eero dual band mesh router and WiFire

[dunawayfamily]

I spent a couple of hours on the phone with Traeger support to resolve two issues with my nearly new grill.

Last weekend after about 5 cooks the lid came off in my hands. The left hinge broke. the lid itself seemed a bit wonky as well. Traeger is sending me a new hinge and lid.

We then attempted to tackle the fact that my Pro 780 will not connect to my eero network. We determined that the grill software and firmware are old but I cannot update them until I can successfully connect to my network. I called eero who were very helpful and temporarily turned off 5GHz so the grill could connect to the 2.4 GHz band. No luck after several attempts so I called back to Traeger again and we did more troubleshooting. Still no luck. They think my controller may be faulty and are sending a new one.

I have a 2.4 GHz Nest security camera on my deck that connects and stays connected with no issues. Connecting my grill shouldn't be a problem yet it is. Traeger needs to address this shortcoming. The wifi connectivity was the main reason that I purchased this grill and I expect it to work as advertised.

Unfortunately, Traeger cannot give me a date on when the lid assembly or controller will arrive. I am most concerned about the hinge and lid as without that fixed I cannot use the grill at all and prime grilling season is finally here.

While I am pleased that Traeger are standing behind their product, I am very disappointed as I had big grilling plans this summer and I have 2-month-old grill sitting on my deck that I cannot use.

This hasn't been the stellar introduction to Traeger grills that I was hoping for. ?

The Lid/Hinge failure is very unfortunate ...

The challenges relative to getting WiFIRE setup is a mixed bag - some of it can be a result of the limitations of what WiFIRE requires (App Device connected to the same 2.4GHz) versus what Router / Wireless Access Point and App Device are already in place ... There are other Mesh Network solutions that allow the end user to create separate SSIDs for the 2.4GHz & 5GHz frequencies - eero has stood firm in refusing to do the same (there is a 3+ year old thread on their Community pages with multiple customers making this request over-and-over again) ... usually if someone can locate an old mobile device that only supports 2.4GHz, or defaults to that as the primary/preferred connections, they are able to get the setup process to complete ... the added frustration comes in when you've been sitting on a WiFIRE Controller that needs to be swapped out before you can get it setup / working ...


Cut/Paste from a posting I made yesterday on a separate thread:

The stated "requirement" for a separate 2.4GHz SSID really has nothing to do with the WiFIRE Controller itself, but the App Device being used to initially setup the WiFIRE Controller and connect it to your Home Wi-Fi Network ... most modern mobile devices support both 2.4GHz & 5GHz Wireless Networks and will always default to the preferred frequency when it is available (i.e. 5GHz since it provides better throughput) ... so if the WiFIRE Controller is within range of both frequencies, and your App Device being used during setup supports both frequencies, you can end up with the WiFIRE Controller sitting on the 2.4GHz frequency (the only one it supports), and the App Device sitting on the 5GHz frequency (because it is the default/preferred), thus they won't be able to communicate 1:1 during the setup process ... if the WiFIRE Controller is far enough from your Router / Wireless Access Point that the preferred (or only available) connection for your App Device is the 2.4GHz frequency, then you will not have any issues during the setup process ... if the App Device you use to complete the setup process is old enough that it only supports 2.4GHz Wireless Networks, or will default to 2.4GHz Wireless if given a choice (ex. 802.11b/g/n), then you will not have any issues during the setup process ... since most people have new(er) App Devices, along with potentially old(er) Router / Wireless Access Points, and they probably have limited/zero experience deploying IoT-based devices, they tend to fall into the following category:

The vast majority of Wi-Fi challenges are due to issues with the configuration of the Router / Wireless Access Point and/or issues with the App Device config, both of which can be resolved with minor changes ... people are expecting "plug and play" and not prepared to have to intervene to accommodate the necessary changes / workarounds ...

 

[NunyaBzness]

This has been an interesting thread. I have a 6 node Plume mesh network at home and my Timberline and iOS app hooked up painlessly, in spite of the fact that the phone is on 5 GHz and the Traeger is on 2.4 GHz. My issue is that I can’t get the grill to update firmware, in spite of the fact that the signal level is -27 dBm (excellent). Anyone else with a mesh network having issues getting back to the mothership for updated firmware/configs?

 

[dunawayfamily]

This has been an interesting thread. I have a 6 node Plume mesh network at home and my Timberline and iOS app hooked up painlessly, in spite of the fact that the phone is on 5 GHz and the Traeger is on 2.4 GHz. My issue is that I can’t get the grill to update firmware, in spite of the fact that the signal level is -27 dBm (excellent). Anyone else with a mesh network having issues getting back to the mothership for updated firmware/configs?

I replied to you in a separate posting ... updates to the WiFIRE Controller are PUSHed down from the Traeger Cloud when it recognizes your Grill UUID value as needing a Firmware and/or Config Version update ... they seem to have put a hold on the May Updates due to the fact that a subset of WiFIRE Controllers are unexpectedly shutting down ... for those impacted WiFIRE Controllers, they are working on a fix, and in some cases if you contact Traeger Support, putting you on a list to have a replacement controller shipped out once they become available ...

 

[Grill Billy]

My issues have been escalated and I received two calls yesterday from a very helpful technician who appears to be super knowledgable. He was able to confirm that my grill's UUID # is not registered on their new server backend which would cause it to fail no matter what. He has since ensured that my UUID will now be recognized by the server and feels certain that it should connect even without having eero temporarily turn off my 5G again. He is calling me today at noon to follow up.

I am very pleased to have a single, knowledgable technician stick with me throughout resolving this. I'm no longer calling in and being put on hold for an hour before having to describe my problems yet again with a new support person.

I'll post a follow up after we try to get it connected later today. I am really hoping that I do not have to call eero again to have them temporarily turn off my 5G, because if I do, I'll be on hold for a couple of hours with them. Again.

UPDATE 1: The Traeger Technician called me exactly when he said that he would call and we tried to connect my grill again now that my device UUID # has been registered on the server backend. Sadly, still no luck. He is pretty sure that the problem is with my controller and a new one will be sent out this week. He assured me that we will definitely get to the root of the problem and get this grill connected. He is absolutely the most knowledgeable rep that I have spoken with thus far, so I tend to believe him.

UPDATE 2: I did decide to call eero again to have them temporarily turn off 5G one more time with an eero beacon right beside my grill, yet I get the exact same error. It seems that the controller is indeed faulty as Joe suspected.

BTW, when I said that "my issues have been escalated", I meant that I was moved up the support food chain to what I suspect is the top technician who is committed to resolving the problems with my grill.

B

 

[Grill Billy]

UPDATE: June 7 - Success!!

On Friday, June 5th, UPS delivered a new hinge kit (but no new lid as promised) and a new controller.

I emailed my contact at Traeger to let him know that the parts arrived. While I waited to hear back from him, I replaced the left hinge. I fear that this hinge pin will eventually snap like the original one due to the wonky hinge roll on the lid that the pin slides in to. This is why my lid was also to be replaced. I need to follow up with them on that.

I installed the new controller. (easy-peasy)

I tried to connect the grill but it still would not. No response from my Traeger tech associate. I awaited a reply all day on Saturday…crickets.

On Sunday afternoon, I contacted eero and after a 1-hour wait on hold, a super helpful technician came on the line. As it turned out, while he doesn't own a Traeger, he is a big griller too and was willing to work with me on this. We tried various things with no luck when it dawned on me that I can no longer use the QR code under the hopper lid to connect as that code has the connection info of the OLD controller! Duh! ??‍.

With the 5G turned off, I manually entered in the required connection info from the wifi screen on the grill instead of scanning the QR code and we tried again. It connected! The grill immediately began downloading the required updates. NOTE: When eero turns off the 5G, it automatically turns back on after 15 minutes. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough time and the grill popped off the wifi interrupting the updates. I was afraid that would have really messed things up, but we tried again and the updates finished.

I named my grill and finished the set-up procedure. To be sure everything was good, I turned the grill off for 5 minutes and then back on to see if it would connect to the network. It did connect, even with 5G turned back on. While I didn't have anything to cook, from the app, I initiated a cook, and it downloaded the recipe to my grill as expected.

Tips for anyone also struggling with this…

1. Place an eero beacon within a few feet of the grill for the initial connection. After you successfully connect, you can move it farther away. (within reason) My eero beacon normally resides in my kitchen about 20 feet from my grill and it works fine. (I had to do this for the initial connection of my outdoor Nest cameras too)
2. Call eero, explain to them what you are trying to do and ask them to temporarily turn off the 5 GHz band then try to connect using Traeger's instructions.
3. Ask the eero rep to kindly stay on the line with you until the updates finish and the grill reboots.
4. Name your grill and finish up.
5. Important: If you have been sent a new controller, disregard the QR code under the hopper lid for connecting as it contains the connection information for your original controller. Click the "I do not have a QR Code" button and enter the info in manually from the wifi screen on your grill.
6. Be patient and polite with the support technician, they are on your side.

The eero tech was an absolute rockstar! Super helpful and very patient. He even shared his BBQ sauce recipe with me while we waited for a reboot! He was on the line for at least an hour until we had things working. I asked him if he'd shoot me his contact info, so I could speak with him if I needed more help in the future. He said that he would email me, but nothing yet. Hopefully, he will.

I'll post updates if I run into problems moving forward, but right now things look good. (except for the lid of course, that needs to be replaced)

 

[dunawayfamily]

UPDATE: June 7 - Success!!

On Friday, June 5th, UPS delivered a new hinge kit (but no new lid as promised) and a new controller.

I emailed my contact at Traeger to let him know that the parts arrived. While I waited to hear back from him, I replaced the left hinge. I fear that this hinge pin will eventually snap like the original one due to the wonky hinge roll on the lid that the pin slides in to. This is why my lid was also to be replaced. I need to follow up with them on that.

I installed the new controller. (easy-peasy)

I tried to connect the grill but it still would not. No response from my Traeger tech associate. I awaited a reply all day on Saturday…crickets.

On Sunday afternoon, I contacted eero and after a 1-hour wait on hold, a super helpful technician came on the line. As it turned out, while he doesn't own a Traeger, he is a big griller too and was willing to work with me on this. We tried various things with no luck when it dawned on me that I can no longer use the QR code under the hopper lid to connect as that code has the connection info of the OLD controller! Duh! ??‍.

With the 5G turned off, I manually entered in the required connection info from the wifi screen on the grill instead of scanning the QR code and we tried again. It connected! The grill immediately began downloading the required updates. NOTE: When eero turns off the 5G, it automatically turns back on after 15 minutes. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough time and the grill popped off the wifi interrupting the updates. I was afraid that would have really messed things up, but we tried again and the updates finished.

I named my grill and finished the set-up procedure. To be sure everything was good, I turned the grill off for 5 minutes and then back on to see if it would connect to the network. It did connect, even with 5G turned back on. While I didn't have anything to cook, from the app, I initiated a cook, and it downloaded the recipe to my grill as expected.

Tips for anyone also struggling with this…

1. Place an eero beacon within a few feet from the grill for the initial connection. After you successfully connect, you can move it farther away. (within reason) My eero beacon normally resides in my kitchen about 20 feet from my grill and it works fine. (I had to do this for the initial connection of my outdoor Nest cameras too)
2. Call eero, explain to them what you are trying to do and ask them to temporarily turn off the 5 GHz band then try to connect using Traeger's instructions.
3. Ask the eero rep to kindly stay on the line with you until the updates finish and the grill reboots.
4. Name your grill and finish up.
5. Be patient and polite with the support technician, they are on your side.

The eero tech was an absolute rockstar! Super helpful and very patient. He even shared his BBQ sauce recipe with me while we waited for a reboot! He was on the line for at least an hour until we had things working. I asked him if he'd shoot me his contact info, so I could speak with him if I needed more help in the future. He said that he would email me, but nothing yet. Hopefully, he will.

I'll post updates if I run into problems moving forward, but right now things look good. (except for the lid of course, that needs to be replaced)

The WiFIRE Controller will work with both the 2.4GHz & 5GHz frequencies both active and broadcasting the same SSID (Network Name) ... the ONLY time you need separation/isolation is during the initial setup phase, when the App Device has to stay connected to the 2.4GHz frequency throughout the entire process ... one "workaround" is to rename one of the SSIDs, which you cannot do with eero ... the second "workaround" is to disable the 5GHz frequency long enough to complete the setup process (which is what you were able to do) ... the third "workaround" is to find an OLD App Device that only supports 802.11 b/g/n via the 2.4GHz frequency, and use that to complete the setup process ...

Glad you were able to get it working - still wish eero would follow their "peers" and allow customers to rename either/or/both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies differently ...


The part about receiving a replacement controller and needing to add that information manually has been added to the updated WiFIRE Troubleshooting Page (https://www.traegergrills.com/support/wifire-troubleshooting) under the following section:

Please note, if you recently received a new controller, you will need to enter the QR code manually. Go to Menu>Wi-Fi information on the controller. In the app when asked to scan the QR code, hit enter manually. Then enter the password then the UUID found under Wi-Fi information on the controller

 

[MikeyR]

I have used an eero for 3 grills and didn’t change a thing to connect no problem. iPhone XR would’ve most likely been on the 5GHz. But based on the above info above that wouldn’t be the case, and I find that hard to believe. Glad you got it working though!

 

[dunawayfamily]

I have used an eero for 3 grills and didn’t change a thing to connect no problem. iPhone XR would’ve most likely been on the 5GHz. But based on the above info above that wouldn’t be the case, and I find that hard to believe. Glad you got it working though!

3 grills since late October 2018 (iPhone XR released on Oct 26, 2018)? WoW ... that's a lot of grilling ...

 

[MikeyR]

3 grills since late October 2018 (iPhone XR released on Oct 26, 2018)? WoW ... that's a lot of grilling ...

All replacement grills. Been a struggle. But luckily not with WiFire.

 

[dunawayfamily]

All replacement grills. Been a struggle. But luckily not with WiFire.

If the grill is far enough away from the closest eero mesh point that the 2.4GHz frequency would be considered "preferred" due to signal strength, then the iPhone XR "sticking" on the 2.4GHz frequency would make sense ... but if the grill is close to an eero mesh point where the 5GHz frequency would be the "preferred" connection for the XR, then the eero must be working some "magic" with regards to "steering" and allowing the traffic to pass from the XR on 5GHz to the WiFIRE Controller on 2.4GHz long enough to allow the setup process to complete in full (the last part of the setup process is where you name the grill in the App, while the WiFIRE Controller display shows successfully connected to your Wi-Fi Network Name, and then the App populates the grill-specific features in the UI) ...

 

[Grill Billy]

I have used an eero for 3 grills and didn’t change a thing to connect no problem. iPhone XR would’ve most likely been on the 5GHz. But based on the above info above that wouldn’t be the case, and I find that hard to believe. Glad you got it working though!

It seems that my original controller was indeed faulty. Had I clued in sooner about the QR code, it probably would have been less of a task getting the grill connected. I'm glad it's finally working!

 

[Grill Billy]

Glad you were able to get it working - still wish eero would follow their "peers" and allow customers to rename either/or/both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies differently ...

My understanding is that they need to be named the same for seamless mesh handoff to function correctly as you move about your home. I wish that they would allow the user to temporarily disable the 5G band via the eero app instead of calling them to do it. That would make troubleshooting so much easier when trying to make initial connections with 2.4 GHz devices like grills, cameras, smart doorbells etc. In the last week and a half, I bet that between Traeger and eero, I have been on hold for at least five hours!

 

[dunawayfamily]

My understanding is that they need to be named the same for seamless mesh handoff to function correctly as you move about your home. I wish that they would allow the user to temporarily disable the 5G band via the eero app instead of calling them to do it. That would make troubleshooting so much easier when trying to make initial connections with 2.4 GHz devices like grills, cameras, smart doorbells etc. In the last week and a half, I bet that between Traeger and eero, I have been on hold for at least five hours!

Agreed on the seamless "hand-off" benefits ... when you exceed the distance of where the 5 GHz signal can reach, but the 2.4 GHz signal is still adequate, not having to change Wi-Fi Network connections is nice, and the biggest benefit of having a mesh setup ...

Also agree that "hiding" administrative functionality from the end user is frustrating as well ...

To both points, if someone wants to rename one of the frequency bands, or disable one of the bands temporarily for troubleshooting purposes, it should all be accessible via the end user administrative console/portal ... that's a choice they've made as the customer ... personally, I won't "pick" a solution from a vendor that limits my abilities in this way, especially given that there are competing solutions where these types of config changes/capabilities are accessible ...

 

[Grill Billy]

Agreed on the seamless "hand-off" benefits ... when you exceed the distance of where the 5 GHz signal can reach, but the 2.4 GHz signal is still adequate, not having to change Wi-Fi Network connections is nice, and the biggest benefit of having a mesh setup ...

Also agree that "hiding" administrative functionality from the end user is frustrating as well ...

To both points, if someone wants to rename one of the frequency bands, or disable one of the bands temporarily for troubleshooting purposes, it should all be accessible via the end user administrative console/portal ... that's a choice they've made as the customer ... personally, I won't "pick" a solution from a vendor that limits my abilities in this way, especially given that there are competing solutions where these types of config changes/capabiliites are accessible ...

At the time that we settled on an eero router, I wasn't aware that I'd ever need to disable one of the frequency bands, so I never thought to look for that functionality. With that said, the controls in the eero app are excellent as far as being able to see what is currently connected to our network, or recently connected. You can boot connected devices off of your network if you wish. You can see which beacon a device is connected to and whether it is connected via 2.4 or 5 GHz. The eero is by far the best router that I have ever had and I really did not want to purchase another simply to get my grill connected so obviously I am very pleased that everything is working now.

I am not claiming that eero makes the absolute best router solution by any means, there may be other routers that are as good or better. In my case, our home network has never been better and we love the features of the eero app. (I'd still like them to add the ability to temporarily disable the 5 GHz band though)

We live in a world where we seem to be getting more and more polarized all the time. I believe that we should all use the grills, toasters and routers that we like and what works best for our needs. How boring would this world be if we all used the same grills and drove the same cars?

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread, your participation was most helpful. Stay safe and grill on!

 

[dunawayfamily]

At the time that we settled on an eero router, I wasn't aware that I'd ever need to disable one of the frequency bands, so I never thought to look for that functionality. With that said, the controls in the eero app are excellent as far as being able to see what is currently connected to our network, or recently connected. You can boot connected devices off of your network if you wish. You can see which beacon a device is connected to and whether it is connected via 2.4 or 5 GHz. The eero is by far the best router that I have ever had and I really did not want to purchase another simply to get my grill connected so obviously I am very pleased that everything is working now.

I am not claiming that eero makes the absolute best router solution by any means, there may be other routers that are as good or better. In my case, our home network has never been better and we love the features of the eero app. (I'd still like them to add the ability to temporarily disable the 5 GHz band though)

We live in a world where we seem to be getting more and more polarized all the time. I believe that we should all use the grills, toasters and routers that we like and what works best for our needs. How boring would this world be if we all used the same grills and drove the same cars?

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread, your participation was most helpful. Stay safe and grill on!

I have been involved with Network Infrastructure & Security for 30+ years, so my choices skew towards identifying solutions where I have full control over the device ... which is why I had the statement start with "personally ..." - no knock against your choice ... with my extended Family, I have them using lots of solutions that I would not personally choose, given that it fits their requirements better than something I would deploy within my home, and their needs do not match what I am doing here ... apologies if that came across as a negative, was not intended as one ...