Smoker/meat temp and step end notifications on phone?

[valleskm]

Have a used (new to me) #2WiFi. Have done a couple simple smokes, and like it so far. The whole Wifi set-up and instructions are a bit confusing, but I mostly understand it now.
One thing I don't get is how to have notifications on the phone. Using Gen2 Wifi module on smoker and an Android phone. I checked to make sure notifications are on for the Smokin It app. Also even turned on unrestricted battery use for the app. When the smoker high temp is reached the controller on the smoker beeps, but nothing on the phone app. Same for when a step in multi-step ends.
Am I missing something? Do you all with Gen2 Wifi get any notifications on your phone from the app, and, if so, are they beeps/vibration or a pop-up message or something else?

 

[old sarge]

If someone who get the alerts does not chime in (I dont use the app so cannot help) contact Steve or Auberins.

 

[valleskm]

Thanks. I have a message out to Auber. We'll see what they say. The silence here on the forum tells me maybe this isn't a feature of the app  .

 

[Jim_MI]

I am experiencing the same issue. In the current app release, the alarm function does not seem to do anything.

 

[valleskm]

Ok, thanks Jim. I'm in an e-mail conversation with Auber about it, and I'll post here if it gets figured out. Seems they're telling me it should send a notification to the app screen, as well as a noise/vibrate if the phone is set for that. However, I'm not fully understanding from them yet how that's supposed to work because I get nothing in the app at all while the controller is beeping.

 

[old sarge]

Steve is in contact with Auber on this and Auber is working on this with the WiFi App developer.

 

[valleskm]

Yes, that's what I heard from Auber. Sounds like an app fix/update might be possible. Thanks

 

[valleskm]

So Auber will be releasing a new Smokin It app version (v2.4.1_build2175) in the next few days that should resolve this. Good customer service on their part

 

[valleskm]

For those who are interested, the updated app seems to be working well. I made a quick test program and got phone notifications for smoker high temp, food high temp, and step end. Only thing is it didn't always seem consistent in keeping the messages updated if I didn't have the phone and app open, but there are probably some other phone settings to play with.
All in all, a very nice addition, and good to see Auber is interested in keeping a good customer experience

 

[LarryD]

Hmmm... I don't see the updated app available on Android, yet.

 

[valleskm]

Ok, strange. I'm using Android and I saw it on Friday already.
It was just a normal app update where you manage and update any of the apps.
As far as I know this was for the Gen2 Smokin It app (I found out there were two versions!). I don't know if it was applied to the Gen1 app. Do you know which one you have? Mine is a red Smokin It icon on my phone.
I suppose it's possible your phone already automatically updated it too. If you tap the three lines on the upper left when you open the app, and then "About" it should say Version 2.4.1 if you have the updated one

 

[old sarge]

Per Steve, Auber has released an application update for the android phones that should solve the problem.

 

[valleskm]

Yes, I think if I understand LarryD right he's saying he's not seeing that app update on his phone

 

[LarryD]

Yes, I think if I understand LarryD right he's saying he's not seeing that app update on his phone

Correct...  I don't have my apps set to auto-update, so if I'm on the latest version I'm not sure how/why.  I'm on version 2.1.12...  what is the latest?

 

[LarryD]

>So Auber will be releasing a new Smokin It app version (v2.4.1_build2175) in the next few days that should resolve this.

In reality, Auber released a totally new application named Smokin-It WiFi and not an update to the Smokin-It app.  As auber has a long history of not having any idea how to write or manage software, this isn't surprising.

Anyway, that explains why I didn't see an update for the app on my phone.  Is the new app compatible with the older 3DW or only new models?  If the old app is working for me, is there any reason to install and use the new one?

 

[valleskm]

Hi LarryD
I'm with you. The whole wifi setup and use is confusing. I got a used #2 wifi recently, and the wifi connection, plus the not-so-clear wifi manual are what took the longest to get through. I spent the first hour trying to connect a Gen2 controller to the Gen1 app, without knowing there were two different apps  . So I had to dig around some to try to figure it all out. That's the only reason I understand some of this now. Here's what I can tell you:
-There have been two Smokin It controllers and two apps since 2021, Gen1 and Gen2. The Gen2s are after 9/18/2021, the Gen2 controller should say Gen2 on it, and the Gen2 app is the one with the red icon in the Google Play store, not the black one (the Smokin-It WiFi app you mentioned is really just the same as the Gen2 app) (see the attached pictures for the Gen2 controller and app).
-You can't use the Gen2 app with Gen1 controller. However, you can get your Gen1 controller updated to Gen2 by Auber. The only thing is that it's a hardware update, so you have to physically detach your controller and send it in to them. If I remember right, they charged something like $40, plus you have to pay for shipping. I had Auber upgrade mine to Gen2, and it works fine.
-Is it worth it? I'm not sure. It sounds like the Gen2 is faster, maybe has better wifi connectivity, and with the new update to the app I like the fact that you get a push notification on your phone when the controller moves on to a new step or ends the program. Can be useful. Seems like the new update also improved some things for the plotting which I don't totally understand. These are the official new updates to the Gen2 app:
What's new
* Fixed a bug in sending notifications to the app.
* Added new features to the data plot: Y-axis scale adjustment, data plot line selection, and quick note.
* Updated alarm notification icon.
So if you're already using Gen2 controller and app, I'd say updating the app is definitely worth it. If you're on Gen1, you'll have to weigh whether you want to send in your controller and pay for the hardware update to be able to use the Gen2 app. I thought it was worth it for me because I got the whole smoker for a pretty good price, so wanted to have the latest controller/app too.

Overall, Smokin It customer service was good, but not too helpful on the wifi part. Auber seems to put out some confusing products, but in general I thought their customer service was pretty responsive and helpful.

Anyway, hope that can help some. Good luck!

 

[LarryD]

Yeah, there's no way I'm investing $40 and taking the risk of breaking/losing the controller to upgrade from one crappy app to another. 

I have a very nice Thermoworks Signals 4 probe meter that I use.  I just program the controller to operate like an analog smoker...  I set a temp and tell it to keep it that way for 16 hours.    The less the auber does, the better, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[valleskm]

LarryD, that's good too! Whatever works for our use. Seems like Thermoworks makes good products.

I should add for anyone who runs across this post that the Auber app can be nice if you're ready to spend some time figuring it out. You can do things like slowly ramp up temp for bacon smoke, start out at low temp for more smoke from a smoke tray and then have it raise the temp automatically after a couple hours, have the smoker temp lower to "warming temp" after reaching a certain internal temp, watch the progress and have notifications on your phone even if you're not on site, etc. The graph to track how long the smoke goes, and how the internal temp moves along can be a bonus for the next smoke, too.
It takes some slogging through, and the manual is not great, but there can be some benefits.