my wifi keeps disconnecting from the pit boss app, have to reconnect every time i want to use it.

Diagnosis

The intermittent connectivity on the Pit Boss Pro Series 1150 is typically caused by "signal attenuation" or a DHCP lease expiration. Because the controller is housed in a heavy-gauge steel chassis, the internal Wi-Fi antenna suffers from significant interference. If your router is located inside the house and the grill is on a patio, the signal must penetrate multiple exterior walls and the grill's own metal housing, leading to a weak RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) value. When the signal drops below a certain threshold, the controller loses its handshake with the Pit Boss cloud server. Furthermore, many modern routers use "band steering," which attempts to push devices between 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies. The Pro Series 1150 controller only supports 2.4GHz. When the router tries to force the grill onto the 5GHz band, the connection drops instantly. To confirm this is the issue, check the Wi-Fi icon on the controller; if it flickers or disappears while you are standing next to the grill, the hardware is failing to maintain a stable IP lease from your router.

How to Fix It

To resolve the connection drops and stabilize the link, follow these precise steps to isolate the frequency and refresh the hardware handshake:

1. Access your router's admin panel via a web browser (usually 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1).
2. Navigate to Wireless Settings and disable "Smart Connect" or "Band Steering." This allows you to give the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands different names (SSIDs). Name the 2.4GHz band something specific, like "PitBoss_WiFi."
3. On the Pro Series 1150 controller, press and hold the Wi-Fi button for approximately 10-15 seconds. The Wi-Fi indicator light will begin to flash rapidly, indicating it is in Pairing Mode.
4. Open the Pit Boss app on your smartphone. Ensure your phone is connected to the newly renamed 2.4GHz network.
5. Select "Add Device" and follow the prompts. When asked for the password, ensure there are no special characters (like ! or @) if possible, as some older firmware versions on the 1150 controllers struggle with complex symbols.
6. Once connected, move the grill at least 12 inches away from any metal siding or brick walls to reduce signal bounce-back.

If That Didn't Work

• Install a dedicated 2.4GHz Wi-Fi Range Extender. Plug the extender into an outdoor-rated outlet or a garage outlet closest to the grill. Connect the grill to the extender's signal rather than the main house router to reduce the number of walls the signal must penetrate.
• Perform a Hard Power Cycle. Unplug the grill from the wall outlet for a full 5 minutes. This clears the temporary cache in the controller's network chip and forces a new DHCP request from the router, which often fixes "ghost" connections where the app says it's connected but the grill isn't responding.
• Assign a Static IP address to the grill. In your router settings, find the MAC address of the Pit Boss controller and assign it a permanent IP. This prevents the connection from dropping every time the router refreshes its lease table.
• Check for physical antenna interference. If you have added aftermarket accessories or heavy-duty covers that wrap tightly around the control panel, remove them. The antenna is located behind the plastic faceplate; blocking this with metallic foils or heavy vinyl can kill the signal.

Heads Up

• Avoid using "Guest Networks" for your grill; these often have timeout settings that will kick the grill off the network every 24 hours.
• Keep your grill's power cord plugged into a surge protector. Power spikes can occasionally corrupt the Wi-Fi module's firmware, requiring a factory reset.
• If you upgrade your router to a Wi-Fi 6 model, ensure "Legacy Mode" is enabled, as the Pro Series 1150 uses older 802.11b/g standards.
• Always update the Pit Boss app to the latest version from the App Store or Google Play, as connectivity patches are frequently released to improve cloud stability.