Ember Mug showing empty when there's still liquid in it?

Thomas Martinez

Thomas Martinez

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May 5, 2026
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Figured it was worth a discussion thread as it came up in a few different places.
Apparently the mug will report as empty even when it have liquid in it. Its not entirely clear if its due to the mug sensing weight, conductivity or an other parameter. However many people has complained of this.
The solutions people proposes are simple, toggle the temp settings a few times, tap the mug a few times to get the internal sensor to ‘wake up’. Do not put thick drinks in it as this confuses the mug’s sensor readings. Lastly, a factory reset may help if all else fail.
Does anyone here know for sure what type of sensor is in these Ember mug? Is it capacitive, weight based or thermal sensing?


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its capacitive. Ifixit did a teardown of the mug a while back and showed the capacitive sensor pad on the underside of the ceramic of the mug.
 
Mine started having the same problem after 8 months of use. The factory reset only lasted me about 3 weeks before the mug started reporting empty again. Ember’s quality control process for manufacturing these mug is garbage for a mug that costs $130.
 
Breakable Bison said:
its capacitive. Ifixit did a teardown of the mug a while back and showed the capacitive sensor pad on the underside of the ceramic of the mug.
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wait so if its capacitive does that mean putting it on a metal coaster could also cause the mug to report empty?
Mine is on one of those induction warmer plates and it sometimes shows as empty when its not.
 
Pixellated Han said:
wait so if its capacitive does that mean putting it on a metal coaster could also cause the mug to report empty?
Mine is on one of those induction warmer plates and it sometimes shows as empty when its not.
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yeah conductive surfaces under the mug could skew the capacitive sensor’s reading. Try placing it on a wood coaster for a few days to see if the false empty readings stop.
 
The factory reset does not fix the problem, its just a placebo.
Its firmware reruns the calibration to measure the baseline reading of the sensor. At first this works because the mug is sensing the residue on the mug that have built up over time. However the more you use the mug and allow for more residue to set into the sensing area the more incorrect readings the mug will output until its back to the same problem as before the reset. The solution for this is to clean the inside of the mug with citric acid which will dissolve the mineral and milk residue that has adhered to the sensor pad. I’ve done this almost 3 years with mine and its still in great working order.
 
Alert Ant said:
The factory reset does not fix the problem, its just a placebo.
Its firmware reruns the calibration to measure the baseline reading of the sensor. At first this works because the mug is sensing the residue on the mug that have built up over time. However the more you use the mug …
Click to expand...

Is citric acid like the powder stuff or lemon juice?
 
Haha, so toggling the temp settings on the mug while doing anything is hilarious. Its a mug not a spaceship
 
Dist said:
Haha, so toggling the temp settings on the mug while doing anything is hilarious. Its a mug not a spaceship
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The reason the temp settings seem to help is because it forces the BLE connection to repoll the mug’s sensor. Its the same as if you closed and reopened an app on your phone.
 
mine displayed as empty while i had coffee in it. Shook the mug and tapped it on the counter a few times and it wouldnt change. Waited for 10 minutes and it started displaying the correct level of liquid in it.
 
Has anyone actually opened one of these up and measured the type of capacitive sensor array that is present in these products?
Its possible its a single pad given the price point of the product. However its also possible that the mug include a capacitive sensor array that would be able to measure the level of liquid in the mug instead of just detecting its presence.
 
Iro said:
Has anyone actually opened one of these up and measured the type of capacitive sensor array that is present in these products?
Its possible its a single pad given the price point of the product. However its also possible that the mug include a capacitive sensor array that would b…
Click to expand...

single pad afaik. Its just a binary-ish sensor. No level sensor. Hence why its cant tell you how many ounces of coffee are left in it.
 
my wife bought me one for christmas but it broke in 4 months time. Ember support was blunt in telling my wife that they had voided the warranty because we washed the mug.
how do you own a mug and not wash it?
 
Elegant Eel said:
my wife bought me one for christmas but it broke in 4 months time. Ember support was blunt in telling my wife that they had voided the warranty because we washed the mug.
how do you own a mug and not wash it?
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you can’t put it in the dishwasher thats probably what they meant. Its in the manual
 
Breakable Bison said:
single pad afaik. Its just a binary-ish sensor. No level sensor. Hence why its cant tell you how many ounces of coffee are left in it.
Click to expand...

Does the sensor array sit under the ceramic of the mug or is it embedded into the mug itself?
If under the ceramic the sensor would be more sensitive to temperature changes than the residue on the mug itself.
 
Iro said:
Does the sensor array sit under the ceramic of the mug or is it embedded into the mug itself?
If under the ceramic the sensor would be more sensitive to temperature changes than the residue on the mug itself.
Click to expand...

its bonded to the underside of the inner cup of the mug with conductive adhesive. There is no air gap between the sensor and the inner cup of the mug. Its actually compensated for temperature changes in the firmware on boot up when it resets.
 
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