Review Insights · App Store
Anova Oven
Anova Culinary · 800 ratings · ★ 4.0
4.0
★★★★★
800 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 66 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"oven"
45 negative reviews mention this · 68% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Oven 2.0 constantly disconnects and can’t reconnect via the app. The 2.0 oven’s hardware is nice, and it does a good job cooking. However, it is so difficult to connect it to WiFi (and maintain that connection) that it is easier to cook in manual mode and ignore any subscription-locked features. Most of …" - Emp_1973
2
"anova"
20 negative reviews mention this · 30% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Lost recipes once again!. Bravo to the Anova team! They’ve managed to lose recipes once again with the most recent update. I bake the same 6 stage sourdough recipe every week. This morning I awake to find they’ve simplified the recipe into just 2 stages. Sadly those…" - the AV dude
3
"connect"
13 negative reviews mention this · 20% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Oven 2.0 constantly disconnects and can’t reconnect via the app. The 2.0 oven’s hardware is nice, and it does a good job cooking. However, it is so difficult to connect it to WiFi (and maintain that connection) that it is easier to cook in manual mode and ignore any subscription-locked features. Most of …" - Emp_1973
4
"subscription"
12 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Only one user can read recipes?. I have the Precision Cooker which already costs a ton of money. Why can’t users added to my household cooker also look up recipes in the app? Stupid money grab if it requires a subscription for the same household." - dijitul
5
"recipes"
11 negative reviews mention this · 17% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Lost recipes once again!. Bravo to the Anova team! They’ve managed to lose recipes once again with the most recent update. I bake the same 6 stage sourdough recipe every week. This morning I awake to find they’ve simplified the recipe into just 2 stages. Sadly those…" - the AV dude
6
"update"
9 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Lost recipes once again!. Bravo to the Anova team! They’ve managed to lose recipes once again with the most recent update. I bake the same 6 stage sourdough recipe every week. This morning I awake to find they’ve simplified the recipe into just 2 stages. Sadly those…" - the AV dude
7
"connection"
9 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Oven 2.0 constantly disconnects and can’t reconnect via the app. The 2.0 oven’s hardware is nice, and it does a good job cooking. However, it is so difficult to connect it to WiFi (and maintain that connection) that it is easier to cook in manual mode and ignore any subscription-locked features. Most of …" - Emp_1973
8
"times"
9 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Oven 2.0 constantly disconnects and can’t reconnect via the app. The 2.0 oven’s hardware is nice, and it does a good job cooking. However, it is so difficult to connect it to WiFi (and maintain that connection) that it is easier to cook in manual mode and ignore any subscription-locked features. Most of …" - Emp_1973
9
"without"
9 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Anova inactivates units without paid app- deception. My Anova Nova originally promised mobile phone controls with no added charges. Now it has disabled use of the sous vide unit unless one pays subscription charges for their app. US Legal violation & if we still had a Consumer Protection bu…" - Lilyanne421
10
"phone"
9 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Anova inactivates units without paid app- deception. My Anova Nova originally promised mobile phone controls with no added charges. Now it has disabled use of the sous vide unit unless one pays subscription charges for their app. US Legal violation & if we still had a Consumer Protection bu…" - Lilyanne421
11
"wifi"
8 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Oven 2.0 constantly disconnects and can’t reconnect via the app. The 2.0 oven’s hardware is nice, and it does a good job cooking. However, it is so difficult to connect it to WiFi (and maintain that connection) that it is easier to cook in manual mode and ignore any subscription-locked features. Most of …" - Emp_1973
12
"doesn"
8 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Version 1.2.8 - connectivity issue. Latest app version doesn’t pair with oven" - Mightycharles
📋 All 66 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
Manual settings are broken
From the last couple months, entering the manual controls section of the app and attempting to turn off sous vide mode will immediately crash the app. It makes it completely unusable.
Lost recipes once again!
Bravo to the Anova team! They’ve managed to lose recipes once again with the most recent update. I bake the same 6 stage sourdough recipe every week. This morning I awake to find they’ve simplified the recipe into just 2 stages. Sadly those two stages won’t result in a successful bake.
Black screen of death
It’s always something with this app. Now, it won’t open no matter what you do since it’s just a black screen
Only one user can read recipes?
I have the Precision Cooker which already costs a ton of money. Why can’t users added to my household cooker also look up recipes in the app? Stupid money grab if it requires a subscription for the same household.
Oven 2.0 constantly disconnects and can’t reconnect via the app
The 2.0 oven’s hardware is nice, and it does a good job cooking. However, it is so difficult to connect it to WiFi (and maintain that connection) that it is easier to cook in manual mode and ignore any subscription-locked features. Most of the times I go to use the oven, I discover that it has disconnected from WiFi again over night. The oven cannot reconnect to WiFi via the touch pad control panel. Instead you can only connect the oven to WiFi via the app. Even though every other device in the house has perfect WiFi signal and speed, the oven frequently hangs trying to connect. The only solution (solution found via forum posts) is to factory reset the oven, sign out of the app, delete the app, redownload the app, sign back in, and try again. Terrible, terrible software design.
Version 1.2.8 - connectivity issue
Latest app version doesn’t pair with oven
Anova inactivates units without paid app- deception
My Anova Nova originally promised mobile phone controls with no added charges. Now it has disabled use of the sous vide unit unless one pays subscription charges for their app. US Legal violation & if we still had a Consumer Protection bureau, this would be subject to investigation & monetary penalties. Consumers should simply boycott such a company & its products.
App is unreliable
Constant issues when starting the oven or the next cooking stage via the app. Most times it will outright never start or go to the next stage when I click the button; it’ll just think for minutes, which can absolutely ruin meals and bakes. This never happened until some of the new updates a couple months ago. I wouldn’t doubt that the lag is from update they push out to get users of the original Anova oven to buy the new one.
Firmware Updated, Oven Dead
I updated the firmware of my 2.0 and it seems to have killed the oven. I tried contacting Anova and they answer, but then it goes straight to their voicemail. And the support section of their website is of absolutely no help. And yes. I unplugged the thing before trying to contact Anova. Very poor support. I can’t believe updating the firmware did this. Not happy.
Current version as of this review broke manual cool
App won’t let you start the oven, saying temperature may be within range but cook temp is in that range.
Update is broken
I’m getting errors today ever since 1.2.3 updated today. I try to dial in a temperature of 400f and I get an error that the temperature is not between 75 degrees and 482 degrees. The app is now useless to me.
Kalinin
It might be nice but we have tried everything and it will not sync with the app. The app just shuts down when we scan the code. There is no way to reach anyone by phone and takes days to get a reply by email. We have been trying for a month now.
Remove The Cloud
From a technical point of view, the cloud connection is not only unneeded, it is a hinderance. The cloud "features" are a strained contrivance. Please allow a local only lan based control mode for the app, so we are not held hostage to your continued operation of the servers which support this implementation. The cloud aspect is the primary reason that I have not upgraded to the new model of the oven.
Needs help
This oven has ruined my granite, caused me more frustration than an oven should and should go to the dumpster.
App doesn’t pair with new oven
The app clearly has software issues. I just purchased my oven 2.0. It is unable to connect to the oven despite deleting and reinstalling numerous times as well as rebooting my phone. I have also spent time rebooting and power cycling my oven with no success. There must be a Bluetooth issue in the app software in detecting that the new oven is ready to pair and find a WiFi connection. The screen for the camera in the software to take a photo of QR code on the oven never appears.
Laggy and no auto off
It is a very clunky app. The notifications are useless and why the heck it doesn’t shut off automatically when the cook is finished? Or go to the next stage? You always have to use separate timer or you will ruin hundreds of dollars of meat.
Worst customer service experience
This company does not support their products. My oven stopped heating. I asked for some direction, and was told they do not service their units. And to add insult to injury they told me they use to offer a discount against a future purchase, but that wasn’t available anymore. Why would you tell me that. I replied that I thought it bad advice and was insulted. They responded by saying thank you for your kind words and they my ticket was closed. No support and they aren’t even interested in trying to help.
Buy an expensive product, forced buy a subscription to use it
Anova is a joke. Hopefully this plan to have owners of their products PAY to USE the products they OWN, will backfire.
You are what’s wrong with the world today
You are what’s wrong with the world today
Clunky App
Most of the time the app struggles to connect to the oven and they’ve now started charging to use the mediocre features they provide when the app does connect.
Anova Precision Oven
Your “greedy” change to your poorly written APP is unconscionable; why you’d charge to use same is beyond comprehension.
Maintenance of your Anova Precision Oven APP could not have been very much. Poor company policy, I’d say.
And as a suggestion, why don’t you improve your APP by having an option 2 turn OFF the oven at end of cooking; a simple APP change!
Just my thoughts
tenbear
Maintenance of your Anova Precision Oven APP could not have been very much. Poor company policy, I’d say.
And as a suggestion, why don’t you improve your APP by having an option 2 turn OFF the oven at end of cooking; a simple APP change!
Just my thoughts
tenbear
This is getting worse and worse every version
I can no longer edit the recent activities list…
Ok until now
Rolling out a subscription to run your own oven…ridiculous
Horrible app
May just be the worst app I’ve ever used. Once you start a cook it is extremely laggy and unstable.
Junk
They rarely upgrade the app, but when they do they make it worse. It can’t even load oven settings from a recipe.
App won’t connect to oven
App has a clear action to connect with an Anova Precision Oven 2.0 but simply shows to activate the QR code on device. There is no option to scan this QR code from the app. Anova, please invest some more in your onboarding experience with the app. Not being able to connect the oven directly to my WiFi without the app leaves me completely blocked on exploring what makes this oven feel so special.
A subscription for an appliance?
Really? A subscription for an appliance I’ve owned for years?
I don’t care about curated recipes and whatever else makes you feel the need to charge money for this app. I just want to control the oven I ALREADY paid for. 🤦♂️
I don’t care about curated recipes and whatever else makes you feel the need to charge money for this app. I just want to control the oven I ALREADY paid for. 🤦♂️
Bait and switched
I will not be recommending Anova products in the future to anyone. I refuse to recommend products that costs hundreds of dollars that require a subscription for full functionality.
No option to connect the oven.
Anne again the Anova geniuses deliver something without testing. The Anova Oven app when trying to connect the Oven 2.0 shows the movie explaining how to do it. But the option to scan the code is not there. The only option is to cancel and no options to open the camera. Tried with 3 phones and my iPad. No way to connect it.
Greedy Company
I’ve only had the oven for about 2 months. I’ve liked it, but now they expect you to pay for a feature that was included which severely detracts from its usefulness.
If they want to charge for the new hardware I can understand that. People who bought the old are getting screwed.
They did the same thing with the circulator. Left old customers behind. I should have known not to trust them again but I fell for their scam. Yank away features and then expect you to pay to get them back.
This is a greedy company and you should avoid them at all costs.
If they want to charge for the new hardware I can understand that. People who bought the old are getting screwed.
They did the same thing with the circulator. Left old customers behind. I should have known not to trust them again but I fell for their scam. Yank away features and then expect you to pay to get them back.
This is a greedy company and you should avoid them at all costs.
You need a subscription to use the app
We love the oven. But after having it for over a year, we launched the app this evening and was greeted to a message saying that we needed a subscription now. Anova has lost all of my loyalty and I now hate them. They are just another garbage American company trying to bleed American's dry of their money. I will NEVER pay a subscription for software. NEVER. I'd rather do without. And, I will no longer purchase from Anova.
Converted to subscription model?!?
I bought this oven for $700 a few years ago and this morning discovered the app that is used to control it is switching to a subscription model, rendering this device I paid $700 for a few years ago basically just a giant fiddly massively overpriced toaster oven. I will never buy anything made by Anova ever again. I have invested over $1k in Anova equipment, never a single penny again. What absolute contempt they have for their customers. A subscription to use an oven controller app for an oven that costs this much, and only after you’ve sold the customer the oven? Should be illegal. Really should be illegal.
Horrible hardware. Poorly written app
On my third oven. Due to poor choice of components the WiFi never works. The app is a UX nightmare. And now a subscription? Anova won’t be around in a year. Save your money and time.
A Subscription For Something I Already Bought or: How I Learned To Love Tech Bros
I bought the Oven 1.0 shortly after release. It worked great until the WiFi module stopped working. Luckily, I could still use the app for recipes, and use the physical controls to run the oven. That is until I opened the app to find I would need to purchase a subscription for something I already own. No thanks Anova, I’ll just remove this from my network permanently and delete the app. You’ll also never convince me to buy another one of your products. Great product, awful company, awful business practices.
Cannot Disconnect Oven
The app does not allow me to disconnect my Anova Oven in order to reconnect it again. This makes this app completely useless, and now I just have a dumb oven.
I’m not the only one experiencing this problem. If you look at the previous reviews, you’ll see that many users have the same problem and they haven’t updated the app for over 10 months.
I’m not the only one experiencing this problem. If you look at the previous reviews, you’ll see that many users have the same problem and they haven’t updated the app for over 10 months.
Does not work
Does not connect to the machine.
Anti consumer actions from Anova
Anova has announced plans to start charging new users for their app. They have also removed Bluetooth access to some of their products to force app usage. It is no longer a product, company, or app thst I would recommend to anyone.
iPad app?
How is there no iPad app? Would be nice to be able to have my iPad setup so I can read recipes without having to unlock my phone every time I want to check the next step.
Always disconnects, hard to use, limited to one
After having used a wolf steam oven, we bought two of these. While the ovens themselves are good, the app is awful. Most importantly, it regularly loses its connection to the oven. This sometimes requires a hard reset - reaching behind the oven to unplug it. Secondly, it needs some basic "recipes" - ways to do simple things, like "steam broccoli". Everything is a complex recipe (like "spicy steam roasted broccoli"). Lastly, you can only connect to one oven. So my wife and I each need to control one. Very inconvenient. Simple fixes would make this a fantastic app and product.
Waste of money
Probe rarely works. Water tank is a joke. Interface and app malfunction constantly. Get a Joule instead
Can’t disconnect the oven from the app
Periodically the oven loses connection to the app. Most times unplugging it and plugging it back in helps it find the connection (WiFi I assume). When that doesn’t work, I have to remove the oven from the app and re-connect from scratch. Now the app will not remove the oven. I resorted to this because sending feedback requires sending an email through the Apple email app.
Nice while it works, but that isn’t very long
Broke after 2.5yr and unusable. In fact, it started turning itself on, which was very concerning
It breaks constantly
"Let's get Started!"
Is what the app says when you originally launch it. You must then go through a tedious pairing process where it tries to find Wi-fi. It will work for a few days, until it's time to cook again. So you launch the Anova app and it tells you:
"Let's get Started!"
I didn't want to pair my oven. I already did that. about 20 times already. I wanted to cook, but now I have to interrupt my cooking process to pair the oven again.
An extra feature: sometimes the pairing doesn't work at all.
Is what the app says when you originally launch it. You must then go through a tedious pairing process where it tries to find Wi-fi. It will work for a few days, until it's time to cook again. So you launch the Anova app and it tells you:
"Let's get Started!"
I didn't want to pair my oven. I already did that. about 20 times already. I wanted to cook, but now I have to interrupt my cooking process to pair the oven again.
An extra feature: sometimes the pairing doesn't work at all.
Great when it works, which is rarely
The Precision Oven used to be great. It just worked.
Then Anova pushed an update to the oven and the app (one that I could not opt out of because Anova changed their cloud servers) and since, the app and oven are unreliable.
The oven randomly disconnects from WiFi and I have to delete the oven from the app and spend 30 minutes re-pairing because pairing fails 70% of the time.
And even when the device is paired, randomly the app on my phone doesn’t connect, but my iPad connects or vice versa.
And the Anova support folks are slow and snarky.
Then Anova pushed an update to the oven and the app (one that I could not opt out of because Anova changed their cloud servers) and since, the app and oven are unreliable.
The oven randomly disconnects from WiFi and I have to delete the oven from the app and spend 30 minutes re-pairing because pairing fails 70% of the time.
And even when the device is paired, randomly the app on my phone doesn’t connect, but my iPad connects or vice versa.
And the Anova support folks are slow and snarky.
Nice oven but a pain to clean
This is impossible for clean in a timely manner. There should be a cleaning cycle option
Bad interface
The oven is great. But controlling it requires your phone (the push buttons are not great) and the phone has to be on an antiquated network or the connectivity will repeatedly drop. The need a software upgrade in a bad way.
I would like to return
Switch off every time after 200F and above
App is worthless
Just got my oven and can’t log into the app without entering your email and creating an account. Ok fine. Enter my email in the app and they send you a confirmation code. Well, the code has not come through and is not in junk folder. Tried resend several times with no luck. Went to their website to create an account to try to log in. You get a verification code but it takes you to a blank orders page and no option to create a password. Not slick and a little ominous. Hope the hardware is better thought out than the software.
Unintuitive and annoying
Navigating the app and changing settings is very confusing. It’s a puzzle to figure out which step is which before vs during cooking.
I often fight with the timer that won’t start. Multiple times we’ve accidentally changed settings by having to stop and restart oven to add a timer which changed steam from 0 to 100% without noticing.
I mostly stick to the controls on the oven now but changing temp is too slow then too fast so i miss the target temp. Annoying.
It also beeps a lot on its own as if buttons are pressing which I think is triggered by the steam as it’s venting out. We regularly need to check if settings are still correct.
If you can “get used to” the horrible UX, the oven does a good job.
I often fight with the timer that won’t start. Multiple times we’ve accidentally changed settings by having to stop and restart oven to add a timer which changed steam from 0 to 100% without noticing.
I mostly stick to the controls on the oven now but changing temp is too slow then too fast so i miss the target temp. Annoying.
It also beeps a lot on its own as if buttons are pressing which I think is triggered by the steam as it’s venting out. We regularly need to check if settings are still correct.
If you can “get used to” the horrible UX, the oven does a good job.
Terrible customer service
Gets dirty very fast, Impossible to clean.
The oven shuts off in the middle of cooking for no reason.
Tried to call many times for help and no reply!!!
I will not recommend it to others!
The oven shuts off in the middle of cooking for no reason.
Tried to call many times for help and no reply!!!
I will not recommend it to others!
The worst product I ever own.
The worst product I even own. On my replacement #7, ton of issues . Every software upgrade is breaking what was working before !!! Horrible customer service - a lot of promises but no delivery. Great idea with the really bad execution.
+ 16 more in the clipboard copy
Sentiment summary
73%
Positive (4-5★)
5%
Neutral (3★)
23%
Negative (1-2★)