GMG Alternative

Anything Wood Fire related (including what woods to use) pellet grills and pellets.
wedwards
Posts: 258
Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2014 2:38 pm

Re:

Post by wedwards »

chriso wrote:Wedwards if you want to offload your faulty grill at a bargain price let me know. I'll pick it up and everything.
I should clarify. As it stands, I would not feel right selling this unit to anyone "as-is".

Tim Harkin (owner of Hark Enterprises - importer and support for these units) has requested a couple of days to sort this out. Tim assures me he will be able to do what is necessary to get it working. Based on our discussion this afternoon, he certainly gives me confidence that he stands behind his products, and out of respect for that I have agreed to give him the time to sort it out, (and let things be in this thread until that time). There aren't many companies in Australia these days who offer exceptional service like this anymore.

If you are legitimately interested in purchasing the unit, feel free to PM me and when this is sorted and the grill is operational, we can talk.
DingoWA
Posts: 43
Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2015 2:35 am
Location: Perth WA

Re: GMG Alternative

Post by DingoWA »

That is disappointing. I've been happy with mine and used iPad, iPhone and now a Samsung. I spoke to a mate who is an IT guru and from what is posted here he agreed with Chris. If that's the case what can you do other than shift?

I'm sorry for you as I have been over the moon with mine. I hope you find something that works for you. Best of luck.
Weber OTG/Roti, Workhorse gassers, Weber Q, GMG DC
wedwards
Posts: 258
Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2014 2:38 pm

Re: GMG Alternative

Post by wedwards »

OK, so I wanted to come back and re-visit this since Hark and GMG became involved, so that anyone who searches and comes across this thread knows that there was a happy ending.

Once I had proved the issues to Tim at Hark, he arranged for one of GMG's support guys to call me. Spent some time on the phone with the support guy, at the end of which he agreed that the controllers were most likely faulty.

Tim then arranged to express freight a replacement controller that had the latest firmware already installed on it. He also threw in a bag of pellets, a GMG hat, and a replacement igniter rod (presumably because one of the tests we did might have damaged it or shortened its life somehow.

It all arrived the following day and I put the controller in straight away, checked firmware, and immediately attempted to do a firmware update using my phone's hotspot. Holy crap it worked. Tried it again on my home network - it worked again. Went through all the issues I was having between all controllers, and this controller did not have any of those issues.

In summary; this issue was NOT an issue with my iPhone, home network, or anything in my control. It was a case of 3 faulty controllers. To be fair, Hark and GMG have never seen this before (the faulty controllers are going back to GMG in USA to work out what went wrong). Despite this, the way they responded when they became aware of the issue is to be commended (i.e. they didnt once blame me or my equipment for the problem). In discussions with Hark and GMG, I actually asked them about some of the possible issues that were suggested in this thread, such as using Android instead of iPhone, Apple not updating wifi protocols or having old wifi protocols on devices (requiring complete wipe of phone), etc. I was advised that none of these issues are current or relevant to their product - in fact I had wasted time in procuring an Android phone to prove without doubt that it wasn't an Apple issue.

My issues with regard to the GMG app were also resolved in this week's update, and it appears to function exactly as documented now.

The lesson I have learnt out of all of this, is that the forum as a collective is great when it has seen a particular issue in the past, however when issues present that have not been seen by the collective, or the solutions are not working, it is best to go back to the manufacturer for resolution (I probably should have done this sooner to be honest).

Finally, during this whole ordeal, I did actually spit the dummy with this unit before Hark and GMG got involved. As a result, I tracked down and put in a pre-order for a Yoder YS640 with competition cart and grill grates. The GMG will probably either be my second pellet grill, or it will end up going to my mum's once the Yoder arrives (she was going to take my WSM, but she can have this one instead).

So all in all, happy story in the end. The GMG was a cheap way to get me to experience the concept of pellet grills (even in its manual mode without the technology working, it confirmed for me that its the way I wanted to go), and for that I am grateful, as I might not have made the jump to the Yoder otherwise.

Just have to give a big thank-you to Tim Harkin and GMG who were professional and courteous at all times, despite my frustration which was probably not expressed particularly well and my ADHD/autistic tendencies which dont make me respond well on a good day most of the time. :)
yakabot
Posts: 621
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2012 5:40 pm

Post by yakabot »

Glad you got it all sorted out. I would have climbed a clock tower and gone fully nuts. But, if they sent you a new controller with latest firmware, why did you "update" it when you got it? I don't get that bit.
wedwards
Posts: 258
Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2014 2:38 pm

Re:

Post by wedwards »

yakabot wrote:Glad you got it all sorted out. I would have climbed a clock tower and gone fully nuts. But, if they sent you a new controller with latest firmware, why did you "update" it when you got it? I don't get that bit.
Because I wanted to prove the it was capable of being updated with my equipment (which had been called into question, and which was complete crap to be perfectly frank) - did not want to find myself in a situation in 6 months time when another firmware comes out and it wouldn't update for some reason.

Yeah I was ready to go postal on it - lets just say its lucky my brother has my big sledge hammer and oxy torch at the moment, or it would have been re-factored into something pretty special :)

All happy with it now though.
beachbums
Posts: 1278
Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2010 5:51 pm
Location: Smokefireandfood.com

Re: GMG Alternative

Post by beachbums »

Great to see a happy ending to your troubles mate. Kudos to Hark and GMG for their backup too.

I think you're right about the advice we seek on the forums. Most times it works out really well but with a new issue we all put on our thinking hats and try to solve it. It's a bloke thing :D

Sorry if my idea of an android put you out but it was all I could think of that might help.


Cheers, Wayne
Grill Pro Australia
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Location: Adelaide
Contact:

Re: GMG Alternative

Post by Grill Pro Australia »

It just goes to show, you just need to speak to the "Right" people to get correct information, in this case the importer of the product. Its a shame you had to waste so much time & frustration with such incorrect information.

Glad to see you you ended up with a good result.

Good choice on your pre-order BTW :D

Cheers, Dave
Grill Pro Australia
Importing Yoder Smokers, BBQr's Delight Pellets, Hammer Stahl Knives and American Rubs & Sauces into Australia
https://www.yodersmokers.net.au/
https://bbqrsdelight.net.au//
Instagram: @GRILL_PRO
wedwards
Posts: 258
Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2014 2:38 pm

Re: GMG Alternative

Post by wedwards »

beachbums wrote: Sorry if my idea of an android put you out but it was all I could think of that might help.

Cheers, Wayne
Dont stress mate, all good :)
Bentley
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Location: Culpeper, Virginia USA
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Re: GMG Alternative

Post by Bentley »

Getting a Yoder...stock up on pellets!
Burnt By The Best
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Fresno State University
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Gumb

Re: GMG Alternative

Post by Gumb »

I'm glad you got it sorted but i don't think having a crack at members on here who have no financial interest in your purchase and are just trying to be helpful and offer up some alternative reasons is the way to say thanks.
Nath
Posts: 2095
Joined: Wed Mar 13, 2013 1:15 am
Location: Perth WA

GMG Alternative

Post by Nath »

Still don't think it's a "faulty" controller. But there has been a definite issue with uploading the latest firmware with IOS. Glad to see it has been resolved. Now enjoy the Q and post up some pics of your cooks


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Nath
wedwards
Posts: 258
Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2014 2:38 pm

GMG Alternative

Post by wedwards »

Gumb wrote:I'm glad you got it sorted but i don't think having a crack at members on here who have no financial interest in your purchase and are just trying to be helpful and offer up some alternative reasons is the way to say thanks.
Wasn't having a crack mate, just saying the collective wisdom has its limits and then it's better to go to manufacturer when suggested solutions don't check out or make any sense (in case anyone in future comes across this post and has less patience than me).


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wedwards
Posts: 258
Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2014 2:38 pm

GMG Alternative

Post by wedwards »

Nath wrote:Still don't think it's a "faulty" controller. But there has been a definite issue with uploading the latest firmware with IOS. Glad to see it has been resolved. Now enjoy the Q and post up some pics of your cooks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
GMG all but said its faulty and they will be getting the controllers sent back to USA for analysis. Would be nice if we got some report back, but not sure that will happen. I'll ask them though, as I'm interested in an explanation just for my own knowledge. One thing I didn't mention in previous posts is that one of my jobs is to create and write software for devices like these. I haven't got time at present to take the boards apart and check/re-solder them, but that's what I would normally do. My personal opinion is if there was an issue with iOS upload, it's caused by poor programming and not complying with the standards as set by apple. Each update of iOS comes with seriously detailed documentation that a good programmer should pay attention to if they want their app to work properly. The issue of "old protocols" is a backwards compatibility feature that developers were meant to cater for - can't blame apple for that stuff in my opinion. Developers have access to this information for more than 12 months before a new iOS release usually. Anyway, I don't appreciate people saying it's an iOS issue when it's more likely poor programming and lack of reading the documentation. Rant over.


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Nath
Posts: 2095
Joined: Wed Mar 13, 2013 1:15 am
Location: Perth WA

GMG Alternative

Post by Nath »

wedwards wrote:
Nath wrote:Still don't think it's a "faulty" controller. But there has been a definite issue with uploading the latest firmware with IOS. Glad to see it has been resolved. Now enjoy the Q and post up some pics of your cooks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
GMG all but said its faulty and they will be getting the controllers sent back to USA for analysis. Would be nice if we got some report back, but not sure that will happen. I'll ask them though, as I'm interested in an explanation just for my own knowledge. One thing I didn't mention in previous posts is that one of my jobs is to create and write software for devices like these. I haven't got time at present to take the boards apart and check/re-solder them, but that's what I would normally do. My personal opinion is if there was an issue with iOS upload, it's caused by poor programming and not complying with the standards as set by apple. Each update of iOS comes with seriously detailed documentation that a good programmer should pay attention to if they want their app to work properly. The issue of "old protocols" is a backwards compatibility feature that developers were meant to cater for - can't blame apple for that stuff in my opinion. Developers have access to this information for more than 12 months before a new iOS release usually. Anyway, I don't appreciate people saying it's an iOS issue when it's more likely poor programming and lack of reading the documentation. Rant over.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ok understood, so it's a programming issue of the app not functioning correctly with iOS.


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Nath
wedwards
Posts: 258
Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2014 2:38 pm

GMG Alternative

Post by wedwards »

Nath wrote:
wedwards wrote:
Nath wrote:Still don't think it's a "faulty" controller. But there has been a definite issue with uploading the latest firmware with IOS. Glad to see it has been resolved. Now enjoy the Q and post up some pics of your cooks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
GMG all but said its faulty and they will be getting the controllers sent back to USA for analysis. Would be nice if we got some report back, but not sure that will happen. I'll ask them though, as I'm interested in an explanation just for my own knowledge. One thing I didn't mention in previous posts is that one of my jobs is to create and write software for devices like these. I haven't got time at present to take the boards apart and check/re-solder them, but that's what I would normally do. My personal opinion is if there was an issue with iOS upload, it's caused by poor programming and not complying with the standards as set by apple. Each update of iOS comes with seriously detailed documentation that a good programmer should pay attention to if they want their app to work properly. The issue of "old protocols" is a backwards compatibility feature that developers were meant to cater for - can't blame apple for that stuff in my opinion. Developers have access to this information for more than 12 months before a new iOS release usually. Anyway, I don't appreciate people saying it's an iOS issue when it's more likely poor programming and lack of reading the documentation. Rant over.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ok understood, so it's a programming issue of the app not functioning correctly with iOS.


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If what was being said about it working fine for android and not for iOS, then yes, however both Hark and GMG refuted that allegation in no uncertain terms.


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