The Aqara Pet Feeder C1 - Get Your Pets in on The Smart Home Experience!

[@Bikepacking]

Did they ever add it to HomeKit

[@homekitnews]

No, as there’s still no pet feeder category in either HomeKit or Matter. Still, if you create scenes in the Aqara app involving the Pet Feeder, you can get those scenes exposed to Apple Home, thereby allowing it to be used in Apple Home automations.

[@Bikepacking]

@ thanks building a home now going have all home kit and thread first home automation i built since 1999

[@homekitnews]

@Bikepacking if you ever need any help or advice, feel free to ask.

[@Bikepacking]

@ the main thing trying to find the best thread light switch’s and out door camera that work with home kit

[@homekitnews]

@@Bikepacking If you're in the US, the Inovelli switches seem to be highly praised right now. Eve also make Matter over Thread smart switches for the US and EU. As for an outdoor camera, I suggest you wait for the Aqara G5, which will likely drop either in late December, or more likely January 2025.

[@myHomeKithome]

OK, OK. I don’t know who needs this more… Me or Bruno. This is going to make a great Christmas gift for him!

[@homekitnews]

You’d probably need to set it on a stool, as if I remember right, your dog is at least medium sized. That’s what we do just to stop any potential neck strain for our dog.

[@myHomeKithome]

@@homekitnews he seems to be growing infinitely. He’s been growing more and more mischievous as well. I fear he would destroy this device.

[@barnabasnagy]

Has anyone tested the Aquara Pet Feeder with Sonoff Zigbee Bridge, flashed with Tasmota firmware? Thank you for your help! :)

[@GeorgeTombras]

Same question here!

[@homekitnews]

If you’re hoping it’ll expose the Pet Feeder to HomeKit, bear in mind that Pet Feeders are not yet a supported category in either HomeKit or Matter.

[@Bammaaa1]

Is there a way for me to receive a notification when my pet has been fed?

[@homekitnews]

Yes, you can set up an automation in the Aqara app that will send you a text notification every time food has been dispensed.

[@Bammaaa1]

@ thank you. I have tried to turn that feature on in the app but have not been successful. Are there online instructions for this?

[@homekitnews]

I’ll put a short guide together as to how to do it, and post it here as a subsequent reply. Give me a bit of time.

[@Bammaaa1]

@@homekitnews that will be so helpful. Thank you.

[@homekitnews]

Ok, so in the Aqara app, select the ‘Automations’ tab, and click the + icon. In the ‘IF’ section tap on ‘add’ and from the accessory list, select your pet feeder. Select ‘feed event’ (it’s the only option). In the ‘THEN’ section, tap ‘add’ and select ‘push notification’. Select ‘customise notification’ and add the wording you want to be notified with in the box below. Click ‘done’ then ‘ok’, then click ‘Save’ which will ask you to name the automation, and it’s done. Now every time the food is dispensed, you’ll get a custom notification.

[@Bammaaa1]

I am having my e1 hub. It was connected and working but went offline. I have starlink and who knows what happened. I am unable to connect the hub again. It keeps giving the error that it can find my WiFi. Do you have any instructions for this. I’ve tried everything I can think of to fix this but nothing.

[@homekitnews]

@@Bammaaa1 you may have to try resetting the E1 hub.

[@Boatmoose]

Thank you so much. Very formative video.

[@camrws]

u keep saying it’s siri shortcut enabled. does this mean i can have a shortcut control the dispenser without having to use my voice at all? say, on my home screen put a shortcut button that i can click to dispense?

[@camrws]

also have u had any issues with it jamming or is it consistent at dispensing

[@homekitnews]

Yes, you can create a Shortcut button on your screen to do what you want to achieve with the C1.

[@homekitnews]

I had one issue where it got stuck, but this was due to using the large biscuits I show in the video that are slightly larger than is recommended.

[@whennn]

So if we use Aqara switch, then a button can be assigned to provide food for the pet? Also, can that button action can be control with Siri ?

[@homekitnews]

Yes, you can use an Aqara button to trigger a scene for the pet feeder to push out a portion of food. You can’t control buttons with voice, as they are control devices themselves.

[@fluxcapacitor]

6:52 common mistake. The scientific literature about this tends to show that raised feeders actually increase the risk of GDV (gastric dilatation volvulus) or bloat. And the bigger the dog, the greater the risk.

[@homekitnews]

Thanks for the information, I’ll make sure to take action on this.

[@hoppy6250]

Stupid question but other than the pet eating what stops it just constantly filling up with food? My dog eats when he wants to when the feeding machine says so 😂

[@homekitnews]

You create schedules for when you want the food to be issued. The pet would have no control over this. I guess you could set up an automation involving the Aqara G3 that would detect if the dog doesn’t go to the bowl, and then have it cancel the next meal.

[@christophercrowley7574]

Can this be battery powered Simon ?

[@homekitnews]

Yes, it has a compartment for three D size batteries. I’m not sure how long it would last on battery power alone, but I think I read 2 months based on 1 meal a day, so maybe 3 weeks on 3 meals a day, perhaps.

[@christophercrowley7574]

Sorry to hear about your beagle

[@homekitnews]

Thank you. He was very old for a Beagle (16), and he’d had a tough life in a testing laboratory before he came to us, so all in all he did very well. I miss him every day though.

[@Polkster13]

Very good and thorough review. I have cats and when we are away for a few days, this would be great to feed them at regular times instead of putting out huge amounts of food. We do have neighbors that stop in and check up on them but I would feel better knowing they are getting food dispensed several times a day.

[@homekitnews]

This device is definitely more aimed at cats, so I think it would be of great use. It helps me ensure my dog has regular meal portions - not that he needs to lose weight, but it’s useful to know he gets the right portions, regardless.

[@mvevitsis]

This is way too big