The short version
- 01Open the brush cage or extractor frame and lift both brushes out completely.
- 02Cut and pull away hair wound around each brush end, not just the visible middle.
- 03Remove the coloured bearing caps from the brush ends and clear debris from inside them.
- 04Check the bearings turn freely in your fingers before putting anything back.
- 05Reseat both brushes and the frame, making sure the frame clicks fully shut.
- 06Replace worn brushes or extractors if the error returns after a thorough clean.
Raw message
Error two (2). Open Roomba’s brush cage and clean brushes. Clear the brushes, then press Clean
Likely causes
- Hair, string or carpet fibres wound tightly around the ends of the brushes.
- Debris packed into the yellow bearings the brush ends sit in.
- A brush guard or cage seated badly after a previous clean.
- Worn brushes or extractors that no longer turn freely.
- A brush installed the wrong way round after cleaning.
What Error 2 means on your model
iRobot documents this code consistently across generations, with wording that changed as the hardware did. On the 600 series the spoken message is “Error two (2). Open Roomba's brush cage and clean brushes,” and the likely cause is given as the main brushes cannot turn. On the i Series the message is “Clear the brushes, then press Clean,” and the cause is that the multi-surface rubber brushes cannot spin.
Both point at the same part of the robot. Older models use bristle brushes in a cage; newer ones use a pair of rubber extractors in a frame. The failure is identical in nature — something is stopping them turning — and so is the fix.
This is a mechanical error rather than an electronic one, which is good news. It is one of the few Roomba codes you can nearly always resolve yourself in a few minutes with no parts and no app.
Cleaning them properly, not quickly
Take the brushes right out rather than picking at what you can see. Release the brush cage or extractor frame, lift both brushes clear, and look at the ends rather than the middle — hair migrates to the ends and winds into a dense collar there, which is exactly where it stops rotation while remaining almost invisible from above.
The part most people miss is inside the coloured bearing caps on the brush ends. Those pull off, and debris packs in behind them until the brush cannot turn even after the visible hair is gone. Clear them out and check each bearing spins freely between your fingers before reassembling.
Put everything back the way it came out. A brush fitted the wrong way round, or a frame that has not clicked fully shut, produces the same error immediately — which reads as the clean having failed when in fact it worked.
When it comes back
iRobot's guidance for a message that persists after cleaning is that you may need replacement brushes or extractors. Rubber extractors flatten and bristle brushes splay with use, and a worn pair binds under load even when spotlessly clean.
A useful test before buying anything: with the brushes out, run the robot briefly and see whether the drive turns freely. If the error appears with no brushes fitted at all, the problem is the motor or the frame rather than the brushes, and that is a service question.
iRobot's closing instruction on both charts is to contact Customer Care if the message persists, with the robot charged and to hand, its serial number ready, and proof of purchase for a warranty claim.
Sources and review notes
Checked on . Based on iRobot's published error message charts for the Roomba 600 series and i Series. Codes and wording differ by series, so check the chart for your own model. The cleaning technique in section 2 and the brushes-out test in section 3 are editorial. iRobot's support pages render only in a browser, so they cannot be checked by automated fetching. Glitchary is independent of iRobot.