I used the unit for the first time tonight and the fish was delicious but I was horribly frustrated by both the timer on the unit and on my iPhone. I couldn’t get the timer on the unit to work and now see the convoluted steps I will have to take to start it. I then installed the app and followed the steps to set the timer up through the app, but it never started. It was connected to the unit because if I changed the temp on my iPhone it changed on the unit, but when I entered the timer for 30:00 there was no “start” command and no matter what I did, the time didn’t register. I used my wall oven timer instead. Seems crazy to read all the complaints about the timer and your coders can’t fix this. Kind of basic stuff.
The time should update automatically once you’ve confirmed it in the app, at least it does for me. I’m an android user, so not entirely sure what’s going on over at the iPhone side. There have been some bugs with the timer display though, like for me it counts down but just doesn’t display. Worst case is to just use a separate timer or the timer app on your phone.
The timer only really exists as a courtesy. The cooker doesn’t stop when the time is done, that would then be a food safety issue.
I feel a little wrong saying it, but the best way to fix the timer is to not use the timer.
The majority of cooks you will perform with the APC are not time critical anyway. The times given in the app recipes are approximations or recommendations only. There are very few things that are time delicate. Eggs and seafood can be a bit that way, but for other things an hour or more over isn’t going to matter.
Put away the stopwatch and start using the benefits of sous vide cooking.
I have to admit that I agree with Ember 100%. At this time at least it just doesn’t benefit me to use the on board timer, especially since sous vide cooking is generally so forgiving when it comes to cook time.
I am so appreciative that you guys took the time to respond. I love to cook, the traditional method, and my 22 yr old son gave this to me as a gift. I just used it for the first time last night with fish and it worked beautifully. And, yes, I used my oven timer. Tonight I am trying rib eyes, and have to admit, I am really nervous. I’m aiming for 129 degrees for 1 hr. I really want to embrace this method, if no other reason than I want my kid to be proud of me and I want to show my appreciation for this generous gift. I’m glad to know there is a supportive community out there. Do you all have cook books that you use or just find recipes on line?
I’m not a cook book kid when it comes to sous vide. It’s all about knowing how it works. In a simplified mantra:
Temperature for done-ness
Time for texture
How thick are the steaks? The heat from the bath will take approximately 30mins per half in to travel through the meat. So an hour will get a 1 inch thick steak up to ‘temperature equilibrium’ or the same temperature in the middle as the bath. Thicker steaks need longer. And you may also decide to cook it for a little longer to allow a bit of muscle fibre breakdown. Although rib eyes don’t need much. Most folk tend to do steak for about 2 hours, but a short amount of time like that over equilibrium time really doesn’t have a real impact.
I’ve never used the BT connected app to operate my APC. Frankly, it seems like “millennial tech overkill” to this old guy. (A little self deprecating humor for both generations!).
I just set the APC in the water, manually set the temperature, then add the sealed food once it’s at the right temp. I don’t even set a timer, I just work backward from the time I want the meal ready.
For example, if I want to serve dinner at 6pm, and have a 2 hour cook, I start the APC about 3:30, food goes in about 3:45, comes out around 5:45 for searing and final prep, and dinner is plated at 6pm. Simple, simple, no BT enabled interaction required. 
(The wifi connection serves a whole different purpose. I haven’t used the wifi /ice bath method yet b/c I work 3 miles from home. Seems like more work to setup the ice bath than a quick 10 minute drive home. I may change my mind in the future.)
The Bluetooth or Wi-Fi app interface comes in useful when setting precise temperatures (the scroll wheel only allows 0.5 degrees Celsius increments), but I think that if you can round of temperatures to the nearest 0.5 degrees, the manual way works too!
I use a cooking timer on my Android phone. You will find enough of these in the app stores.
Sorry, but I don’t buy it. For exactly what recipe does a variation of 0.25 ºC make any difference?
I agree with you, probably not much. Perhaps it’s just a way to sound more impressive and precise, which some restaurants will use as a marketing/selling point.
As far as the sometimes flakey app goes… yes, I have had the same experience. i deal w it in a number of semi-intuitive ways… all typical for iPhone, but not quite scientific techniques.
It’s usually some combo of (tho not necessarily in this order) quitting the app, restarting phone, un/re plugging sous vide, turning off and one bluetooth on phone, reconnecting or re-pairing phone. once i get it right again i tend to not mess w it any more.
u are not alone in your concern and annoyance. even tho i hear everyone’s advice about the relative unimportance of cooking time in the process… i still wish the app’s connection to the sous vide hardware we’re more solid.
Could not agree with vicrolux more…
This is my first post here, just got my wifi PC Anova a week ago and am giving up on the app. has been nothing but frustration and waste of time for me and my iPhone, maybe it’s better on android but for me I will be just cooking with the appliance.
Kudos to Product support as they have been responsive and helpful I must admit but when the app is buggy and unreliable I can do without it.
Have done two cooks one for two and one for 6 hours and a couple of test runs and the app disappointed every time but the cooks were terrific!!
@cmyachtie thank you for your feedback. The app is by no means perfect and we’re working on making it better. Is there anything specific that you found buggy or off in the app?