This setup guide for getting the Smartfire Controller 5.0 online and ready to cook requires installing the app, pairing it to your wifi, applying basic smoker preferences and applying any updates.
We highly recommend that you setup any newly purchased Smartfire in advance of a planned cooking session. Then you can do setup at your leisure and even do a dry test run for a couple hours so you're comfortable with all of the controls and physical elements of your BBQ smoker.
What you'll need to proceed
- Smartfire 5.0 controller
- USB-C power cable (an USB-C to USB-A cable is supplied in the pack)
- A USB wall charger to suit your cable. A 1 to 2 Amp recent generation smart phone charger is ideal.
- Wi-Fi network with a 2.4ghz radio channel and Internet access
- Your Android or iOS smart device, within one major release of the current operating system. IE if Android 11 is the current, then we'll definitely be supporting Android 10.
Background knowledge on Smartfire status lights and sound
It's extremely useful to understand the Smartfire Controller 5.0 status lights so you can interpret it's state and if there is an issue, what it may relate to.
- It will cycle Red Green Blue and beep twice at startup
- White is Wi-Fi mode, Green is Cloud mode, Blue is BT BLE.
Note: White is all the LEDs turned on at the same time, so from some angles it does look like a light green. Easy way to tell is to bounce the light into your hand and look at the reflection. Unless it's obviously strong green then it's white.
- Steady light is ‘on’, blinking is ‘connecting’, breathing slowly in/out means ‘connected’ in respect to the color mode. So if it's blinking (connecting) white (Wi-Fi mode) then it's trying to connect to wifi.
- Orange blinking after a color mode means the respective service had an error. IE white then orange likely means the Wi-Fi password is incorrect and you need to check your Wi-Fi details, remove the device from your account in the app, force close the app, start the app and do setup again.
- Yellow blinking signals that there is a probe temperature alert. It may be open lid mode, it may be that the pit temperature is above/below your set alarm thresholds, or that a food is ready. Check the app to see what it's alerting you to.
- Purple is used to let you know when it's performing a firmware upgrade. When one is available the app will prompt you to approve applying the update. It takes about 3 minutes, don't remove the power during that process!
Sound wise you'll hear a brief startup chirp to say hello when the Smartfire first boots up. You'll hear beeps when it connects to the Smartfire cloud service, or has an error, or is otherwise letting you know something notable has changed like a probe is over target or the lid is open.
Install the Smartfire BBQ App
- Go to your App Store and install the 'Smartfire' app
- Start the app and accept all the permission prompts for Bluetooth / Location Services / Push Notifications. We only request the services necessary to use Bluetooth and send you alerts!
- Choose a social login method like Facebook so that your password management is easy to manage through your social media provider. We only request the most basic profile information (like name, email and photo). You can otherwise create an account via your email address.
- It will then welcome you to the app and prompt you to do initial setup
Getting your Smartfire online
- Unpack the Smartfire Controller and set it out in a convenient location near a power outlet within range of your home Wi-Fi
- Plug your USB wall charger in
- Unpack the Smartfire USB power cord from the packaging and plug into the USB power source and the Controller
- Turn the Smartfire on. You'll notice it'll be blinking white, and every 30 seconds or so blinking orange and beeping to indicate it's unable to connect to your Wi-Fi as it doesn't yet know the details!
- Open the Smartfire App and start setup. When looking for nearby devices it should detect the Smartfire and prompt you to confirm
- Choose your 2.4ghz Wi-Fi network. If the scan didn't find the network, wait 5 seconds and click the refresh and see if it finds it next time.
- Enter the password for your Wi-Fi network and continue setup
- It'll prompt you that setup is finished and that your device should be restarting. Once online and connected to the cloud it will be breathing green and it will make a happy chirping beep. You’ve successfully completed setup!
Smoker preferences
- After setup, the app will prompt you to choose your smoker type. This helps tune the algorithms used by the Smartfire Controller.
- You can choose a pit target and also pit alarm thresholds. The low and high thresholds are there to let you know if the pit is operating outside of what you'd expect. In particular, the low alarm is most useful to know when the pit is running out of fuel and our experience is that a good alarm point for that is about 200F. The high alarm will rarely trigger as the Smartfire will be controlling temperatures, but it's useful to prevent accidents such as leaving vents wide open, so we recommend at least 50F above target. You'll find that the low/high alarms are relative to the current target so once you set them and change the target later they will proportionally change along with the target.
Firmware updates
We release firmware updates once or twice a quarter. It's an extremely easy process that is approved by you in the app when you are ready. If you've just bought a Smartfire it's ideal to setup
If the app has been started fresh that day, and the Smartfire comes online with an older firmware it will prompt you that a firmware upgrade is recommended and ask you to press ok. It's recommended that you have the Smartfire connected to a stable power source in good range of the Wi-Fi, it's ideal if it's sitting on the kitchen bench inside the house.
The firmware update takes about 3 minutes to perform. You'll see it blink and glow Purple and then blink and glow Green as it goes back online. The system waits for about a minute of it being online to run some checks that the update applied successfully. Keep the app open during the upgrade and it will let you know you when it's finished and ready to cook!