Ember mug pairing process, anyone find it weird?

[Thomas Martinez]

While looking at the docs for an Ember mug, someone mentioned that their mug would not pair to the app. The instructions are relatively simple: install the Ember app on your phone, open it, and hold the power button on the mug until the LED indicator begins to blink blue. After blinking blue, the app should recognize the mug and take you through the pairing steps.
Has anyone else experienced difficulty getting the mug to recognize the phone? From what I understand, there have been complaints that the app will not recognize the mug even while it is blinking blue. I would think this could be a permissions issue on newer phones or that the hold on the power button needs to be longer then the app suggests.
The app makes no mention of what to do if the LED on the mug does not turn blue upon pressing and holding the power button. Would this indicate that the mug need to be charged or that there is some issue with the firmware on the mug?

 

[Mysteri]

Mine paired the first time but had to turn bluetooth off and on after the app sat there for 30 second.

 

[Envious Emu]

The press and hold has to be for at least 5-8 seconds. Shorter than that and the mug just power cycles. I find it annoying that the app does not make this clear.

 

[Tender Trout]

Why does it need an app? It's a mug. Why not let me heat it up with a dial on a normal mug rather than having to use an app?

 

[Tough Turtle]

Does the rate at which the LED blinks matter? For example, is there a difference between slow blinking vs fast blinking on these products?

 

[Divine Worm Ma]

Location permissions. That’s all. This is a known issue with android devices where bluetooth does not scan for bluetooth device if location services are off. That’s why 9 out of 10 times when the app does not recognize the mug, it’s because of this.

 

[Envious Emu]

Location permissions. That’s all. This is a known issue with android devices where bluetooth does not scan for bluetooth device if location services are off. That’s why 9 out of 10 times when the app does not recognize the mug, it’s because of this.

This is the actual answer. On android devices, bluetooth scanning is enabled through location services for legacy reasons. The Ember app does not recognize this and does not help the user to turn on location services. Apple is a bit more forgiving in that if bluetooth is permitted on the device in settings, then it will scan for other bluetooth devices. However, if it is not permitted, then it will not be able to recognize the mug via bluetooth.

 

[Pixellated Han]

$130 for a mug. LMAO

 

[Tough Turtle]

This is the actual answer. On android devices, bluetooth scanning is enabled through location services for legacy reasons. The Ember app does not recognize this and does not help the user to turn on location services. Apple is a bit more forgiving in that if bluetooth is permitte…

If location services is the issue for pairing to the mug, does that mean that the location services has to be on indefinitely for the mug to be recognized by the phone or can that be turned off after initial pairing?

 

[Envious Emu]

If location services is the issue for pairing to the mug, does that mean that the location services has to be on indefinitely for the mug to be recognized by the phone or can that be turned off after initial pairing?

Once it’s paired with the phone, the app utilizes the bond between the two devices to recognize the mug when it’s within bluetooth range. Location services can therefore be turned off and the phone will still control the mug. The location services is only required for discovering the device during the initial pairing.

 

[Important Iguana]

Had to factory reset my mug to get it to pair with my phone after updating the Ember app. Held the power button for 10 seconds until the LED turned red and continued to hold until it completed cycling. Found this on a reddit forum from 2019.

 

[Mysteri]

Had to factory reset my mug to get it to pair with my phone after updating the Ember app. Held the power button for 10 seconds until the LED turned red and continued to hold until it completed cycling. Found this on a reddit forum from 2019.

^^ This is what I had to do. It seems to be buried in the instructions.

 

[Tender Trout]

Had to factory reset my mug to get it to pair with my phone after updating the Ember app. Held the power button for 10 seconds until the LED turned red and continued to hold until it completed cycling. Found this on a reddit forum from 2019.

Imagine factory resetting a coffee cup.

 

[Stormy Stag]

The LED will not turn blue on mine. I left mine on the coaster overnight to charge and the LED does a weak red pulse. I think the battery is cooked. They last about 2 years before failing from what I’ve read.

 

[Divine Worm Ma]

The LED will not turn blue on mine. I left mine on the coaster overnight to charge and the LED does a weak red pulse. I think the battery is cooked. They last about 2 years before failing from what I’ve read.

The batteries in these mugs are very small lipos that degrade rapidly with use as the mug has a heater that runs off of these batteries. From what I’ve read, the batteries typically last between 18 and 24 months before they have enough charge to perform the initial pairing with the phone.

 

[Tough Turtle]

The batteries in these mugs are very small lipos that degrade rapidly with use as the mug has a heater that runs off of these batteries. From what I’ve read, the batteries typically last between 18 and 24 months before they have enough charge to perform the initial pairing with t…

Is the battery for these mugs replaceable or is it sealed? I seem to remember seeing some videos on teardown but cant remember if any covered this.

 

[Important Iguana]

Is the battery for these mugs replaceable or is it sealed? I seem to remember seeing some videos on teardown but cant remember if any covered this.

The battery is sealed under the base of the product. You can reach into the base with a heat gun and spudger but Ember does not want you to. Ifixit has a guide for doing this though.

 

[Brainy Bison]

If the LED will not turn blue the most likely cause is the battery. If you put the mug on the charging coaster for 2 hours and it still will not turn blue, then the battery has dropped below the threshold at which the mug’s controller will boot up. In some cases a longer period of charging will resolve the issue but other times the battery is completely dead.

 

[Pixellated Han]

Or you could simply buy a regular mug and heat it up in the microwave.

 

[Bewilder]

I work in the bluetooth world making firmware (not for Ember). The flow that Ember describes is the standard. The blinking blue on the mug means that it’s advertising for bluetooth devices. If the phone doesn’t see it then it’s one of three things: the bluetooth permissions are not enabled for the app on the phone, the location services are off on android phones, or the mug is still bonded to another bluetooth device and is not advertising it as being connectable. The last one is what trips people up the most. If you paired it to a tablet six months ago for example, and it’s sitting in the next room with bluetooth on, your phone will not ever recognize it.