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Reviews & Guides · Appliances

Neakasa M1: post-warranty noise and bin-alert trouble, with M1 Plus buying context

I report severe rotation noise, litter spills, jams and a full-bin alert after my Neakasa M1’s stated warranty period, plus the support response.

Screenshot of a pet appliance mobile application displaying a connected grey automatic smart cat litter box on four legs, showing alerts for low cat litter and a full waste bin.
A dark gray Neakasa automatic cat litter box filled with litter, placed on a wood floor next to a cardboard TV box.
A screenshot of a customer service chat on the JD.com mobile app with Yibao JD Self-Operated Flagship Store. The user reports a severe abnormal noise coming from their automatic cat litter box during rotation, and the customer service representative asks if they have a video recording of the noise.
Screenshot of an e-commerce customer service chat screen on a smartphone, showing a conversation between a buyer and customer service from the Yibao JD Self-Operated Flagship Store regarding an issue with an automatic cat litter box.
A screenshot of an e-commerce customer service chat session with a flagship store selling an automatic cat litter box. The customer service representative advises applying lubricating oil and states that the product only has a one-year warranty, noting that the customer's order is out of warranty. The customer responds that they had already reported the issue back in July.

Warning: My Neakasa M1 cat litter box “stopped working” as soon as the warranty ended.

Does anyone else understand this? I was genuinely left speechless by this automatic cat litter box.

I had only been using it for a short time when, in July 2024, I noticed extremely severe abnormal noise whenever it rotated. I immediately contacted the JD.com self-operated store’s customer service and reported it. They asked me to record a video, which I did and sent them. The response was always, “We’ll report it to the technical team,” and then nothing happened.

At the time, I thought there was still a year left on the warranty, so perhaps the problem would eventually be resolved and I did not pursue it further. Then, in February 2025, just after the one-year warranty had ended, this thing completely gave up! It now makes a noise as loud as a tractor when rotating, and sometimes it gets stuck halfway through a rotation. Cat litter spills all over the floor, making cleanup incredibly frustrating. It can no longer be used normally.

Now it has completely stopped working! The built-in recognition radar has failed, and it keeps repeatedly reporting that the compartment is full.

Even though it is completely empty, it simply will not start. It is totally unusable!

A core component failed just like that, leaving the entire machine paralyzed. This quality control is completely outrageous.

When I contacted after-sales service, they simply said, “It is out of warranty, so we will not handle it.” So is the warranty period basically just a bet that the product will not break?

An appliance costing over 1,000 yuan, and its lifespan is only a short year?

Cat owners should really avoid this. Do not end up feeling ripped off like I did.

Source: thexxxxxx · Xiaohongshu · 2026-05-11 · 避雷宜宝猫砂盆！养猫人不做冤大头. Search this Chinese title in Xiaohongshu to find the original post.

Before You Buy

Models in your region

The owner identifies the source unit as a Neakasa M1. The current official US and EU product pages identify regional products as the Neakasa M1 Plus; they do not establish that those versions use the same components as the owner's unit or that their warranty terms apply retrospectively.

Model in this review Related regional model What to know
Neakasa M1 Neakasa M1 Plus (US) The official US reference is the newer Neakasa M1 Plus, so it is a regional comparison rather than confirmation that the owner’s Chinese-market M1 has identical parts or upgrades.
Neakasa M1 Neakasa M1 Plus (EU store; individual shipping country to be checked) The official EU store lists the M1 Plus with an open-top rotating chamber, waste drawer, app monitoring and an added seal. It is a same-brand regional reference, not a verified match for the owner’s M1; destination-country support and mains requirements should be checked.
Model in this review
Neakasa M1
Related regional model
Neakasa M1 Plus (US)
What to know
The official US reference is the newer Neakasa M1 Plus, so it is a regional comparison rather than confirmation that the owner’s Chinese-market M1 has identical parts or upgrades.
Model in this review
Neakasa M1
Related regional model
Neakasa M1 Plus (EU store; individual shipping country to be checked)
What to know
The official EU store lists the M1 Plus with an open-top rotating chamber, waste drawer, app monitoring and an added seal. It is a same-brand regional reference, not a verified match for the owner’s M1; destination-country support and mains requirements should be checked.

What the owner's account establishes

The owner reports severe rotation noise in July 2024, followed later by louder operation, rotation jams, spilled litter and a persistent full-compartment warning. The account describes one owner's experience, not a controlled test or a confirmed technical diagnosis.

The owner says the recognition radar failed, but the source does not provide a repair report or independent confirmation of the failed component. Buyers should therefore treat the cause as unresolved rather than assume that every M1 will develop the same fault.

Regional model and feature check

The official US and EU references are for the Neakasa M1 Plus, not the owner's identified M1. The US page lists an open top, app monitoring, Pull & Wrap waste disposal, an 11.23 L waste capacity and a 7.17 L litter capacity; it also says the Plus adds six infrared-sensor sets, a sealing strip and a leak-prevention layer. The owner's failure does not test those Plus additions.

For the listed M1 Plus, the official US information requires clumping litter and specifies a filter limit of particles up to 3 mm in diameter and 10 mm in length. It also says Kitten Mode is required below 2.2 lb and disables automatic cleaning, so households with very small cats should account for that operating limit.

The official US listing is currently sold out, while the EU page is a regional purchase reference. Check stock, the correct mains standard and support coverage for the destination country before ordering; parts compatibility between the newer M1 Plus and the owner’s M1 remains unconfirmed.

Warranty and support uncertainty

The owner says the problem was first reported in July 2024 and that the machine failed completely in February 2025, just after a stated one-year warranty. The purchase date and the relationship between those dates are unclear, so readers should not infer the unit's exact age or that the failure occurred immediately after purchase.

The owner says customer service requested a noise video, repeatedly promised to pass the issue to technical staff, later suggested lubricating oil in the chat, and ultimately declined handling because the order was out of warranty. This records the reported support exchange; it does not establish the warranty policy for current US or EU products.

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