{"id":124,"date":"2013-11-26T11:53:03","date_gmt":"2013-11-26T16:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/?p=124"},"modified":"2013-11-26T11:53:03","modified_gmt":"2013-11-26T16:53:03","slug":"williams-sonoma-smart-thermometer-fail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/?p=124","title":{"rendered":"Williams-Sonoma Smart Thermometer FAIL"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WS<\/p>\n

We recently got a Big Green Egg<\/a> ceramic charcoal cooker at the RatRanch.\u00a0 I have nothing but praise for the BGE.\u00a0 It lights fast, cooks evenly and consumes a surprisingly small amount of charcoal. \u00a0In preparation for cooking a big pork shoulder, I picked up the new Williams-Sonoma “Smart Thermometer<\/a>” so I could monitor the temperature of the meat, which needs to cook at 225\u00b0 for several hours.<\/p>\n

I happened to be at a Williams-Sonoma store on the day they got their first stock of Smart Thermometers. \u00a0Perhaps I should have been suspicious when the sales clerk offered to print a receipt for me instead of emailing it like they usually do?<\/p>\n

The best feature of the Smart Thermometer is its packaging, which is thoughtfully designed. \u00a0It deboxes a lot like an Apple product. \u00a0The thermometer itself is crafted from stainless steel and feels heavy and solid. \u00a0However, the included charger and cord are flimsy and feel like they wouldn’t last for long. \u00a0Fortunately, it accepts a standard mini-USB cable.<\/p>\n

So I charged up the thermometer and hit the power button. \u00a0Nothing. \u00a0Nada. \u00a0Dead on arrival.<\/p>\n

So back to Williams-Sonoma I went. \u00a0When I said that I got a defective unit, I was pointed to the retail display and told to grab another one If I wanted. \u00a0No paperwork. \u00a0Were they exchanging a lot of these?<\/p>\n

I headed back home and charged up thermometer #2. \u00a0This one turned on and I went through a clumsy setup routine to pair it with my iPhone so I could use the remote monitoring app. \u00a0I turned off the thermometer, which appeared to be ready for my big pork cookery the next day, and left it charging overnight.<\/p>\n

In the morning I fired up the Egg and put my pork shoulder in. \u00a0Hooked up the thermometer and turned it on. \u00a0But the iPhone app no longer recognized the thermometer. \u00a0Since the pork was already \u00a0cooking and I didn’t want to open the Egg, I continued cooking it without the app, periodically running outside in the cold to check the temperature display.<\/p>\n

\"Battery<\/a><\/p>\n

Yes, that’s an extension cord. \u00a0Adding insult to injury, the battery died five hours into the cook!<\/p>\n

I found that the only way to make the remote monitoring app work was to repeat the cumbersome setup process\u00a0every time<\/strong> the thermometer was turned on. \u00a0I tried calling tech support, where a courteous but untrained rep couldn’t solve the problem either. \u00a0According to several reviews posted to the Williams-Sonoma website, others have had similar results.<\/p>\n

\"Error<\/a><\/p>\n

So back to the store went thermometer #2, for a refund this time. \u00a0A week later my friend attended an in-store cooking class, where they demonstrated the Smart Thermometer. \u00a0It didn’t work.<\/p>\n

BTW, I ended up ordering a Maverick remote read wireless thermometer from Amazon for $60, which I’m satisfied with. \u00a0It doesn’t look as elegant as the WS thermometer and it doesn’t connect to my iDevices, but it’s cheap and it works. \u00a0Plus, this thermometer comes with two probes, so you can remotely monitor both the food and grill temperatures.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

Problem solved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We recently got a Big Green Egg ceramic charcoal cooker at the RatRanch.\u00a0 I have nothing but praise for the BGE.\u00a0 It lights fast, cooks evenly and consumes a surprisingly small amount of charcoal. \u00a0In preparation for cooking a big pork shoulder, I picked up the new Williams-Sonoma “Smart Thermometer” so I could monitor the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[7,22,23,20,21],"tags":[36,37,35],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8sNNV-20","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":307,"url":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/?p=307","url_meta":{"origin":124,"position":0},"title":"Resurrecting a 17\" MacBook Pro with a heat gun","date":"March 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"So the dreaded day came when my beloved \"late 2011\" 17 inch MacBook Pro died.\u00a0 The screen wigged out while it was in use, then it would only boot halfway before stopping at a gray screen.\u00a0 From experience, I knew that it was suffering from the dreaded AMD GPU logic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Apple"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":211,"url":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/?p=211","url_meta":{"origin":124,"position":1},"title":"Controlling devices with Indigo and Amazon Echo (Alexa)","date":"March 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A recently added plugin for the superb\u00a0\u00a0Indigo Smart Home Software platform\u00a0enables voice control of devices like lights, thermostats, fans, shades and garage doors--to name just a few--via an Amazon\u00a0Echo Dot,\u00a0Echo\u00a0or Fire TV. \u00a0It works seamlessly with the Lutron RadioRA 2 plugin that I developed and is also presumed compatible with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Electrical"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":77,"url":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/?p=77","url_meta":{"origin":124,"position":2},"title":"From the I'll try anything once file","date":"August 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"There was something strangely compelling about the can of Cuoco Brand Seasoning for Macaroni (with Sardines!) when I found it sitting on a shelf under a thick blanket of dust at the Italian grocer. 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