Customer Reviews

PetSafe SmartDoor, Large (up to 100 lbs)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

THE EDITED REVIEW IS UPPER CASE, THE OLD REVIEW LOWER CASE.

This door has given me a frustrating month or so.

THE NEW DOOR INSTALLED EASILY AND WORKS AS ADVERTISED.

First, I replaced a three year old Staywell electronic door that my new 50 lb. puppy destroyed. Staywell electronic doors are very noisy and the electronics weren't consistantly dependable. I called Petsafe (which now owns Staywell) and the service representative suggested the PetSafe electronic door instead because of its superior electronics.

The first door I received didn't mechanically work. PetSafe replaced it promptly, paying for the shipping. The second door also didn't work. It sounded like both had faulty gears that skipped and jammed. PetSafe also replaced the second door. Each involved a 10 day or so wait for the replacement to be shipped to San Diego from Florida.

THE PETSAFE HEAD ENGINEER CALLED ME ABOUT MY NEGATIVE AMAZON REVIEW, AND ASSURED ME THEY WERE CORRECTING ALL THE PROBLEMS IN THESE AMAZON REVIEWS. WHEN THEY HAD A NEW PROTOTYPE, THEY SENT IT TO ME FOR TESTING. HOW'S THAT FOR SERVICE!

The new door works, but has some real problems:

THE NEW-NEW DOOR HAS SOLVED ALL BUT ONE PROBLEM, AS FAR AS I CAN SEE.

- Install has to be very careful so everything is exactly lined up, with the same light even pressure on all eight mounting screws. If things aren't aligned exactly the door jams. I seems to me that the design should be more forgiving or should have channels, guides, and spacers to line things up to insure a pretty foolproof install.

- If the transponder is near the door, the door cycles on and off and on and off. How can my puppy learn to use the door with it being inconsistently open and locked? Dogs like to sleep near the door. The electronics should be programmed so that if the transponder stays near, the door stays open instead of repeatedly cycling.

THIS HASN'T BEEN A PROBLEM WITH THE NEW DOOR. MY ONCE PUPPY IS NOW A DOG, AND HE USUALLY JUST GOES IN AND OUT WITH NO DRAMA EXCEPT ONCE (*SEE THE END OF THIS REVIEW FOR AND EXPLANATION). THE NEW TRANSLUCENT FLAPS DON'T STIMULATE OUR CATS TO TRY TO GET AT LITTLE CRITTERS OUTSIDE.

- The worst problem with the design of the door is that the flapper has to be almost exactly vertical for the door to close, else the flapper jams on the locking ridge. Here in San Diego, we have moderate prevailing coastal winds most afternoons. The pressure from the breeze keeps the flapper from returning to vertical just enough so it jams and doesn't open or properly close. I don't know the solution to that problem. What would somebody do in windy Kansas or the Oregon coast?

THE NEW DOOR HAS AMAZINGLY STRONG MAGNETS THAT HOLD EVEN IN A STIFF BREEZE. I ADDED AN OPTIONAL TWO EXTRA MAGNETS SO MY CAT CAN'T FORCE THE DOOR OPEN EVEN IN "UNLOCKED" MODE, AND SO THE DOOR HAS LESS TENDENCY TO JAM. MY 55 LB. DOG HAS NO PROBLEM OPENING THE DOOR.

This lousy door generously gets two checks because 1) the door is good looking, 2) it's quiet, 3) the people at StayWell have been as helpful as they could possibly be from across the country, and 4) this door would function fine as a non-electronic door, except then there would be no way to keep my two house-cats in or keep wildlife and burglars out. I was a probation office years ago, and several of our young burglars specialized in entering through dog doors.

THE DOOR IS STILL QUIET, GOOD LOOKING, AND I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH GOOD THINGS ABOUT THE PETSAFE PEOPLE.

It seems like our choices to keep the cats in while allowing the dog access are 1) this door, which doesn't work as advertised, 2) the StayWell which is noisy with undependable electronics, 3) buying a vertical slide door from $400 and up which can be lifted open by a smart cat, or 4) opening the patio door when the dog barks to go in or out (it seems about 80 times a day).

I'll try to figure out how to get the door to work with the windows or door open in a breeze, else will try to return it for a refund and get the StayWell non-electronic door instead. The noise alone has the cats terrified. The puppy was afraid of it too, but he can learn.

Please suggest alternatives and solutions in a follow up review. Thanks.

I'M PRETTY HAPPY WITH THIS DOOR NOW, AND SO IS RUSTY, AND MY CATS ARE STILL SAFE INDOORS.

*I'D RATE THIS DOOR THREE STARS INSTEAD OF FIVE STARS BECAUSE IT JAMMED OPEN ONCE WHEN MY DOG JUST POKED HIS HEAD THROUGH IT FOR A LOOK-SEE, AND THEN BACKED AWAY JUST AS THE DOOR WAS CLOSING, JAMMING THE FLAP IN AN UNCENTERED POSITION. IF THIS HAPPENED ONCE THE FIRST DAY, IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN!

TO UNJAM THE FLAP, YOU HAVE TO PRY THE FLAP OFF THE FRAME CENTERING BAR, SWITCH TO UNLOCKED MODE TO CENTER THE DOOR, THEN SWITCH BACK TO AUTOMATIC MODE. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE FLAP JAM SENSOR (WHICH ALREADY EXISTS...IT CAUSES THE YELLOW LIGHT TO FLASH) SHOULD CAUSE THE FLAP TO AUTOMATICALLY REOPEN IF IT'S JAMMED. OR A POSITION SENSOR COULD BE ADDED TO NOT CLOSE THE FLAP UNLESS IT IS CENTERED.

IN SUMMARY, I'D GIVE THIS REDESIGNED DOOR A CONDITIONAL RECOMMENDATION. THE INEVITABILITY OF THE FLAP JAMMING (THOUGH MUCH MORE RARELY THAN BEFORE), AND THE HASSLE IN FREEING A JAMMED FLAP IS AN INCONVENIENCE FOR ME AND RUSTY, BUT COULD BE A SERIOUS PROBLEM FOR PEOPLE NOT HANDY WITH TOOLS AND MACHINERY, OR A DOG "JAMMED" OUTSIDE IN A SUB-ZERO BLIZZARD OR SUNNY 115 DEGREE BACK YARD.

I WISH EVERY COMPANY CARED ABOUT THEIR REPUTATION AND SERVED THEIR CUSTOMERS LIKE PETSAFE HAS WITH ME.

((( 7/19/2008 OUR DOG JUST CHEWED UP HIS SECOND "SMARTKEY". IF YOUR DOG IS A CHEWER, THE SMARTKEY CANNOT HANG LOOSE AT ALL, FROM THE LOOP OF A MARTINGALE COLLAR, OR FROM A METAL RING. DOGS ARE BORED ALL DAY, AND WILL EVENTUALLY GET TO THE PLASTIC KEY IF THEY CAN. WE JUST ORDERED OUR THIRD SMARTKEY, AND I'LL HAVE TO GET A NYLON COLLAR WITH A BUCKLE TO MOUNT THE SMARTKEY RIGHT AGAINST HIS NECK. THIS DOOR HAS BEEN EXTREMELY COSTLY IN TIME, FRUSTRATION, AND MONEY, BUT SHOULD BE BETTER FOR BUYERS NOW. I FEEL LIKE I WAS AN UNPAID MEMBER OF THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM. )))

I too had problems with this door. It didn't always open when it was suppose to. After disassembling the door and figuring out how it was suppose to work, I realized that the switch (a little diode-like thing on the inside of the housing) is suppose to close, completing the circuit, when the door is locked. The switch is activated by a magnet in the locking flap. If the diode switch doesn't close, which happens about 50% of the time, the circuit does not close. If it does not close, it does not reset to accept another signal from your pet when it is ready to come back in or go back out.

This is also the cause of the door getting stuck either partially open or closed. To fix this, I rewired the whole thing and created contacts that actually touch (removed the faulty diode switch). I also added a little weight to the door by placing some washers into the hollow flap and added a stronger magnet at the base of the door housing to quickly bring it into the correct position for locking.

It took about a week of trial and error to figure out how to make it work in a reliable fashion. Now it only occasionally gets messed up (when one of my pets changes their mind and decides to go back through the door while its closing. Even this is easy to reset now because I just use a piece of wire to connect the contacts (which completes the circuit) and I am able to push the "unlock" button (green light) then the "Auto" button (yellow light) which resets it back to its normal functioning position.

You'd think if a stay-at-home retired mom could figure out how to make this door work consistantly, the engineers at PetSafe could at least have done the same or better. This is not a quick, easy fix, but now that I know how to fix it I could improve on my initial repair job. Once fixed, it makes a great door. Racoons, and other animals/pets can't get in and pets you don't want out can't get out...but if you're not mechanically minded and don't want to do an extensive reworking, then as the last reviewer said, you might as well just get use to opening and closing the door for your pet.

I am now on my second PetSafe Electronic SmartDoor. It does not work. Neither did the first one. They are garbage. Read the other two reviews, and just consider this review a "ditto." I am having the exact same problems. The customer service reps are outstanding, and they did send me this new door as a replacement, but a replacement doesn't help me at all if it still won't work! My dog has been stuck inside, stuck outside, and I have spent roughly 16-18 hours mucking around with these things. I am on hold right now with PetSafe and will tell them that I just want my money back.

Based on the reviews that came before me, I never would have tried this door. But while talking with my grown son about the problem of an indoor-outdoor dog and a new indoor-only cat, he mentioned that he had had a large one of these in his garage, unopened, for a year. (That would make it a 2008 or 2009 model.) So he brought it over, and we installed it in about an hour. BUT we used a bullet level to level the housing before we tightened it down. None of the paperwork that came with this door mentioned leveling it, and no other reviewer has so far, either. But if you've ever installed a swinging door of any type, you know how important it is to have it level. It stands to reason that a swinging, electronic door like this isn't going to work right if its canted even a little bit. It took about 15 seconds to level it, and we have had no problems with it after three weeks. Zero. I don't know why the manufacturer doesn't tell you to level the door, but . . . ?

I had been concerned that our cat would try to get out the door right behind the dog, which he actually tried to do the very first time the dog went through it. But we got lucky. The heavy door slid off the dog's back, bopped the cat in the face just as he was coming through the door, and knocked him back into the house. The cat won't go near that door while it's swinging now, and as soon as it stops swinging, it locks. (Well, that changed. See EDIT, below.)

We might investigate putting a stronger magnet in the base so it'll stop swinging sooner, but I'm not sure that's necessary. (That's not the problem anyway.) To those of you who have one of these, my suggestion is to get a simple bullet level, loosen the frame screws, level the thing, then tighten them up again. The design of the door is very forgiving of the hole size, so you should have plenty of wiggle-room to level it.

EDIT: Update - We've been using this door for several months now with our indoor-outdoor dog and our indoor-only cat. The door works fine; it does what it's supposed to do. But we've got a cat who's just too smart to use it as we've been doing. After several months, the cat's learned to follow the dog through the door and then veer out of the way so he doesn't get smacked by the door falling off the dog's back. He also learned that it's a good idea to try pushing on the door frequently throughout the day. Often it's locked and the cat gets no where. But after the dog has passed by the door without going through it and it "clicks," the cat can push his way out. So, the cat has learned that it pays to keep trying the door since SOMETIMES he can get out. So, we can't just leave it on yellow-light automatic anymore, we have to leave it on red. Now we let the dog out by manually switching the door to the "green" light, then manually switch it back to "red" once he goes through. It's still better and easier than having to open the whole back door (the cat is always looking for an opportunity to streak through it), especially in the winter when cold air rushes in.

The door looks good. That's it. When it unlocks, it's jammed. It takes a very good deal of force to unlock it. There is no way a dog would be able to open it.

The door does not unlock automatically because the sensor doesn't work. I have 3 Smart Keys for 3 dogs. The door does not see any of them. I'm so mad I'd like to ring someone's neck at PetSafe. This is not a product, it is garbage. I can't send it back because I have a giant hole in my door that only a PetSafe door will fit.

Even if they give me all my money back, I still stand by the 1 star rating. I wish I could give zero stars.

I've had this door installed for about a week. My dog is already doggie door trained. She's a pretty intelligent client. However, even an intelligent dog and an adult human (that has read over and over the instruction manual) can have a hard time figuring out the automatic setting on this door. And I finally figured out why we were having such difficultly- the door only works when it wants to. The sensor isn't nearly powerful enough (on any range setting). My dog is pretty low to the ground and the key only seems to work when I point it directly at the door. Needless to say, I haven't quite trained my dog to turn and position the key just right in relation to the door- lacking thumbs and all, it would be kind of difficult for her.

Also when it does register, the door only stays unlocked for a few seconds before it locks again and resets. So if you're dog doesn't make it out of the door in time, they have to stand there for 10 seconds until the door registers the key again. I've tried to explain this to my dog, but I don't think she gets it. She just scratches on the door and when it doesn't open, pisses on the carpet.

If your dog does manage to point the key at the right angle and moves fast enough to get out of the door before it closes- the door can still get stuck in the open position. If the door is open when it attempts to lock it just freezes where ever it happens to be. Letting my cats out and defeating the purpose of having an automatic dog door in the first place. If I didn't care what animals got in or out of my house I would have bought a cheap flappy door or cut a random hole in the wall for free.

In my opinion, PetSafe has to step it up before anyone else bothers to install this door. Just house train your dog, pay a pet sitter, take your dog to work with you, or just don`t get a dog at all. All of these options are better than buying this door.

PetSafe: Just because your's is the only product on the market doesn't give you the right to suck.

First, let me explain why some people love this and others have had problems. There is an older model and a new, improved model. They look almost identical but there are two easy to spot differences: the old one has a clear flap and a knob for "range" while the new model has a frosted flap and a flush dial for "sensitivity." I ordered and installed the new model in October in one home and it works flawlessly as further described below. In February I ordered another for our other home but received the older model. After installation it jammed several times in the first couple of days. The problem with the older model is that the flap takes too long to settle after the dog passes through it and it locks too quickly. If the locking motion is activated before the flap stops flapping it is likely to jam. The new improved model has more and stronger magnets to settle the flap quickly and there is a longer (8 second) delay before it locks so it has never jammed on us. I called the manufacturer to tell them of the trouble we were having with the old model and how much better our experience with the new model was. They answered the phone quickly, immediately understood what I was talking about and promptly shipped me the new model as a replacement at no cost even enclosing a prepaid label to return the old model to them. Positively excellent customer service! The frosted flap is a nice improvement as well since it doesn't show nose prints like the clear one.

I installed both PetSafe Smart Doors using the optional wall tunnel kit as I placed these in walls rather than doors. Installation is straightforward and cutting the hole in the exterior wall was the most time consuming part as it's real stucco & lath. TIP: use a diamond cutoff wheel in an angle grinder to cut the stucco. Once the hole was cut the rest of the installation took less than 30 minutes. The other house is wood and it took only a few minutes to cut the exterior hole with a Sawzall.

A nice feature of this unit is the solid plastic flap rather than the flexible flaps on others that need regular replacement. The hard plastic flap should last the life of the product but is replaceable if ever needed. The locking feature is the strong point of this unit as only the pets wearing a pendant can enter the door. Other critters such as stray cats, rodents and squirrels can't get in.

Training the dog was fairly easy. To make sure the dog fit through the door before I installed it, I held the flap open and held a treat in my hand and let him follow my hand as I pulled it through the opening. After a little encouragement he was comfortable walking through the door. Once it was installed my wife and I sat on opposite sides of the door and called him with treats ready. We held it open the first few times and then let him push it open himself. We left the door unlocked and after 10 minutes he was running in and out like it wasn't even there. Then we activated the lock so the pendant would unlock it when he approached the door. Depending on how fast the dog is he may get to the door before it's unlocked which it does with a distinct snapping sound. At first the sound startled him but after lightly bumping his head into the locked door a few times (quite funny to watch!), he quickly learned that the snap means it's OK to proceed so he waits for it and tests it with his paw before going through.
At night we remove his collar to keep him inside. He's taken it to it so well that even when the "people door" is open he prefers to use his private entrance.
Our dog is a 16 pound Shih Tzu and, as long as he doesn't get any bigger, the small size unit is perfect. If you're going to place this in a wall you could frame the tunnel yourself but the custom fit one offered will provide much better weather protection and a better looking and more pet friendly entrance.

My first petsafe door was a disaster. It jammed all the time then finally quit. They sent me a new one, which I installed, and it works great. The dog can get in and out, but the cats can't. I've had it two weeks now and it hasn't jammed once. For anyone getting one, I really recommend the extra magnets - they seem to help quite a bit.

We purchase a Pet Safe Smart door for our 2 Puggles. After installing the door and programming the Fobs, we attached the Fobs to the dogs collars. Within 5 minutes the pups had the fobs apart and the batteries in their mouths. This is very dangerous and can cause severe injury to your pet. We had to remove the fobs and let door swing with no electronics. The fobs are poorly designed for multiple dog homes and open easily. The only alternative is to glue the fob and purchase a new fob when the battery wears out. My wife works at a large Pet retailer and they are suggesting customers not buy this product if they have more than one dog.

I'm sure it is great if you have a dainty dog that easily meanders through this door, but I have two big 70+ lb dogs that will RUN through the door. If it gets swinging fast, the door itself will snap out of place and eventually fall off. It wouldn't be a huge deal if it was truly IMPOSSIBLE to put the door back into place (they thread it at the top VERY carefully). Anyway, we tried it twice (returned the first one) and the same exact thing happened with the second one. Would not recommend this product.