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Garage Door IO Kit connectivity issues (Range extender questions included)

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    Garage Door IO Kit connectivity issues (Range extender questions included)

    I recently purchased the Garage door IO kit to open/close my garage door however I am having connectivity issues.

    My garage is about 60 ft from my house and it is powered by a buried cable between the garage and the house. I have two X10 light modules in the garage which I am able to control from the house no problem.

    I installed the Garage IO module as per the instructions, the magnetic sensor is setup and properly (see below) and manually pressing the button on the module operates the garage door as expected.

    I hooked up the module and attempted to add it via the Android app on my phone. The app sees it however it isn't able to complete all the tests in order to add it properly. The sensor status never properly updates on the phone either.

    I was able to add the module via Houselinc running on a PC inside my home, most (not all) of the time I can hit "refresh" and get an updated status of the IO module.

    I have a range extender which is normally mounted on the wall of the house adjacent to the garage, I currently have it on an extension cord and sitting in a window of the house. You can literally see the range extender through the window of the garage and house when standing where the Garage IO module is. Moving this range extender did nothing unfortunately.

    I picked up a second range extender and installed it in the garage in the window adjacent the house. I was able to add this range extender without incident however still no improvement in functionality.

    I also tried switching the circuit I had the IO module connected to - specifically I added it to the same outlet as the range extender; again no change.

    I guess I need to stop guessing and throwing money at the problem and need to know how this stuff actually works; I thought the most of it was dual band (RF/power line carrier) and figured that the range extenders were using the power line to convert to RF in an effort to boost signal, maybe not though?

    Any help/info is appreciated.

    #2
    The I/O Linc is powerline only. Try plugging the Range Extender into to I/O Linc pass-through outlet. Also, as a troubleshooting technique, unplug and/or disconnect everything in the garage including the garage door motor.
    Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
    Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

    Comment


      #3
      Plugging the extender in to the IO module did help, at the time I had everything plugged in to an extension cord so I could try various circuits around the garage, I made a more permanent setup and now it gave up again haha

      I'll have to play with where and how it is hooked up.

      Comment


        #4
        Just to follow-up I was able to get this to work consistently by plugging the range extender in to the I/O Linc via a short extension cord. The extension cord allowed me to actually aim the extender at the house (I played with its position) until I was able to reliable connect to the extender and then utilize the I/O Linc to open the garage door. The interface for Android isn't very clean/intuitive and wasn't really what I was expecting (I was expecting a UI that reflected the use of the I/O Linc as a Garage Door Opener)

        All in all it works, I just hope there are more updates in the pipes.

        Comment


          #5
          That suggests that you have pwerline communication difficulties on the garage circuit. If possible, as a test, unplug and/or disconnect everything on that circuit except for the I/O Linc. If you can communicate with the I/O Linc, then connect/plug-in one device at a time until there is a communication problem. That last powered on device needs to be filtered.
          Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
          Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

          Comment


            #6
            I have similar problems, should we be factory resetting?

            Comment


              #7
              My Io-lincs are terrible, Ive tried many scenarios with limited results.
              I have two range extenders connecting phases but to no avail. I have lots of devices with a pretty small house.
              I don't want to factory reset. Insteon should have a backup system for troubleshooting because factory resetting is most inconvenient,
              especially when you have several devices all intertwined.

              Comment


                #8
                The 2450 io-linc is a power line only Insteon module.
                So the power line signal from the range extender. Still has to go over the power lines to reah it.
                Any noise maker or signal sucker. Could effect it.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Come on Insteon were is the dual band iolinc that we so desperately need

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Now that Richmond Capital Partners has purchased Smartlabs and Smarthome.
                    Maybe thing will be changing.
                    For good or worse. Only time will tell.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      We can only hope

                      Comment


                        #12
                        I'm sick of third party software being better than Insteon's

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by ttantalo View Post
                          I'm sick of third party software being better than Insteon's
                          Insteon doesn't have software any more. HouseLinc was discontinued some years ago. If you mean apps, they're free. Is any other HA app free?
                          Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
                          Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Sure lots of apps are free with option to donate, like the home remote.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              3rd party is generally better than oem simply because they exist for the single purpose of adding value to someone else's product. OEM's generally try to accomplish a given task as cheap as possible. If 3rd party products were equal to or worse, then no one would use them and they would cease to exist.

                              Comment

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