Are smart pet feeders reliable enough to leave a pet alone with for a weekend?

Across verified-purchase reviews and r/CatAdvice and r/Catownerhacks threads, the most reliable feeders are simpler dry-food units with battery backup (the PetSafe Smart Feed is repeatedly cited as working for many years). Reviewers consistently warn against relying on a single feeder without a manual backup plan: motors, augers, and Wi-Fi can all fail, and some owners on r/Petlibro report units dying after under a year. For a weekend, most shoppers pair an auto feeder with a second backup feeder or a neighbor check-in.