Smoke IT app won't connect via Wi-Fi and only connects to Bluetooth within 5 feet.

nickm324

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I have a Pit Boss Pro Series II 850.
I cannot get the Smoke IT app to connect to my wireless and Bluetooth only works if I am within 5 feet of the grill.

I have very strong Wi-Fi setup throughout my house using 4 Deco mesh Wi-Fi units that are all connected directly to my network/internet using Gigabit backhaul connections.

The app just will not connect and the app says "There was an error" with no real details of what error. I cannot get any help from Support.

Is there anything I can do to resolve this problem?

 
Call customer support 877 303 3134 option 1. My smoker was the same way when it was new and they had me install and app to confirm my controller was bad = not sending out a signal.
 
Delete the app and pick another way to monitor temps is my advice.
The app only runs on 2.4
Sorry, but this is just plain bad advice. OP paid for a smoker with BT/Wifi. That feature should work unless his network isn't functioning adequately. But it sounds like that's not the case. Then if he doesn't like its features, he can move on to something else. IMO, simply giving up on it without trying to fix it should not be his first/best option.

Just my 2¢...
 
Sorry, but this is just plain bad advice. OP paid for a smoker with BT/Wifi. That feature should work unless his network isn't functioning adequately. But it sounds like that's not the case. Then if he doesn't like its features, he can move on to something else. IMO, simply giving up on it without trying to fix it should not be his first/best option.

Just my 2¢...
My controller was bad right from the box, a new one solved my problems.
 
Sorry, but this is just plain bad advice. OP paid for a smoker with BT/Wifi. That feature should work unless his network isn't functioning adequately. But it sounds like that's not the case. Then if he doesn't like its features, he can move on to something else. IMO, simply giving up on it without trying to fix it should not be his first/best option.

Just my 2¢...
I paid for a smoker with BT/Wifi also a PB1150PS2 on 7/1/21. Fought that battle with two different phones and a tablet. Look at temps from whatever device. Less than 30 min later temps goin stupid one way or other. Even if I hadn't opened the app for that cook.
Deleted all that chit and I can set my 1150 by dial wherever I want up or down and it'll hit it in less than 1 hour.
Might be bad advice but I'm happy with the way my chit runs. YMMV
 
I paid for a smoker with BT/Wifi also a PB1150PS2 on 7/1/21. Fought that battle with two different phones and a tablet. Look at temps from whatever device. Less than 30 min later temps goin stupid one way or other. Even if I hadn't opened the app for that cook.
Deleted all that chit and I can set my 1150 by dial wherever I want up or down and it'll hit it in less than 1 hour.
Might be bad advice but I'm happy with the way my chit runs. YMMV
I understand that everyone has different levels of tech savvy. I just don't believe in giving up on a technology you've paid for without seeking some help. But yeah, you do you.
 
I have a Pit Boss Pro Series II 850.
I cannot get the Smoke IT app to connect to my wireless and Bluetooth only works if I am within 5 feet of the grill.

I have very strong Wi-Fi setup throughout my house using 4 Deco mesh Wi-Fi units that are all connected directly to my network/internet using Gigabit backhaul connections.

The app just will not connect and the app says "There was an error" with no real details of what error. I cannot get any help from Support.

Is there anything I can do to resolve this problem?

some thoughts.....

1. Make sure that your home router is splitting 5G and 2.4G into separate channels. Most new router share the same SSID name between the two networks, and these 2.4G controllers hate that.

2. On my pitboss vertical, I had to move my internal antennae from under the bottom PCB to just behind the front panel and this fixed all my issues. I removed the display from the housing, I noticed that the bottom of the plastic cover sits off from the main board about 1/4 of an inch.....which is the depth of the display on the top of board. So I moved the internal antenna from the underneath the bottom board, where it could not get any signal at all and moved it to the plastic house. Now only the plastic housing is covering the antenna. And.....I immediately got connected, and it is staying connected.....see the picture below of where I placed it. I just used the existing sticky glue that was on the bottom of the antenna to fasten it to the plastic.
1664905548801.png


An alternative would be to just get an external antennae from amazon for like $10. There is a little press fit connector for the existing internal antennae and it just pops off and you pop in the new one and drill a hole and securely mount it....that would fix it for sure. I did the same thing to my older RecTec controller, before I installed my new one that has the antennae built in.
1664905890910.png


Here is the external one I mounted on my RecTeq....
1664905930694.png
 
some thoughts.....

1. Make sure that your home router is splitting 5G and 2.4G into separate channels. Most new router share the same SSID name between the two networks, and these 2.4G controllers hate that.

2. On my pitboss vertical, I had to move my internal antennae from under the bottom PCB to just behind the front panel and this fixed all my issues. I removed the display from the housing, I noticed that the bottom of the plastic cover sits off from the main board about 1/4 of an inch.....which is the depth of the display on the top of board. So I moved the internal antenna from the underneath the bottom board, where it could not get any signal at all and moved it to the plastic house. Now only the plastic housing is covering the antenna. And.....I immediately got connected, and it is staying connected.....see the picture below of where I placed it. I just used the existing sticky glue that was on the bottom of the antenna to fasten it to the plastic.
View attachment 3269

An alternative would be to just get an external antennae from amazon for like $10. There is a little press fit connector for the existing internal antennae and it just pops off and you pop in the new one and drill a hole and securely mount it....that would fix it for sure. I did the same thing to my older RecTec controller, before I installed my new one that has the antennae built in.
View attachment 3270

Here is the external one I mounted on my RecTeq....
View attachment 3271
Former Network administrator here. I disagree that most new(ish) home routers share the SSIDs between their 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. In my experience, most will have a different SSID for each band. So when you're setting up your grill/smoker, it's important to choose the SSID of the 2.4 GHz band - as well as having the device you're going to be using to connect to the smoker (smart phone, iPad, etc) connected to the 2.4 GHz band.

As for your modifications... While clever, I don't feel the average "Joe Smoker" wants to go through that trouble. Nor should they have to. Pit Boss and other manufacturers who wish to put Bluetooth/WiFi connectivity into their products need to make that technology work for the average user, at reasonable distances, and with average home network technology.
 

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