So how do you deal when a device fails to receive or do a command it should?
I have a rule dealing with some sprinkles that goes like this:
Wait for event 1st zone to turn off
Turn on 2nd zone for some times
Wait for event 2nd zone to turn off
Turn on 3rd zone....etc
Problem is even most of these devices have 100kb connection, occasionally they fail to turn off even when the hub sends the command basically ruining the automation as the current sprinkles continue to remain ON and the next zone doesn't turn ON.
So how do you deal with this kind of situation, should I use repeat action until sprinkle is off?
I feel that hubitat should have an optional built-in fail safe checkbox for each rule that when a some command is sent and the device doesn't change its state accordingly, it should retry sending the command 1-2 more times with 2-3 sec delay between before moving to the next action.
I share some of your frustration. I will let others address the Hubitat particulars of dealing with device states. But I have several dashboard monitors throughout my house and on my phone to keep an eye on these processes. I am not the best programmer, but I do often add redundancy to my programming, especially webcore pistons, to attempt to manage missed executions. One of the subjects that is sure to come up in this discussion is mesh integrity. And I have struggled to be able to understand, monitor and troubleshoot both of my zwave and zigbee networks. I'll be interested to see where this discussion goes.
I have had some similar issues along those lines. For some reason a particular device will not always respond as expected.
If it is critical and I want to make sure that the device responded as expected before continuing, I will usually put some type of loop around the device action and retest every few seconds. After a few tries if it doesn't respond I will send myself a notification and either exit the rule, or continue depending on what the rule does,
I have been having Rule Machine randomly miss things too. Occasionally an event will fail to trigger a rule when it should. I am not sure what is going on, but in addition to having Rule Machine miss triggers/actions, I also have random Z-Wave/Zigbee devices that fail to trigger that have persisted for almost 4 months now with seemingly no explanation. Sometimes the problem is so bad it has me ripping my hair out, and then sometimes I go almost an entire week without having any issues at all.
Perhaps Hubitat code can be improved, I also have similar experiences where aeotec lights are missed turning off (upon motion inactive).
E.g I go into the rule and it shows motion inactive but light is left on, then if I goto the device in hubitat and turn it off, every time it will turn off immediately. This issue could be fixed by validating that the intended action that has been set in the rule has occurred e.g if motion is in-active turn off light (if validation check show not in requested state, re-try action in rule I.e turn off light etc loop for 3 try’s then right error to log)
I am sure someone here will say that if your mesh is strong, you won't need that kind of redundancy.
I think my zwave mesh has many redundant paths but issue still occurs even on directly connected devices. Really starting to think code needs improving as when I add device to home assistant I don’t have same issues.
I will perform a test by exposing device to home assistant via makerapi and setup same basic rules and report back.
Ok,
I have performed the below test
- Expose aeotec nano switch (downstairs powder room) to home assistant via MakerApi
- Replicated the simple light rule from hubitat to home assistant (as per below screenshot)
I will do more testing over the next few days on this activity and others but so far this works every time (not just sometimes like in hubitat).
If additional test proves positive does this point to flaw in hubitat base code or the rule machine to carry out actions reliably?
Personally I think the opening premise of the topic is an interesting one and worth exploring in various forms, i.e. RM rules, other apps, etc. If you want to broaden the conversation to your mesh setup, I expect you will get more responses if you setup a new topic with a relevant title and an appropriate category,
What app are you using? Post logs. Put it in a different topic.
Rule machine
