Side by Side Comparison of: Hoover vs Shark

We bought our first one 6.5 years ago and is still working fine even after using it multiple times a day in our kitchen/dining area. This is the second one, as the on/off switch in the first one started to get flaky. We will also need a new lithium battery soon, so it made the most sense to buy another unit. A replacement handle assembly (needed to replace the switch) and new battery was nearly the price of an entire new unit. Now that we have the new unit, the old unit will be for spare parts.

With the first unit, we are on the third lithium battery, as those have lasted about 2 years on average for us. I also needed to take apart the vacuum head to replace a broken wire that powers the rotating brush. The factory wire frayed and broke within the swivel head after the first few years of use.

Otherwise, with proper maintenance (i.e. emptying the dirt cup every day or two, clearing the power brush of long hair strands/thread every week or two), and cleaning the dirt-cup filter, it has been an excellent vacuum with the needed power to effectively clean hard floors and rugs in our kitchen/dining area. Occasionally, we use it on small areas of carpet for spot cleaning. It is very convenient not to have cords, and stores easily out of the way, which is the reason we originally purchased it. Of course, it is not designed for wet/sticky dirt and residue.

Highly recommended overall. That is the reason we bought our 2nd one while this model is still available.

My home has hardwood floors throughout so I spend a lot of time sweeping and vacuuming. Sweeping out from the edge of the walls and the using the hardwood floor setting on my big corded vacuum. It's such a process. So I researched cordless vacuums that were good for hardwood and pet hair and Consumer Reports ranked the Linx #1. The product arrived today and I immediately put it to work, and walking around barefoot afterwards I can feel how clean the floors are.

Pro's: easy to assemble, turns easily and rolls well, light weight, canister easy to empty, great at picking up pet fur, two settings (hardwood and carpet), worked great along edges of rooms and on the stairs, carpet setting worked ok on rugs (not as good as my traditional vacuum, as expected), battery life is ok.

Con's: rollers caught up pet fur and human hair more easily than regular vacuums, remove battery to charge it (no docking station, but battery was very easy to remove, charge, install)

Battery life: the battery stayed strong throughout the whole house, not once seemed weak. After finishing the house I checked the battery level and it had a third life left. Now my house isn't large, 2 bedroom; so with a bigger house a recharge might be necessary.

I was disappointed to have a separate battery charger and not a dock. My sister has the Shark Navigator cordless vacuum which I have used before. In comparison, I would choose the Linx over the Shark Navigator. Battery life was longer, suction seemed stronger, turned better. The Shark does have a dock for charging, however. Overall I would recommend this

I read numerous reviews of all the vacuumns in this category prior to making this purchase. I am so glad I bought this one! It is the perfect tool for a quick daily clean-up of our hardwood floors & area rugs. With two dogs I am always surprised how much hair/dirt it picks up & it is very easy to dump the contents in the trash. It is so much quieter than our more traditional bigger vacuumn & it is narrow enough to fit UNDER many pieces of furniture. I do not use it on the carpeted areas but I'm impressed with how well it works on all the throw rugs. It's also the perfect size for the bathrooms & is small enough to fit in all the corners which is awesome. We charge it every other time we use it & so far the battery is lasting quite well. Great stick vacuum!

My old vacuum was a 24 year old Electrolux that my husband purchased when he sold vacuums for a month at the ripe old age of 16. I don't know why at 16 he spent $800 on a vacuum, but he did, and it's been his longest lasting relationship besides his mom. He loved his Electrolux so much that for years he wouldn't let me buy a new one because "they don't make them like that anymore." I told him he's right, they don't, they make them better...cordless!!!
His....I mean "Our" Electrolux vacuum never died, we still have it. It has a bunch of attachments, still sucks amazing, but is incredibly bulky, hard to use and requires purchasing bags and dealing with the cord accidentally retracting a million times mid-vacuuming. With all its cons, it's still a revolution in my husbands eyes.
After a month and a half with this new vacuum I am finally able to write a review.
Pros:
1) I can see the dirt! The clear canister is incredibly rewarding to me. I love seeing how much filth I'm sucking up and it makes me want to vacuum more. Even my kids are excited by this feature. I vacuum waaaaay more than I ever vacuumed in the past because of this. It's very easy to empty the canister, taking just seconds.
2) It's CORDLESS!!! It might as well be the invention of the microwave. I can vacuum without limits, I feel so free!!!
3) Battery light indicates how much life I have left in the battery. I can vacuum for about 40 minutes on a full charge. There is never a weak suction, when the power runs low it shuts off. There is either a good suction or no suction. The charger lights up to reveal when it's ready again. I'm takes about 3 hours to recharge.
4) Size. It's so light and easy to move around. My kids (ages 6,5,5 &3) now fight over who can vacuum. I sit down eating bon bons while they take turns vacuuming the house.
5) There's a switch for tile/hardwoods floors and another for carpets. I have pure white shiny ceramic tiles covering my foyer, kitchen and kitchen seating area. I hate them, with a passion. I used to sweep at least a dozen times a day. Because this vacuum is so easy to use and portable, I just vacuum my floors now. See ya later, broom.

Now it's time for the Cons, because I would be lying if I didn't name a few;
1) I wish it came with another battery. I could vacuum all day long if I didn't have to spend 3 hours waiting for it to recharge. I use this time to fold laundry, which unfortunately this vacuum doesn't do for me. That's another con.
2) There are no attachments or even attachment kits available for this. Some times I want to get in the deep, dark places that are too hard for my vacuum to reach and it can't. So I don't clean them. So they are still dirty, and then I have to listen to my husband to complain about how his Electrolux could do it all. And that hurts. I'd like a small, fancy suctioning wand, is that too much to ask?
3) Hairy bristles. We have four long haired ladies in our house and I regularly have to cut our hair out from the bristles underneath. Maybe its because the bristle area is smaller than our big, bulky Electrolux, but I have to clean that area more than I did with the old vacuum. It's like another armpit to shave everyday, a small extra hassle.
4) The secret clog. I have had to do maintenance once on the area between the bottom and the frame. I used a skewer to jam in there when the vacuum stopped suctioning once. I pushed my suctioning limits when my dog ate her bed leaving stuffing all over the house. I wanted to save myself the effort of bending over & picking up the stuffing and instead caused myself 1/2 hour of unplugging. It was pretty disgusting. I recommend bending over for big stuff in the future. That may not be a con since it was my own laziness and sheer stupidity that caused it.
Overall I am very happy with this vacuum and my husband approves since I actually not only vacuum now, but vacuum ALL THE TIME now. I wouldn't do it it weren't convenient, easy to use and rewarding. Seriously, dumping the dirt cartridge is like getting rewarded with stickers in school. If it weren't already clear, I recommend this vacuum.

The BEST. Lightweight, cordless, and yet does a GREAT job on both my low pile carpet and my tile floors. This has become the vacuum I use every day and now I only pull out my big vacuum about once a week (if that)! I have 3 German Shepherds that have free reign of the inside and outside (dog doors - bless them) so I know what I am talking about when it comes to dirt, sand, mud, grass, etc. Do not be fooled. This little Hoover is a trooper. The cup is small and I have to empty it after every room with my crew of dogs, but that is so simple and easy that I just dump it in the basket as I leave one room and move on to the next. I purchased an extra battery so that I just switch the battery out as needed and always have one ready to go. I vacuum EVERYTHING with this little guy - floors, bedspreads (Oh NO - the dogs got on the bed!!!), tile, the back porch, the garage - EVERYTHING! It is so light and easy, but a hard worker. I love mine. It is my number one tool.

I am handicapped with poor balance from a minor stroke and extreme back pain from spinal injury and subsequent fusion. I haven't been able to push a regular vacuum for many years, having to rely on my husband to do it (and he's barely able to do it lately). THIS VACUUM HAS SAVED ME FROM RELIANCE ON OTHERS!! I LOVE IT!! It works almost as well as my expensive, corded vacuum. The dirt cup is more than adequate size. I emptied it after each room, but our carpet gets really dirty with four dogs. It's so light weight it doesn't throw me off balance or cause back pain. I was baffled at first about where to insert the charging cord and almost called the company to ask them, but finally caught on that it inserts into a charging base (the grey thing that I at first thought was a hanging device). The vacuum rests on the charging base.

This Shark cordless vacuum is amazing! As the owner of 2 cats and a dog, I need a vacuum that can not only handle the job of picking up all the pet hair, but one that will LAST. I own the Shark Navigator Lift Away upright, and based on its equally incredible performance, I was not surprised at all by the power of this lightweight and easy-to-use cordless model. I gave this baby a try this morning, starting with my wood floors and moving on to the area rugs. It got up so much pet hair that the canister filled up quickly, but it never lost power or suction. I emptied the canister and went in for another round, wondering if I got it all. There was still enough charge in this "powerhouse" to go over all the previous surfaces once again, and the canister was virtually empty after the second round. IT GOT IT ALL, with plenty of charge left! THANK YOU, SHARK, for yet another incredible product at an affordable price! AAAAA+++++

I couldn't be without this Shark!! It has plenty of power and a charge lasts about a week at my home. I use this for quick pick-ups and spills and a quick run over the throw rugs. Step on the start button once and it propels the power brush as full speed. Step on it again and the brush is turned off and you have just the floor suction. It picks up everything and is low enough to get under the kick plate of the base cupboards. It comes with a separate charger that sits on the floor and you plug it into the electricity and then just set the wheels into the notches in the charger and it is automatically plugged in correctly to charge. It may take up to an hour to charge, I haven't really kept track of that yet.

All though this machine has its limitations, I love it. After opening it up and doing the initial battery charging, I tried it out and it sucked up dog hair like magic. One caveat is that it has a fairly small tube that carries the dirt and trash from the brush head to the bagless dirt collector. That means it doesn't do well on larger items such as pieces of paper; however, if and when that happens, it's easy to separate the brush head from the upper part of the handle/dust collector and clear the obstruction --- then it's good as new again. Emptying the dirt collector is quite easy.

This cleaner has two speeds which is selected by a foot touch switch on the brush head. Clearly the slower speed is going to drain the batteries at a slower rate. I find that if the suction tube is kept clear, the slow speed will literally reach out and suck in any loose dirt or dog hair it gets close to. I rarely use the high speed.

The beauty of this cleaner is that you can place the charging station in an easy to get at location and, when you're finished, simply set the machine on its charging station. When you need it, simply lift it up (it's very light) and go to work. With just a little practice, you will find the this little guy is highly maneuverable and you can run it over a room in no time. Just leave the larger items to a larger machine or broom.

I don't believe there's any way that vacuuming can be considered fun, but this little Shark comes close.

After some delivery difficulty, 5 days past due date! was the wait worth it? absolutely! this is a stick broom ? I don't think so!! It doesn't know it, but it is almost a full blown vaccum! compared to other stick brooms we have owned, this is head and shoulders above all of them put together!, like all Shark products, it is well designed, and exicuted, we own the Shark Rocket,prior to that a Dyson, the difference was night and day, the complexity of the Dyson was such, that it would shut down, if it ingested more dust, than it was designed to handle.
When we got the Rocket, right out of the box, it sucked up so much dirt, and I had used the Dyson two days prevoius!
My wife is a proud house wife, we keep a spotless house, but the Dyson just didn't do it, but we did not know it untill we got the rocket! I am not being paid to say this, I am excited, when I get something for a good price and it works, as advertised! I highly recomended this little BIG stick broom, We don't have to take out the rocket as much with this!

Holy cow! We moved into a 3-level home several months ago, and I wanted another vacuum so I didn't have to carry my Shark Navigator (which I LOVE) up and down the stairs. I had settled on the Shark Rocket, because I figured with the lighter weight it would be good for my wood floors (which covers about half my main floor). But when I saw this, I thought the cordless thing might be great for the stairs, and the great reviews convinced me to buy one. We have 2 dogs and 3 kids, and I could not believe what this little thing picked up. Don't let the light weight fool you. This picks up A TON of stuff. I have about 3,000 square feet total, and was able to do my whole main floor, stairs, and about half the master bedroom before the charge ran out. It's awesome on wood floors, plus when I move to a rug, I can hear the roller kick into a higher gear. It doesn't change to the carpet setting, but it's like the roller knows you're on a rug. When you move back to the hard floor, it seems to switch back into the lower gear automatically. Switch it into carpet and it does a great job there, too. On stairs maybe it's not as easy as a hand held, but it's very light, and obviously there's no cord to mess with. Is it as good on carpets as my Navigator? Probably not. But it's perfect for my quick day-to-day carpet vacuuming, and does a very thorough job on my hard floors. I'm almost embarrassed to show what it picked up, but I've attached a picture of what I dumped in my garbage can when I was done! Dog hair galore! If you have a lot of hard floors or need a 2nd "quick" vacuum, this little thing might surprise you.

Bought this to replace my Electrolux cordless stick broom. I'd owned two and loved them, but after the battery for the second one died after 4 years (common), I opted to try a bit more powerful cordless option. This cordless works well, and is pretty powerful. Comes with two settings: wood floor - no rolling brush; and normal with rolling brush. I use it for only spot-cleaning (I have a dog who throws her dry food every meal), but the charge on the battery last for an entire week. It does require a good 6-8 hour re charge when dead. Pros: good power, 2 settings, bagless tank easy to remove and clean. Cons: 1) to clean the roller brush and the compartment you have to remove 6+ small screws to take off the entire faceplate; 2) it does not have a removable hand tool like my Electrolux did (vacuuming car interior or under sofa cushions. These are the only reasons it gets 4 stars instead of 5.
I have a Roomba that runs every day and a fabulous Shark vacuum for weekly deep cleaning. Against those two very, very good vacuums, this Hoover holds its own as a spot cleaner- cordless vac option.

This is my third LINX stick vacuum. Obviously, I am a satisfied, return customer. Obviously, this product doesn't last forever.

My first lasted 2 to 3 years before the roller was jammed by catching on a cord - the roller motor burned out/died within seconds. I've read of others having a similar problem. The moral of the story is that if you jam the roller, you must IMMEDIATELY shut the vacuum off and clear the jam.
My second is now 22 months old and making weird, moaning noises for several seconds after being shut down. In anticipation of its death, I've ordered my third.
I live in dusty Arizona and have a constantly shedding dog -- the LINX manages both well. Good edge coverage both from the front and sides.
Obviously, I have accumulated chargers and batteries -- I'd recommend at least a back-up battery.
Good luck. Stay clean.

Mine is about 2 1/2 years old now, I don't use it very often - but it does come in very handy. With three dogs in the house, it is nice to have for when something gets tracked in. That typically happens not long after vacuuming with the big vac. Sometimes I wonder if they do it on purpose, they HATE the big vacuum..

In the time I have had it, I am still using the original battery, HOWEVER....... I discovered that the battery holds a charge longer if I remove it from the vac after each use. Also, from what others have said, don't leave it in the charger once it is fully charged.

It is not a deep cleaner, but does a great job for what it is.

Love!!!

I am loving this vacuum. It is amazing especially if you have small children for those everyday dirty messes that get carried through the house.

It quickly changes from bare floor to carpet super easy. The suction is great on bare floors and it pretty good on carpet too. I will say it is not deep down suction on carpet but I wasn't expecting it to be. But it is good enough on carpet to only use a heavier duty vacuum on the carpet once or twice a week depending on your need.

Super light weight. So easy to maneuver. Is amazing at being able to fit in the smaller tighter small bathroom areas too. Is perfect for throw rugs too. Suction is enough to clean them good without it sucking the rug up into the vacuum like heavy duty vacuum cleaners.

4 star rating because it really does meet my expectations of what I assumed it would do. Would give it 5 if it were able to eliminate the need for a heavier duty vacuum on the carpet.

Very very very pleased with this vacuum. Would absolutely recommend to anyone.

I love this cordless vacuum cleaner. I had one about fifteen years ago and man, they've come a long way in how long they can clean. I have a very large kitchen (about 25'x20') that can use a quick vacuuming daily. I also use it to clean up the cat's hair after I've brushed them and it's so much easier than dragging out a big vacuum. I even use it to vacuum their "shelves" that sit at the window that is their favorite place to lie when I brush them. The amount of cat hair this little vacuum takes up is unbelievable.
So while it's very convenient for me, it's also very annoying. The cup, which sits on the vacuum and collects all the dirt, keeps falling off the vacuum. I'm constantly putting it back in its place and then cleaning up all the dirt that fell out of it when it fell off the vacuum. I thought it was something I was doing but my husband has the same problem.
When it comes to emptying it, the very cheesy plastic button feels like it's going to fall off any day now. Why they put such a lousy button on it is beyond me. I know other people love it and I can't read over 5,000 reviews to see if anyone else has had similar problems but it has a warranty and I also bought a separate warranty for it so I'm hoping that they might consider giving me a new collection unit for the vacuum. Had it not been for that, I would have given it 5 stars because it's so handy.

Update: December 2016: I just put a bungee cord around the collection unit and it took care of the fact that it kept falling off. This little vacuum is still going strong with absolutely no problems. I wash the filter when necessary and I bought so many extras, I have enough to use to either the vacuum or I die! I really like this little rig but I still won't give it five stars because of the fact that the dirt collection box would still fall off if I hadn't put the bungee cord around it.

Update: April 2017: Still chugging along with the bungee cord but when I run it on the rug speed, it has the most annoying squeak! I used some silicone spray on it but I'm not sure where exactly to put it. I decided to let my husband fix it since I wasn't successful. All in alI, I think it was worth the price we paid for it, and it still serves its purpose in cleaning up after I brush my cats. Due to back problems, I don't use it every day, but I am impressed at how long It holds a charge. The cup doesn't fall off any more with the bungee cord, and I don't think I could have done better. I just have to get rid of the squeak!

This is my first cordless vacuum and I'm really happy with it. I have wood floors in my house, and I feel like it does a pretty good job of getting things up. It seems like it's really good with small stuff like dirt/sand. It's okay with dust, but you have to go over it slowly a few times. It will pick up small cat food and carpet fibers, but anything larger than that just gets pushed around.

It has one serious design flaw. The button to turn it on is on the top front of the machine. Convenient for turning it on and off, but whenever you got to vacuum under something, you end up accidentally hitting the button with the piece of furniture, and turning the vacuum off again. Kind of annoying. Also....the same button flashed a bright blue while charging. I keep the vacuum in my kitchen, but if it were in my bedroom it would be WAAAYYYY too bright to sleep with. Just a heads up.

I bought this little cordless vacuum to keep on my downstairs level which has hardwood floors only (no carpet.) I also have 2 rather large border collie/lab mix dogs who shed like they are trying to clone themselves. This little vac does a pretty great job picking up the fur that accumulates under tables and in the corners of the rooms. I have a little trouble keeping the head of it down on the hardwood floors but I think that is because it is so lightweight - it's not a huge issue but it's a little annoying. My other complaint would be emptying the dirt cup - the dog fur gets wrapped around the little pole that is in the dirt cup and I have to unwind it a bit which is sort of gross. Other than that, I'm pleased with the battery life and I like that it fits snugly next to my refrigerator and takes up barely any room at all. I hope it lasts for quite a while, it's definitely better than lugging my big Dyson up and down the stairs.

For the price, it's fantastic. If you're looking for an inexpensive lightweight cordless vacuum that works great on hardwood floors, I highly recommend it.

Pros:
- Lightweight and cordless. My last vacuum was a hand me down heavy duty corded monster and I hated every second of using it, so this has been quite refreshing.
- Vacuums hair and dog fur off my hardwood floors perfectly. Man it's satisfying to run the vacuum across my fur covered floor and see it all clear. I never have to go over a spot more than once.
- Pretty easy to maneuver, thanks to its (lack of) weight and the very twisty head
- I've never run out of battery for my 1000 sq ft apartment. Sometimes I don't charge it in between small runs and it still works.
- Extremely easy to put together. I hardly remember assembling it, it was that simple.
- Very easy to empty the container

Cons:
- Not amazing on rugs, so probably wouldn't be great on carpet either.
- A small piece of plastic underneath that had a wheel on it already fell off. It was easily taped and the vacuum still works, but I've only had it for a few weeks. Maybe I banged it on something too hard.
- The charging light doesn't stop flashing even if it's fully charged. It's nitpicky of me, and it wouldn't be annoying if it wasn't so bright but I would like to charge it while I sleep.

The second and third cons are pretty minor and really not deal breakers. Since I don't have real carpet the first wasn't a deal breaker for me either, but could be for others.

You have to understand that this is a cordless vacuum, which of course is going to have less power than a corded version. A lot of people were complaining about its power. That's not an issue when you have the proper expectation. I purchased this vacuum as a replacement for my kids sweeping (poorly) the dining room and kitchen and for maintenance in between weekly vacuuming with our canister vac. It works great for that purpose. It will generally pick up most things on the first pass, but I find that two or three in the same area works best. It's pretty light, so that's not a problem. It's not that easy to manuever and it's not great for corners, but that's fine considering why I bought it. If you are looking for deep cleaning suction, this won't work for you. If you want something light and easy to clear visible crumbs and dog/cat hair, get this and you won't be disappointed too much. This is a good vac for kids to use while helping with chores.

Overall, I like the performance of this vac. I hate having to drag electric cords and long hoses around, so this cordless vac fits the bill. The pros are 1) it can handle about 20 minutes of work on one charge. 2) It is does an excellent job on my area rugs. 3) It is super easy to empty the dust cup. By pushing a couple of buttons, the dirt drops right into the wast basket, hands-free! 4) The vac is easy to charge by just placing it on top of the charging dock, another hands-free feature. The cons include 1) the vac can be a bit heavy and awkward to navigate. 2) Due to the depth in the handle area, it does not fit under most of my furniture. 3) I really don't like the very bright flashing lights while it is in the charging dock, especially at night. Because of this, I pull it off the dock when it's finished charging. Though I have noted several features that could be improved, overall, I am satisfied with this vac for the price. I have owned 2 other cordless vacs and this is by far the best one.

I had several tests for this item. Would it pick up kitty litter, hair and food? How would it do with beach sand? Would it work on high and low pile carpets? Yes, it works well. The codicil is the dust catcher has to be empty to pick up heavier debris like litter and sand. The dust catcher needed to be emptied frequently . It is wonderful for cat hair. Amazingly wonderful. We recently had a down pour which made mud pies on the patio of sand from the beach and ash from brush fires. After it dried the Stick took up an inch of debris. Cordless is the way to go. Charging the battery seems to be iffy maybe because we used a power strip surge protector. It is now plugged into the wall socket and seems to be charged. Before the charge lasted only about an hour. An indicator that the battery needs charging is the carpet brush stops rotating and one can hear the change. It is light weight and small enough to clean around toilets and other narrow spaces.
Back to floors, we have tile, hardwood, carpet and area rugs. The Stick does a great job on high and low pile area rugs however it doesn't do well on the transition of rug to tile or hardwood. The solution was to turn the area carpets over and clean the back side to clear the animal hair from the edges. Our purple Shark does better on the wall to wall carpet. Best use is for quick kitchen, bathroom, patio cleans on tile, hardwood and area rugs. Will use daily near the litter boxes.

I am torn on how many stars to leave. I REALLY like the vacuum itself. It does a great job and is super easy to move around. However, I am very disappointed in the battery. I have to charge it once or twice a week. I was really hoping I could find something that would last a couple of weeks at a time. Yes, we do vacuum once a day but in told, that is about 2-3 hours a week MAX and are just not happy with the battery life.

I wanted a rechargeable one that I could just grab and vacuum with and not worry about plugging in the cord. Since we have the hassle of a small battery life, we might as well have a cord at this point. We have started to take the battery out between every use since, on several occupation, the vacuum died in the middle of using it.

I had planned on buying two as a Christmas gift for my parents so they could have one up and down stairs but have started looking into something with a longer charge.

Look, if you do not vacuum all that much or do not care if it dies while in the middle of cleaning, this is a great vacuum. It does a wonderful job over all and I really do love it in every way, except the battery.

Great little cordless,powerful,holds charge well. They decided to make the roller brush larger than the Shark Navigator so it is not as Slim to go underneath furniture but it picks up small trash better but does not do as well as the shark with long hair either human or pet. Because of the small design the hair wraps around the roller brush which the shark the brush is smaller so does not do that

I'd have given the Hoover Linx more stars if it weren't for the fact that our long-haired dog means we have to spend more time cleaning the vacuum than using the vacuum to clean the carpet. The dog's long, silky hair wraps right around the revolving brush in the vacuum's head. The fur snarls tight against the brush and requires patience and dexterity for removal. Plus it's a dusty, dirty job. Other than that, it's a lovely little vacuum.

This is an OK cordless vacuum cleaner but I had hoped it would have more "suck" power than my current Sharp Navigator Freestyle cordless vacuum. Then again, how much power can an 18-volt vacuum cleaner have? I guess I was hoping for something that doesn't exist! My wish for better pickup ("sucking" power) via a cordless vacuum cleaner is because I have indoor-only cats and need something "flexible" (no cord to have to manipulate) than can pick up the fine kitty litter that they track from their litter box. Neither cordless vacuum (the Hoover or the Sharp) does a very good job with this task, unfortunately.

This cordless vacuum cleaner does a reasonable job on carpet, in between thorough vacuuming by my corded vacuum cleaner, and it also does an acceptable job on bare floors (I like the option of turning off the roller brush). I do like the way the battery is charged--outside the vacuum cleaner unit--rather than having a bulky charging unit the cleaner has to set into (as does my Sharp Navigator Freestyle). This fact (battery charging outside the vacuum unit) means I can store this new Hoover Linx inside my utility closet...nice! I am a Hoover fan (I currently have a large corded Windtunnel vacuum cleaner) so I'll keep this cordless vacuum as backup for my older, but still very functional, Sharp Navigator Freestyle.

I have owned three of these. Two I purchased from Amazon and one from a local retailer. Call me a slow learner if you will, but every one of them has died or become severely disabled after about a year of daily use. One died because the battery could not hold a charge. I replaced the battery and it ran a while longer. The other two became nearly useless because the drive belt had stretched so much that it could no longer turn the rotating brush. You can tell when the belt has stretched because it makes an ear-piercing screech while you're using it. Replacing the belt is usually an easy 5 minute task with most vacuum cleaners - that is IF YOU CAN FIND A REPLACEMENT BELT. Unfortunately, Shark doesn't sell replacement belts for this vacuum and as far as I can tell nobody else does either. So, a simple fix is undo-able because of lack of a replacement part. The only solution is to buy another vacuum. Seems like such a waste. If Shark doesn't sell replacement belts for this model then why do they make it possible to easily remove the old one? If anyone has found a replacement belt for the VS1106 then I would very much like to hear from you.

I bought mine as a second vac for my house, and am pleasantly surprised by its performance but definitely couldn't do the job as the main vac.

UPSIDES:
Very lightweight and manageable to carry. Maneuvers very well around corners and under chairs. Simple to charge. Simple to empty and I like that the filters and bagless catch area are kept separate (a big problem with my Bissel big vac). Fairly impressed with the suction for such a small, lightweight vac. This vac does very well on hardwood floors. Wicked easy to assemble too.

DOWNSIDES:
Does not hold a lot of stuff in the catch area (I have short-haired dogs and had to empty twice per room). It can be a hassle to use on hardwoods because you have to keep pressing it to the floor, the bottom and handle do not stay released well and the front tips up (probably from being so lightweight). I found that on normal carpet it does well only on the back stroke and doesn't pick up as well going forward so you have to work a little more to cover everywhere. Also, the battery does not last long and when it goes you start to hear the motor wind down but shuts off very quickly. While I haven't had a problem (yet), I fear breaking the charging base because its made of very lightweight material...also strong possibility of losing the base or charge adaptor which is a separate piece.

Shark has two very similar models - SV1106 and SV1106N. The SV1106 uses a 14.4V battery pack while the SV1106N uses a 10.8V battery pack. Although this is advertised as the SV1106 what is actually being shipped is the lower voltage SV1106N.

There is also a difference in the charging behavior - with the SV1106N the blue light never stops flashing. This is billed as a feature :-(

I have enjoyed this Shark cordless bagless navigator freestyle vac for 3 months but with light usage almost every day the connection from vac to charger is not working right. It won't stay charging on the charger. I've cleaned the connection, reset the vac and still not getting a charge. I am very unhappy about this because I really love the vacuum. It's freestyle head is great for getting under the table and around corners, it picks up dog hair on the floor without scratching and on my rugs without sucking the rugs up into the rollers. It's is so handy. If I can't get the charge to work then I will change my rating from a 3 to a 1.
As a follow up on the situation. I called the customer service number at Euro Pro and as usual they were very helpful and offered to send me a new charging unit to see if that is the issue.

This vacuum is great for carpet and bare floors. It is powerful and picks up pet hair perfectly. The only reason I give this 3 stars is as follows: I have two 8 x 10 area rugs, one in the living room and one in the dining room. As I said it works wonderfully. However, it loses it's charge after about 12 minutes and I am unable to complete the vacuuming of the two rugs before it quits. The charge should be able to last at least 20 minutes to really be effective. I have to wait for it to recharge before I can complete the rug vacuuming and the bare floor vacuuming of the kitchen and around the area rugs.
If you have a small area to vacuum, this is the perfect cordless vacuum cleaner for the job.
Update: November 2, 2015

This vacuum crapped out today. First the base that holds the roller came off. Clicked it back on but it kept coming off. Set it in the base for recharging . It is not recharging. I now give this vacuum 0 stars. It is a piece of crap. I am sure the warranty is over. Do not buy.

We have one of these in our office, and I was impressed by how well it worked and how light it was. I purchased for quick cleans in between regular vacuuming. Then I used it at home. With real carpets. And a dog. It was never up to dog hair, barely picked any up. I've had it now for several months. It still works ok on bare floors, but it has a clog somewhere that I can't get to. It continues to underwhelm me.

we purchased this vacuum just recently as i needed a cordless vacuum where the cord wouldn't get tangled in the wheels of my wheel chair. After considering the price of this vacuum compared to that of the Dyson, based on many of the reviews we went ahead and purchased it. We returned it almost immediately. Was very disappointed in the suction on this vacuum. It was very weak and the overall build of the vacuum felt flimsy. We returned it and instead purchased the dyson which surprisingly had great suction, plus was of a much sturdy build. In fact, any sturdier and it would have been to heavy for me to use. We did not purchase our Dyson from amazon but did purchase it through walmart because it was cheaper.. HOWEVER ... i DO NOT care at all how walmart shipped the item, nothing at all like amazon prepares their items for shipment. The vauum was shipped in only the box it's purchased in at the store and the small dot of tape was the only thing holding the box closed which of course came open during shipping. I do not recommend getting costly items shipped to your home from walmart and would consider the higher cost of the amazon item just to have safe mind that it was being shipped protected from any damage.

Actually I really loved this vacuum. it picked up all the dog hair from my area rugs and hardwood floor for about 11 month. and then it start not working on rugs. we looked and carpet roller didn't work because the part has broken. We still hard warranty so we took it to the Hoover service center, they told us 2 weeks, and another 2 weeks, and then another 2 weeks. after pass 6 weeks, they said, Hoover is looking for our warranty information and it will take 2 weeks plus 2 weeks. Month later, the person at the service center said, part is coming and ask for another 2 weeks.
My husband is VERY patience person, but finally he told them, this is not acceptable, the service center person, gave my husband customer service center at Hoover. we complained... no respond. I still don't have the vacuum back .
So, it is great for about a year and then, you will get lost it in Service center. I gave 2 starts because at least it was great vacuum for an year.

I purchased one for myself and liked it so much for quick pickups between major cleaning that I talked my elderly mother into buying one. I really didn't end up using mine that much due to short battery life. I really had to move fast to do my entire small house. But what is really disappointing is that after about 2 years both are broken. My Mother's vacuum roller brush stopped working. Mine, there is something wrong with either the battery or charger. On top of that, the cost to replace them is almost as much as the vacuum itself! (about $50/each). I tried to care for my battery and not let it drain completely, but now it doesn't charge more than one light on the vacuum. Hoover needs to sell the battery AND charger for a reasonable price. Until the cost of a replacement battery comes down significantly, I cannot recommend this product.

The instructions also say to wash the spongey filter after EVERY use and dry completely, yet they only provide you with one filter - I purchased a second one to use while I waited for the the first to dry. The vacuum doesn't have much suction, yet picks up a lot of dust and hair. It doesn't come anywhere close to a corded vacuum, but is very nice for quick pickups. I loved mine for vacuuming the dog hair off my bed and getting the Arizona dust picked up.

The plastic handle broke and I called Hoover and the surly agent quickly shipped out a replacement. I reinforced where the handle where it attachs to the vacuum with tape - this seems to be a fairly common problem.

It's really a shame that a replacement battery and charger aren't more reasonable - it would be a great product then. I always bought Hoover products because parts were available and reasonably priced. No more, Hoover has gone downhill. The cost for this vacuum is too high to only use lightly for a year and a half. It will cost $100 a year for the battery and charger, if the main unit doesn't break.

BE PREPARED TO REPAIR TO LESSEN DESPAIR.

There should be a rule that no review can be done on a vacuum cleaner until it has undergone 6 months of daily use. My guess is that many of the 5 Star Reviews on the Linx would drop considerably.

I loved the Linx for 4 months. It was sweet. Then, without warning, the roller stopped working. I've treated this machine gently. It was only used for ten minutes a day, with roller brush, on two 5' X 8' rugs and two ottomans where cats like to sleep. I emptied it daily and cleaned the foam filter once a week with compressed air.

Repairing appliances is one of my many hobbies so I preceded to "fix it." The first problem was evident as soon as I disconnected the swivel head. There are two one-inch long male pins that plug into the female connector plug of the main housing. These pins were dangling. (SEE: UPLOADED IMAGE) I removed the small cover that holds the spring-loaded release button and found the reason. The male pins are held in place by paper thin plastic clips. This is inexcusable for a plug that connects two bulky halves of a vacuum cleaner and is under constant stress when in use.

Both of these puny and fragile retaining clips had broken.

After testing and experimenting, I discovered that the brush would work only if the handle was twisted all the way to the right or left. This indicated a short circuit in the wiring.

Taking the swivel head apart to expose the motor is not an easy task. (SEE: UPLOADED IMAGE) Once this was done, all tested okay using lead wires with alligator clips on one end and bare wire on the other end. This meant that the problem was in the female connector plug inside the main housing.

When the cheap retaining clips holding the male pins broke, this allowed the pins to swivel freely from side to side. This motion expanded the female connecting plug preventing a good connection.

Fixing this problem is simple. Apply a good layer of electrical solder to the pins and then grind them down using a Dremel or grinding wheel until the pins slide into the female connecting plug securely with no play. This works.

Next, I applied aircraft epoxy to secure the pins back into place. After it dried, I applied a second coat. Every consumer in America keeps epoxy on hand, right? After the epoxy dries, make certain that the spring loaded clip that holds the swivel head to the main housing will fit down in place between the pins. If not, use a Dremel to lightly remove enough hardened epoxy to allow proper fit.

Total time in repair: 2 hours. Next time, it will take only 1 hour.

When doing my initial shopping, my first mistake was assuming that 4.5 Stars based on 1,740 reviews meant that this vacuum was a jewel. OOPS!

I immediately began reading all the 1-Star reviews. This is something I should have done before buying this vacuum. Lo and behold. Many other poor souls have suffered the same problem.

Maybe my review will help another DIY'ER repair a broken Linx.

Here's the drawback: Once a DIY'ER gets inside of an appliance, in most cases, it voids the warranty.

There's no two ways about it. The Linx is delicate. It is not designed for general housecleaning. It is for minor touch up jobs for no more than 15 minutes at a time. If you are constantly bumping into walls and furniture legs, it won't last long. The same goes for aggressive twisting of the handle. The durability of the plastic tabs on the swivel assembly is limited. For some unknown reason, the dirt cup has developed hairline fractures all around the middle. I had to apply duct tape around the middle before it cracked into shards.

Duct tape and epoxy are essentials in the world of cheaply made products we live in today.

If I kept every box for every appliance, I'd have to own a warehouse for storage. Even if I did have the original box to return the Hoover Linx, it would take weeks to get it repaired plus a bunch of wasted time packing, shipping and running around.

There's something very familiar here. You know how printer companies sell their printers at a bargain and then make a fortune selling ink at a premium?

I added up the cost of repair parts for the Linx. OVER $460.00. And in some cases, you can't buy just the part you need, you must buy the whole assembly. My little voice is telling me that Hoover thinks that if a customer is willing to spend $150.00 for the Linx, they'll be hooked and will gladly pay forty bucks every now and then to keep it working. What are the odds I'm right?

After years of fighting with NiCd batteries losing power and dying, the Linx was exactly what I was looking for. And yes, it is running like new again and I love it. And if need be, I would probably pay $50.00 to keep it running.

There used to be a day back when products were made in America, there was pride in product testing by qualified engineers. Trusted companies offered excellent customer service and stood by their products. Today, most products are made in China. Good luck reaching customer service and getting a timely and satisfactory solution to your problem.

Two things I will not do:

1. I will not suffer through the frustrating process which Hoover has the audacity to call customer service.

2. I will probably never buy another Hoover product.

Why probably? It seems that every vacuum I've purchased over the past 20 years has had to be re-manufactured and upgraded in some way to make it work like it should. Buying any vacuum cleaner is the lesser of all evils.

Adequate pre-market consumer testing of quality American made products in real life situations apparently vanished with the Hula-Hoop and Lava Lamp. Although, mine are still working fine. However, the motor for the Hula Hoop is wearing out.

7-MONTH UPDATE 6/19/13

We've all heard futility described as trying to put a square peg in a round hole. Take a look at the two round male pins on the swivel head that plug into the female port of the main housing on the Linx.

You can't see the female plug without performing a major disassembly or cutting away a nice chuck of plastic.

After fighting with a loose connection on the roller brush for months, I finally went into the main housing of the Linx to expose the female plug. Unless you are familiar with cutting plastics with a Dremel, rebuilding with epoxy, electrical repair like soldering and heat-shrink insulation, don't even attempt this. If you are an avid DIY'er, go for it.

I couldn't believe what I found.

The female plug consists of two SQUARE ports to accept the round male pins.

Can you believe it? Hoover is actually putting round pins into square holes.

This is NUTS! No wonder there was a loose connection. A secure connection is impossible with this design.

I received an email from an Amazon customer who stated, "I've lost control. What do I do?"

Unless you have the abilities mentioned above, you have 4 options:

1. Send it back to Hoover.
2. Give it away.
3. Throw it away.
4. Use it as a door stop.

All of the thin plastic retaining stops on the swivel head will eventually break off. When this happens, you will lose control.

I had to install heavier gauge wire from the brush motor to the male pins because the swivel action had worn through the insulation and broken the original wires. I replaced the weak pins with modified auto electrical connectors that work.

The swivel action is a pain anyway. I roughed up the plastic and secured the swivel head into place with epoxy careful not to impede the up and down movement. That's all the movement most folks need in a feather-weight vacuum anyway.

I've owned the Linx for 7 months and have made 4 major repairs before finally correcting all of the problems that should never have been problems to begin with.

Hoover was so very close to making an outstanding product. Instead, for whatever reason, they opted to sell an expensive product designed to fail early on. That's just plain wrong.

IMHO, every Linx owner should get a letter of apology from Hoover and a 50% rebate.

UPDATE: 7/22/14

I have now been using this vacuum cleaner for 20 months. Since making my last repairs, I have not had one bit of trouble. It works great and I've just purchased a new battery.

Hello HOOVER,

Forget the bells and whistles and get back to the basics. Make a good, simple product that will last and your customers will love you for it.

I bought this vacuum for use in a small apartment, thinking that it would be able to keep up with the light use required. After six months, however, the beater brush has almost completely stopped working. The vacuum still works well for hard floors, but is not usable on carpet. We have bought other Shark models in the past that we have been extremely happy with, but this one was a disappointment. If I had it to do over again, I would pay for one of the sturdier models right off the bat.

Pros:
Cordless is awesome
Light and easy to maneuver
Works on hardwood, carpet and rugs
Decent job at getting hair ( 5 women, a cat, and a beard in my house)

Cons:
Less than 6 months in my brush roll is sticking
Charge barely lasts long enough for me to get my house (not enough to also do stairs)
Canister is small and fills quickly
I can't find a replacement brush to fix it

This is the second Shark Navigator that I have purchased in the past 3 months. The first one worked well very for a couple of weeks and suddenly stopped working. It would not power on nor would it charge. The defective unit was returned and was replaced by an identical unit. The second unit performed well for 2 months ( September 30 through November 30 ). Today, December 1st, while vacuuming a bare floor, the replacement vacuum also suddenly stopped working! The unit will not power on and will not charge. I have gone through the troubleshooting suggestions with no success. While the Shark does a very acceptable job when it works, it not a reliable unit. I would not recommend this vacuum due to it's lack of reliability.

Loved it at first... but 6 months of use and the back wheels broke and fell off, scratching my wood flooor. I accidently had purchased two of them and kept both, planning on giving one away. I went ahead and kept the second one becuase at first it was such a great little vacuum. However, another 6 months and the same thing happened to the second vacuum. I contacted customer service and was told "sorry, but you have to file a claim". This has not been resolved. I cannot recommend this vacuum due to poor quality of parts and poor customer service.

When I first received this vacuum I loved it. I needed something lightweight and easy to maneuver. We have two young kids and two dogs so I typically vacuum our hardwood floors several times a week. This vacuum worked wonderfully for the first several months. The fact that it is cordless makes it so easy to use. However, now that I've had it for awhile and used it quite a bit, it seems to be on its last legs. I'm disappointed that it hasn't even lasted me a full year. This was such a great item to start, but it does not have the durability that I need. Disappointed that it didn't last longer.

This vacuum has no steering mechanism and tends to stick in the locked upright position. If you can get it unlocked, you can easily clean a strip of flooring but you can not turn the device to clean other parts of the floor without picking it up to steer it manually. This makes it absolutely impossible to use for its intended use. The subsequent frustration was that the device was repeatedly smashed into the floor and then placed in a landfill (my wife has no idea what money costs so this was her solution to the inherent problems). I have no idea why other people have provided positive reviews. What a waste of money.

This piece of equipment is the pits. It will not pick anything on the 'smooth' floor setting and the only reason it picks up anything on the 'rug/carpet' setting is because the rotating brushes sweeps the stuff in. Then the hose from the head to the dust cup gets jammed with the debris. Nothing has ever gotten into the cup for me to empty it. I put the vacuum on its back on the counter and turned it on to the first or 'smooth' floor setting and then felt at the bottom for some ''suction' action---nothing, I felt nothing. I thought maybe I'd left a piece of packing cardboard or something in it. Nope, that wasn't it either. I've taken the dust cup off and turned it on, and there is suction going on, but with the dust cup in place-zip on the suction front.It's a piece of c_ _p. I have to run a piece of twisted metal like a bottle brush up the tube to clean out the debris.I have since purchased a Hoover Windtunnel Cordless jobby for half what I paid for this Linx and so far have been very pleased.So sorry I wasted so much money on a lousy product. Hoover should recall these suckers, or should I say suckless suckers.

Here it is, September 17...a mere 2 months after purchasing this thing...and the suction has already died. I had one before and loved it. Had it a couple of years until the suction died. This one worked great until a few days before hurricane Irma...and as soon as we got back from evacuating and I needed this to clean up the dust on the floor....NOTHING but a perfectly whining motor...

I don't see any place in my orders section to EVEN INQUIRE about returning this piece of junk.

If you live in a dust free, pet free home, this is the vac for you. For me, living in center city with two tiny silky Japanese spaniels it is the worst small investment I have ever made. I vacuum every day, sometimes twice a day because of my allergies. After two months this stick vac stopped picking up normal dust and pet hair. I checked for obstructions. Then I cleaned the dust canister and the floor "sweeper." It was a bit better. Five months later I called How bee and was told to clean the filter which I have done every week. Last month a Hoover customer service rep told me to remove the base of the floorhead. Really??? DON'T buy this vac if you are busy, have a small apartment and like to maintain home as dust free as possible. I recommend Miele's stic vac. I used one for 15 years. It wasn't cordless, required vacuum bags, and was more than twice the cost of this Hoover. But it was a little beast of a cleaner with far fewer hassles. BTW Hoover customer service is awful.

A worthless two year warranty. I purchased this vacuum at the end of December of this year. I treated it gently as I read the reviews of the pins coming loose witch causes the roller bar to stop turning. I figured if I had that problem with the vacuum then I would go through Hoover to fix it during the warranty period and then I would fix it myself if something happened after the two year warranty period. I got a total of 6 months use out of it before the roller died. No problem, I'll contact Hoover and they will replace it. I couldn't get their online warranty process to work so I took it to a local Hoover authorized service department. They didn't fill me with hope. They said it would take about a month to get Hoover to do anything. They were right. One month later and my claim was denied with no reason given. They said they would re-submit as this sometimes works. I am now a month and a half without my vacuum. Hoover is no longer the company it once was. Sad but true. If you choose to buy this vacuum just don't count on the warranty being honored. To bad as when the vacuum worked it was nice.UpdateAfter 3 denied claims using Hoovers automated refund system and two follow up calls as to why I was given the denials, I have now received a replacement unit.

Clogs very easily-hard to clean out clogs

I loved this little cordless vac....until it suddenly DIED yesterday. I've only had it two months and I've used it on my bare floors about a dozen times or so. I think it's the charger, not the vacuum, but you can't use one without the other. You pay shipping to have it fixed (both ways mind you) and so I'll probably just see if I can purchase just the charger somehwere. By the time I pay $14 each way and then be without it for weeks and weeks, it's hardly worth it. Why is everything so shoddily made these days?!! I also bought the Hoover Linx at the same time for our shop and the charger on that one died too in about a month! I do have a Dyson (a REAL vacuum) to do the deep cleaning every month, but this little cordless was SO handy for quick clean ups in-between the major cleans. Right now it's just another piece of junk....sigh.....

December 2016 I ordered my second shark navigator freestyle cordless stick vacuum. I could not say enough positive about that earlier model! Apparently they're selling a inferior product with a different model number. There is nothing good I can say about this new model. Weak suction- have to run repeatedly over a piece of lint! Less maneuverability-hard on my wrist.. Emptying cartridge stiffer. The blue recharge light flashes continuously even when charged. Very annoying plus I never know when it's fully charged. Would have returned immediately but had thrown away packaging boxes. Another review mentions 2 different model numbers. Apparently I got the crappy one the second time around.

Lasted only a year. Suction is lousy. You have to clean it out often because the tube is narrow. Doesn't pick up on hardwood floors. Lousy product. Thought I just got a bad one so I exchanged it. Same thing w the second one. Def don't buy. Those that leave better reviews must have just gotten theres. Give it a month and you will see what I'm talking about.

I was so excited to get this vacuum that I paid extra shipping to get it expedited! I charged it I initially for 8 hours since the instructions called for 4-10. After the first charge it only lasted one pass of my house. So I tried it again and charged it over night and still the battery does not hold a charge! So disappointed. And it's too much of a hassle to ship it back so now I guess I'm stuck with a dysfunctional vacuum. I am surprised because I have had shark products in the past and loved them!

There are exactly two things I like about this vacuum - the portable size/weight and the fact that it's battery operated. That is where the love ends. I don't think I've written a "bad" review before, but my annoyance about this product has compelled me to do so. Our home is 90% wood flooring with one decent sized low-nap area rug - seems like we should be a perfect fit for this type of vacuum, but I find that there are more things it WON'T suck up than stuff it will and this is very noticeable with bare feet on a wood floor. My list of things this vacuum won't suck up -
1. Cheerios (or similar small pieces of cereal/crackers/what-have you.) We have a child and these items are at least 50% of the reason we vacuum in the first place. It might fling it, even break it...but it really doesn't want to suck these up.
2. Sand or rock chips - we live on a gravel road. Little tiny bits of rock and sand end up around our doorway...this vacuum appears to suck them up, only to spit them back out elsewhere in my home as I continue to vacuum. I think they just get caught in the brush. I'm not talking big rocks here...just teeny little bits of sand! I've tried with both speeds of the brush - the higher speed just flings them everywhere.
3. Small scraps of paper - see number 1. We have a child. Why are these tiny lightweight bits of paper so difficult to vacuum? I can go back and forth over it 20 times and MAYBE it will suck it up if I hit it just right.
4. The straw that broke the camel's back today? A plastic swing tag. You know, the kind that holds a price tag onto a new shirt - only minus the actual price tag. Just a tiny, insignificant piece of plastic and it WOULD NOT SUCK IT UP. I tried every angle. I tried for longer than I care to admit. I would have wasted less time and energy by getting a broom and dustpan (for all the above, really!)
I will say, this this thing WILL suck up pet hair fairly decently. That's really all I have to say that's positive about the suction. We tried troubleshooting as much as we could - emptying out the vac regularly, etc. No dice.

So, onto the next problem - somewhere around the third week of usage, our unit came apart right where the floor portion meets the upright portion (photo attached.) There is nothing that broke from what we can tell - just sort of a plug that pushes into a groove (with no locking mechanism), so very easy to put back together, but now comes apart every time we pull the vacuum back towards us when vacuuming our area rug. It's literally so loose of a connection, that we now have to push it around (no pulling!) on the rug to vacuum it which seems like a heck of a lot of fuss considering it still doesn't suck up the stuff. We purchased this as a replacement for a vacuum that never gave us trouble until it just died one day. I just bought a newer version of that vacuum here on amazon. I'm done with this thing!