"it was still bouncing around at 392-394 [degrees]."

It's 2% less than the selected temperature and operates within a 0.5% range. Do you really think these are going to make a difference in actual cooking? You're not running chemistry experiments.

I’m not trying to run chemistry experiments. It remains in preheat mode, which is the issue. A range of this caliber shouldn’t function like this. There’s no problem in regular bake function.

How about preheating it in regular mode and then switching it to convection mode after it heats up?

I preheated in bake to 400. Once it hit target, I then switched to true convection. The temp dropped and said it was preheating from 354, and climbed up towards but never to 400. I flipped it up to target 425. Once it went past 400, I dropped the set temp back to 400 and then it dinged to say it hit the temp. I’m in talks with the regional service manager of F&P. He’s puzzled and said he doesn’t know what to make of this.

If you are running it in convection mode then it SHOULD be running cooler, no? It seems to be doing this for you automatically.

https://www.cnet.com/home/kitchen-and-household/what-is-a-convection-oven/

“Conventional ovens typically are 25 to 30 degrees cooler than a convection oven set to the same temperature. Since most recipes are intended for conventional ovens, you'll need to adjust the temperature to around 25 degrees F (about 15 degrees C) lower to accommodate the difference.“

The user manual recommends lower temp for "aero cooking" but the range doesn't adjust the temp itself.

What’s aero cooking? The manual also recommends to condition the oven at first use which involves setting the oven to 400 in true convection for 20 minutes.

Stephanie, yes. This is true. Convection mode cooks differently so you can set the temp 25 degrees lower, or the same temp for 15 minutes less. But an oven shouldn’t sit in preheat mode forever. It should be able to hit the temperature you want to set it at.

"What’s aero cooking?"

You didn't state which model you have. The user manual for the OR36SDI6X1 refers to convection cooking as aero cooking.

RIV3-365

Update: third appliance repair company came to inspect. Oven hits the temp on convection mode when set to 400 (based on thermometer placed in oven) but display remains in preheat mode. It does this for 350F, but not for 360F, 425F, 500F. It’s a toss up as I haven’t tried all the incremental temps. F&P has been silent on this but think it is worth knowing when purchasing this particular model.

• Fisher Paykel OR36SCI6X1 Classic Series 36 Inch Induction Range ($8800)
• Frigidaire Professional PCFI3670AF 36 Inch Freestanding Electric Induction Range ($5850)

Artemis78 I’m not sure if this effects all but it is most certainly a design flaw. Wdccruise which model do you have? I was looking at the classic line and was going to ask F&P if they would downgrade my model for this one instead.

" . It does this for 350F, but not for 360F, 425F, 500F. "

Engineer here. That sounds like a software bug. Hopefully it works at one of the incrementally closer temps for you! Dumb that they didn't catch that, but testing takes time and costs money, so I can imagine they just said "good enough! Sell it!"