How to Link All Tools (Multi-Node MeatNet™): The Cuddle PileUpdated 4 days ago

If you own more than one Combustion tool, linking them lets them share signals and relay to each other, which is what extends your range across a yard or through a wall. We call the process the Cuddle Pile, because that is what it looks like.

Do I need to do this?

Only if you have more than one tool. A single thermometer and your phone need nothing. A thermometer and one Display link themselves during setup.

You need the Cuddle Pile when you have two or more of these together: Boosters, Displays, or a Giant Grill Gauge. Linking them means a signal can hop from one to the next, and each hop adds roughly another 330ft (100m) of range.

Before you start

Update the firmware on every device. Mismatched firmware is the most common reason linking fails. See Firmware Updates: Complete Guide, and update one device at a time.

Have everything to hand and charged.

The steps

1. Put each thermometer into a Booster, and turn any Display off by holding its start/stop button.
   • This step surprises people, so here is why: seating a thermometer in a Booster switches that Booster's radio off. Silencing everything first means no device grabs a link early and ends up half-connected.
2. Bring all the devices within a couple of inches of each other. A pile on the counter is exactly right.
3. Take the thermometers out of the Boosters, turn the Display back on, and set the thermometers in the pile. Everything is now awake and close together.
4. Leave them alone for 1 to 2 minutes.

That is it. You should see a single white blink every 5 seconds on each Booster, meaning it is connected and repeating, and a temperature on the Display.

Good to know

• Each Booster links up to 4 thermometers.
• This works with multiple Boosters, with or without a Display.
• You only need one WiFi tool in the setup for cloud access, whether that is a WiFi Booster, a WiFi Display, or a Giant Grill Gauge.

If it did not work

Work through these in order.

1. Confirm nothing is asleep. A Booster searching shows three white blinks in a row, repeating. If a Booster shows no light at all, hold its button for about a second to power it on.
2. Check the firmware again on every device, not just the new one.
3. Try again with fewer devices. Link two things, confirm it took, then add the third. A pile of five is harder than two pairs.
4. Move away from other Combustion gear. If you have tools in another room that are powered on, they can join the pile you did not intend.
5. Still stuck on "Hold devices near to link"? That message means the app can see a device but has not completed the handshake. Power everything off, then run the steps again from scratch rather than retrying from where it stalled.

Starting over from scratch

If your tools are linked to the wrong things, or you have inherited a setup you did not build, clear them and start again. A full reset wipes a device's list of linked tools; it does not affect firmware or your account.

Reset every device you want in the pile, then run the steps above. This is also the fix when the app shows a device as linked, but nothing is talking to anything.

Adding or replacing a device

Adding a new tool to a working setup: run the steps again with everything included, new device and old. You do not need to unlink what already works.

Replacing a tool, for example, a warranty replacement Booster: reset the old one before you retire it if you still can, so it stops advertising itself, then run the steps with the new one in the pile. If the old device is dead and cannot be reset, reset the remaining devices instead and rebuild the pile without it.

Still have a question?

If your tools will not link after a reset and a firmware check, email [email protected] and tell us which devices you are trying to link, which Booster you have, and what each light is doing. A short video of the light patterns is the fastest way for us to see what is happening.

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