How to Winterize and Store a Robot Lawn Mower (and Its Battery)

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The short version

Stop mowing when daytime highs stay under 50°F and the grass quits growing. Clean the mower, put on fresh blades, charge the battery to the level your maker specifies (Mammotion and Worx say 70 to 80 percent, Navimow says at least 85, Husqvarna says full), power it off, and store it indoors above freezing. Unplug the dock and bring it in. Leave the RTK antenna base where it is, or you will be remapping in April. Update the firmware before you shut it down, not after. Spring restart is the reverse, plus a blade check and a short test mow.

A robot mower is a $1,000 to $4,000 lithium battery that lives outside. Most of the damage done to them happens in the four months they are not mowing: a battery left at zero in a freezing shed, a dock left plugged in under a snow load, blades left on with a season of corrosion. This page pulls the storage guidance from the manufacturers’ own support pages and shows where they disagree. You get one checklist for fall and one for spring. For why the mower stopped working under the trees in July, see RTK vs LiDAR vs Vision. For everything else, start at the robot mower hub.

When to stop mowing

Grass tells you. Cool-season grasses (fescue, bluegrass, rye) stop growing when daytime highs are consistently below 50°F, according to Dennis Patton, a horticulture agent with Johnson County K-State Research and Extension (FOX Weather). Warm-season grasses (Bermuda, Zoysia, St. Augustine) go dormant earlier, usually with the first frost. Navimow’s advice is the same in fewer words: pack up “once the first frost hits the ground” (Navimow Academy).

Do not push it. Wet, cold grass clogs the deck, and a mower on frosted turf tears grass instead of cutting it. For the final height, Husqvarna recommends leaving cool-season grass at 6 to 8 cm (2.4 to 3.1 inches) before storage (Husqvarna support). In the Gulf South you may never fully stop, and the question becomes a shorter schedule rather than storage.

Cleaning and blade check

Every brand’s guide starts the same way: disable the schedule in the app, power the mower off, remove the key or disconnect the battery if your model has one, and flip it over on a towel. Then:

Brush off clippings and soil. Underside, wheels, wheel wells, cutting disc. Mammotion’s LUBA 3 guide says to rinse the underside and wheels with a low-pressure washer and “never use a high-pressure washer” (Mammotion). Navimow says a garden hose at normal pressure is fine, and no solvents (alcohol, gasoline, acetone). Worx says avoid high-pressure water because “moisture can damage components” (Worx wiki).
Wipe the sensors. Camera lenses, the LiDAR dome, ultrasonic ports. Lint-free cloth, no chemicals. Mammotion suggests putting a towel under the LiDAR module when the mower is upside down.
Clean the charging contacts. On the mower and the dock. Worx suggests a strip of fine sandpaper on the contacts; Husqvarna says to check them for corrosion.
Replace the blades and the screws. This is the step people skip. Every maker says to fit new blades before storage or before the first spring mow, and Navimow and Husqvarna both say to use new screws, not the old ones. Husqvarna’s reasoning is that fresh blades limit rust over the winter and are sharp when you need them. Blades are cheap. Wear gloves.
Let it dry. Mammotion says at least 30 minutes of air drying before you reinstall the discs. Do not store a damp mower.

The battery: charge level and temperature

This is where the manufacturers disagree, and we show both sides.

Mammotion says to charge to “approximately 80%” before storing a LUBA 3 and exactly 80 percent for a LUBA 2 AWD X (Mammotion). Worx says 70 to 80 percent is “ideal for long-term storage.” Recharge every two months, and remove the battery from the robot if your model allows it. Navimow says to charge to at least 85 percent on the dock, then put the mower into a hibernation mode from the app (Help and Feedback, then Winter Storage). Husqvarna says to “fully charge your mower and switch it off before storage,” and notes that most current models need no top-up during winter while older models may need charging every three months (Husqvarna support).

The 70 to 85 percent advice matches general lithium-ion battery practice: full charge held for months stresses the cells, and an empty battery can drop below its safe voltage and refuse to charge in spring. Mammotion’s CEO told Tom’s Guide to “avoid complete discharge” because batteries stored depleted can lose capacity (Tom’s Guide). Husqvarna’s “fully charge” instruction is the outlier. We assume it reflects their battery management rather than a disagreement about chemistry. Follow your maker’s number. If your maker has not published one, 75 to 80 percent and a check every two months is the safe middle.

On temperature, the spread is wider:

Navimow: store between 41°F and 113°F (5°C to 45°C), indoors, dry, frost-proof.
Husqvarna: indoors, dry, above freezing (above 32°F / 0°C). The EPOS reference station itself tolerates -4°F to 158°F.
Mammotion: a clean, dry, well-ventilated location; if your area regularly drops below -4°F (-20°C), move both mower and dock indoors (Mammotion). The LUBA 2 guide is stricter and says to avoid unheated sheds and freezing temperatures.
Worx: dry and frost-free, away from direct sun and heat sources. No number given.

Our read: Mammotion’s -4°F is the floor for not destroying hardware, and Navimow’s 41°F is the number for keeping the battery healthy. An attached garage that stays above freezing is fine. A detached shed in Minnesota is not. Keep it off a concrete floor that sweats.

The lock-out trap. Worx’s wiki notes that the Landroid’s anti-theft lock can engage after 72 hours without a Wi-Fi connection (Worx wiki). Other brands may have a similar lock-out; check your manual. Before you store, know your PIN and make sure the app account still works, or your first spring task will be a support ticket.

The dock and the RTK antenna

The dock comes inside. Every maker agrees. Navimow’s sequence: unplug it, remove the garage if you have one, unscrew the ground screws, mark the spot with the silicone pegs, disconnect the antenna cable, wipe the surface and the charging ports (Navimow Academy). Mammotion says to remove the ground screws with the peg wrench, clear debris, and wipe the infrared lens and contacts. Husqvarna says to store the charging station indoors and disconnect the power supply; on NERA models only the top needs to come in and the baseplate can stay. Worx is the lone exception: the base can stay outdoors “unless extremely low temperatures are expected,” which the page does not define. We would bring it in anyway.

If you have a wired mower, the boundary and guide wires stay in the ground. Husqvarna says they can remain installed all winter; label the wire ends so you reconnect them correctly in spring.

The RTK antenna is the part that causes spring headaches. The map on an RTK mower is anchored to the antenna’s position, so move the antenna and the map is wrong. Navimow is explicit. NRTK users skip this step entirely. If the antenna is wall- or roof-mounted, cover it with a plastic bag or a protective cover and leave it. If it is on a pole in the lawn, detach the head and the pole, store them, and leave the base in the ground. “Leaving the antenna base in its original position keeps the map valid. Moving the antenna requires creating a new map” (Navimow Academy). Husqvarna says the same of the EPOS station: move it and you must recreate the virtual boundaries. Mammotion’s winter guides do not address the reference station, but trunetto’s LUBA troubleshooting guide gives the same warning: leave the station in one spot, and if it must move, remap afterward (trunetto).

If you have a LiDAR-only mower (Mova, Dreame, Ecovacs LiDAR Pro, Navimow i215), there is no antenna. The map is anchored to the dock position and the yard’s features, which is one of the less obvious advantages of LiDAR. Mark the dock spot and you are done.

Firmware before storage

None of the four brands’ storage pages mention firmware. That is odd. An out-of-date mower is a common cause of strange spring behavior, right behind a dead battery in the owner threads we read. Navimow’s troubleshooting page does say outdated firmware can cause weak signals and errors, and that an update needs the mower on the dock with at least 20 percent charge and nothing scheduled for an hour (Navimow Academy). Husqvarna’s answer is a dealer service visit before the new season, which “typically covers firmware updates, battery testing, and safety checks.”

Our rule: update the mower, dock and RTK station on the last mowing day, while everything is connected. Otherwise the mower may need two or three updates in a row in spring, each wanting Wi-Fi and a charged battery. On the FCC question, security and compatibility updates are permitted for authorized models at least through January 1, 2029; see the FCC Covered List tracker.

Brand-by-brand storage guidance

From each manufacturer’s own support or blog page, as read October 2026. Where a cell says “not stated,” the page does not cover it.

	Mammotion (LUBA 2 / LUBA 3)	Segway Navimow	Husqvarna Automower	Worx Landroid
Battery before storage	About 80%	At least 85%, then app hibernation mode	Fully charged, then switched off	70 to 80%; remove battery if possible
Recharge during winter	Not stated	Not stated (hibernation mode)	Not needed on current models; every 3 months on older ones	Every 2 months
Storage temperature	Indoors if area drops below -4°F; LUBA 2 guide says avoid freezing	41°F to 113°F, frost-proof	Above 32°F, dry	Frost-free, dry; no number
Dock	Indoors with mower; unplug, remove ground screws, clean IR lens	Indoors; mark position with silicone pegs	Indoors; NERA baseplate may stay outside; disconnect power	May stay outdoors unless “extremely low” temps
RTK antenna	Not stated in winter guides	Leave base in ground; store head and pole; bag wall/roof mounts; NRTK users skip	EPOS station rated -4°F to 158°F; moving it means remapping	Not applicable (RTK Cloud)
Cleaning	Low-pressure rinse only; wipe LiDAR, cameras, contacts; dry 30 min	Hose at normal pressure; no solvents	Clean body, chassis, disc; check wheel bearings and contacts	Cloth and brush; sandpaper on contacts; no high pressure
Blades	Inspect; replace worn or corroded	Replace, new screws	New blades and screws before storage	Replace before next season
Source	LUBA 3 guide, LUBA 2 guide	Navimow Academy	Husqvarna KA-70051	Worx wiki

For brands not in the table (Dreame, Ecovacs, Mova, eufy, Sunseeker, Roborock, Greenworks, Anthbot, Lymow), we have not found a dedicated US winter-storage page. The common thread above applies: 70 to 85 percent charge, indoors above freezing, dock inside, blades fresh. Check your manual for the brand’s own number before you trust ours.

Fall checklist

Update firmware on mower, dock and RTK station while everything is connected.
Disable all schedules in the app. Note your PIN.
Last mow at the maker’s recommended winter height (Husqvarna: 2.4 to 3.1 in for cool-season grass).
Charge to the maker’s storage level. Mammotion 80, Worx 70 to 80, Navimow 85 plus hibernation mode, Husqvarna full.
Power off. Remove the key or battery if the model allows.
Clean underside, wheels, sensors, contacts. Low pressure, no solvents. Dry 30 minutes.
New blades, new screws.
Unplug the dock. Mark its position. Bring it inside with the power supply.
RTK antenna: bag it if mounted; if on a pole, store head and pole, leave the base.
Store mower and dock indoors, above freezing, off the concrete floor.
Set a reminder to check battery level in 60 days (Worx) or 90 days (Husqvarna older models).

Spring restart checklist

Inspect before power-on. Husqvarna says check wheel bearings, blade disc and body panels; Mammotion says check the lifting seal sleeve, guard bracket screws and disc fasteners, and to contact support if the seal is damaged.
Reinstall blades if you removed them. Confirm the disc spins freely.
Return the dock to its marked spot. Reconnect the antenna cable and power.
Reattach the RTK antenna head and pole to the base you left in place.
Power on and let it charge fully on the dock.
Run any pending firmware updates. Expect more than one.
Check the app’s positioning status before the first mow. RTK should reach Fixed; if it sits in Float, read RTK signal lost fixes.
Mow the lawn once by hand if it is above the maker’s first-run height (eufy says 3.5 inches; most RTK mowers want a normal spring cut first).
Run one supervised test mow on a small zone. Watch the edges and the dock return.
Restore the schedule. Check for any new error codes against the error code lookup.

If the mower will not wake up in spring. A lithium battery that sat too long at too low a charge can drop below the voltage the charger expects and appear dead. Leave it on the dock for several hours before concluding anything. Some chargers trickle a deeply discharged pack back to life slowly. If it is still dead after a day, that is a warranty or battery-replacement conversation, and it is why the storage charge level matters.