RecTeq turning off app remote start up feature?

[Buckeye smoker]

So.. in Summary..........

- Ray thinks he is protecting his company from possible future litigation, that could be brought by people too stupid to be operating this grill in the first place.
(No this is NOT a common sense thing, stop trying to defend irresponsible actions.) Common sense dictates you know better then to remote start your grill in those types of situations. This is just another effect the "Twinkie Defense" has had, people who are allowed to blame others for their own stupidity. Its a shift of accountability- PERIOD.
Good example.. We should ban Spoons, because it is easier to shovel more food into your mouth, which in turns makes you fatter. (If you can't see or understand the stupidity of that, Only God can help you).

- Recteq is NOT the only company that offers a remote start on their App (ex: Grilla Grills))
-GGrills hasn't removed theirs. (They did the smarter alternative and put a warning on it for those under the normal IQ threshold for our species, that could possibly buy and operate their device.)

- I bought a grill that no longer offers a feature that was part of the determining process for selecting this maker.
- while I understand the business implication/decision, there were other ways to accomplish this, without f****ng over their customers. (See aforementioned Grilla Grills)


Oddly enough, I have been on the fence this year as to whether buying a new model from RecTeq, or looking elsewhere. Seems the decision has been further assisted.

Yes unfortunately, (and I have talked to him) Ray has gone from "its US Gov regulation everyone has to do it, we don't want to do it ... To... Im not saying the agency name and I agree that the possibility to start a fire is bad". I do believe him that, they were going to do a press release and it got away from them when it was leaked out, but still...
Which makes me really aggravated. People think this is about the actual button or the remote feature but actually, its about something deeper that most are not understanding here.(overreach) Its their company, there choice, but choices have consequences. Did the price go down for less features? Did they make it up some how to recent purchases? Are they going to keep folding to lets say "woke BBQ" ? Soon your car radio or accelerator pedal will be controlled also.

 

[Chief_USN_Ret]

Actually, that one part.. his claim "its an Industry Regulation", is what irritates me the most.
That is literally a lie.
There is NO regulation that affects this what-so-ever.
It is purely a CYA move by Recteq. Nothing more. If it were an industry regulation (that came out last year), other competitors would have complied. (Already sighted an example of a competitor). Again, there were alternative ways to do this, Ray/Recteq chose poorly.

So why does that irritate me the most? - Integrity...
I AM NOW questioning Ray's integrity. If you lie, you lose it.

 

[stevenlhaney]

I'm shopping for a new brand with remote start if anyone has any suggestions? Used this feature 3-4 a week. Hell let me roll back my app version and lock it in. I am so pissed nobody by my wife as any clue how pissed. If I can find something right now I will order it. (loved this grill, key word loved) Used it 3-4 times a week since 2019 it a workhorse.

 

[Chief_USN_Ret]

I'm shopping for a new brand with remote start if anyone has any suggestions? Used this feature 3-4 a week. Hell let me roll back my app version and lock it in. I am so pissed nobody by my wife as any clue how pissed. If I can find something right now I will order it. (loved this grill, key word loved) Used it 3-4 times a week since 2019 it a workhorse.

Grill Grills
They dont have larger* capacities like Recteq offers. However their Silverbac, and their new Mammoth Vertical (with option to add actual wood chunks, in addition to pellets) it what I am looking at right now.

Comparison.
590/Deckboss (Stampede) 590 sq/in = Silverbac - 692 sq/in (that is their biggest model.
Mammoth has no comparison to Recteq, however 1160 ( ore more ) sq/in of cooking space. Mammoth video

 

[stevenlhaney]

Ugh. Anyone have any idea if this feature removal is coming in the form of an app update or will they turn it off on their side somehow? Already turned off auto update on my app on case it's merely an app update but I bet it's on their side.

Wish I would of knew this was coming I would have turned off autoupdate. So pissed.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Wish I would of knew this was coming I would have turned off autoupdate. So pissed.

I did turn off autoupdate; but since you have to talk to their servers - you get a popup window forcing you to press a button to run the update. Otherwise the app is not useable.

I wonder if we've been giving too much credit to Recteq for even having an app in the first place. If the 3rd party app can read and control everything as well - I am thinking the Recteq app is mostly just a branded front-end to display data (and collect it at the server end).

 

[stevenlhaney]

I did turn off autoupdate; but since you have to talk to their servers - you get a popup window forcing you to press a button to run the update. Otherwise the app is not useable.

I wonder if we've been giving too much credit to Recteq for even having an app in the first place. If the 3rd party app can read and control everything as well - I am thinking the Recteq app is mostly just a branded front-end to display data (and collect it at the server end).

At this point it is a great opportunity for someone to write an app that turns it on lets me control temp and charge me $25-50 and it is a done deal! Hint hint anyone write apps?

 

[sdynak]

At this point it is a great opportunity for someone to write an app that turns it on lets me control temp and charge me $25-50 and it is a done deal! Hint hint anyone write apps?

https://www.recteqforum.com/threads/possible-remote-start-work-around-use-at-your-own-rsk.7256/

 

[SmokeOCD]

At this point it is a great opportunity for someone to write an app that turns it on lets me control temp and charge me $25-50 and it is a done deal! Hint hint anyone write apps?

I guess this is where it all starts https://github.com/tuya
From what I've read this is likely the base of a majority of Smart Things Apps out there.

 

[O C]

Many years ago I had a similar problem. i contacted RT and they suggested I do a manual reset of the grill remove the app and reinstall it using a different name. I was reluctant as I liked the name I selected but followed their directions and it worked. Apparently, there was some problem/bug on their server that couldn’t recognize the name I selected and it couldn’t consistently “talk” to my Bull. Don’t know if that is your problem though. Have you contact RT tech support? They are pretty good at diagnostics.

Thanks I removed the grill from the app and re-added it. That worked and it even added it back with the same name.

 

[Pete 396]

Don't get me wrong here guys , Love my smoker and Recteq. Having a discussion here. I don't "need" a app and remote start...but that's not the bigger issue. Arguing necessity is futile, what one may " another may not*. Here's a borrowed response that shows a different angle or two.

View attachment 21323

I own a 2014 Cadillac CTS. They had a problem with the heated seats that only showed up if you used the remote start feature and had the heated seat feature activated. GM determined it would be too expensive to do a recall, so they disabled the ability to use the heated seats with remote start. That's a feature owners paid for that was taken away for safety reasons. I don't have a problem with that.

 

[Pete 396]

I guess this is where it all starts https://github.com/tuya
From what I've read this is likely the base of a majority of Smart Things Apps out there.

 

[SmokeOCD]

I own a 2014 Cadillac CTS. They had a problem with the heated seats that only showed up if you used the remote start feature and had the heated seat feature activated. GM determined it would be too expensive to do a recall, so they disabled the ability to use the heated seats with remote start. That's a feature owners paid for that was taken away for safety reasons. I don't have a problem with that.

Quick funny… went on a LONG LUNCH with my boss, he had one of the huge SUVs. We’re about 50 minutes into the ride and I started screaming pull over! I jumped out and figured out how to turn it off, it wouldn’t be long before the smell of bacon was wafting through the air. I hate heated seats!

 

[Greg Jones]

Quick funny… went on a LONG LUNCH with my boss, he had one of the huge SUVs. We’re about 50 minutes into the ride and I started screaming pull over! I jumped out and figured out how to turn it off, it wouldn’t be long before the smell of bacon was wafting through the air. I hate heated seats!

My gosh, my wife loves them. Two of her last three cars had them. The middle car of the three did not and she complained about it forever. We’ve lived in SE Kentucky for 17 years now-how cold do you think it ever gets here?

 

[Motodad1776]

Heated seats are AWESOME, so are vented seats.

 

[SmokeOCD]

My gosh, my wife loves them. Two of her last three cars had them. The middle car of the three did not and she complained about it forever. We’ve lived in SE Kentucky for 17 years now-how cold do you think it ever gets here?

NO NO NO! His was BROKE! He laughed his @$$ off! It’s on full blast or off. Maybe that’s part of why I don’t like them but who here likes swamp nuts ?

 

[JTolbert]

If I had known they were going to cripple the app because "someones gardener covered their grill..." IE they are covering their asses to make sure they are not liable for damages that people cause and stupily try to blame it on them..

Didn't want to join this conversation but this gentleman and a few others have correctly identified the issue. I work in the construction industry as an electrician and this issue being discussed here is no different than any other that may exist in the world. The world has become a CYA (cover your ass) world. This feature was disabled for the mere chance and chance only that anyone, i.e. kid dumb adult whatever hits the on button in the app. and accidentally causes injury, property damage, potentially death to anyone. I personally am not affected by this change as I go start my BFG manually every time. But I do understand the frustration that comes with outside sources making decisions that more or less take control away from individuals that they may or may not perceive as infringements on personal freedom. IMO this is likely directed by insurance and the new corporate partnership, one huge lawsuit can end all the success that Ray and his team worked so hard for. Sad world reality, but the reality we all are faced with in our everyday lives. Smoke on all !!! just with a little less automation lol

 

[SmokeZilla]

I own a 2014 Cadillac CTS. They had a problem with the heated seats that only showed up if you used the remote start feature and had the heated seat feature activated. GM determined it would be too expensive to do a recall, so they disabled the ability to use the heated seats with remote start. That's a feature owners paid for that was taken away for safety reasons. I don't have a problem with that.

Pete,
I am glad you have the right to exercise your choice to accept that change. There are many things that are portrayed as “safety” issues that may not in fact be true. As an engineer myself, they could have spent the money to add sensors to limit the temperature of the seats when started remotely and built the software to make it happen. Instead, the rolled the dice and force a change on their customers that they knew you and others would just accept. Based on what was leaked about RecTeq’s removal of a paid for feature that they conveniently used to stimulate sales distinguish their products from their competitors without offering consideration is blatantly wrong. To use your analogy, instead of turning off the heated seat feature during remote start and instead, disabled that feature altogether, I bet your perspective may be different. As many first responders would admit, we know children get their appendages caught in car doors and windows all the time. If you visit a trauma ward and look at their records, fingers caught in doors is one of the biggest controllable car related injuries for emergency room visits for kids between the ages of 3-6. If GM were to remove doors from the vehicle and make everyone climb in the windows, they would sell very few cars. If they claimed they removed the doors because of a regulation and no such regulation existed, would you still be in agreement? In summary, as stated in several of my posts, show me the regulation and I will understand. Anything short of that is a business decision that should be addressed in a manner that protects the consumer from predatory and capricious actions committed by companies after a purchase agreement has been solidified.

 

[SmokeZilla]

Didn't want to join this conversation but this gentleman and a few others have correctly identified the issue. I work in the construction industry as an electrician and this issue being discussed here is no different than any other that may exist in the world. The world has become a CYA (cover your ass) world. This feature was disabled for the mere chance and chance only that anyone, i.e. kid dumb adult whatever hits the on button in the app. and accidentally causes injury, property damage, potentially death to anyone. I personally am not affected by this change as I go start my BFG manually every time. But I do understand the frustration that comes with outside sources making decisions that more or less take control away from individuals that they may or may not perceive as infringements on personal freedom. IMO this is likely directed by insurance and the new corporate partnership, one huge lawsuit can end all the success that Ray and his team worked so hard for. Sad world reality, but the reality we all are faced with in our everyday lives. Smoke on all !!! just with a little less automation lol

JTolbert,

I like your analysis. Since it is apparent RT is risk adverse (which would make one wonder why they offer a fire based device on the market when they could be selling bottled water), perhaps the next generation of their smokers will come with a “dead man’s” switch that will force the user to hold down a button on the unit anytime the temperature goes beyond ambient. This button must be engaged for the duration of the cook in case a piece of paper, dead animal, or helium filled ballon, driven by the wind, fell from the sky and lands on it. If released, the cooker would immediately go into shut-down mode only to be reset by unplugging and plugging it back in. Heck, we could even say it is/was based on a regulation. How’s that for compliance with this unknown/undisclosed regulation? From what I read here, quite a few people wouldn’t mind since it is for “safety”. Do you think those same people would be so amenable? Your point is well taken and I agree with you on this topic.

 

[BillyR]

Would you feel the same if your child put the cover on and then died in the fire? One man’s “personal responsibility” is another man’s “government overreach.”

Hey Karen, I really don't need the "if it saves one life" story every time the Government shoves more regulation down my throat. You know how many kids are killed in bath tubs? Better ban 'em... because how would you feel if it was your child that drown in that fiberglass killer? That tired argument, accepted by the brain dead sheeple, can be used to regulate anything. Today it is a convenience that they take away. Tomorrow.......