Home WiFi Setup

Many WiFi and pairing issues are due to the way the your home WiFi is setup.

This article will cover the following requirements for our grills to connect successfully to a home WiFi network:

• Signal Strength
• Network Name
• Firewalls & Additional Security Measures
• Frequency/Network Band
• Resetting Router and Modem

For your grill to utilize your grill's WiFIRE capabilities successfully, you will need to make sure the grill's location receives a signal strength between -30 and –70dbm. This strength allows it to connect and operate, as well as receive and download updates.

To test the signal strength where you want to place your grill, you can install a WiFi signal strength app to your phone (there are many highly-rated, free apps on the Apple App Store and Google Play).

• We recommend using the WiFiman app (Available on IOS & Android).

If the signal strength is low where you wish to place your grill, consider investing in an inexpensive additional router to boost your 2.4 GHz signal.

Creating a guest network can help you connect because guest networks are separate from the regular WiFi. They have fewer protections, like firewalls, because it does not have access to sensitive information found on the regular network.

Is the WiFi Network name long, include spaces, or have special characters? Traeger grill controllers only recognize network names with 32 or fewer characters.

• Note: Spaces and special characters take up 3 of the 32-character limit.
• If your WiFi network is called "This is my long network name" the controller recognizes that as 38 characters instead of the 23 letters, and it will not connect.

Have you set up any enhanced or additional security measures on your home network? Any additional network security measures will prevent the grill-to-phone pairing process from completing. Make sure the grill is whitelisted or consider investing in a dedicated inexpensive router for the grill.

• Additional firewall?
• Transparent Proxy?
• VPN being used on the device?
• No DHCP server used on network?
• 802.1X authentication enabled on network?

Do you have both 5GHz and 2.4GHz network bands set up or are there 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks with the same name?

Like most smart home devices Traeger WiFIRE grills will only connect to 2.4GHz networks as that provides a stronger connection over greater distances than the faster 5GHz band. The WiFi module on the grill will not be able to even "see" 5GHz networks. To ensure a smooth initial pairing with your grill make sure of the following:

• Your phone is connected to a 2.4GHz network. For the initial pairing process your phone must be on the same network you intend your grill to be on, and 5GHz networks will not be noticed.
• If you have both 2.4GHz and 5GHz network options, ensure that they do not have the same name. Having both with the same name can lead to frustrating and inconsistent pairing issues.
• If you are unable to separate the 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks,consider purchasing an inexpensive dedicated 2.4GHz router for your grill (and other smart home devices).
• If you're not sure what bands your network uses or you're not sure how to set it up, contact your internet service provider.