Combustion Inc failure!

[Jim6820]

I put a couple of pork tenderloins on the grill a few minutes ago with CIPT probes in each. They had been freshly charged a few hours ago. One failed to connect to the booster, so I replaced it with a spare probe I had. A few minutes later, it was reading some obviously incorrect temperatures as well.

My faithful TW Signals unit was called into service and flawlessly started measuring temps and connecting to the wifi. Nice to have a reliable unit in reserve.

I am going to leave all three CIPT probes out of the chargers for a couple of days until they run out of battery (supposedly the way to reset them) and see what happens. All probes were updated with new firmware earlier today and I’m wondering if that is part of the problem. We’ll see after the reset.

Meanwhile, the cook goes on, uninterrupted.

 

[Greg Jones]

Hope it fixes the situation for you. Frankly, I’ve encountered enough similar events with MEATER and CPT that I’m ready to move back to a wired probe 99% of the time. Yes, the wireless stuff has some very nice features, but the ability to plug in a probe from my FireBoard or ThermoWorks product and forget about if it will function or not is money also.

 

[Jim6820]

Hope it fixes the situation for you. Frankly, I’ve encountered enough similar events with MEATER and CPT that I’m ready to move back to a wired probe 99% of the time. Yes, the wireless stuff has some very nice features, but the ability to plug in a probe from my FireBoard or ThermoWorks product and forget about if it will function or not is money also.

I completely agree, @Greg Jones. The wireless aspect is a nice feature, but is simply not as reliable as wired probes. The TW Signals works every time and the new thin probes I picked up recently are terrific, especially for smaller cuts like pork tenderloin, chicken, fish, etc.

We’ll see whether the reset works and, if not, I will be in contact with CI. I did notice that the ceramic head on one probe has a small piece flaked off. To my knowledge, it has not been dropped.

 

[Gonefishin]

They may have a way reload the firmware if that’s not part of a reset.

 

[Jim6820]

I checked CI’s Reddit forum and it appears others have had an similar experience. Apparently, there is a bug somewhere in the firmware update that it causing it. CI says it has it‘s technical staff troubleshooting it.

 

[SmokeZilla]

I checked CI’s Reddit forum and it appears others have had an similar experience. Apparently, there is a bug somewhere in the firmware update that it causing it. CI says it has it‘s technical staff troubleshooting it.

Looks like they have the same quality assurance team that the software industry is known for. Outsource the trouble shooting to customer/consumer since they don’t have anything better to do but to act as their uncompensated beta testers and protect the bottom line. Seems reasonable these days.

 

[orangebiker]

If we can pretend to put a man on the moon, you'd think we could figure out wireless temp sensors!
Seriously though, my Signals is what I rely on.

 

[SmokeOCD]

If we can pretend to put a man on the moon, you'd think we could figure out wireless temp sensors!

Had it figured out.... lost the technology.

 

[Jim6820]

Originally, I went with the CIPT because I occasionally like to do a rotisserie cook and wired-probe units don’t work in that application. Then, the convenience of not having to deal with wires got me to using the CIPT on other cooks. They worked well until…the latest firmware upgrade hit and locked everything up.

When/if I get the CIPTs reset and working again, I think I am going to (a) go back to just using them on rotisserie cooks, and (b) be very careful with future firmware updates. One of the reasons I went with CI was the rumored implementation of full wifi connectivity (rather than just extended Bluetooth) but that still has not happened. I’m beginning to wonder if it ever will.

This is a product with great potential IF all the bugs can be worked out. Like most high-tech stuff, working out the bugs is very problematic.

One of the game-changers for me in using the ThermoWorks Signals is the new “needle probes.” They are straight, thin and work great. Easier to slip through the wire port too.

 

[LarryCTN]

I had difficulty updating a second CI probe last week, although the first one to update was no problem. Haven't had a chance to try out the updated probe due to the North Pole weather we've had in east TN the past 10 days or so. But, the better half straightened out the table where I had carefully placed everything and now I don't know which probe was updated or which one needs it.

 

[Greg Jones]

But, the better half straightened out the table where I had carefully placed everything and now I don't know which probe was updated or which one needs it.

The app will tell you which probe needs updating.

 

[LarryCTN]

Thanks.

 

[Jim6820]

The app will tell you which probe needs updating.View attachment 21058

You beat me to it, @Greg Jones. And, it is apparently the update to V1.5.1 that is problematic. Oddly, it doesn’t seem to happen on every update; I guess some of us are just special.

 

[Greg Jones]

I’m apparently a slow adaptor, so I’m letting them get this figured out before I update!

 

[RattleR]

I’m apparently a slow adaptor, so I’m letting them get this figured out before I update!

Spiral development at its norm. I am sure they will get the undesirable “feature” corrected.

 

[ken g]

My son got me a Meater for Christmas. After reading the instructions and threads like this, it will stay in the box. My Fireboard works every time and is dead on accurate. I don't want to spend one minute worrying if temps are accurate.

 

[SmokeZilla]

My son got me a Meater for Christmas. After reading the instructions and threads like this, it will stay in the box. My Fireboard works every time and is dead on accurate. I don't want to spend one minute worrying if temps are accurate.

ken g,

I have the 4 probe Meater and it can work under the right conditions. My problem is that my cookers are either cast iron, or thicker grades of stainless steel (304, 316 primarily). When I close the door of their chambers, the signal drops so much that there may be reliability issues. If/when I am only using”open faced” cookers, they work fine. A couple of other gripes I have with the Meater is that their probes are not fully immersible in liquids and the probes shouldn’t be used above ~325F. In contrast, I have other wireless t-systems such as the iQ that was 33% of the Meater’s price and it is capable of the last two items I listed above with no problems. Unless you got the latest version, you may want to see if it can be exchanged/upgraded before you use it. YMMV.

 

[Jim6820]

My son got me a Meater for Christmas. After reading the instructions and threads like this, it will stay in the box. My Fireboard works every time and is dead on accurate. I don't want to spend one minute worrying if temps are accurate.

I wouldn’t be so quick to abandon your Meater; in certain circumstances wireless probes can work well. And, while I don’t currently own a Meater (though I have used one), I haven’t heard anything about them having issues with firmware upgrades locking them up. If you do any rotisserie cooking, a wireless probe can be great.

As @SmokeZilla said, be sure you have the latest version of Meater, or—if not—see if you can exchange yours for the latest.

 

[llbts1]

I like my meater and have had good luck with it for several years. It is my go to for rotisserie. It won't replace the Signals that y'all talked me into buying Black Friday though.

 

[AndyG1960]

I’ve been using 2 Meaters for a year or more, very rare connection problems, accuracy is very close to my NISP instant read.