Hey everyone,
Just wanted to share my experience in case it helps someone else struggling with the same issue. I’ve got a Roomba 105 Combo, and getting it to save a map turned out to be way more frustrating than expected.

I tried multiple times to get it to create and save a map. It would run through the whole cleaning cycle, return to the dock, show “Finalizing map”… and then… nothing. No saved map in the app. Just silence.

Here’s what happened:

❌ What didn’t work:

  • 🏠 Letting it create a map for the entire floor in one go — no map saved
  • 📶 Strong Wi-Fi, app and firmware fully updated — still nothing
  • 🗺️ Watching it clean, but the map didn’t show live in the app
  • 🔁 Tried 4–5 times, changing the layout, doors, moving the dock — no success

🔍 What I discovered:

1️⃣ If the map isn’t rendering live during the cleaning, it will not be saved
That was the key. If you don’t see the map drawing in real-time on your phone, stop the run — it won’t be saved anyway.

2️⃣ Having the mop installed messes with mapping
For some reason, the105 Combo seems to treat mapping differently when the mop is attached. Once I removed it, things improved immediately.

✅ What finally worked:

Here’s the exact process that finally worked for me:

  1. 🔄 Removed the robot from the app (Settings > Remove Robot)
  2. 🆕 Re-added it as a new device
  3. 🚫 Did NOT attach the mop
  4. 🚪 Started a cleaning run in just one closed room
  5. 👀 Watched for the live map — and this time, it showed up
  6. 🏁 Roomba returned to the dock, showed “Finalizing map”, and… the map actually saved! 🎉

🧠 What I learned:

The Roomba 105 Combo is very sensitive during map creation. A single pause, error, or lack of map rendering can make the entire run invalid — without warning.

💡 Tips if you’re stuck:

  • 🧹 Start with just one room
  • 🧼 Remove the mop before mapping
  • 📲 Make sure the live map is visible during the run
  • 🙅‍♂️ Don’t touch or move the robot
  • 🔁 If needed, reset and try again from scratch

Hope this helps someone avoid wasting hours like I did. Let me know if you’ve found other tricks with the 105 Combo — or if yours behaves differently. Happy mapping!