Bull Controller Issues Getting Worse

[lowcountrygamecock]

I posted a couple weeks ago about issues with app connectivity. After working flawlessly for the last year 2 years I’ve started having app connectivity issues. It started happening occasionally and now will rarely connect. When it does it’s sporadic.

Today it wouldn’t connect until I started smoking some chicken breasts but it appeared to be working fine. I checked them with a thermapen and temp was around 140. Decided to manually turn the temp up to 275 using the dial on the controller. Verified the set temp was 275 and went back inside. Checked 20 minutes later and the temp said it was FULL and smoker temp was at 493. Chicken was beyond well done.

Never had that happen before and I’m 100% sure it was set to 275. Between the controller not connecting and the runaway dial temp this thing is getting frustrating. It’s worked flawlessly for years but I’m starting to get really frustrated.

 

[Motodad1776]

Are you 100% sure the issue isn't with your wifi wireless router?

 

[lowcountrygamecock]

I can pick up the wireless on my phone standing in front of the bull and got 70 M download speed.
Either way that doesn’t explain the runaway temp when I manually set the dial to 275

 

[lowcountrygamecock]

The wifi worked great for two years and nothing has changed there.

 

[JamesB]

I am probably the least technically savvy person you could ever encounter so take this with a huge grain of salt. Is it possible that the problem originated with the RT server? In other words, I guess I’m wondering if the app interacts with my Bull indirectly (i.e., phone to Wi-Fi to the RT server then to the Bull)?

About an hour or so ago, I experienced an issue (that seems to have resolved now hopefully), where my Bull started to reach the set temperature (250 degrees), then immediately began to cool off by 50 to 60 degrees, and then began ramping back up near 250 again and repeating the same cycle.

I’m not doing anything differently except I blended in Traeger mesquite pellets with my usual RT blend. It finally settled down and is staying at the set temp, but I have no idea what changed.

 

[Greg Jones]

…I guess I’m wondering if the app interacts with my Bull indirectly (i.e., phone to Wi-Fi to the RT server then to the Bull)?…

That’s exactly how it works. Your Bull connects to the recteq servers via your WiFi network and your phone does the same. Other than during the initial setup (via Bluetooth) to add your grill to your WiFi network, they never connect directly again.

 

[Buckeye1]

Have you tried to uninstall the app and test the bull to see if temp swings go away?

 

[Gonefishin]

Another maybe… might be trying to connect at 5ghz vs 2.4ghz. I’d try reinstalling the app if you haven’t. You don’t have a new router do you?

 

[lowcountrygamecock]

Nothing has changed with the router. Mine connects to 2.4 ghz. 5 won’t work according to recteq support. Had to install an extender initially to get the grill to connect. But that’s all been in place for years and has worked flawlessly until recently.

 

[lowcountrygamecock]

Turned it on today to test and the app connected fine. Five minutes later it’s disconnected. I walk outside to check it. The red light on grill is off. I go to pull up 2.4 ghz wifi network on my phone to test speed and before I can do anything the red light comes on and the app reconnects. Working fine again for now.
Btw got 26.2 Mbps download speed on the network sitting with my phone in front of the bull. After the red light came back on so I didn’t do anything to make it connect again.

 

[SmokeOCD]

My grill was offline both Saturday and Sunday. Not sure if it will come back - we'll see next time I cook.
Otherwise the grill worked fine - I had a thermoworks signal out there, so my cooks weren't really affected.

 

[Grilltreats]

I posted a couple weeks ago about issues with app connectivity. After working flawlessly for the last year 2 years I’ve started having app connectivity issues. It started happening occasionally and now will rarely connect. When it does it’s sporadic.

Today it wouldn’t connect until I started smoking some chicken breasts but it appeared to be working fine. I checked them with a thermapen and temp was around 140. Decided to manually turn the temp up to 275 using the dial on the controller. Verified the set temp was 275 and went back inside. Checked 20 minutes later and the temp said it was FULL and smoker temp was at 493. Chicken was beyond well done.

Never had that happen before and I’m 100% sure it was set to 275. Between the controller not connecting and the runaway dial temp this thing is getting frustrating. It’s worked flawlessly for years but I’m starting to get really frustrated.

That happened to me a time or two. I finally realized when picking up my phone I was hitting the slider and changing the temp. I wished the slider control would go away and the app would go back to the buttons.

 

[lowcountrygamecock]

I think the temp swing was a fluke and you could be right about the swipe. The intermittent connection to the app is driving me crazy though. Comes and goes as it pleases it seems.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Update: worked perfectly today…