Help! Ironwood won’t connect to phone

[pkitch]

Having similar issues. A rep told me the middlelayer that the grill connects to was having issues and to expect a fix by the end of the month... Why release an update that breaks key functionality.

I am fairly certain there is a bug in combination with the older firmware 1.00.11 that I am stuck on and this version of the App... If they fix via the App by end of the month, that will be faster than their current proposed hardware swap. Thanks for the info.

 

[jscoleman]

Sadly I too am having this issue on the 1.00.11 firmware. Support is going to send me a new controller.. not a good first experience with Traeger I must say.

 

[b4tn]

I was just getting ready to post this exact same issue but searched first and found this. I am in the same boat and am beyond frustrated! Being an IT guy by profession made the calls to support even more painful. 3 times now I have spent an hour or two on the phone going over the steps and the "try this's". Support has proven to be absolutely worthless. The first guy said I needed to put the grill in standby by holding the button for 3 seconds, flip the switch on the back, and unplug it, then let it sit for 24 hours so it can get the update....... with no power...... Of course I left it in normal standby over night with no updates to my 1.00.11 firmware. The next day they started going through the steps again and I told them I have already been through all this and he said to try to connect with a computer like a laptop or tablet. I got out my windows tablet and he said install the app. I explained to him that its a windows tablet and he assured me there is a windows version of the app. When I explained to him that the google play store is for android devices he told me to try and install from the apple store!!!! really!!!?? He asked for my grill UID and said it was not registered on their side so he completed the registration and asked me to go to standby for 24 hours again. He said if it didnt work by tomorrow call back and they will escalate. I called back the third day, yesterday, to escalate and she started walking me through the general steps again!!!! I told her I have already been through this several times and I need it escalated NOW! She then informed me that there was no record of my calls to support WTF!!! When she started walking me through the general steps I stopped her and basically read back to her the list she was reading from. She said "oh it sounds like you have already tried everything" and put me on hold for a bit then came back and took down all my info, SW versions, phone version, etc and said that they are escalating the issue and someone will contact me. I will be calling back again tonight and I bet it was another blow off. At this point I dont care if I dont like the app I paid $1200 for a grill It should work as advertised. At the very least I want the firmware updates.

 

[jscoleman]

I was just getting ready to post this exact same issue but searched first and found this. I am in the same boat and am beyond frustrated! Being an IT guy by profession made the calls to support even more painful. 3 times now I have spent an hour or two on the phone going over the steps and the "try this's". Support has proven to be absolutely worthless. The first guy said I needed to put the grill in standby by holding the button for 3 seconds, flip the switch on the back, and unplug it, then let it sit for 24 hours so it can get the update....... with no power...... Of course I left it in normal standby over night with no updates to my 1.00.11 firmware. The next day they started going through the steps again and I told them I have already been through all this and he said to try to connect with a computer like a laptop or tablet. I got out my windows tablet and he said install the app. I explained to him that its a windows tablet and he assured me there is a windows version of the app. When I explained to him that the google play store is for android devices he told me to try and install from the apple store!!!! really!!!?? He asked for my grill UID and said it was not registered on their side so he completed the registration and asked me to go to standby for 24 hours again. He said if it didnt work by tomorrow call back and they will escalate. I called back the third day yesterday to escalate and she started walking me through the general steps again!!!! I told her I have already been through this several times and I need it escalated NOW! She then informed me that there was no record of my calls to support WTF!!! When she started walking me through the general steps I stopped her and basically read back to her the list she was reading from. She said "oh it sounds like you have already tried everything" and put me on hold for a bit then came back and took down all my info, SW versions, phone version, etc and said that they are escalating the issue and someone will contact me. I will be calling back again tonight and I bet it was another blow off. At this point I dont care if I dont like the app I paid $1200 for a grill It should work as advertised. At the very least I want the firmware updates.

I feel your pain.

Out of curiosity what firewall/router and AP's (if applicable) do you use?

Unfortunately Traeger went as cheap as they could with the wireless modules on their controllers (ESP32-WROVER). These cost ~$5 and have known wireless issues, search for "ESP32 wifi issue" if you're curious. Another interesting tidbit, the modules antenna is directional and is pointing outwards from the controller (towards you if standing in front of the grill). This explains the extremely poor wireless performance as I imagine most grills are facing away from the house.. the source of most wireless access points.


To save you some time (I too am an IT professional), here are the steps I've tried to get the controller online:

• Create simple SSID "traeger" with simple 8 digit alphanumeric password
• Create firewall rules to explicitly allow all traffic to and from the traeger
• Disable all 5ghz wireless networks
• Packet capture traffic from grill (i can upload the pcap later if interested), it communicates with an AWS server but traffic is encrypted (also pulls time from an NTP server)
• Connect grill to iPhone wireless hotspot (AT&T)
• Connect grill to wireless hotspot router (verizon)
• Connect grill to wireless hotspot router (T-Mobile)
• Connect to 2.4ghz wifi network (20mhz) with WPA2/AES
• Connect to 2.4ghz wifi network (20mhz) with WPA2/TKIP
• Connect to 2.4ghz wifi network (20mhz) with WPA2/AES+TKIP
• Connect to 2.4ghz wifi network (20/40mhz) with WPA2/AES
• Connect to 2.4ghz wifi network (20/40mhz) with WPA2/TKIP
• Connect to 2.4ghz wifi network (20/40mhz) with WPA2/AES+TKIP
• Use legacy wireless router (linksys wrt54g stock firmware) connected directly to ISP equipment with firewall off
• Run 75ft network cable outside with legacy router directly in front of grill
• Setup grill on Android phone, iPad, iPhone and Android Studio (emulator)
• Wifi channels 1, 6 and 11

Demand they send you a new controller, they supposedly have stock in Washington (state). Confirm it will ship with a newer firmware as that may be the issue.

 

[b4tn]

I feel your pain.

Out of curiosity what firewall/router and AP's (if applicable) do you use?

Unfortunately Traeger went as cheap as they could with the wireless modules on their controllers (ESP32-WROVER). These cost ~$5 and have known wireless issues, search for "ESP32 wifi issue" if you're curious. Another interesting tidbit, the modules antenna is directional and is pointing outwards from the controller (towards you if standing in front of the grill). This explains the extremely poor wireless performance as I imagine most grills are facing away from the house.. the source of most wireless access points.


To save you some time (I too am an IT professional), here are the steps I've tried to get the controller online:

• Create simple SSID "traeger" with simple 8 digit alphanumeric password
• Create firewall rules to explicitly allow all traffic to and from the traeger
• Disable all 5ghz wireless networks
• Packet capture traffic from grill (i can upload the pcap later if interested), it communicates with an AWS server but traffic is encrypted (also pulls time from an NTP server)
• Connect grill to iPhone wireless hotspot (AT&T)
• Connect grill to wireless hotspot router (verizon)
• Connect grill to wireless hotspot router (T-Mobile)
• Connect to 2.4ghz wifi network (20mhz) with WPA2/AES
• Connect to 2.4ghz wifi network (20mhz) with WPA2/TKIP
• Connect to 2.4ghz wifi network (20mhz) with WPA2/AES+TKIP
• Connect to 2.4ghz wifi network (20/40mhz) with WPA2/AES
• Connect to 2.4ghz wifi network (20/40mhz) with WPA2/TKIP
• Connect to 2.4ghz wifi network (20/40mhz) with WPA2/AES+TKIP
• Use legacy wireless router (linksys wrt54g stock firmware) connected directly to ISP equipment with firewall off
• Run 75ft network cable outside with legacy router directly in front of grill
• Setup grill on Android phone, iPad, iPhone and Android Studio (emulator)

Demand they send you a new controller, they supposedly have stock in Washington (state). Confirm it will ship with a newer firmware as that may be the issue.

View attachment 596

LOL, I tried pretty much all the same except for packet capture and connecting to a hotspot. I dont think it will make a difference with the hotspot but I will try that after work today. I am convinced it is a problem with the firmware version and the current app. Connection does not seem to be an issue. As mentioned before the grill is connected with good signal to my router and the router is right next to the grill. My wife thought I was nuts running extended cables to the deck for the router lol. I tried to keep it as dumb as possible for support and have no out of the ordinary gear in the mix at the moment. I was connected using a netgear WN3000RP extender but decided to remove that from the mix as well until its working so am currently connecting direct to an xfinity X1 router.

 

[jscoleman]

LOL, I tried pretty much all the same except for packet capture and connecting to a hotspot. I dont think it will make a difference with the hotspot but I will try that after work today. I am convinced it is a problem with the firmware version and the current app. Connection does not seem to be an issue. As mentioned before the grill is connected with good signal to my router and the router is right next to the grill. My wife thought I was nuts running extended cables to the deck for the router lol. I tried to keep it as dumb as possible for support and have no out of the ordinary gear in the mix at the moment. I was connected using a netgear WN3000RP extender but decided to remove that from the mix as well until its working so am currently connecting direct to an xfinity X1 router.

Hah.. I got the same treatment from the wife yesterday, "You're not going to leave that cable running across the house are you?"

So something I haven't tried yet, running the older versions of the Traeger app on an android platform . I'm going to try that later today.

The very first firmware update (01.01.00 3/5/19) release notes specify "1. Improved WiFi stability. ", I'm guessing we got grills that had a beta/pre-retail version of the firmware as it's not even listed on their change log.

 

[b4tn]

Hah.. I got the same treatment from the wife yesterday, "You're not going to leave that cable running across the house are you?"

So something I haven't tried yet, running the older versions of the Traeger app on an android platform . I'm going to try that later today.

The very first firmware update (01.01.00 3/5/19) release notes specify "1. Improved WiFi stability. ", I'm guessing we got grills that had a beta/pre-retail version of the firmware as it's not even listed on their change log.

I would be very curious if rolling back the app works. I dont have an android device but am trying to get my hands on one and was going to try the same thing. I feel like if I can at least get the firmware to update that my luck may change.

 

[jscoleman]

I would be very curious if rolling back the app works. I dont have an android device but am trying to get my hands on one and was going to try the same thing. I feel like if I can at least get the firmware to update that my luck may change.

Agreed, I'll try this when I get home later today and post an update. Going to start with 1.3.4 (published 3/15/19) and work backwards from there.

 

[pkitch]

You guys are more sophisticated in your knowledge than I am, but I feel I have already significantly surpassed probably the average consumer's reasonable attempts (most of the above) and as I am sure everyone agrees this needs to 'just work' for the price point they are charging. I very specifically purchased this brand for this feature and have already been advised I cannot return it as I assembled it already (and cooked on it) which is ridiculous.

I just missed a call from another rep and am waiting for a call back, but I am not willing to spend much more time on 'troubleshooting'. They promised me previously a new controller with newer firmware on it which is what needs to happen. Between paying more (ordered from Traeger paid for delivery), screwed up delivery and now this I am not a happy customer.

I'll update once I hear from them again.

 

[b4tn]

You guys are more sophisticated in your knowledge than I am, but I feel I have already significantly surpassed probably the average consumer's reasonable attempts (most of the above) and as I am sure everyone agrees this needs to 'just work' for the price point they are charging. I very specifically purchased this brand for this feature and have already been advised I cannot return it as I assembled it already (and cooked on it) which is ridiculous.

I just missed a call from another rep and am waiting for a call back, but I am not willing to spend much more time on 'troubleshooting'. They promised me previously a new controller with newer firmware on it which is what needs to happen. Between paying more (ordered from Traeger paid for delivery), screwed up delivery and now this I am not a happy customer.

I'll update once I hear from them again.

I agree 100% no body should have to go through all the hassle to simply connect.

 

[GrillMeister]

Cheese & Crackers! I too am an IT geek, albeit an old one, and I've found that many of the problems seem to be distance to the AP and making sure they are are on a 2.4 ghz AP.

I did not have a single issue as I have my AP setup for both 2.4 and 5G with the same SSID. The key is being in range with the 2.4 frequency.

 

[jscoleman]

I would be very curious if rolling back the app works. I dont have an android device but am trying to get my hands on one and was going to try the same thing. I feel like if I can at least get the firmware to update that my luck may change.

I tried v1.0 -> v1.34 and it was the same result everytime. Unfortunately it does not seem to be the app thats the issue. I investigated further and found traeger is using Xively (IOT platform api) and was able to verify my device telemetry through it. They store quite a bit of information about the grill here, nothing too interesting though.

At this point I do believe it's the controller firmware (01.00.11) that is the issue and without an offline means to update it you'll need Traeger to send you an entirely new unit, this seems to be a pretty big oversight on their behalf. A USB port or adhoc (phone->grill) means to update would have saved a lot of $ and headache.

 

[b4tn]

Well, still no luck. I didn’t have a chance to call support back tonight but I did get my hands on an android device. I installed APK’s for 1.3.0, 1.3.2, 1.3.4, and 1.3.5. All versions got further than the iPhone app and rather than starting back at the setup screen after naming the grill it brought me into the wifire part of the app. However none of the options worked and said network unavailable. Like the iPhone app the grill is connecting to the WiFi but the app is not connecting to the grill. Firmware version on the grill is still showing software version 01.00.11 and config version 06.005.

@GrillMeister. The access point is next to the grill and signal strength is between 45 and sometimes 60

 

[GrillMeister]

Hah.. I got the same treatment from the wife yesterday, "You're not going to leave that cable running across the house are you?"

No Sweetie, just for a few minutes.

SWMBO must not be triggered!

 

[pkitch]

Spoke with (I believe) an escalation Rep yesterday from headquarters, they confirmed they will be sending me a new controller with newer firmware, no other new information at this point. I'll update once I receive it install and attempt again.