Spring Startup Checks for Robot Mowers on Client Lawns

What should a crew do before the first spring mow?

Restart a robot mower in a fixed order every spring: inspect the hardware, confirm the map, prove the location signal, then run one small zone before any client lawn gets a full pass. Crews that skip the middle steps usually discover the fault in the middle of a route, when the next property is already waiting.

Most of the work is inspection rather than software. Manufacturers disagree on details such as storage charge levels, so treat the steps below as general practice (checked against manufacturer guidance as of November 2026) and take model numbers from the vendor manual. Eufy suggests winter storage often starts once overnight temperatures regularly fall below about 5°C and weekly cutting stops, which gives your log a reference date for when each unit went down.

How do blades, batteries and charging contacts get checked?

Start with the cutting system. Husqvarna advises replacing blades before storage to prevent rust on the cutting disc, and it says to reset the blade usage counter afterward through More, Statistics, Blade Usage, then Reset. A stale counter gives the office false blade life data, so the reset belongs on the startup sheet.

Battery targets differ by brand. Husqvarna advises a full charge before storage, while Mammotion suggests charging to 80% for its units. Neither figure is universal, so the crew should read the storage number for each model and confirm the battery accepts a charge normally on its first dock cycle.

• Charging contacts on both the mower and the charging station, checked for corrosion or debris, as Husqvarna recommends.
• Cutting deck cleared of damp grass, since Eufy warns that clippings left under the mower all winter can cause corrosion and odor by spring.
• Blades inspected for rust, nicks and wear, with fresh blades fitted where the old set is past use.

Does the saved map still match the lawn?

Winter moves edges. Frost, settled soil and new spring growth can shift a boundary, and a wire may have been disturbed during off season work. Husqvarna says boundary and guide wires can usually stay in the ground over winter, and it recommends labeling wires before disconnecting them so reconnection is not guesswork.

The RTK reference station decides how much remapping you need. Mammotion's winter storage guide says that if the reference station stayed in place, the map may not need deleting and remapping. If it was moved or removed, remap the lawn and reinstall the station before the next season.

Walk each zone against the saved map. Look for new beds, fresh paving, removed trees, and changed gates or hardscape, and log every difference before the mower runs a single pass.

How should the test pass on a small zone run?

Pick one contained zone with a simple shape and a clear boundary. Run a single supervised pass and watch three things: how the mower follows the edge, whether the blade height matches the setting, and how it leaves and returns to the dock.

Update firmware first, not in the middle of a route. Homeandsmart's winter checklist advises cleaning the mower, checking blades and looking for app firmware updates before the first mow. Hold the full route until the test zone finishes without a manual rescue.

Will satellite and network connections hold through spring?

Winter is not the only signal threat. Nearby growth or new construction over the off season can block the satellite view. FJD's farm automation guide advises checking RTK base station line of sight and antenna cables, and a new building next door can cut sky view just as a tall hedge does.

If GPS connection is poor, Homeandsmart's checklist suggests moving the base station to a spot with better sky visibility, then recalibrating the GPS or RTK signal. Confirm the mower also reports to the app before it leaves the dock. A unit that cannot report is a unit the office cannot see, so treat a failed link as a stop, not a note for later.

When does a spring fault go to technical support?

Crews should not guess at repairs. When a sensor, charging, wire or firmware fault appears, log the model, serial number, error text and test zone, then send the record to the technical support contact. A fix attempted without that record throws away the fault history the vendor needs.

Service Robot Co. follows the same rule for the robots we lease. Our robots are leased through financing on a three year lease, with one fixed lease payment quoted after a site assessment, and every unit we service runs under RoboCare, our service plan, backed by regional service engineers in each state we service. Route the question to that contact first, then decide when the lawn returns to the schedule.

What should be closed before the route goes back on the calendar?

Close the startup sheet before the first full route. Inspection items are signed off, the map is confirmed or remapped, satellite and app links are confirmed, the test zone runs clean, and every open fault has a support ticket number.

Then bring the route back in stages rather than all at once. Return the first few properties with a crew lead watching, and keep a manual crew on the edges and corners the mower skips until the logs show clean passes.