PETLIBRO Automatic Cat Feeder, Automatic Dog Food Dispenser with Freshness Preservation, Timed Pet Feeders for Dry Food, Up to 50 Portions 6 Meals Per Day, Granary Black

I was hesitant to buy this based some of the negative reviews but so far, I'm very happy with this feeder! I've done a few tests to rule out the issues that some people have reported and I'm happy to report that I haven't experience any issues in my case.At first, setting up the network and installing software update would fail over and over. What is odd is once I walked away from the unit, about 10 feet, it connected to Wi-Fi instantly, and software also updated instantly. Somehow the cell phone in-hand interferes with the unit connecting to the Wi-Fi signal. I wish I had known this from the start.I was concerned that my router is in the basement on the other side of the house. I was able to connect to 2.4 Ghz Wi-Fi and the signal has never dropped so far. I have 5 Ghz as well but the router is too far away and there's too many walls for a stable connection. Besides 5 Ghz is over kill, video streaming works fine on 2.4 Ghz and signal travels farther and works better through walls.I have an AC timer connected to my router and ONT to cut power to both at 4:30am every morning for 30 minutes. This simulates a power outage and the Petlibro reconnects every single time no issues.I tested the backup battery by disconnecting the power adaptor and the unit continued to dispense as per schedule with the 3 D-cell batteries! However, it disconnects from Wi-Fi when running on batteries. This was probably by design to conserve battery. Disappointed as I like to see the food in the bowl and option to manually feed for peace of mind! I found an easy and cheap workaround that maintains Wi-Fi connection on battery power. I connected a cheap $20 4000mah portable USB battery, that is used to charge cell phones, into the USB port and then I plugged a USB phone charger into that battery. The battery is charged and powers the unit at the same time. Not all USB battery packs have this pass-through feature, and I was surprised that this small cheap power pack did. I chose to use a higher quality charger instead of the included charger as I noticed that the included power pack got a little hot when charging this USB battery. I then disconnected the charger from the wall outlet to simulate a power outage and the unit disconnected from the Wi-Fi for only 15 seconds but then reconnected. It's fully functional running on the USB power pack, stayed connected to Wi-Fi and enough power to run for 6 hours! An even larger USB battery will last at least 12-24 hours longer. Keep in mind this is only helpful if your Router & ONT are also on battery-backup/UPS so they are powered during a power outage. I have the smallest APC UPS for the router and ONT that cost $69. Also, the D-batteries are not even used until this USB battery pack is depleted! So technically my current setup will continue feeding per schedule for about 24 hours using both batteries. The unit apparently doesn't draw a lot of power, so I wonder why Petlibro doesn't allow Wi-Fi on the D-batteries or include a rechargeable battery instead of 3 D-batteries. D batteries are not cheap, they will lose power over time and are sold in packs of four, so I have a single battery left over. My USB battery is always 100% charged and ready to go so I prefer this setup.So far, the portion size is consistent and zero blockages. Then again, I am using very small kibble and set to 1 portion for 6 feedings. I need to dispense the smallest portion and feed more often as my cat throws up if he eats too fast or too much. This unit is great as my cat hasn't thrown up at all since, I bought this unit! I wish I could select an even smaller portion. Portion size is bigger when using small kibble.An added benefit of the motion activated camera is that it's also activated when my cat is drinking from the water fountain 12 feet in front of the feeder. I never see my cat drinking water and now I have proof. lolI have not confirmed yet that the low-food alert works but I will update the review if there are any issues.Some users have complained that you can't delete a scheduled feeding. Swipe left and it gives you an option to delete a scheduled feeding.So far, I agree with everything that is being said in the positive reviews and luckily not experiencing the issues in the negative reviews.

So I felt the need to write a review for this feeder after an incident the other night. We have been dealing with raccoons for a little bit now, and the other night takes the cake. I had the plastic bowl part screwed into the floor of the cat house, and these two managed to dislodge the silo. Went back and watched on the camera, and after that, they proceeded to pull it outside of the cat house, yanked the power cable out, roll it around on the stone walkway trying to open it, and then dragged it 40 yards through the wet grass and garden to the tree line. It's beat up now, BUT IT STILL WORKS!! And they were never able to open it. Highly recommend for sturdyness.

This automatic feeder was originally purchased because we had a trip out of town for the weekend and we just got our cats from a rescue. I would highly recommend this for people with one to two cats most times cats don’t like to eat the same bowl, but my cats are pretty chill and will share or just come down at different times.ProseAssembly was pretty straightforward and easy the food I buy really works with the distribution during the lot at times they have a total of seven times a day that they can be fed and you can portion out those feedings differently for each time. I try to give my cats wet food in the morning, but allow them to eat throughout the day with four other feedings until midnight. I like the amount of food it can hold as well as the sounds you can program in. I also like that has a working digital clock and it has a freshness packet at the top so the food doesn’t get stale. I replaced my large manual feeder with this one just so I could keep the food fresh whenever they eat, I like the color I like the design. I think it’s very sleek and modern. I’m really happy with this purchase. The user manual is very informative and well written. Because of the material it’s made out of it stays pretty clean. My cats are a little messy and like to pull the food out of the bowl so there’s lots of little bits around, but that’s just my cats.ConsThe only con I would have to say is there should be a sensor that sounds some sort of alarm when it’s run out of food. The portion controls are not expounded upon in the user manual. I wasn’t sure what zero one was versus 10 was the bowl is not large enough to have a lot of portions, overflowing it And it seems the food comes out in seconds so if you put it on one second it will drop food for one second if you put it on, it will be the equivalent of counting to 10 and allowing the food to fall into the bowl. I suggest this for one to two cats only because if your cats are like mine, they will share, but I’m not sure what you would do. If you had more than two cats would they be intelligent enough to one eat at 12 and another one eat at 1 o’clock, I don’t know Especially if you have different dietary needs for each of your cats. I would be sure to make sure this is a fit or maybe they have a different version of this automatic feeder where the bowl is maybe oblong and will allow two cats to eat at a trough. I don’t know. Lastly, I do wish the Cord was a little bit longer. It does have a slot for batteries, but I don’t want to forget to change them so I keep mine plugged in and luckily there is a plug in my pantry.Overall, would purchase again 10 out of 10 and might make a really good gift for the cat person in your life.

I highly recommend this product. I have had zero problems with it since purchase which includes being away for 1 week. I was able to manually feed my cat and have an auto feed schedule that never missed a feeding, I love the motion detector, this allowed me to see my cat while i was away. I felt so relieved that my cat was getting her feedings as I planned. To assure no clogging of feeder, be sure to follow recommended kibble size . I also had to try various feeding amounts until I found the one for my cat. I LOVE the manual feed option, If you plan on using this to feed your pet while away, I suggest using it for 1 to 2 weeks before leaving to allow your pet and yourself to become familiar with the feeder and its options.