The petWALK pet door does not recognize my pet’s microchip

If the pet door does not recognize your pet's chip, please first check the following points:

  • Is the pet door switched on? (Time and power lights are lit)
  • Has the pet chip been programmed? If not, you can find out more about this in the user manual.

If the chip cannot be recognized repeatedly, this can happen for several reasons:
  1. Migration of the chip in the animal body
    If the microchip has migrated inside the animal, the reading distance may have become too great for reliable detection. Fortunately, animal chips rarely migrate because they are coated with a tissue fixation. In this case, it may be necessary to insert another chip or use a tag chip on the collar. Your veterinarian will be happy to advise you on this. From our experience, we know that the new biopolymer chips from Virbac™ practically do not migrate.

  2. Animal chip not suitable
    Another reason could be a microchip that is not suitable for the petWALK pet door. The FDX-B chips commonly used in Europe are definitely suitable for the pet door. The older FDX-A chips, which are not suitable for controlling the petWALK pet door, are only used occasionally in non-EU countries.

  3. The distance between antenna and animal is too large
    For technical reasons, the reading range can vary depending on the chip manufacturer used. With good quality implanted chips, a reading range of 10 - 15 cm is achieved. In general, a pendant chip that is worn on the collar achieves a much greater range. We therefore recommend using the pendant chip provided for the initial adjustment phase. However, once your pet has learned to appreciate the freedom it has gained, it will very quickly find out how to make the animal chip work best.

  4. The implanted animal chip does not work
    The easiest way to find out where in the animal's body the chip is and whether it is working at all is to have your trusted vet check the function, position and range of the animal chip. Due to the requirements, the animal chip handheld readers do not have the same range as the petWALK animal door. However, if the chip is working well, the reading range at the vet should be at least 5 cm. If the reading range at the vet is less than 5 cm or the animal chip has moved too far down into the chest area, you should discuss implanting an additional chip with a longer range with your vet, or you can use a collar chip.

  5. External sources of interference in the vicinity of the petWALK pet door
    Notebooks, netbooks, computers and televisions with TFT screens can operate in similar frequency ranges to the petWALK pet door. However, if you ensure that you keep a minimum distance of 2-3 m from the pet door, there will be no interference.