Reset Insteon Thermostat to Factory and Re-add to Plugin

[Sinandgrin]

I suspect that I have several incorrect links that were somehow added between my downstairs Insteon 2441TH Thermostat and a few of my Insteon switches. I notice that ceiling fans and some lights turn off when the HVAC for the downstairs comes on or shuts off and it's driving me nuts.

I went through and read the links from all the suspected switch devices using Mark's Insteon plugin, found a few links to the thermostat and deleted those but I am still having issues with 1 or 2 switches in my house.

My next step was to reset the thermostat back to factory settings and re-add it to the thermostat plugin but before I did that I wanted to make sure I carried these steps out correctly. Does the following look correct?

1. Delete the Thermostat from the plugin's configuration page using the 'Delete' button in the Actions section.
2. Press 'Save' on configuration page.
3. Perform the factory reset on the thermostat as defined in the user manual.
4. Add thermostat back to plugin, using the 'ADD NEW' Name field on Thermostat configuration page.

Is there anything else that I need to do to, de-register the thermostat from the HS system before the factory reset?

Do I need to manually delete any old devices of the thermostat before adding it back?

Other than reading and updating Links from the Thermostat, is there any way to Edit these links to simply delete bad ones to the switches in my house? This would save me the trouble of the whole factory reset I suppose. While I was able to read the links and copy the details from the Log, I can't make much sense of it and definitely did not see a way to edit or delete these links.

Thank you in advance for any help.

[nfrobertson]

Your steps sound correct. Any Insteon links not related to thermostat status reporting back to the hub/PLM can't be maintained by the Insteon Thermostat plugin. A factory reset will achieve that and it should be relatively easy to then add it back cleanly again.

A bit more background... The Insteon Thermostat plugin is responsible for registering a thermostat as external device via Mark's plugin. That's what happens when you add a new thermostat. The Insteon Thermostat plugin then issues link commands so that the necessary reporting links are setup inside the thermostat so that changes like temp, humidity, set points etc. are sent back to the Insteon hub/PLM and thus back to HS3. There are a couple functions on the config page of an existing thermostat to read links where it will query the thermostat to report on links and log what the thermostat sends back. Four to six of those links are related to status reporting. Any other links that may have somehow inadvertently been created would not be understood by the Insteon Thermostat plugin. The update links option on the config page is to only reissue the same reporting linkage commands as is done during a new thermostat install. The Insteon Thermostat plugin doesn't have the capacity to read or manage all Insteon links, only those it is aware need to exist for status reporting.

Nathan

[Sinandgrin]

Sorry for the delayed response, thanks Nathan for your confirmation!

I have been traveling a bit and got around to this post after I carried out these steps but now notice that the re-added thermostat is no longer updating the HVAC Unit devices that I have it associated to. I track the status Unit Mode device to get current operation feedback for several systems and since this no longer updates as the thermostat runs I am starting to have a bunch of issues and was hoping you might be able to help.

I removed both the Thermostat and the HVAC unit, added them back and still have this issue. It seems like nothing with the HVAC unit devices changes for this thermostat. My other HVAC/Thermostat work fine BTW.

Here is snippet of my log file as I toggle the Fan mode to see if the HVAC Unit Fan device would update after I deleted and re-added everything, which it did not.

Might this have something to do with the actual Insteon thermostat not sending back a correct command? I am concerned this unit is having issues and may need to be replaced. Is there anything in the logs below that looks suspect? Can I provide more detail from something else to help investigate this issue?

I am able to fully control the Thermostat through HS, I just don't get any updates to the HVAC Unit devices (counters, Mode, Fan).


Jul-02 10:02:41 PM Insteon Thermostat InsteonRcv [TID:3 22:02:41.792] RAW = ACK 6B 08 01 39 63 10 3C 4C 7A 2F 6B 08
Jul-02 10:02:41 PM Insteon Thermostat InsteonRcv [TID:3 22:02:41.780] RAW = 01 39 63 10 3C 4C 7A 2F 6B 08
Jul-02 10:02:41 PM Insteon Thermostat TransmitInsteon: [Downstairs] [1F] [6B] [08] ((([00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [8D])))
Jul-02 10:02:41 PM Insteon Thermostat SetFanAuto: Downstairs Fan = Auto
Jul-02 10:02:41 PM Device Control Device: HVAC Downstairs Fan to Auto (0) by/from: CAPI Control Handler
Jul-02 10:02:30 PM Insteon Thermostat InsteonRcv [TID:3 22:02:30.293] RAW = ACK 6B 07 01 39 63 10 3C 4C 7A 2F 6B 07
Jul-02 10:02:30 PM Insteon Thermostat InsteonRcv [TID:3 22:02:30.283] RAW = 01 39 63 10 3C 4C 7A 2F 6B 07
Jul-02 10:02:29 PM Insteon Thermostat TransmitInsteon: [Downstairs] [1F] [6B] [07] ((([00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [00] [8E])))
Jul-02 10:02:29 PM Insteon Thermostat SetFanOn: Downstairs Fan = On
Jul-02 10:02:29 PM Device Control Device: HVAC Downstairs Fan to On (1) by/from: CAPI Control Handler

[nfrobertson]

The HVAC device status changing is based on the thermostat sending broadcast messages calling for cool, heat, or off. Unfortunately broadcast messages are not guaranteed delivery. My guess is maybe your other thermostat is sending the broadcasts and they are not making it to your PLC/PLM/Hub, or, it's possible the links are not 100% in the other thermostat and it's not sending those broadcast messages. You could use the Config page Write Links to try and fix the sending links for the call for cool/heat/off broadcast messages. Use the Read Links and see if it reports about 4-6 links. This one is truly difficult to diagnose. If you have a new Insteon device that serves as both RF and powerline, you might want to install it near the other thermostat to help. I did that when I wanted to put a new 2441zth in a location that didn't seem to be receiving RF commands well. I replaced an Insteon switch with a newer one that did both RF/powerline and it fixed communication issues.


Nathan

[Sinandgrin]

The HVAC device status changing is based on the thermostat sending broadcast messages calling for cool, heat, or off. Unfortunately broadcast messages are not guaranteed delivery. My guess is maybe your other thermostat is sending the broadcasts and they are not making it to your PLC/PLM/Hub, or, it's possible the links are not 100% in the other thermostat and it's not sending those broadcast messages. You could use the Config page Write Links to try and fix the sending links for the call for cool/heat/off broadcast messages. Use the Read Links and see if it reports about 4-6 links. This one is truly difficult to diagnose. If you have a new Insteon device that serves as both RF and powerline, you might want to install it near the other thermostat to help. I did that when I wanted to put a new 2441zth in a location that didn't seem to be receiving RF commands well. I replaced an Insteon switch with a newer one that did both RF/powerline and it fixed communication issues.


Nathan

Thanks Nathan, but aren't the InsteonRcv log records that I shared an indication that these messages are being recieved and recognized by the plugin?

Jul-02 10:02:41 PM Insteon Thermostat InsteonRcv [TID:3 22:02:41.792] RAW = ACK 6B 08 01 39 63 10 3C 4C 7A 2F 6B 08
Jul-02 10:02:41 PM Insteon Thermostat InsteonRcv [TID:3 22:02:41.780] RAW = 01 39 63 10 3C 4C 7A 2F 6B 08

These 2 logs are received right after I toggled the Fan to ON but I never saw the HVAC Unit Fan device change it's status from AUTO to ON.

With the upstairs thermostat (the working one) I see the same 2 logs and then the HVAC Unit Fan device changes.

Do you think there is some pairing step that I need to carry out to link the Thermostat to the PLM after I reset the thermostat to factory defaults? I only followed the steps I outlined at the beginning of this thread and registered the thermostat using the plugin.

[nfrobertson]

When you registered the thermostat the plugin attempted to create all the necessary reporting links between the thermostat and the PLM. If there's concern they maybe are not all working, you can use the config page to Read Links (should be 4-6 links back) and you can also do the Write Links to force it to retry setting up the reporting links.

As for the fan, when it's set to AUTO that means the fan on vs off follows the call for cool/heat or off. If the fan icon on that second thermostat isn't changing, it sounds like the broadcast commands may not be making it back to the PLM. If however, you have turned it to ON at the thermostat, then the fan on the HVAC should show on. I'm wondering if maybe you need to use the config page, remove the HVAC unit associated to the 2nd thermostat, save, then add that association back, save, and try again?

Nathan

[nfrobertson]

I just posted an alert here in the forum about Insteon hub firmware 1016 that breaks communication (completely) with the Insteon network. My test system uses an Insteon Hub and I don't have a spare PLM to switch it out with. I've requested the firmware downgrade and once I get it I'll be able to continue testing relative to your question here.

Nathan