cosori smart air fryer review

By brandon armstrong, 1 December, 2019

Forum
Smart Home Tech and Gadgets

hello all, for several months i've wanted an air fryer, and looked on several sites and finally i found one. its not the amazon oven air fryer microwave combo, but this air fryer is much cheaper, but it is a good one. it is called the cosori smart air fryer, and it's touch screen. before everyone starts freaking out and saying why did you buy this model if it is touch screen let me explain. you see, not only does this air fryer have all touch screen, but it also has a smart phone app called vesync which allows you to control this air fryer. Setting the air fryer up through the app was a bit of a chore, but it was done with in a few minutes once i figured out how everything was. everything reads quite well, and once the air fryer is set up you don't have to repeat the process. Once I got it connected to my wifi network I decided to cook some tater tots to see how good it was and how accessible setting the time and temperature would be. to my shock and suprise, not only could I set the temperature, but I could also set the time, and start the cooking process. and yes, everything reads very well in vesync. the time and temperature are both in picker items that you just simply flick up to adjust to increase or down to decrease. the start cooking button at the very bottom is also readable and very voiceover friendly. once your food starts cooking in the air fryer, all you have to do is open up the vesync app again, select the air fryer and go to the very bottom, and in place of start cooking is the minutes which you have left until your food is done. yes, this to is very readable with voiceover. Once the food is done, you get a push notification from vesync letting you know that your food is done. what it says is cosori smart air fryer your food is done enjoy. I've had this air fryer for just over a week, and for anyone who is looking for a good air fryer, and can't afford the amazon oven combo, I highly recommend this smart air fryer hands down. the app is very accessible, updating the firmware on the airfryer is very accessible through the app, and I absolutely love using this air fryer so that I can have things like tater tots and french fries.

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Comments

By Roxann Pollard on Saturday, December 21, 2019 - 21:42

Hello Brandon. Just wanted to say thanks for posting this review. This air fryer sounds like a breeze to use. Thanks for taking the chance on it and letting this community know your results. I use this site for so many different things and posts like yours are one of them. Enjoy those tater tots. You made me hungry.

By Holger Fiallo on Saturday, December 21, 2019 - 21:42

Let us know how chicken or fish comes out.

By brandon armstrong on Saturday, December 21, 2019 - 21:42

chicken is going to be my next item to cook in this air fryer, and as a matter of fact it has a setting on it for chicken.

By Troy on Thursday, May 21, 2020 - 21:42

I know this post is old but wanted to revive it and wanted to give my thoughts. Do to this post I did get this air fryer which thank you by the way for the recommendation brandon! it came today. I got it off of amazon. Set up was very easy. I did have to add my network manually as it couldn't find it in the app. I hear it has something to do if you have both 2.4 and 5 g both like I have.
One thing I like about this air fryer is the square basket and the size, unlike other air fryers I've used I could fit a small frozen dinner in it. I did just that and used the frozen dinner preset and it came out perfect! The schedule is also accessible. It also works with alexa.
I recommend!
Troy

By That Blind Canuck on Friday, May 21, 2021 - 21:42

Thanks Brandon for the suggestion. I decided to pull the trigger and purchased the Cosori Smart Air Fryer (CS158-AF) and must say, it was rather easy setting it up.

After downloading the VeSync app and creating an account, I was able to connect to the air fryer and connect it to my network. It's the typical method of connecting to the fryer directly via Wi-Fi and entering your Wi-Fi password, then the fryer connects and your phone reconnects to your home Wi-Fi.

The only snag I encountered, which was a booboo on my part, when it asks you to access your location, I had toggled off the precise location. That needs to be toggled on for some reason.

Like you, I did notice that a lot of the buttons were mislabelled, but thankfully, the default label makes it rather clear as to its function, so it's rather easy to relabel, and so far, the new labels seem to be sticking. And for those Android users, those same buttons are not even labelled on the Android app.

The only question I have, and hopefully someone sees this and is able to answer. When starting to cook something, you first select the Start Cooking button, then select your preset, or manual, then tweak the temperature or timer if you want, and then toggle preheat on, if you want, then tap on the Cook now button, when I check the app, it says to press the Start button on the fryer's touch screen to begin.

I'm just curious to know if this is normal for everyone else? I would have thought that you would be able to start the process directly from your phone.

The only reason why i think it may be setup this way is that, if someone else would gain access to your account, they wouldn't be able to start the device without physically being in front of the fryer to start the process. So no waking up at 2:00 AM with your air fryer running.

So yeah, just curious to know if this is done by design or whether or not you're supposed to be able to start the process from the app.

It's not really a major issue, I found that if you move your finger up from the tray handle, and a bit to the right, that's where the Start button on the touchscreen seems to be.

Thanks!

By Lee on Friday, May 21, 2021 - 21:42

Hi,

No I've never had to do this. You should be able to start cooking from the app direct. Never touched the screen and never had an issue. The only app issue I've found is trying to view the preset recipes. VO dosn't work. However, if you have iPhone11 or later you can switch screen recognition on and then you can access the recipes.

By That Blind Canuck on Friday, May 21, 2021 - 21:42

In reply to by Lee

I find that's odd too, but when you select "Cook Now", the app does tell you to press the Start button on the fryer. There does seem to be a couple of unlabelled buttons, but when tapping on those, nothing happens.

I've even enabled Screen Recognition to see if that would help, and although it does read those two buttons as "( 0) and "Start", when tapping on the Start button, again, nothing happens.

So I'm left scratching my head. Thankfully, the Start button on the fryer's touch screen isn't that hard to find, but still, it would be nice if I'd be able to do it all from the app.

I have send feedback to the VeSync developer with some accessibility issues I've found, so who knows, they might fix it in a future update.

By Lee on Friday, May 21, 2021 - 21:42

Ok So when you're ready to cook on my screen I have the "cook now button" Swiping left I have a "delay Start button" Do you have this? As soon as I press the "cook now button" the fryer just comes on. I don't even have to select manual as it seems to default to that option..

By Earth on Friday, May 21, 2021 - 21:42

you just need to be sure that the air fryer is on, so you do need to turn it on manually but after that you can use the vesync to start the cooking. I talked to their customer service about this, they said to prevent the air fryer come on accidentally.

By That Blind Canuck on Friday, May 21, 2021 - 21:42

I tried that, went to the air fryer, pressed around the bottom middle of the screen, heard a beep, went to the app, all the way to the Cook Now button, and like you Lee also defaulted to Manual, and no luck. The app keeps telling me to press the Start button on the fryer directly.

By That Blind Canuck on Friday, May 21, 2021 - 21:42

Thought of checking Google to see if there would be any answers as to why I can't start the cooking process from within the app and found this article from PC Mag that confirms that, when using the app, you do have to press the Start button on the fryer's touch screen in order to start. Here's the link to the article if anyone wants to read up on it.

https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/cosori-smart-58-quart-air-fryer

I'm wondering, for those of you who are able to start the cooking process from the app, which model of Cosori air fryer do you have and, stupid question, is your fryer's firmware and VeSync app up-to-date?

By Troy on Friday, May 21, 2021 - 21:42

I don't have to do this on mine either, everything is up to date. Not sure of model but I got it when it first came out. Are there any models that have come out since perhaps? I also know others that are having this issue.

By JLove on Friday, May 21, 2021 - 21:42

This happened only once when my husband used it without the app. Then after that it hasn't done that again. I can start it from the phone no problem.

By That Blind Canuck on Friday, May 21, 2021 - 21:42

I purchased the Cosori CS158-AF, so I'm not sure if this particular model is different and does require to press the Start button on the fryer's touch screen to start the process when initiating it from the VeSync app. I'd be curious, those of you who are able to start from the app, which model do you have?

I did email Cosori directly with my accessibility bugs I found and did ask about the inability to start the cooking process from the app, so who knows, they might be able to shed some light on my predicament.

By That Blind Canuck on Friday, May 21, 2021 - 21:42

Alright, so after getting a response from Cosori directly, I finally have my answer...

"As you have suggested, the air fryer must be turned on manually; this is a safety feature. As part of our compliance with UL Safety Standards, our units are not able to be turned on remotely. This is to prevent the risk of accidentally starting the unit unsupervised".

So that explains it I guess. It's not really a major issue and does make sense too. I just hope that they listen to my suggestions and keep that Start button at the bottom middle and find a way to mention it, perhaps in the manual, that they make mention of the button's location on the screen.

By Lee on Friday, May 21, 2021 - 21:42

Hi, Ok that maybe true but based on this then once you use the machine for the first time this should never be a problem if you don't unplug it or manually turn it off. In otherwords after the first time the machine is always turned on when not in use. Then you can use the app without the start button. That must be how I've never had a problem as I've never turned it off again.

By That Blind Canuck on Friday, May 21, 2021 - 21:42

For my air fryer, I have to press the Start button on the touch screen every time. Granted, I haven't actually gone through the cooking process from start to finish, but every time I press "Cook Now" on the iOS app, the app keeps telling me to press the Start button on the fryer's touch screen, and when I do press it, the fryer starts up. When it starts, I can stop it from the app, but if I return back to the main screen of the app and try again, as before, the app tells me to press the Start button on the fryer's touch screen.

So either my model is setup this way, or this is how Cosori will be moving forward with all of their devices.

I do plan on actually cooking something this weekend, so who knows, the process might change, but I have a feeling that it will remain the same.

By Troy on Friday, May 21, 2021 - 21:42

If this is a flaw in some models where the start button is not required I hope they don't find this post and fix it. :)

By Lee on Friday, May 21, 2021 - 21:42

Sorry guys but this doesn't make any sense. If you read the blurb on the fryer it specifically says can be used from anywhere. i.E at work etc. Which obviously means no start button available. Plus what is the point of a start cooking button on the app if you then need to use another one. I'd take it back and ask in the shop what is going on and see if they can test with another fryer. Maybe you have a dodgy one.

By That Blind Canuck on Friday, May 21, 2021 - 21:42

Although it might be a tad annoying, I do understand their reasoning behind having users press on the fryer's touch screen.

If someone were to gain access to your account and happen to start your fryer while you were sleeping or away from the house, and not thinking about it, you placed the fryer near the wall, it could potentially be a fire hazard.

I don't think my fryer is deffective, I just think that's the way my particular model is designed. Besides, after asking Cosori directly, they responded.

So as much as a minor inconvenience not being able to start it from the phone is, I'd rather have to press on the fryer's touch screen to start if that gives me a bit of piece of mind.

By Jordan Gallacher on Tuesday, September 21, 2021 - 21:42

Well, I can also say that it is odd that one needs to hit the start button on the air fryer after hitting start cooking in the VSync app. I have had two identical Cosori Smart Air Fryers. The first one quit working when I got a new router, and Cosori sent me a new one. The new one I have to hit the start button on the air fryer after hitting start cooking.

By Cobbler on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 - 21:42

Thanks for this handy review.

I'm thinking of getting an air fryer and have a quick question that I hope somebody will be able to answer.

Can you completely control the fryer with the app or do you still need to use its physical controls for some things?

It might also be interesting to hear your thoughts on the air fryer a few years on from this review. Do you still use and rate it, or has it disappeared to the back of some cupboard as so often happens with kitchen gadgets.

Thanks ☺️

By Troy B on Sunday, May 21, 2023 - 21:42

Hi all,

I recently bought the Cosori smart air fryer and I need help with it.

I've contacted Cosori support but these days they only communicate through e-mail so what little progress that has been made has been very slow going.

I basicly need any help I can get for setting up the fryer to work with either the iPhone or alexa, so if anybody can e-mail me privately I'd appreciate it, it might even be helpful for me if somebody would be willing to call and help me over the phone but that can be decided later on once somebody contacts me.

Thanks in advance.

By Troy B on Sunday, May 21, 2023 - 21:42

Everything I've read online says that the power button needs to be pressed for 5 seconds until the fryer starts but in my experience just tapping the buttons elicits a beep and my sighted mom says that at that point the screen changes and the little wifi symbol shows. Does that mean that the fryer is on when the wifi symbol is there?

I've only tried using alexa, but while the wifi symbol is on the screen I ask alexa to preheat the air fryer and alexa tells me that the command isn't supported. My exact command is "alexa, preheat Troy's air fryer to 400 degrees", btw Troy's air fryer is what I renamed the fryer in the app.

By Faerie on Sunday, May 21, 2023 - 21:42

It was starting with the app just fine as of two weeks ago but now, once things are set on the app it's asking for a manual press of the start button, which, to me, feels like it somewhat negates the point of having an app.

By Troy B on Sunday, May 21, 2023 - 21:42

Hi all,

I've had the Cosori smart air fryer for over a month and I can't figure out how to use it any other way but manually. I'm pretty sure that the fryer is connected to my wifi because when I cook manually I get an alert when the fryer stops that the food is done but can somebody tell me how to use my phone to control cooking? I can use the cooker through its touch screen but the screen is just a bit too sensitive for my touch.

I've sent questions to Cosori tech support a couple of times and they haven't been much help to me, I wish I could contact them by phone for help because I feel like I'm close and that it wouldn't take long to get me up and running but at least the one time I called the automated phone message said to send e-mails for tech support because they weren't takeing calls.

By Gold Dots on Saturday, October 21, 2023 - 21:42

Hi all, I'm having trouble connecting the air fryer with Vesync. I think it is this 2.4 network thing, but I don't know how to add it manually. We have both 2.4 and 5. The Vesync app does see my network, but it isn't successfully connecting. Thank you for your help.