Thermoworks RFX First Impressions

[jimboc22]

Gateway will not turn on at all – no light, does not show active, status “This device is not connected to the WI-FI” in the app.

When my Signals would not power on, even when plugged in, they told me to leave it plugged in for a straight 24 hours. Try that and see if it helps.

 

[jimboc22]

They released an app and firmware update. Here's their reply to me when I emailed them about my battery issues.

"Thank you for reaching out regarding your RFX Gateway and MEAT probes. I'd be happy to get you some additional information. We released a firmware update for the RFX Gateway and the app last Friday! It's not a complete fix, but it is a step in the right direction.

To get this firmware update on your Gateway, you'll need to remove the RFX Gateway from your list of devices and re-add it to your account. To do so, in the ThermoWorks app, you can swipe on the Gateway to remove the device. After doing so, with the Gateway on, you need to press and hold down the power button on the Gateway until it blinks red. When you release the button, it will turn blue and immediately be put into setup mode. Re-attach your Gateway to your account and Wi-Fi network and the firmware update will be applied during that process.

The latest app version is 1.61.6 and you can update that through the App Store or Google Play store."

 

[SmoqueBBQ]

They released an app and firmware update. Here's their reply to me when I emailed them about my battery issues.

"Thank you for reaching out regarding your RFX Gateway and MEAT probes. I'd be happy to get you some additional information. We released a firmware update for the RFX Gateway and the app last Friday! It's not a complete fix, but it is a step in the right direction.

To get this firmware update on your Gateway, you'll need to remove the RFX Gateway from your list of devices and re-add it to your account. To do so, in the ThermoWorks app, you can swipe on the Gateway to remove the device. After doing so, with the Gateway on, you need to press and hold down the power button on the Gateway until it blinks red. When you release the button, it will turn blue and immediately be put into setup mode. Re-attach your Gateway to your account and Wi-Fi network and the firmware update will be applied during that process.

The latest app version is 1.61.6 and you can update that through the App Store or Google Play store."

Let me know if this works for anyone. I've tried it several times by removing it and even removing everything and deleting the app and reinstalling it all. I've also held down the button until it flashes red and added it to my account. My firmware version will not change from 1.1.26-44.

 

[bwana_don]

They released an app and firmware update. Here's their reply to me when I emailed them about my battery issues.

"Thank you for reaching out regarding your RFX Gateway and MEAT probes. I'd be happy to get you some additional information. We released a firmware update for the RFX Gateway and the app last Friday! It's not a complete fix, but it is a step in the right direction.

To get this firmware update on your Gateway, you'll need to remove the RFX Gateway from your list of devices and re-add it to your account. To do so, in the ThermoWorks app, you can swipe on the Gateway to remove the device. After doing so, with the Gateway on, you need to press and hold down the power button on the Gateway until it blinks red. When you release the button, it will turn blue and immediately be put into setup mode. Re-attach your Gateway to your account and Wi-Fi network and the firmware update will be applied during that process.

The latest app version is 1.61.6 and you can update that through the App Store or Google Play store."

Interesting, I was wondering if my gateway stopped working because I interrupted an application update when I shut it down. Sent them email yesterday related to that issue and a couple of other software bugs I found, highlighted the batteries and the most concerning part about the battery degradation that is already being seen. I also asked about the return process, at a minimum related to the gateway if it does not come back to life - no response yet. I had sent a response to the marketing piece about the reviews that chef's love it. Shared the battery concern on that one, part of the response included with new product releases, there is only so much testing we can do. I would think they would at least test the use cases they advertise before releasing it.

I tried deleting my gateway and leaving it plugged in for hours, the blue light has not come back on....

 

[bwana_don]

Interesting, I was wondering if my gateway stopped working because I interrupted an application update when I shut it down. Sent them email yesterday related to that issue and a couple of other software bugs I found, highlighted the batteries and the most concerning part about the battery degradation that is already being seen. I also asked about the return process, at a minimum related to the gateway if it does not come back to life - no response yet. I had sent a response to the marketing piece about the reviews that chef's love it. Shared the battery concern on that one, part of the response included with new product releases, there is only so much testing we can do. I would think they would at least test the use cases they advertise before releasing it.

I tried deleting my gateway and leaving it plugged in for hours, the blue light has not come back on....

Interesting, I was wondering if my gateway stopped working because I interrupted an application update when I shut it down. Sent them email yesterday related to that issue and a couple of other software bugs I found, highlighted the batteries and the most concerning part about the battery degradation that is already being seen. I also asked about the return process, at a minimum related to the gateway if it does not come back to life - no response yet. I had sent a response to the marketing piece about the reviews that chef's love it. Shared the battery concern on that one, part of the response included with new product releases, there is only so much testing we can do. I would think they would at least test the use cases they advertise before releasing it.

I tried deleting my gateway and leaving it plugged in for hours, the blue light has not come back on....

Sadly, it was a good guess that I turned it off in the middle of an update. I spoke to TW support. They send out the updates and they automatically get applied to the RFX Gateway The last one went out on Saturday night and will be attempted again in 10 days to catch devices that did not get updated, at least that is they way he made it sound. If you were unfortunate like me, and turned it off in the middle of the update that was sent out on Saturday night, it leaves the RFX Gateway in a "zombie state" . Obviously, other people have been calling about it today. The fix, leave it unplugged for 24 hours with the intent to completely discharge it. When plugged back in, it will come back to life – if it was fully discharged. I had boxed mine up out frustration yesterday around noon and did not try anything else until about 5:00 pm today. Mine evidently was not discharged yet. Once it is fully discharged, it can then be plugged in and the red light should turn on when it is powered on, then it will turn green and be good to go, unless like me it has I removed it from the list, then it just has to be added to the list.

TW will call me back around noon tomorrow, if it is not working by then, they will exchange it for new one.

I also asked what fixes were included in the update, some for the gateway, evidently it was discharging even when not in use in a few days, the fix should make it last 200 days before needing to recharge when not in use. There were other fixes related to RFX meat battery, but he did not have details. Additionally, I asked if anyone is getting 50 - 60 hours out of a RFX meat, when he calls back tomorrow, he will let me know.

I also asked about battery cycles, they are expecting thousands before degradation.

Sure seems like I have run into a lot of problems, wonder how many others are and not sharing their experience on a forum like this one.

I really do feel sorry for their support team, I suspect with how good have a concept this is, there are a bunch of people getting it and running into issues.

Don

 

[jimboc22]

Let me know if this works for anyone. I've tried it several times by removing it and even removing everything and deleting the app and reinstalling it all. I've also held down the button until it flashes red and added it to my account. My firmware version will not change from 1.1.26-44.

I've tried following their directions when I got home from work tonight. My gateway's firmware is 1.1.20-43, I wasn't smart enough to see what it was before I started but looks like yours is newer than mine.

 

[bwana_don]

After thinking about the latest issue, I am experiencing I have a few more thoughts:

1. Firmware update was sent out Saturday night. Support started getting calls about RFX Gateways in what they are calling a zombie state on Monday. By the time I called at 4:00 pm, the development team had told support to tell customers to let it discharge for 24 hours and that when plugged back in it will be fine, if not like in my case they will send out a new one. My big question is how they know if waiting 24 hours in the zombie state it will actually discharge.
2. Speculation - if the firmware update made it far enough that it fixed the RFX Gateway battery drain issue, it could months before it fully drains depending on what the zombie state is doing. Previously any testing they did related to this was on devices that would have the old firmware and draining quickly. How many other people will be having new gateways shipped to them today.
3. Seems like the firmware updates should be something that is acknowledged before it is allowed to proceed and applied through the application. Similar to a router update, phone update, alfredcam, etc.... where we would be instructed not to turn it off until the process completes.
4. So how do you feel about a company updating a piece of hardware without your knowledge on your wi-fi that contains your wi-fi password. My gateway lost the wi-fi password during the update and getting turned off, but I was told it should have remained in the RFX-Gateway. Bottom line this creates an exposure to hackers, highly recommend that devices like this one only have access to a wi-fi password related to your guest network. That assumes you set up your router wi-fi with multiple networks. FYI, I also have high-end Garming GPS dog training transmitters and collars, the collars have firmware that does get updated when being charged and can see my wi-fi. I will be moving that to my guest network now as well.

 

[Fraser]

They released an app and firmware update. Here's their reply to me when I emailed them about my battery issues.

"Thank you for reaching out regarding your RFX Gateway and MEAT probes. I'd be happy to get you some additional information. We released a firmware update for the RFX Gateway and the app last Friday! It's not a complete fix, but it is a step in the right direction.

To get this firmware update on your Gateway, you'll need to remove the RFX Gateway from your list of devices and re-add it to your account. To do so, in the ThermoWorks app, you can swipe on the Gateway to remove the device. After doing so, with the Gateway on, you need to press and hold down the power button on the Gateway until it blinks red. When you release the button, it will turn blue and immediately be put into setup mode. Re-attach your Gateway to your account and Wi-Fi network and the firmware update will be applied during that process.

The latest app version is 1.61.6 and you can update that through the App Store or Google Play store."

To be clear, what is the latest Gateway firmware? Mine shows “1.1.26-44“.
My app version shows “1.61.6+385” which is the latest AppStore has.
It would also be helpful to know TW’s latest firmware for the RFX probe. Mine shows “1.2.1”.

BTW, I highly recommend everyone (if haven’t already) replace the AAA battery in their probe charger(s) with known good fresh. Orig batteries are notoriously crap and no telling how good they were.
Also (probably goes without saying) keep the probe barrel really clean, esp in the area of the charger contacts.

 

[jimboc22]

To be clear, what is the latest Gateway firmware? Mine shows “1.1.26-44“.
My app version shows “1.61.6+385” which is the latest AppStore has.
It would also be helpful to know TW’s latest firmware for the RFX probe. Mine shows “1.2.1”.

My app was already updated to the version they pointed out in their email, but they never did say what the current firmware version for the gateway should be.

I replied to their email after I tried to update the firmware and asked them what the most recent version is. They haven't replied yet.

 

[SmoqueBBQ]

To be clear, what is the latest Gateway firmware? Mine shows “1.1.26-44“.
My app version shows “1.61.6+385” which is the latest AppStore has.
It would also be helpful to know TW’s latest firmware for the RFX probe. Mine shows “1.2.1”.

BTW, I highly recommend everyone (if haven’t already) replace the AAA battery in their probe charger(s) with known good fresh. Orig batteries are notoriously crap and no telling how good they were.
Also (probably goes without saying) keep the probe barrel really clean, esp in the area of the charger contacts.

Support just confirmed with me that 1.1.26-44 is the newest firmware for the gateway and 1.61.6+385 is the newest for the phone app. Both are the versions I was on while having battery issues and they still persist.

No further instruction from support at this time for me.

 

[schlotz]

Support just confirmed with me that 1.1.26-44 is the newest firmware for the gateway and 1.61.6+385 is the newest for the phone app. Both are the versions I was on while having battery issues and they still persist.

No further instruction from support at this time for me.

Based upon this info, (my Gateway an phone app versions are current) my testing reported above stands. Both probes remained operational for less than 9 hours from a 100% charge using fresh batteries in their holders. FYI, firmware on my probes is 1.2.1.

 

[geek with fire]

Based upon this info, (my Gateway an phone app versions are current) my testing reported above stands. Both probes remained operational for less than 9 hours from a 100% charge using fresh batteries in their holders. FYI, firmware on my probes is 1.2.1.

Sorry if this was already discussed. I've tried reading the entire thread but am easily distracted. I have to think that their original time estimates are going to change based on the way they changed the update interval settings. Originally, there was an update rate based on time (1, 5, 15 seconds, etc.). Now it is based on percentage of temperature change. This seems like a change that wouldn't scale with the original method.

 

[bwana_don]

I heard back from TW this afternoon, had me plug in the Gateway, try several things like turning the USB-C cable over, depressing the power button, holding the power button down for 5 seconds, etc. Ultimately it never came back to life, it probably occurred because I turned it off during a firmware update. They will be sending me a new one and I will be sending them back the one I have so development can try to figure out what happened.

Back to the thread topic - First Impressions:

1. Concept pretty good, would like to see a ambient temperature probe that is not tethered to the gateway, even if it is wired to an external power source. Let the external power source for the ambient temperature probe communicate with the gate way the same way the probes communicate with the gate way. That would even allow for multiple ambient temperature probes. This would overcome the range issue when using the ambient temperature probe currently.
2. Battery life of probes is no where near what was advertised. The 8 to 13 hours seen so far vs the 50 to 60 advertised is disappointing to the point of being a deal breaker for me.
3. Reports of battery degradation already occurring with the probes is probably the my biggest concern.
4. Multiple software issues, some are annoyances, some are related to interval settings on the probes that do not seem to work. The web front end does not match the smart device application for settings/descriptions of what they do. Tough to know which is accurate/working as planned.
5. I have used mine to test duration on probes twice, then for one 11-minute cook and my gateway is dead in the water because of a firmware update that was probably in process was interrupted by me turning it off when I was done with first cook. New one be sent to me, support has been mostly responsive, but development has not shared a lot of details with them about the issues.

Concept: 4 out of 5 stars

Execution and delivery so far: 1 out of 5 stars

What would improve execution and delivery: Probes lasting 50 to 60 hours, consistent software, stable/working RFX-Gateway.

Don

 

[bwana_don]

Sorry if this was already discussed. I've tried reading the entire thread but am easily distracted. I have to think that their original time estimates are going to change based on the way they changed the update interval settings. Originally, there was an update rate based on time (1, 5, 15 seconds, etc.). Now it is based on percentage of temperature change. This seems like a change that wouldn't scale with the original method.

Based on my testing, trying all intervals based on temperature 1, 1.5 2 and 3 it made no difference in how long the probes lasted or how frequent the readings were being sent to the gateway. You can see all the readings being sent for each probe in a session when using the web interface. All probes were consistently reporting at about 60 seconds - again no matter what the setting. The only thing that correlated to how long the probes lasted seemed to be the serial number of the probes.

 

[SmoqueBBQ]

Sorry if this was already discussed. I've tried reading the entire thread but am easily distracted. I have to think that their original time estimates are going to change based on the way they changed the update interval settings. Originally, there was an update rate based on time (1, 5, 15 seconds, etc.). Now it is based on percentage of temperature change. This seems like a change that wouldn't scale with the original method.

Right now the transmission from the probe to the gateway is based on the temperature change setting. Options are from 1-3 degrees F. This should actually extend battery life as it’s only sending info to the gateway when the temperature changes based on your setting. I have mine set to 3 degrees to try and save some battery life but it doesn’t seem to matter.

 

[Fraser]

Support just confirmed with me that 1.1.26-44 is the newest firmware for the gateway and 1.61.6+385 is the newest for the phone app. Both are the versions I was on while having battery issues and they still persist.

No further instruction from support at this time for me.

Thank you! It would be interesting to know what their firmware is for the probe itself, or how and/or if it is upgradable.

 

[SmoqueBBQ]

Thank you! It would be interesting to know what their firmware is for the probe itself, or how and/or if it is upgradable.

My probe firmware version is 1.2.1. I’ll ask and see what they say on that one. To me it seems like more of a problem with the probes and not the gateway.

 

[jimboc22]

I just tried updating the gateway firmware tonight since it didn't work last night. When adding back the gateway to my account, it told me it was updating the firmware. I checked and it's now version 1.1.28-45.

 

[schlotz]

Updated my Gateway this morning and confirming the version is now 1.1.28-45. Now re-running battery life tests on two probes. Will report back...

 

[bwana_don]

Spoke with TW today, good conversation. He confirmed thare are some people seeing 50 - 60 hours out their probes. In part due to all the firmware updates that are being pushed. More updates coming. They have high expectation for this platform and will be adding on to it over time. They do have a couple of things in the work that I am looking forward to seeing. Ambient temperature probe that will not be plugged into the gateway and a display that does not require a phone, etc. My replacement gateway is on the way, but tracking says it will not show up until Monday. He hopes anyone have issues is reaching out to TW tech support.

Don