New software version

I don’t consider loss of pairing and or flare up an issue. These things happen. Set point issue seems like an issue. What does that mean however? “Set point drop”
 
I don’t consider loss of pairing and or flare up an issue. These things happen. Set point issue seems like an issue. What does that mean however? “Set point drop”
I do not understand how these can not be an issue. The set point of the controller is lost electronically so that the temp starts slowly dropping. At some point, the controller thinks that pellets are not feeding or that the fire has gone out. Either triggers a shut down. The loss of pairing may trigger the loss of temp set point. The restart of the unit in the middle of the run may trigger a flare up due to either pellets being dumped in right before set point loss or being dumped in to regain the temp. All of this depends on the cycle (stage) of the PID and how it averages the temp at a given time. All of this is due to programing of the PID and all of the components that interact with it (app, OS, firmware, motor, sensor, etc.).
 
I would assume loss of pairing to mean the pairing between the phone and the grill. If so, this sorta thing happens from time to time on every WiFi grill I know of. It’s a part of the technology. The grill should still function properly separate from the WiFi however.

I am totally confused by what you are describing. Sounds like more going on with both the unit and the subsequent actions than I have ever experienced. restart? Flare up? Seems like way too much worry about the precise workings of the controller.

anyhow, sorry that you are having a bad run of luck.
 
I do not understand how these can not be an issue. The set point of the controller is lost electronically so that the temp starts slowly dropping. At some point, the controller thinks that pellets are not feeding or that the fire has gone out. Either triggers a shut down. The loss of pairing may trigger the loss of temp set point. The restart of the unit in the middle of the run may trigger a flare up due to either pellets being dumped in right before set point loss or being dumped in to regain the temp. All of this depends on the cycle (stage) of the PID and how it averages the temp at a given time. All of this is due to programing of the PID and all of the components that interact with it (app, OS, firmware, motor, sensor, etc.).
That is exactly what happened to me during my last cook: loss of WiFi control —> loss of setpoint —> lowering temp —> low temp warning —> had to re-enter setpoint —> rapid pellet feed —> flare up and overshoot by 100 degrees —> burned food —> manual shutdown —> late dinner —> unhappy wife.

I too attribute this issue to the PID controller and either the loss of input from the grill temp probe or, more likely too much “D” function overriding the “P” and “I” until the temperature gets so far below the set-point that it triggers ( in my case) rapid pellet feed.
 
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i hope this is isolated. I haven’t experienced that. I’m guessing the controller issue triggers the WiFi loss as opposed to the other way around? The grill should operate independently of the WiFi I would think? I had some temp issues a couple of updates back where the grill overshot and I opened the lid and maybe fiddled with the controller, but it happened maybe twice and went away after an update. Hopefully this gets resolved for you guys relatively quickly.
 
I’m guessing the controller issue triggers the WiFi loss as opposed to the other way around? The grill should operate independently of the WiFi I would think?
JpsBBQ, neither Dassman5 or myself ever talked about wifi loss. The app on the phone has the ability to control the unit (set temp, shut down, etc.). So they are not independent. Something is causing the controller to lose temp set point and then the PID takes over and stuff happens. What that something is is unknown at this time. It may be part of the app, OS, or firmware that is disrupted by external factors (phone call, text) or internal factors (incorrect loop in the PID). Since others are doing fine, I am sure that Dassman5 and myself have a component that is different from what others have (a different series of chips, converters, etc.). My unit ran much better prior to the recent updates. But which one? When you throw three new factors into the mix all at once, it is hard to run diagnostics. And go backwards to an earlier version.
 
I don’t consider loss of pairing and or flare up an issue. These things happen. Set point issue seems like an issue. What does that mean however? “Set point drop”
From my perspective set point drop means a significant deviation from the controller setpoint. In this instance the set point was 375F, but SF temp continued to drop to around 160F, the point at which I received the low-temp warning.
 
From my perspective set point drop means a significant deviation from the controller setpoint. In this instance the set point was 375F, but SF temp continued to drop to around 160F, the point at which I received the low-temp warning.
Agreed.
 
From my perspective set point drop means a significant deviation from the controller setpoint. In this instance the set point was 375F, but SF temp continued to drop to around 160F, the point at which I received the low-temp warning.
But was there a temp set showing on either the mobile app or the controller screen? In my case, as shown by the images below, the temp set point is lost from the controller (and the app) and you are required to re-enter the desired temp on the controller. The app will not work, just like when you start up. On both the app and the controller, the temp set point is shown by dashes. If you let the unit continue at this point, you end up with low temp warning and a shut down. If you re-enter a temp set point, you may get a flare up with an overshoot on the temp (this depends on how soon you catch it and how far the temp has dropped). What Dassman5 is talking about is what I would consider a problem with programing of the PID, which gets stuck in a downward loop.

On the first two images, you can see both the actual temp and the set temp point. This is the normal display. The second two images show where the temp set point has been lost and dashes are shown at the set point spot. Obviously, these photos were not taken at the same time but are illustrations of the changes to the displays.

IMG_2245.jpg IMG_2236.jpg IMG_2251.jpg IMG_2272.jpg
 
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But was there a temp set showing on either the mobile app or the controller screen? In my case, as shown by the images below, the temp set point is lost from the controller (and the app) and you are required to re-enter the desired temp on the controller. The app will not work, just like when you start up. On both the app and the controller, the temp set point is shown by dashes. If you let the unit continue at this point, you end up with low temp warning and a shut down. If you re-enter a temp set point, you may get a flare up with an overshoot on the temp (this depends on how soon you catch it and how far the temp has dropped). What Dassman5 is talking about is what I would consider a problem with programing of the PID, which gets stuck in a downward loop.

On the first two images, you can see both the actual temp and the set temp point. The second two images show where the temp set point has been lost and dashes are shown at the set point spot.

View attachment 2276 View attachment 2277 View attachment 2278 View attachment 2279
In my case the connect app on my phone showed the last temp on the SF control probe as well as the set point before losing the connection, while the temp on the SF continued to show that it was dropping, as confirmed by the ambient air probe I installed on probe port #4. However, when I first manually changed the setpoint to a higher temp, the SF did not react and the temp continued to fall.

At that point I told my phone app (Android) to forget the SF and switched to my iPad WiFi and connected via its app. It did show the current temp of the grill, it’s set point, and probe #4, but I could not enter a new set point via the app.

About 2 minutes later the SF started to furiously add pellets to the burn pot with the unit showing a temp of 155. Suddenly the unit fired back up and ran to around 485 (against a 385 manual set point) before I opened the hood and allowed the burn off and temp to fall back towards set point. I then manually shutdown and it seemed normal.

Unfortunately it has rained the past 4 days and have been unable to check again...hopefully just a one-off.
 
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I have been taking photos at all points where the unit is deviating from the normal to send to Weber.
 
Folks, I hate to drag this up again but I have to report what I see. The kids are coming over tonight and I had a brisket. So, with all of the problems that I have had with the latest string of updates, I was reluctant to put it on. But I did. The SF ran for about 1 1/2 hours before it lost the temp set point again. It displayed on the app and the controller as dashes like I have shown before. I happened to be around the house and caught it before the temp had dropped too much. I manually entered the temp on the controller and off we went. I did not get a pellet dump or flare (which had been seen when the temp drops greatly). The SF then ran without a bump for 17 hours straight. It did not even think about doing anything wrong (because I was sleeping with both eyes open). :)

Obviously, some of us are having unique problems while the majority of you are smoking away. I did not have these kinds of problems until the latest updates. I am beginning to think they may be due to the phone app and phone activity. Because the app can control temp, maybe it is deleting (removing) the temp set point. I do not know but if the problem was solely due to an OS/firmware problem, getting 17 hours of smooth operation might be unlikely.

Maybe I should do the experiment and turn off my phone and just keep cooking. :) Unfortunately, I am suffering from COVID-induced belt shrinkage. :(:(
 
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Folks, I hate to drag this up again but I have to report what I see. The kids are coming over tonight and I had a brisket. So, with all of the problems that I have had with the latest string of updates, I was reluctant to put it on. But I did. The SF ran for about 1 1/2 hours before it lost the temp set point again. It displayed on the app and the controller dashes like I have shown before. I happened to be around the house and caught it before the temp had dropped too much. I manually entered the temp on the controller and off we went. I did not get a pellet dump or flare (which had been seen when the temp drops greatly). The SF then ran without a bump for 17 hours straight. It did not even think about doing anything wrong (because I was sleeping with both eyes open). :)

Obviously, some of us are having unique problems while the majority of you are smoking away. I did not have these kinds of problems until the latest updates. I am beginning to think they may be due to the phone app and phone activity. Because the app can control temp, maybe it is deleting (removing) the temp set point. I do not know but it the problem was solely due to an OS/firmware problem, getting 17 hours of smooth operation might be unlikely.

Maybe I should do the experiment and turn off my phone and just keep cooking. :) Unfortunately, I am suffering from COVID-induced belt shrinkage. :(:(
This is going to be a hard thing to troubleshoot.

Mine ran fine for 6 hrs. yesterday and I am on hour six of probably 9 today and the grill and my phone are interacting fine. However, after my incident last week I am running solely with the Connect app on my Android phone and have disconnected the app on my iPad, as I surmise that could have been the cause of last weeks WiFi freeze and loss of set-point.
 
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This is going to a hard thing to troubleshoot.

Mine ran fine for 6 hrs. Yesterday and I am hour six of probably 9 today and the grill and my phone are interacting fine. However, after my incident last week I am running solely with the Connect app on my Android phone and have disconnected the app on my iPad, as I surmise that could have been the cause of last weeks WiFi freeze and loss of set-point.
This stuff is out of my wheelhouse, but could this be an Android thing or is it on both platforms?
 

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