Flame Boss

After my flame boss 200 was no longer supported. I upgraded to the 500 which is the top of the line model. On the 200 it would work nearly air free except on holidays and the server would get overloaded and it would struggle on holidays. This year Thanksgiving with my turkey I had issues, Christmas with a prime roast I had issues, and now on New Year’s Day just trying to do pulled pork. I’m having issues after updating to the newest version that was released on December 31st. The issues with this latest version are so bad that I can’t even get it to recognize my device and I’m struggling to even use the mobile app at all. The controller itself seems to be holding temp and staying and doing its job, but the mobile app is utterly useless. Since the upgrade to the 500 every time I open the app, it has to reconnect and refine the device and takes a while to populate temperature. Our data and many times takes a hard close and then a reopen to populate anything. It definitely has taken a step back. Note: I work on mobile apps as a product manager.

I used the flame boss to smoke two 8 lb pork shoulders this weekend. This was the second time using it. The first time did not go so well. I needed customer service because it was not working. They were the best. Very helpful and explained what was going on. Turned out, the unit was doing an update through the wi-fi. They stayed in the phone to make sure the unit performed correctly. I was quite impressed at how well it worked. Target temp was 225 and the temp of the smoker was never more then 2 degrees higher or lower then target temp. After about 8 hours of that, I decided to change the temp to 250. I was at the community pool, about a mile away, when I did it. The flame boss had the Weber Smokey Mountain At 250 in less than 3 minutes. Between the flame boss’s performance, and the customer service last month, I have to say, getting the Flame Boss 400 was a great addition to my smoker and this app worked smoothly.

I’ve owned the Flame Boss 400 for 1 month now and after reading some of the comments here, I decided to write my 1st EVER review on anything... - The install of app and pairing with the FB400 controller was just ok, A little more detailed instructions would be perfect. - Using the app and website to control cooks works amazing. I can be mowing the grass or even across town getting an oil change and still monitor/control cooks. - On the 4th of July servers were overloaded and produced some issues with app/website BUT STILL was able to control and perfectly smoke a 10lb Brisket. - This controller works PERFECTLY... it learns my grill flawlessly, outside conditions (wind, heat, cold, etc.) all are factored in and maintains a +/- 3 degree difference!! - And finally, YES.. there is always room for improvements on app/website function as others have mentioned, however Flame Boss is doing a great job on rolling out new updates and improvements constantly to ensure customer satisfaction. In fact, I recommend flowing them on Twitter to get LIVE update info, even on holiday weekends!! - Overall 5 STARS!!! It does exactly what it supposed to do... seamlessly maintain pit temperature, auto detect lid open, monitor meat temps and notify when meat is done AND even slow down to keep warm if meat is finished before guests arrive!! And it can do all of this while I’m at work, watching the kids little league game, etc...!!! Keep up the great work Flame Boss!!!!