recteq Reviews

by They're Lying To You

I did a lot of looking around before I bought my Rec Tec. What really sold me on it was recteq . How great would it be to be able to monitor and control my smoker from my phone? Well, I still don’t know.
For one thing, the grill itself won’t recognize 5g WiFi at all. I set up a 2.4 ghz band on my router specifically for the Rec Tec and guess what... It doesn’t recognize that either.
Now on to recteq itself. I guess it’s not designed for people who happened to decide they wanted an iPhone. It opens fine, you can go into it and look at recipes and so on and so forth. The problem comes when you want to try and connect it to your smoker (which won’t recognize your WiFi anyway). As soon as you sign into recteq with your email and password, it crashes. Uninstalled and reinstalled about a hundred times and it’s the same thing over and over and over again.
At this point I almost feel like I’ve been stolen from... Sold a “bill of goods” so to speak.
I spent a lot of money on thus unit. More than I had planned to spend on a pellet smoker. I did it because of wha was offered. Well, they don’t deliver. Save your money people. Don’t get taken like I did.

by GiphyRulez

The release notes aren’t very specific, I cant see any changes… i still have to use a slider to punch in my temps and the temperature history screen is still useless.

by Kirkman3307

Great grill as long as you do not want to monitor or control it. The wifi controller is flaky and garbage. It will show connected and work then stop, mfr is using old technology because it is cheaper and claiming it is better.

by Hotgirl101

My grill won’t connect to my Bluetooth. The 1250 grill isn’t even shown as a grill option on recteq . So I don’t know if it won’t connect because it just can’t Or because it’s not a option.

by Brodnje

Not sure if it’s my 700 or recteq but everything else in the house is connects to network.

by Ny Nike Hater

Hasn’t been able to connect to my RT700 since the new look.

by Aytiea&Aytiana

I’ve got two recteqs. recteq never shows accurate status of my 1200, but it works exactly as it should for my 390.

The 1200 is operating on 5GHz WiFi, the 390 is 2.4GHz.

However, even on 2.4GHz, the 1200 never shows correctly. I’ve deleted and re-added the grill many times. I’ve cleared and reinstalled recteq many times. I’ve started fresh on a new device. Always the same results.

The smokers are amazing! recteq is amazingly broken.

by 1774032891165

Please fix your useless app.

by Edisto Native

When I last complained I received a reply from a customer service rep about 3 months ago who said the notification issue was caused by so many people using recteq at the same time it overloaded the server. Thanks He said it should be corrected soon, but he would not commit to a time. About a month ago it started sending notifications again, so I assumed it had been corrected. Then on Christmas Day it suddenly stopped again. If this app knows the problem is insufficient server bandwidth to handle its customers, it should be a pretty simple fix. Just subscribe to more capacity!
Today it seems to be working again, but I couldn’t trust it to notify me when the very expensive prime brisket had reached the 160° point to be wrapped, and when the final 202° point is reached to tell me to take it off. recteq is great when it works, but useless if you can’t trust it to communicate with the server.

by Dithis

I LOVE my smoker but guys you’re killing me on the bugs and lack of actual features that are useful instead of flashy.
The bar slider for temp is to tight I don’t need to raise my smoker to 600 degrees I need to set it to smaller specific numbers and that is extremely hard to do. Either implement a enter temp box or make the slider not so hard to get exact temps.
Also while we’re on the change of temp I don’t need notifications about me missing my exact degree by 1 or 2 points when trying to set it. Change the notification alert to be like 5 seconds after the temp slider bar stops changing.
The temperature chart is unusable I read here that someone said you have to close out recteq for it to be used.
I found all this in like 10 minutes please test before launching any new updates.

by Fenix1414

I love my RT-700 and the option to control the grill and temperature via WiFi. However the graph for the probe and grill temperature history isn’t as helpful as it should be. It’s hard to read and navigate since the major app overhaul about a year ago.

by Hit Mc

First off, I love my RT700 Bull. Love it. Love being able to control it via WiFi. I think, for the most part, recteq is quite functional, and fairly well designed. It’s easy to set up, and easy to use. I believe it’s a smart feature to require confirmation before turning the grill on. I’m just can’t understand why recteq isn’t designed so that the alarms will sound when my device (iPhone, in this case) is sleeping. As far as I can tell, if you don’t have the application open and displayed, the alarms won’t sound. In other words, if you’re doing a long smoke on a brisket, and take a nap, recteq isn’t going to alert you to a fluctuation in grill temp, or let you know your brisket has reached temp.

Please correct me if I’m wrong on this. I hope that I am, and that if I’m not wrong, a patch is in the works. I will certainty change my rating once that change is made.

by Dantheman610

recteq works fine, basic but gets the job done. The slider system is flawed. I struggle to hit exactly which number I want. 276 or 274 no 275. Same for the probes which are more important in my opinion. Still a great system and great grill

by Rvaughn70

First, let me say as an IT Consultant of 25+ years, if it takes you four hours to set this up, maybe you should get your grandchildren to do it (punch thrown at the first review I read.) If you read and follow the instructions (I realize that’s not the typical man thing to say), then you can get this setup in no time. You do not need a technical background, just a 2.4GHz wireless network, which is typical on current wireless routers. Most current routers (in the last 5+ years) have both 5GHz and 2.4GHz radios. Ok. Enough of my rant. I love recteq and use it every time I use my grill. At this moment, the ONLY thing I wish it included is an alarm for temperature settings. If it would alert one when the set grill temperature was reached and when temps on the probes reached set temperatures, then it would be almost perfect in my opinion. I love my RecTec and so does my family! Thank you for taking the time to read this.

by Es1de

To be honest I was a little discouraged reading previous reviews. When setting up my WiFi connection through my iPhone, I had the same problems most people wrote about. I spent several minutes just trying to figure out how to connect it. Yes it would be better if it could connect to any network and not just the 2.5 band, but after several minute I just close recteq and reopened it to find it connected. It had what I assumed Chinese characters on the grill name. Soooo I question the “entirely made in America” part, but I can undoubtedly say it was 100% assembled in America 😅. In all after that, I was able to set and explore recteq . It’s really great. I can work recteq and the grill with and I started smoking today. Besides having trouble with the WiFi connection and having the Chinese charters. It’s still a good aplicación. I won’t recommend it if you’re gonna cry over something so small. If it’s the WiFi connectivity, I recommend you see your internet provider.

by Rionfrolley

Very much in need of Apple Watch app. Installed the controller today on a Zgrill. They use the same controller as Traeger. I have to say that pair it at first was a pain. You have to use 2.4Ghz which is not bad but I had to reset my router. No big deal. Once I got it connected and fired it up I was able to set any temperature I wanted and it would creep up or down to that temp and stay dead on it. I have an iGrill and have been checking temps on both devices. They’re accurate. This is amazing. Imagine in the winter time setting whatever you want to make for dinner on the grill in the morning and about 4-5 hrs before you leave work you turn on the grill from your phone and have a hot meal ready for you and the family. I’ve spent a lot of time researching controllers and this by far is the best you can buy. The only thing it doesn’t do is make sure your hopper is filled. So don’t forget that part.

My only gripe is that the developers need to make it to where you can rotate your phone and view the graphs in landscape mode. Other than that I only plan on using recteq as a controller.

by Mehuffer

I love my Rec Tec grill. As a matter of fact I have purchased 2. Currently really enjoying my BFG RT-2500. I cannot brag enough about Rec Tec grills & their support. If anything is going on with your grill fully dedicated staff is only a phone call away. As far as recteq ... it’s functional. It’s not the best grilling app available, but for a bunch of guys that are about making great grills, recteq is pretty good. They acknowledge it needs improvements. I know many users have offered improvements and Rec Tec is working hard to implement improvements to recteq . The WiFi connecting issue is fixed. Took me seconds to connect to my home WiFi. In my opinion I believe I have the absolute best pellet grill available, and these guys will not stop until they have the best grilling app available as well. Rome wasn’t built in a day, so give them some time. recteq does work, it just needs a few improvements.

by NEONWOODY

I have a Wi-Fi system that works on both 5 GHz and 2.4 I switched it to 2.4,I lost no distance or anything, it works great I had no problem setting it up like some peoplePeople that I’ve talked to said it’s there company that has the problem when they talk to them they help them and then it’s no problem I’m not sure why,I have Cox communication maybe it’s different I don’t know, I love this Wi-Fi controller because you can just set it with your phone,the temperature i’ve only had a 1° shift in temperature up or down that’s how accurate it is but it normally stays right on what I set it at up down with no problems, it’s a great feature and it is so accurate on the this app unlike other companies as much as 50° swing which is not good to try to cook or smoke with it that’s too much & I’ve heard it direct from people that have bought very well-known name brands be careful when you purchase a unit from someone else I don’t think it’s worth it plus all the other problems they have with it peeling and burning things like that that the this app doesn’t do, because it’s made out of stainless steel you get what you pay for high-quality (this app for life),John.

by Ksabbatini

Turn on/off your grill, monitor temp and check the meat probes all from your phone.

by Robbbbbbbbbbbbb

A recent update fixed the alarm notifications! Works great, will leave general comments below, but works as advertised and The grill is 5 stars as well!

The good: you can start/stop grill, see and control temp, and see probe temps and get notifications when probe and grill hit certain temps (or go over and get too hot... mainly user error from forgetting to pull the meat)

So that is what is supposed to do and it does it, 5 stars. Below are some Minor things that would certainly improve if they fixed in the future, but by no means are they deal breakers:

Also, not the best interface, not a deal breaker, but annoying given quality of everything else. And temp setting being a “click up/down” vs “type in number” is also disappointing, but again not the worst.

Only working on 2.5g network deal is awkward but not too big a deal. Most Internet providers give you WiFi routers that are configured these days to auto switch back and forth between 5g and 2.5g. So it will most likely take some IT knowledge or a quick call to your provider to change the settings temporarily to get the grill set up with your phone. After that it connects well (even if you change settings back). This should have been thought through, but it’s hardware, so probably not something they can update if you already purchased the grill... the other app things though, should definitely be upgraded.

by Plabs

As the title says, I have tried on multiple occasions to get it to connect, recteq finds my network but then just stays there trying to connect for as long as I care to wait. It has never worked a single time since I got the grill months ago.
This is the only “smart” appliance I own that doesn’t work. Everything is else in my house, from the door lock, to my outdoor lights, pond pump, thermostat, cameras, Sous Vide cooker, etc etc etc connects and works.
Very disappointing given the price of the grill.

by A Toyota Owner

I love what my pellet smoker does most of all I love that wood smoked flavor in my food. The only thing I don’t love is the WiFi connectivity...it never stays connected and even when trying to connect my 2.4ghz WiFi as recommended it still won’t connect. Being able to control my smoker and the ease of looking at the temp from my phone was one of the reasons I purchased it. Not sure if this is an app issue or a smoker issue but the connectivity isn’t good at all.

by D-M-A-C-K

I’m loving our new smoker and trying all sorts of foods to smoke, but recteq needs some work to be as good as the smoker. Please give us the capability to determine what we need for alerts. I personally don’t care to get a notification that my preheat is almost there just when it reaches my set point (or probe temp). Also, any adjustment to the set point (or probe temp) triggers a notification, and if I’m not quick enough multiple notifications. Also, the temperature chart is ok, but I would like to see time elapsed from the start of cook time instead of when the smoker was turned on-mainly because I hate to do math. Otherwise, I like being able to see the temp of my food without having to go to the smoker.

by Jheutz

Alarms work but the change to grill alarm is not a good one. Would like to be able to have a high and low alarm that we can set the alarm to go off when we want. 15°+- is what you have it set at now and simply opening the door sets it off. Also you took away the ability to turn that alarm off. Probe alarms are great but you screwed the grill alarms up.

by Harlow12

First two days with the RT-700 and loving the grill, recteq however could use some improvement. 10 hours into my brisket, recteq stopped allowing me to view the temperature chart. I attempted changing the frequency but had no success. My last only complaint is that I’m a little disappointed the application doesn’t have iWatch functionality. Other than that, love the grill!

by Storm-user

Now that the alerts are working, I am getting a lot of alerts by default. Would be nice to turn off some of them. It also now seems that my grill overheats a lot trying to get to temp. It did not use to do that. Of course now I get a lot of alerts about that happening as well. It is now going beyond 10 degrees over regularly and then sending me alerts that it is more than 10 degrees over. I conclude that in addition to the alerts they changed the algorithm that controls the heat.

by Formztsi

The old alerts were working just fine, and now since you have removed the grill temp alarm I’m getting spammed with alerts while preheating. I don’t need to know if it’s 50 25 or 10 degrees from being preheated. I just want the ability to set a temperature alarm if the grill deviates.

by Yapdawg

I love my RT-700! The customer support at Rec tec is Amazing. The social media videos are so amazing and helpful. With that said I do really wish they would make a watch app. I want to start my grill from my watch. Adjust the temp. Their UI would look great as a watch app. Also I would love smart assistant support. I can hear Jody now... “I just started my grill from my watch guys”. ALSO, now that notifications are working I would love a louder sound. I have missed the notification several times. Not sure if this is in them or Apple but I’d love a loud sound. I do have my notification set to persistent but they still tend to get lost in the mix with my other notifications.

by Novice Couple

Great app for turning on/off, adjusting temps
and receiving notifications from anywhere, as long as you keep smoker plugged in and connected to WiFi.

However, there’s some room for improvement with the alarms and notifications. Currently recteq sends notifications when the set temperature deviates from actual temperature, by 1 degree. This is by default when you turn on notifications, and cannot be adjusted or turned off separately from the meat temperature alarms. So what you get is constant notifications when temperature deviates slightly and then another when it reaches set temp, without being able to turn this feature off. The only way to stop it is to turn off notifications all together. By simply separating grill temp from meat temp and allowing to adjust the temperature setting (as with the meat alarm) recteq would be close to perfect.

So if you were concerned about smoker shutting down for any reason, you might set the grill temperature alarm at say 10 or even a 25 degree deviation. This way you can baste meat, adjust temperature, etc, and not be bombarded by slight temperature variations.

by The Dumper

I started my grill up tonight and got a notification that it was 10° from my set temperature a few (10) minutes later. It was the first notification recteq has given me in six months since I installed it.
That has been my only complaint about recteq and Rec Tec fixed it. I like the temperature chart function most. I can get an idea of how fast the meat is cooking by looking at the graph and plan when to start the rest of dinner.
Thank you Rec Tec for fixing the bugs.

by Usp45x

I upgraded the PID controller on my RT680 to the new WiFi enabled controller. I held off for about a year writing this review because recteq was pure junk till recently. I decided to try setting it up a couple of weeks ago and hallelujah it worked!! So nice to have recteq control, glad they are resolving the probe temp alarm. I still use my Thermpro in conjunction with the RECTEC app, old habits die hard. Either way RECTEC is moving in the right direction.

by Dan_Clements

The current version of recteq works great. It is really nice to receive alerts on my Apple Watch!

We live in the Seattle area and grill 5-6 times per week year round. Very nice to be able to turn on the unit from inside the house when it is rainy and windy outside.

Much improved from earlier versions.

by Towelie2

When I first got this grill in March, the alarms didn’t work at all. Now that they updated it, I’ll get notices on my watch and phone on anything. Whether the grill is over/under 10 degrees and warnings of when my meat is 10 degrees or so from being ready. Love recteq and love the smoker RT-700 even more.