Probe Accessory for Electric Ranges

We have the Profile PHS93X Induction range (don’t get confused by the Cafe platinum glass door, we added that ourselves, though functionally they’re the same unit). This probe has been on backorder for a while, and I finally snagged one. I was concerned about how even the heating would be given the lack of a circulator, but the temperature is consistently maintained within 1 degree of set temp throughout the pot, and I checked many times. I added some pepper to the water to see how much circulation was occurring just by virtue of heating, and was surprised to see just how much the water moves around. Very cool gadget!

I bought this for my GE Cafe induction cooktop. You need to update the software on the cooktop before using this, and they don't include a cable for that. But that aside, once I figured out how to do the update, it was smooth sailing. There's a communication module which plugs in to the underside of the cooktop, and it communicates via bluetooth to the temperature probe. The probe is magnetic, and super easy to just clip on to the side of the pot, so that the metal part sits in the water. This works on the larger hob. You hold down on the on/off button on the burner for 3 seconds, and it turns on and activates the timer, which now turns into a temperature display. You set the desired temperature. The led lights turn on for the burner, and slowly turn off one by one when it reaches the temperature, and makes a little chime sound to let you know when it actually is at the temperature. I tested the water temp after an hour just to check, and just as promised, it was within 1 degree. I set the temp to 129 degrees for rare, and cooked a steak for 2 hours in the water bath, in a vacuum sealed bag. The steak was about 2" thick. Once I pulled the meat out, I seared it in a grill pan on the cooktop. Perhaps for 3-4 minutes total. The best steak I have ever made, and quite possibly the best I've ever tasted. I would say that this works very accurately, and, unlike an electric sous vide accessory which has a circulator, this one heats the pot from the outside in. No need to circulate the water for a proper temp. It does come with a usb cable to charge the probe itself. Here are pics of the steak I cooked. I would definitely recommend this accessory.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I have a terrible time paring this with the range. I have to re-pair each time. That said, once it is connected it works just fine.

I bought the Cafe range for this feature of this probe for Sous vide and it DOES NOT activate. The range has paired with the device with zero problems but when I turn the knob and do the button press it will not activate! My Hestan Pan does work (although it takes many taps). Considering just returning the range and everything and look for another solution

I could never get this to work with my Cafe smart range. I wasted money on this thing. It doesn’t even charge. It’s been sitting in my kitchen cabinet collecting dust for four years now.

The product, when it works, is very good. However. The product suffers from exceptionally poor design and support. The manual was just a couple pages stapled together in the corner, like they were some high school kid’s homework, hastily run off his dad’s computer at 5am, with details to match. I had to figure out how to use the product through trial-and-error. The charging port is a USB micro, and appears to be of very poor quality: many standard USB cables don’t feel like they click into it solidly, leaving some doubt as to whether or not they are making good contact for charging. Additionally, there is no indicator on the unit or through its software interface that lets the user know if the unit is actually charging, and the only indicator for current state of charge is the low power indicator that comes on before the unit fails entirely due to power loss. There is no percentage display, and no indication of how long until it will power off.

Good concept, very bad execution. No matter how mush I've tried I cannot get an intruction sheet for the probe.

I find this product too much trouble to use. The one button one indicator interface is lousy. I have had this for over a year and quit using it last winter. My old method with my digital cooking thermometer is easier. I have to charge this every time I want to use it since there is no charge indicator. Getting it 'connected' to the Cafe Induction stove is flakey at best. It typically takes 3-5 attempts to get it working. When I plug it in to charge nothing happens; no confirmation that charging is in process or it is fully charged. This design is typical for the GE Cafe Induction cooktop JUNK. They are very pretty but not very useful or practical for cooking.

It seems I am not alone. I cannot find a manual for this probe. The links in previous reviews are not working.

Same problem as many customers. Instructions say to text "PARTS" to 36534 and it says to write part number. Only part no. I have is JXXPROBE1. Text says its wrong and needs to start with a"W". I need a manual for JXPROBE1 to use with my GE Range; PHS930YP3FS. How do I get a manual???