Disappointed

[Barkley]

Brand new Smokefire EX6, seasoned the grill @600F for 45 minutes no problem, great smoke... but then the trouble starts.

While I'm downloading the Weber Connect app I get the Smokefire up to 260 for a nice double pork rib smoke, then WITH THE MEAT ON THE GRILL AND THE SMOKER AT TEMP FOR A BIRTHDAY MEAL the newly downloaded app pushes a software update and the grill shuts down and refuses to restart. I had to @#$%@ order pizza for her birthday meal.

Research online shows this to be a known issue, and Weber support asks me to check for dirt in the connections? Give me a break - it hung both the smoker and my phone. I bought a gas grill from Weber in the early 2000s and it was beautiful for years, to the point that Weber was a gold plated brand - but not after this. I drop this much coin on a premium product it should just work, and if it doesn't, fix it promptly and don't suggest BS solutions that you know won't fix the issue. 1 to 3 days for a response is simply not appropriate unless you want to kill your brand - in my job a 3 day response would get me fired.

Weber - fix this please.

 

[JpsBBQ]

Brand new Smokefire EX6, seasoned the grill @600F for 45 minutes no problem, great smoke... but then the trouble starts.

While I'm downloading the Weber Connect app I get the Smokefire up to 260 for a nice double pork rib smoke, then WITH THE MEAT ON THE GRILL AND THE SMOKER AT TEMP FOR A BIRTHDAY MEAL the newly downloaded app pushes a software update and the grill shuts down and refuses to restart. I had to @#$%@ order pizza for her birthday meal.

Research online shows this to be a known issue, and Weber support asks me to check for dirt in the connections? Give me a break - it hung both the smoker and my phone. I bought a gas grill from Weber in the early 2000s and it was beautiful for years, to the point that Weber was a gold plated brand - but not after this. I drop this much coin on a premium product it should just work, and if it doesn't, fix it promptly and don't suggest BS solutions that you know won't fix the issue. 1 to 3 days for a response is simply not appropriate unless you want to kill your brand - in my job a 3 day response would get me fired.

Weber - fix this please.

Nice knowing you. Hope you find something suited for you. I suggest a gas grill that requires no planning ahead. Sadly there are people who just cannot admit their own responsibility, at least in part, to a poorly thought out event. I suggest getting everything lined up and thoroughly tested before relying on it for a critical activity. I sure hope the space program guys and gals don’t just schedule a launch and hope it all works out because it was relatively expensive.

It’s a great cooker and your missing out. Sorry for your experience. I love mine. Love it!

 

[JpsBBQ]

Btw, this isn’t a Weber site. It’s run privately. Maybe another thing you overlooked?

 

[bbqking]

Brand new Smokefire EX6, seasoned the grill @600F for 45 minutes no problem, great smoke... but then the trouble starts.

While I'm downloading the Weber Connect app I get the Smokefire up to 260 for a nice double pork rib smoke, then WITH THE MEAT ON THE GRILL AND THE SMOKER AT TEMP FOR A BIRTHDAY MEAL the newly downloaded app pushes a software update and the grill shuts down and refuses to restart. I had to @#$%@ order pizza for her birthday meal.

Research online shows this to be a known issue, and Weber support asks me to check for dirt in the connections? Give me a break - it hung both the smoker and my phone. I bought a gas grill from Weber in the early 2000s and it was beautiful for years, to the point that Weber was a gold plated brand - but not after this. I drop this much coin on a premium product it should just work, and if it doesn't, fix it promptly and don't suggest BS solutions that you know won't fix the issue. 1 to 3 days for a response is simply not appropriate unless you want to kill your brand - in my job a 3 day response would get me fired.

Weber - fix this please.

I have to say that you probably should have downloaded the app and did all the updates first thing after the burn in…, these smart devices can be quit finicky with updates. Especially if it shuts down or get an order to do too many different things at the same time. Having done tech support on some smart phones, I can’t say I understand why, but “smart” devices can be quite finicky. Generally an unplugged power restart fixes most issues. Not just flipping a switch, it needs to be completely unplugged. If it won’t do any thing, replace the fuse at the power switch.

 

[Barkley]

Nice knowing you. Hope you find something suited for you. I suggest a gas grill that requires no planning ahead. Sadly there are people who just cannot admit their own responsibility, at least in part, to a poorly thought out event. I suggest getting everything lined up and thoroughly tested before relying on it for a critical activity. I sure hope the space program guys and gals don’t just schedule a launch and hope it all works out because it was relatively expensive.

It’s a great cooker and your missing out. Sorry for your experience. I love mine. Love it!

Maybe you're different, but if I drop the better part of $2000 Canadian dollars on something advertised as top shelf and best in class I expect it to work. What I didn't expect was a muppet level pinecone suggesting a gas grill to me. Go be condescending to someone else.

 

[Barkley]

I have to say that you probably should have downloaded the app and did all the updates first thing after the burn in…, these smart devices can be quit finicky with updates. Especially if it shuts down or get an order to do too many different things at the same time. Having done tech support on some smart phones, I can’t say I understand why, but “smart” devices can be quite finicky. Generally an unplugged power restart fixes most issues. Not just flipping a switch, it needs to be completely unplugged. If it won’t do any thing, replace the fuse at the power switch.

Thanks for a proper attempt to be helpful. The EX6 worked perfectly out of the box, but my issue is that Weber has known about this problem for 2+ years and sent me a BS solution that even my 12 year old son said would never work. Check for dirt in the quick connects when it was factory assembled? Come on.

I have a long history with Weber, and was an avid customer, but this is not right.

 

[bbqking]

I wasn’t being condescending. Just making an observation. I did not call names or talk down to you. I also have the ex6 first gen with upgraded parts….so I’ve been through the ringer too. Welcome to the forum. Good luck. A huge Weber fan myself.

 

[Barkley]

I wasn’t being condescending. Just making an observation. I did not call names or talk down to you. I also have the ex6 first gen with upgraded parts….so I’ve been through the ringer too. Welcome to the forum. Good luck. A huge Weber fan myself.

BBQKing you weren't condescending at all - but the JPS response need not have been posted. Equating a simple smoke to an orbital launch is more than a bit of a stretch.

 

[bbqking]

So you have to take all that is said with a grain of salt. There have been some who come here and just troll the SmokeFire. Some of us have been through the growing pains of the SmokeFires and can be quite cantankerous about any putting down of our sacred SmokeFires. That being said I (we) definitely feel you pain. If you ever get it to work steady you will not regret buying it. It can do it all.

 

[Goneincognito]

I'm sorry you are having problems but you obviously didn't read the manual and just jumped straight in.

The very first step under the section "BEFORE IGNITING" is to download the Weber connect app.

 

[JpsBBQ]

Guy shows up screaming and shouting at random passers by and gets upset at some condescending sarcasm. Again, some people take no ownership in their own shortcomings.

 

[bbqking]

Fellas….give the guy a chance to vent a little. We’ve all been there. At least I have. It just wouldn’t work and I could not figure out why. I have a brother that can look at something I’ve been scratching my head over, and he just walks up and immediately can fix it. It’s called mechanically inclined. He has it, I don’t. He says it’s just common sense. I say no, you’re special. So be kind to your neighbor.

 

[Bruno]

Weber needs to do a better job on updates, for gods sake would it be hard to prompt an update and have to push a button to proceed? I just stick my phone out there and hope? Yeah it works sometimes but seems so low level. I love tech and I like all the bells and whistles but from day one the updates have been a frustration, let me know what’s going on? Status bar?
Seriously it’s 2022 give me a status bar showing it started and how long is left and it should NOT start in the middle of a cook for exactly the reason the OP had.

Day one owner and I’ve had a ton of success after a ROUGH start, get better Weber! You spent all that money on June make it worth it.

 

[Barkley]

I'm sorry you are having problems but you obviously didn't read the manual and just jumped straight in.

The very first step under the section "BEFORE IGNITING" is to download the Weber connect app.

I did read the manual - that's how I confirmed that the grilling surface needed to be seasoned before use. When I plugged the grill in, it lit up and I scrolled around a bit - and was given an option to fire it up. In the interests of getting a head start I seasoned and set it to 600F. It worked fine.

Had I followed the directions to the letter I would be exactly no further ahead - the machine would have been an unseasoned brick vs the seasoned brick it is now.

 

[Barkley]

Guy shows up screaming and shouting at random passers by and gets upset at some condescending sarcasm. Again, some people take no ownership in their own shortcomings.

Let's list why I vented:

- brand new smoker doesn't work
- there is a complete inability for the user of the grill to fix this problem on the grill itself
- Weber online resources are wholly insufficient to resolve a needless problem
- Weber customer service has been atrocious, the grill still doesn't work after a week, and frustration builds
- with only 15 minutes of online research, it's apparent that this has been a known problem for 2+ years

Then an armchair judge and jury suggests I need to take ownership of the problem. Gotcha.