Bosch Series 6 WGG244A9GB Review: 12p a Wash, Auto-Dosing and a 3h48m Eco Cycle
This is the 9 kg Series 6 with i-DOS that Bosch UK lists today. The older WGG244F9GB is now marked “no longer available” on Bosch’s own site. On paper the two are nearly identical. The real question is whether automatic dosing is worth paying for, and that is where our three sources disagree.
Where the reviews line up
The evidence comes from three places. Expert Reviews lab-tested an earlier Series 6 with i-DOS. A repair engineer on the Whitegoodshelp forum explains why he would not buy auto-dosing. And there are Argos buyer ratings for this exact model, backed up by AO buyers of the model it replaces. They agree on more than you might expect.
Two things come up everywhere. It is quiet. Expert Reviews lists “Quiet” as a strength, AO buyers keep saying it, and Bosch rates it at 71 dB on spin, which is noise class A. The cycles are long. Bosch’s own figure for a full Eco 40-60 load is 3 hours 48 minutes, and one AO owner complains about a 3.5-hour cotton wash. If you want a wash done in an hour, use Super Quick 15/30, which Bosch includes.
The disagreement is about i-DOS. Owners love it: AO reviewers call it “a game-changer” and say they have stopped over-dosing. The Whitegoodshelp engineer thinks it is extra parts to go wrong and objects that it only takes liquid detergent. Expert Reviews makes a similar point: liquids have no bleach, so i-DOS washes will not shift stains as well as powder.
Our view: on running costs this is an efficient A-rated 9 kg machine, at about 12p a cycle and £27 a year by our sums. Buy it for the dosing and the quiet. If you use powder, i-DOS gives you nothing, so you would be paying for a feature you will not use.
The three reviews this summary is built from
- Expert ReviewsEditorial lab test of the earlier Serie 6 WAT286H0GB, a sibling with the same i-DOS system. Stain swatches, timings and tank sizes.
- WhitegoodshelpA repair-engineer-run forum. One verified-engineer answer on a thread viewed 8,948 times. The sceptic’s view of auto-dosing.
- Argos & AO4.87/5 from 47 reviews at Argos (this model); 4.7/5 from 43 ratings at AO (the WGG244F9GB it replaces). Both checked 8 Oct 2026.
Before the review: which model number?
You will see several 9 kg Series 6 i-DOS codes. WGG244A9GB (white) is the one Bosch UK currently lists, and Argos and Atlantic Electrics had it for sale on 8 October 2026. The WGG244F9GB page on Bosch UK now says “Product is no longer available”, though its spec sheet gives the same energy, water and noise figures. Graphite and grey versions are also listed (WGG244FCGB, WGG244ZCGB). We could not find a UK listing for a WGG244Z9GB. The spec sheets differ in one way: the F9GB’s lists an Iron Assist steam programme and the A9GB’s does not. If steam matters to you, check the listing in front of you.
Specification at a glance
| Spec | Figure | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity · spin | 9 kg · 400–1,400 rpm; 63-litre drum | Bosch UK spec sheet |
| Energy class | A (on the A–G scale) · 46 kWh per 100 cycles, Eco 40-60 | Bosch UK spec sheet |
| Running cost | About 12.1p a cycle; about £26.64 a year at 220 cycles | Our sums at 26.32p/kWh (Ofgem cap, Oct 2026) |
| Water | 48 litres a cycle, weighted, Eco 40-60 (about 10,560 litres a year at 220 cycles) | Bosch; Atlantic repeats 48 L. Yearly figure ours |
| Eco 40-60 duration | 3 h 48 min at full 9 kg load | Bosch spec sheet |
| Spin noise | 71 dB(A), noise class A | Bosch; Atlantic repeats 71 dB |
| Wash noise | Not published | The EU label gives spin only |
| Spin-drying class | B | Bosch; Atlantic |
| Dimensions | 848 × 598 × 590 mm (H × W × D); 63.6 cm deep including the door | Bosch spec sheet |
| Depth with door open | 107.3 cm; door hinged left, opens 165° | Bosch spec sheet |
| Weight | 74.5 kg (Bosch) · 73.9 kg (Argos) | Sources disagree; both shown |
| i-DOS | Automatic dosing of liquid detergent and softener. Tank sizes not stated by Bosch | See the i-DOS notes below |
| Programmes | Cottons, Easy Care, Delicates, Wool, Mixed Load, Sportswear, Jeans, Hygiene, Super Quick 15/30, Drum Clean and more | Bosch; Argos counts 14 |
| Extras | Speed Perfect, Reload, Anti Stain. No Home Connect app, no AquaStop | Bosch UK product page |
| Electrics | 2,300 W · 10 A fuse · 2.1 m cable | Bosch spec sheet |
| Warranty | 2 years parts and labour; 10 years on the motor. Paid extension to 5 years within 28 days | Bosch UK; one retailer advertises 5 years — see below |
| Price | £650 at Argos · £630.08 at Atlantic Electrics. Bosch UK publishes no RRP | Checked 8 October 2026 |
Expert Reviews
Who they are: Kenneth Watt reviews washing machines for Expert Reviews and is a director at UK Whitegoods Limited, with over 20 years in the domestic appliance industry, so his verdicts come from someone working inside the appliance trade.
We found no published editorial test of the WGG244A9GB. Which? has a page for the WGG244F9GB, but its scores are behind the paywall. So the nearest hands-on test is Expert Reviews’ lab review of the WAT286H0GB. That was an earlier 9 kg, 1,400 rpm Series 6 with the same i-DOS idea, rated under the old A+++ scale. Its cleaning results tell you how this family washes. They are not a measurement of the machine on sale today.
The test used cotton swatches with nine stains. At 40°C the machine “destroyed all but the toughest blood stains”, 60°C did better, and the quick wash only faded them. The most useful figures are the i-DOS tank sizes: about 1.3 litres of liquid detergent and half a litre of softener, which the reviewer reckons is roughly 15 washes, so a busy household refills about weekly. He also flags the limitation the engineer raises below: liquid detergent has no bleaching agents, so i-DOS washes do not match powder on stains. He lists it as quiet, notes the sealed drum and door limit repairs, and concludes it is “a top-quality washing machine”.
Watch: Test BOSCH WGG244 Série 6 : On ne s’attendait PAS à ÇA !
A French-language hands-on test of a WGG244 Series 6. That is the continental version of this platform, not the UK A9GB, so the controls and programme names may differ.
Watch on YouTube ↗ Independent YouTube video — not made by or for Shopbam.Whitegoodshelp
Who they are: Whitegoodshelp is a UK appliance advice site founded in 2000 by appliance engineer Andy Trigg; it is now owned by a group that also runs a repair business, so we treat its engineer’s forum answers as expert but not neutral.
Whitegoodshelp is run by appliance repair people, and the question here is about two 10 kg Series 6 siblings, one with i-DOS and one without. The engineer is upfront that he has “no direct experience with these DOS systems but I instinctively do not like them.” His reasons are worth reading even if you disagree. Auto-dosing adds complexity and “more parts to go wrong”. It costs more. And it commits you to liquid detergent, which he says has historically contributed to dirty, smelly machines and a greasy coating, because it cannot contain bleach.
This is one person’s opinion, not a failure rate, and he says so himself. Still, it is the counterweight every i-DOS buyer should hear. You can still put your own detergent in the drawer by hand. If you use liquid anyway, his worry is residue, and the machine has a Drum Clean programme with a reminder. If you use powder, i-DOS is wasted money.
Watch: Introducing the Series 6 9kg i-DOS Front Load Washing Machine (WGG244A0SG)
A launch film for the Singapore WGG244A0SG, a sibling of the UK model. Promotional in tone, but it shows how the i-DOS tanks fill and dispense.
Watch on YouTube ↗ Independent YouTube video — not made by or for Shopbam.Argos and AO
Who they are: Argos’s ratings come from its own shoppers under a policy we could not read, while AO gathers feedback through automated Trustpilot invitations — both are unverified customer experience of delivery and use rather than testing, so weigh the pattern.
Treat these as customer ratings on pages that sell the machine. The Argos score is for the model we are reviewing, but we could only read the headline number, not the individual comments. AO’s reviews are for the outgoing WGG244F9GB, which has the same energy, water and noise figures, so they are a fair guide but not the same product.
AO’s 43 ratings split 32 five-star, 9 four-star and 2 three-star. Of the eight written reviews, four bring up quietness, including “very quiet even when spinning”, and three praise i-DOS, with one owner saying they no longer over-dose detergent and softener. The complaints are more useful. One four-star owner calls the programmes “very long”, citing 3.5 hours for a standard cotton wash. One three-star owner says the machine stops until they push the plug back in, which sounds like a socket or a fault, and is the only reliability worry in the sample. One finds the instructions hard to follow. Eight written reviews is a small sample.
Watch: Bosch Serie 6 i-DOS WGG244A9GB 9 kg 1400 Spin Washing Machine - White - Quick Look
The only video we found of the exact UK model. A short retailer-style walk-round of the control panel, drawer and drum rather than a test.
Watch on YouTube ↗ Independent YouTube video — not made by or for Shopbam.Strengths and weak points
What holds up
- Cheap to run: 46 kWh per 100 cycles is about 12p an Eco wash at the October 2026 cap, by our sums.
- Quiet: 71 dB spin, noise class A, and owners and Expert Reviews both mention it.
- i-DOS stops over-dosing, and owners who use it rarely want to go back.
- 9 kg in a standard 60 cm footprint, with Reload for adding a forgotten sock.
- 10-year motor warranty on top of the standard two years.
- Super Quick 15/30 and Speed Perfect for when the 3h48m Eco cycle is too slow.
What people complain about
- Eco 40-60 takes 3 hours 48 minutes at full load. That is normal for A-rated machines, but owners notice it.
- i-DOS is liquid-only, and liquid lacks bleach, so stain removal trails powder (Expert Reviews).
- Extra dosing parts mean more to go wrong, says a repair engineer.
- No AquaStop, so Bosch’s lifetime AquaStop cover does not apply. No app either.
- Spin-drying is only class B, so clothes come out damper than from a class A spinner.
- Iron Assist steam, listed for the F9GB, is not on the A9GB spec sheet.
Who it actually suits
Buy it if you use liquid detergent, do several loads a week and are tired of guessing doses, or if the machine sits near a living area and quiet matters. It is a sensible step up from a basic 9 kg. For comparison, our Bosch Series 4 WAN28282GB review covers an older model at 62 kWh per 100 cycles, which costs noticeably more to run. And the Samsung WW90CGC04DAB is similarly frugal at 44.4 kWh, but Samsung has stopped selling it.
Look elsewhere if you use powder or pods, because then you are paying for tanks you will never fill. Look elsewhere too if you want an app or AquaStop flood protection. If you are pairing it with a dryer, our Bosch Series 4 heat pump dryer review covers the matching Bosch machine. Be aware that a class B spin leaves more water for the dryer to remove.
What we could not check
- Wash-phase noise. Bosch publishes only the 71 dB spin figure. A Quiet Mark listing for this model exists, but its page would not show any figures when we fetched it.
- i-DOS tank sizes for this model. Bosch does not state them. The 1.3 L and 0.5 L figures come from Expert Reviews’ test of the older WAT286H0GB. Redmond Electric, an Irish retailer, claims “up to 20 washes” a fill, against Expert Reviews’ roughly 15. Its claim of 30–40% less detergent is unsourced.
- Independent testing of this exact model. We found none. The editorial test is of a 2019 sibling, and Which?’s WGG244F9GB scores are paywalled.
- Warranty length. Bosch UK says 2 years as standard and Argos agrees, but Atlantic Electrics advertises a “5 Year Warranty”. That may be a retailer offer or a MyBosch promotion, which Bosch says depends on device and date. Get it in writing before you rely on it.
- Weight. Bosch says 74.5 kg and Argos says 73.9 kg. Either way, it is a two-person job.
- Currys and AO stock of the A9GB. Our searches did not bring up a Currys or AO page for this code, so we confirmed it at Argos and Atlantic Electrics instead.
- Argos written reviews. We could read the 4.87/5 from 47 headline but not the comments.
- The videos were confirmed by appearing in two separate search listings, not by opening them, because YouTube does not load from our research tools. Two of the three show sibling models.
Sources last checked 8 October 2026. Prices, warranty offers and stock change. Check the model code and the guarantee on the listing in front of you before you order.