App Controlled Automatic Pet Feeder

Product Description

Features

• 2017 new and improved SmartFeeder features include a stronger feeding wheel, better bowl connection
• All purchases include an offer for a free SmartFeeder ramp, designed for kibbles that need help sliding into the bowl. (shipped from Petnet after product registration)
• Using the Petnet app you can personalize food portions and automate your pet's meal schedule
• Get notifications for meals served, low food, delivery updates and more
• Sign-up for SmartDelivery and have your pet's food delivered - SmartDelivery is still in beta and not all food recipes are available yet

Top Reviews

DO NOT PURCHASE!!!! WASTE OF MONEY!!!!! UNRELIABLE!!!!! Would give zero stars if possible!
by Anthony P Perrotta (1 out of 5 stars)
July 27, 2016

We bought the PetNet Smart Feeder about 6 months ago, and it was problematic from the beginning. We should've immediately returned it for a full refund, but we were convinced the issues would work themselves out.
We travel frequently and needed an automatic feeder for when we are away. This feeder is so unreliable. We had to invest $5.99 for a gravity feeder that always works. Total waste of $$. The feeder often goes offline for seemingly no reason, and it always seems to happen right before we're going away for the weekend or leaving for a vacation, sending us into a panic about the well-being of our cat and the horrible thought of 'will he be fed or not' or end up starving to death in our apartment. While on vacation, we had to scramble and find someone to come into our apartment and make sure the cat was fed. We regret not reading ALL the reviews prior to our purchase, otherwise we would've realized the pattern of problems, many stemming from how the bowl sits in the feeder, also causing the unit to go offline. Even when everything seems to be in order, the 'Smart Feeder' (in name only, I can assure you!) has a will of its own and sometimes does not do a feed cycle! I often have to check the app to make sure he was fed. Now when we go away, I just disconnect it and leave the DEPENDABLE AND AFFORDABLE gravity feeder.

Also, the incline is not steep enough so if you use a non-round kibble, it doesn't properly fall into the dish, causing jams and again, sending the unit offline.

And a 30-90 day warranty for a product that costs $150 is ridiculous. I have a longer warranty for a cheap set of headphones.

Don't waste your $$, energy, or time!
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Overall Good Product, Fantastic Customer Support
by Chris (5 out of 5 stars)
May 17, 2017

If I'm rating the feeder along I'd rate it at 4 stars, but when you consider the customer service these guys have shown its a solid five. We actually bought two machines (one for each dog) and have had them for over a year. Here are my observations.
- It does what it is supposed to do - dogs food comes out like clockwork.
- There is a blue button you can push to dispense food. If you have toddlers you need to disable this button (easily done through the app). Our 2 year old was pushing the button to get snacks, and our beagle learned to paw the button to feed himself.
- Shortly after buying the feeders we came home and found one feeder knocked over, lid popped off, and the dog gorging themselves. We ended up making a wood cover for the lid and getting some nylon strap and buckles to make a spill/chew proof cover (see picture). From what I understand the new model has a "pet proof lid". Haven't seen the improvements, but this was not a deal-breaker for me as the home made fix seemed to do the trick.
- We originally planned on leaving the feeders unsupervised in the basement with the dogs, but they would compete for food. We ended up leaving the feeders in our kitchen and just let the dogs in for meal time. This is more of a pet psychology issue than a feeder issue, but we bought with the idea that we could go out of town for a weekend and the dogs would be taken care of on their own - that isn't the case (again, not the fault of the feeder but just a lesson we learned). The feeder is still helpful because food dispenses and we just have a neighbor come over and let the dogs into the kitchen, they eat, then the neighbor heads home. No portioning and its quick and easy and the neighbors don't resent us (at least we hope not).
- Food bowl is a bit shallow, so if you don't have spherical food it can tend to back up a bit. This needs a design solution of a deeper bowl. As it backs up it puts pressure on the wheel inside the machine that dispenses the food and the flaps on the wheel tend to tear and break over time. That said, customer support has replaced the parts when the wheel wore out. Additionally I received an email today that their latest version has a feeder wheel made of stronger material. Happy to say I have one on the way.
[Edit - learned they have an wedge type platform available. After a quick call to support they sent it out to me (no charge for the platform, shipping or anything. Again, awesome customer service!) The has completely resolved the issue I was seeing with food backing up.]
- One drawback yet to be addressed is the inability to have multiple units controlled from one phone. With two dogs and two feeders, I have one dog's machine on my phone and my wife has the other dog's on hers. Waiting for an upgrade to the app that lets each of us see what's happening. Currently unresolved, but not a big issue. [edit: after a call with customer support I learned this is being worked on with a target of fall 2017 for release]
- Petnet has servers that run as the intermediary between you and the device. You can't connect directly to the device and must have an internet connection. In the early days there were some problems where their servers went down but they quickly resolved this and were very transparent in the issue and the resolution. Have not had any server problem since then.
- It can only connect to 2.4GHz network, it will not connect to 5GHz. Not a big deal, most home routers that have 5GHz also have the 2.4, but its good to know.
- On the few occasions I have had issues their customer support has been phenomenal. Whatever the issue they go above and beyond to make sure things are working and I'm happy.

Again, the device I originally bought I would give four stars, but when considering their customer support its a solid five. I learned today there is a new model out which I am anxiously waiting to get which according to their email has: Stronger material for the feeder wheel, better bowl connection, pet proof lid, and they relocated the charging port.
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Had for almost 2 years and mostly loved it until cats got sick with black rubbery dispenser pieces
by David Berman (3 out of 5 stars)
November 12, 2017

Had for almost 2 years and mostly loved it. Today, both my cats threw up black rubber flecks. We have used Purina Dental Health food only in here. Opened up the machine to find the dispensing mechanism shredded as shown in the photo. Waited about 24 hours for a response from customer service because this could easily kill your pets. They are shipping a new base and even instructed me there was no need to return the old base. They have said that the latest models have a dispensing wheel made out of a different material. I'm honestly surprised they did not issue at least a voluntary recall or ask their customers to inspect or at least at the absolute minimum, make the customers aware there was a concern they had which led them to change the material or mechanism, whatever they have done. I am happy with the response so far from a simple service side of things, but I have serious doubts about their corporate responsibility and leaders who clearly made the willful decision to this point not to communicate to their customers this serious problem and instead treat the problem on a case by case basis. This should be enough information for them to hopefully change their approach. I will provide an update if I see the company make any press release or communication to existing customers. In the mean time, I have also purchased the PetSafe smart feeder to at least provide some product comparison.

Update 11/14/2017: Today the company is sending me a new base. Apparently they have updated the dispensing mechanism in the newer units. Will provide further update as I evaluate the new unit. Proceed with caution at this point. Overall, the rest of it works well, if it doesn't also kill your pet.
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I thought it worked like clock work, wrong!
by Kevin (1 out of 5 stars)
January 17, 2016

"Updated" changed from 5 stars to 2,

This is a very high quality Yes, this is expensive, but after wasting my money on 2 feeders that jammed all the time this one is better, but still the same set of priblems. This company had amazing customer service, but the last year it has been poor customer service. It use to think it worked like clock work, and you didn't have to worry about it like the others. I was wrong. I have had it not feed on 4 different occasions, with no notifications. I wasn't sure about spending the money, but for a feeder that works it would be worth it. Unfortunately, this feeder has its flaws. One of the main reasons for the 2 stars is the poor customer service to a serious problems. I have been waiting for over 3 months to hear back about why my feeder didn't feed the last time. Clearly, they don't care enough to respond to the work ticket I have open, answer calls or do anything for that matter When dealing with pet, and not knowing if your pet is fed or not is dangerous. Maybe if I get resolution to my feeding problem and customer service changes in the future, i might reconsider my review. Until then, I would caution anyone that wants a feeder they don't have to worry about. This might not be the best choice.

Update: newest problem. Unsuccessful feed. Won't manual or automatic feed, and of course customer service doesn't answer or return emails. I am going to report to amazon.
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Peace of mind versus inconvenient app
by Kylie&TheCats (3 out of 5 stars)
March 28, 2016

I have had 2 SmartFeeders since January for my two cats, feeding them both 1/16th of a cup of dry food 8 times a day. I will say that it has provided me much needed shut-eye and peace of mind.

One feeder does sometimes drop pieces of food if my cats go at it enough, but the other has not has the same issue. I have only seen less than 10 pieces of dry food drop at these times, so even when this happens, it is not a significant amount or enough to derail my cats' diet.

My biggest disappointment has been with the app, which has had glitches (sometimes rendering the feeders useless) and does not support multiple feeders.

Some glitches I have faced included the Daylight Savings Time change (which shifted the times of feeding in the app, but was resolved in 24 hours), erroneous alerts as to feeder levels or power level (though always plugged in), one feeder reporting as having fed but not putting out food, and some connectivity issues (which I am not willing to blame solely on the app).

On the rare occasions I have had to unplug the feeders, I am alerted in less than 30 minutes that the feeders are low on power, leading me to believe that neither charges.

A red flag to consider is that the company's promised that the very important change of allowing multiple feeders to be controlled from a single device/app is "coming", but not delivering. When I bought the feeders, the FAQ assured users this feature was to be released Q3 2015. I submitted an inquiry about this, and was not given a timeline for this update, though I specifically mentioned the Q3 2015 promise. Now into at the end of March 2016, the Q3 2015 promise has been removed from the FAQ; the topic only reads: "The capability to host multiple feeders on one account will be available soon." It is disconcerting to a consumer who spent $300+ on these devices that there has not been a public update on this matter, especially when the company is launching a new product.

At the time of purchase, the peace of mind that my cats were fed while I worked and getting sleep instead of meows for meals in the middle of the night outweighed the inconvenience of coordinating multiple devices. However, it has become more and more of a hassle--especially if I need to feed my cats remotely for whatever reason.

OVERALL:

Great concept, but the app desperately needs updates; if multiple devices cannot be controlled by one app, the company should have a responsibility to its customers to address its prior committed timeline. The lack of transparency with this issue leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Otherwise, as long as the app is not glitching and the device is connected to power, it works well enough--but I am sure there are other products with better execution on the market.
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Wonderful in concept, but it has a *major* design flaw that effectively renders it useless for certa
by Product Reviewer (1 out of 5 stars)
March 15, 2016

I've had the SmartFeeder for over one month now, and I am extremely pleased with everything about this product with the exception of one deal-breaking problem: the slope of the bowl. Because the slope of the bowl is too gentle, non-round pet food does not roll down into the bowl and instead gets stuck near the dispenser. If I do not manually pull the food down into the bowl with a utensil or some other long object, the SmartFeeder will jam after a couple of dispensations. I have not had any issues with the phone-unit connectivity or anything else, but this simple design flaw has effectively nullified the convenience of this product due to the shape of the food I feed my cats.

Before purchasing the SmartFeeder, I had tried using the PetSafe 2-Meal Automatic Pet Feeder
, but my cats were quickly able to learn how to open it and so its timer function was worthless. Despite my cats' ingenuity in figuring out how to open the PetSafe 2-Meal Automatic Pet Feeder
, they will not use their paws to pull down the food from the top of the SmartFeeder's bowl for whatever reason.

If Petnet would redesign the SmartFeeder so that it is slightly taller with a steeper slope for the bowl I would gladly pay $150 for another one of these units. I have two cats and initially bought one SmartFeeder with the intent of buying another if the first one worked well, but until Petnet fixes the angle of the bowl I am going hold off on making another purchase. This is a basic design flaw that Petnet should have caught before moving to mass production. As is discussed the video I've uploaded, Petnet needs to increase the angle of the bowl by *at least* 15 degrees in order for it to be compatible with all shapes and sizes of pet food.
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Pretty awesome, with some minor kinks
by R. Larrinaga (4 out of 5 stars)
November 14, 2016

I would've definitely give this a 5 star rating, because i love it! It's been a couple of months and it works fine.

As a new owner, unfamiliar with this device, it took me a few tries to get the setup right. You can tell the setup is designed to be super easy. The base send out a strobing light signal that your phone has to pick up by you placing the phone's screen facing the base.

It's a relatively easy setup, but i failed many times. I later did some research on the Petnet website and read that you cannot have any sort of screen protector on your phone for this to work. I would've had to remove the screen protector and buy a new one. Luckily i have a phone for my job, without a screen protector, so i was able to complete the setup with it.

The App is pretty amazing. When you make a profile for your pet, you can enter your pet's age, weight, and activity level based on the options in the app, and the app will suggest how much food you should feed your pet and how many times a day. You no longer have to worry about portions. Needless to say the ability of programming this is great. My cat no longer wakes me up to eat. She hears the sound of the feeder dispensing food and runs to it at 7:00am.

You can feed your pet an additional time from anywhere as long as you have Wifi or Cell Data to access your app.

The feeder does jam sometimes depending on the food. I feed my cat Blue Wilderness Blue Buffalo dry food, and every once in a while i get a message: "Luna was only fed a partial feeding because there is a jam in your feeder, please clear the jam". All you have to is stick a finger or utensil where the food comes from and it'll clear. If you buy food from a brand that makes smaller bits you'll be fine, i just think the Blue Buffalo stuff is the best in terms of ingredients.

If the servers are down, don't worry, your pet won't starve. If you've scheduled feeding times, they will go on as normal, but you won't have access to the app if you wanted to provide an additional feeding portion.

I hope this helps!
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While this has the potential of being an excellent product, there are two serious design flaws which
by Ray Starbuck (1 out of 5 stars)
January 1, 2017

I'm done with this feeder; it's going in the E-Waste pile!

I have had two of these feeders and both have failed, the second was a warranty replacement. While this has the potential of being an excellent product, there are two serious design flaws which have not been addressed by the manufacturer:
1. The flaps of the transport conveyor belt break off and contaminate your pet's food. I have found pieces of the transport flaps in the piles of barf left by our cat; pieces large enough to cause a bowel obstruction-THIS FEEDER IS NOT SAFE.
2. The angle of the feed tray is way too shallow. Even with the back of the feeder raised 2", it is not steep enough for the kibbles to fall properly into the bowl-IT REGULARLY JAMS.
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AVOID ENDANGERS PET!
by Samantha (1 out of 5 stars)
January 12, 2017

I thought this would be amazing, my cat always stuffs himself and then throws up. I am only home to feed twice a day. Being able to set up 4-6 small feeds a day sounded wonderful! HOWEVER. This product does not work as stated. Half of the feeds show up as not being dispersed, with no explanation. Also last week I noticed that my cat was throwing up pieces of rubber. The rubber did not look familiar from anything we have in the house and my cat doesn't really play with items. Then I found a piece of the same rubber in the petnet bowl. Still a mystery as to where it was coming from. Today I discovered while I was refilling the unit that the apparatus inside that spins in the unit to let the food out is made of the same rubber. SO this item is less than a year old and pieces of the internal unit are coming out in my pets food. I am LIVID that it is falling apart and that it has so many issues and bugs. I have contacted the company for a replacement or my money returned as it has endangered my pet. I will update when they contact me and resolve this with how the experience was.
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Dangerous Product and Horrible Customer Service
by Stef (1 out of 5 stars)
November 21, 2015

Don't buy this product. Don't support this company. Don't waste your time.

What seems like a great idea and an amazing IoT innovation is actually just another example of a startup that let scope creep get the best of them. I purchased a PetNet in August and it worked fantastically for seven months. I told friends about it. I felt okay going on long trips away from home knowing that if all else failed the PetNet had not.

That was until March when suddenly my tiny cat start wheezing and gagging while walking around rather sluggishly. We flew into a panic not sure what was happening until suddenly she coughed up a long piece of black rubber. There aren't a lot of things in the house with rubber and we spent a week trying to figure out where the heck it came from. Then one day my boyfriend discovered more long pieces of rubber in the bowl of the PetNet. We were convinced that it came from their Blue Buffalo food and started sifting through the rest of the bag. It was when we finally cleared the feeder and looked inside that we noticed the wheel that moves food from the funnel to the bowl had chunks of rubber tearing off. Keep in mind the machine was only 7 months old. Not even a year. I barely consider that a trial period given the price tag on the thing. At this point we shut the thing down, took pictures, and immediately contacted the company to let them know.

This is where the customer service proved to be stunningly awful. My first message was sent March 13 and they replied rather quickly asking if I could ship the device back to them and then offered to refund the cost of the machine. This seemed like a perfect solution and I was still willing to maybe consider another one down the road. I promptly shipped the device back and gave them my details. I sent follow-up emails in April, May, and June and was given the runaround the first two months until finally they completely stopped responding. Still no refund, still no action. I also now have no device. From watching their Support Twitter and the reviews on here it seems I am not alone in dealing with their terrible customer service.

Do yourself and your cats a favor and don't bother wasting your money on this product.

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