Pairing Bridge to room t/stat problem

Catcher

My first venture into the wonderful world of Tado and not a happy one. Bridge pairing light is flashing and I press the pairing button on the t/stat and get displayed, temperature (seems to be random}, two chain links that eventually link. Tado and then Hi and that's it. App tells me the t/stat is offline. T/stat is more than 3mtrs from Bridge and I've read that Bridge should not be near Router (mine is) so why is Router to Bridge cable only 30cm long. Have been in touch with support but waiting for reply. Advice please.

johnnyp78

The bridge should be next to the router. That’s why it’s got a very short cable. Bring the thermostat next to the bridge and try pairing it there.

luteijn

There is some conflicting information (from tado itself) out there about distance to the 'router', using a 'switch' or 'wlan'/'wifi' node, impact on network speeds, orientation of the bridge for optimal reception etc. Since there doesn't seem to be any real technical documentation, it is hard to give definite advice... However, we can use some common sense, general rules of thumb and empirical results.

For the wired-network-side of the tado-bridge-device, it shouldn't matter if you use a long or short ethernet cable. That is, within reason, so stay within the 300' or so of the ethernet specification, and maybe use as short a cable as you can get away with, as who knows if the ethernet interface of the bridge is really up to specifications, or just 'compatble'... It seems to be 10Mb Half duplex anyway, so even a (proper) 4 wire cable should work (using pins 1,2,3 and 6; not 1,2,3,4 or 3,4,5,6 - might as wel just get a full 4 pair cable to avoid any sillyness). There have been reports of the shroud over the connector on some cables interfering with the power-connector on the bridge, so you might consider sliding it back (or cutting it away if it is fused on)

If you have a proper wired ethernet set-up, it shouldn't matter if you connect to any convenient switch, directly to the router's built-in switch, or to an actual routed port (although you might need a cross-cable in that case). Of course, more in-between switches means more chances of something in the path failing and the tado-bridge losing connection. Also, some switches (either stand-alone or integrated in home 'routers') have been reported to not deal very well with a slow device, and cause the whole network to slow down. This might prompt you to try another port or even separate switch or even network.
You ought to be able to plug in to a port on a wifi mesh-node or something like it, but a) wireless sucks, so more chance of dropping off the network now and then, and b) see below on the section I plan to write on the wireless side of the tado-bridge...

For powering the tado-bridge, you probably should just use the provided brick and cable. If it is too short, extend the mains-side, as a longer usb cable will usually cause more voltage drop and/or might not be suitable for other reasons. I'd probably keep the power-brick and actual bridge-device as far apart as possible, as the brick is probably a switching-type, and it will likely cause some sort of radio-frequency interference, which the bridge may or may not be able to handle.

Wireless/Radio-side of the tado-bridge: this seems to use the 868 MHz band. If you have other gadgets etc. that also use this band, a neighbouring band, or even just any (powerful) RF source (your own other tado devices (or your neighbours'), a garage-door opener, internet-of-things devices, wireless alarm, cell-phone 'tower', cordless phone, radio amateur, your own WiFi set-up, cheap electronics that emit RF as a side-effect (e.g phone-charger, power-supply of a PC, an ethernet switch, boiler ignition, microwave oven, basically anything that switches electricity on/off at 'high' frequency... ) etc.) nearby, it might interfere with the bridge's ability to 'hear' the other components of the tado-installation properly over all the noise.
This is where the advice of not putting the bridge right next to the router comes from. Especially if it is a router which has WiFi integrated, but just the electronics or even the shielding effect of the circuitboards could be enough disturbance.

The tado bridge (and all the other devices) will have an arial/antenna. It is probably not visible from the outside, but it will have something to pick up and/or transmit signals. It is probably not going to be an 'ideal' antenna, so it will work better in some directions than in others. Combined with all the possible bouncing around of signals that's going to be happening in a typical house, and the more or less random and not so easy to change position of the other tado-devices' antennas, small changes in position and orientation of the bridge may have a large effect on reception, so try these. Even a cm might make the difference!.
In general, you want the bridge centrally positioned and away from RF-sources and metal. In an open field would be nice, but not really feasible. If you have a flat, it is probably best to keep the bridge vertical. If you have a multi-level house, it might be better to put it high up and horizontal. Concrete walls/floors usually absorb more radio than wooden. Metal studs or rebar can have adverse affects. 868 Mhz is generally better than higher frequencies like 2.4 or 5 GHz 'wifi' at getting around obstacles.
Any cables/wiring should probably go away from the tado-devices at right angles to the antenna, but we can't easily see its orientation. So it might help to move the cable relative to the device.
It might even help to deliberately shield off some diections with metal to keep interference away from the bridge...

Similarly, placement of other tado-devices should be considered, but usually there is not much choice there, if you don't want to majorly redecorate your house. It may be feasible to turn a knob 90 degrees, or mount a thermostat at the other wall, but this can easily look horrible and unacceptable to your family; the optimal position from the radio-perspective might not be the best place from the sensor- or aesthetic-perspective.

Catcher

Thank you both. I had trouble pairing the bridge with wired t/stat. Yesterday the t/stat was unconnected, today it is connected without further action from me. Judging by the number of posts concerning Tado device problems and the non-response of support Tado is not a happy ship.

johnnyp78

In fairness I’d say it works for 99% of buyers, it’s the remaining 1% who have problems and post about it here.