Pet owners say smart pet feeder outage led to furry ones going unfed
Pet owners say smart pet feeder outage led to furry ones going unfed
宠物主人称智能喂食器故障导致宠物挨饿
Smart pet-feeder company Petlibro suffered an outage on Tuesday, giving users a harsh reminder of the risks of relying on smart devices. Petlibro makes pet feeders that connect to Wi-Fi and, for setup with Petlibro’s mobile companion app, Bluetooth. Users can set the feeders to automatically dispense food at scheduled times, which is handy for pet care when the owner is out of the home. 智能喂食器公司 Petlibro 周二发生故障，给用户敲响了警钟，提醒人们过度依赖智能设备的风险。Petlibro 生产的喂食器支持 Wi-Fi 连接，并可通过蓝牙与配套的移动应用程序进行设置。用户可以设定喂食器在特定时间自动出粮，这对于主人不在家时的宠物照料非常方便。
In a statement to The Verge, Petlibro CEO York Wu said this week’s outage was “related to how the Petlibro app communicates with devices through its online servers.” Petlibro first acknowledged problems on Tuesday at 5 am PT. It said via a status page that it was “investigating a service disruption affecting the Petlibro app. Some users experienced difficulty accessing the app or controlling devices remotely.” 在给 The Verge 的一份声明中，Petlibro 首席执行官 York Wu 表示，本周的故障“与 Petlibro 应用程序通过在线服务器与设备通信的方式有关”。Petlibro 于太平洋时间周二凌晨 5 点首次承认了该问题。该公司通过状态页面表示，正在“调查影响 Petlibro 应用程序的服务中断问题。部分用户在访问应用程序或远程控制设备时遇到了困难。”
At 7 pm PT on Tuesday, Petlibro said it “identified a service issue affecting app access and responsiveness for some users” and “began recovery work and system validation.” Petlibro claims that as of 7 pm PT on Wednesday, “app services have been fully restored and are operating normally.” 太平洋时间周二晚上 7 点，Petlibro 表示已“查明了影响部分用户访问和响应速度的服务问题”，并“开始了恢复工作和系统验证”。Petlibro 声称，截至太平洋时间周三晚上 7 点，“应用程序服务已完全恢复并正常运行。”
“After several hours of monitoring and a full cycle of routine performance, we are confident that the service disruption has been resolved. Our team will continue reviewing the incident over the coming days to better understand the cause and identify improvements to help prevent similar disruptions in the future,” the support page reads. The page also notes that previously saved schedules should run, but “some activity data may be unavailable,” adding: Certain records generated during the disruption may not be recoverable, including some device operation history, feeding or litter box records, notifications, cloud-stored videos, and highlight videos. 支持页面写道：“经过数小时的监控和完整的例行性能周期，我们确信服务中断问题已得到解决。我们的团队将在未来几天继续审查此次事件，以更好地了解原因并确定改进措施，从而防止未来发生类似的中断。”该页面还指出，之前保存的计划应该会继续运行，但“部分活动数据可能无法查看”，并补充道：故障期间产生的部分记录可能无法恢复，包括部分设备操作历史、喂食或猫砂盆记录、通知、云端存储的视频以及精彩片段视频。
Wu told The Verge that features requiring an app connection to work, such as the app’s “Feed Now” button, may still be disrupted. Wu 告诉 The Verge，需要应用程序连接才能使用的功能（例如应用程序中的“立即喂食”按钮）可能仍会受到干扰。
Conflicting reports
相互矛盾的报告
Despite Petlibro’s status update, some Reddit users said they were still experiencing problems as of this morning. Some user reports have also conflicted with Petlibro’s claims about offline functionality. As The Verge pointed out, various users online claimed that during the outage, their devices did not perform any scheduled feedings, performed some feedings but not others, or performed feedings late. 尽管 Petlibro 发布了状态更新，但一些 Reddit 用户表示，截至今天上午，他们仍遇到问题。一些用户的反馈也与 Petlibro 关于离线功能的说法相矛盾。正如 The Verge 指出的那样，多名在线用户声称，在故障期间，他们的设备没有执行任何预定喂食，或者只执行了部分喂食，又或者喂食时间延迟。
Petlibro claims that at least some of its feeders can perform scheduled feedings offline. The Granary 2’s page, for example, says, “If the feeder goes offline, remote control through the app will be unavailable, but feeding schedules will continue to run automatically. Granary 2 can also continue performing pet recognition and automatic lid operation directly on the device.” And Petlibro’s page for the One RFID feeder says, “Scheduled meals continue even during network errors.” Petlibro 声称，至少其部分喂食器可以在离线状态下执行预定喂食。例如，Granary 2 的页面显示：“如果喂食器离线，通过应用程序进行的远程控制将不可用，但喂食计划将继续自动运行。Granary 2 还可以直接在设备上继续执行宠物识别和自动开盖操作。”而 Petlibro 的 One RFID 喂食器页面则写道：“即使在网络错误期间，预定餐食也会继续进行。”
In response to claims that feeders did not perform scheduled feedings while offline, Wu told The Verge that scheduled feedings “are programmed directly onto the device and should continue to run as scheduled without an Internet command,” but Petlibro is “aware of reports from some customers whose devices did not behave as expected, and we are reviewing those cases individually.” 针对喂食器在离线时未执行预定喂食的说法，Wu 向 The Verge 表示，预定喂食“直接编程在设备上，无需互联网指令也应按计划继续运行”，但 Petlibro “已获悉部分客户的设备未按预期运行的报告，我们正在逐一审查这些案例。”
Considering that scheduled feedings are supposed to be stored on devices, it’s possible that a firmware or software problem triggered by the outage prevented the devices from operating as expected. There are other possibilities, like user error, too. The incident and conflicting user experiences highlight some of the challenges of relying on smart devices for critical tasks, like ensuring a furry loved one gets food. 考虑到预定喂食本应存储在设备上，故障引发的固件或软件问题可能导致设备未能按预期运行。当然，也存在其他可能性，例如用户操作失误。此次事件和用户反馈的矛盾凸显了依赖智能设备处理关键任务（如确保宠物获得食物）所面临的挑战。
Some users online reported not receiving an email about the outage and being unaware that their pet was not fed for hours. “I’ve lost trust and don’t have time to find a new solution for upcoming travel. I have someone coming for check-ins, but they can’t come in 5 times every day to give food,” a Reddit user said. Although companion apps, when they work, can provide remote access and more control options, Petlibro’s situation can make dumb automatic feeders look smart. 一些在线用户报告称没有收到关于故障的电子邮件，因此不知道他们的宠物已经几个小时没有进食了。“我失去了信任，也没有时间在即将到来的旅行前找到新的解决方案。我请了人来照看，但他们不可能每天来 5 次喂食，”一位 Reddit 用户说道。尽管配套应用程序在正常工作时可以提供远程访问和更多的控制选项，但 Petlibro 的这次事件可能会让人们觉得，传统的“笨”自动喂食器反而更可靠。