Houzetek Automatic Pet Feeder Dog Dispenser, Cat Food Dispenser with Voice Recording, Features Distribution Alarms, Portion Control and Timer Programmable, Wi-Fi Enabled App for Smartphone

Update 09-16-2019...The app that was at fault (Pet Partner) was quietly updated to version 1.6H. Problem is the Google App store for Android has yet to offer this update as of this writing. You have to browse directly to the publisher's website and download the .APK file there. Then you have to override the security warnings on your android device to install. However it does work now, though you still might get a false-fail warning regarding the local Wi-Fi connection. In this case, just have the app scan for installed feeders and continue from there.Upgraded to 3 stars because it now works, and leaving 2 stars off for the abysmal and deceptive communication from both hardware & software manufacturers. I only found this fix by routinely checking for updates after a month of non-responsiveness. I got it just in time for my feeder to start working the day my new replacement unit (from another Mfg.) arrived from Amazon ;(Original prior review...---------------------------Ok, when I first set this thing up, it was wonderful. The app setup is buggy but after a couple of tries I got it working. As a widower living alone, it's more then just nice to check up on my pets while away from home. Then around the last week of August 2019 the app stopped forwarding my connection over the internet. So, the only way I can control the unit or see my pets is if I'm at home on my local Wifi Router. Connecting anywhere outside that local network fails to log in. Worse, the company's tech support refuses to acknowledge the problem. There response is "send us a photo of the problem".... What part of your "IP forwarding server is down" do you not understand?? I was going to give it 3 *** but now the connectivity abilities has actually caused the unit to miss programmed feedings. That is unacceptable...

So here's the thing. I like this device. It mostly works well. My wifi is pretty reliable so I haven't had many issues with it staying connected and the back up scheduler works when it does get disconnected. So I feed my cats dry food in the mornings and dish up their wet food in the evenings after work. I bought this bc occasionally, I need to work late or need to be away from home, unplanned, at feeding time. I wanted to be able to activate this thing remotely to feed them in those instances. The description online and some of the reviews indicated that this was possible with this feeder. BUT THERE IS NO CLOUD ACCESS/APP FOR OPERATING THE FEEDER REMOTELY. It only works if you are connected to the same wifi as the feeder, i.e. if I'm at home with the cats! Likewise with the camera and audio features. I can't see my cats eat or talk to them remotely and it's not much use to use the audio/camera from another room in the house! Another issue is that about 20% of the time, it feeds them less than the programmed amount of food. You program it to feed them a number of "units" based on food weight. My cats get 13 units to equal about 2/3 cup in the mornings at 5:30 am. When I come down to the kitchen between 6:30 and 9:00am, I've found that I have to check the app notification to see how many units of food it actually dispensed. e.g. 9, 10, etc. And then I use the app to do a manual feed of the 4-5 missing units. Not super helpful. Because of these frequent errors and not being able to monitor remotely, I still have to pay a neighborhood kid to come and check on them and do the evening feedings if I'm going to be gone overnight. So basically, this thing does not do what I bought it for. Wish I had returned it, but I waited too long.

This feeder is amazing. It's not only inexpensive which to be honest, I still think it's a mistake but anyway. The app works great just make sure you go to their website petpartnerhelp(dot)com and download the app from there to the latest version which should be 1.6. It is a much smoother app that works like it should unlike the one in the app store.This thing is automatic, you can manually feed, you can record, you can snap photos, you can talk to your animals, it's got night vision, it has an SD card slot for extra storage. The best part is that our cats can't stick their paw in the opening to steal food cuz our 1 cat is getting pretty hefty.

We finally got an automatic food dispenser for our two cats. This food dispenser has very good build quality. The instruction was easy to understand. The food bowl has big capacity that I don’t need to fill the bowl too often. We like the app that we can feed my cats thru phone, especially when I ran late for work in the morning or stay late at work in the evening.

I sent it back. It only works on local network, NOT from outside. So what exactly is the point? If I'm home it really doesn't take too much effort to feed my cats myself. Customer support is worse than useless as they don't even understand the question. Keep blubbering about 2.5GHz wifi... I was actually able to get a video feed from the camera, but you have to forward port 80 on your router to do that and it's a huge security issue. Besides, this is all you can do - see the video. The feeder mechanism itself is not accessible, at least not through http. In short - nice toy, but useless if you want to access it remotely.

We love our kitty feeder. We use it primarily for our two kitties breakfast or if we’re running behind and won’t make it in time for their regular meal time! This is great for on the go pet parents & I recommend it to all of my friends. The machine is very sturdy and stays locked tight. No kitty break ins happening with this baby. The camera is awesome too. Very good quality and doubles as a way to keep an eye on your house while you’re gone. When we’re out of town we can set scheduled meal times, communicate with our fur babies and watch the house! The removable tray makes it easy to keep things clean. The feeder also alerts you when the food runs low, runs out, or if for whatever reason didn’t dispense. It’s truly an awesome machine and it has helped us quite a bit! Great price too!

Ok I got this feeder in the end of March 2019...worked great then at end of may it stopped working.... I contacted customer support tried to fix it... sent me a replacement out in a week.