Petlibro Outage Sparks Conflicting Reports About Offline Feedings
Despite Petlibro’s service update, some Reddit users reported that their smart pet feeders were still experiencing problems as of the morning of the outage. One user report described continued issues with the feeder and its connected app.
Several customer reports also appear to contradict Petlibro’s claims about offline functionality. As reported by The Verge, users said their devices failed to complete scheduled feedings, completed only some feedings, or delivered meals later than expected. Examples include reports posted here, here, here, here, and here.
Petlibro says that at least some of its automatic feeders can continue running scheduled feedings without an internet connection. On its Granary 2 product page, the company states: “If the feeder goes offline, remote control via the app is no longer available, but feeding schedules will continue to run automatically. Granary 2 can also continue to run pet recognition and automatic lid operations directly on the device.”
Petlibro makes a similar claim for its One RFID feeder, stating that “even if a network error occurs, scheduled meals will continue.”
In response to reports that some feeders failed to dispense food while offline, Petlibro spokesperson Wu told The Verge that scheduled feedings are “programmed directly into the device and should continue to run as scheduled without internet commands.” However, the company also said it was “aware of reports from some customers whose devices did not perform as expected” and was reviewing those cases individually.
Because scheduled feedings are designed to be stored on the feeder itself, a firmware or software problem related to the outage may have prevented some devices from operating correctly. Other explanations, including incorrect setup or user error, are also possible.
The Petlibro outage and the conflicting customer experiences highlight the risks of relying on internet-connected devices for essential tasks, including ensuring that pets receive their meals. Some users reported that they did not receive outage notifications and were unaware that their pets had gone without food for several hours.
“I’ve lost trust and don’t have time to find new solutions for future trips. I have people coming to check in, but they can’t come five times a day to give me food,” one Reddit user said.
Connected pet feeder apps can offer remote access, alerts, and additional control when they work properly. However, the Petlibro incident may lead some pet owners to consider simpler automatic feeders, such as the PetSafe Healthy Pet Simply Feed or the Oneisall automatic cat feeder, particularly for situations where reliable meal delivery is more important than smart features.
Source: arstechnica.com