Anybody else having Camp Chef connection problems?

So I have a Camp Chef Woodwind that is a few years old. The smoker is basically fine but the original controller was problematic with the single biggest problem being that the smoker would 'go out' and have to be restarted, sometimes two different times, during one smoking section. I purchased the updated controller for it with supposedly better BlueTooth and WIFI connectivity. The new controller works very well but the wireless connection is a nightmare, failing to maintain a connection just about every time it is used. Even worse, the smoker needs to be unplugged (no, merely turning it off will not do) and the smartphone made to 'forget' the smoker's connection. The when the smoker is restarted it will connect via BlueTooth but not WIFI. Going through the process of trying to connect via WIFI, it often fails and often breaks the BlueTooth connection also, requiring again powering down and repowering the smoker, setting up the software on the phone and again entering the entire wireless setup sequence. After a while, I give up 'cause I want to smoke something rather than spend the day tinkering with some really poor software (and maybe hardware).

This is all very frustrating and quite annoying. Camp Chef is not doing anything about updating either the software (and phone app) nor the hardware. The smoker works fine on its own but without a link I cannot monitor or adjust the temp. or smoke output of the unit and it is kinda' a PITA to walk outside to my detached garage to check on the smoker :-(

I really hate to have to buy another pellet smoker over this but it is frustrating as all outdoors. Plus if I did buy another smoker, what would I do with this one- I really hate to trash a $1,400 unit that still works although the wireless link is crippled.

OK, I got that off my chest. What a life to have first- world problems such as my remote smoker will not communicate with my smartphone, huh? So I freely admit that my annoyance may be a bit over the top but still, I merely want the device to work as was advertised and how it should work in the first place.

 

Do you what band it tries to connect through over Wi-Fi? Most connected devices will use the 2.4ghz band being it’s better at going distances. While 5ghz is faster, the signal drops over distances. On our previous router, I had two different network names: one for 2.4 and one for 5g. 5g was for phones, tablets and laptops. 2.4 was for everything else; cameras, speakers, other connected devices. I recently upgraded to a mesh system and it’s much better at handling that stuff on its own.


A reboot of the router may help. Also, make sure the router firmware is up to date.

 

The smoker is 2.4 ghz.

It is a strange set-up. The smoker connects to the iPhone via BlueTooth and once the smoker 'finds' the router, starts to set up WIFI. For some reason either the smoker or my phone is stuck and will not progress to the WIFI stage, and of course it looses BlueTooth once the phone is in the house. It <used> to work somewhat reliably and I picked up a WIFI extender that seemed to work well for a bit then the usual Camp Chef problem cropped up and shut down comms. I can re-establish BlueTooth between the phone and smoker but not WIFI. ??

The Camp Chef is actually a decent smoker and not too bad as a grill either. The original controller was garbage but the new controller is quite good, other than regarding comms. The only next step I can think of, other than moving either my detached garage or house closer to each other, is some kind of BlueTooth extender or amplifier. I think what I really need would be called a repeater as there is no place to plug in any type of comm. to the smoker. I have either not found such a device yet or I have but am not sure what the devices I have looked at actually do or how they work. All seem to have ports for devices to plug into and of course that is not possible.

This is a well known problem with Camp Chef smokers. As it does not appear that the co. is going to fix this situation in the near future, if ever, the only thing I can think of is a bluetooth repeater and just ignoring WIFI- I do not need it and it makes no difference in use which one is communicating. Any idea if such a device exists?

Thanks for your input.

 

wow that sucks...id be some pizzed off at camp chef

 

I am. We are (owners of this smoker). So much so that I am actually considering either changing the controller to another brand / type, which is going to be expensive, hacked together and may or may not work properly with the 'wrong' smoker. Also considering a different smoker, especially a Yoder which is not an inexpensive pellet smoker.

As I said the real shame in this situation is that otherwise I really like the smoker. Controls temps. well, produces excellent smoke and has quite a few design elements that make it very pleasant to use.

I will spend some time looking into bluetooth repeaters as that may well cure my problem for under $100.

 

Very interesting! So it uses Bluetooth to connect to Wi-Fi each time? I know a few of my connected devices will use Bluetooth during the initial setup, so you don’t have to connect your phone to the device during set up. It’s odd that it has to go through that process each time. And given the range of Bluetooth, makes sense why you have issues. Keep us posted. Certainly good to know for those that may be looking into these types of units. Connectivity can be a selling feature these days.

 

Great- thanks for the info. I will look at that controller.

 

We have the Pit Boss smoker/grill. Still has the original control. I just bought a remote probe to use.
Look at the Rec Tec pellet smokers

 

$1400 for a smoker is over the top, but i would expect it to work flawlessly.
(I really do hate electronics)

 

Yes, that is how it works and yes, it IS strange. There are also limited windows of time and points of operation to connect- if the phone is with me when I power the smoker up, it connects. If I start the smoker, let it come up to temp. and then go out with the meat and my iPhone, it will NOT connect unless I again turn the smoker off and then on.... again. /Which means I have to go through a bunch of steps to bypass the startup mode :-( It also loses connectivity to the phone sometimes when the phone is w/in 10 ft. of the smoker and again will not reconnect.

The controller works great, 5 degree temp. steps and 1 to 10 steps for smoke. It has four meat probes. And all controls are available on the phone through the app. so the smoker can be adjusted to get a specific temp. on the second rack for example. But that all falls down when the connection is broken. Once I do have bluetooth AND WIFI working, it really works well but occasionally breaks down on the WIFI side also, which is the situation I have right now. Annoying, frustrating and makes me cranky.

I really like smoking / fire grilling food. I would do it even more often but again, the smoker comms. are a source of irritation.

 

Got the Camp Chef connected to phone via bluetooth. It also said it was connected via WIFI but that did not work. The smoker is in my garage, perhaps 40 feet from my house, and the BT connection worked from my kitchen (closest room to the garage) but not from my office (furthest room but a pretty small house). I have a 6 probe bluetooth remote thermometer on the smoker and used three probes to smoke pork today. In the kitchen, both the Camp Chef and thermometer BT worked but only the thermometer from the office. So I could read time and temp. continuously but had to walk into the kitchen to make any adjustments to the smoker.

I still cannot find a wireless, bi-directional bluetooth repeater. Oh well, to have first- world problems....

 

Got it working! Long, ugly story but at the end of the day, it was my fault.

Bluetooth did not have enough range, fine and well. But the unit will also use WIFI and I <thought> I had it connected but that part was / is sketchy. And then I bought a WIFI extender, plugged it in and assumed it was working as a repeater. My mistake- today I looked at the directions, something no real man should ever have to do, and guess what.... the extender has to be setup. Who'd a thunk it? So I go through the set up and all seems well. Reinstall the Camp Chef app on the phone, reset the controller on the Camp Chef and go through the set up procedures. But I cannot log into the WIFI extender using the password I just created. ??? After a while (far too long but that is how it goes) I finally try my router password rather than the one just installed into the extender and voila! Now the smoker connects to my router through the range extender and is available from anywhere the Web is available. Works all through the house now, and it is clearly using WIFI instead of bluetooth because the bluetooth icon goes dark when not in range.

It is still a somewhat clunky system but at least it now works for my setup. Color me happy. The only downside is that as I had to start the smoker to set it up, I really had the urge to smoke something but alas, no non- frozen meat at hand (Easy Boys!).

 

Nice work! Has to be a good feeling to have it working again. These processes are often a learning experience. Can’t count how many times I end up stumbling upon the solution somewhat randomly.

 

Thanks!

This was a learning curve with the hardware but also the methods of communication. Somehow I had the idea that the smoker would connect to the phone via bluetooth, then to the phone via WIFI and finally, to the router <through> the phone still using WIFI. That is not how it works, and the smoker must connect to the router. But while my phone will work with my router in the garage, the smoker would not due to distance and that fact was elusive because it would occasionally connect, often enough to lead me down the path of success during the install. So it would find my router, ask for the password but then also lose comms. so it appeared that my password entry was not correct. Finally bought the WIFI extender with the notion (or is that hope?) that cutting in / out may be the problem. When that did not work, because I did not set it up (I though it was a dumb repeater) I thought my distance notion was not right in the first place. Camp Chef's documentation is OK but absolutely not complete especially regarding troubleshooting. So I ended up 'forgetting' the bluetooth link in the phone, deleting the app and resetting the smoker's controller. Then I sat down in front of the smoker and s l o w l y went through the boot up and install process several times, again due to the much less than intuitive process. A WIFI signal strength meter would have gone a long, long way to making this easier but I do not have one and also of course did not know with any certainty that that was my problem.

And yes, it IS great to have it working. I really like the smoker and honestly have not urge to replace it but at the same time the poor controls response was casting a pall over the entire process. So every time I used the smoker it would irritate the hell out of me. Sort of when trying to cut firewood and the saw is being cranky / bi!chy and it ends becoming the very negative focus for the entire outing.

So a happy ending..... unless it acts up again, when I will teach it a real lesson involving the trash compacter.