Zee S2 logs on as GUEST only - Solved!

[TheTexasPaul]

My computer was shut down for a couple of weeks. When I started up my ZS2 page by entering 192.xxx.x.xx i get logged on as GUEST. Nothing I do will allow me to log on as Administrator.

I've gone to Homeseer.com and logged on using my Admin email and PW, but it goes to GUEST. I've changed my PW, no change.

I can't get to any settings, because I need Admin. privileges, and I'm just a GUEST.

I've hard restarted the S2, flushed my cache, used different computers to access the home page, and each time I'm still a GUEST.

Any ideas on how I can resolve this catch 22?

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I was able to use the 911 to reset the config file, but why should I have had to resort to that?
The last time I used 911 my entire software locked up, and it took a techie to remotely re-program the Zee S2 and re-install the operating system because there is a KNOW problem.
I'm guessing that this model has some systemic issues that need to be resolved!

Thanks SPARKMAN and LEELANGREER

[sparkman]

You need to connect to the Zee using something like WinSCP rather than the web-browser and then delete the users.cfg file in the settings folder under the main HomeSeer folder. One of the other Zee users should be able to tell you the default login for that.

Cheers
Al

[leelangreer]

Same problem on a system set up for my Mother

I am having the same issue on a unit bought in late December or early January 2016. I set it up and was using myHomeseer to access the system from another location. I did not log in for a few weeks and my Mother called the end of February stating she could not access it from the iPhone app. I tried to log in and got server not on-line. I had her cycle the unit and we could log in only in Guest mode. Seems odd that two units would have the same issue around the same time period and sounds like a bug. I have completed a helpdesk ticket with no response. I will now have to drive two hours to try to hack into the unit as my Mother has zero technical capability. I know I can try the 911 option, but I will have to be at the unit to do this as I can not talk my Mother through it.

It is a little disappointing to buy an appliance to avoid the technical details for someone unable to fool with it and have the system fail in less than two or three weeks. Then I am unable to reset it remotely and will have to drive two hours to take a look. Does not seem to make it a good choice for vacation homes and glad I did not purchase one yet for my vacation home.

I have been using Homeseer on a computer since the mid 90's and used my own dynamic dns. I probably would have been better off not using the black box approach and just set Homeseer up on a computer that I could reboot remotely.


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3/10/2016

Thanks Pete and TheTexasPaul.

Sounds like this is not the best solution for a set it and forget it solution if you have to create images on spare SD cards. So Pete are you thinking that the SD card has become unstable and/or corrupted? What would cause the system to break in such a short period of time, bad out of the box? What is the best way to copy the image? Using OSX and disk Utility? Will the unit accept a 16 gig card or do you have to stick with the 8?

[Pete]

I keep a microSD card with the image of the Zee-2 taped on to the box. I also keep a soft image backed up to the NAS. Having one backup microSD card you could request a power down, remove the old microSD card and insert the backup microSD card and you would be up and running in no time. BUT if there is no one there to do this that would be an issue. I can envision though cold power outages trashing out the microSD card.

Back in the Zee days I did wear down the larger SD card in just a few months. I have gone to a higher end microSD these days and to date have not had any issues with cold or warm boots. Keeping the Zee-2 in the attic here to see how it functions in extreme temperatures (cold or hot). I am also running HS3 Pro in Linux and it's been very stable. Personally here like the stability of the Linux build.

I understand your frustration as it would be a PITA to drive a couple of hours to fix the Zee-2.

Before you go to fix it; I would recommend maybe purchasing another microSD card or two and imaging the running HS3 box and putting the running image on a spare microSD card and keeping it taped on to the Zee-2.

Post here if you have any issues while at your mother's home; we can help.

[leelangreer]

Got the unit to reset using 911 but also reset license to trial

I contacted support and was told to log in as Guest on the local network, then log out. Log in as another user and delete the Guest account. The process did not work and I moved on to the 911 feature to allow me to reset the unit.

I used the 911 function to reset the unit but it took several attempts including resetting to defaults, updating the tools and reloading Homeseer multiple times before it responded.

The process reset the unit to a Trial version. When I tried to register the software using the License ID and Password on the back of the unit I get an Invalid License ID/Password combination and to contact technical support. I requested the license/password from the website and it confirms I am using the proper information. I have contacted support twice and left message. I have tried to set up an web account but that process has not been successful.

The system seems to be running as expected except I can not test it because all of the zwave units are in another city.

Any help would be greatly appreciated on how to return this unit to working order.

[Pete]

I can't help much with the licensing thing other than suggesting what you have already done.

You can just build a new box / RPi2 OS. There is a posted image here or you can just download most current Wheezy build from the Raspberry folks.

There is a short list posted by Rich as to what it is you need for the base build.

I personally here utilize Webmin GUI to manage the RPi2 - Zee-2 and have added a PiFace RTC board to mine along with the Z-Wave plus GPIO board.

Create the base, download the Zee-2 Homeseer program, un tar it to the /usr/local/HomeSeer directory and you should be good to go.

Note that this is the long math way but really doesn't take up too much time and can be a bit of a learning experience.

You can just connect to the Z-Wave hardware and download what is in the Z-Wave controller board. If the controller is on the RPi right now you just need to read the devices off of it. You will not be able to test transport/events et al until the devices are connecting to the Z-Wave controller.

First option is Import Node Info from controller and scan devices. You will get errors when you try to scan the devices; but you will have the controller information.

[leelangreer]

Thanks

Thanks Pete. I will build a new SD card to learn. Ultimately having a spare card will not be a long term solution for my application which is my mother. She will not be able to unscrew the box, replace the card and put it back together. I was barely able to talk her through upgrading her old Kindle before they locked out the old units. I just noticed that I can not get the Zee using myHomeseer, but can use my own dynamic IP account.

Homeseer technical support was able to tell me that a few of the units were shipped with a bad file that cause the issues after the 911 process that would not allow the unit to register. Tech support took control of the unit, removed the bad file and reinstalled Homeseer. I feel confident now that it should perform as a stable unit since the root cause was identified and fixed.

[leelangreer]

Zee 2 now working and should be stable

The zee was shipped with a bad file that may have caused the original issue, but was the cause of it not being able to register after performing the 911 process. Required tech support to take control of the unit and delete the file and reload the system. Should be stable now.

Leelan

[Pete]

Good news Leelan!

Relating to the MicroSD card you can remove the cover to the SD card. It is still a bit difficult to insert another card because it is very small.