No — every machine we review cleans without an app, and Wi-Fi adds notifications, usage data and remote control. Where it is used, it is almost always 2.4 GHz only.
The cleaning is mechanical. The app is a layer on top.
What you lose without it
Notifications when the drawer is full, usage and weight logs, and the ability to run a cycle from elsewhere. Useful, and none of it is the reason you bought the machine.
The 2.4 GHz question
PETKIT, Merax, Redkey and Thereye all specify 2.4 GHz networks. Modern routers often present a single combined network, and pairing fails until you separate the bands or use a guest network — this is the most common setup problem in the category, and it is not the machine’s fault.
Data, briefly
An app that logs a cat’s weight and visit frequency is recording something about your household. Whether that matters to you is a decision worth making deliberately rather than by default.
If you want no app at all
Several boxes have full manual and timed modes, and the PetSafe rake machines have no app whatsoever.
This does not replace your device’s manual. Blade temperatures, locking mechanisms and cleaning procedures differ from model to model, and the manufacturer’s instructions take precedence over anything written here. Unplug a device before dismantling it, check a hot blade or an air nozzle against your own hand before it goes anywhere near an animal, and keep a mechanism that closes or rotates under supervision until you know how it behaves.
Last reviewed 2026-08-17