Keeps dropping off network - too many cold showers
I've had an early Tado system for several years and the connection to the network drops every couple of weeks or so, something I only notice when we have no hot water. This has been going on for some time and I'm at the point of ripping out the system and installing something that works.
When it happens, the Tado box only displays one light instead of the 3 it shows when working properly
It is not a Wi-Fi issue as the Tado box is hard wired to the router on a 5cm cable. I have bought a UPS for the router and Tado box to ensure the supply is not dipping and remove spikes. All I can conclude is that there was some design issue with the box as it has been updated.
Seems almost impossible to send an email to Tado support now……
Has anyone else had this issue? Have you managed to solve it - if so how?
Is it possible to get one of the later type boxes from Tado? (I'm hoping this might fix the issue….)
Any thoughts welcome - Thanks!
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Start the app, click "More", select Support and start a chat with support. Usually took 30-60 minutes. Faster than email.
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If the hub is that old and cutting out, it might be on its last legs and might need replacing. Tado is selling the hub V3+ for £58 approx after discount. It will be interesting to hear what Tado has say when you get through.
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Hi royi - Thanks. I was wondering the same - although the hub has been doing this for several years. I've not seen the hub being sold separately - do you have a link please?
I did get through and their only suggestion was to use a longer Ethernet cable to reduce interference. I will try it but I'm not convinced……
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I really do not think you will need a longer ethernet cable, when you should be receiving a good internet signal.
Here,s the link to the hub/bridge.
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Hi royi - I agree, if there were big noise spikes they could cause an issue but wi-fi is turned off on that router anyway as I have a mesh repeater but it's not close.
Thanks for the link - I'll get one of those and give it a try……
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@coldwater Let me know how you get on. You should still have access to Auto-Assist subscription free.
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Looks like you're using the router USB to power the hub?
Have you tried a separate USB power supply instead? Might be as simple as that and I'm sure you'd be able to find an old phone chargerthat could do that job without having to spend any money
Also, you say that only one LED is lit when the problem happens. Can you confirm which one remains lit?
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Looking at the account I also see the bridge losing internet connection once every few weeks. When it happens, it happens for multiple hours at the time. When the connections is out, the wireless receiver / extension kit keeps the old schedule settings, and if hot water was off when the connection died it will stay off until the connection returns or you manually set it to ON on the thermostat.
Anyway, I agree with the troubleshooting steps here. Try a seperate USB charger, the one that was in the box or from an old phone. Also maybe try a different network cable if you have one, just to be sure. If only one LED is on when the issue happens, as @davidlyall notes, try to recall which one.
Additionally, if it does happen again I'd try to find out if wired internet still works on that hub with a laptop or similar while the bridge is still offline (one LED). Just to rule out this external factor.
@royi is correct, Auto Assist rights won't change if a newer bridge is used. Unless when the old V2 bridge becomes active in another account, then AA moves with the old V2 bridge to that other account.
About contacting support: It can be done via the app.
You can also contact support via a browser via the main page on the main website. Scroll all the way down to see the folowing:
As noted in the 'contact us' link you see in that screenshot, you will have to accept "functional" cookies. You can block all others if you wish. The functional cookies are used for the chat system.
As long as the functional cookies are accepted, you will see this in the bottom right of the screen, which opens the chat.
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Hi - thanks for the replies @Rob and @davidlyall - The issue invariably occurs overnight (I think) - so the internet could be out but I haven't really noticed that - nothing else that uses the internet (online backup, streaming TV etc) seems to indicate any sort of problem. No error messages on any device in the morning
When the Tado box is offline (no hot water) LINK is on and ROUTER and INTERNET (LEDs) are off. When I cycle the power Link comes on first, then router, then internet.
The wireless is switched OFF on that router - as I have a separate mesh network plugged into it which does the Wi-Fi throughout the house. However, my main computer is hardwired into that router and it is in almost constant use - never seen a problem with that, even when the Tado is offline - so it seems the wired connections are OK - and as the mesh network is running that's further evidence of this. Not seen a problem with the Wi-Fi either as multiple devices would be moaning about no connection……. So whatever it is, it just affects the Tado.I have found a longer (approx 1m) Ethernet cable. I will find a USB charger and give both a try tomorrow. Not convinced on the cable as there is no Wi-Fi on the router but will try. Will put the USB power supply into the UPS that I bought to power just the router and Tado box - to remove any issues due to spikes and / or brownouts.
Do appreciate the inputs guys. I'll report back when something happens next. That may be weeks as it is usually every few weeks that it happens……
I see that I can buy a later Internet Bridge that @royi gave me the link to. Is that likely to solve the problem? Would it give me additional functionality? If I was to buy one, would want to do it now while they are on sale…..
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Just found 10 mins so I have made the changes. Longer Ethernet cable and extended power cable plugged into an old USB charger which is fed clean power from the UPS. The Tado box is now about a metre from the router (and a little further from the mesh network transmitter).
Let's see what happens! I'll post in this thread when (if) it drops again……
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@coldwater is that a BT hub you're connected to?
If so, then they have a setting called Smart Setup that is known to cause issues with tado. The BT hubs normally reboot themselves overnight roughly every 2 weeks and I think that's when the issues can occur.
You can turn smart setup off on the router though which should fix things. See here under the section for BT routers:
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Hi @cbd20 - Yes it's a BT hub. I didn't know about smart setup but I just went into the router configuration page and it is already turned off (greyed out on main page and when I clicked it, it's set to off)
Strange, as what you're describing makes perfect sense and fits my problem exactly
Thanks anyway!
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At the moment I have a V2 bridge - would the V3+ bridge help with the issue and / or give extra functionality?
Is it easy to set up, is it just take one out and plug the other in?
Thanks
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I don’t know if this is relevant or helps anyone but I have a BT router connected to a tp-link mesh system. The receiver and other devices kept going offline as the BT router with the bridge was at one side of a long house and I couldn’t move it. I asked chatGTP if I could attach the bridge to one of the mesh routers and it said I certainly could! I have moved one of the mesh devices to the centre of the house upstairs and attached the tado bridge with a separate usb power source. It all seems to work perfectly for now.0
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Thanks @Douglas57 I have similar with the BT router central in the house (and halfway between the Tado thermostat and the boiler with the Tado controller) - and a TP-Link mesh unit plugged into the router - with about 5 more around the house / garden. This reset issue with the BT router was mentioned by someone else - but it's not (shouldn't be) affecting me as the associated functionality (smart setup) has been switched off in the router for ages.
I've changed the way the bridge is powered (moved from taking power from the router to a separate USB PSU on a UPS) and lengthened the Ethernet cable - from 6" to 3' as a result of advice on here. Still early days but no issues so far.
For now I want to run it as it is at least for a few weeks and see if I get a drop-off. Your idea makes sense but I want to change one thing at a time so I know what the solution is when / if I find it.
Thanks for the input
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@coldwater Hello. All good options to try and fix the cold water issue.
From a previous life …. the BT broadband management system chats to the router nightly and will manage all the broadband function. The router log records the TR67 protocol chat.
In practice … the management system can reboot the router and will (infrequently) download firmware. If there is a line problem, the router will try a reboot, measure the S/N ration and line speeds will reduce to achive a stable broadnabd connection. This change is usually transparent to most internet users. However, from experience of troubleshooting an intermittent line … a cloud service (like Tado) will probably be susceptible to random 'off-line' periods, usually somewhere between midnight and 6am.
Probably worth a look at the router logs for extraneous WAN events. The logs will give indications of unexpected changes e.g. reboots, with S/N ratio, and line speed changes.
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@wateroakley Thanks for the input - next time it drops (if it does) then I'll (try and) find the logs and see if I can tie them up with the issue.
So far, so good - been almost one month and the Tado has been stable and not dropped - probably tempting fate by posting that!
I suspect that it was moving from the Tado being powered by the BT router to having its own USB PSU that solved it - assuming it has solved it
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@coldwater Good to hear that it's been stable for almost one month.
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@wateroakley - actually thinking about it a bit more, I'm not sure that the lack of cloud connection is what's causing the problem. The Tado box is dropping of the house network, despite being hardwire to it.
If the router does reset as you describe and even negotiate lower speeds due to a poor SNR, then that makes sense but I can't see why the Tado box needs an internet connection to tell the remote box to turn the boiler on or off.
The (brief) lack of internet connection seems to make sense in that it might upset the Tado box. What does NOT make sense is that the Tado box cannot recover from this on its own. It is a simple design feature for it to cycle its own power, so why was this not implemented at the design stage? If they had done this, the Tado box may have dropped for a minute or so every so often, but I doubt I would have noticed as it would not have affected the availability of hot water.
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@coldwater Tado have announced the roll-out of off-line schedules that you can request from the community site.
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@wateroakley The offline schedule only works with V3+. @coldwater has an earlier version of tado, so it's not compatible. The issue here is to find out if there is a problem with the hub or their Internet and not about upgrading to V3+
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Thanks @royi and @wateroakley - the hub is still ticking along nicely. It’s been about 6 weeks now, so I would have expected a drop in that time. Will wait another month or so before declaring the issue solved - but I think it is.
I may get a V3 box at some point. The offline feature could be useful but I’m not aware of any internet outages here. However they are being sold cheaply on eBay so not a huge expense to upgrade.
For now I won’t disturb anything so I know if changing the power source and Ethernet cable solved the issue0 -
well, it’s been about 3 months since I made the changes - power the Tado hub from a USB power source (not the BT router) and extend the Ethernet cable to 1m.
no drops since I made the changes so I am pretty sure it’s fixed. Thank to everyone.
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@coldwater Good to read your report of no drops for three months👍️
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Glad to hear you got it sorted and you don't have to purchase another hub.
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