Venty Recall, E04 Codes & Latest 1.09 Firmware Update

The Venty Recall has been resolved however an unusual high number of Venty Vaporizer owners are receiving error codes. As of 4/17/2024 the Venty E04 issue was supposed to have been resolved via a firmware update available on the Storz & Bickel Web App. Sadly we are still seeing a high amount of customers still stuck with a defective Venty where this fix did not do the trick. For those who are still plagued by this Venty E04 fiasco, rest assured Storz & Bickel has an excellent warranty policy and you will be taken care of. Also to take note of is the difference between the error codes.

• E01  – Venty temperature is too high
• E02- Venty temperature is too low
• E03 – Non compatible charging cable
• E04 – Defective, attempt reset & contact S&B
• E05 – Directional airflow (too long inhale)

The good news for most is the Venty error display will resolve itself by taking a break. However for those with the dreaded E04 Venty error performing a firmware update or attempting a reset is the only saving grace before needing to send it in.  To reset the Venty, with the power on, hold the Venty power button for ten seconds.

Ultimately and unfortunately this is an issue which will slowly be worked out over time. As the vaporizer community saw with the issues during the release of the very first Puffco Peak, critical mass manufacturing takes some time to dial in. The recall of the Venty is no longer an active issue and the E04 is not part of that. As of 5/29/2024 we have seen a defect rate of abut 6% on the Venty within a month or less of use.

Only a few short weeks after Storz & Bickel introduced the world to their first new vaporizer in nearly 10 years, the Venty is being recalled. The newly released Venty Vaporizers are experiencing a hardware issue which affects the energy efficiency and management. While Storz & Bickel have not explicitly stated the issue, in their recall email they stated “By carefully evaluating the data from the field, we have identified an inconsistency in the performance of the initial limited batch of VENTYs.” 

It is a shame as the Venty was receiving much acclaim. In using and reviewing the Venty Vaporizer over the last few weeks we found the German vaporizer to function stellar without any issue to include charging and turning on for limited quick sessions. The one issue we did find during our Venty Vaporizer review  had to do with the “Find my Venty” feature not functioning as intended. The Venty would disengage from Bluetooth when the unit was powered down. Using the app there was no option to connect to the powered down Venty, making the “find my” feature pointless. We brought this to Storz & Bickel’s attention who said they would be working on a fix. While certainly this small feature could be annoying to those who misplaced their vaporizer, this was not the reason for the Venty recall. 

Despite everything running hunky dory for us we were contacted by Storz & Bickel on November 6th about a preliminary testing for those who had been one of the first owners of the new Storz & Bickel vaporizer. When we asked for more specifics about what the testing was for they were tight lipped not giving us a succinct answer and referring back to the initial email. The testing was to analyze for a potential  error in the vaporizer’s firmware to see how widespread this issue was. 

Apparently the issue was on a bigger scale than imaged and relating to the hardware (not software) as a follow up email  four days later concerning an all out Venty recall and how to safely brick your unit for a new updated replacement. 

While Storz & Bickel have not overtly stated what the issue is. Many assume it has to do with the potential for the unit to overheat and possibly cause a fire. While there is yet to be a single reported instance of this, by bricking the units and making them inoperable you are mitigating this risk. The unit will not charge, the unit will not heat up and the unit will not power on. 

It is likely the Venty is prone to dangers of this sort being a battery powered vaporizer that heats up incredibly fast. This heat transfer poses a greater safety risk and is the reason why vape pens (510 batteries) are so problematic. Vape Pens hit high temperatures in under a second thus have a greater transfer of energy. Essentially what makes a bomb go boom –  very rapid transfer of energy.

Many have asked why Storz & Bickel are not requiring returns on the recalled Venty Vaporizers. This is likely the worry that not all customers will 1.) Brick the unit before returning them, causing a safety hazard by throwing a potentially dangerous vaporizer in the mail and 2.) The cost associated with Storz & Bickel paying postage, administration fees behind overseeing a massive wave of returns and the labor costs associated with repair likely just do not make economic sense versus writing them off as defective. In the USA Storz & Bickel handles repairs out of a very small warehouse in Oakland, CA , a location with some of the highest employee wages in the entire United States. 

To the Cloud Vapor Store knows all too well the rising labor costs affecting our ability to repair broken vaporizers with most repairs not being worth it with labor costs exceeding the value of the vaporizer. This is exactly why Storz & Bickel now just replace the Crafty+ under warranty instead of swapping out the battery.

Despite this small hiccup it could be much worse. Storz & Bickel corrected the issue before it got out of hand and did not try to minimize or keep the defect under the rug. It should also be noted that if the vaporizer was not built to such a high standard there would be no Bluetooth ability to assess the vaporizer on the level needed for a recall. We had used our Venty for nearly a month and up until bricking it under the recall conditions, it had worked great. This has happened to other vaporizers in the past with gas off issues in the Boundless Tera to early connection issues with the OG Puffco Peak. Unfortunately for the vaporizer market being as small as it is, there is not a large R&D budget or cohort to beta test using critical mass numbers. 

Ultimately during our review of the Venty we were quite impressed with the performance and vapor quality and still feel this will be the best portable vaporizer on the market.

However here we are one year later and just boot strapping from inquiries on the almost thousand Venty Vaporizers we have sold does seem to be nearly a 10% defect rate in the first 6 months. Storz & Bickel just released another firmware update to version 1.09. This new update includes a new Permanent Boost feature that allows you to activate and deactivate the 90 second timeout of the Boost/Superboost temperature via the S&B Web App.

Now Storz & Bickel is strongly urging all customers to update their Venty to the latest 1.09v ASAP. But will this be the fix Venty owners have been waiting for ? To date this would be the third promise of a firmware update which will solve the issues and so far none of the others have worked as intended. Despite this we still see Venty Vaporizers flying off the shelf and many satisfied customers, even when they have to warranty it.

Storz & Bickel is top of the pack when it comes to quality control. We have to think about companies like Ghost and Haze who had issues with their vaporizers but went out of their way to downplay and hide the issues, ultimately going out of business and leaving customers with expensive paperweights. With Storz & Bickel you can rest assured all issues will be addressed and the company will be here for the foreseeable future to take care of your needs. 

Storz & Bickel  rolled out their first firmware update in early 2024  which was supposed to remedy  the issue for the majority of Venty Vaporizers with E04 codes. While we are still seeing a high percentage of units this does not work for we have more hope for this October 2024 v 1.09 firmware update. Rest assured the warranty process will get you settled. While the Venty is the best portable herb vaporizer, Storz & Bickel’s customer service leaves alot to be desired and the lack of communication has been disheartening coming from a company we have placed such great trust in and given accolades over the years. If you are looking to try the Venty out but don’t want to feel left stranded in the event of an E04 code, feel free to check us out and buy the Venty here. Not only will you get the best price but also far better support and communication.