Bosch Indego 400 Robotic Lawnmower Review (2020)
Bosch Indego 400 is primarily for small lawns up to 400 m² (or 0.1 ac.) with slopes up to 15° (or 27 percent). It’s otherwise an autonomous robot lawn mower using a 18 V 2.5 Ah lithium-ion rechargeable battery which of course runs on electric power. The cutting system includes 3 pivoting small blades that mulch the grass. The mower itself operates quietly (up 63 dB) and maintains your lawn at a cutting height of 30-50 mm (or 1.18″ to 1.97″).
Check its price here: Bosch Indego 400 Robot Mower.
Apart from that, thanks to LogiCut navigation technology it first maps the garden and then mows the cutting area systematically in parallel lines. It also remembers where it left off should it need a quick recharge in the middle of it. However, there’s no cut to edge feature nor remote control. Otherwise it’s got all the essential mowing, safety, and security features.
I used to spend hours of my time on every single weekend just keeping the lawn neat and tidy. I just wish I knew about robot mowers sooner… It keeps the lawn in check automatically, requires low maintenance, and the running costs are surprisingly low.
Table of Contents
Quick Overview for the Hasty
Bosch Indego 400 measures 44.5 cm x 36.4 cm x 20.2 cm / 17.5″ x 14.3″ x 8″ (length x width x height) and weighs 7.6 kg (or 16.76 lbs).
New to robot mowers? Take a quick look at this article: “Robot Lawnmower Buying Guide” to better understand these creatures in general.
Bosch Indego 400 features tilt, lift, rollover, and collision sensors, but no rain sensor. What sets this mower apart from your typical robot mower is the LogiCut Navigation System which allows it to map out the garden and know where to cut. Note that this non-connect version of Indego 400 does not feature remote control as it does not “connect” to the internet nor Bluetooth. There’s only a USB port for software updates.
If you asked me how it differs from Indego 350, I’d say that it… doesn’t? All the numbers are exactly the same and the only difference I found is a little more perimeter wire with this one. And that’s it.
Pros
- 30% faster mowing
- German quality
Cons
- Poor traction on wet grass, worse in combination with slopes
- Requires flawless accuracy for docking and thus may miss the mark
For extra cost, you can buy a mini garage to protect the mower against the elements while it’s charging, or buy awesome covers for it to personalize it a little more.
Who’s Behind Bosch Indego 400 Robotic Lawnmower?
Robert Bosch GmbH as a company dates all the way back to 1886, a backyard in Germany (back then it was called, in German: “Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering“). They’ve come a long way since.
Anything more interesting to add to that? Nah, not really. It’s German.*
What Are the Specifications of Bosch Indego 400 Robot Lawn Mower?
- Dimensions – 44.5 cm x 36.4 cm x 20.2 cm / 17.5″ x 14.3″ x 8″ (length x width x height)
- Weight – 7.6 kg (16.76 lbs)
- Max cutting area – 400 m² (0.1 ac.)
- Incline – 15° (27 percent)
- Battery pack – 18 V 2.5 Ah lithium-ion battery
- Mowing time – 45 min (avg.)
- Charging time – 45 min (avg.)
- Cutting width – 19 cm (7.48″)
- Cutting height – 30-50 mm (1.18″ to 1.97″)
- Cutting height positions – 3
- Volume level – up to 63 dB
What Are the Features of Bosch Indego 400?
Bosch Indego 400 robot mower comes with quite a few features.
1) General:
- autonomous charging and mowing
- silent operation (up to 63 dB)
- USB port
- low running costs
2) Control System:
- manual control panel keypad
- Bosch AUTO scheduling system
- alert messages
3) Navigation system:
- parallel mowing pattern
- LogiCut technology
- MultiArea [up to 3 independent cutting areas; zones up to 40 m² (0.0099 ac.)]
- SpotMow – targeted mowing of small areas
- collision sensor
4) Charging system:
- energy saving mode
- temperature monitoring
5) Cutting system:
- mulching system
- cutting height adjustment dial
- 3 pivoting small blades
6) Safety features:
- emergency STOP button
- collision sensor
- tilt sensor
- lift sensor
- turnover sensor
7) Security features:
- security lock system
- pin code
- alarm
1) General Features
Automatic charging and mowing cycle
It’d be no fun if you had to babysit this little gardener, so they made them all autonomous. That means they’ll mow and recharge all on their own if you configured the schedule for them. Same with this Bosch Indego 400 robot mower.
Silent operation (up to 63 dB)
It’s silent enough that it doesn’t disturb the peace and quiet neither for yourself nor your neighbors. 63 dB is enough to make you aware of it when you’re close by – it’s comparable to sound levels of a normal conversation. Compare that to a regular push mower that roars at around 90 dB and up to 110 dB which actually damages your hearing. You can read more here: “How Loud Are Robot Mowers?”
USB port
Bosch Indego 400 has a USB port which is meant for updating software of some of its features (LogiCut Navigation System, etc). There’s no over-air connection capability with this non-connected version, so if you wanted to patch out some weird kicks, you have to settle for the USB.
Low running costs
Apart from the initial purchase, there are also the running costs involved. Electricity and certain replacement parts factor into it. The battery will last anywhere from 2 to 6 years while the blades need changing roughly twice per mowing season (3 at a time). When it comes to electricity, a 18 volt 2.5 Ah battery uses roughly 0.045 kWh (calculated here). Costs a few cents to keep it running 1 day.
2) Control System
Control panel keypad
The control panel keypad of Bosch Indego 400 robot mower is located at the top side. It has no cover, but is water resistant. It’s got a screen for feedback and a few keys to navigate through the settings. There’s a “Back” button at the upper left and a “Confirm” button located at the upper right corner. The arrow keys are at the bottom half on either side of the screen. Check instructions on further information, but here’s a general overview of the settings: you can configure mowing scheduling options, mowing modes, security settings, and the like. There’s no remote control, just this manual keypad.
Alerts
The keypad screen gives you some level of feedback, but it’s fairly basic and not specific. To troubleshoot problems more accurately, you may want to pull out the instructions manual and there are solutions to common problems brought out quite nicely.
Mowing pattern: parallel rows
Bosch Indego 400 robotic lawnmower uses LogiCut intelligent navigation system which allows it to map out the garden and know exactly where to cut systematically in parallel rows, even if it goes for a quick recharge in the middle of it. They claim this mowing pattern is about 30% faster than a random mowing pattern.
Relies on a perimeter wire
Bosch Indego 400, too, relies on a perimeter wire to know where to cut, much like most other robot mowers. It’s an electrified wire (not harmful) surrounding the cutting area and thus defining it for the mower. It also helps navigate the lawn and guide the mower back to the docking station. You can install the wire either tightly against the grass where over time the grass will grow over it, or you can bury it up to 5 centimeters (0.39″+) deep.
MultiArea feature
I wouldn’t call it a multi-zone feature as Bosch Indego 400 features something a little different from that called MultiArea feature, an alternative, more or less. The 1st hat you get with this is ability to set up up to 3 completely seperate mowing areas each with their own perimeter wire and a docking station the mower connects to. You ought to manually carry the mower from one such area to the other one. The 2nd alternative is to create a zone no larger than 40 m² (0.0099 ac.) by extending the perimeter wire around that smaller zone where you have to manually bring the mower to where it starts mowing in a random pattern. I know this was vague explanation, but there’s more info on this in the installation manual should you choose this robot mower.
SpotMow feature
This feature allows you to mow a few meter radius area by first manually bringing the mower to the spot you want mowed as you give it the command. This is useful for when you only want some certain area to be cut rather than wait for the mower to get to it with a full mowing cycle of the entire lawn. There’s more info on this in the instructions manual.
Collision sensor
In other words a bump sensor, not the ultrasonic one that detects obstacles from afar. When Bosch Indego 400 runs into something physically, it will recognize it as an obstacle and start mowing in a different direction.
4) Charging System
The recharging and mowing cycle is automatic. What this means is that it will both mow and recharge all on its own without needing you to push it around, unless you didn’t set a proper schedule or left bigger branches on the lawn and so forth.
Energy saving mode
When Bosch Indego 400 robotic lawnmower is not actively recharging or rallying around the lawn, feeding electricity into the perimeter wire and the like is automatically stopped. It’s something like a sleep mode you see in computer systems. Things automatically wake up when it’s time to work as per the schedule or when you manually give it a mowing instruction of some kind.
Temperature monitoring
The battery inside the robot mower has a built-in temperature monitoring function. When the internal temperature is not between 5 °C and 45 °C (41°F to 133°F) then it simply won’t allow charging at the docking station. Batteries don’t fare well in neither cold nor hot temperatures.
5) Cutting System
Mulching system
What is mulching? It’s where the mower cuts the grass, but instead of collecting it, feeds it back to the soil as fertilizer. The catch here is that all robot mowers are designed to cut grass more often, so that way the chopped off grass blades are small enough to serve that purpose. And it’s exactly the same thing with this Bosch Indego 400 robotic lawnmower. If you wanted an extra healthy looking lawn, all that’s left for you to do is some aeration.
Cutting height adjustment feature
Cutting height can be adjusted manually between 3 levels from 30-50 mm (1.18″ to 1.97″).
3 pivoting small blades
Bosch Indego 400 robotic lawnmower has 3 pivoting small blades that make up the cutting system. It’s basically 3 pivoting blades attached to a rotating disc. This type of cutting blade system is quieter, safer, and more energy efficient when compared to the solid blade, a common 2nd type of cutting blade system robot mower tend to have. As for the negatives, the pivoting small blades attached to a rotating disc are a little less efficient at cutting things when compared to the solid blade. And also, as you can imagine, they are more likely to break off for you to step on (but that in itself is highly unlikely to happen).
6) Safety Features
Emergency STOP button
Apart from Bosch Indego 400 robot lawn mower having a big emergency STOP button, being fairly quiet (up to 63 dB), moving slowly, and having a considerably weaker motor when compared to your regular lawn mower, meaning it will have a hard time with anything other than grass, along with blades being small and tucked deep under the chassis, there are a few more tricks under its belly (learn more: “Robotic Lawnmower Safety”).
Collision, tilt, lift, & turnover sensors
Collision helps the mower navigate around obstacles, but it also acts as a safety feature. Instead of pushing forward, it will change direction instead when it comes in contact with something it’s not exactly designed to mow down. Tilt, lift, and turnover sensors will bring the blades to a complete stop if the mower is tilted, lifted, or when it is turned or falls over on its own.
7) Security Features
Auto Lock function
When this is enabled, the robot mower gets locked after buttons are not pressed for 3 minutes. And when things are locked, you can’t do anything with the control panel until a PIN code is entered. It’s purely a security measure to stop unauthorized access – it will still mow and function like normal when it’s locked/unlocked.
Pin code
Since there’s no remote control option, it’s only got the manual control panel to manipulate with settings. You can use the arrow keys to select the PIN code. At first though there will most likely be no PIN code and you ought to set it yourself. Try not to forget the PIN code once you’ve created it!
Alarm
The alarm can be disabled or enabled.
Additionally, you could:
Hide from bypassers
Try installing the charging station somewhere hidden from bypassers for added protection.
Use a sticker
You can custom make a sticker with fake information about its security features and put it on the mower for the potential thief to kindly return the mower once they notice it – once they realize that they can’t do anything with it without knowing the PIN code, instead of just leaving it somewhere, they might return it knowing they could still get off easy. They might…
Fake surveillance system
Putting a camera, even if fake, in an obvious easy to spot location overlooking the area will at least make the potential thief think twice.
What’s Included In the Bosch Indego 400 Package?
Robotic Mower
Charging Station
Installation Manual
125 m Boundary Wire
Boundary Wire Staples (180)
Nails, screws, hex key, power supply & cable, wire connectors (2), and the like.
Additionally, for extra cost:
Custom top cover
Mini Garage
Should You Buy the Bosch Indego 400 Robot Lawn Mower?
Bosch Indego 400 is not the only robot mower on the market. This one’s a more expensive one among those robot mowers able to cover a lawn up to around 400 m² (0.01 ac.). If you preferred quality over price, and the features were right for you, this is quite a reliable option in the case of flat lawns.
You can expect quality from Germans. Most other robot mowers out there are ultimately made in China, even if at first glance it may not look like it.
It might not be for you if your garden layout was too large and complex with slopes steeper than 15° (or 27%) and you wanted cut height to be less than 30 mm (1.18″) or more than 50 mm (1.97″). Apart from the higher price and no remote control, along with the traction ability on wet slope being not all that good, I don’t really see a problem with this one. A decent option.
You can check its price here: Bosch Indego 400 Robot Mower.
How To Install Bosch Indego 400?
Nothing too complicated here. You’re looking at the installation of a perimeter wire and the placement of the charging station, the rest is pretty streamlined (check with installation manual). This can take a couple of hours, but it’s well worth it.
When laying out the wire avoid angles of less than 45° as this can affect the performance. You can install the wire either tightly against the grass or dig it under the soil, but no deeper than 5 cm (1.97″). Initially for testing things out it’s better to install it on the ground, and once all the kicks are worked out, take it under.
Another thing is the charging station. Setting this up is fairly straight forward (check with installation guide), but I’d like to point out a few key things still. They’re mainly to do with the charging station placement requirements:
- It must be close to a wall socket;
- preferably under shade & cover;
- install on a relatively flat surface outdoors;
- install it somewhere out of sight from bypassers;
- install on top of the wire at an outer edge of the cutting area (not in the middle of cutting area).
How To Take Care of the Bosch Indego 400 Robot Mower?
As is with all robot lawn mowers, Bosch Indego 400 robotic lawnmower, too, requires very low maintenance:
- clean regularly;
- replace cutting blades when need be;
- replace rechargeable battery when it seems almost dead;
- install charging station in shaded area to protect the mower from the elements;
- don’t forget to unplug the power supply connected to the charging station you left outside for winter;
- when storing the robot mower itself, charge fully, turn off, clean, and place in dry indoor conditions, and avoid leaving in freezing temperature.
Conclusion
Bosch Indego 400 is primarily for small lawns up to 400 m² (or 0.1 ac.) with slopes up to 15° (or 27 percent). It’s otherwise an autonomous robot lawn mower using a 18 V 2.5 Ah lithium-ion rechargeable battery which of course runs on electric power. The cutting system includes 3 pivoting small blades that mulch the grass. The mower itself operates quietly (up 63 dB) and maintains your lawn at a cutting height of 30-50 mm (or 1.18″ to 1.97″).
Apart from that, thanks to LogiCut navigation technology it first maps the garden and then mows the cutting area systematically in parallel lines. It also remembers where it left off should it need a quick recharge in the middle of it. However, there’s no cut to edge feature nor remote control. Otherwise it’s got all the essential mowing, safety, and security features.
Bosch brand
Bosch is a German company going way, way back. That said, one can expect higher quality, but also higher prices on such robot mowers.
What’s in the package
Bosch Indego 400 package includes the robot lawn mower itself, a charging station, 125 meters (approx. 410′) of perimeter wire, 180 boundary wire staples, and some manuals, but also the power supply & cable, screws, nails, a hexagon key, wire connectors, and the like.
Where to buy
It’s simple, buy here: Bosch Indego 400 Robot Mower.
EXTRA READING
Best Cheap Robot Lawn Mowers in 2021 | post | Lawn Story
Robot lawn mower care & maintenance | post | Lawn Story
How much do robot mowers cost? | post | Lawn Story
How long do robot mowers last? | post | Lawn Story
Robot lawn mower buying guide | post | Lawn Story
How do robot mowers work? | post | Lawn Story
Robot lawn mower safety | post | Lawn Story
