All devices inexplicably turned on at once

This evening a very strange event took place. Without any particular cause that I can discern, every device (I think) in my home turned on at the same time. Looking at the logs, I can't see exactly how/why this happened. Two events took place immediately prior to this happening, but I don't see anything in the logs to connect either thing to this behavior:

  1. A button was pressed and released on a 5-button pico remote which is integrated through telnet. There is a rule triggered by this button press to dim a group of two z-wave RGBW bulbs to 0 (effectively, this is the off button for a pair of lamps in our livingroom.

  2. The time was exactly 7pm. I have rules that are keyed off of certain times of day, and others that are offset from dusk or dawn, but none of these rules are triggered at 7pm, nor was dusk near that time today.

Devices that were turned on included z-wave, zigbee, wifi, and virtual devices and scenes.

My configuration has been pretty static for several months now and I have not recently added any new devices, integrations, etc. I did update from 2.2.5.131 to 2.2.6.140 on April 11th. I have copy/pasted the log entries from 5 minutes before/after the event, but didn't see anything there to explain what happened.

The relevant portion of the logs looks like:

dev:14732021-04-14 19:00:35.149 infoGuest Light: switch was turned on
dev:382021-04-14 19:00:33.346 debugParsed SwitchMultilevelReport(value:99) to [[name:level, value:100, unit:%], [name:switch, value:on]]
dev:11222021-04-14 19:00:29.651 infoNursery Light: switch was turned on
dev:11852021-04-14 19:00:29.491 infoUpstairs Bathroom Light: switch is on
dev:11852021-04-14 19:00:29.488 infoUpstairs Bathroom Light: level is 99
dev:15062021-04-14 19:00:29.082 infoDaniel's Light: switch was turned on
dev:10602021-04-14 19:00:28.013 infoSink Cabinet Parent level is 93%
dev:10602021-04-14 19:00:27.916 infoSink Cabinet Parent level is 93%
dev:10572021-04-14 19:00:27.842 infoCooktop Cabinet Parent level is 67%
dev:10572021-04-14 19:00:27.793 infoCooktop Cabinet Parent level is 67%
dev:10602021-04-14 19:00:27.732 infoSink Cabinet Parent level is 93%
dev:4812021-04-14 19:00:27.254 infoStairway Light is on [digital]
dev:722021-04-14 19:00:26.743 infoBedroom Fan is low [digital]
dev:2272021-04-14 19:00:13.060 infoSBHD was turned off
dev:882021-04-14 19:00:11.654 infoNursery Plug was turned off [digital]
app:12812021-04-14 19:00:11.407 infoAction: Toggle: Nursery Plug
app:12812021-04-14 19:00:11.367 infoBaby Monitor Reboot Triggered
app:12812021-04-14 19:00:11.359 infoBaby Monitor Reboot: Baby Monitor switch off
dev:13452021-04-14 19:00:11.273 infoBaby Monitor was turned off
dev:8652021-04-14 19:00:11.136 infoGarage Door Opener was turned off
dev:3882021-04-14 19:00:10.391 infoDLS was turned off
app:8662021-04-14 19:00:10.315 infoAction: push() on Garage Door
app:8662021-04-14 19:00:10.212 infoGDO Voice Control Triggered
app:8662021-04-14 19:00:10.207 infoGDO Voice Control: Garage Door Opener switch on
dev:8652021-04-14 19:00:10.079 infoGarage Door Opener was turned on
dev:3882021-04-14 19:00:09.842 infoDLS was turned on
dev:9312021-04-14 19:00:09.565 infoDen Light: switch is on
dev:9312021-04-14 19:00:09.558 infoDen Light: level is 99
dev:9642021-04-14 19:00:09.555 infoLivingroom Lamps switch was turned on
dev:7702021-04-14 19:00:09.441 infoPatio Lights: Power report received with value of 147.2 W
dev:11862021-04-14 19:00:09.433 infoUpstairs Bathroom Vent: switch is on
dev:7702021-04-14 19:00:09.342 infoPatio Lights: Power report received with value of 147.2 W
dev:732021-04-14 19:00:09.281 infoMaster Lights switch was turned on
dev:10302021-04-14 19:00:09.179 infoSpicerack Cabinet RGB switch is on
dev:10622021-04-14 19:00:09.070 infoSink Cabinet RGB switch is on
dev:10592021-04-14 19:00:09.011 infoCooktop Cabinet RGB switch is on
dev:13142021-04-14 19:00:08.924 infoGuest Lamp was turned on
dev:382021-04-14 19:00:08.392 debugsetLevel >> value: 100, durationSeconds: null
dev:742021-04-14 19:00:08.296 infoLivingroom Light was set to 14% [digital]
dev:742021-04-14 19:00:08.290 infoLivingroom Light is on [digital]
dev:4502021-04-14 19:00:08.046 infoEntry Light was turned on [digital]
dev:2272021-04-14 19:00:08.041 infoSBHD was turned on
dev:9642021-04-14 19:00:07.976 infoLivingroom Lamps level was set to 0%
dev:9642021-04-14 19:00:07.971 infoLivingroom Lamps switch was off
app:8652021-04-14 19:00:07.918 infoAction: Dim: Livingroom Lamps: 0
app:8652021-04-14 19:00:07.863 infoPico - Livingroom Lamps: Livingroom Pico pushed 5
dev:1312021-04-14 19:00:07.854 infoLivingroom Pico button 5 was released
dev:1322021-04-14 19:00:07.798 inforcvd: DEVICE,2,4,4
app:4842021-04-14 19:00:07.792 infoAction: Off: Fireplace --> delayed: 1:00:00
dev:402021-04-14 19:00:07.780 infoStory Time was turned on
app:4842021-04-14 19:00:07.724 infoFireplace Timeout Triggered
app:4842021-04-14 19:00:07.715 infoFireplace Timeout: Fireplace switch on
dev:4172021-04-14 19:00:07.665 infoSending Message: [Fireplace was set to on at 19:00 on 14-Apr-2021.] Priority: [null] to [All Devices]
dev:1312021-04-14 19:00:07.565 infoLivingroom Pico button 5 was pushed
dev:1322021-04-14 19:00:07.507 inforcvd: DEVICE,2,4,3
dev:10282021-04-14 19:00:07.342 infoSpicerack Cabinet Parent level is 99%
dev:10282021-04-14 19:00:07.272 infoSpicerack Cabinet Parent level is 99%
dev:10282021-04-14 19:00:07.261 infoSpicerack Cabinet Parent level is 99%
dev:4492021-04-14 19:00:06.859 infoFront Porch Light is on [physical]
app:3212021-04-14 19:00:06.823 infoFront Porch Light was turned on
dev:4492021-04-14 19:00:06.672 infoFront Porch Light was turned on [digital]
app:12812021-04-14 19:00:06.571 infoAction: Toggle: Nursery Plug
app:12812021-04-14 19:00:06.457 infoBaby Monitor Reboot Triggered
dev:8342021-04-14 19:00:06.450 infoDaniel's Standlamp was turned on
app:12812021-04-14 19:00:06.446 infoBaby Monitor Reboot: Baby Monitor switch on
dev:10632021-04-14 19:00:06.396 infoKitchen Cabinets switch is on
dev:13452021-04-14 19:00:06.250 infoBaby Monitor was turned on
dev:742021-04-14 19:00:06.211 infoLivingroom Light was turned on [digital]
dev:15082021-04-14 19:00:05.964 infoOffice Lamp was turned on [digital]
dev:8362021-04-14 19:00:05.773 infoNursery Lamp was turned on
dev:762021-04-14 19:00:05.699 infoFrontyard Lights is on [physical]
dev:762021-04-14 19:00:05.605 infoFrontyard Lights is on [digital]
dev:14732021-04-14 19:00:05.513 infoGuest Light: RELAY: switch was turned on
dev:10642021-04-14 19:00:05.213 infoColor Cabinets switch was turned on
dev:8672021-04-14 19:00:04.947 infoDPR was turned on
dev:7702021-04-14 19:00:04.804 infoPatio Lights: Basic report received with value of on
dev:7702021-04-14 19:00:04.768 infoPatio Lights: Basic report received with value of on
dev:9642021-04-14 19:00:04.427 infoLivingroom Lamps level was set to 100%
dev:9642021-04-14 19:00:04.402 infoLivingroom Lamps switch was turned on
dev:822021-04-14 19:00:04.369 infoBackyard Lights is on [digital]
dev:7702021-04-14 19:00:04.282 infoPatio Lights: Basic report received with value of on
dev:9642021-04-14 19:00:04.253 infoLivingroom Lamps colorName is Incandescent
dev:9642021-04-14 19:00:04.231 infoLivingroom Lamps colorTemperature was set to 2700
dev:9642021-04-14 19:00:04.228 infoLivingroom Lamps switch was turned on
dev:822021-04-14 19:00:04.206 infoBackyard Lights is on [digital]
dev:2572021-04-14 19:00:03.947 infoGranola Bars was turned on
dev:7702021-04-14 19:00:03.794 infoPatio Lights: on()
dev:9642021-04-14 19:00:01.901 infoLivingroom Lamps level was set to 0%
dev:9642021-04-14 19:00:01.898 infoLivingroom Lamps switch was off
app:8652021-04-14 19:00:01.794 infoAction: Dim: Livingroom Lamps: 0
dev:1312021-04-14 19:00:01.696 infoLivingroom Pico button 5 was released
dev:1322021-04-14 19:00:01.678 inforcvd: DEVICE,2,4,4
app:8652021-04-14 19:00:01.669 infoPico - Livingroom Lamps: Livingroom Pico pushed 5
dev:1312021-04-14 19:00:01.447 infoLivingroom Pico button 5 was pushed
dev:1322021-04-14 19:00:01.408 inforcvd: DEVICE,2,4,3
dev:7702021-04-14 18:59:25.730 infoPatio Lights: parameter '8' with a byte size of '4' is set to '33491540'
dev:7702021-04-14 18:59:25.038 infoPatio Lights: startNotification(33491540)
dev:7702021-04-14 18:59:25.037 infoPatio Lights: setIndicator(33491540)

I wanted to see if anybody can suggest any deeper data gathering or troubleshooting steps I can take before information is lost or overwritten?

First thing that comes to mind is what do your rules and devices do if there is a rapid power loss and resumption?

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I've had my C-3 for over 3 years now, had the same thing happen just once about 6 weeks ago.

Couldn't find any reason for it, nothing else showed a power loss such as microwave, oven, Ring...

Chalked it up to gremlins

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Thanks for the quick reply and the thought. Nothing to indicate a power outage or brown-out here. I have no devices and no rules that are intended to respond to power outages. Usually any disruption in power or voltage regulation would trigger an alert from my file server based on a signal from its attached UPS. Also, my hub sits behind its own smaller UPS, so it would take a significant event to disrupt its power supply.

Thanks for at least letting me know I'm not the only person to ever experience this. My personality doesn't lend itself well to allowing for "gremlins" as acceptable explanation.

Also, if this happens with any regularity I'm going to be hearing about it from the Missus. For example, our 18-month-old was already asleep in his crib this evening at 7pm when two lamps and the overhead light fixture in his room came on. Happily, he's a champion deep-sleeper and didn't even notice...

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I came home tonight and my wife said some lights were randomly turning on. I haven’t looked at the logs yet and came here to see if anyone else was seeing a similar odd issue. No rules or automations are in place to turn that particular light on either. I’m on the latest firmware on a C7 hub and that was the last change I made - the firmware upgrade.

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I've had on/off commands that were super delayed pop up all of a sudden so maybe it was something like that. Especially if someone was trying to toggle the switches on and off because it did not appear to be working or rules were firing but the commands were getting queued. That does not explain the all lights on thing though.

On a slightly related note - I once accidentally hit the "Switch All ON" button when using a secondary controller and Z-Wave PC Controller SW which obviously had the effect of turning everything on so there does seem to be an internal z-wave command available to do that. edited my CSB (Cool Story Bro) as not really relevant to this conversation apologies.

Perhaps, but the description above was:

Which seems to implicate something like a Rule.

1 Like

Yep was stuck in z-wave land apparently... good catch!

:relaxed:

I do have an "all lights" group that I keep updated to include almost every light source in the house. Usually I only use it to turn everything off as part of a "shutdown" routine triggered when we set our alarm to "away". I had figured that someday I would integrate smoke/heat/fire sensors either directly or through the alarm panel, and that it might be a neat trick to flip every light in the house on in the event of a fire alarm.

Still though, that group can't explain this event because it doesn't appear in the logs, and many other types of devices were turned on which do not belong to the group (eg, my garage door was opened and the gas fireplace was ignited, both integrated using Hubduino devices by @ogiewon.

Yikes!

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Yeah wow... that is not at all concerning... :scream:

Be thankful that you didn’t have the Tesla integration installed.

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So.... if you unplug the power from the HubDuino device, and then power it back on after about 30 seconds, what happens? Does the garage door open or the fireplace turn on? If so, then you’ll need to modify the sketch and possibly rewire the relay you’re using to control these devices.

Dan,

I probably should not have @-ed you in that post. This is definitely not a Hubduino problem, for sure. We have power failures here with some regularity and this does not happen. All of my sketches are written with edge-cases in mind and perform as one would expect. I have been using four ESP8266-based devices which depend on your work for almost 2 years now and they have been very reliable and largely without problems.

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Holy Geez - I had no idea such a thing existed.

I will resist the urge to integrate my Model 3 until I'm satisfied this issue is better understood or addressed. :wink:

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It's not as scary as it sounds. The fireplace is a self-contained insert with a thermocouple controlled pilot gas valve and I keep the glass doors zip-tied shut to keep our kids out of there.

Plus, my sketch has a "dead-man" switch written into it to shut the valve off after several minutes. If I want the fire to be on for longer, I have to physically get off my butt and flip a switch that I wired in parallel with the controller to shunt the path the ground.

As for the garage - at least I got a pushover notification on my phone that the door had been left open for more than 15 minutes...

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That sounds like quite a gas--something that could really fire a person up. :stuck_out_tongue:

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Another thought.... Do you have a Google Home or Alexa device in the mix? I’ve seen a couple instances on here where the Hunches feature for those gets turned on (seemingly by the GH or Alexa device itself) and the device decides to randomly turn on or off devices.

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That "hunches" thing brings corporate creepiness to a whole other level..

:satellite:

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