The first known Nindroid was Zane, who was built-in Dr. Julien's hidden workshop. Initially a blank slate, Zane learned new skills from his creator, who gradually came to see the Nindroid as a surrogate son. Before passing away of old age, Dr. Julien deactivated Zane's "Memory Switch" to spare him the pain of losing a loved one, causing Zane to believe himself to be an orphan. Eventually, Zane discovered his true heritage and reactivated his Memory Switch, coming to terms with his past and unlocking his True Potential.

An army of Nindroids act as the Overlord's new army during the Nindroid crisis. These Nindroids are created at Borg Tower to take over Ninjago City, led by General Cryptor. They were created by P.I.X.A.L. after she scanned Zane's blueprints and was controlled by the Digital Overlord.

While some were presumably reprogrammed by Cyrus Borg and placed in Hiroshi's Labyrinth at one point, there are still a few operational Nindroids hard-coded to serve the Overlord. Some are imprisoned within Kryptarium Prison. Cyrus later built a group of white Nindroid Sentries to guard the Hiroshi Labyrinth Stronghold, a new generation of Nindroids.

Some of the Nindroids have been locked away in the vault below Borg Tower, being contained in a glass case down the hall from the Realm Crystal.