u/expellyamos

I'm trying to compile a comprehensive list of customer-reported issues with the Litter Robot 5 and 5 Pro product lines.

If you love your Litter Robot 5 or 5 Pro and don't have any issues with them, that's great. I'm happy for you. But this post isn't for you.

If you have issues with your Litter Robot 3 or 4, I'm very sorry to hear that, but this post isn't for you either.

If you've had issues with Litter Robot 5 or 5 Pro, please share them below. Here are some examples of common issues and concerns that have already been reported:

-Advertised features are either not working as expected (WasteID) or not available yet (globe camera recordings), leading customers to feel like they are beta testers

-Data that was previously available for free (e.g. historical weight trends and visit duration) have been locked behind Whisker+ subscription paywall

-Litter Robot 5 Pro owners need paid Whisker+ subscription to utilize integrated hardware (e.g. cat facial recognition and globe camera recordings)

-Whisker advertised that non-Whisker+ subscribers would receive 2 free days of camera recordings, but then nixed that for interior globe recordings, which will require a paid Whisker+ subscription to view at all

-Cat identification is unreliable

-Privacy concerns about camera facing into home that records audio and video, can be viewed by Whisker and shared with 3rd parties, with no opt-out

-Integrated USB-C port on both Litter Robot 5 and Litter Robot 5 Pro were disabled without warning or reason

-Firmware updates that can take hours or days to complete and can brick units if interrupted

-Clunky and unintuitive app interface

-Robots failing to record visits

-Litter level and waste level sensors unreliable

-Manufacturer's warranty coverage slipping away while common issues have yet to be fixed and expected features have yet to be released

Why did they tell us that we'd get 2 free days worth of recordings, only to turn around much later and say that actually, the only way to get globe recordings is with Whisker+?

If you need Whisker+ to use the camera facial recognition, and you need Whisker+ to view the recordings, why didn't they just tell customers from the outset that it's pointless to buy the 5 Pro unless you subscribe to Whisker+?

I feel like I was deceived into buying this product based on a false promise

I'm not really sure what to believe anymore. Another user here posted their conversation with Whisker CEO Jacob Zuppke aka u/catpoopman which seemed to indicate that the globe recordings would be entirely paywalled behind Whisker+. But I just got off the phone with customer support who told me that we will still be getting 2 free days of recordings when the globe camera recordings are enabled. Did they change their minds, or did I get bad information?