A smart feeder outage left some cats and dogs without scheduled meals

[Skye Jacobs]

A hot potato: Petlibro users reported that pet feeders, fountains, and litter boxes stopped working properly during a service outage that began on Tuesday. For some owners, the problem went beyond losing app access: they said scheduled feedings did not happen.

The company said the issue involved communication between the Petlibro app, its devices, and online servers. Its status page later said service had been fully restored, but users continued to report offline devices and missed feeding schedules after that update.

Petlibro says feeding schedules are stored on the feeder itself, so they should continue to run even when the app cannot reach the device. That is supposed to prevent a cloud outage from interrupting a basic function such as dispensing food.

But many users said that did not happen. Posts from owners of Petlibro RFID, Granary, and Polar feeders described devices remaining offline or failing to dispense food at scheduled times. Several said they were away from home when the issue occurred, leaving them unable to check whether their pets had been fed.

The outage also affected other Petlibro products. Users reported problems with Dockstream fountains, Luma litter boxes, and the company's app. Some could not view device status, while others could not use remote controls.

Feeder still offline, scheduled feedings do NOT work despite company claims
by u/Eilla888 in Petlibro

In a statement to The Verge, Petlibro CEO York Wu said the outage was "related to how the Petlibro app communicates with devices through its online servers."

Wu said Petlibro designs its feeders to store schedules on the device itself, allowing them to continue dispensing food during an internet outage. He said the company is investigating reports that some devices did not operate as intended.

The company said certain remote functions could be unavailable during the outage. Wu added that features that depend on an app connection, including the manual Feed Now button, "may be disrupted."

Feeding Schedules Need to Be Addressed
by u/patnodewf in Petlibro

The incident highlights the difference between a device that can run locally and one that relies on a cloud service for critical functions. A smart feeder may have an onboard schedule, but its owner may still rely on the app to confirm that the device is connected, change a feeding plan or issue an immediate command. When those systems go down simultaneously, owners lose both control and visibility.

Was out of town and did not know about outage until this morning. Petlibro has completely lost my trust.
by u/Intelligent_Leek_285 in Petlibro

Petlibro's status page said it began investigating the disruption on Tuesday morning and later identified a problem affecting app access and responsiveness. The company said it completed recovery work and system validation before declaring services restored on Wednesday evening.

Still, user reports on Thursday suggested the recovery was uneven. One said their feeder was "still offline and not dispensing" after receiving an email saying the problem was fixed. Another said the feeder had reconnected but was still failing to dispense food on schedule.

Petlibro has said it will continue reviewing the incident to determine the cause and identify ways to prevent similar problems.

Permalink to story:

A smart feeder outage left some cats and dogs without scheduled meals

 

[noel24]

It's Your fault, consumers, for buying that always on line crap and teaching companies that they can sell You their disposable garbage in the name of convenience.

 

[Anton Longshot]

It's Your fault, consumers, for buying that always on line crap and teaching companies that they can sell you their disposable garbage in the name of convenience.

I like the irony of "smart" feeders that are exclusively bought by people who aren't.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

Just think of how shitty a person you are if you can't remember to take a few moments of your time to feed your pet and you have to rely on an auto feeder.

I've had to show my kids before, by example, what it would be like if I were to ignore their needs like they were so good at doing for our dog. I'd get home from work and would see the dog's water dish would be empty and the kids would just walk right by it, even if our dog was licking the bottom of a dry bowl. Walk right by it to their rooms.

So, as the kids sat down for dinner and they went to reach for their glass to drink - I took the glasses and dumped out their water. They got mad, complained they were thirsty and I told them toughshit. I explained to them that they ignore our dog when her water dish is empty so I'm returning the favor because they choose to take zero responsibility to help care for the dog. I told them our dog gives us love, affection, entertainment and enjoyment in life. Our job is to reciprocate back by giving her food, water, affection and time.

After that the kids have always made sure her water dish is full and they always ask if she needs to be feed if her food dish is empty. If you want a pet, you need to not be lazy and properly take care of them.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Just think of how shitty a person you are if you can't remember to take a few moments of your time to feed your pet and you have to rely on an auto feeder.

I've had to show my kids before, by example, what it would be like if I were to ignore their needs like they were so good at doing for our dog. I'd get home from work and would see the dog's water dish would be empty and the kids would just walk right by it, even if our dog was licking the bottom of a dry bowl. Walk right by it to their rooms.

So, as the kids sat down for dinner and they went to reach for their glass to drink - I took the glasses and dumped out their water. They got mad, complained they were thirsty and I told them toughshit. I explained to them that they ignore our dog when her water dish is empty so I'm returning the favor because they choose to take zero responsibility to help care for the dog. I told them our dog gives us love, affection, entertainment and enjoyment in life. Our job is to reciprocate back by giving her food, water, affection and time.

After that the kids have always made sure her water dish is full and they always ask if she needs to be feed if her food dish is empty. If you want a pet, you need to not be lazy and properly take care of them.

Some people have these things called "jobs". Crazy concept, I know you're unfamiliar with them, but they take a lot of time, ya know? So unless you have one of the rare ones that's a good place to work, you cant go home in the middle of the day to tend to your pet.

Now a feeder that requires the cloud is rather silly, but let's not pretend like people who want to ensure their pets don't go hungry all day are somehow horrible people.

 

[Axeia]

Just think of how shitty a person you are if you can't remember to take a few moments of your time to feed your pet and you have to rely on an auto feeder.

Or you know, alternatively how thoughtful of a person you are if you want your pet to have a predictable eating schedule.

You might want to have a lie in on the weekend and wake up later and thus not be able to feed your pet at the usual 7 in the morning of workdays.
You might work alternating shifts leading to being home at different times.
You might be on call and be clueless as to when you'll be home at all.
Plenty of reasons as to why one might be unable to be consistent in when they have time to feed their pet.

--

Do wonder how they managed to screw up their own claim of.
"Petlibro says its feeders work without the cloud"
I mean... having a timer planned task on device is how I assume this would work in the first place.
How'd they screw that up? That's literally something you could do yourself as one of your very first microcontroller programming exercises.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Some people have these things called "jobs". Crazy concept, I know you're unfamiliar with them, but they take a lot of time, ya know? So unless you have one of the rare ones that's a good place to work, you cant go home in the middle of the day to tend to your pet.

Now a feeder that requires the cloud is rather silly, but let's not pretend like people who want to ensure their pets don't go hungry all day are somehow horrible people.

- Had a dog when I was younger. He'd get a bowl full of dry food once a day in the evening. When he got old, we poured a little hot water in the bowl to make it easier to eat and digest. He was a happy guy and lived 16 years. It took less than 3 minutes.

It's not a massive time commitment to feed your animals, and I do genuinely believe it helps the animal and human bond a bit if the human is seen providing the food.

Not saying I don't see the value in these types of gadgets for given situations, but sometimes too much automation isn't a great thing.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

Some people have these things called "jobs". Crazy concept, I know you're unfamiliar with them, but they take a lot of time, ya know? So unless you have one of the rare ones that's a good place to work, you cant go home in the middle of the day to tend to your pet.

Now a feeder that requires the cloud is rather silly, but let's not pretend like people who want to ensure their pets don't go hungry all day are somehow horrible people.

I have a job, wife has a job - kids are at school.....

You need to climb off that high horse of yours. You enjoy blasting people every chance you get because you don't like what they say or you believe what you have to say is morally superior. You know nothing of my life and your general assumptions make you look foolish.

Since you seem to need to know; In the morning we make sure the dog has food/water and she's been taken out for a short walk. Get home at the end of our work day, take her out. Make sure her water dish is full. Walk her, play with her and so on. Then we repeat the process the next day.

I stand by what I said in my first post:
Just think of how shitty a person you are if you can't remember to take a few moments of your time to feed your pet and you have to rely on an auto feeder.