PID drift and WiFi bricks

Drift is normal. The probe in the lid is not the grate, and the grate is not the thickest part of a packer. A swing of a few degrees is not a scandal. A 40 F bounce every time the wind hits is a gasket, placement, or grease-fire story, not a reason to throw the grill out on day two.

WiFi is a remote thermometer with extra ways to fail. Firmware nights, 5 GHz-only routers, dead 2.4 GHz range, and a bricked board after a power blink show up in the same forums as the happy app screenshots. If the only way you know the hopper is low is a push notification, you already lost.

What to do instead of trusting the icon

Plan pellets as if the app is offline. That is what the calculator is for. Filter the WiFi models if you want one, then still size the hopper.

Keep a cheap leave-in probe that does not go through the manufacturer cloud. If the controller bricks mid-cook, you still know the meat. You may not know how to restart the fire without the manual.

Read cold-weather burn before you blame PID for a winter overnight that was actually a hopper problem.