The SMOK NOVO is a very popular pod vape and with these simple tips and tricks, you’ll get the maximum performance out of it

When it comes to SMOK vapes, the SMOK NOVO is one of the best the company has ever produced. Designed to be compact and simple to use, the SMOK NOVO does not have any buttons and/or settings for you to worry about.

Like the JUUL vape, the SMOK NOVO is a plug and play device – you fill up the pod with vape juice, insert it, power the device on, and start vaping. Simple, right? It really is. And this is one of the reasons why the SMOK NOVO is so popular with vapers – both new and old.

In this guide, we’ll detail literally EVERYTHING you need to know about the SMOK NOVO, including how to use it properly, what its LED blinks mean, and how to get the most out of your coils.

What SMOK NOVO Do I have?

SMOK makes a range of NOVO vapes now. You have the following options with respect to models:

SMOK NOVO vs SMOK NOVO 2 vs SMOK NOVO X

SMOK NOVO – The SMOK NOVO is the OG version of the line; it was the first pod vape to carry the branding NOVO. It has dimensions of 88.3 x 24.3 x 14.3mm and it uses a 450mAh battery.
SMOK NOVO 2 – The SMOK NOVO 2 is the successor model to the OG SMOK NOVO and it comes with a host of improvements. The most notable of which is its battery life; the SMOK NOVO 2 has a 800mAH battery which is nearly double the size of the one used in the original SMOK NOVO.
SMOK NOVO 3 – Same deal as the SMOK NOVO 2; you get 25W of power and up to 25W of power.
SMOK NOVO X – The SMOK NOVO X is a higher-performance version of the SMOK NOVO; it has up to 25W of power, whereas the OG SMOK NOVO and SMOK NOVO will only do 16W. It also has a 800mAh battery and adjustable wattage settings, something neither the NOVO or NOVO 2 have.

How Long Does SMOK NOVO Last?

The SMOK NOVO runs on pods, and inside these pods are coils, and each coil will last in and around two weeks (maximum) depending on how you use it.

SMOK NOVO Tips & Tricks: How To Use It Correctly…

If you’re using the SMOK NOVO all day long, hitting it hundreds of times an hour, the coil performance will be degraded, meaning it won’t last as long – with heavy use, in my experience, you’re looking at 7-8 days per pod.

This is still pretty good but it is no way near as good as what you get with the UWELL Caliburn G, our current #1 rated pod vape for 2021. For me, the Caliburn G is the best pod vape on the market right now for flavor and overall coil/pod longevity.

What Does Four Blinks on The NOVO Mean?

If your SMOK Novo’s LED light keeps blinking four times, then this is telling you that something is wrong with the pod.

Four blinks from the SMOK NOVO’s LED light mean the vape is shorting – the light is telling you that the SMOK NOVO’s short circuit protection has kicked in.

If your SMOK NOVO is short-circuiting the device will automatically shut down. It does this to protect you from any danger. If the pod is experiencing a short circuit, the battery needs to be OFF – or else it could explode.

SMOK NOVO LED Blinking – What They Mean

Four Blinks – Short Circuit Protection.
Five Blinks – If you vape, continuously, for longer than 8 seconds the SMOK NOVO’s LED will flash five times.
15 Blinks – If your SMOK NOVO’s LED flashes 15 times, this is telling you that the battery capacity is lower than 3.3V. This means you need to recharge it before using it again.

Why Does My SMOK NOVO Taste Burnt?

If your SMOK NOVO tastes burnt, it means the coil is spent. As soon as the flavor of your vape juice starts deteriorating, this is a sign that the coil is failing and you should think about swapping it out for a new one.

Using the right type of vape juice is important too. If you use good-quality vape juice in the SMOK NOVO, the coils will last a lot longer. And the reason? Cheap vape juice tends to gunk up coils really quickly.

My advice? Use this vape juice in the SMOK NOVO – it will ensure the coils last for at least 12-14 days.

Which SMOK NOVO Coil is Best?

The SMOK NOVO comes with two coil options in the box:

1 x NOVO 2 Mesh 1.0ohm Pod
1 x NOVO 2 DC 1.4ohm MTL Pod

And the best coil will depend largely on the kind of vape juice you’re using. If you’re using Nic Salts, you’ll want to use the 1.4ohm coil head. If you prefer using 50/50 vape juice, the 1.0ohm coil will be fine.

Both coils are designed for MTL vaping and are NOT to be used with higher VG vape juice, so you can use them pretty interchangeably. The higher the resistance, the lower you want to run the wattage. For this reason, you’d run the 1.2ohm coil at lower wattages than the 1.0ohm coil.

By this logic, the 1.2ohm coil head will deliver slightly better battery performance than the 1.0ohm coil because it runs at slightly lower power.

Can You Reuse SMOK NOVO Pods?

Once your SMOK NOVO pod is dead, there’s no bringing it back, sadly. The cotton around the coil only has a certain amount of cycles – usually about 400 puffs – before it breaks down to the extent that it can no longer produce flavor.

When this happens, the SMOK NOVO will produce a burnt taste. This means the coil is spent and it is time to replace it.

And once a coil is spent, you can not reuse it – the cotton is ruined.

Thankfully, SMOK NOVO coils are fairly cheap, so this isn’t too much of a problem.

And in order to get the best possible performance from your SMOK NOVO pod, you’ll need to use the best quality nic salts juice as well.

How To Prime SMOK NOVO Coils

In order to get the best performance possible from your SMOK NOVO, you’ll want to prime the coils. Priming your SMOK NOVO’s coils ensures that the cotton inside the coil is adequately saturated before you use it and this, in turn, ensures you get great flavor from the first draw.

And here’s how you prime your SMOK NOVO coils: ensure there is no juice in the pod when you remove it; take the new coil, drop vape juice onto the cotton, a few drops will do; insert it into the pod, fill with juice. Next, make sure there are no air bubbles. Give it a shake, fill it up some more, and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Once the SMOK NOVO has been sat for 5-10 minutes, take a short, quick draw. How’s the flavor? If it tastes a little off, leave it for another 5-10 minutes. The idea here is to let the coil sit in juice for a good long while. That way, the cotton can absorb as much vape juice as possible.

How To Stop SMOK NOVO Autofiring

Autofiring, when it happens, and it can happen to the SMOK NOVO, is very annoying – it ruins your coils and wastes your juice. The SMOK NOVO is prone to suffering from this autofiring issue.

But it can be fixed really easily.

The autofiring issue on the SMOK NOVO is caused by vape juice getting into the air sensor. In order to stop the SMOK NOVO from autofiring, you’ll need to take the NOVO apart and wipe away any errant vape juice residue from inside the device.

Be VERY careful, however: you do not want to damage the device, so be sure to clean off the juice residue carefully, making sure you do not touch any of the NOVO’s internal components other than the area directly above the battery.

Why Isn’t My SMOK NOVO Firing?

Autofiring is one thing, but when your SMOK NOVO won’t fire at all, it is even worse. So what can cause the SMOK NOVO to stop firing? As usual, it is to do with vape juice leaking into places it shouldn’t be.

If your SMOK NOVO isn’t firing, remove the pod and first check the gold connectors inside the device. Are they dry or are they covered in vape juice? If they’re coated in vape juice, this can cause connection issues which will result in the SMOK NOVO not firing.

Clean off the excess vape juice, ensuring the area around the connection is as dry as possible, and then insert the pod and try again. This will solve 99.9% of your SMOK NOVO’s firing issues.

If it doesn’t work, it means your SMOK NOVO is broke. And you can thank SMOK’s terrible quality control department for that.

My SMOK NOVO Will Not Charge

Charging issues with the SMOK NOVO are some of the most common complaints users have. The good news is that, most of the time, the reason your SMOK NOVO isn’t charging is to do with a broken cable – so all you have to do is switch out the cable for a new one.

The bad news, however, is that sometimes it can be a hardware issue. If this is the case with your SMOK NOVO, you’re basically out of luck – the device is useless and will need to be returned.

How do I know if it is a hardware issue?

Simple: if you’ve checked the charging port and it is free or debris and you’ve tried different chargers and the SMOK NOVO still won’t charge, you know it is a hardware issue which, once again, is down to SMOK’s (terrible) quality control.

If this has happened to you, ditch SMOK and get a UWELL Caliburn G instead. It is a vastly superior vape in every way – you get better flavor, longer battery, the coils last longer, and it will work perfectly for years without issue.

Case in point, my OG UWELL Caliburn is now three years old and it still work fine.

My advice? If you like using pod vapes, get the UWELL Caliburn G.