Devices Disappearing

[kilgallon84]

I had a Hub and Room thermostat installed towards the end of last year. No big issues. 

However for the past two weeks ive noticed that the heating hasnt come on. When i check the app, both the Room thermostat and the Hub have completed dissapeared from the app. At first i thought it was the app but uninstalled, re-installed, turned the phone off etc but no joy. I'm still logged into the app, just no devices. I then checked the Thermostat and it displays the wifi signal icon like when you first install. 

So i re-connect them, then the next day, same thing happens again. So I re-connect them. Fine for 3 or 4 days, then same again, devices dissapear. No rhyme or reason to it. No changes to wifi etc and im at a loss. I dont think it's a boiler issue so dont want to call the guy out who installed it during our boiler service as it seems to be an issue with the app. Could it be a software thing or maybe my router is causing an issue somehow? 

Any help or advise would be appreciated.  

[PhilHornby]

I think you'll have to log it as a support call.

I've seen two similar events - though not identical. Neither were resolved by logical actions 😉

The first was a Smartplug that used to vanish out of the system, never to return - until manually re-installed from scratch. Schneider/Drayton recommended I return it to Amazon as faulty - when it stopped doing it...

The second is more recent and is an App. bug of some description. On logging on, it would say "Your home is empty, let's get started..."   (the fix for this, is to stop the app, delete its data and then login again - or fall back to a very old version of the app, as I did 😏 ). 

Neither occurrence stopped the heating working. In the first event, it wasn't an 'essential' element anyway.

About the only thing I could think to do, is to look at improving the zigbee signal levels and ensuring no interference with WiFi. Unfortunately, straight-out-of-the-box, there is little diagnostic info to help you.

In practical terms, maybe trying moving the Roomstat and changing the WiFi channel anyway?

[njknh]

It is my understanding that schedules are stored locally so loss of internet or wifi shouldn't stop the heating working with preexisting schedules as long as the hub maintains a Zigbee connection to the room thermostat. The first thing I'd do is to replace the thermostat batteries. If the thermostat is some distance from the hub you could perhaps experiment with moving the thermostat closer to the hub. How many walls and/or metallic obstructions do you have between the thermostat and hub? Are you using any Wiser plugs to increase the Zigbee range?

As PhilHornby has said, it's probably best to put in a support call as SE may be able to glean more information from server logs etc. Did the onset of problems coincide with a particular firmware or app update?

The mobile app does seem somewhat buggy and reports of users having to clear app data suggests that perhaps not enough regression testing is being done on new app releases.

It's always good to have a backup plan - I have an old Tempus Seven programmer which is compatible with the WIser Hub's backplate so I can always switch over to that temporarily if the Hub fails, although I haven't yet needed to do that (and yes, I still have the old room thermostat set to 30C wired in series with the Hub relay connection as part of this fallback plan)!

The are various mobile phone apps which will display wifi signal strength - it can be instructive to use these on a mobile phone to see how strong your wifi is at different locations in your house although it doesnt seem like the cause of this problem is wifi related.

[SAtewart]

I'm a user of about six months with systems in two properties. I found a couple of Wiser plugs transformational in respect of getting a Zigbee connection to the dark recesses of our own Victorian house. I can moan about the cost of a proprietary range extender solution but in the great scheme of things, this kit is saving £100 to £200 a month during this winter. I will report back when I normalize and analyse consumption pre and post-Wiser.(I'm talking using degree days - a method well worth checking out that allows objective energy demand comparisons between “hot” and “cold” years/months/days).

I am mystified that Schneider are letting so many defects persist in the app. A lot of the stuff that comes up on this forum simply does not get addressed. This system has legs beyond gas combi's and to my mind if Schneider don't invest in elevating this beyond where the product is now, they have a competitive problem with the other established players.

"Solutions" that require a clean reconfig, to my mind, are totally unacceptable today.

The company does not seem to properly value the free feedback us “hobbyists” give. A crying shame. In the end of the day the system’s pro's outweigh its con's but I get the feeling that the development and support team are not getting the resource they deserve and competitive advantage just ebbs away.

Maybe its time for the company to release an open source code branch that the community can work on.

[david101]

I have said the same thing re lack of feature enhancements and bug fixes to SE support today. I just can't understand why nobody appears to take note of their users.

[kilgallon84]

Thanks for the reply, I had no idea Wiser plugs could increase the Zigbee range, might give that a go. When it was first installed we had issues connecting which I put down to the signal going through a few walls as the hub lives in the garage next to the boiler. But one it was up and running it was fine for months... Right up until we had a power cut and then devices started disappearing like they had never been installed. Even the house / room name info vanishes.

[PhilHornby]

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@kilgallon84 wrote:

I had no idea Wiser plugs could increase the Zigbee range, might give that a go. 

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Only mains-powered devices can act as a 'repeater' in a Zigbee network and of course, iTRVs and Room Stats are battery-powered. (To be a Repeater, they obviously have to be awake and listening at all times - which would drastically reduce battery life)

Schneider seem to have bought in some "Heiman Smart Plugs" and put their name on them (they show up internally as Heiman in the Wiser API).

If any were actually available, they'd be much cheaper to purchase directly from China, but every time I look, the UK version is sold out ☹️ . See https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32839165490.html for example.

(Because I've never actually managed to obtain a Heiman-branded version, I can't say for certain that they will work ... but I'm fairly confident 🤔 )

I did try a Sonoff switch; the Wiser system saw it, but refused it entry. Wiser is 'closed' insofar as, you can only add pre-determined devices. This is a real shame, because something like the IKEA Trådfri Repeater  (@£13), would do fine. (It only provides a USB charging point, but a WiFi switch isn't very useful anyway - since you have to position the Smartplug where it can do a good job of 'repeating', not 'switching' something!