Help communicating the Hub with a LED Bulb in a separate room

[Anton]

Ok, I'll do that maybe tomorrow. I'll let you know the outcome. Once again, thanks for your advice Stu.

[Anton]

I was away since my last post, hence no update. I have now deleted all the Scenes and the LED Bulb device and also my Insteon account. Then I Factory reset the Hub as per instructions, and opened a new account with Insteon. Since my last post, I also received my On/Off Module and placed it in the hall next door.

I'm pleased to say that since yesterday, Saturday, it's been working fine. I kept the LED Bulb in my Study which of course, is working well, as it's plugged in next to the Hub, so no Link problems there. I also notice that both my iPad & Android apps connects faster to the server and the Hub, maybe I did have a problem there somewhere before I factory reset? I'll see how I get on with this new Module, I just plugged a table lamp in it and it's working fine, so far, fingers crossed!

Thanks again for all your help.

[stusviews]

As I mentioned, linking/adding a device is intensive. Now that the LED bulb is added to the Hub, try using it in the original location. Be sure to turn the LED bulb to full on before relocating it.

[Anton]

I moved the LED Bulb to the Hall where the On/Off module is, as I have a dual wall socket and yes, it linked fine with the Hub, or so I thought at first! So after switching it On and Off and dimming up & down for some time to make sure it's linking. I then removed the On/Off Module from the wall socket and to my disbelieve, the LED Bulb lost the link again. Then I plugged in the On/Off Module on the socket beside it again and it linked! I then tried switching the Module On and Off (from the App) and the LED Bulb stayed happily Linked on both the On & Off states of the Module! Unplugged the Module one more time from the socket and you guessed it! LED Bulb lost the Link again. So I think the Module was acting as a repeater or Range Extender to the LED Bulb, but please correct me if I'm wrong.

Btw, I also tried setting the Module as a 'Responder' & 'Both' and also with nothing plugged in it, but there was no difference, the LED Bulb stayed Linked. It's now back in the Study where the Hub is and it links fine. It seems it only works where there is a close device to it, it just doesn't look right to me! Is it possible I have a defective LED Bulb? or is it the case that either it works or it doesn't?

Thanks again

[stusviews]

Having a dual-band device close to the bulb does improve communication. But why are you adding the LED bulb more than once?

[Anton]

I didn't add the LED Bulb more than once! I don't think the system will let you add the same device more than once. What I meant was, I relocated the Bulb from the Study to the Hall next door beside the On/Off Module, where it worked fine with the module present and it didn't work when I unplug the Module. Then I relocated it back in the study. The Hub still sees it as the same LED Bulb wherever I plug it in. My apologies if I misinterpreted my last post.

[map]

This may or may not be helpful/relevant, but I had a problem recently were my nearby dimmer plug-in modules were failing to communicate with the hub giving me the nasty yellow dots in the app.

The culprit was a rechargeable flashlight/nightlight combo that was plugged into the same power circuit as the hub. As soon as I unplugged the flashlight device from the outlet, both dimmer modules are solid green for months. If I move to a different electrical circuit (including next to the dimmer modules) it does not cause any problems, so it seems to be specific to the hub circuit.

I tested this at two different hubs/installations and it is 100% true.

Sharing it just in case...

[Anton]

Hi map, thanks for sharing your experience. What I can assume is that the rechargeable flashlight/nightlight is either defective or not filtered properly as these days they use Switch Mode power supplies for Chargers. These supplies uses high frequencies to work, unlike the old days, where they used to use just an ordinary isolating transformer with a Bridge rectifier and so on, but I'm not going into this, as it's beyond the scope of my reply.

What I can't understand is where you state that it was plugged into the same power circuit as the hub! I thought all power sockets in a house should be wired on the same circuit, well at least here in UK they are. They are wired in the same circuit loop that starts from the Distribution Box near the Mains to the first socket, then returns back from the last socket in the house to the Distribution Box. Cooker hobs and ovens have their own direct circuit with a higher cable diameter of coarse, as they use much higher electrical current.

I apologise if I misunderstood, but it will be interesting to know what you meant by moving to a different electrical circuit!

BTW, since my last post, I ended up using the Dimmer in the same room as the hub and it works fine (well, most of the time!) and the On/Off module in the hallway next door which works without a problem, so far!

[stusviews]

The standard in Europe is DIN rail circuit breakers. Unlike the US, in Europe both the hot (line) and neutral are protected using a double-pole breaker for the mains. Individual branch circuits do use single-pole breakers

[linnellaa]

To communicate with a Hub and an LED bulb in a separate room, you may need to use a device that acts as a bridge or signal repeater magic tiles 3. This can help to extend the range of the signal and ensure that the bulb can receive commands from the Hub.