Your WiFi Display is the at-a-glance hub of your cook. It shows your core, surface, and ambient temperatures on its own screen, works as a kitchen timer, bridges your cook to WiFi so you can watch it from anywhere, and extends your Bluetooth range. When something is off, this guide will help you sort it out fast.

Start Here: The 3 Quick Fixes

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

• Hard reset the Display. Find the min/- and Start/Stop buttons, press and hold both together for about 10 seconds, then tap Start/Stop to power it back on.
• Re-link with your thermometer. Turn on both the Display and your Predictive Thermometer, take the thermometer out of its charger or Booster, and set the two next to each other for about 10 seconds so they can find each other.
• Check your charging setup. Make sure you are using a working USB-C cable and a standard USB power source (the Display charges over USB-C, and a power adapter is not included in the box). If nothing happens 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 Display's Screen

A few things people often mistake for a fault are actually normal:

• The battery icon does not show a percentage. It simply confirms the Display is plugged in and receiving power. It is not a charge meter.
• Dashes moving across the screen mean it is searching. The Display is looking for a linked thermometer within range. Once it links, your temperatures appear.
• The backlight color is adjustable. The RGB backlight can be set to different colors, so an unusual color is a preference, not a problem.
• A full charge takes about 90 minutes. After that you can unplug and use the Display freely.

Display Won't Turn On or Won't Charge

If the screen stays dark, or the charging icon appears and then quits after a few seconds:

• 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.
• Try a different power source. Use a standard 5V USB port or wall adapter and avoid oddball high-voltage fast-charge bricks. A weak or flaky port is a common reason the charging icon blinks a few times and then stops.
• Give it a full 90 minutes. If the battery was completely flat, let it charge the full time before deciding it is dead.
• Make sure the firmware is up to date. Firmware issues can occasionally keep a Display from powering on or behaving normally. See the firmware section below for how to update safely.
• Still completely unresponsive? If the screen stays dark even on known-good power, that points to a hardware issue, and our support team can help you figure out next steps. See the last section.

Display Won't Turn Off

The Display is designed to power off when you press and hold the Start/Stop button for about 1 second. If that is not working:

• Do a hard reset. Hold min/- and Start/Stop together for about 10 seconds. This restarts the Display and usually clears a stuck state.
• If it powers back on while charging, that can happen because the Display wakes when power is applied. Once it is charged, unplug it and then hold Start/Stop to power it down.
• If the Start/Stop button feels soft, stuck, or unresponsive, see Buttons Not Responding below.

Display Loses Charge Overnight or Drains Too Fast

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

• Up to 28 days of runtime in connected WiFi mode on a full charge.
• Up to 6 months of battery life in storage mode.
• About 90 minutes for a full charge.

Keeping the Display actively connected over WiFi, or leaving it on and searching, will naturally use more power than quiet storage. If your Display is draining far faster than these figures, for example, going flat overnight with no use or refusing to hold any charge at all, that is not expected. Our support team can help.

Display Not Showing Temps or Won't Find Your Thermometer

If the Display is on but shows only dashes, or drops your temperatures mid-cook:

• Wake the thermometer. Take it out of its charger or Booster so it is active, and make sure it is charged.
• Re-link them. With both powered on, set the Display and thermometer next to each other for about 10 seconds.
• Using more than one tool? Link them all with the Cuddle Pile. See How to Reset Your Display below for where to find those steps.
• Move closer and clear the path. If it disconnects during a cook, the signal is being blocked. Common blockers include metal, water, brick, reflective glass, and people. Thick metal smokers are especially tough. Position the Display close to the cook with as clear a line of sight as possible.

Display Won't Connect to WiFi or Won't Link to the App

WiFi setup for the Display is done in the Combustion app under WiFi Devices. If it will not join your network, or it joins but never shows up in the app, work through these:

• Use the 2.4 GHz band. The Display connects on 2.4 GHz WiFi (802.11 b/g/n) only. If your router broadcasts 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz under the same network name, or is 5 GHz only, the Display may fail to join. Point it at the 2.4 GHz network specifically.
• Check your network type. Open, WPA, WPA2, and WPA3 Personal networks are supported. Networks with a sign-in page (hotel, campus, or guest WiFi) are not supported.
• Watch out for special characters in your network name. A network name (SSID) with emoji or accented or non-standard characters can stop the Display from joining. Try a network whose name uses plain letters and numbers, or choose Other in the network list to enter it manually.
• On a mesh WiFi system (Orbi, eero, Google Nest)? The Display's low-power WiFi chip locks onto one access point when it powers on and does not hop between mesh nodes. Set up and power on the Display in the spot where it will actually live, then give it about a minute to connect.
• Connects to WiFi but never appears in the app? Make sure the app is signed into the correct Combustion account, and that your phone and Display are on that same account. Then close and reopen the app and re-run WiFi setup. If it shows offline away from home but fine on your home WiFi, it was likely set up under a different account.

For router-level basics like restarting your router, checking your network, and placement, see our WiFi Not Working? Troubleshooting Guide for Combustion WiFi Accessories.

Display Flashing Red and Screeching

This alarm is a safety warning from your thermometer, not a fault with the Display. It means a sensor has crossed a safe operating limit.

• Remove your food from the heat right away.
• Check the temperatures on the Display. Lower sensors, below the minimum insertion line, must stay below 220°F. Upper sensors, toward the handle, must stay below 900°F for 2nd-gen thermometers (600°F for 1st-gen).
• Confirm the thermometer still reads normally. If it is still showing steady temperatures, it is most likely fine. If you see erratic readings or cannot reconnect, see the last section.

Using the thermometer above these limits can damage it, so it is worth double-checking your insertion depth for next time.

For what to do after an overheat, including how it affects water resistance, see Overheat Alarm: Display Flashing Red and Screeching.

Using Your Display: Timer, Target Temp, and Units

• Set a target (predict) temperature on the Display. Use the m- and s+ buttons to set your target, then press Start. At about a third of the way through the cook, a Ready In countdown appears, and the alarm sounds when it reaches zero.
• Use it as a kitchen timer or instant-read. The Display doubles as a simple timer, and the thermometer works as an instant-read even when nothing is in the oven.
• Switch between Fahrenheit and Celsius. The Display supports both. If you are not sure where the setting is, the Get Started setup guide walks through the Display's buttons and controls.
• Rename devices. Thermometers can be renamed in the app. Nicknaming the Display and Booster is not currently supported.

Firmware Update Won't Complete, or Display Acts Up After an Update

Firmware updates go most smoothly when only one device is talking to the app at a time:

• Update the Combustion app first to the latest version from the App Store or Google Play.
• Power on only the Display. Put your thermometer to sleep in its charger or Booster, and turn off any other Displays and Boosters.
• Run the update. In the app, open Settings, tap Update Devices, select the Display, and let it finish.
• If it stalls at Update - Starting, wait a few minutes, then close and reopen the app and try again with only the Display on.
• 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.
• If the Display will not power on or behaves oddly after an update, charge it fully, do a hard reset (hold min/- and Start/Stop for 10 seconds), then try the update once more.
• Have a 1st Generation Display that does not appear in Update Devices? Make sure it is powered on and close to your phone with the app open. If it still does not show up, see the last section.

Buttons Not Responding

If a button (Start/Stop, min/-, temp, or timer) feels soft, rattles, sticks, or does not respond, first try a hard reset by holding min/- and Start/Stop together for about 10 seconds. If a button still does not work after that, this points to a hardware issue, and our support team can help. See the last section.

Physical Damage: Cracked Screen or Swollen Battery

• Cracked screen, broken button, or broken 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 Display, 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 Display (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 Display's screen or behavior is a big help.
• Which devices you are using together, such as the Display and thermometer, or with a Booster.
• What you have already tried from this guide.

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