Ember - Temperature Control Reviews

by Golfer Paul

I’ve had this mug for almost a year. Got it as a gift from my daughter and son-in-law. Out if the box it initially worked great. After a couple of months, one of the spring-loaded charging pins in the base got stuck in the down position so the mug would not charge. I was Abe to pull it up after applying a drop of WD40 and pushing the pin up and down numerous times. For good measure I did the same to the other pin. The mug continued to work reasonably well with some quirkiness until the latest update. For example, “personalizing” the mug with your chosen color never worked. Also charging time seemed excessively long relative to operating time. I have meticulously followed all the “operating” instructions, but to no avail.

Since the most recent “update”, the mug is basically useless. It will not stay connected to Bluetooth. I am fairly tech-savvy, and believe me, I tried everything to get it to work. The mug also turns itself off so my beverage, usually coffee, is cold before I have finished half of it. I did some experimenting and by chance found the mug stays connected to Bluetooth somewhat better when the mug is empty...go figure. As soon as I put liquid in the mug it loses connection and goes into continuously connecting mode. I’m totally frustrated. Not a good Christmas gift this year. I recommend not purchasing it. For me, I will go back to my trusty Yetti coffee mug.

by Akhomerun

My main complaint about this UI/UX experience of Ember and the mug itself is that it’s always unclear what’s going on.

Is my mug heating? Did my temperature get reached? I honestly don’t know, aside from the notifications that sometimes happen.

I guess the screen has to be orange and that means it’s on? Except if the mug forgets it has liquid in it.

Why not just have something that says “on” or “off?” The mug itself should have an LED that’s more obvious, too. Pulsing white...whatever that means, it’s not a very standard or obvious signal that humans recognize.

What does my personal color mean? I have no idea.

Why it doesn’t just turn orange when it’s heating, green when it’s done, and red when it’s low on battery? Would that be so hard?

Most of the controls are on a separate screen, Ember suffers from an overly minimalist design to a detriment. Why do I have to swipe to a separate screen to choose my quick temperature? Isn’t that...not quick?

Why is the battery level buried in a settings screen? Are you embarrassed at how short the battery life is? Don’t be - you already made your sale, be honest.

Also, Ember has completely lost my quick temperature settings more than once.

Last but certainly not least, THE MUG IS A BRICK UNLESS YOU REGISTER AN ACCOUNT. That doesn’t bother me personally, but it’s really lame. The mug works with Bluetooth and doesn’t need the Internet for anything.

by Rose Riv

Like the review before me, I find it burdensome that I have to keep the cup in the saucer in order not to loose battery within an hour. I work and walk around the house so having to find a place to plug has been inconvenient, so it defeated having to walk to the microwave to warm my coffee. The taste of my coffee changes to a ceramic taste after 30 min or so. Most days when I try to connect the Blue tooth for my mug with Ember , I get the message mug cannot connect try again. So I do 3 or so times out of 5, I have to delete app and uploaded again to reboot my account. After so many tries, I am frustrated and upset. This mug was supposed to keep my coffee warm with my control of temperature via my app and blue tooth. We’ll, it fails it purpose, it’s more inconvenient that microwaving my coffee as I go along. It’s a good as a gadget, but for the price of $100, it’s way overpriced. By the way, you can get the mug at Starbucks for $75 which was a bummer for me after paying more through their website. Save your money, find another product that works as it claims. Customer service gets an F.

by Rylee Jay

Love the idea of the mug, I’m very much an airhead that would immensely benefit from this product for I’m constantly walking away from my tea and coffee as I go about the day. To the point my mug pretty much lives in the microwave. So when I was able to buy an this app mug from a third party dirt cheap I thought my cold coffee days would be behind me! Unfortunately the company has a ways to go with Ember and product. Like most here, I’ve had issue after issue with the mug not staying connected as well as the update refusing to download onto my iPhone 12. As per usual company standards, since I’ve not purchased this from a retailer, I know I’ll get no more help then a “ turn it off then back on, if that doesn’t work, reset and re pair the device. “ to which I have done several times, to no avail. All I can say is I’m very glad I didn’t purchase this at full price of $130. Hopefully they’ll stand behind the product and release a working fix

by Hanes11361

Just got this as a Christmas present. In theory it’s a great product. I like to sip my coffee over the course of the day not chug it in one sitting. So instead of having to microwave and reheat multiple times throughout the day, just keep my coffee in this mug on this plate thingy, right? It frequently only reheats if my app is open and I am staring at the temperature reading going up. Even then, it stops at 117F and then mysteriously drops back to 106F and restarts. I also found that the battery life is...non-existent, so I’ve basically just kept it plugged in for the last 2 days. Apparently these issues have been around since this product came out and nothing has been done about it?? I have unpaired and re-paired the device several times, I have turned the cup itself off several times, I tried even turning my phone off and on twice and no success. I want to love this so much but I’m just starting to get annoyed and frustrated that it’s not doing what it’s supposed to be doing. I’m not going to give up on it just yet, but I don’t see myself using this much longer if I can’t find a fix to this. :(

by DMarmaduke312

[Update]: I downgraded my previous review because, despite what I thought possible, the Bluetooth connectivity has become even worse than before

The mug no longer recognizes when a second cup of coffee is poured. You have to turn off the mug, shut down Ember , and restart both just to enjoy a *warm* second cup.

Also, the Bluetooth connectivity is collectively getting worse on top of the issues stated below.

As I said before, great mug, great idea, but it is more of a headache than a convenience after using it for a couple months. Especially when you get excited to drink warm coffee/tea after waiting for the mug to warm it up only to find that the heater was off the entire time.

The mug needs a completely new Bluetooth chip in any future iteration in order to stay relevant in the marketplace.

[Original Review]: I never thought I would use and love the this app as much as I do. However, like many others state, the connection to Ember is abysmal.

You honestly never know if it’ll connect automatically or not, and 30 min later you find out that the heater has been turned off the whole time.

Reconnecting requires you to shut down Ember or toggle Bluetooth off/on just to get it back to normal.

Great mug, great idea, but the Bluetooth connection could end up being the Achilles heel for this app.

by Spencer E Holtaway

I got the 14oz mug “squared” as a gift for my 40th birthday. It’s a great gift - something I’d never buy myself but it’s definitely nice to have now I have it. I wish the battery level was available on the main temperature screen. Think of it as a status screen. Temperature, battery level, charging status. As a new user I’m constantly checking the battery level because I don’t know how quickly it charges or depletes. A Home Screen widget would be very useful. This is an experience that should be so simple I should rarely have to be in Ember . Maybe I only go in Ember to customize and a Home Screen widget mostly replaces the status screen I arrived above. Sometimes less isn’t always more, and in this case I think the minimalism of Ember makes the user experience suffer. Also I didn’t enable location and used apple sign in to hide my information.

by $teph@n*e

I’ve had this product for a week and I love it I use it several times a day. However, the mug is already having some issues. At least once a day I have issues reconnecting the mug to my phone. I have the latest software, but when I open Ember it says the bluetooth isn’t turned on. If I open the settings, the bluetooth option will say I’m connected to my this app mug.... I’ve already had to reboot the firmware and restart my phone numerous times.

With regards to the actual product specs: a one hour utility time for a one-and-a-half hour charging time? That’s ridiculous. No, I don’t need two hours to drink my coffee; Rather, I drink two coffees + an unquantifiable amount of tea over the course of any given day. It’s nice to keep my beverages consistently warm over the course of my day at work. The plug-in saucer is a bit campy. Couldn’t they at least figure out a wireless charging situation between the mug and saucer? The copper prods are a bit ghastly-looking. Not to mention the charging “saucer” is not liquid-proof and needs to stay completely dry.... so much for catching spills.
Despite all my complaints, I’ve still used this 20+ times in the last five days, so the concept is clearly solid and the product is functional! I just wish it fit more seamlessly into my routine.

by NerfHerder8472

The mug is easily 5 stars. Ember however needs work. I am a software developer, and I don’t even know how some of these bugs can be allowed to exist. For example when I open Ember , and select my mug, I then need to either wait an unspecified amount of time or I need to continuously restart Ember for my preset temperatures to show up. This includes the defaults that came with the mug, and the “off” temperature preset. Once I made the mistake of adding a temperature to the presets while it was showing nothing, and I lost all of the defaults that were present.

From some testing I think this is because they are stored off the device on the web somewhere, and when opening Ember it redownloads your presets. I did notice however that when in airplane mode I don’t have this problem. Starting Ember without internet causes the presets to be available immediately, confirming (to me) that they are stored locally, it’s just a design decision (hopefully just a bug) to not load what is local in favor of loading what is on the cloud. I could easily give Ember 4 or 5 stars if someone fixed some of these annoying issues.

by Rbrto.fl

I have the v1 mug and the v2 travel mug. I love them. They serve their purpose and with a little bit of mindfulness you can really squeeze a lot of value out of them. For instance using one charger at your desk to keep the battery charged and prolong the heat time. And for the travel mug not being afraid to finish your coffee because when it’s empty it preserves battery, so you can top off at work or at Starbucks and essentially double the amount you’ve kept warm.

Ember struggles to identify which mug I’m using at times so I have to select it which can be annoying. I also would love to see significant improvement to the watch app because I find it super convenient to use but if my phone isn’t around or the first thing I use to connect to the mug the watch app is null and void.

Other than that I love the this app line and with some software tweaks and an improved watch experience it still has potential to bring even more value. (Also wish they could figure something out for reheating cold coffee instead of microwaving a regular mug then transferring it to the this app mug. But let’s start with software solutions first 😅)

by Llyoungq

I love my this app mug! It keeps my coffee nice and warm in the morning and just kind of nicely fades into the background. It’s almost a set-it-and-forget-it kind of thing. My biggest complaint is Ember . Ember has a few issues. First, I’m not sure if this is an app or hardware issue exactly, but the mug doesn’t seem to remember temperature settings between uses. I have to manually open the phone app and set the temperature (which, if it’s on “heater off” mode, you can’t tap a preset. You have to manually slide it over to the temp you want). It would be great if it would default to my last used temperature when I fill the mug. Second, the Apple Watch app doesn’t work unless my phone is unlocked when I open it. This kinda defeats the utility of the watch app entirely since I end up needing to have my phone out anyway. Lastly, I often don’t receive notifications when my mug has reached my set temperature, despite having notifications enabled for Ember . If these issues could be fixed, the mug would be perfect! this app, please fix your app!

by Checkerboard Heart

I’m not sure if the people in the reviews that are having problems are using the v1 of the Mug or something, but i have the v2 and i have never had any problems with connectivity. you press the button at the bottom, it turns on, tap a button on Ember to connect, and then it stays connected while you’re drinking it. hold the button on the bottom of the mug, it turns off, no longer connected. Never had an issue.

The one thing I think would be cool is if Ember could send you a notification like it does when a timer is up when the liquid has reached a specific temperature that’s over the warming limit (the mug, at least, will only maintain temperatures between 120 and 145 degrees Fahrenheit), because I’m one of those ridiculous tea snobs that steeps tea at different temperatures (according to the snobs, green teas are best steeped at 178 rather than 212 so you should let the water sit for a little while to cool after boiling). So if Ember would tell me when i’ve reached my preferred steeping temperature, that would put the cherry on top of a great product and app.

by Xpxp2002

As the title says, Ember does what it says. Preset and custom profiles can be created to set specific temperatures for specific beverages — including some brands like Starbucks, adjustments for cream, etc.

Apple Watch app connects through iPhone, doesn’t work independently as some watchOS 6+ apps can now. It would be nice if they added the beverage presets to a Force Touch action to the watch app, and a battery indicator so you can see how much charge you have left or if the mug is done charging and ready for a new beverage. As it is right now, the watch app can only show you and adjust the current temp.

Finally, I wish there were Siri Shortcuts integration. If I could create shortcuts for common actions like starting a new cup of coffee or tea, switching the heater off, and raising/lowering the temp by X degrees; that would solve the watch app limitations for me. I could simply instruct Siri via phone, watch, or HomePod to adjust the this app Mug accordingly.

by PolloTec

My mug is still going strong, and I luckily haven’t been plagued by some of the other reviewer’s issues, despite just a few smaller growing pains along the way...

With that said, my biggest gripes/suggestions at the moment are:

1a) the lack of a battery indicator/percentage on the Home Screen of Ember . I like keeping the status of it but I have to keep hitting the menu button to go into the extra settings in Ember .

1b) On battery life, maybe the developer could add a Siri shortcut that says “Hey Siri, what is the battery life on my this app mug?”

1c) Additionally, I would love a iOS widget to add to the Home Screen for quickly seeing the temperature and battery life of my mug.

2) Mug battery health indicator — maybe the developer can base this on charge cycles of the mug (I’m sure this is tracked somewhere), so users can know when their mug battery health has depleted and they are due for picking up a new mug.

3) Why does Ember not connect to the first and only mug in the list when opening Ember , if there was only one mug paired? It’s kind of annoying to open Ember and then have to click on the only mug I have connected to move to the main mug temperate page... since that is the obvious next step in the process, why not do it for me automatically?

That’s it, keep on developing strong!

by HRoldie

Amazing! I love it!!!
This was a Christmas gift I’d never have bought myself because I usually shun everything unnecessarily electronic since electronic hardware all seem to break too easily and smart internet enabled devices that require pairing have crappy software that wastes too much time keeping it working for you (just returned 8 smart plugs because they wouldn’t work in concert- after wasting three hours on hold and talking with various customer service people who could only read over and over from the same instruction manual because they had no idea how the devices worked and so i clue how to solve the problem except to keep asking if i was sure I’d updated the firmware)
Anyway- this thing works! It’s easy to set up and it works.
I sure hope it lasts a few years at least.

by Mackattackkk

Update: (2 months after using) Still have no idea why people have rated Ember so poorly. I think people should’ve tried deleting and re-downloading before they left poor reviews. I‘ve never had an issue with my this app or Ember . Ember is seamless, easy and reliable.

I’ve had my this app for a few days now (will follow up with my review once I’ve had it for longer) I’m pretty confused about some of the negative reviews about Ember . For me Ember never has any issues. It’s easy to use, works every time, and I have no complaints. I also love the mug, I use it every single day. It always keeps my beverage fresh and hot. FRESH. That’s all I was looking for, something to keep my beverages tasting great, hot, without the reheated taste. With this app, the last sip, is always as good as the first. Always fresh tasting. A coffee lovers dream!

by Crystal.clear

I use Ember for firmware updates, and I appreciate that they keep occasionally pushing those, as well as setpoint temperature changes for both the desk mug and travel mug (I think the travel mug is a little overengineered with all the buttons - app is enough). Once it is set up, I don’t particularly care about temperature reached notifications, as long as it keeps the temperature.

I appreciate the this app customer service. I had an issue with one mug not recognizing liquid and not keeping it warm and they were able to replace it with a mug that works perfectly well again.

My suggestions:
- DO NOT change to wireless charging. There’s way too much wireless around already and I happen to get consistent headaches near active wireless charging. That’s an experience I do not wish to repeat or exacerbate. The mug is always at my desk during the work day and I sincerely hope the charging design does not get worse for human health.
- In addition to a car charger, it would be fantastic to have USB plug-in charger for the travel mug and the desk mug. I don’t own a car but it would be so nice to be able to roam around town with always-warm tea in the bag, charged with an external USB battery like a phone. Or be able to use the laptop’s USB at work. With this app now I can sip my drinks, and that needs a charge for hours.

by Shephild

I believe the bad reviews are because people aren’t using the this app mug as directed. The user guide clearly states that the mug goes into sleep mode two hours after placing on the charging coaster when fully charged and empty. You don’t have to turn off the this app mug. I believe people must be turning off the mug which causes user to have to re-pair this app with Ember . If you turn it on and leave it be, the mug and app connect automatically with the next morning‘s cup of coffee or tea. Just make sure you have Bluetooth turned on on your iPhone.

I read reviews about the this app mug itself stating the ceramic was flaking off the bottom of the interior of the mug. The user guide clearly states metal utensils can cause damage to the ceramic coating. Only use plastic or wooden spoons in the this app mug.

So far I love my this app. The only criticism I have is it is quite costly.

by Mendicants

I recently experienced the frustration expressed by other users. Several times the software upgrade stopped at 50%. However, if you follow this app’s online instructions, to the letter (uninstall the this app app, remove Bluetooth profile, toggle Bluetooth, reset mug), and then restart your phone, then the upgrade should install just fine.
If you have any problem, do a global search on your phone for “this app” to see if the Bluetooth profiles still show up in “Settings.” If so, double check that any Bluetooth profiles for this app have been forgotten, close Settings, and restart your phone. Once the this app app and all related settings profiles are gone, redo the this app setup from scratch.
When I did this, my mug started working perfectly (which it does without the update btw). Worst case: you use the last gen software.

by Emeador

I read a lot of reviews, both negative and positive, before purchasing the ceramic mug. As usual, the ignorance of so many causes a really great product to be rated far lower than it should. The cup holds 10 ounces, yet so many complain that the hour plus heat time isn’t enough.... to drink 10 ounces. The notion that you need more than an hour to drink a cup of coffee is absurd. The saucer works well, as long as the mug is on the charger it doesn’t lose battery, so if you’re like me and drink 4 plus cups a day this solves any heating issues. I can easily enjoy my first two cups of coffee within the hour and don’t need the saucer, after that I just sit it on the charger instead of the counter, pretty simple concept. As far as Ember , I’ve had no issues and receive notifications when my temp is reached every time. I have no complaints at all, and absolutely recommend this mug. I can’t speak for the travel mug as I don’t own it but the ceramic mug is fantastic. For those that see a product like this, do no research, then post one star reviews because they expected 4 hour heat times, they should be ignored. This mug functions just as it is described.

by Drmeiswinkel

I bought the thermos and a cup. There have been serious issues with the temperamental sensors and buggy connection to the iphone. Hot drinks are poured in to either cups... often register as “empty”. I have hot beverages get colder while I fight with the software. My solution is using a thermos or a thermos mug. They cost less, work better, have no software issues, and many of them are now machine washable.

I spent weeks trying to get customer service to help me. When they finally did, they recommended updates, which I had run. Then, resetting the mugs with the reset button... I also uninstalled and re-installed the software.

The mugs and software rarely work. They have no stability in how they work. The support is shameful. Cost is only something to complain about after you realize it is NOT A WORKING PRODUCT. But, IT IS AN EXPENSIVE PRODUCT. So, a certain amount of functionality is expected. I rarely see it heat my beverages... they get cold, the heat never comes on in time. Once-in-a-while, it does heat up what has gone cold. It takes forever to reheat. The battery life is shameful.

It seems like no testing was done.

by Luvyellow

Got this as a Christmas present and haven’t been able to use it completely yet. This is my 2nd mug since Christmas and neither of them have been able to connect to Ember so I can keep my coffee on a hotter temperature. I messaged them the day before Christmas and they sent me a message back stating that they usually respond within a few business days but it might be a little slower due to a high volume of inquiries. FOUR WEEKS LATER and I’ve still heard nothing from them, even after sending another email asking if they plan on responding to my issues with my mug. Sadly, I was super excited about this product because I love searing hot coffee, but it looks like this product should still be in testing to fix the mountain of issues it still has. DON’T BUY THIS PRODUCT.

by Anne J 2

I like how you change the color on the mug but the color change doesn't keep. There’s a bug in the programming. It irritates me and it would have been better if there was no personalization feature and the light was just white and consumers have no expectation for personalization.
******* 2 week update
I found that the color is white if it is actively warming, and my turquoise color when it’s not unless it’s red when the battery is dying. I don’t sit by an outlet most of the time so it’s red often.

I decided to just keep my lukewarm tea in the mug and let it warm up on the coaster on the kitchen while I do other stuff. Then I came back less than 2 hours later and my tea was COLDER. The dumb thing hadn’t warmed up my tea and it wasnt charging either. It was ON/dying when I put it on the coaster. So I’m pretty annoyed with it at the moment. Do I seriously need to turn it on again before putting it on the charger so it will warm up my tea? I feel like it should do that automatically.

Maybe in another 2 weeks I will figure out what I did wrong. -_- I wish they would improve it to make it more intuitive and user friendly, because pouring out the liquid into a normal mug to microwave my tea is getting annoying.

by OurHammondFamily

This was a gift from a dear friend who knows that I drink tea all day. This mug is an amazing idea! Unfortunately the battery dies far too quickly (only an hour of life for an hour and a half to get a full charge?) and I have never been able to connect to Bluetooth satisfactorily. Troubleshooting instructions for the connectivity issues in Ember and online were sparse at best -- very non-specific and unhelpful -- and still never got my mug permanently connected to my app. Like many other reviewers, I feel excited by the potential we have seen in the concept of this product but disappointed in the follow-through, especially in terms of battery life, connectivity, and app UI.

by Dada369

Got this for my birthday and it just had ME in its concept. Unfortunately, it lost its connection after its first recharging for the next day. It needs some serious changes in Ember . First, put an explanation of the LED colors and flashing vs winking. Add trouble shooting instructions to the owners manual. Many of us have multiple portable devices that may have this mug in its Bluetooth stack, watch, phone, iPad, etc. yes, the temperature lasts about an hour or so, and I am ok with that. I may even get another saucer for my easy chair in addition to my office. How about a faster charger? How about a built in “tile” device in the event you set it down someplace and can find it easier? How about a different power supply that you could use a power bank with? The concept is good but needs some work.

by Mgscience

I have not experienced any of the aggravations encountered by others. Maybe I’ve just been lucky so far. I enjoy the product. The mug is very pretty and the coating is top notch. The battery, not so much. The battery technology is simply not advanced enough yet for such a product. It keeps one drink happy but then it needs charging, unless you always place the mug back in its cradle. With so many charging cycles I expect the battery to die rather soon. We’ll see.
Ember does its job. I would just ask that the battery level be continuously displayed front and center so I can keep track and not get caught empty.
The Watch app needs to display the battery level, too! Very important, guys!

by Fran6498

First day of using this around the house and it works awesome! Ember is very straight forward and already has presets for teas and coffees. Currently my mom is using it at work and has been keeping her coffee hot all morning long and doesn’t have any issues with the Bluetooth. When I first saw Ember I saw more negative reviews than positive about people complaining that it keeps disconnecting, but so far I haven’t witnessed it yet. The cup is very chic, classy, and aesthetically pleasing to the eye! One thing I would add that could’ve used improvement is the charger cable. I do agree that it looks very old school and should’ve looked more modern for the price I paid, but it still deserves a 5 star because it’s just simply awesome and does its job well!

by Cupa, Joe

I rated this product 5 to keep it from being buried in the large number of dissatisfied raters who gave it a 1. I bought the cup since I saw it at Sbucks and figured it would not disappoint. That was a mistake—read on.

As of 1Jan2019 there were 271 ratings of the this app cup/mug and Ember . Can the 5 ratings really be trusted when there are more than twice as many 1 ratings as 5 ratings? Here are the problems I have with Ember:
-90 minutes of charging time for one hour of charge for a product that people use for extended time periods
-a saucer that must me kept completely dry so as not to damage the electronics. People spill coffee!
-another right handed product in a world where 23% of the coffee drinking population is left handed—the light at the base could shine on both sides, this not a tough engineering problem to overcome
-virtually non existent customer support, take a lesson from Nest, it pays to have humans talk to your customers