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Reviewed by Robert Knight
How the Dolphin Explorer E50 scored across our five core testing categories
| Waterline Cleaning | 
Excellent |
| Filter | 
Bad |
| Coverage | 
Good |
| User Experience |
Good |
| Warranty |
Good |
| Overall Score |
73
|
The pros and cons of the Dolphin Explorer E50
Highs
Lows
A closer look at the technology and design that set the Dolphin Explorer E50 apart.
90% of the bacteria in your pool is on the waterline. Don't get confused with robots that are "Wall Climbing". There is a big difference. Waterline cleaning means the Dolphin Explorer E50 actively scrubs and sticks to the waterline scrubbing away this problem area in the pool. It is a feature you don't want to miss.
Dolphin Explorer E50 is able to easily clean your walls of your pool.The Dolphin Explorer E50 combines wall climbing with the even more important waterline cleaning to provide a deep clean in your pool, giving you full floor, wall, and waterline coverage in your pool.
With the its smartphone app, you can schedule cleanings, manually control, and fine tune your Dolphin Explorer E50.
With an Anti-tangle Swivel, the Dolphin Explorer E50 can fully explore and clean your pool without ever getting stuck. The innovative design allows the robot to move freely 360 degrees around your pool, without ever knotting the cord.
Dolphin Explorer E50 saves hundreds of dollars a year in energy when compared to pressure-side or suction-side cleaners.
Set up has never been easier. No installation needed. Dolphin Explorer E50 is ready to go right out of the box. No extra pumps, plumbing, or anything else needed. Simply plug Explorer E50 and start cleaning!
™ coverage is powered by an advanced navigation system. This technology ensures that the most effecient route is used to clean your pool floor. So smart, the system automatically navigates around obstacles and quickly returns to its route.
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Compare prices from trusted retailers — get the best deal on the Explorer E50
| Seller | Buy From | Availability | Shop Online |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
In Stock (Prime eligible) | Shop At Amazon | |
 |
$1,047.00 | In Stock (Free Shipping) | Shop At Poolbots |
Looking for the best deal on the Dolphin Explorer E50 and other robotic pool cleaners? Look no further, we have you covered. We searched the web and found the best deals on Maytronics, Aquabot, Polaris, and other cleaners.
See how this cleaner stacks up against top picks
Highs
HighsReal feedback from verified buyers
Based on 169 Reviews
So, our pool was filled July 10 and the 30 day mark seemed to be the consensus that the plaster is cured enough for an auto vac. Seems robots and suction vacs all have pros and cons. I liked the fact that robots are self contained rather sending the debris and dirt through the system. But, the downside is the mfg recommends cleaning it after each use, so it isn’t exactly set and forget like a vac going through the system would be, which is a pretty big downside to me, having to pull it out and clean every day. I actually thought about returning it for this reason and also after finding out that it won’t pick up fine settled dirt or silt with the included filters so I had to spend additional $$ for ultra fine filters (which do the job).
I am a quadriplegic and manually vacuuming the pool is a royal pain in my behind. The Dolphin does a pretty darn good job. I especially like that it climbs the walls and scrubs the waterline. However, it has a couple of little issues that keep it from getting five stars. 1. It constantly twists the cord. It takes me the better part of fifteen minutes to untwist it, and it takes the Dolphin about three minutes to undo my work. 2. The biggest reason that I bought the Dolphin is because I have issues cleaning the corners of the pool right next to the wall. It seems the Dolphin also has issues with those areas. Other than those two things it's a pretty good product so far.
First off the Good: Explorer 30 does a good job cleaning my fiberglass pool. You'll want to order the expensive ultra fine filters to get the real value of this robot. It scrubs the waterline and randomly runs around the bottom of the pool and walls for 3 hours. The ultra fine filters can be a little difficult to get clean depending on how much debris is stuck in them but a high powered garden hose usually does the trick cleaning them. Clean up takes me around 5 minutes to thoroughly spray the filter and store the unit. I replaced a Polaris 280 side suction cleaner and there's simply no comparison to be made...the Explorer 30 is far superior to the Polaris 280 as it should be. The bad: I've owned the cleaner for 2.5 months and run it in my pool approximately once a week. I store it outside in a large outdoor deckbox where the unit and controller are protected from water getting in. At around the 2 month mark I began to notice I would start the robot and 30 minutes later the control module would be lit up Blue indicating it was on but I'd find it just sitting on the bottom of the pool not running. At times I might have to restart it several times in order to get it to do much cleaning at all. I finally reached out to Maytronics and they are willing to service it but be aware that it is me/the owner's responsibility to ship this heavy robot across the country to them at the OWNERS expense. At the selling price of around a thousand dollars, I would have expected within the first year, Dolphin/Maytronics to take care of my shipping charges if the unit they sold me was defective. I was told it will take approximately 3 weeks from the time I ship my Dolphin to Maytronics before then send it back. Bottom Line: When it works, it does a nice job. Not perfect but good enough and much better than my old Polaris. Maybe all robotic cleaner mfgs require the owner to pay shipping costs within the first 3 months of ownership but that cost was not something I'd anticipated when I purchased the unit leaving me a little disappointed in my experience so far.
I would have given this E30 five stars if the part number was given in the instructional manual for the “fine filters.” The filters that came with the E30 were ok for the big stuff in the pool but these filters hardly touched the sand, dirt and dust that is constantly trashing our pool with the Las Vegas desert huge winds. After much searching the below fine filters did a great finishing job cleaning our pool DOLFIN Authentic Replacement Parts - Maytronics Part Number 9991467-R4
By far the best out of the three pool cleaners I've owned. Easy to use, easy to set up wifi, easy to clean filter basket for leaves and fine particles.
Received my E30 last night - about a week ahead of schedule. First thing this morning I eagerly read the quick start guide and had it in the water by 8am. At 8:20a is stopped moving. About 9:00a I decided to pull it out of the water and have a look - nothing in the basket, nothing blocking the impeller and the tracks moved freely. Put it back in the water, hit the button and it took off. Twenty minutes later it stopped again. After extensive research I discovered these things have had this problem since day 1, it appears to be an easy fix and Maytronics has ignored the issue. The fix will require about 2 minutes of your time. Follow the instructions in the OM to remove the basket and impeller (2 Philips head screws). Once the impeller is out you will see two more screws that hold the "guts" in. Remove those two screws and lift the "guts" up slightly. Now, set them back down reassemble everything. Put the E30 back in the pool and press the power button. Done. Mine has now completed 3 complete cycles without stopping. Apparently these units bounce around in the box and the guts loosen up. Amazing cleaner but I'm giving it a rating of 3 because for $900 we should not have to go thru this.
I was sick of repairing my old Polaris cleaner that runs on a booster pump. I had replaced many parts, but still had to tinker with it to get marginal performance. The reviews here and elsewhere were good for this robot, so I ordered it. My pool was quite dirty, and there was a mild algae bloom to deal with and it took multiple cycles over a couple days to clean it up. Despite all that, the robot still doesn't hit every part of my pool. I can see areas that it missed, so I know my days of brushing the pool still go on (not that anyone ever indicated it was going away). At least it isn't popping wheelies or running in small circles at the bottom of the pool.
We’re really happy with the performance of this vacuum, we’re comparing it to a 15-year-old Aqaba. Technology has improved over time, and our other vacuum was failing. I was also considering a Polaris model but after going back-and-forth several times decided to give this one a shot and I have not been disappointed so far. Very easy to clean, gather small sand and large leaves just the same. Our pool is sparkling.
I have 02 areas in my pool where the cleaner is getting stuck. Basically, I have two steps in the pool that the cleaner get stuck and turned off every time. This is very annoying.. I was expecting that the cleaner should turn a backward gear and to continue the work. But is not working and it has been stuck on those steps. Hope the manufactory can see this review and to provide their feedback. This is a bug in the sotware.. I can also share the pictures later.
Used a handheld sweeper last year and had to scrub pool, With this your hands free and no scrubbing definitely makes for an extra hand! Highly recommend if your thinking about getting one 🙂
I ordered 2 of these cleaners and they both had the same problem. The manufacturer said they were defective and they would fix them. However I had to pay for the shipping. So I returned them through Amazon.
Item is easy to use and clean. Works great for cleaning our fiberglass pool. Cleans above the water line. It is able to climb over our foot ledge that goes around the pool.
I ordered both this unit and the Dolphin Nautilus CC Supreme. This unit has a single larger basket for the collection of debris however the Dolphin Nautilus CC Supreme is a much better cleaner in my opinion. It is heavier has thicker cable from power supply to vacuum, larger power supply and is noticeably heavier.
Truly outstanding Must better than I expected. Climbs the walls no problem. Super suction. After using it for almost 2 months the only downside is the guidance or lack of it. It always misses the same two spots but I can live with that because of the incredible performance. I just hope it lasts
We love this! It climbs walls, all our multiple stairs, and cleans the water line. It’s really too good to be true. Amazing value for the price and the no tangle cord is extremely helpful. Super easy to clean the basket
Works great!
hard to keep cord straight
Love how easy it is to get to and clean the filter.
I bought this Robot hoping it would help vacuum the bottom of my pool. We have a pop up pool cleaning system and it doesn't clean all of the bottom of our pool. For 30 years I have manually vacuumed the bottom of my pool after storms left leaves covering the bottom of my pool. I was so excited to learn that the Robot might take over the vacuuming for me. We set it up and ran it 3 different times. It picked up some of the leaves but spit them out of the top vent. I followed all the troubleshooting tricks and it still spit the leaves out the top - so I ended up vacuuming the leaves manually anyways. I really wished this would have worked for me, but it didn't.
If you have a deep pool with slopes, this is not the vacuum for you. Also, does not work great with small debris. Our pool is 8 ft deep and it could not do the walls, slopes or bottom of our deep end. Did ok on the shallow end but struggled with small debris
I had relatively basic hopes for this cleaner, especially considering the price. Even the most basic things can connect to wifi these days without issue (like our $150 microwave). This one does not. It would not see our network, despite no other IoT device having an issue. When we wrote into support, there was zero response. We chucked it after it ate part of our pool cover, breaking the cover and jamming the Dolphin itself. See attached. $2,000 down the drain. Go with any other brand.
This is easy to use and cleans well. BUT on the first use one of the tracks came off. Okay, no big deal and put it back on in a few mins. On second use, it lodged itself against the hand rail (see pic) and and just stayed there. Thought it would be smart enough to just back up if it gets stuck but it isn't. Sending it back.
Easy to setup and operate. Cleans the pool very well and does climes and cleans the walls. Quality product. As advertised!
It does have good suction the cord always gets twisted don’t like that for the price I paid it should have a Swivel ! It has no remote control
It has never gone all the way across my pool and only focus is only very few certain areas. I am so disappointed that I spent this kind of money on this pool cleaner. It does not clean the whole pool and only focuses on a very few areas and stays in one spot time after time. It is not clean my entire pool one single time and I would like to return it.
Worked for about a half hour then stopped. Checked filter and restarted, it moved about a foot and stopped again. Seller was no help as they just sell out of a warehouse. Manufacturer is closed on weekends. You get quick start instructions but no actual manual. Kids are disappointed and I paid a lot of money for something that does not function
The product is terrible does not work and then on 3rd use just would not turn on. Returned the item for refund. The company said it has approved a refund of $331.24. I paid $665.74! The company said the rest was a "restocking fee." This company is a scam. The product is crap. Avoid this seller altogether. Terrible.
I have been using this for a month..it drives around the pool and doesn’t clean anything…basket never has anything in it…total waste of money….
I‘m using the Dolphin E70 since July this year and i‘m very happy with the cleaning performance. I used the Dolphin Sigma before and it was not possible with the shape of my pool to get the job done. The E70 is a step change. I also like the filter basket and the Caddy.
Easy to set up, just plug it in and let it go. It does a great job of scrubbing the tile and cleaning the drains. Two hours running and pool is clean. Cleaning the unit after use is very quick, simply rinse with a hose.
I have an inground pool on the smaller size, it holds 7500 gallons. I've had the pool several years and have always kept it clean manually using nets and a pool vacuum cleaner. I had heard about the Dolphin product and the E20 model and it sounded like a very good product, worth the gamble to buy one. I purchased the E20 model and put it to work and love it! It really cleans the pool completely, bottom and the walls and doesn't need any babysitting. Drop it in your pool, set the controls for 1, 2 or 3 hours and walk away...it is fantastic! The very best item I have purchased for my pool, no doubt about it!
First I will start with.. the connection issues are REAL!! I am pretty tech savvy and I thought all of the reviews on the MyDolphin app didn't know what they're doing but man oh man where they right. The app will not connect no-matter what you do. The QR code you're supposed to scan does nothing but sends you to an error page. The current app is broken. I have the latest Samsung flagship S22 Ultra on the latest version of Android so I assumed (correctly) the problem wasn't with me. The Solution: You'll need to find and download version 1.4.1, the thing connected immediately and has stayed connected this whole time (less than 24hrs). Then turn off automatic updates for that app. What I haven't tried is, now that I'm connected, I thought about updating the app thinking the app would just stay connected because it was connected in the previous version. It's a theory, I'm not going to try it. The old 1.4.1 version works great! I had the Dolphin Premier, the bagged system in that robot wasn't great. The basket in the E70 is a huge upgrade. The Premier would also give me "filter is full" error after each run. I'd take it out, clean it, next run same thing. Plus all of the smart features of the E70... nice upgrade. I'll update if anything changes, but this thing is pretty sweet!
HAPPY WITH VACUM EASY TO USE AND ASSEMLE
Excellent rapport qualité prix
Was working fine. The third time I went to use it it wouldn’t work. Going to try and send it back but I threw out the box
Excellent!! Easy to Use..does a great job!!
Aime : facilité d’utilisation Pas aimé: difficile à sortir de la piscine sans tirer sur le câble
So easy, works great, love having a clean pool with so little effort!
Ne va pas partout, passe toujours au même endroits
Nettoyage de la piscine
What an amazing product this is drop it in the pool press a button come back and go for a swim. This is fantastic and I’m in love with it I wish I spent a bit more for the extra features but it is what it is
Great product. Works very well!
We have not found anything we dislike but we have only had it for a short time I like that it gives me more free time
Super machine.ma piscine n'a jamais été aussi propre. Je suis juste déçu de la télécommande qui a un symbole Bluetooth et une appli qu'on ne peut pas utiliser. Sinon, super achat. À voir sur la durée (achat depuis presque 2 mois)
Fun to watch
I've had a couple of types of pool cleaners over the years. This one is the best yet. Easy to use controller, and very easy to empty when done it's cleaning cycle. The price was incredible compared to the other cleaners out there. Let's see how it does over time. So far a positive experience.
Works right out of the box. No assembly required.
Not sure there are no reviews. This product does exactly what it's supposed to do. I highly recommend it
Commentaires positifs mérités !
Only used for 1 week and so far so good. Works like described. Easy to use.
Cleaning your pool couldnt be any easier. Plug it in, put in in the pool and come back two hours later. Covers the entire pool. Love it that you dont have to worry about the cord getting tangled. I should have bought this years ago.
Très bon produit, mais pas possible de régler la trajectoir.
I get to drink beer while my pool vacuum does its thing. A win win scenario!
Common questions about the Dolphin Explorer E50
Every spec that matters — from pool compatibility to warranty coverage
| Pool Types | In Ground |
|---|---|
| Pool Size | 50 ft |
| Pool Shape | Rectangle, Oval, or Freeform |
| Obstacles | Steps, Ladder, Drain Cover, Ledges, Pop-Ups |
| Surface | Gunite, Fiberglass, Vinyl, Liner |
| Waterline Cleaning | Yes |
|---|---|
| Number of Filters Included | 1 |
| Filter Cleaning | Top Access |
| Cleaning Coverage | Floor, Walls and Waterline |
| Cleaning Cycle(s) | 1.5, 2 hrs |
| Number of Brushes | 2 |
| Remote operation | No |
|---|---|
| WiFi / Bluetooth | WiFi: Yes Bluetooth: Yes |
| Smartphone App | Yes |
| Automated Weekly Timer | Yes |
| Full Bag Indicator | Yes |
|---|---|
| Cable Length | 60 ft |
| Anti-Tangling Swivel | Yes |
| Restocking Fee | No No Restocking Fee Ever. |
| Warranty | 2 Years |
| Caddy Included | Optional Caddies Available |
| Part Number | 99996281-XP |
| ASIN | B09X6BC3NB |
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