Should I purchase the Pro Package?

[mike1]

I have read a lot of threads in this topic and others across the forum and am left with the impression this might not be the best product to purchase right now. I of course also know that most don’t post to a forum like this unless they have a problem / are pretty mad about how they are being treated by the company. All that being said I am looking for feedback before I pull the trigger on a 4-1 bundle of the Pro. I have a feeling this feedback will be helpful to future prospective buyers and maybe even Yarbo themselves. I have watched the marketing videos, youtube reviews (both sponsored and not). A few reviews are more complaint videos, others make it sound like Yarbo has solved world hunger. I also see all of the points of people who have purchased the last couple of versions and feel swindled or abandoned; I would be too if my experience was anything like the experiences some have described here and on other sites. It is this last point that is giving me pause, will the Pro version be just another fad that is half baked, buggy and unsupported next year in favor of the Ultra Pro 2026 version? It feels like the problems with M1 are addressed, or so marketing is claiming, by the Pro version.

I live in central Wisconsin on 10 acres of which about 2 is mowed. We have a driveway that is about 13K sq feet (over a 1K feet straight to the road at one point), asphalt and 11’ wide. The grass / yard is what many consider golf course quality being fully watered, level with some grade in two spots but by no means a mountain and would fall in the specs provided. About half of the yard has oak trees, a lot of oak trees. When I walk around with my phone and GPS app I consistently see a dozen or more satellites in just a 1k mile radius. I would have no problem mounting the datacenter for clear view of the sky in any direction (over the 120 degree requirement). Hopefully that gives you a fair picture of the property. I am a pretty handy person and have a senior IT job so tech isn’t a concern for me.

Looking for feedback on opinions around the GPS signal - some suggest if it goes under Charlie Browns Christmas Tree all hope is lost. Any concerns with the length of the driveway to snow blow? Saw one video of a guy that was doing a road and some specs that say around 6K sq/ft per charge. I would set it to auto start based on forecast (assuming that works) so it could keep up with larger snowfalls. Last is the blower. I see it being more as something that replaces my skid steer broom vs blowing leaves out of the yard but I wonder what others think. One last item, every oak tree is surrounded by Hastas, I assume you can set up a no go around each tree; if it takes those out the least of my problems will be an expensive lawn mower. Could care less about the follow me feature / towing. So in short run away or put down your $7K?

I know this was a lot and I am asking a lot of this group. Thank you well in advance for the thoughts and feedback!

[zach]

I live in the U.P. of Michigan. I do NOT have a golf course lawn, although I did when we lived downstate a lifetime ago. Last year when the snow flew I received it and used the snow removal feature first. It did about 90% of my snow removal (we’re a 300+ inch snow area), required some intervention, and improved every time an update rolled around. My driveway isn’t as big as yours, but I get a lot more snow and was satisfied with the force multiplication it provided. I cleared the road while the robot did my driveway. Along the way I learned a lot about its limitations and believe next season will require less intervention from me.

After reading the forums, I took the advice of the folks that got their lawn movers moving before I did and removed the guards on the M1. I have had no problems. I get a striped lawn, that looks good for a U.P. lawn in the woods. It has gotten the weeds out that were a problem when my kids mowed, shall we say infrequently, and keeps everything uniform. Again, it was a learning curve to figure out.

It does wear the turf in some places, but remapping resolved a lot of those issues as it dealt with trees.

I too was concerned about gps as my snow experience was a little rough around the house. But I believe I inadvertently reversed the antennas (as specified in the forums) and it improved quite a bit (or maybe an update happened?). It works well under tree cover for me.

If you are a tech person, willing to make adjustments, and understand it requires input then make the leap. I love tractor time but can now spend that on other projects while this maintenance just gets done.

[Ken]

I’ve been using Yarbo since December, so I’ll give you a dump if you like.

TL;DR – well what did you expect from ME!!! LOL!

Mower Pro: I don’t know if you saw Ryan’s livestream on Wednesday – around 1:08 into it he actually found real stuff to mow but then found more – https://www.youtube.com/live/74RW0UdwKNY?si=RxwLcaLUX5uUlmHE&t=4072

Unfortunately they lost the livestream shortly after that. But I think this is the kind of stuff people wanted to see before choosing between the original and Pro. Mulching leaves, too, but I’m not sure anyone has a video with that. (Yarbo can send me a Pro in October if they like, and I’ll give a demo of inches of oak leaves…several times over. )

Snowblower: Yarbo’s is a notch or so below the Ariens Compact 24. The Ariens will gurgle out very heavy wet snow and garbage slush (I live “close enough” to the coast where this happens), while the Yarbo’s blowhole will clog. For powder to moderately wet snow, even some heavy wet, the Yarbo can handle it. Best to send the Yarbo out repeatedly after a few inches of snow. I have purchased the plow to see if that’ll be better in the garbage – the plow’s pretty darn sturdy.

The Yarbo can get stuck and need a hand (as your Ariens may need some shoving, too), but there are beefy handles to help. I have found ways to map for the snowblower which help the Yarbo out, preventing some stuck/slip scenarios. It’s best to “work with” this thing in that way. I’d rather stay inside with coffee…but often I don’t, I get out there with the Yarbo and shovel snow from on and around the cars into the rover’s path to get rid of for me, then I go off and shovel stairs and decks, then I’m done. I’ll tell ya, that’s awesome not having to snowblow the property and just have to do a bit of clean-up instead (whatever Yarbo leaves behind in the driveway, stairs, corners, decks, etc). Note that I don’t snowblow down all the way to the pavement or grass, even with the Ariens.

For my property I need to charge the snowblower back up once and maybe a little more to do the whole thing (driveway, driveway edges, end of driveway, several Pathways and Areas all across the grass). So two full charges plus maybe a little more. I want to say I get 2500-ish square feet per charge? My driveway is I think 128’ x 23’, it does that (less the space taken up by 2 cars) and a small bit more on one charge. I think Yarbo should offer a 2nd battery and charging cable bundle option with a snowblower purchase for a quick battery swap – you’ll want to keep the thing out there during a storm so it can keep up.

Oh, I never got the auto start to notify me that I should send out the rover, so I’m not 100% sure that works (I had it set to notify). Will try it again next season.

GPS: Spruces (deadly to GPS in my experience), canopy, yep, an issue. Yarbo already “buffers” enough navigation information to continue a bit and hopefully get into a good GPS area, but sometimes it’s not enough. Yarbo is working on vision technology to help there, the first of which, VIO, is due in several weeks, per the co-founder Ken K. I have re-mapped an Area with a line of spruces which has lessened GPS issues (yay! – “Tip” coming after more testing!), and I have an Area that struggles but did OK last time thanks to that buffer and I think some firmware updates.

I think that’s a bunch of what you’re looking for, just a dump.

Now…navigation, mapping, pathing, bugs, behavior, reliability…good days and bad. I had the snowblowing dialed in fairly well, and I now do the mowing without supervision (I don’t use the Scheduler, I start Work Plans manually). Most days are “good” now, some days can puzzle you, some days can frustrate the crap out of you. Yesterday the rover backed up on a Deadend it had done just fine time after time, turned for no reason, and backed into a flowerbed. After that it mowed fine. It has continued snowblowing after sliding into a No-go Zone and almost taken its antennas out on my car’s tow hitch. Issues like this were more numerous for me in the past, and I have taken steps to map in a particular way to lessen their likelihood, but this is a beefy and powerful autonomous machine, and it WILL bite you on occasion - unacceptable, but I know it’s a huge priority for Yarbo to address.

Overall I’d say this machine is at the “very complex” level for the average customer. Simple mowing? Get something simple, lots out there. If you need Yarbo’s capabilities (mow/tow/snow/blow/trim) and aren’t tech-savvy, I would suggest finding a dealer who can get you going and help you in a pinch. Keep in mind you may still need to be able to physically yeet the machine now and then, but overall when it’s dialed in, it just does its job…boringly…and that’s a good thing. And, of course, be able to physically swap modules and get the rover up on its side to do maintenance and swap tracks.

It is true you’re going to see mostly the negatives/complaints out here, and I honestly wish some people would just state their case and move on while continuing to work with Support, but there are a few who come back and bitch over and over, and it gets exhausting. Look, I find utility in the machine, it does what it does, I use it within its limitations, I try to work with its limitations and take advantage of its capabilities, wish it was better with fewer mistakes, but I also wish I had great hair and ripped abs.

Please continue to weigh what you see posted vs. benefit vs. cost vs. risk. Watch videos of what it’s doing, not what they’re saying. Check out Yarbo’s return policy as well. Also look at Yarbo’s site for someone in your area who may be giving demos for you to see it working in real life – Yarbo has a list.

Hope this was useful. I need breakfast. AND I need to start the mower.

[ken.w.gregory]

I concur with @zach. I purchased the 4 in 1 bundle in the spring. I’ve spent ZERO hours riding a lawn mower over my 2.9 acres this year. Is it flawless? No. Does it keep the grass mowed? fairly well.

I think of it kind of like having the 12 year old neighbor kid mowing the lawn. He can do it, but your definitely have to keep an eye on him.

Will be trying out the blower when the leaves fall.

Then on to snow blowing in the winder.

Using the Assist module from time to time with yard cleanup.

[derekduck]

I don’t have much input on that,
However you won top poster and do not have a Yarbo system?

[ken.w.gregory]

@derekduck at whom is this question directed?

First mow on my property was May 8, 2025.

[bryan.wheeler]

All three on the top contributors are Yarbo customers and users. Not sure what you mean. I’ve had my unit since October 2024.

[mike1]

I would like to thank @zach @ken.w.gregory and @Ken for your feedback. I would also like to thank those that sent me PM’s. I think I am starting to get a better picture. My take is this is a good product that is moving forward with some solid support coming from the company with a larger customer base than I expected. I am going to assume that some are just expecting too much all the way to wanting Jeremy Clarkson’s (Clarkson Farms favorite tool) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnZjENqFBfo. When I look close at some of the videos I see yards filled with obstacles with some that the unit itself seems to fill up the yard so much that I’m surprised it can move. In other cases it seems like maybe investing in some grass seed would have been helpful before buying a mower like this. Sounds like mapping issues and other user errors causes problems. It also seems like the product is evolving and is getting updates that is helping move things forward. I can accept all this.

What proves the point that forums like this are just filled with people that can not find a single positive thing to say is @derekduck. This person had nothing to say but quick to jump in the pool and blow up the feedback flow with a pointless diversion yet knowing nothing of what they are talking about. Well done @derekduck.

I think I am going to purchase the product. If it turns out to be a mistake I will be the first to come here, recall this post and say I am wrong.

Again, thank you to the three that took the time over a holiday weekend to give detailed meaningful and helpful feedback along with those that sent PM’s with their thoughts and even offers of help from one person near me should I have questions.

[Ken]

@mike1 - I have to give you props for all the homework you’ve done regardless of the decision made in the end. Please let us know how it’s going when your machine arrives, and holler if you have questions or run into a speed bump.