1 of 3 Hampton Bay Fan Controllers Keeps Dropping Off after a long period of working fine

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1

I'm at a loss! 1 of my 3 Hampton Bay Fan Controllers will not stay connected all of a sudden. Nothing has changed from my original setup which consists of the following:

  • HE on zigbee channel 20
  • Hue Bridge on Channel 15
  • No zigbee bulbs connected to HE, only to Hue Bridge
  • 2 Zigbee smart plugs in the same room as the HBFC

I've disabled the child devices, removed the parent device, factory reset the HBFC by doing the 3sec on 3 sec off 5 times. I can get the HBFC to pair up again and then it works for a few minutes and then just become unresponsive.

I even tried shutting down my hub for 25 mintues to get the zigbee mesh to rebuild and still no luck.

Any suggestions??

2

Do you have a Zigbee network built out? Just because you have a Zigbee device to support the KOF doesn’t mean there still would t be communication issues.

3

I feel like my zigbee network is pretty good. I've got a repeater in almost every room and the HBFC was rock solid for the longest time. Just started acting up.

4

Just out of curiosity - Is it routing through one of those smart plugs?

http://{your hub fqdn or IP address}/hub/zigbee/getChildAndRouteInfo

5

@Eric.C.Miller is it safe to pose the results of the above link here? Nothing sensitive?

6

While two repeaters in the same room should be good and it's suspicious that it's affecting more than one, I can't recommend replacing the antenna in these things enough. My problems with them disapeared after doing this. Even just opening it up and making sure the stock antenna is securely connected might be a good start (someone here said they noticed that too).

For future reference, you shouldn't need to delete the device from HE to re-pair, though if you've had it paired for a long time (more than the last couple firmware versions), you did yourself a favor by doing that at least once--now the child devices don't refer to the parent DNI and will continue to fully function if you ever reset and re-pair the device (as you've tried). Like most Zigbee devices, if you leave them in the hub DB, they'll fall back into place on a re-pair. (I don't think that explains any problems here.)

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7

Parent child parameters
EzspGetParentChildParametersResponse [childCount=8, parentEui64=0000000000000000, parentNodeId=65535]

Child Data
child:[Mailbox, 3E8B, type:EMBER_SLEEPY_END_DEVICE]
child:[Main Hall Motion, 81EE, type:EMBER_SLEEPY_END_DEVICE]
child:[Dining Room Motion, 181C, type:EMBER_SLEEPY_END_DEVICE]
child:[Basement Stair Motion, 588B, type:EMBER_SLEEPY_END_DEVICE]
child:[Dining Room Motion 2, 4252, type:EMBER_SLEEPY_END_DEVICE]
child:[Basement Stair Door, 017D, type:EMBER_SLEEPY_END_DEVICE]
child:[Kitchen Motion, A0DE, type:EMBER_SLEEPY_END_DEVICE]
child:[Kitchen Dishwasher Door Sensor, 0CFD, type:EMBER_SLEEPY_END_DEVICE]

Neighbor Table Entry
[Office Ceiling Fan, 4770], LQI:255, age:3, inCost:1, outCost:1
[Attic Fan, 4981], LQI:248, age:3, inCost:3, outCost:1
[Basement Shop Outlet by Water Heater, 4C34], LQI:255, age:4, inCost:1, outCost:1
[Basement Stair LED String, 5FA6], LQI:255, age:7, inCost:1, outCost:0
[Guest Bedroom Ceiling Fan, 80B4], LQI:170, age:4, inCost:7, outCost:7
[Basement Storage Utility Room Outlet, EE3E], LQI:255, age:3, inCost:1, outCost:1

Route Table Entry
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Front Porch Motion, 86C3] via [Basement Shop Outlet by Water Heater, 4C34]
status:Unused
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Hall Bathroom Motion-Humidity, 9DE0] via [Office Ceiling Fan, 4770]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Office Motion, 19E0] via [Office Ceiling Fan, 4770]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Basement Shop Outlet by Water Heater, 4C34] via [Basement Shop Outlet by Water Heater, 4C34]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Basement Shop Furnace Area Water Sensor, 3239] via [Basement Shop Outlet by Water Heater, 4C34]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Master Bath Motion-Humidity, A02C] via [Basement Shop Outlet by Water Heater, 4C34]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Living Room Motion, 9876] via [Office Ceiling Fan, 4770]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Master Bedroom Alexis's Bedside Button, F6B0] via [Basement Storage Utility Room Outlet, EE3E]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Main Hall Temperature/Humidity Sensor, 1B16] via [Basement Shop Outlet by Water Heater, 4C34]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Kitchen Refrigerator-Freezer Door, D412] via [Guest Bedroom Ceiling Fan, 80B4]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Basement Hall Temperature/Humidity Sensor, C1DD] via [Basement Storage Utility Room Outlet, EE3E]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Basement Bathroom Motion-Humidity, 2125] via [Office Ceiling Fan, 4770]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Basement Storage Utility Room Outlet, EE3E] via [Basement Storage Utility Room Outlet, EE3E]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Basement Shop Back Door, F1BA] via [Basement Shop Outlet by Water Heater, 4C34]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Master Bedroom Eric's Bedside Button, 7ABC] via [Basement Shop Outlet by Water Heater, 4C34]

8

For me it's nothing NSA doesn't already know.

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9

The problematic one is "Alyse's Ceiling Unit"

Parent child parameters
EzspGetParentChildParametersResponse [childCount=0, parentEui64=0000000000000000, parentNodeId=65535]

Child Data

Neighbor Table Entry
[Mudroom Garage Door Warning Light Smart Plug, 4EE3], LQI:255, age:3, inCost:1, outCost:3
[Christmas Tree, 7D54], LQI:254, age:4, inCost:1, outCost:3
[Alyse's Christmas Lights, BDCF], LQI:254, age:3, inCost:1, outCost:7
[Alyse's Chandelier, CCE0], LQI:255, age:3, inCost:1, outCost:1
[Garage Door Smart Plug, CF9D], LQI:254, age:3, inCost:1, outCost:1
[Christmas Wreath (#1), E0B8], LQI:255, age:3, inCost:1, outCost:5
[Libby's Chandelier, F44F], LQI:255, age:3, inCost:1, outCost:1

Route Table Entry
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Mudroom Drawer, 45ED] via [Alyse's Chandelier, CCE0]
status:Unused
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Christmas Wreath (#1), E0B8] via [Christmas Wreath (#1), E0B8]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Upright Freezer Door, 6EA8] via [Libby's Chandelier, F44F]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Garage Door SmartThings Multi Sensor, 938E] via [Garage Door Smart Plug, CF9D]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Living Room Ceiling Unit, C2F1] via [Christmas Tree, 7D54]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Alyse's Christmas Lights, BDCF] via [Garage Door Smart Plug, CF9D]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Mudroom Garage Door, EC1A] via [Garage Door Smart Plug, CF9D]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Libby's Bedroom Door, 0177] via [Garage Door Smart Plug, CF9D]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Alyse's Chandelier, CCE0] via [Garage Door Smart Plug, CF9D]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Garage Door Smart Plug, CF9D] via [Garage Door Smart Plug, CF9D]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Hue Motion Sensor, 0680] via [Alyse's Chandelier, CCE0]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Main Floor Temp Sensor, 3298] via [Mudroom Garage Door Warning Light Smart Plug, 4EE3]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Mudroom Garage Door Warning Light Smart Plug, 4EE3] via [Alyse's Chandelier, CCE0]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Storage Room Water Leak Sensor, A792] via [Libby's Chandelier, F44F]
status:Active, age:64, routeRecordState:0, concentratorType:None, [Alyse's Ceiling Unit, B738] via [Alyse's Chandelier, CCE0]

10

Alright, I just ordered the replacement antenna, definitely can't hurt.

I didn't realize about the child devices. From what I had read in the past, if you repaired the Parent, the child devices would no longer be connected to the parent. You're saying that's not the case anymore? If I factor reset the HBFC then repair it (without first removing it from HE) the parent and child devices will all slot back into their original positions and all automations will work again?

11

A recent firmware update fixed the child devices breaking when the parent DNI changed (e.g., when re-pairing).

Any Zigbee device can be re-paired and slide back into place in Hubitat if the device itself is reset but not deleted. This one was just a little problematic there since the child devices broke (but the parent would have been fine).

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12

Werid, the other HBFC that works really well is called Libby's Ceiling Unit and doesn't show up anywhere in those results...

13

I don't know the significance of that. I wonder if that device is connecting directly to the hub and isn't routing any traffic for any other nodes . . .

14

That could definitely be as it's right above the room where the Hub is. It's weird though that some devices in the basement are connecting to repeaters on the 2nd level when the hub is on the main level between the two...

15

I have looked at the report on my system (repeatedly) and I have a hard time figuring out the logic of the connections (if any).

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16

Haha ok that's good to know. Still a very interesting report to be able to look at, thanks for the tip!

17

Update:

I ended up unplugging the other two zigbee smart plugs in the room and plugged a 3rd one in on the wall that's closest to the hub where I don't need a smart plug so there wasn't one there before. I then factory reset the HBFC and repaired it to HE so that it had to choose the new smart plug as it's repeater. It paired and seems to be holding the pair even after plugging the other two smart plugs back in.

I think the new antenna will be the key to allow me to just use the smart plugs where I want in the room and ditch the other two that I don't need.

Such awesome devices the HBFC but soo moody!

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18

It's not relevant to the conversation, but i have to say it anyway.

I agree about HBFC being moody. It was a common occurrence, at least once a month, that Wink would drop mine. After monthly resets (throwing the breaker, so had to basically unplug all of the electronics in the room) it finally stopped resetting and we resigned to using the remote only.

I finally got a new one over Black Friday from Home Depot. It paired fine, and hopefully Hubitat is more stable with it than Wink was.

That being said, I can't freaking wait for Inovelli to release their Fan Controller.

19

To the moody point. I've got 3 of these now but at the point when I had only 1 and had just purchased 2 more, I did some poking around and found this thread.

After installing the 2nd unit and experiencing poor performance I opened that new unit up and found the antenna connection barely hanging on. Using instructions in that thread I reattached the antenna and reinstalled it. That solved the poor performance on the second unit. Before installing the 3rd unit I opened it up and the antenna fell off as I opened the case holding it. As with the 2nd unit I reattached and secured the antenna and installed it.

I've found that even with properly attached antennas, I still have to have a repeater within + or - 6' of these units to keep them from dropping off and when we have extended power outages, I have to repair the light almost always.

@cj_rezz I'll be watching to see how your new antennas work out once installed.

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20

Oh almost forgot. The jeddi @JDRoberts discovered these work best if you can get a repeater above the blades, like the room above or in the Attic

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