Stampede No notifications again!!

[Oldboy]

The only way you can control the grill when you are outside your WiFi network, or a hundred miles away, etc. is if the grills and the mobile devices communicate with a central server. It’s pretty common thing today with both grill and thermometer manufacturers.

If thats the case, then they need to add server capacity to fulfill their advertised functionality. Or, the app should be smart enough to recognize when the grill and app are on the same network and communicate locally, only communicating through the server when out of local wifi range. This is not rocket science in todays day and age.

The wifi communication/control was a key must have for me when I purchased and it is not happening in a highly visible manner when friends and family are visiting on holidays. This looks bad for Reqteq.

Recteq is not fulfilling their advertised functionality with this happening this frequently.

 

[Ostrichsak]

If thats the case, then they need to add server capacity to fulfill their advertised functionality. Or, the app should be smart enough to recognize when the grill and app are on the same network and communicate locally, only communicating through the server when out of local wifi range. This is not rocket science in todays day and age.

The wifi communication/control was a key must have for me when I purchased and it is not happening in a highly visible manner when friends and family are visiting on holidays. This looks bad for Reqteq.

Recteq is not fulfilling their advertised functionality with this happening this frequently.

Well said. The methodology Recteq chooses to make their advertised functionality work is irrelevant to me.... so long as it works. Right now, it's failing miserably and in a big way.

 

[mooncusser2k]

Thank you! I've been saying forever now that there is ZERO reason these need to go through Recteq servers and I, for one, would prefer they didn't at all. That would all but eliminate this problem entirely. I know it may make it a little less user-friendly for those who don't understand basic network tasks like port forwarding but who cares? The current solution is that it doesn't work for ANYONE on higher-traffic days which is when we most want to use it anyway so I'm all for a solution that eliminates RecTeq servers entirely.

Respectfully, there's a percentage of customers whose technical expertise is stretched just with connecting the grill to WiFi. The 2.4 GHz vs 5GHz deal doesn't make sense to many. Expecting them to handle port forwarding or a VPN isn't realistic.

 

[Oldboy]

Understand the point about port forwarding, wifi bands, etc. with respect to non-software and wifi networking literate users. The app should handle all this for the user. There should be preset options, maybe with a prompt for the user to confirm automatic setup or allow custom tweaking for more knowledgable users if they so choose. It’s only software and this is a system engineering design failure on the part of the recteq engineering team to understand their user base and handle this for them in the interest of providing an acceptable level of reliable advertised functionality even in a normally expected stressing environment which a holiday is. Their user base has grown and they need to grow their backend capabilty to support that user base or change their system design accordingly.

 

[mooncusser2k]

The app should handle all this for the user. There should be preset options, maybe with a prompt for the user to confirm automatic setup or allow custom tweaking for more knowledgable users if they so choose. It’s only software

Easy for you to say/type. Creating what you describe is a very different thing.

I agree RT should beef up their backend infrastructure to make it more scalable and reliable. I also suspect that it's outsourced and not entirely in RT's direct control.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Respectfully, there's a percentage of customers whose technical expertise is stretched just with connecting the grill to WiFi. The 2.4 GHz vs 5GHz deal doesn't make sense to many. Expecting them to handle port forwarding or a VPN isn't realistic.

I'm not sure why this keeps coming back to what _I_ think they should do as if my solution is somehow relevant. I don't care what solution they deploy so long as it works. My post was simply to say that if they were struggling so mightily to achieve the features they sold us then there's other ways to accomplish the same mission. The bottom line is this should just work and then it doesn't matter what I think about alternative options.

 

[Greg Jones]

That's not entirely accurate.

Then please tell why it isn’t.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Easy for you to say/type. Creating what you describe is a very different thing.

I agree RT should beef up their backend infrastructure to make it more scalable and reliable. I also suspect that it's outsourced and not entirely in RT's direct control.

Nah, Recteq doesn't get a pass on this one because they absolutely control if it works or not. Ultimately they decide who to partner with and it often includes a financial consideration so saying "Recteq can't control it" is giving them a pass and one they haven't earned. They're responsible for this eff up one way or another. Period.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Then please tell why it isn’t.

Because that's not the only way. There are other options.

Again, how do we keep talking about this stuff as it applies to Recteq though? I don't care what path they take to the destination so long as it works. For whatever reason people seem caught up on if they use 10w-30 or 5w-30 motor oil to get there.

 

[mooncusser2k]

I'm not sure why this keeps coming back to what _I_ think they should do as if my solution is somehow relevant. I don't care what solution they deploy so long as it works. My post was simply to say that if they were struggling so mightily to achieve the features they sold us then there's other ways to accomplish the same mission. The bottom line is this should just work and then it doesn't matter what I think about alternative options.

You said you wanted an option that eliminates RT's servers.

Nah, Recteq doesn't get a pass on this one because they absolutely control if it works or not. Ultimately they decide who to partner with and it often includes a financial consideration so saying "Recteq can't control it" is giving them a pass and one they haven't earned. They're responsible for this eff up one way or another. Period.

I wrote nothing that gives RT a pass on this matter. I offered an opinion, not an excuse.

 

[Greg Jones]

Because that's not the only way. There are other options.

Again, how do we keep talking about this stuff as it applies to Recteq though? I don't care what path they take to the destination so long as it works. For whatever reason people seem caught up on if they use 10w-30 or 5w-30 motor oil to get there.

I wasn’t making it about recteq at all-I also specifically mentioned that thermometer manufacturers use a central server to allow cell phones to connect with a grill that may be a thousand miles away. If you say I’m wrong that it is possible to use WiFi to connect to your grill from a thousand miles away, please share how it’s done.

 

[Ostrichsak]

You said you wanted an option that eliminates RT's servers.


I wrote nothing that gives RT a pass on this matter. I offered an opinion, not an excuse.

Actually, what I said in no uncertain terms multiple times now is that I don't care what they do.... as long as it works.

 

[mooncusser2k]

Actually, what I said in no uncertain terms multiple times now is that I don't care what they do.... as long as it works.

Except that's not what you wrote.

Thank you! I've been saying forever now that there is ZERO reason these need to go through Recteq servers and I, for one, would prefer they didn't at all. That would all but eliminate this problem entirely. I know it may make it a little less user-friendly for those who don't understand basic network tasks like port forwarding but who cares? The current solution is that it doesn't work for ANYONE on higher-traffic days which is when we most want to use it anyway so I'm all for a solution that eliminates RecTeq servers entirely.

All that stuff aside, have you called Ray yet to share your feedback directly?

 

[DenStinett]

We bought a bigger / stronger WiFi Router just for the Bull
And it still sucks at best
AND now a few of the other Devises (like my Laptop) keep dropping off the Network
Can't seem to win for loosin'

 

[jimbbq]

Skills required to design and manufacture stainless grills sre very different than managing and scaling a cloud computing environment. They should outsource and/or host on something scalable like AWS. I would prefer mine to work within my WiFi only and not talk to outside servers, but that would make monitoring cooks away from home technically difficult. I could live without that feature in exchange for app reliability.

 

[BlueBBQ]

Skills required to design and manufacture stainless grills sre very different than managing and scaling a cloud computing environment. They should outsource and/or host on something scalable like AWS. I would prefer mine to work within my WiFi only and not talk to outside servers, but that would make monitoring cooks away from home technically difficult. I could live without that feature in exchange for app reliability.

My big concern with the controller relates to firmware updates. The only talk of firmware updates that I have seen relate to doing a full controller swap. That's a bummer. So they/we are likely stuck with whatever software has shipped with all grills to date.

I would be surprised if Rec Teq had a programmer on staff for the app or the controller.

In the summer of 2020 they did not have a good ticketing system for customer inquiries.

 

[jdubz]

First cook today where I had to keep exiting the grill in the app and going back in to see updated temps - seemed like auto updating wasn't working. However this system is implemented, it's weak at best.

 

[billybob]

Gave up on the lack of notifications and purchased thermoworks smoke. It works every time and I am still able to turn a knob to set temp. My 2 cents.