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What things are bad for Bluetooth signals?Updated 8 months ago
Effective Bluetooth range is quite dependent on the environment. The ideal setup is to have a clear line of sight (LOS) between the antennas.
Here are some of the things that commonly block or hinder signals:
Metal | Metal enclosures block radio transmissions, including Bluetooth. The thicker the metal the worse this will be. For smokers and grills, the vent holes tend to be where the signal escapes; if you close things up tight, any signal will struggle to escape. |
Foil! | Wrapping the thermometer inside of a foil shield will keep the signal inside. So if you’re protecting a turkey, be sure that the handle of the thermometer is outside of the foil. |
Water | Water, in general, muffles Bluetooth signals. Being submerged will greatly reduce the Predictive Thermometer’s effective range, especially if the water is in a metal pot. |
Human beings | On a related note, people are (as one of our engineers put it) “big bags of water.” Standing between the thermometer and the display can partly block the signal, especially if you eclipse the view between the antennas. |
Concrete or masonry | Walls or other obstructions between the thermometer and the receiving device—display or app—will limit the range a lot. Radio waves kind of jiggle through obstacles and brick doesn’t jiggle. |
Trivection oven glass | Has a mesh screen just like a microwave – because it includes a microwave (that’s the part that makes it “tri”). The mesh that keeps microwaves inside the oven also keeps Bluetooth signals in – they’re almost the same exact frequency. |
Reminder: never use your thermometer in a microwave!
Metal and microwaves don’t mix. Particularly when that metal is our antenna, which is optimized to absorb energy at that particular wavelength - the results will be pyrotechnic and will definitely void your warranty.