Anova Precision Cooker Pro

This is a powerful and effective Sous Vide circulator. It’s very easy to take apart to clean, although reassembling had one piece stick but after 2 tries went smooth. It’s sturdy and works well. I purchased it at 50% off so it’s a great value. I used to have the Joule and I wanted a unit with the controls on the unit and the app as well. This one is great. It was easy to connect to WiFi and the app - just go slow and follow instructions. Be sure you are connecting to a 2.4 WiFi. It feels like it will last, but only time will tell. It’s larger than the Joule (diameter) and heavier, but when turned on it seems like the swirl of water if increased which means it will heat faster and larger amounts of water. In the little testing I have done (I cook daily and have had it a few days), it works great. The app has its pluses and minuses. The plus is that the majority of its temps and times are accurate. Be sure to adjust for thickness (the app walks you through that). The cons include you must subscribe a small yearly fee to use. Also - it doesn’t show different cook times for frozen vs fresh food (the Joule does and I use regularly). Finally it doesn’t have a full variety of foods like the Joule had (which was free). So there are only 5 to 7 seafoods in the guide, while the Joule has well over a dozen. Still good as it incorporates recipes from Chefs and solid web sites as well as community recipes. I am happy so far. I will update the review over time with anything else I learned.

The unit itself is fabulous...solid, dependable, precise, and a major game-changer. But getting it to connect to wifi sucks in a big way. I spent hours and hours and hours trying to get it to work. To no avail. Every day I'd read through internet posts, hoping I'd find an answer when the product instructions failed. Everyone seemed to have the same issue. Can't connect to wifi. So for a while I continued to use the Anova manually. Until one day I found the answer on a SousVide sub Reddit post. And this is what worked. The solution follows, in quotes... "On your phone wifi settings - DESELECT "Join Wifi Automatically" and then DISCONNECT from your home wifi before starting setup. Now when it says its going to use the code to connect with a temporary wife Network "Anova 4502" or whatever, it will actually connect to this network! Only turn your actual wifi back on when it it COMPLETELY setup." So there you go. Don't go changing your dual band wifi router, and don't reinstall the app, or anything else. Try this first. And, I might add...shame on Anova/Electrolux for not publishing this info and putting me and all their other customers through all this supreme waste of time. This solution took me under a minute to have my cooker running with the app and connected to wifi.

This thing just plain works and does everything it's supposed to do. It moves the water and heats it quickly. I'm a "smart device" fan, in and out of the kitchen. A lot of other "smart" cooking devices are slow and clunky to get them to work the way you want them to. You say, "cook this at this temperature for this amount of time," and the thing hesitates or the app is horrible. This device's app is refreshingly easy to use and quick to respond. So that's a very good thing. Most apps for most devices are marginal, at best. Prior to purchasing this, I read reviews about how easy the knobs break. I hesitated to buy based on this, however I ultimately decided to pull the trigger on it due to the brand's reputation overall and my research into all the different options. So here's the deal on the knobs, if you're worried about it: They are PLASTIC. You have to be careful and gentle with anything plastic. You can't go cranking them down super tight and expect them not to break. This is true not only with this device, but with anything made out of plastic anywhere. Just turn them until they're barely snug, and they will hold everything in place without breaking. Easy. But, in case you're not wise enough to realize that plastic is brittle, just read the manual. It tells you what you should already know: do not over-tighten. It's possible that other reviewers got a bad knob, or something, but seriously. Plastic breaks. Don't over-tighten and you'll be fine. This is a great product. All of that said, I don't love that they used plastic for this stuff for that reason. And every time I use it, I'm worried that I'm going to break it or that I'm not tightening it enough and it's going to tip over and fall in the water, or something. But I've never had a failure yet, and I just barely snug the knobs. It stays in place surprisingly well. So, unless, in all my paranoid carefulness, the plastic knobs do break, this remains a five-star product. If they do break (and I'm very careful about it), I'll come back and update this review. But until then, I don't think anyone should worry about those other reviews. I'm betting it's more user error than it is a flaw in the product. This thing is great.

I already had a Chef's Steps (now owned by Breville) Joule Sous Vide when I ordered this unit. I ordered the Anova out of pure frustration. We were out of town at someone else's house and responsible for cooking New Year's Eve dinner. When I went to start the Sous Vide I discovered that I could not get it to connect via WiFi nor Bluetooth. We tried everything. We finally got it to work but dinner was delayed over an hour which caused all sorts of other problems. The Joule does not have any way to operate it without either WiFi or Bluetooth connectivity, there are no manual controls. I was so annoyed that I ordered this Anova on the spot even though I knew I would not get it for a few days. I vowed to never have to rely on connectivity to cook ever again. This Anova unit also offers WiFi connectivity, so you can control it from your mobile device from anywhere, but you can also operate it manually without the need for any connectivity. In my opinion, this feature is paramount. I will never again be at the mercy of WiFi. Aside from that, this precision cooker works flawlessly. We have done everything from simple one hour cooks for pork tenderloin to multiple 13 plus hour cooks for prime rib. We make chicken breasts in it (which can be safely cooked to just 155º F) before frying, we've done pork chops, legs of lamb, octopus, eggs, fish, vegetables, etc. We use it about once a week if not more. After over two years of cooking and being taken on the road several times, the cap at the bottom of the barrel skirt came loose. I contacted Anova and in less than 24 hours they had resolved my issue by replacing not just the barrel but the whole unit. I consider that excellent customer service which I also believe to be a key feature. I highly recommend this product and this company.

High powered and easy to use. The app is ok. There are a lot of options and recipes, but they won’t auto set into the thermometer. My last sous vide was a different brand and the motor cut out after 4 years, this thing is powerful so I don’t see that happening. Speedy for warming up water too. No major issues

This is my first Sous Vide purchase, and I absolutely love it. Everything we’ve made so far has been amazingly moist, juicy, and tender. I’ve cooked many steaks, chops and chicken breasts over the years, but I’ve never achieved the results like I do now with this machine - especially chicken breasts. What I also love about it, is the ability to consistently achieve a great rare steak EVERY SINGLE TIME.

First off, I concur with the other reviews claiming that Anova’s customer support is non-responsive AND I have 3 different Anova Precision cookers, all of which have been defective. I purchased the Anova Precision Cooker Pro. After reading the multiple reviews of a problematic Pro after updating the firmware, I decided to attempt use before performing the firmware update. After placing the Pro in a vessel of water, I powered the unit up. The “Soft” buttons all appear to function aside from the Start/Stop button. The Pro was problematic getting connected via Bluetooth, but after a few attempts, the Pro connected to my phone. I was then able to quickly connect to my home Wi-Fi. From the app, I was able to initiate a cook from one of the recipes as well as Start/Stop the Pro. Still unable to Start/Stop the Pro via the button on the unit, hoping that the firmware update would alleviate this issue. After a one hour cook at 176 F, the Pro would no longer heat water, regardless of the temperature setting. After updating the firmware, the Pro Start/Stop button still does not work and still does not heat up the water. This Anova Precision Cooker Pro failed in 1 night. I also have a Anova Precision Cooker Nano which I received, new, as a gift. While it took a noticeable amount of time to heat up and did not have Wi-Fi, in comparison with the Anova Precision Cooker, the Nano worked fine for just under 6 months. At just under the 6-month mark, we began getting the add water indication with the water up to the Max line. When the add water notification goes off, the unit stops heating and circulating…AKA stops cooking. After soaking the Nano in a 50/50 water/vinegar mix, the Nano would once again circulate and heat. After unplugging the Nano and replacing the 50/50 water/vinegar mix with water, I plugged the Nano back in to find that the Nano would no longer power up. Yes, I attempted plugging the Nano in different outlets. I started my Anova relationship with the Anova Precision Cooker. I received this as a Christmas gift in 2018. I had 3 years of mostly reliable service out of the Anova Precision Cooker. The issue that began at around the 2.5-year mark, the removable stainless-steel sleeve began to be loose when installed. At around the 2.75-year mark, the clamp broke at the water vessel clamping area, but I was able to glue the clamp back together. At the 3-year mark, the plastic case of the Anova Precision Cooker, where the stainless-steel sleeve connects to the unit, broke in multiple pieces. I assume this is from multiple rounds of high heat. These were the only issues that I had with my Anova Precision Cooker, and to this day, the unit works…just with no stainless-steel sleeve. The Pro appeared to have corrected the issue with the stainless-steel sleeve, that I encountered with the Anova Precision Cooker, by extending the connection area up higher on the unit, assumable farther away from the heat source. Unfortunately, the Pro that I purchased new did not function longer than 1 hour. Because of the reliability that I had with the Anova Precision Cooker and contrary to the premature death of the Anova Precision Cooker Nano, I decided to roll the dice on purchasing the Anova Precision Cooker Pro…even after seeing the multiple negative reviews. Unfortunately, my Anova Precision Cooker Pro was a lemon, AND I have received no response from Anova regarding the issues. I hate to say it, but “BUYER BEWARE!!” The pic is to show the 3 defective units, side by side. Anova, you need to have a serious look into your quality department.

This thing has been absolutely rock solid. Holds temp great.