharge. How-To Geek said it rarely got stuck while cleaning but got stuck several times on the way back to its dock, and found the app's translation errors and default settings frustrating. Go through the settings before you rely on schedules.
This covers the L40s Ultra only. The L40s Ultra AE and CE use different brushes and obstacle sensors.
Our take
Should you buy the L40s Ultra?
Best for: Carpeted homes with a pet that sheds. Skip it if: Cables, socks or small toys are often left on your floors.
Consider the L40s Ultra for carpet and long hair, with cables and socks cleared first. In the same comparison, the L40s Ultra AE avoided more obstacles. Hard-floor results were inconsistent, making a mainly tiled home a less certain fit.
The L40s Ultra combines a twin brush with an extending side brush and mop. It can leave the mop pads in the dock for vacuum-only cleaning; that is the mode that avoids wet-pad contact with carpet. It uses structured-light obstacle sensing without a camera and has a fixed turret, giving a listed height of 9.7cm. Check the exact model and regional availability before ordering.
Vacuum Wars recorded one of the best carpet deep-clean results it has measured, with no tangles at all in its long-hair test, and CGMagazine found it picked up fine dust, crumbs and hair without issue. How-To Geek disagreed on kitchen tile, where it left so many crumbs that the reviewer swept up after it even on maximum suction. Small clutter is the real weakness: Vacuum Wars saw it avoid one of the lowest shares of objects it has ever recorded, far fewer than the camera-equipped L40s Ultra AE in the same test. CGMagazine and How-To Geek both found it sure-footed round furniture. Vacuum Wars found the mopping generally good, but How-To Geek still had to mop spots the pads didn't scrub. Even the enthusiastic CGMagazine calls its price absurd.
Before you buy
The questions people ask about this one
Will it avoid cables and pet mess?
Not reliably. Vacuum Wars saw it avoid only 7 of 24 test objects, one of their lowest results, and its sensor has no camera. None of the three tests used fake pet waste. If you have a puppy or cables on the floor, the camera-equipped L40s Ultra AE did much better in the same test.
Can it leave the mops in the dock for carpet?
Yes. It can drop its mop pads at the station before vacuuming, according to the specifications, and Vacuum Wars notes it's the only one of the three L40s models that can. That's the safest way to keep deep carpets dry. The pads also lift 10.5mm when it crosses rugs mid-mop.
Can it get over rugs and the raised strips between rooms?
Dreame claims 2.2cm for a single step and 4cm for a two-step threshold, using extra wheels to lift itself, per the specifications. None of the three reviews measured this. The bigger figure is for stepped transitions, not a sheer 4cm lip, so check the shape of your doorway thresholds.
Does it fit under low furniture?
The robot is listed at 9.7cm tall with a fixed turret. How-To Geek found it didn't wedge itself under the reviewer's TV stands, but that's one home's furniture. Measure your own lowest gap and leave some room to spare rather than relying on it to judge the gap.
Is it good on tiled kitchens?
It's hard to say. How-To Geek found crumbs left on tile even at maximum suction, while CGMagazine was happy with hard-floor pickup. Carpet is where it's clearly strong. If your floors are mostly tiled, watch its first few runs and try higher suction before you judge it.
Should I get the L40s Ultra, Ultra AE or Ultra CE?
The Ultra has the anti-tangle twin brush, reaching side brush, mop drop-off and the highest climb, per the specifications. The AE swaps in a camera for avoidance. The CE has less suction and a cold-water wash. Vacuum Wars tested all three: this one led on deep-cleaning carpet, and the AE on dodging objects and overall.
Alternatives
Other robot vacuums to compare.
L50 Ultra
Why consider it: It climbs far higher thresholds and consistently avoided pet waste in RTINGS' tests.
The compromise: RTINGS found weak pickup, and heavy dog hair clogged its emptying in a three-month home test.
L40 Ultra
Why consider it: TechRadar was delighted with its cleaning and extending mop, and it has a camera for avoiding clutter.
The compromise: RTINGS found much weaker pickup, and the brush in the box varies between offers.
Omni S2
Why consider it: It cleans carpet well and dodges obstacles superbly in its tests.
The compromise: Mopping results are unusually divided, and one long-term reviewer's unit had to be replaced.
L40s Ultra head to head
Head to head
Dreame L50 Ultra vs L40s Ultra
Our verdict: The L50 Ultra adds climbing legs and a camera for dodging clutter, and it avoided objects well in testing. But its lab pickup was weaker, and heavy dog hair clogged its emptying in one long test. Pick the L40s Ultra for carpet, the L50 for clutter and tall thresholds.
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 L40s Ultra?
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
Sources
Videos
- Search YouTube for Dreame L40s Ultra ↗Search results may include company demonstrations or similar models. Check the source and model name; a demonstration is not an independent performance test.