The Hydraloop is showing offline for more than a day. As this problem can have multiple causes it is advised to look at the HDM behavior history and all possible causes before taking any action.
Please note: if the Hydraloop stays offline for over 6 days, it will stop recycling. And as long as the Hydraloop is offline, the amount of recycled water displayed can not be updated in the HDM.
Causes #
Customer changed internet provider, name or password
Problem
When the Hydraloop is connected with a WiFi network, and the customer changes their provider or WiFi credential, the Hydraloop is unable to connect to the internet anymore.
Solution
Instruct the customer to connect the Hydraloop back to the internet. Find instructions how to connect the Hydraloop to the internet here.
Unstable internet
Problem
The internet is unstable. This can be caused by many things. This includes:
- The router being way too close to the Hydraloop.
- The router being too far from the Hydraloop.
- Thick walls messing with the signal. (same effect as router too far away)
- Routers of other nearby home owners interfering with the signal.
- An unstable internet connection in general (remote area, provider problems)
- The internet provider can have a temporary outage
Solution
Often it is difficult to figure out the cause of the problem. We are unable to see all reasons for the unstable internet. Luckily we do have 1 tool. In the desktop version of the hdm on the ‘Graph’ tab under the visual representation of the tanks, you can see the signal strength in dBm. This is a rough indication of how close the Hydraloop is to the router. If one of the following is the case you know something is going on:
- If the signal shows between -1 and -30 dBm the router is too close to the Hydraloop (basically on top of it). Recommend the customer moving the router slightly further away from the Hydraloop.
- If the signal shows between -90 and -100 dBm the signal is too weak. This can mean the router is too far away, or too much wall is blocking the signal. Recommend the customer moving the router closer, or installing a WiFi extender of a reputable brand. As signal strength changes over time, being close to -90 can also be the cause. If you see last time it was online at -85 dBm, it could still be the distance. But it gets less likely.
- If the signal says an Ethernet cable is being used instead of a WiFi connection, the problem more likely lies at the provider or security settings of the router (firewall).
(Also see the “Extra tip” for a solution)
Hydraloop is powered down
If the Hydraloop is turned off, it will also not be online anymore. To figure out if the power is lost, and what do about this, see here.
Vacation
Problem
Customer is just on vacation and turned of their house power or router.
Solution
Wait for them to come back before closing the ticket
Extra tip #
There is an additional action possible. If the Hydraloop often gets offline for over a day, and the problem is out of your control to solve by things like:
- Often power outage (load shedding in some parts of the world)
- Unsolvable connection problems (bad internet)
You can increase the time before the ticket gets created. In the “Device” tab of the HDM of the Hydraloop itself at the bottom you can find the “Offline signaling” setting. Increase the “Days” to a higher number (see image). And then close the ticket.
Please note that any problems that occur during the offline period will be missed. Troubleshooting any problems will become more difficult and is very much undesired. We recommend attempting to fix the internet problem before using this method.
