Timberline 1300 - Buyer beware, absolute fraud

[KC1903]

I am the unfortunate buyer of a Timberline 1300. I had to rent a trailer today to drag it home, now i
need to rent a trailer again tomorrow to return it.

won't connect, no wifi connectivity, does not work, won't update - is there any hope for resolution or are these people absolutely clueless and i'm ignorant for buying Made in USA ?

 

[dunawayfamily]

I am the unfortunate buyer of a Timberline 1300. I had to rent a trailer today to drag it home, now i
need to rent a trailer again tomorrow to return it.

won't connect, no wifi connectivity, does not work, won't update - is there any hope for resolution or are these people absolutely clueless and i'm ignorant for buying Made in USA ?

Lots of reasons why the WiFIRE Controller will not attach to your Home Wi-Fi Network ... can you be more specific?

And regarding updates - they are on "pause" due to issues with the May Updates released around 05/19 ... so no one is receiving them at the moment, until Traeger has a programmatic fix ready to "ship", and then the Traeger Cloud back-end will start PUSHing them down again ...

Lastly - the consumer Traeger Grill models are designed in the US, but manufactured in China ... similar to products from companies like Apple, Dell, H-P, etc.

 

[dunawayfamily]

What is the Make & Model of your Router / Wireless Access Point?
What App Device (iOS or Android) are you using to run the setup process?
Where in the setup process are things failing? Do you receive an error?


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 ...

Some information on challenges with WiFIRE - not all inclusive, but covers some of the more frequently run into issues ...

-----------------

First step in troubleshooting issues with WiFIRE: One thing to verify on your end is the need to use separate network names (SSIDs) for the 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wireless frequencies - depending on what WiFi Router/Access Point you use, as well as what mobile device you are using to run the app on, it may be a requirement ... when the network names are the same, and if your mobile device supports 5GHz, the mobile device will by default attach to the 5GHz frequency, while the Grill is connected on the 2.4GHz frequency, resulting in no connection between the App and the Grill ... giving one of the wireless network frequencies a different name allows you to "force" the mobile device to attach to the 2.4GHz network and successfully connect ...

I call my IOT-based device Wireless Networks...
idIOT
idIOT 5GHz
...to support this specific scenario

Additional troubleshooting scenarios and information listed here:
https://www.traegergrills.com/support/wifire-controllers
https://www.traegergrills.com/support/wifire-troubleshooting

WiFIRE Troubleshooting Wizard: http://wizard.web.traegergrills.io/wifire/welcome

-----------------

Failed / Hung Setup of WiFIRE | Airplane Mode Workaround

ISSUE: Multiple people have reported that the initial setup of WiFIRE will fail/hang before completion ... this is due to the App device defaulting back to the "preferred" 5GHz Wireless Network after handing off the necessary 2.4GHz Wireless Network information to the Grill (Network Name (SSID), Encryption Type, Password). The App Device MUST reconnect back to the 2.4GHz Home Wireless Network in order for the setup process to successfully complete.

WORKAROUND: The best way to eliminate the failed/hung setup state for WiFIRE is to first put your App Device into Airplane Mode, then manually turn Wi-Fi back on, then "forget" the 5GHz Wi-Fi network, then connect to the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network and start the setup process from the beginning ... this eliminates any potential issues with regards to the App Device reconnecting back to the wrong (i.e. 5GHz) Home Wi-Fi Network during the setup process ... once the setup process has successfully completed, you can take the App Device out of Airplane Mode, and reconnect to the 5GHz Wireless network on your App Device (if desired) ...

 

[dunawayfamily]

One last thing to confirm - is your Timberline 1300 a Gen1 AC-powered unit, or a Gen2 DC-powered D2 WiFIRE Controller based unit? Some folks have been buying Gen1 units on dealer closeout/special and the troubleshooting steps for the Gen1 grills differs somewhat ... If it is a Gen1 grill, and it is running v2.x of the Firmware, you'll have to contact Traeger to get a new controller board sent out with v3.x already installed - see the following for more info:

https://www.traegergrills.com/status

Find Firmware on Grill: Turn on display, navigate to about grill in menu

If you have an AC controller running 02 firmware and are having issues connecting it to WiFIRE®, please call our Customer Service team at 1(800) Traeger and we will get you a replacement controller with the most up to date firmware.

 

[strollin]

Rather than rent a trailer to return the grill, it might be more economical to purchase a wifi extender. My Pro 575 would not connect reliably to my router from the patio (even though my phone had no problem connecting). I installed a wifi extender ($53 delivered from BestBuy) in the room closest to the grill and now the grill connects reliably and works fine.

 

[ronnasboy]

Agree it makes a difference whether Generation 1 (does not have pellet sensor or WiFi antenna) or Generation 2, which does. I have a Gen1 and am about to buy a Gen2 for a different house. After playing with my Gen1 FOREVER and being on the phone for HOURS with Traeger, eventually the controller burned out and they sent me a new one, which seems to have solved the problem. If you see a signal strength in your wifi settings of less than -45, then that is usually too weak and you need to put in an extender closer (but apparently not too close) to the grill. Traeger says ~ 10 feet

 

[iron1951]

I forgot to screw in the antenna.

 

[strollin]

That would do it! Glad you found the issue.

 

[Mike Akers]

I am the unfortunate buyer of a Timberline 1300. I had to rent a trailer today to drag it home, now i
need to rent a trailer again tomorrow to return it.

won't connect, no wifi connectivity, does not work, won't update - is there any hope for resolution or are these people absolutely clueless and i'm ignorant for buying Made in USA ?

We had trouble with updates. Shut grill down for weeks. Finally realized our new router and grill wouldn’t hook up. It must be a 2.4 router. Will have to unplug router and then it will eventually forget network. We had to unplug router and forget network several times. It will finally work. Good luck.