Go Control garage door: loss of control/status following power outage

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1

Hey folks,

I've had this issue with all prior home automation hubs/platforms so definitely not unique to Hubitat. The issue occurs following a power outage. The issue is a complete loss of open/close control and awareness of the door's current state. The current workaround is to use the vendor-supplied wall mounted buttons and open then close each door once (or vice versa). Presumably, this triggers the Go Control tilt sensor (which I further assume is locally event driven and can't be polled for status from the Go Control controller or this likely wouldn't be an issue). The problem with this workaround is when you're away, the whole freakin' point of installing the Go Control hardware is rendered useless--you've no idea what's open or not and can't even reliably send a command regardless of current state.

Anyone else experiencing this? If it's just me then perhaps there's battery-backed storage or the like in the unit I need replace.

Anyone found a workaround short of putting two small UPSs on my garage ceiling?

Related: I have a 26kw whole-house generator but it's standby backup power, not inline, so even the few seconds that it takes to kick in results in the same issue.

Thx!

2

I just tested mine and got similar results:

dev:395 2023-06-25 08:48:14.571 AM warn  description logging is: true
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:48:14.568 AM warn  debug logging is: false
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:48:14.566 AM info  updated...
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:48:04.492 AM info  GarageDoor Opener 2 (GoControl) is closed
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:48:04.489 AM debug BarrierOperatorReport- BarrierOperatorReport(barrierState:0)
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:47:58.820 AM info  GarageDoor Opener 2 (GoControl) tamper cleared
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:47:58.818 AM debug NotificationReport- NotificationReport(v1AlarmType: 0, v1AlarmLevel: 0, notificationStatus: 255, notificationType: 7, event: 0, sequence: false, eventParametersLength: 0, eventParameter: [], sequenceNumber: 0)
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:47:58.480 AM info  GarageDoor Opener 2 (GoControl) is open
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:47:58.478 AM debug BarrierOperatorReport- BarrierOperatorReport(barrierState:255)
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:47:58.449 AM debug skipped:NotificationReport(v1AlarmType: 0, v1AlarmLevel: 0, notificationStatus: 255, notificationType: 6, event: 0, sequence: false, eventParametersLength: 0, eventParameter: [], sequenceNumber: 0)
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:47:58.445 AM debug NotificationReport- NotificationReport(v1AlarmType: 0, v1AlarmLevel: 0, notificationStatus: 255, notificationType: 6, event: 0, sequence: false, eventParametersLength: 0, eventParameter: [], sequenceNumber: 0)
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:47:43.578 AM info  GarageDoor Opener 2 (GoControl) is in an unknown position
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:47:43.573 AM debug BarrierOperatorReport- BarrierOperatorReport(barrierState:253)
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:47:43.432 AM debug close()
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:47:33.528 AM info  GarageDoor Opener 2 (GoControl) is in an unknown position
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:47:33.525 AM debug BarrierOperatorReport- BarrierOperatorReport(barrierState:253)
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:47:33.389 AM debug open()
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:47:19.553 AM info  GarageDoor Opener 2 (GoControl) is in an unknown position
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:47:19.550 AM debug BarrierOperatorReport- BarrierOperatorReport(barrierState:253)
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:47:19.431 AM debug refresh()
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:47:12.459 AM warn  description logging is: true
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:47:12.457 AM warn  debug logging is: true
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:47:12.454 AM info  updated...
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:45:19.008 AM info  GarageDoor Opener 2 (GoControl) is in an unknown position
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:45:00.370 AM info  GarageDoor Opener 2 (GoControl) is in an unknown position
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:43:43.446 AM info  GarageDoor Opener 2 (GoControl) is in an unknown position
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:43:39.068 AM info  GarageDoor Opener 2 (GoControl) is in an unknown position
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:43:34.910 AM info  GarageDoor Opener 2 (GoControl) is in an unknown position
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:43:32.705 AM info  GarageDoor Opener 2 (GoControl) is in an unknown position
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:43:30.786 AM info  GarageDoor Opener 2 (GoControl) is in an unknown position
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:43:14.178 AM info  GarageDoor Opener 2 (GoControl) is in an unknown position
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:43:07.024 AM info  GarageDoor Opener 2 (GoControl) is in an unknown position
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:37:47.110 AM info  GarageDoor Opener 2 (GoControl) is closed
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:37:39.632 AM info  GarageDoor Opener 2 (GoControl) is closing
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:37:28.561 AM info  GarageDoor Opener 2 (GoControl) is busy, try again later
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:37:08.218 AM info  GarageDoor Opener 2 (GoControl) is open
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:37:00.068 AM info  GarageDoor Opener 2 (GoControl) is opening
dev:395 2023-06-25 08:36:40.174 AM info  GarageDoor Opener 2 (GoControl) is closed

08:43:07.024 AM is where I cycled the power. It came back as "unknown" and that state blocks the internal code from cycling/responding to commands. Once the tilt sensor moved, the state changed: 08:47:58.480

After that, it worked again. Turning on Debug messages provided no details over the non-debug messages.

Before I purchased my Garage Door Openers (GDO), I had an Ecolink Tilt Sensor to monitor it. When I did get the GDO, I never bothered to remove the Ecolink.. I had no where else to use Tilt, so they just sat. However, I noticed the GDO would send false open/close events all the time.. and quite often between midnight and 6 am. That led me to eventually using only the Ecolink status into automations/alerts. I'd suggest adding one and just ignoring the GDO. Once you return from out of town, the remote will cycle the door and that "fixes" the GDO, somewhat invisibly.

3

I have used several of the Go control GDOs. Mine were the IRIS branded but I believe they are the same thing. That is SOP for those GDOs when power is loss. You must cycle the door manually to get the tilt sensor synced back.

4

Thanks for the insights; our logs are unsurprisingly identical. :+1:

I don't receive any false positives from the door's tilt sensor so that's a non-issue for me. What I'm looking for is a way to restore control over and status from the doors remotely. Were you proposing a solution for that that I'm not following?

Thx!

5

Yup, that confirms my suspicion.

A dumb-assed behavior IMO. My prior GarageIO and integrated LiftMaster smart openers restored full functionality following a power outage. A better solution would be to have the tilt sensor wake on a slow schedule and send status. At the very least, the Go Control should permit door control to trigger the tilt sensor and restore status. The engineer's are going to claim safety BS I'd suspect were I ever afforded the chance to ask them but that's not a credible argument either given they're hardly reliable--CSteele's case in point.

So it's more UPSs or replace the brand... sigh.

6

... a thought, has anyone found a smart garage door clicker that you program in the same way you do a regular clicker or Homelink rearview mirror? This in conjunction with a standalone tilt sensor would seem pretty functional as a replacement for these more expensive units.

7

Not a solution but a workaround...

It's apparently a given the GDO is flakey. In my case more from false status than from loss of power.

Therefore I had to find a workaround or, buy another solution. My workaround was to simply ignore the GDO. :slight_smile: Instead of using it's status as an important value, I just don't use it. That is, I consider the added Ecolink Tilt Sensor to be accurate. It has been, despite being a battery device. I considered for a while a method of combining the two statuses... but found that the Ecolink ended up dominating the vote, so to speak. I only get false values from the GDO and have never seen one from the Ecolink, thus the AND'ing of their states never yielded additional protection.

https://www.amazon.com/Ecolink-Garage-Sensor-Accelerometer-TILTZWAVE5-0/dp/B09BPRWXLT

I use the above.. but this option is $2 cheaper:
https://www.amazon.com/Acceleration-Monitoring-Separately-Compatible-SmartThings/dp/B0B3CNN8VC

Replacing a hundred dollar GDO with another hundred dollar "kit" vs a $30 tilt sensor was the better answer for me. I had to go through the same logic when it came time to automate my ceiling fans, years ago.. I had to pick the Hampton Bay Fan Controller (HFBC), vs a DIY option vs Bond. I've made the DIY fan solution for two desk fans we have. But that solution would mean a difficult journey into the attic. Bond doesn't return status, so it's the least attractive. The Hampton Bay solution requires the purchase of an additional Zigbee Repeater to be placed in the same room. All that did was increase the cost but provided 100% reliability.

As I said, my thinking has been the same for both problems.. add an additional Tilt Sensor to hide the GDO's shortcomings and add an additional Repeater to hide the HBFC's shortcomings. In both cases, I came out a winner I think.

But back to the workaround I'm using for my GDO and it's potential to your situation... The addition of the tilt sensor would mean an "unknown" after a power loss would cause no grief when away. You'd know with certainty that the door was closed. On your return, and how it's worked for me, is that the in-car remote would work, and open the door, thus resetting the GDO's tilt. In my home, that means I'd probably never know about an "unknown".

8

Ah, I see. You are proposing a solution but to one piece of the problem--makes sense, thanks.

That said, I'm not sure it'd actually be better knowing with absolute certainty that the door is open and not being able to close it... perhaps blissful ignorance wins out in that scenario. :wink:

And, yup, the Homelink, clickers and exterior PIN panel all work to resolve the glitch.

9

My overwhelming desire (think, anal) to make things perfect won't let me leave this as-is so I'm gonna give this a shot:

Zooz 700 Series Z-Wavel Relay ZEN17 for Awnings, Garage Doors, Sprinklers, and More | 2 x NO-C-NC Relays (20A, 10A) | Signal Repeater | Hub Required (Compatible with Z-Box, SmartThings and Hubitat): Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement

... it'll control 2 doors and with the tilt sensors, that's a ~$100 retrofit for, hopefully, perfection.

10

Yup :slight_smile: That's exactly the "kit" I referred to. It's a popular alternative.

11

Just installed it, works like a charm... and doesn't give a $h!t about power failures. :slight_smile:

I went with the solid-state tilt sensors you recommended (thanks) but they're not here yet so for now it's a dumb, smart opener (oxymoron anyone). All-in, it came to $103 for two smart garage door controls with tilt sensors that isn't remotely fussy (hopefully that'll hold true for the tilt-event state change since some of the reviews aren't positive).

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