Hmmmm...I've always loved my Bosch appliances. Never a problem. What number did you call? Try the call center, or the online chat function. Also - where did you purchase the product? They might be helpful.

You lucked out....I got a lemon of an induction cooktop. It should be taken off the market ASAP. Customer service is the pits....they have no interest in helping you and it a random call center that wants to send a service person out before reviews the problems your having.

The Bosch NIT8666UC is discontinued.

I'm not surprised it's discontinued....it's a$2800 piece of junk. I guess I got the last lemon.

I don’t understand why you did not have them send a service tech out as they offered. I would assume this is a fairly new install and it should still be under warranty. As suggested above - have you contacted the appliance store you bought the cooktop through? Can you explain about what you are experiencing when you say it cooks unevenly or only in the center? What are you cooking? Only thing I can think of are you pans level?

Agreed, a more detailed explanation of the problem(s) you are experiencing would be helpful. Just a blanket statement bashing a product is really not helpful to anyone. If this is a new purchase as mentioned earlier you should be covered under warranty, so at least allow them to try and correct the issue(s) you are experiencing.

Discontinued doesn't confirm there was/is a known problem and Bosch dumped the item. All appliance manufacturers bring out new models and discontinue previous models on a recurring cycle, else the designers and engineers would have nothing to do and the market would get stale.

How long has it been since you purchased this ?

It is clear that a few of you work for Bosch under faux names to protect the company.

A more detailed explanation of the the issue is when you sear a piece of chicken the side closest to the center of the pan gets heat and and caramelizes, while the othe edge does not. Bosch sent a person to boil water to prove I had a “perfectly“working cooktop. If the person actually cooked a pice of food they would see how the product failed to do it’s job And just heated the center of the pan.

This post is for people who prefer buying appliances from a company that values its customers and wants to truly investigate a problem with their appliances. Bosch unfortunately sends out over priced service people to boil water.

I have to ask, you said you bought the right pans, but have you tried more than one variety of pan? Also, which pans? Do they have induction compatible plates on the bottoms or do they have magnetic material throughout their construction? Can you provide pictures of the failure and how the pan fits the cooktop? These would be most helpful to those reading your review of this product. I agree boiling water isn't the best example of even heating unless one is going to trace temperature/currents in the pot, but without seeing the set up and results you're talking about, its not really any more conclusive. I'm not saying what you experienced with the chicken didn't happen, just that just as the water test is inconclusive without analyzing the heat flow, we need more information to conclude why the chicken cooked the way it did.

All the cookware is induction compatible. Everything from Le Creuset to the latest induction models. Trust me I’ve tried them all.

I would not be wasting my time on Houzz writing these posts for the joy this situation brings to my life. I just want the company to do what is right and fair. They can take the original $2800 cooktop back and replace it with the cheapest electric model they have. Unfortunately, Bosch does not think there is a problem and they are still peddling the product. i want others to know what they are getting into when they purchase Bosch.

When we bought our 2nd home, it was The first time I cooked on a flat surface stove, I hated it! My pots & pans seemed to "slide" and food in the center cooked more quickly. It was a brand new stove & in time, I adapted but I am not a good cook.

I know a lot of people who love to cook invest money in appliances. If dinner could be as easy as boiling water. Eventually water will boil,,,,and this has been proven when I forget to turn the smaller burner option off...it takes longer, but it boils. So to me it is silly that they would use just that to test.

I had issues with a new patio door purchase-we. They came out 6 times in 2 years over an issue, they told me it was because it was a vinyl door that flexes in the temp changes and I should have went with a different door. Ok, yes, but THEY sold me THIS door. After many many calls...they sent a "specialist" from another state & in 30 minutes he took the trim down, adjusted something, put the trim back up, re-caulked & every month for a year I texted him to show him it fixed the problem & I was so happy. It saved me thousands of $. So, were the other people lazy, not skilled, I don't know. Did I want to rip my hair out, yes. But I had to be persistent & they have slick ones that will want to up sell & offer a "discount" on the new more expensive product.

I think everyone gets your frustration. We have all been there....but when you ask for help, people will ask questions in order to do so. If this product is still in warranty, first step, the people you bought it from to help you. They may have some legal responsibility depending on where you live. That's why people are asking where you bought it. you also continue to call Bosch & tell them you have a problem & be prepared to demonstrate with food when the technician arrives , or better yet have someone video you cooking & demonstrating, then you send that to them certified. Be nice to everyone, no matter how hard it is. Be very nice and persistent. Maybe you will luck out like I did.

The induction coils generate toroidal fields only above the coils, usually outlined by lines on the cooktop. Even heating of a pan depends on fitting the pan to the coil size, and using a pan that has good thermal conductivity across its base. This usually requires a sandwiched base comprising an inductive layer (material with a good combination of magnetic susceptibility and bulk resistance), a thermally conductive layer, and a stainless steel layer in contact with the food.

Lower cost pans may use aluminum as the conductive layer, rather than copper, which has higher thermal conductivity for a given thickness. Note that a really thick layer will add heat capacity along with better heat spreading, thereby slowing reaction time to power level changes. Real people make decisions about these factors as trade-offs in design. The cook has to make purchase decisions, unfortunately without adequate technical information. After that, cooking is adaptation to the conditions presented by the hardware.

In any case, caramelization of meat is routinely performed in woks over flames and woks are specifically designed to have hot and cool sections. So even caramelization depends on the cook doing some work.

I have a Boche ancestor, does that count?

I'd like to buy your cooktop. PM me.

You contact the place you bought it from that is who will handle issues . Why not get the service rep out it should be under warranty. I have had Bosch DWs for eons never an issue and would get another one if I move. When the service person came you should have been prepared to show them the issue with chicken My guess you are using the the wrong size pan that is too big for the burner so of course only the center is cooking. Using an induction appliance is a learning curve and bashing a company because you don’t know how to use the appliance is not right. BTW none of us work for Bosch but many of us love Bosch.

Unfortunately it's no longer under warranty....that is why I called Bosch directly.

I am using the right size pan made for induction cooking on the correct sized burner. The service person saw for himself that the materials I was using were accurate and the size matched the burner. His assessment was that is worked fine because it boiled water.

If it is no longer under warranty, then you have owned it for over a year. How many service calls did you generate during that year? Just the one? How many different pans have you tried? Did you do the boil water test in all of them? You have to examine the bubble production. Defective pans, will have inconsistent bubbles spread. What is your searing technique? What did you own before the Bosch?

Perhaps you’d upload a video to YouTube and link here, showing the pan with your worst experience on the hob, with 1” of water coming up to a simmer and then boil. With a clear picture of the bubble pattern. If it’s not even, it’s the pan, not the cooktop. 95% of the time, it’s bad pans.

Your description of the issue matches the typical user error issue when many newbies to induction first attempt to use it. For some unknown reason, a certain # of folks just don’t gell with it. It’s like watching someone never raised around dogs learning to pet them, and not slap them with their hand.

We have established that the unit is no longer under warranty, which would suggest that you have had it for at least a year. In all this time this is the first time you have attempted to prepare this meal? Have the rest of your meals come out fine? Boiling water only proves one thing and that is the thing the manufacturer cares about. The induction coils are doing their job.

As it has been pointed out not all pans are created equal, and there is a misconception that if one spends lots of money on something (in this case cookware) there is no way the "it" could be the issue. The cooking surface of induction (or any other cooking technology for that matter) only provides the means for the raw ingredient, heat. Everything after that is the cooking vessel and the level of skill of the operator in question. I consider myself a pretty decent cook and when I switched from radiant smooth cooktop to induction, I burned my fair share of food and a few meals did not come out quite right. Some cookware heats up slowly, but is good at retaining heat. Some heat up quickly, however begin to cool quickly once the power is removed. Each type of cookware depending on it construction material possess different characteristics which in turns plays an important role in how food will cook.

My point being the cooktop seems to be doing it's job, heating the pan. Searing is done much more efficiently on a gas range/cooktop. It can be done on electric, however there is a fair amount of skill involved and not everyone masters this the first time out of the gate. In fact it can take many attempts before you perfect your technique. It is been my experience that searing on an electric cooktop is best done with cast iron. I know it's heavy and not very elegant, however it is quite effective. With a Gas flame, there are many options. searing is not something I do very often so it is one con of induction that I can live with.

I don't mean to downplay the fact that you are clearly frustrated about the situation. A product you spent good money on is not living up to your expectations. What most of us are trying to get you to realize is that your expectations and the specifications of the appliance may not be one and the same. Understand how the technology works before you throw it under the bus. Once you clearly understand how it operates then you realize it pluses as well as it's limitations. Based on the information provided thus far I believe you would benefit from a different piece of cookware dedicated to searing.

"Everything from Le Creuset to the latest induction models. Trust me I’ve tried them all."

Which latest induction models? Greenpan, Scanpan, All-Clad, Demeyere, Mauviel, other? Which line(s)? Stainless or nonstick interior? If nonstick, what color? Had you used these before getting the induction cooktop? Are you getting the same issues/results with all of them? New pans have a learning curve and will sear and cook differently. I still think you can get more help with more information and pictures. It will also give your review more weight in readers' eyes.

Give me gas, anytime. ....................: )

I happen to have this cooktop and installed it in my new build two years ago. I have had no issues using it although as mentioned there was an initial learning curve being a new way of cooking for me.

Also like others have said, if I want to sear, I use my cast iron pan.

And no, I don't work for Bosch.

Give me gas, anytime. ....................: )

I will never go back to gas or electric.

nanvul, this is not the way to get what you seem to want. You sound angry, yet you haven't done what normal people do to get satisfaction from a non-functioning appliance. You haven't explained the issue very well, and you have dribbled out critical information one response at a time, and I foresee this going on all the way through the comments.

If you have a legitimate non-functional appliance, and you want that appliance fixed, then just get someone to fix it. If you paid for an extended warranty, use it. If you need an appliance repair-person, then go find one. If you purchased the appliance at a legitimate store with a decent reputation, then go to that store. But others have explained that to you. You appear unreasonable, and not very rational. I have Bosch appliances (known for solid German-designed quality), and so do many others. Millions of people are happy with Bosch appliances. I am not surprised there's a small amount of lemons in any appliance brand, and when it happens to you, it must be frustrating. In fact, I have seen people, over the years, manage to get a company's attention by posting a legitimate complaint here, but always accompanied by a rational, reasonable accounting of the facts and what he/she has done to obtain satisfaction.

In your case, it's just a rant. It's not going to make anyone not purchase Bosch, seriously. And if that's your goal, why are you wasting time like this?

I am one of the people--the few people--who had induction, disliked it, and am now happy with a gas range. There were a number of reasons I felt that way. So in reading the OP's posts, I have to say that it appears that what @nanvul is dissatisfied with is induction, but he is taking it out on Bosch. He could buy the best induction cooktop made in the universe, and he would not be happy with it. It isn't Bosch that is the problem, but it is easier to direct anger at a large corporation than it is to be thinking to yourself what am I going to do now to have a cooktop I like.

That he's had it for a year, and in that time did not exercised the warranty says to me again, there isn't anything wrong with the induction cooktop. The OP just doesn't like induction. You can't get a warranty reimbursement based on that.

I have a portable induction burner to do delicate sauces when doing catering jobs and would never go induction over gas for all my other cooking.

Cars replaced buggies, but nothing replaced the wheel or ever will.. Gas is a WHEEL

@cpartist: "Give me gas, anytime. ....................: )"

I try to avoid it in polite company.

I have Bosch Benchmark 36" induction cooktop and it does the same thing. The largest burner has about 5" inch hotspot in the middle and the ones on the side have a little square (maybe 5x8 inches) in the middle when in flex mode. I can't use any cookware larger than 7" inches to sear or pan fry things..It is a mystery to me why people rave about induction so much, because my cooktop leaves half of my meats uncooked and I have to finish it in the oven by baking it, so I don't poison my family lol. I have le CREuset pans and pots and also pricey Henckels, so all good quality..we had this cooktop for about 5 months and will be switching to gas with another brand. IT is a shame, i see people LOVE induction and I really want to as well, but it just does not work. I made fish patties for my daughert today on a 11" pan and half of them burned and half did not cook. I ended up baking them after... turned into an overcooked/undercooked mess..THe cooktop boils the water just fine though....

I’m looking for a 36” glass top induction top to replace a chipped one. seems like they are discontinued.

I am looning for a 36 glass Bosch cooktop to replace a chipped one, seems like they are discontinued. any ideas?

"I am looning for a 36 glass Bosch cooktop..."

Bosch 36" induction cooktops