Comments on: WiFi Fence First Look

By: Amy

Amy — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:27:43 +0000

Im reading all these post and is wondering if I should buy this system or not. We live on a farm and of course we have a metal barn back behind the house and is wondering if that will interfere with the wifi. My second concern is my dog is a small dog. just at about 10 lbs..is it safe for him? please help!

ADMIN – Hi Amy,

You will get interference around the metal barn. Also I think the collar is going to be much too big and heavy for a 10lb dog, our sense is you really want to avoid putting this on any dog under 20lbs.

It does not sound like a great fit for your pup or property. A much better choice woudl be a PetSafe Little Dog wired system.

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:22:24 +0000

Most of these reviews are from July. I was wondering if the unit has been improved since then. I have a 100 lb. German Shepard. We have about 5 acres on a lake. Wondering if she can go in the water with it on. We also have a couple of buildings on the property so I imagine that is going to affect the signal???

ADMIN – Hi Cheryl,

You can see some more recent reviews on the main review page for the WiFi Fence. Bit not much has changed. Still has a lot of trouble creating a steady boundary line, dealing with obstacles and with signal drop-outs. Hopefully that will be fixed in future generations, but as it stand it is still nowhere as good as an inground fence.

It is waterproof and does work in water.

By: S. Noblitt

S. Noblitt — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 20:05:46 +0000

09/06/09
Am posting for the first time as what just happened to my dog was very scary and maddening! We have had the Innotek sysem 4100 for about 3 years and have loved it – if you have a break it is pretty easily found – however, and we just found this out if you have a ‘nick’ it is impossible to find, and we have a very large area. You have to get an rf choke and portable radio yada yada yada – still couldn’t find it – could possibly be moles or any rodent of course or whatever (thankfully we had purchased the heavy duty black wire and 3 years is pretty good probably)..so decided to order the wifi and installed it 8/29/09. I certainly agree with the lost reception and the need of an external antenna, along with a few other things.
Today when I came home my dog met me at the car and jumped in as soon as I opened the door – he was scared, salivating and shaking (and he doesn’t even like to get in the car) It was a cloudy day so I thought perhaps he heard a rumble of thunder – as I get out of the car to go to the house he just runs to the door and barrels in and I reached down to get collar off and I hear a beeping – the stupid COLLAR is beeping and of course he is as scared as I am mad. Of course I get collar off – I truly don’t know if the base was beeping also or what and didn’t much give a crap, I just want the noise to stop for him. I punch select on the base and hold down for a couple of seconds – tried this twice and didn’t work then I just unplug base – collar still beeping – I then just take battery out of collar, which I should have done in the first place and the beeping stops. I insert other charged battery and lo an behold no beeping. The thing is I had to replace the 1st battery after about 4 or 5 days, in which the BASE alerted me with the alarm not the collar for heavens sake. The second battery has only been in collar for a 2 or 3 days and now I just don’t know what to think.
I am going to find the phone number and call the Company about this problem. Jury is out – so is the dog with no collar – but thank you God for him being a ‘wonderful dog’ and already trained. Oh and yes we were absolutely in the ’safe zone’.

By: Karen Engle

Karen Engle — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 02:29:39 +0000

Personally, I’m disappointed with this product so far. I’ve had it about 2 weeks…went throught the training process with the collar set to tone only (0) setting. Ready to train our dog and the collar doesn’t even beep before she’s shocked…it scared her to death. I called and was told, “maybe the battery is low so you didn’t hear it beeping”. I knew that wasn’t the case, but recharged already charged batteries and tried it again. Same thing happened. The collar is still not beeping when it is set 1-8…it only beeps on 0. I don’t want her to be shocked without the opportunity to hear the beep first. I emailed the company, but so far am thinking REFUND.

By: Duke the wi-fi beagle

Duke the wi-fi beagle — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:58:03 +0000

We got this system about 2 months ago, and we love it! Yes, I agree the beeping is annoying when Lost Reception! comes up, but if at any time the Fence is Challenged the beeps get faster to let you know. Our dog was an absolute night mare before this, he would bolt out the door any chance he got. Now is is able to wonder around the yard anytime he wants. He has ran through the fence a few times, chasing a cat or the neighbor, but he comes right back because the collar is still beeping. He was trained in about 3 hours to be honest. We just took up the flags, he has tried a few extra steps but as soon as he hears the beep, he turns around. I would recommend this!!! Maybe not if you are super close to a main road but otherwise give it a try!!

By: DAP

DAP — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:40:07 +0000

Just recently started getting the Lost Signal message periodically during the day after 2 weeks of use – not sure what the cause is and why I am not getting this. Also, it seems that there is a spot along the perimeter of our yard (adjacent to garage) that is a
deadzone for this. Elevating the signal would help I think. With my experience I am also “on the fence” with whether I can trust this. My dog loves to run beyond our yard every chance she gets and I need to be able to rely on a consistent signal.

By: Greg Cooper

Greg Cooper — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:56:22 +0000

I would really like to try this product. I have a small dog and my main concern is the collar size. She is mostly an indoor dog but let her out during the day 4-5 times to run and “potty”. How difficult is it to return this product if for some reason it does not work out for my size dog?

By: S M

S M — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:13:40 +0000

Matt, send your WiFi back, it just doesn’t work in certain situations.
Over 95% are very satisfied with the WiFi and its performance.
Perimeter and its authorized dealers will refund your money if your not satisfied.
Make a post here if you need help with your contact info if you can’t get help. The WiFi has difficulty with reception through exterior walls constructed out of aluminum, steel, block, brick and logs. Metal sheds and chain link fencing close to the transmitter can also distort the boundary line. An external antenna that would be mounted on the roof or in the attic seems like the way to over these obstacles. We have had an opportunity to have received some great feedback from a range of impressed to very disappointed pet owners. Improvements are bound to come along soon and I am sure that anyone buying now will be eligible for any upgrades made to the product. Perimeter is an American made product and they have always stood behind everything they’ve ever produced.

By: matt

matt — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:03:35 +0000

Lost signal all day long. The dog can literally lay right next to the transmitter, and it will say lost signal. For 300.00, this is a wast of money. This thing can not transmit through walls, windows or curtains. If the dog walks in a cirlce or around the corner, the lost signal alarm goes off. I will re-set the collar, and within an hour it is beeping again. I have put the transmitter everywhere–the attic, the shed, the carport, all the bedrooms and still get lost signal. Don’t waste your money!

By: JS

JS — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:31:40 +0000

Great product and one that we will keep (for portability alone) yet we have many of the same issues mentioned above:

…the attenna needs an extension (with booster if needed for line loss) to get the signal up as high as possible. We’re transmitting ‘down’ through a window maybe 24 foot high aimed at a 24′x32′x14′ (peak) garage 100 foot (horizontal) away and are receiving “Lost Signal” on the other side.

…until we solve the “Lost Signal” issue (which is obviously very time consuming; yet expected) we cannot proceed further with any fair evaluation of the product. Wifi is not for those who expect plug-n-play in every environment….you sometimes need to set the boundary….move the base station around within said boundary…adjust the boundary again…move the station once again…etc.
I could be wrong; yet I think that we are dealing with what can be be produced legally/practically from the system itself (signal/interference-wise) along with the overall capacity of the batteries themselves in both the station and in the collar. We’re giving it a fair chance; as there may be a distance set vs placement that we haven’t come up with yet…and it will take a good deal of patience to come to that conclusion either way.

…we have also experienced the phantom “Signal Lost” beeping when the unit is indeed setting right next to the collar. As the poster indicated; we will be contacting the factory as to what they will be doing about this…as we are reluctant to keep working around the aforementioned garage problem if there are other issues producing the same fault code.

Sidenote: Li-Ion 14500 (AA) batteries are not all built the same. Take a close measurement of your cell before you try and replace it. For instance, the ‘protected’ 14500s used in my high drain LED flashilghts do not fit the collar. Treat Li-ion batteries with respect and do NOT charge if either the base station charger or cell is suspect.

I’d alo like to add that the customer service here has been first rate. Everything about this product has been brought out into the open (even before it was released) and the frankness/honesty displayed here has made jumping in as a ‘beta-tester’ much more easier than expected. Kudos to DIY for this forum and truly caring about our input, either way.