I recently had to order a few new probes for my Maverick system . The original one you have is their standard probe obviously . Over time these will wear out , or liquid can get in the connection between the probe and wire , which causes them to short out giving bad reads . This is what happened to mine . However , as you see , Maverick is great about honoring their warranty . The waterproof probes have a better seal , and are mainly used for cooks that may be close or submerged in liquid . They will still give you a good reading for smoking . The last probe you mentioned , the smoker probe , is for monitoring the ambient temperature of your smoker . Notice the tip of the probe is not pointed . Here again , it shouldn ' t be more or less reliable for monitoring temperatures . Maverick is one of the more highly regarded thermometer companies that I have seen in this community . Sounds like you just had a bit of bad luck !