Omlet Automatic Chicken Door Review: The Smart Autodoor

The Omlet automatic chicken door is worth buying if you want a battery-powered door with phone alerts. It lists at $199 to $259 depending on the model (checked 2026-10-09), and it keeps its schedule on the door when WiFi drops, which is the design that matters. Skip it if you need solar power or keep ducks or geese. Owners report crush-detected errors, schedule glitches and WiFi trouble, and Omlet’s own firmware changelog shows the company fixing the same problem types. This page pulls those reports together with Omlet’s published specs and fix steps, with every source linked. For how I pick sources, see how we research.

Who should buy the Omlet Autodoor, and who should skip it

Buy it if you want app alerts, a battery door with no wiring, and a maker that publishes its fixes. Skip it if you need solar, keep ducks or geese, or want the lowest price.

Buy it if:

• You want a notification when the door opens, closes or stalls. The Smart Autodoor sends app notifications, and Omlet’s product page lists Alexa and Google compatibility.
• You have no power at the coop. Omlet says four AA batteries last up to 6 months, with an optional mains cable for a more responsive app.
• Your coop is an Eglu, a wooden coop, mesh or an Omlet run. Omlet sells attachment kits for the Eglu Cube, traditional chicken mesh and Omlet runs.
• You want a company that sells spare parts and explains its own fault codes in public.

Skip it if:

• You want solar. Omlet says it cannot offer warranty, support or advice for other power sources. The solar door guide covers the alternatives.
• You keep ducks or geese. One owner review at Brimwood Farm says the door is not suited to them because ducks prefer to sleep outside.
• Price is the main thing. Both owner accounts below name cost as the drawback.

Price and models

The Omlet Autodoor costs $199 for the non-smart version and $229 for the WiFi Smart Autodoor on omlet.us, with a Coop Light adding $30 (checked 2026-10-09). These prices come from the product data on Omlet’s US page, which lists them valid through 2026-10-23.

Omlet’s site banner shows a 180-day guarantee linked to its returns page. Read the warranty and returns terms before you buy, because they are not the same as a product warranty.

WiFi, power and the schedule

The Omlet door runs its schedule from the control panel, so a WiFi outage costs you alerts and remote control, not the evening close. Omlet’s support center says all the settings are saved in the control panel, so the door works as programmed during an outage, and the app resumes when the connection returns. That is the opposite of the WiFi-dependent failure described in the door failure guide.

Power changes how the app behaves. Omlet says a battery door checks in with WiFi every ten minutes to save power, so a button press in the app can wait until the next check-in. Mains power is optional but recommended for the smart features. The door must run on Omlet’s power adapter or 4 AA batteries.

Range matters. The product page says WiFi works best within 30 feet of your router, and the support page says within 65 feet of a WiFi source. Plan for 30 feet and add an extender if the coop sits farther away.

Cold needs a plan. Omlet’s help center gives alkaline batteries an operating range of 0°F to 131°F (-18°C to 55°C) and says its Autodoor is built to work down to -4°F (-20°C). For a long cold spell it suggests taking the batteries out and warming them now and then. Keep ice out of the track too; the door failure guide explains how.

What owners like

Owners praise the reliability, the safety sensors and the saved mornings. Two long owner accounts and a Facebook group member say the same things.

• The owner at Bitchin’ Chickens says the door has worked since install in all weather with no maintenance. That account came from a door Omlet supplied free for the review, which the post discloses.
• Both that owner and the Brimwood Farm reviewer say the sensors keep a bird from being caught. Brimwood adds that the door closes fully and then reopens when it touches a chicken, because there is no mid-track sensor.
• The Bitchin’ Chickens owner says the mount can be set to open left or right, inside or outside the coop, and that the booklet has clear illustrations. Brimwood says it fits many coops, not only Omlet’s.
• A member of a coop-owner Facebook group says the door makes them feel safe that the flock won’t be locked in all day. Brimwood says it saves early mornings, because the hens are already out when the keeper arrives.

What owners report going wrong

Owner reports cluster around crush-detected and blocked errors, a door acting outside its schedule, WiFi trouble and durability after a few years, plus some install and shipping snags. Omlet’s own changelog covers the first three, which tells you the company knows the problems and ships fixes.

The reports:

• A keeper in a Facebook group says a door bought in January worked fine and later got stuck opening.
• An r/BackYardChickens thread asks why a WiFi Omlet door opened outside its scheduled window.
• Another Facebook post asks whether the Omlet auto door has a manual override to bypass the automatic close. Omlet’s support page says manual mode opens and closes only when you press the button and that a failsafe lets you open the door fully by hand.
• A commenter on the YouTube video “My Automatic Chicken Coop Door FAILED After 1 Year!” says their Omlet door broke after a few years and the replacement showed the same issue out of the box.
• The Bitchin’ Chickens owner found the new door much smaller than their old opening, so they built wooden panels, and says Omlet shipped from the UK to Canada with $57 in import duties.

Here is how those problem types line up with the firmware changelog. The changelog does not name owners, so treat this as the same problem class, not proof of the same case.

Omlet’s fix steps, summarized

Omlet’s Door Fault Troubleshooting guide runs eleven checks and then a parts replacement. Work through them in order:

1. Check the firmware is current, using the control panel or the Omlet app (the app needs WiFi).
2. Inspect the door for anything blocking it. Owners of the non-smart door can start here.
3. Clean the Autodoor.
4. Check the roosting rack is in the correct position.
5. Recalibrate the door.
6. Check that the door and frame are not warped.
7. Check the motor.
8. Check whether the motor’s gear stay is missing or broken.
9. Check the gear rack is in good condition.
10. Check the control panel connectors.
11. Check the wiring.
12. Replace any faulty parts. Omlet sells spares and says customer services can help if the door is under warranty.

For the error that worries owners most, Omlet’s Crush Detected explainer says the sensors found an obstruction, most often a chicken lingering in the doorway. The door nudges it, reopens, retries up to five more times, then stays open and shows the error. To clear it, remove the obstruction, then on a non-smart door press OK to clear the error and hold OK to close. On a smart door, press Close in the app. If it returns, the troubleshooting article says to update the firmware, clean the door, recalibrate, check the fail-safe release screws are tight and check the crush sensors for corrosion, then replace the sensors if they are faulty.

A door that stays open after those retries is an open door overnight. Add an independent alert as the door failure guide describes, and read the predator-proof coop guide so the door is one layer, not the only one.

Alternatives

If the Omlet fits your coop and budget, buy it. If solar, a vertical door or a lower price matters more, look at the other brands. ChickenGuard makes a vertical door, the Run-Chicken T50 is a lower-priced door with an app, and Chickcozy sells a solar door. The best automatic doors roundup compares them on power, lock, obstacle sensing and price. The automatic chicken coop doors hub lists every door guide.

Written by Kyle

Kyle has kept backyard chickens on his own small farm for five years. He reads the extension research, the spec sheets and the owner complaints, then tells you what he would buy and what he would skip.

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