Your WiFi Booster is a bit of a multitasker. It recharges your Predictive Thermometer, extends your Bluetooth range, and bridges your cook to WiFi so you can watch it from anywhere. When something is off, this guide will help you sort it out fast. Work through it top to bottom, since most issues are solved in the first two sections.

Start Here: The 3 Quick Fixes

Before anything else, try these. They resolve the majority of Booster hiccups:

1. Power-cycle the Booster. Press and hold the LED button for 1 second until it powers off. Wait a moment, then press it again to turn it back on.
2. Reseat your thermometer. Take the Predictive Thermometer out of the Booster and place it back in, making sure it clicks into place and the metal contact on the end of the handle is seated.
3. Check your charging setup. Make sure you are using a working USB-C cable and a standard USB power source. If a light does not come on when it is plugged in, try a different cable and port first, since this rules out the most common culprit.

Still stuck? Find your specific symptom below.

Understanding Your Booster's Light

Your Booster talks to you through its single LED. Here is the full legend:

• Amber = charging. The onboard battery and/or the thermometer inside is charging. On older firmware, this may show as a blinking amber, and if it does, it is worth updating your firmware.
• Green = charged. The Booster and the thermometer, if it is inside, are fully charged.
• 3 white blinks = searching. The Booster is looking for linked tools within range. It only connects to Combustion tools you have already linked.
• Single white blink, every 5 seconds = connected and repeating. The Booster has a live connection and is rebroadcasting the signal. This is the normal, healthy "I am working" signal.
• Quick red blink = low battery. Time to recharge it.
• Quick blue blink = connected to WiFi. (WiFi Boosters only.)
• No light at all when plugged in means the Booster is not receiving power or may need attention. Jump to "Booster Won't Turn On" below.

Seeing a mix, such as 3 white blinks and a blue flash together? More than one pattern can run at once, so a confusing light is usually just two simple patterns overlapping (in that example, searching plus WiFi connected).

In portable (unplugged) mode, press the button once to check status: an amber response means the thermometer is still charging, and green means it is full. The light turns off after 5 seconds. For the complete rundown, see the Booster Lights (LED) article.

Booster Won't Turn On (No Lights or No Response)

If pressing the button or plugging in does nothing:

1. Try a different USB-C cable, ideally one you know works, such as one that charges another device. Cables fail more often than you would think.
2. Try a different power source, such as a different wall adapter or USB port. Use a standard 5V USB port and avoid oddball high-voltage "fast charge" bricks.
3. Give it a full hour. If the battery was completely flat, let it charge for a full 60 minutes before deciding it is dead.
4. Still no light after all of that? That points to a hardware issue, and our support team can help you figure out next steps. See the last section.

Booster Won't Charge My Thermometer

If your thermometer is not charging when it sits in the Booster:

1. Clean the contacts. Over time an invisible layer of cooking oil builds up on the metal contact at the base of the thermometer's handle. Gently scrub it with a bit of steel wool, or a cotton swab with isopropyl alcohol, let it dry, then place it back in the Booster.
2. Check the fit. Make sure the thermometer is seated fully and is not popping loose. See the next section if it will not stay put.
3. Confirm the Booster itself has power. Is it showing its single white blink? If the Booster will not turn on, fix that first using the section above.
4. Give it time. A full thermometer recharge from the Booster takes about 20 minutes.

If it still will not charge after cleaning and reseating, our support team can help. See the last section.

My Thermometer Won't Stay Seated or Keeps Popping Out

If your Predictive Thermometer will not sit securely in the Booster, meaning it is loose, pops out at the lightest touch, or only charges intermittently, this is not something you need to keep troubleshooting. A small number of Boosters shipped with a holder that does not grip the thermometer tightly enough.

The fastest path here is to get in touch with our support team so we can look into it with you. See the last section for how to reach us, and please mention that the thermometer will not stay seated.

Battery Drains Too Fast or Won't Hold a Charge

First, a quick reality check on what is normal for the WiFi Booster:

• Up to 16 full recharges of a Predictive Thermometer on a single full Booster charge.
• Up to about 285 days (roughly 9.5 months) of standby keeping a thermometer topped up in storage.
• About 54 hours of continuous runtime when it is actively connected and streaming over WiFi.

A few things can shorten runtime:

• "Always On" mode in the Combustion app keeps radios active and uses more power. If you do not need constant streaming, switch to the standard power mode in app settings.
• Actively bridging WiFi the whole time, which is the 54-hour figure, will naturally drain faster than quiet standby.

If your Booster is draining far faster than these figures, for example, going flat in a day of light use or refusing to hold any charge at all, that is not expected. Our support team can help. See the last section.

Keeps Disconnecting During a Cook or Poor Range

The Booster extends your range by relaying signals, but a few things affect how well it does that:

• The Booster only acts as a range extender when the thermometer is out of it. Placing a thermometer inside a Booster turns that Booster's relay radio off, since that is charging mode. If you want it boosting range, keep the probe out.
• Position your first range extender (Booster or Display) close to the grill or smoker, with as clear a line of sight as possible.
• Common signal blockers include metal, water, brick, reflective glass, and people. Thick metal smokers are especially tough.
• Range guide: roughly 330+ ft with a clear line of sight, dropping to about 50 ft through obstacles.
• Running several thermometers? Each Booster links up to 4 thermometers. For more than that, add another Booster.

If it drops specifically when you walk away with your phone, the phone is moving out of Bluetooth range. Position a Booster or Display between the cook and where you will be standing.

WiFi or Cloud Connection Keeps Dropping

If the Booster connects but keeps losing its WiFi or cloud link:

• Using a mesh WiFi system such as Orbi, eero, or Google Nest? The Booster's low-power WiFi chip locks onto one access point when it powers on and does not hop between mesh nodes. The fix is to place the Booster where you actually want it to live, then power it on right there by holding the button for about 1 second. Give it about a minute to reconnect.
• Restart your router. Unplug it for 30 seconds, plug it back in, and wait 2 to 3 minutes.
• Confirm the basics: a 2.4 GHz network, the correct WiFi password, and the Booster within reasonable range of the router.
• Showing "offline" on cellular but fine on home WiFi? Your Booster may have been set up under a different Combustion account. Re-run WiFi setup while signed into the correct account.

Firmware Update Won't Complete

Booster updates go most smoothly when only one device is talking to the app:

1. Update to the latest version of the Combustion app first.
2. Only power on the device you are updating. Turn off all other thermometers, Boosters, and Displays.
3. For a Booster update, if possible, remove the thermometer and set it on a basic charger to keep it powered off during the update.
4. If it stalls at "Update - Starting," wait a few minutes, then restart the app and try again with only one device on.
5. If it finishes and then re-enters update mode, do not worry. If the app says the device is up to date, you can safely exit.

Physical Damage: Cracked or Swollen Booster

• Cracked case or broken clip or mount: take a photo and get in touch with our support team. See the last section.
• Swollen, bulging, or split case: this means the internal battery is swelling. Please stop using the Booster, do not try to charge it, and do not puncture or press on it. Keep it somewhere cool and away from anything flammable, and get in touch with our support team right away. See the last section.

How to Reset Your Booster (Reference)

Still Need a Hand?

We are happy to help. Email [email protected]. To get you sorted fastest, please include:

• Your order number
• What you are seeing. A short video or photo of the Booster's light/behavior.
• Which devices you are using together, such as a thermometer only or with a Display.
• What you have already tried from this guide.

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