I received mine a few weeks ago and concur with the problems you pointed out. The AI misidentifies birds and the feeder is too small for larger birds such as blue jays, although the jays have learned to quickly grab peanuts without landing on the feeder. From the beginning I set the camera to face a large platform feeder that is placed right next to the bird buddy. They are each on separate hooks on a double shepherds pole. With this set up, the camera catches activity in the platform feeder when it is recording. This makes it even more entertaining. Like you, I have noticed that the camera does not record all activity. I have watched birds sitting on the feeder for a couple of minutes while eating seeds but the camera does not record them. Thanks for the comprehensive review and confirmation of some of the problems. I agree that the community feed has many misidentified birds. I think that’s because people share with community before confirming that the AI is accurate.
Happy you found this review useful. I like pointing out not only the things something does well but also places that could be improved. My goal is not to get you to buy something, but rather make an informed decision if you want to or not.
I've had this exact model- with the solar charger- for just under two weeks. I have to go the feeder twice a day. I've had to charge it three times, total; the first was before setup. The second time was after about five days on the regular/ middle setting. This last time was ate the days on their photo frenzy setting and after charging the camera for 24 hours, it's only taken 34% charge. I used two separate chargers (the one that came with the feeder and Wyeth that didn't work, I switched to my brand new factory Samsung charger)... I'm still stuck with 34% charge, the light is green, and when I tried to test the livestream, it didn't work. I have another camera feeder from a different company that works great, has wider wifi range, true HD, and IDs birds, pets, cars, humans, et. al. I'm kind of disappointed since Bird Buddy was twice the price of my feeder that works. 😕
As much as I loved the concept, the battery took quite a long time to charge. Customer service is by email. In the end I WAS TOLD MY WI-FI WAS NOT COMPATIBLE. THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN STATED IN THE DIRECTIONS ONLINE. THIS BIRD HOUSE WITH THE SOLAR SUN ROOF WAS $269.00. I was able to send it back, many steps to follow. Too many kinks to iron out.
I can't see how this would not be compatible with your wifi. I can see that your signal might not be strong enough to reach where you want to have put the feeder but... This is one of the first smart feeders that came out. They really do focus on the Brid side of the feeder lots of good info there but the tech could use a v2 to get their hardware on point. There are some other options out there. I have a second option on my Chanelle if you are still thinking about a smart bird feeder.
Any advice on how to charge the camera. The cord provided does not fit Apple or android adapters. No adapter is provided with the unit. This should be the easiest step, but I have no way or charging it.
The cable to charge it is a USB C type cable. You would either need a wall charger that is USB c to USB c or USB c to USB. What this means you should be able to use the cable that came with this and charge if from the USB port on your computer.
@@Wanderer001_Reviews Thanks, I am currently doing that. Still getting a flashing blue light and not the flashing red. I’m stumped. I even tried my Bose speaker adapter to plug in . It fit, but no flashing red light. This is making me feel really dumb.
@@jenlaird7197 It is possible that they have changed the lighting colors. My unit was an early baker unit. I would try just leaving it plugged in for 5hrs or so and see what things look like after that.
You would not get all of the smart features that this has without wifi or the app. At that point it would just be a trail cam, which you might be able to fit on a bird feeder, but you would not get the images or information in real time.
I received mine a few weeks ago and concur with the problems you pointed out. The AI misidentifies birds and the feeder is too small for larger birds such as blue jays, although the jays have learned to quickly grab peanuts without landing on the feeder. From the beginning I set the camera to face a large platform feeder that is placed right next to the bird buddy. They are each on separate hooks on a double shepherds pole. With this set up, the camera catches activity in the platform feeder when it is recording. This makes it even more entertaining. Like you, I have noticed that the camera does not record all activity. I have watched birds sitting on the feeder for a couple of minutes while eating seeds but the camera does not record them.
Thanks for the comprehensive review and confirmation of some of the problems. I agree that the community feed has many misidentified birds. I think that’s because people share with community before confirming that the AI is accurate.
Happy you found this review useful. I like pointing out not only the things something does well but also places that could be improved. My goal is not to get you to buy something, but rather make an informed decision if you want to or not.
What a great review! I couldn't ask for more concise info on this product. Thank you.
Happy it was helpful.
I've had this exact model- with the solar charger- for just under two weeks. I have to go the feeder twice a day. I've had to charge it three times, total; the first was before setup. The second time was after about five days on the regular/ middle setting. This last time was ate the days on their photo frenzy setting and after charging the camera for 24 hours, it's only taken 34% charge. I used two separate chargers (the one that came with the feeder and Wyeth that didn't work, I switched to my brand new factory Samsung charger)... I'm still stuck with 34% charge, the light is green, and when I tried to test the livestream, it didn't work.
I have another camera feeder from a different company that works great, has wider wifi range, true HD, and IDs birds, pets, cars, humans, et. al.
I'm kind of disappointed since Bird Buddy was twice the price of my feeder that works. 😕
As much as I loved the concept, the battery took quite a long time to charge. Customer service is by email. In the end I WAS TOLD MY WI-FI WAS NOT COMPATIBLE. THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN STATED IN THE DIRECTIONS ONLINE. THIS BIRD HOUSE WITH THE SOLAR SUN ROOF WAS $269.00. I was able to send it back, many steps to follow. Too many kinks to iron out.
I can't see how this would not be compatible with your wifi. I can see that your signal might not be strong enough to reach where you want to have put the feeder but... This is one of the first smart feeders that came out. They really do focus on the Brid side of the feeder lots of good info there but the tech could use a v2 to get their hardware on point. There are some other options out there. I have a second option on my Chanelle if you are still thinking about a smart bird feeder.
Any advice on how to charge the camera. The cord provided does not fit Apple or android adapters. No adapter is provided with the unit. This should be the easiest step, but I have no way or charging it.
The cable to charge it is a USB C type cable. You would either need a wall charger that is USB c to USB c or USB c to USB. What this means you should be able to use the cable that came with this and charge if from the USB port on your computer.
@@Wanderer001_Reviews Thanks, I am currently doing that. Still getting a flashing blue light and not the flashing red. I’m stumped. I even tried my Bose speaker adapter to plug in . It fit, but no flashing red light. This is making me feel really dumb.
@@jenlaird7197 It is possible that they have changed the lighting colors. My unit was an early baker unit. I would try just leaving it plugged in for 5hrs or so and see what things look like after that.
@@Wanderer001_Reviews Thanks, I guess it wouldn’t hurt. I hope this company has a customer service number. I haven’t found one in the packaging.
@@jenlaird7197 Looks more like email support only: support.mybirdbuddy.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=11623196618129
They should make one that you do not need a cell-phone or wifi
You would not get all of the smart features that this has without wifi or the app. At that point it would just be a trail cam, which you might be able to fit on a bird feeder, but you would not get the images or information in real time.
@@Wanderer001_Reviews I found one
czcams.com/video/tS63-xaHZNo/video.html